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Celebrate the Small Things!

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly celebration created by VikLit to celebrate the happenings of the week, however small or large. You can learn all about it and sign up for it here. CelebrateSmallThings_Badge

It’s been a snowy week up here in Vermont, thanks to a coastal storm that doesn’t seem to want to go away. I guess the good thing about it is that we should now have a white Christmas! This week I’d like to celebrate:

  1. Snow days! My kids enjoyed their day off from school because of the storm, and we have two odd-looking snowmen on our lawn to show for it.
  2. I received paper samples in the mail from Ingram/Spark who will be handling the printing and distribution of my book. Very exciting!
  3. I’m just about done with my Christmas shopping! Yay!

What other celebrations are going on out there?

 

 

 

 

© Lori L. MacLaughlin and Writing, Reading, and the Pursuit of Dreams, 2014. All rights reserved.

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Celebrate the Small Things!

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly celebration created by VikLit to celebrate the happenings of the week, however small or large. You can learn all about it and sign up for it here. CelebrateSmallThings_Badge

I missed last week because I was out of town enjoying a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with family. This week I’m celebrating:

  1. The fun visit with my brother and his family, up from PA, last weekend. Family time is always worth celebrating!
  2. A birthday party for my daughter this weekend! She’ll be turning 15. Wow, 15. How did that happen??
  3. Sneaking in another trip to IHOP while Christmas shopping with a friend. Yum! 🙂

What other celebrations are going on out there?

 

 

 

 

© Lori L. MacLaughlin and Writing, Reading, and the Pursuit of Dreams, 2014. All rights reserved.

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IWSG — To Review, Or Not To Review…

Today’s the day for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group (IWSG) where, on the first Wednesday of every month, writers get together to share their insecurities and offer encouragement. The IWSG was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh, and you can learn all about it and sign up for it here. IWSG_Badge

I will soon be sending out ARCs and requesting advance reviews for my fantasy adventure novel, Lady, Thy Name Is Trouble. I know that getting reviews is vital if I want my book to rise above the obscurity that self-publishing can bring. A solid word-of-mouth campaign is essential for an Indie book to succeed.

So it stands to reason that if I’ll be requesting reviews, I should be willing to give them in return. I’ve never written a book review because of the horror stories I’ve heard about authors who took offense at not-so-shining, albeit honest, reviews and retaliated by trashing the reviewers’ books, giving them terrible one-star reviews on all the online sites, and having their friends do the same.

The thought of going through something so devastating has persuaded me to keep my opinions to myself. However, I don’t feel that it’s fair of me to ask other writers for reviews if I’m not willing to reciprocate.

I would love to know how other writers feel about this. Do you write reviews? Do you ever worry about the bad apples out there trashing your books?

I would also like to thank the IWSG for putting together the Insecure Writer’s Support Group Guide to Publishing and Beyond – Available Now! Thank you! Can’t wait to read it!

 

 

 

© Lori L. MacLaughlin and Writing, Reading, and the Pursuit of Dreams, 2014. All rights reserved.

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Celebrate the Small Things!

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly celebration created by VikLit to celebrate the happenings of the week, however small or large. You can learn all about it and sign up for it here. CelebrateSmallThings_Badge

I actually had some time to wind down this week, which was really nice for a change. I’m celebrating:

  1. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug extended edition! It arrived in the mail a couple of weeks ago and I finally had a chance to watch it.
  2. The cover design for my upcoming fantasy novel is almost done!
  3. Thanksgiving vacation from school! My brother and his family are coming up again from PA, so we’ll be spending a few days with them.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

What other celebrations are going on out there?

 

 

 

 

© Lori L. MacLaughlin and Writing, Reading, and the Pursuit of Dreams, 2014. All rights reserved.

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My Big List of Book Reviewers

Laekan Zea Kemp very kindly shared her list of indie/self-published book reviewers that took her many, many, many hours of work to compile. I would like to personally thank her for her generosity!

laekanzeakemp's avatar

As an indie author I know how difficult promo can be when you’re doing it all on your own. I spent the past three months sending out hundreds of emails, prepping blog posts, creating media kits, formatting review copies, and corresponding with readers and bloggers in preparation for my book tour for The Girl In Between and it’s during times like these that I’m reminded why self-publishing is not the easy way out. I’m mentally and emotionally exhausted but promo is just another part of the job and an important one seeing as obscurity is an indie author’s greatest adversary. The good news though is that there is an entire community out there of book-lovers turned bloggers who are willing to help authors in any way they can.

