When young real estate agent Sandra Lejeune receives an anonymous letter threatening her family, she leaves her home in Cypress Bend, Louisiana and travels to England, intending to warn her estranged mother. But first she has to find her. Sandra starts her search in the Suffolk coastal village of Eden Cove, untangling memories and mysteries along the way. Who sent the letter? Her father’s shady business partners? The private investigator Sandra previously hired? Or someone else entirely?
She came to warn her estranged mother of danger. But will the cost of unraveling family secrets be too much to bear? If you love domestic suspense with romance, you’ll love The Key Collector’s Promise.
Award-winning author Donna Jo Stone delivers a tale of domestic suspense infused with family drama and a dash of southern charm. You can purchase The Key Collector’s Promise: A 1980s Suspense with Romance on Amazon, which released on September 6, 2024.
The Key Collector’s Promise is part of the Our House on Sycamore Street, a new multi-author, multi-genre series set in quaint and quirky Eden Cove, an English seaside town with plenty of spirit. With stories of redemption and salvation behind every door, you’re sure to find a new tale of romance, intrigue, humor or heart. All you have to do is knock!
Donna Jo Stone writes southern-flavored novels for the inspirational and general market for adults and young adults. Her stories are often about people facing tough times. Not all of her books have romance but when they do, the romances are sweet. No graphic language, sex, or violence, just plenty of heart-tugging emotion with endings that leave readers with a sense of hope.
When she’s not writing or reading, she spends her time hanging out with family and friends, and occasionally visits bookshops and fabric sales.
You can learn more about Donna Jo by visiting her at donnajostone.com.
Almost an Author is pleased to announce book releases this month by two regular columnists, Lori Z. Scott (Mastering Middle Grade) and Norma Poore (Writers Chat Recap).
Offsides by Lori Z. Scott
From the publisher:
Danielle Stephens expected her senior year to be challenging, with her final season of soccer, a strained friendship, and a new crush. But she didn’t expect to uncover a human trafficking ring in her town. When an older man seems to be grooming her young neighbor, Dani is determined to keep the girl safe. Except if Dani doesn’t watch her own back, she may be the next victim.
With a mixture of humor, poignant honesty, and human trafficking awareness, award-winning author Lori Z. Scott fields a tough topic in an age-appropriate way. Offsides kicks off its debut with a big score, boasting three #1 new release banners on Amazon, including the Teens & YA Christian Relationships category.
Besides her bestselling Meghan Rose series, Lori has published over 200 articles, short stories, devotions, and poems for magazines like Brio and Focus on the Family. She has also contributed to 15 books, including Writing and Selling Children’s Books in the Christian Market. In 2022, Lori introduced a new YA series. The first book, Inside the Ten-Foot Line, is a Carol Award YA semi-finalist, Golden Scroll Youth Book of the Year winner and Illumination Book Award medalist. The second book, Offsides, promises even more action and humor.
Elementary school teacher Lori Z. Scott usually writes fiction. Her down time is filled with two quirky habits: chronic doodling and inventing lame jokes. Neither one impresses her principal (or friends/parents/dogs/casual strangers), but they do help inspire her writing. Somehow, her odd musings led her to accidentally write a ten-title bestselling chapter book series and on purpose write over 175 short stories, articles, essays, poems, and devotions. Lori enjoys speaking, leading workshops, and visiting local elementary schools to share her writing journey. Follow her on Instagram @Stories.by.Lori .
Abba’s Lessons Compiled by Dee Dee Lake
From the publisher:
Thirty stories…thirty unique lessons to bring you hope, comfort, and learning.
Jesus used fishermen, prostitutes, the rich and the poor, the sick, the young and old to teach the principles of the kingdom of God. Today, Abba Father is no different. He uses real people with real issues to bring you healing, instruction, and understanding.
In Abba’s Lessons, you’ll find thirty stories of people from all walks of life—an adoption attorney, a wedding planner, Bible leaders and pastors, military wives, and more. Each story brings a special lesson we can apply to our own lives. Lessons of surrender, forgiveness, humility, pride, judgement, praise, trust, letting go, God’s will, anxiety, and so many more.
Sit for a minute. Read these stories and experience learning from Abba the way He did it in the Bible and come away changed.
