Horseshoe Publishing has launched its new website and we are ready for business! All of our services are 25% off until the end of the month!
New Website!
Our new website is coming this week! Any authors with new books coming out contact us so we can get you on the calendar!
Is your cover hurting sales?
That’s a loaded question, but a good one to ask. When designing a cover, we always look at the book material. If it’s a romance, well you want to cover to sell romance. If it’s sci-fi well it should spew sci-fi. I’ve seen so many covers that just didn’t impress me enough to look any further. That’s unfortunately the way most readers pick a book. If the cover pulls them in, they grab it up.
My very first book was published with a somewhat horrible cover that I threw together way too quickly. Of course now I know better. I have a cover designer that works with me on all my covers and the one’s that we design through Horseshoe. We get to the heart of the book and try to make the story come alive in the cover. Remember, this is your top selling point.
Do your homework? Go to book sites and check out different covers in your genre. Check out the fonts used, the pictures and the special effects. You can really wow a reader with the perfect cover. It’s a great promotional item for your book.
If you have no clue how to even start with the process, then contact us here at Horseshoe Publishing. We’re always glad to step in and help out. We will design the cover around your book, your ideas and make it your very own. Right now we’re offering a Spring Into Action 20% discount on all our services. Check out some of our covers on our Pinterest Site at www.pinterest.com/horseshoepublis.
Good luck with your writing.
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Day 1 of Romancing September Across The World Blog Tour
Welcome to Day 1 of the Romancing September Across The World Blog Tour. The question I put out to all of these authors was “What challenges do you face in writing romance in today’s society?”
Don’t forget to go over to Rosie Amber’s page and check out her page too. I’ll put the link at the bottom of this post.
Today my guest author is Marin Thomas. A big thanks to Marin for blogging with me today. Here is a little about Marin and her book Twins Under The Christmas Tree (The Cash Brothers Series) coming out October 2013.
What Challenges do you face writing romance in today’s society?
When I read your question my first thought was… each year I get older, but my heroines and heroes stay around the same ages.
Perhaps the biggest challenge for me in penning romance novels today is writing characters and plots that keep…
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Romance Authors
It’s funny the looks you get when you tell some people that you’re a romance author. Some smile and ask what you’ve written, looking interested. Then you get the ones that roll their eyes and say “You write that crap?” That really just makes me steam over.
Romance novels are one of the biggest selling genres out there, but we still get the stigma of writing romance hoopla so to speak. I would like for one of those that roll their eyes to come on over and sit in one of our shoes for an hour of editing. They’d be saying, hey, I get it. It’s not that easy.
Writing is an art. Either you have it or you don’t. I’ve noticed over the years different writers come and go. They give under the stress of promotion and sales flucuations. It’s definitely not a get rich quick scheme, so if…
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How do you set a release date?
Have you ever wondered how to set your release date? It’s a scary time for me. I want everything to be perfect, well as perfect as it can get. The cover has been ready for month or so, but the writing has been in a rat race.
Now that Smashwords.com offers preorders on their site and Other retailers, it’s important to get it out there a little early, but how early? For me I think 15 days or 1/2 a month. But others do prereleases up to several months.
As for me, I went with 15 days, but it’s entirely up to the author. I may opt for a longer preorder period with the next book. I will see how the first preorder goes. I’ll be letting you know how it goes throughout the process.
Don’t forget to check out the services we offer. If you’re a author and you need help, just message us. If you opt in for the whole package we give 10% off. For a limited time we’ll also offer a 10% discount if you choose more than one service.
Come on over and check us out. You won’t be sorry. Also check out the Blog Tour sponsored by Rosie Amber and Stephanie Hurt. It starts September 1st and goes for 30 days straight.
http://rosieamber.wordpress.com/
Want more time to write?
I know as a writer you need more time to write. If you have to stop and edit or create that awesome cover, then you miss out of writing time. If this is a problem, then why not check out our services here at Horshoe Publishing.
Take the guess work out of the cover. Let us design you a great cover that will turn heads. Make a bold statement or soften the mood. Whatever you want, we will strive to give.
Want a cool book trailer video? Then talk with us about getting it designed. Video Trailers get to the heart of your book without giving too much. You can tell more in a trailer video than on the back of the book, so tell it. Let us help you.
Hope you’re having a great writing day.
3 Ways Indies Can Improve Self Publishing
As a writer I see a lot of writers come and go in the spot light. It’s amazing how many books are appearing on Amazon and Smashwords daily. When I started publishing my work last year you could stay on the front page of new releases for at least 24 hours. Now you’re lucky if you stay there for 24 minutes.
I’ve found out a couple of things about some of this craziness and that’s the indie authors that haven’t done their homework. Here are 3 of the many ways indies can improve self publishing and the stigma that goes with it.
1: Editing. How many times do you edit your book? I know how exciting it can be to get to the words ‘The End’ and want it out there right then, but that’s a mistake. Make sure you read your work several times and one of those needs to be out loud. I recently went in and revised one of my first published books due to the fact that I put it out there way too fast. Editing is a very important part of the publishing process and as a self publisher that’s up to you the writer.
2: Cover Design: This is critical. When I look back at my first covers that I designed, I seriously laugh. They were so boring and uninspiring, but being an accountant I didn’t train on creative design software. That’s when I put me assistant to work as my cover designer. She took one look at my work and said ‘not happening’. She went to work and designed the awesome covers that now grace my books. This is the first thing that a potential reader sees. If it doesn’t inspire them, they will go on to the next book. Make sure it’s relevant with the book and make it vibrant. Check out my covers at stephanie-hurt.com.
3: The Book Blurb: As a self publisher this is solely your responsibility. This is one of the hardest things to do for me. Don’t get too out there. Make sure it’s very expressive and use lots of expressive words, but don’t give a lot away. If you give away the ‘who done it’ then there’s no sense reading the book. Make several different ones and have some other people read it. See what they think.
This is just a few of my ideas, but you can take it as you may. This is one reason I started this publishing service company. I want to help other authors with their craft. Sometimes a second set of eyes is a big help. If you don’t have to worry about the design of the cover, you can continue to write.
I’ve started a Newsletter to help authors get their name out there. It has a author interview, 3 books showcased, some writing tips and much more. If you’re interested in receiving this newsletter please send me your email address. Also indicate if you’d like to be spotlight author or put your book on one of the issues.
Have a great Friday…
Calling All Authors!
Good Wednesday Morning. Well it’s back to raining here in Georgia. But this post is not about the weather. This post is about a newsletter that I’ve started.
It’s going to be called “Fresh From The Book” and is sponsored by my publishing service company Horseshoe Publishing. The newsletter will consist of a author interview. With the interview the author can showcase one book and a synopsis. Then we will be showcasing 3 books from different authors. They can be in any genre. Also in the newsletter I will be choosing different writing oriented subjects to weigh in on. May throw in some polls on subjects that you my followers and friends can weigh in on.
I’m hoping to start this in August, but I need your help. I need authors to interview and authors for the book showcase. If you’re interested in participating and/or receiving the email through email, please message me with your email address. Some of you I have the email address, but I want to make sure.
I think it will be an exciting way to spread the word about other authors and also to have a voice in this crazy world of writing. I’m really excited about this project. At the moment the newsletter will be once a month, but if I get a good response I will up it to either every other week or even every week.
But the choice is yours. It’s free advertisement at it’s best. Come on over and join us for some fun.
Let’s start a trend…
Horseshoe Publishing 