When I started sending out review requests for my first novel two years ago I had no idea how difficult it would be…

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Celebrate the Small Things: More Video!

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly celebration created by VikLit to celebrate the happenings of the week, however small or large. You can learn all about it and sign up for it here. CelebrateSmallThings_Badge

I know Friday is long gone, but this week I would like to celebrate more video! I made another trailer for my fantasy novel, Lady, Thy Name Is Trouble. This one is more of a character study, rather than a preview of what the story is about, like my last trailer which you can see by clicking here.

I thought this would be a more interesting way of introducing my main character, Tara Triannon. Any and all feedback/comments are appreciated. Thanks!

What other celebrations are going on out there?

 

 

© Lori L. MacLaughlin and Writing, Reading, and the Pursuit of Dreams, 2014. All rights reserved.

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Celebrate the Small Things!

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly celebration created by VikLit to celebrate the happenings of the week, however small or large. You can learn all about it and sign up for it here. CelebrateSmallThings_Badge

I don’t know where this week went. It seems like a minute ago it was Monday. After going back and looking at my calendar to see what it was that I did this week, I’m celebrating:

  1. I actually remembered to set the clocks back an hour last weekend. I know that sounds silly, but my forgetting to change the clocks has become a running joke in my family.
  2. I had a parent/teacher conference for my son and he’s doing great! My daughter is getting straight As, too, even in math. I’m so psyched and really proud of them!
  3. I made progress winterizing my house.

What other celebrations are going on out there?

 

 

 

© Lori L. MacLaughlin and Writing, Reading, and the Pursuit of Dreams, 2014. All rights reserved.

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IWSG — Best Time To Publish? and New Book Release: Wickedly They Dream

Today’s the day for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group (IWSG) where, on the first Wednesday of every month, writers get together to share their insecurities and offer encouragement. The IWSG was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh, and you can learn all about it and sign up for it here. IWSG_Badge

I’m getting close to publishing my fantasy novel, Lady, Thy Name Is Trouble. If all goes well, the big event will happen this winter.

Realizing this, I began to wonder, in general, what the best time was for new book releases. What month or time of year for a release date generates the most sales? Or does it really make a difference? I’d love to hear about others’ experiences with this and why they chose their publishing dates for their books.

And on this line of thought, today’s the exciting release date for Cathrina Constantine’s new book:

**Happy Release Day**
**GIVEAWAY**

 Wickedly They Dream
Genre: Paranormal Thriller/Fantasy
Publisher: Black Opal Books
Grab it today for only 99 cents! 
HERE

 How Far Will Jordan go to rescue her mother. It will cost her everything–even her angel, Markus!

Buy Links: Amazon
Black Opal Books

Author Cathrina Constantine resides in Western New York. When not with her family, you’ll find her in the forest behind her house walking the dogs and conjuring a new tale.
You can find Cathy Here:
Amazon
Facebook
Goodreads
Twitter
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

 

 

 

© Lori L. MacLaughlin and Writing, Reading, and the Pursuit of Dreams, 2014. All rights reserved.

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Book Trailer, Take Two

Based on comments on my first attempt at a book trailer for my fantasy novel, Lady, Thy Name Is Trouble, I did some more Photoshop work, swapped out a couple of photos, and added text to the pics that had none.

Is this an improvement? Or should I just leave it the way it was? If you have time to watch both, please let me know what you think in the comments.

Here’s a link to the first one: https://lorilmaclaughlin.com/2014/10/28/book-trailer/

Thank you!

 

 

 

© Lori L. MacLaughlin and Writing, Reading, and the Pursuit of Dreams, 2014

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Celebrate the Small Things!

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly celebration created by VikLit to celebrate the happenings of the week, however small or large. You can learn all about it and sign up for it here. CelebrateSmallThings_Badge

It finally stopped raining for a few minutes so I was able to get my lawn mower cleaned up and get my outdoor things put away before the big freeze that I know will be coming soon. We’re supposed to have snow showers this weekend. Ugh. Not something I want to celebrate. What I would like to celebrate:

  1. Happy Halloween! We’ll be out trick-or-treating with good friends.
  2. I finished my first book trailer! You can see it here: https://lorilmaclaughlin.com/2014/10/28/book-trailer/
  3. A trip to IHOP — my favorite place to eat — to celebrate the trailer’s completion!

What other celebrations are going on out there?

 

 

 

 

© Lori L. MacLaughlin and Writing, Reading, and the Pursuit of Dreams, 2014. All rights reserved.