One of the contributors in this devotional anthology is our A3 Managing Editor, Norma Poore. You can order your copy at Cross River Media.
Norma Poore
Norma Poore has lived through difficult circumstances, and allows her journey to fuel encouragement for the hurting. Her inspirational nonfiction is penned with honest transparency and hope from God’s Word. As a respected member of the publishing community she’s an award-winning author. Married 40 years, has six children, and eleven grandchildren. Connect with her at NormaPoore.com.
As I wrote this article, I got an email from my publisher letting me know that the pre-order sales of my book Inside the Ten-foot Line earned three #1 bestselling banners on Amazon. Wow! Which leads me to believe I might have an insight or two to offer about the whole publishing process.
Keep in mind, every author’s path to publication differs. Some things I mention might resonate with you. Others may provide an ah-ha moment. You can also visit Kelli’s article on three lessons she learned on her way to publication.
My story is too long for a single post, so this month, I’ll explore the birth of the idea and draft process behind Inside the Ten-foot Line, and next month I’ll target what happened after the manuscript was complete.
The Idea
While there is no hard and fast rule for finding an idea for your book, write what you know is a good starting place. I took that advice and made a list of all the topics that interested me. I compared that to a list of topics that might interest my target age group to trim down my options. I mean—I know a lot bedtime routines. And while that’s a great topic for picture books, it’s less palatable for a middle grade novel, right? (Unless I work a hilarious bedtime routine into a scene where my protagonist is dealing with pimples and self-doubt.)
For me, one theme continued to rise to the top and melded well with the interests of my reader. Sports.
Question: What idea rises to the top for you?
Action: Check out another article on content issues from Kelli McKinney.
What’s Out There
Where does your idea fit in the current market? What other books will sit on the shelf next to yours? I found my answer in the local library. Sports had its own special identifying sticker and location in the building, making it easy for me to pull down and compare titles. Books geared for male athletes dominated the genre. However, even though the niche offered only a handful of books for female athletes, the market showed recent growth. And that was promising.
Question: Does your book can fill a gap in the market?
Action: Visit a library and look for books with a similar idea to yours.
Know the Genre
Determined to balance the scales, I read through several books, looking for similarities in plot, mood, and resolution. Most used sports as a setting to deal with larger social or emotional issues. After dissecting a whole stack of novels, I had a good idea of how to move forward.
Question: What genre are you writing? Contemporary? Speculative fiction? Historical fiction?
Action: Do your research. Take time to read books you will find next to yours on the shelf.
Write the Story
I wrote an outline for the plot using one paragraph descriptions for each chapter. Then I took one summary at a time and expanded it into a full chapter. This loosely structured approach left room for my characters to nudge (or throw) the story in a new direction. And trust me—when they take on a life of their own, they will! When that happened, I could easily go back to the summaries and adjust the plot accordingly.
Even though my book addresses social issues, I also made sure to pack plenty of sports action into the plot. In that way, I catered to my target audience.
Question: Will your story be written in first or third person?
Action: Create a detailed outline for your story.
That’s where the series started for me. How about you? Stop back next month to find out what happened after I completed my manuscript.
Elementary school teacher Lori Z. Scott usually writes fiction. Her down time is filled with two quirky habits: chronic doodling and inventing lame jokes. Neither one impresses her principal (or friends/parents/dogs/casual strangers), but they do help inspire her writing. Somehow, her odd musings led her to accidentally write a ten-title bestselling chapter book series and on purpose write over 175 short stories, articles, essays, poems, and devotions. Lori enjoys speaking, leading workshops, and visiting local elementary schools to share her writing journey. Follow her on Instagram @Stories.by.Lori .
I’m excited to share my new release, Fountains and Secrets, with my Almost an Author family, along with a few things I’ve learned along the way.
The Book
Introducing a new mystery set in the world of the early church. Fountains and Secrets is the second book in the Livia Aemilia Mystery series. Like the first book in the series, Fountains and Secrets features a spunky female sleuth and her sassy sidekick, who aren’t afraid to be a little unconventional in pursuit of the truth. They are aided in their investigative endeavors by a motley collection of friends, servants, and a couple of strays (human and feline).
For readers who enjoy mysteries and historical fiction with a touch of humor, Fountains and Secrets is quirky, clever, and engaging tale of identity, purpose, and hope.
