Debra Holland: Introducing Montana Sky Kindle World

One of the greatest satisfactions I have in life comes from helping others—whether it’s in my role as a psychotherapist, a corporate crisis and grief counselor, or as an author. I spend a lot of my time mentoring and sharing information with other authors.

I’ve also indie published a Christmas anthology of stories by myself and guest authors set in my Montana Sky Series, which I knew could help all of us cross-promote. So in 2014, when an Amazon rep first approached me about the possibility of establishing a Montana Sky Series Kindle World, I was intrigued by the concept.

Amazon Kindle Worlds are fan fiction contracted stories written by guest authors. In my case, authors write stories in the Montana Sky Series, which includes my Mail-Order Brides of the West books. The Montana Sky series books range from stirring sweeping frontier romances to small, heartfelt stories of an individual overcoming obstacles and loss.

But when I was first offered my own Kindle World, I knew I wasn’t ready at that time. I had a few books I wanted to finish first, including Mail-Order Brides of the West: Prudence, which introduced readers to the mining town of Morgan’s Crossing--a two days ride from my small town of Sweetwater Springs. Having the two towns in my KW would give authors a larger scope for their stories.

Before opening this world, I thought about whether I could let go of the characters and towns I’ve created. Once I decided I could adopt a “hands-off” approach, I felt ready to jump into this opportunity and have fun!

After I first contracted with Amazon to have a Montana Sky Kindle World, I reached out to historical or contemporary Western romance authors to see it they wanted to write stories in my “world.” Most of these authors were already friends of mine, or I knew them from the Pioneer Hearts Facebook group. In addition, I’d read and enjoyed some of their books.

I wanted my guest authors to be able to tie their own series into mine. So in these KW stories, readers will see familiar characters from my books as well as characters that may have a connection to a guest author’s series. Aside from providing some guidance about my series, I haven’t had anything to do with writing these books. They will be as new to me as they are to the readers.

The awesome fourteen launch authors have primarily set their books in the mining town of Morgan’s Crossing, although some of the characters pass through Sweetwater Springs on their way to the mining town. I’m looking forward to reading these authors’ stories! Explore the books at:

The authors are:

Kirsten Osbourne

Louella Nelson

Linda Carroll-Bradd

Caroline Clemmons

Merry Farmer

Crystal Green

Cassie Hayes

Paty Jager

Sylvia McDaniel

Patricia Thayer

Carré White

Kit Morgan

E. Ayers

Cynthia Woolf

To see their books and to learn more about writing in the Montana Sky Series Kindle World, go to: http://debraholland.com/kindle-worlds.html

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=node%3D6118587011&field-keywords=montana+sky 

Debra Holland is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author of the award-winning Montana Sky Series (sweet, historical Western romance) and The Gods’ Dream Trilogy (fantasy romance.) Debra is a three-time Romance Writers of America Golden Heart finalist and one-time winner. In 2013, Amazon selected Starry Montana Sky as one of the Top 50 Greatest Love Stories. When she’s not writing, Dr. Debra works as a psychotherapist and corporate crisis/grief counselor. She’s the author of The Essential Guide to Grief and Grieving, a book about helping people cope with all kinds of loss, and Cultivating an Attitude about Gratitude, a Ten Minute Ebook. She’s also a contributing author to The Naked Truth About Self-Publishing.  For more information on her fiction books go to: http://debraholland.com

Debra Holland: Self Publishing: Don't Forget The Basics

In the rush to jump on the self-publishing wagon, many new authors often neglect some basics. The advice to have your book professionally edited is so prevelant on the internet and in books on the topic, that it’s hard for anyone to miss that important tip. A good developmental edit AND a copy edit are important for the quality of the story. But before readers even get to the content of your book, they have to become hooked by your cover and blurb. And when they sample your story, they should see the book is perfectly formatted.

It’s not uncommon for new authors who've only been published for a few months to write to me (or to a Yahoo or Facebook group I’m in) and bewail their lack of sales, in spite of having put time and expense into marketing. When I look at their covers and blurbs, or read a sample of their book, I can immediately see their problem—the book isn't presented in a professional and engaging manner, thus turning away potential readers.

The book cover is often what first catches a reader’s attention. A common mistake I see is either the book cover doesn't look professional (as if it came from a traditional New York publishing house) OR it doesn't do a good job of conveying to the reader the genre or sub-genre of the book.

I recently had someone show me the covers for the first two books in her series and tell me how pretty her friends thought they were. I agreed they they were pretty, but I could also see they didn't match to indicate they were a series, nor did they convey the books were dark paranormal romance.

Spend some time looking at the successful books in your genre or sub-genre to see what the covers are like. Ask experienced self-published friends to give you feedback about your cover before you slap it on a book. Show your cover to readers and ask if they can guess the genre or sub-genre.

The blurb or product description is the next stumbling block for readers. Too often the authors throws in far too many names/characters and details of the story and may not do a good job of conveying the genre. When writing a blurb, the author should stick to describing the goal and conflict, as well as what’s at stake. Typos and mistakes will make your readers think your book will have the same problems.

Avoid using descriptions that will tell the reader what his or her experience will be--for example, words such as fast-paced, gripping tale, tear-jerker, awesome story. The place for those kinds of words are in quotes from reviewers before or after the blurb, i.e., “This book is a fast-paced, gripping tale that made me laugh and cry. An awesome story.” (Make sure to add the reviewer’s name and/or the review site to give the quote legitimacy.)

I once had an author write to me wondering why my books were so successful, and her’s weren't, especially since she was an English teacher with better qualifications than I had. However, when I read her blurb, I saw two errors and had a hard time understanding what the story was about. She obviously hadn't done the research on how to write a compelling product description, nor had anyone proof the blurb.

Once your book is formatted, check how it looks on a Kindle and other e-readers. A sample will show a reader not only the content of the story, but the formatting. Poor formatting makes a story look unprofessional and difficult to read. There have been times when I've downloaded a sample of a book, but the poor quality of the formatting stopped me from reading the content.

I’m sure those of you reading this blog have seen covers or product pages that turned you off to certain books. What are some of the things (besides cost) that keep you from buying a book?  Share your thoughts and I'll give away a digital copy of Sower of Dreams to one random commenter.

Debra Holland is a New York Times bestselling author of the Montana Sky Series, sweet historical Western romance, and The Gods' Dream Trilogy, fantasy romance.