Author: DelSheree Spinner

DelSheree Spinner was one of those shy, quiet kids who spent more time reading than talking. She didn't speak a single word for the first few months of preschool. Her fascination with reading led to many hours spent in the library and bookstores, and eventually to writing. She wrote her first novel when she was sixteen years old, but spent ten years rewriting it before it was published. Native to New Mexico, many of DelSheree’s books feature the Four Corners area or were inspired by its history and lore. When not writing novels, she is often reading, hiking, sewing, and working with other authors. DelSheree has several bestselling young adult series and has hit the USA Today Bestseller list twice as part of box sets. She also writes contemporary romance, humorous mystery, and paranormal new adult series. Her writing is as varied as her reading interests.

Cover Reveal…Almost!

I just got the final copy of the cover art for THE ONLY SHARK IN THE SEA and I’m so excited to share it!!!

But not yet…

I’m setting up a cover reveal for September 8th, 2015, and if you’re willing to help me share the artwork and news about the upcoming release of the third Date Shark Series book, I’d love to have your support!

I’m doing this a little differently, though.

This cover reveal isn’t exclusive to bloggers. I’m opening it up to anyone willing to share on any social media platforms they use, so don’t be afraid to sign up if you’re not a blogger!

Check out the form below and check back on Sept. 8th for a look at the fabulous cover art for The Only Shark In The Sea!

Writing a Query Letter: Part 5

To find the first part of this series, Click HERE. For Part 2, click HERE. Part 3, click HERE Part 4, click HERE. To listen to the full discussion on the Write. Publish. Repeat. Podcast, click HERE.

Blurb Writing Tips

Research
Reads blurbs for popular books
Not a guarantee, but helpful

Direct to your reader
Different readers require different approaches

Give it time
Rewrite, revise, start over
This is important, so take your time

Cut unnecessary words
Don’t waste limited space

Get an outside opinion
**Someone who’s read the book
They can make sure you’ve include the pertinent details and stay true to the feel of your book
**Someone who hasn’t read the book
They can make sure it makes sense to an outsider

Professional resources
Paid services
Free services like Query Shark

PROOFREAD IT!!!

Keeping Track of Your Queries

QueryTracker.net
Most options are free, but you do need an account

Trusty Notebook/Word File
Sticky Notes
My personal favorite

Whatever method you choose, know the agent’s normal response time.
**Once you pass that, consider it a “No”

Follow up?
Depends on agent. Most usually have instructions on their website about whether or not to contact them for follow up. Follow their directions please!

Pacing?

How many agents should you query at a time?
**Most recommend 3-4/week

Why?
If it’s not working, you may want to change things up

Starting point?
Top or bottom of your list? — Totally up to you, but a lot of authors will recommend not starting with your top choices just in case you find out later your query needs more work.

Good luck with your query writing process and if you have any tips to share, please do!

Listen to the full discussion now on my new podcast!

Write. Publish. Repeat. Podcast: How to Write a Query Letter Without Going Completely Crazy

Giveaway Time: Darn it, it’s already over!

This post was originally meant to announce a giveaway. A giveaway that went live two days ago on Amazon. Ten minutes after I saved this post, I got an email saying my giveaway had already ended because two many people had entered.

This is what the announcement looked like that I posted on my social media Tuesday night.

See this #AmazonGiveaway for a chance to win: Shark Out Of Water (The Date Shark Series) (Volume 2). https://giveaway.amazon.com/p/6166bc75aa616cdc NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Ends the earlier of Aug 16, 2015 11:59 PM PDT, or when all prizes are claimed. See Official Rules http://amzn.to/GArules.

Enter to win a copy of “Shark Out Of Water” to catch up on the series before book 3 releases Oct 6th!!

I guess I set my limit too low, but honestly, I wasn’t sure how this new feature on Amazon would go and I didn’t want to have it live for a week only to find out I had gotten ZERO entries. Self-doubt strikes again!!

It’s was nice to see the entries fill up so quickly. Next time I’ll have to up the limit and offer a few more books for you all. I have no idea who won the giveaway because Amazon keeps that confidential (rightly so!), but CONGRATS to the winner of the paperback copy of SHARK OUT OF WATER.

Book 3 THE ONLY SHARK IN THE SEA will be up for Pre-Release Sept19th and will go live Oct 6th!

Until then…

Don’t forget, book 1 “Date Shark” is FREE on

You can get your own copy of “Shark Out Of Water” on:

Google Play: God of eBooks? I think not.

Amazon gets a lot of crap for their relations with indie authors at times. In my personal dealings with Amazon, they’ve done a great job of helping me when I need help, fixing things that get screwed up, and answering questions. I don’t love every single thing about Amazon and how it works in relation to ebook publishing, but I’ve had a very good experience with them.