And what have I learned about writing and promoting as I’ve worked through bringing two books to print? There are too many lessons to share in one post, but here are three I hope will encourage you as you continue on your author journey.
Writing a series isn’t as easy as I thought
In the mystery genre, series are normal, so I had planned from the beginning on writing a series of Livia Aemilia books. I was expecting the second book to be easier, since I already knew the main characters and had a feel for the tone and setting.
It didn’t turn out that way.
Working on the first book, my heroine’s voice seemed to come naturally, so I assumed it would come as naturally in the next one. Nope. It took me several false starts before I dialed in the right tone for Fountains and Secrets.
I thought that after having written one mystery, plotting the second one would be easier. Maybe. I think I had a better idea of what would make a good mystery story, but actually plotting the book proved just as challenging as my first attempt. Apparently, I still have a lot to learn about creating a plot from scratch, which means I must do a lot of rewriting along the way to until I get a plot into shape.
Despite these challenges, I persevered. With the help of good feedback, my characters came to life again and the plot eventually fell into place.
I hope my experience will encourage any of you who are struggling with your next writing project. Book two wasn’t as easy to write as I’d hoped, but early feedback says it’s a better story than the first book.
And that tells me the work was worth it.
Generosity and networking are important.
As in most of life, you reap what you sow. At some point you will need to have kindhearted authors who are willing to support you in a promoting your book in some way. How do you find these magical people?
First of all, you need to meet them and interact with them. This could be a face-to-face conversation at a writers conference, or it could be a relationship built over time while corresponding online through a writer’s group or through writing for blogs like Almost an Author.
Next, you have to be generous in promoting and supporting other writers. When you do willingly promote others with no strings attached, you are advancing God’s kingdom by helping get truth out into the world.
Opinions differ on the value of entering your work in writing contests. Some experts say that it’s a waste of time to enter your book in any but the most prestigious contests.
I disagree.
I admit that becoming a finalist in a writing contest hasn’t made a significant impact in book sales, BUT (and this is a big but) it has made a significant impact on my author journey. Among other things, placing in writing contests boosts your resume, may snag the attention of an agent or publisher, and is noteworthy news that can be used in press releases and social media.
In addition to the practical reasons, being named a finalist in a contest, no matter how small, can make a difference in the tender heart of a writer. Winning an award in a small writers’ conference is worth something to our creative souls, regardless of whether it ever shows up on a resume or in ad copy.
Now for my experience with contests. I entered several manuscripts over the years in the ACFW First Impressions and Genesis contests. Each gave me valuable feedback on the manuscripts. On my third attempt, I was thrilled to become a finalist in the Genesis contest (mystery category). Shortly after that, I was offered a publishing contract for the manuscript, which became my first novel, Death and a Crocodile.
At my publisher’s suggestion, I entered the book in several contests, and was named a finalist in several of them. I cannot tell you how much it means to a beginning, completely unknown author, to be able to say that my book won an award. It was a validation of both the book and of me, and if gave me a much-needed boost of confidence to promote my book to bookstore owners and others.
Finally, it feels really good to be able to write “award-winning author” and “award-winning book”!
An engineer-turned-mystery-writer, Lisa E. Betz infuses her novels with authentic characters who thrive on solving tricky problems. Her debut novel, Death and a Crocodile, won several awards, including Golden Scroll Novel of the Year (2021). Her second novel, Fountains and Secrets released January 2022, from Redemption Press.
Lisa combines her love of research with her quirky imagination to bring the world of the early church to life. She and her husband reside outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with Scallywag, their rambunctious cat—the inspiration for Nemesis, resident mischief maker in the Livia Aemilia Mysteries. Lisa sorts book donations at the library, directs church dramas, eats too much chocolate, and experiments with ancient Roman recipes.
It has never been easier to publish a book thanks to the rapid advancement of technology. Goodreads and Amazon are some of the best platforms for new authors, most of whom are unknown and inexperienced. Most writers have no idea about what it takes to release a book. Publishing a professional, well-written, and memorable book is a process.
As a writer, you’ve probably published some of your books. Perhaps you have completed writing another book and you want different results when you finally release your creativity to the world. Here are eight things that you should so before releasing your book.
1. Write a great book
According to college papers, every reader wants to invest in great books. While this point may appear simple, you’ll be surprised by the number of poorly written books that have already been published. Don’t be too excited to release your book without ensuring that it’s good. People will hate the book and the author. And you’ll end up hating yourself.
How can you be sure that your book is good? If you are happy with the plot, characters, and the flow then you are one step closer to having a good book. However, reading the book alone is not the most effective solution. There are people who can spot errors that your eyes can’t see even if you read your work fifty times. You need beta readers to help you out.
2. Find beta readers
Beta readers are people who read your book from cover to cover and give you an honest opinion. Some of these readers might be writers. And others might be people who simply love reading. You give them a free book for their honest opinion.
It can be surprisingly difficult to find people to read your book especially if it’s too long. Some will say they don’t have enough time to read. And others will want to read without having to look for mistakes. Avoid asking the following people to point out mistakes in your work:
Best friend: Even if they are willing to help, there’s a chance that they’ll never find time to read it. You’ll keep pestering them and they’ll always come up with excuses or worse, avoid you.
Your mum: Your mum is always going to love the work of your hands. Your mother is the best choice if you want to be complimented. However, not the best choice if you want honesty.
Your spouse: People who are close to you are the least likely to be completely honest with you. They have already accepted you with all your strengths and weaknesses.
You should ask:
Writers: Writers understand their craft. You should go for experienced authors because they’ll quickly notice your mistakes. They can also offer constructive criticism and suggestions of what you need to improve and how to go about it.
Editors: Editors love reading books. Some of them won’t charge you anything for reading your book. Editors are experienced in pointing out mistakes. They won’t hesitate to tell you what needs to be improved.
Today, it’s quite easy to find beta readers. They have formed groups on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. Other platforms to find experienced writers and editors include research paper writing service, assignment help and essay reviews. For other people to read your work, you must be willing to read other people’s work.
3. Criticism shouldn’t hurt
Don’t send your book to an experienced writer or editor and expect them to shower you with compliments. They won’t unless they are close to you.
Criticism is a free gift that improves the quality of your book. Some people will just trash your book without any valid reason. Instead of feeling awful, ignore such people. However, if you get comments such as “continuity error in Chapter X Paragraph Y, then you’ve got some work to do.
Criticism can hurt. But it’s one of the most effective ways of improving your skills. Take criticism well and make the most out of it. If one reader can spot mistakes and leave honest feedback, it’s highly likely that others will feel the same way.
4. Find more beta readers
After correcting your work, send it more beta readers. Hopefully, some of your original readers will be interested in reading your revised manuscript. This is good because they’ll let you know if the changes you made have improved your book. And other things that you need to add. Honest feedback can be a pain in the ass. But it’s an important process if you want readers to take you seriously.
5. Find a copy editor
According to dissertation help service, if you are self-publishing, you’ll have to hire a copy editor. The best part is, you’ll get to choose an editor who is ideal for you. A copy editor will check for things like repetition, word choices, and get rid of weak sentences. Beta readers will not do this for you. But a copy editor will greatly improve the quality of your work.
6. Hire a proofreader
All the stages that we’ve discussed are important. And can be skipped if you are an experienced writer with a loyal following. However, proofreading is a must. Since our eyes are usually blind when it comes to finding our errors, a proofreader will help you fix typos, punctuation, spelling, and grammatical errors. Unless your book is short and you are a professional proofreader, it’s always good to hire someone.
A study conducted by Dissertation Today found out that close to forty percent of books that you’ll find on shelves have never been proofread. They are full of spelling mistakes, incomplete sentences, and tense confusion. And they frustrate many readers. To avoid joining this club, hire a proofreader to polish your work.
7. Get a captivating cover
The cover is the first thing people look at before picking a book. Believe it or not, a lot of readers judge a book by its cover. Therefore, it’s important to hire a professional designer to help you create a good cover for your book. Ensure that the designer takes into account the main points in your book. You don’t want your creativity to be hidden behind a poorly designed cover.
8. Format
Self-publishing a book requires a lot of formatting work. The font has to fit properly on e-readers like Kindle. The cover size has to be perfect. It’s better to work hard and eliminate errors before releasing your book than after you’ve released it.
Conclusion
After completing all these steps, you’ll have a professionally written manuscript with a great cover waiting to be published. And you can start calling yourself an author. The more you write, the easier this process will be.