Enter Google Play…

I feel like I should follow that up with a “dun, dun, dun” because the experience I just had with them certainly wasn’t pleasant nor the kind of thing that would lead me to recommend their service to, well, anyone.

What drove me to Google Play?

Many of my Wattpad readers aren’t in the US. In fact, a hefty majority of them are not. Not everyone can get on Amazon and order books. The Play store is easier for some of them to use and several mentioned their parents had set up monthly allowances for them on the Play store and they could buy my books there if only they were available. So, I went on a search to figure out how to add my books to the Play store.

That seriously took forever. The setup when I first looked into it was ridiculously complicated and the system was pretty buggy. I gave up after a while. Recently though, I got asked again if my books were on the Play store and re-investigated. Surprisingly, the platform had improved enough that I could at least get through the process of adding all my books.

Done, right?

Not quite.

The last few months I’ve noticed my sales figures on Amazon dropping bit by bit. That happens pretty much every summer, so I didn’t think much of it at first. But it kept dropping.

This summer has been super busy for our family so I wasn’t paying great attention to what was going on with my books on Amazon until I went in to setup and price my Aerling Box Set and realized several of my books were being pretty steeply discounted on Amazon.

Given that I hadn’t changed the price on any other platform for Amazon to price match, I wondered what on earth was going on? I shot off an email to Amazon asking what the deal was, and as always they sent me back a quick reply saying the book in question was currently discounted more than $1 (That’s a lot in ebooks) on…you guessed it…Google Play store.

So, of course, my next online stop was my Play account to figure out how the price had gotten changed. Hacker? Kids playing around when I left my computer on? Magic?

The answer…?

Google Play Store itself. Yep. They apparently think of themselves as the GOD of ebook publishing. Every single one of my books that wasn’t already free had been discounted between 0.50 and $1. You can bet I was pissed. A quick internet search and a Facebook post brought back some interesting answers.

Buried inside the user agreement for the Play store it says, Play gets to price your content however it wants. You can set your own price, sure, but they’re going to ignore it. Thinking, surely that can’t be true, because what kind of company tells their content producers that sure you can sell your stuff with us, but we get to pick the price and you just have to live with it even if it negatively affects your sales with other merchants?

Surely not, right?

Surely YES.

When I opened up a chat session with customer service and put the question about the discounting straight to them, their answer was, “WE’RE GOOGLE. WE CAN DO WHATEVER WE WANT.”

Okay, that wasn’t the exact wording, but it was indeed the answer to my question. NO they would not change the price back. NO they would not compensate for royalties lost because Amazon price matched them. NO they didn’t care that this might be an adverse effect of their pricing policy. NO. Just NO.

My answer to them?

See ya later Google!

I pulled all my books as soon as I closed the chat and I will no longer be offering any of my books on the Play store or any platform that so blatantly disregards and takes advantage of the people providing them with content. I’m far from the only person who’s had to deal with this–as I found out after posting the question on Facebook–and I won’t be the last.

I know I’m not the kind of author who can say, DON’T sell your books on Google Play and suddenly everyone will abandon it, but I help authors get started in indie or hybrid publishing fairly often. I teach publishing and writing class at our local community college–which I know isn’t a huge deal–but you can bet I will never again include Play as a legitimate and worthwhile publishing platform in my recommendations or classes.

Thank you for the lesson learned Google Play.

The Invisible Initiative #InvisibleInitiative

Authors always get asked about idea inspiration and where they came up with concepts for their books. I’ve gotten that with “Invisible” and I haven’t really had a good answer because there wasn’t anything particular that sparked the idea. It was more of a musing or random thought that stuck and morphed into a story.

Almost two years later, when I think about “Invisible” now and the reasons behind writing it and what I put into it on a personal level, it’s more about the message than the inspiration. Growing up, there were plenty of times I felt invisible in my own family, in school, and in church even. I was quiet, shy, and not very outgoing unless I new someone well. The initial idea for “Invisible” may be vague, but as I was writing Mason’s side of the story in particular, I felt myself putting a lot of my own feelings and experiences into the book. It’s painful to feel invisible. It affects you.

It often takes someone else to pull you out of that bubble and show you what you can’t see about yourself on your own. I had that experience with a good friend of mine as a teenager and I can honestly say it made a huge impact on my life. Amy Brimhall and I are both back living in the same town, and even though work and busy family lives don’t let us get together very often right now, I often think about her and how she impacted me by the simple gesture of offering to pick me up for school in the morning and being a friend when I needed one.

Thinking about this a lot as I was getting the Aerling Series box set put together this last week, I wanted to pass on how much other people’s support has meant to me so they know that their friendship hasn’t gone unnoticed, that they aren’t invisible either.