Kurt Walker is a skilled freelancer and editor at a professional writer service in London. He is one of the many UK essay writers specialized in essay writing and assignment help. In his spare time, Kurt plays the guitar and takes his dog Shay for a walk.
Almost an Author is pleased to announce the recent release of Border Breach by Mystery/Suspense/Thriller columnist Darlene L. Turner.
Border Breach. A new title from Love Inspired Suspense
When drugs are smuggled across the border
it’s their duty to stop the culprits…at any cost.
Forming a joint task force, Canada border officer Kaylin Poirier and police constable Hudson Steeves have one objective: take down a drug-smuggling ring trying to sell a new lethal product. But when the smugglers come after Kaylin and Hudson, this mission becomes more than just a job. Can they live long enough to solve the case?
Darlene L. Turner is an award-winning author and lives with her husband, Jeff in Ontario, Canada. Her love of suspense began when she read her first Nancy Drew book. She’s turned that passion into her writing and believes readers will be captured by her plots, inspired by her strong characters, and moved by her inspirational message. You can connect with Darlene at www.darlenelturner.com where there’s suspense beyond borders.
Darlene is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency.
Adventures in Fatherhood—60-Day Devotional by Carlton Hughes and Holland Webb
From the Publisher:
Being a great father is not for the weak of heart!
It’s an adventure every step of the way. Whether you’re fixing boo-boos and
changing diapers, or coaching soccer and carpooling teenagers, you’ll find
spiritual insight and practical advice in this devotional by Carlton Hughes and
Holland Webb. The authors blend personal experiences with humor and spiritual
application to encourage you, dad, to do your best for God and for your family.
Ellie Claire’s devotionals offer short inspirational
readings, paired with inspiring quotes and Scripture verses to encourage your
heart.
Scheduled for release on April 7.
Carlton Hughes
Carlton Hughes, represented by Cyle Young of Hartline Literary, wears many hats. By day, he is a professor of communication. On Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings, he serves as a children’s pastor. In his “spare time,” he is a freelance writer. Carlton is an empty-nesting dad and devoted husband who likes long walks on the beach, old sitcoms, and chocolate–all the chocolate. His work has been featured in Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Dating Game, The Wonders of Nature, Let the Earth Rejoice, Just Breathe, So God Made a Dog, and Everyday Grace for Men. His latest book is Adventures in Fatherhood, co-authored with Holland Webb and released by the Elle Claire imprint of Worthy/Hachette Publishing. He is a founding columnist at AlmostAnAuthor.com and is also a contributor to InspiredPrompt.com.
Holland Webb:
In March 2004, Holland Webb received the life-changing phone call that he would be adopting two boys, ages three and four. Since that day, as a single dad, he’s had several more life-changing phone calls—from the principal, the children’s pastor, and the highway patrol. Holland couldn’t be more proud of his boys, Geoffrey and John-Paul. They have found adventure in the mountains of Guatemala, the deserts of Morocco, and the cornfields of Iowa. They now live in South Carolina, where the boys are entering adulthood and Holland is entering his dotage. A full-time freelance writer, Holland produces content for businesses, marketing agencies, and universities. He also writes for Devozine and Keys for Kids and cohosts a podcast called The Afterword: A Conversation about the Future of Words.
New from Authorpreneur columnist JP Robinson! In the Midst of the Flames is the second book in the epic Northshire Heritage trilogy which spans the full duration of the first world war. Publisher’s Weekly called In the Shadow of Your Wings (Book 1 of the trilogy) “an immersive beginning to a series that will appeal to fans of war dramas.” JP Robinson writes Christian historical and political fiction. As an author with a penchant for thrillers, he sets high-stakes scenarios against the backdrop of biblical themes.
Back cover blurb
Europe is burning.
As the fires of the Great War rage across the European continent, the Steele family is caught in the midst of the inferno.
Estranged from his wife, and haunted by a lie, Malcolm wonders if he can ever find forgiveness as he begins the long journey home to Northshire.
Meanwhile, Leila desperately searches for a way to escape her past life as a spy—and the German agent who has been sent to kill her—as she struggles to save her marriage.