My challenge is for you to do the same thing. Pick a few people who have made a difference in your life and share that with them. Feel free to use the image below to share on their Facebook wall or Twitter feed along with why your sharing it with them. Let them know their presence in your life has made a difference. They may have no idea and it may be your chance to return the favor when they might need it most. No one should feel invisible.

#InvisibleInitiative Share this image with someone who has impacted you so they know their friendship hasn't gone unnoticed. — #InvisibleInitiative Share this image with someone who has impacted you so they know their friendship hasn’t gone unnoticed.

Not So Wordless Wednesday: D. Nicole King’s Always Series @dNicholeKing

I don’t typically share a lot of promotions on my blog, but I couldn’t help sharing D. Nicole King’s new bookmarks I just finished up for her Love Always Series.

Writing a Query Letter: Part 4

To find the first part of this series, Click HERE. For Part 2, click HERE. Part 3, click HERE. To listen to the full discussion on the Write. Publish. Repeat. Podcast, click HERE.

Query Writing Tips

Now that you have the basics down, how do you actually write a GOOD query letter?

The blurb/summary is going to be a HUGE part of your pitch and often requires the most attention and revisions.

The next section will go over tips and tricks for writing a query letter that will grab an agent’s or publisher’s attention.

When to write the Blurb?

Before or After?
Depends on the author

Before
Why would you do this?
Not as emotionally invested yet.
Not EVERYTHING feels important.
Focus your thoughts on the story highlights.
Which can help with writing.
Saves you from having to do it later.
Allows you to promote early.

After
Have the full concept in place.

Avoid having to rewrite due to plot changes.

Better idea of future plans.

Anatomy of a Blurb

Situation/Character intro

Problem/Conflict

Hope of Resolution

Tone/Mood

Situation/Character Intro

Jump in right away.
Situation and Character intro right away.
No wasting time with description/thought.
Intro the setting as well.

Who is this story about?
What situation makes their story interesting?

First sentence should introduce both.

Make them interesting!
YOU know them well, so present them in the best, most interesting light

Example:

“In 1938, a small crooked-legged racehorse received more press coverage than Hitler, Mussolini, Roosevelt or any other news figure.”(Seabiscuit, Laura Hillenbrand)

Don’t mislead!
If they start reading and it doesn’t hold up…they’ll put it down

Problem or Conflict

A hint of the plot…
What challenge is your MC up against?
Simplify as much as possible.There may be multiple conflicts that all seem important.
Focus on the MAIN conflict.

How is this conflict going to hurt/hinder your character?
Again…simplify to the main points. Pick the biggest, most detrimental effect to focus on in the blurb

The blurb is a teaser. Hook the agent/pub…leave them wanting more. This is usually better accomplished in a short blurb.

Some like to end on a question (but not a rule)
“As mouths water in anticipation, can the solemnity of the Church compare with the pagan passion of a chocolate éclair?”(Chocolat, Joanne Harris)

“Lisbeth Salander—outcast…enigma…avenger…”(The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson)

End on a cliffhanger!

Hope of Resolution

Don’t be too depressing!

How will your character potentially thwart all the trouble the conflict is brewing?

Don’t reveal the end of the story, but DO suggest a possible escape.

Make readers want to solve the problem.

Tone and Mood

The tone or mood of your query should match the book.

Fun, dark, moody, silly, inspirational, etc.

Let readers know what is in store for them so they know what they’re getting into.

Join me next week for the final part of the Query Writing Workshop. Tips & Tricks, tracking queries, and query pacing.

Listen to the full discussion now on my new podcast!

Write. Publish. Repeat. Podcast: How to Write a Query Letter Without Going Completely Crazy

Is Summer Over Yet?

The family and I have had a lot of fun this summer…

Those who follow me on social media have probably gotten sick of pictures from our Denver adventures, hiking, frisbee golfing, camping, dinosaur bones, and working on our basement. I’m sure they’re glad I held back on photos of the splash pad, weeding the monstrous weeds that keep springing up thanks to the unseasonable rain, or all the other random activities. It’s been a crazy busy, but fun summer, but it’s winding down and I think we’re all just about ready to get back to our regular schedules.

This is what we all feel like by this point, lol!

What’s on the schedule for fall?

An equally busy schedule. My son is joining track and First Lego League, my daughter will be back into soccer soon, they both need swimming lessons, my husband is planning to start a podcast (which I’m really excited about!), I’ve got classes to teach, plus our usual day jobs, and hopefully a family vacation to Disneyland!

What’s on the writing schedule?

Finish up the final details of the AERLING SERIES BOX SET (releasing August 15th).

Finish and prep THE GHOST HOST for release (Sept 2 pre-order, full release Oct 13th).

Get to work on (AND finish) WICKED REVENGE.

Pre-Order (Sept 22) and Release (Oct 6) of THE ONLY SHARK IN THE SEA.

Turn in final draft of SHARK IN TROUBLED WATERS (first week of August, release date pending).

At some point work on various other projects like “Eliza Carlisle Mystery,” “Humanity Chronicles,” unnamed paranormal NA book I will eventually figure out a name for, and probably a few others I’ve forgotten about by now.

What are your plans for the fall?

Not So Wordless Wednesday: Aerling Series Box Set

I’m still working on the final details, but I have exciting news for my Aerling Series Fans!

If you want more Mason and Olivia, get ready for the Aerling Series Box Set. I’m releasing all three books PLUS three exclusive short stories all together!

The Aerling Series Box includes all three books in the series, Invisible, Intangible, and Invincible. As a bonus, this box set includes 3 EXCLUSIVE short stories Aerling fans will only find in the box set. Curious about how Mason and Olivia first met, or about how the Parker family turned out, and what about Mason and Olivia’s future? You’ll only find out in the Aerling Series Box Set!

For those not familiar with the series…

Invisible:

Olivia’s best friend is not imaginary. He’s not a ghost, either. And she’s pretty sure he’s not a hallucination. He’s just Mason.

He is, however, invisible.

Being invisible won’t keep him safe for long.

Intangible:

Mason is not imaginary.
He’s not a ghost, either.
And he’s most definitely not a hallucination.

Mason is an Aerling, and the Sentinels’ number one target.

Invincible:

Mason is not imaginary.
He’s not a ghost, either.
And he’s definitely not a hallucination.

Mason is the one Aerling capable of saving an entire world.

He thought he was going home, but surviving Sentinel attacks and making it back to the Aerling world is only the beginning of Mason’s fight to protect the ones he loves.

The Beginning (Short Story)

Ever wondered what was going through Olivia’s head when she spotted a dirty, crying little boy in her front yard at five years old? See the day she met and took in Mason, and experience everything she saw and felt the day her journey truly began.

First Step (Short Story)

The end of the Aerling war leaves every Aerling on Earth with a choice to make. Stay on Earth…the only home they know…and remain unseen by nearly everyone, or give up the familiar and embrace their new home. The choice isn’t easy for Conner Parker, and an emotional connection to his new neighbor Serena complicates it even more.

The Epilogue (Short Story)

Every Aerling fan wants to know, what happens to Mason and Olivia after the war? Where does Molly end up? What about Shane? Catch up with your favorite characters ten years after the end of Invincible to see what an irrevocable bond between worlds and people has created.

The Aerling Series Box Set will be available on most major ebook platforms August 18th, 2015.

Smashwords

Writing a Query Letter: Part 3

To find the first part of this series, Click HERE. For Part 2, click HERE. To listen to the full discussion on the Write. Publish. Repeat. Podcast, click HERE.

Paragraph Two of the Query Letter

Mini-Synopsis
Similar to the back cover summary
100-250 words

Expand on your hook
Explain more about your Main characters…
Problems/conflicts…
How adversity changes them…

Read back covers of other books for examples!

Paragraph Three: Bio

Brand new Author?
(You may want to skip this)

What to include?
Is it meaningful to the query?
Does it show personality?
Keep it short
Keep it writing related
Education
Work
Personal experience
Research

Publishing Credits/Awards

Awards
- If you’ve won them…INCLUDE THEM
  Don’t be modest, but don’t go overboard

Publishing credits (BE SPECIFIC)
Journals
Online/trade magazines

Unpublished?
You don’t need to say

Academic or Nonfiction?
Shows you know the process

DON’T INCLUDE:
Church news letter, credits unrelated to professional writing

Self-Published: Include or Not Include?

Timing
- It will be discussed eventually
Doesn’t hurt your chances
Be confident
Be ready discuss success/failure
Do you consider it a Mistake/Irrelevant
- Leave it out
Does it make you a more desirable client?
- Depends on success – mention sales numbers, length of time on sale
  - Success to some agents/pub = 5000 sales (per month…)

What NOT to Mention

Social media presence/platform
- UNLESS you have A LOT of followers
- Agents will Google you anyway
Marketing Plan
Years of effort and dedication
Family/friends opinions
Past rejections/near misses
Apologize
Compliment your work
Discuss $$ your book will make

Thank You/Closing

Thank the agent/pub
Time & consideration
Alert agent/pub full manuscript is available upon request
Mention if your book is being considered by another agency
Series potential/written
Include contact information basics
Only offer exclusives for a short time period
Only compare your book to another in terms of style, voice, theme (Not $$)

Join me next week for a discussion on writing a great blurb for your query.

Listen to the full discussion now on my new podcast!

Write. Publish. Repeat. Podcast: How to Write a Query Letter Without Going Completely Crazy