Determined to save his family, Thomas risks everything in a high-stakes political gamble, jeopardizing the entire Allied cause and bringing Britain to the brink of obliteration, as British spymaster Robert Hughes plots his downfall.Will everything be reduced to ashes? Or does God still protect those who, through faith, walk into the midst of the flames? Bio:
JP began his writing career as a freelance journalist, then moved on to the fields of B2B, B2C and entrepreneurial marketing. In addition to frequently leading workshops at Christian Writer’s conferences, he now heads Logos Publications,LLC an emerging publishing house and author-focused marketing ally.
Moving into the fields of Relationship and Geo-marketing, JP has assisted renowned medical and non-profit groups achieve their promotional goals. He holds degrees in both English and French and is a state-certified teacher of French and History.
Together with his wonderful wife, JP runs Fearless Marriage, a ministry dedicated to Christian couples. When he isn’t writing or teaching, JP loves spending time with his wife and children. Connect with him, watch videos and more on his exciting website: JPRobinsonbooks.com.
Marketing isn’t exactly an author’s favorite job. After all, aren’t writers supposed to keep producing books and rely on their publishers to sell their books for them?
That used to be the case. But now, agents and publishers search to sign with authors who understand how to market a book. They want to trust that the writer will be committed and work hard toward placing their book in front of its target audience.
This is why it’s vital that aspiring authors don’t just learn how to write a book; they must also learn how to create a marketing plan. And yes, it’s smart to do this even before your book is contracted.
For my clients at Hartline Literary Agency, I like to walk them through the process of creating a marketing plan in their proposal. A plan they can put into action when the book releases.
Most writers, I’ve noticed, only include brief promotional ideas under the “Marketing” section of their book proposal. But rather than writing a brief paragraph about a few of your marketing ideas, why not create an action plan—just like you’d do if the book were preparing to release?
Doing this will do 3 things:
Prove to the editor that you know what it takes to market a book.
Increase your chances of selling the book to a publisher.
Make marketing easier for you once the book is released. How? Because you’ll already have your plan in place.
Even if you haven’t reached the book proposal creation stage, I highly recommend that you go ahead and begin crafting the first draft of your marketing plan.
That way, once it’s time to put your marketing section together for your proposal, you won’t be tempted to write the following paragraph:
“To market this book, I’ll hold book signings at bookstores and sell the book at writing conferences. Some other ideas include: hold giveaways and contests on my social media accounts, do a blog tour, and speak at schools and libraries.”
Please do not write that into your book proposal. If you really want to stand out and impress the editor, then you’ll want to create an actual marketing plan.
Here’s how:
Categorize your plan into the type of marketing.
For example…
ONLINE MARKETING
PRINT MARKETING
TV/RADIO MARKETING
CREATIVE MARKETING
SPEAKING
PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS
Beneath each category, list about 3 – 7 steps you’ll take once the book is published. Be specific by listing the newspapers, magazines, radio stations, etc. that you’d like to reach out to once the book is published.
For example:
ONLINE MARKETING:
Arrange a 10 – 30-stop blog tour surrounding the release of the book
Submit articles to teen websites, such as [list here]
Hold a 15-day Instagram challenge using the hashtag #PursueYourDreams
Invite my street team to read an early copy of my book in exchange for an honest review
Plan a book cover reveal with my street team members
As you create your marketing plan, keep in mind that you are not expected to do it all. If your marketing plan is too extensive, then the editor probably won’t take it too seriously. Be sure to write a plan that you will put into action. Make it realistic and reasonable by giving ideas that you know you can follow through with.
Only choose marketing efforts that 1) you’re passionate about, 2) you can logistically put into action, and 2) that will reach your target audience. Even better if your marketing strategies can intersect the three!
My advice? Familiarize yourself with how to market a book. Don’t wait until you have a contract. Not only will this impress an agent/publisher, but it’ll also take pressure off of yourself once you do sign a contract and begin navigating the intimidating waters of marketing.
Who knows? You might even discover that you enjoy the idea of marketing more than you thought you would!
What are your favorite marketing strategies? Do you enjoy the process of marketing, or would you prefer to spend the time writing instead? Let me know in the comments!
[bctt tweet=”How to Create a Marketing Plan for your Book—Before it’s Contracted #writerslife #amwriting @TessaEmilyHall ” username=””]
