Women Writers and Their Share of the Market

    Three of the most popular women writers of all time are; J. K. Rowling (450 million books sold in the Harry Potter series + movie rights), Danielle Steel (800 million books sold (best seller of all time in Romance genre), and Stephanie Meyer (100 million for her Twilight series + movie rights). What makes them special? They are all different in their style of writing, yet they draw a huge audience.
    I believe what sets them apart is the connection they all have with the readers who chose their books. People want to escape from the real world for a variety of reasons, so they delve into magical places or romantic lives of imaginary people. When a writer can bring the pages of a book to life, and readers can go beyond the paper its written on, then you have a winner.
    These women have not only cornered the market with their great stories, they have overcome a market that was at one time predominately a man's world. The writing world is changing. The ebook market has hit the world by storm, but you still need to have a great story that people will want to read.
    Watch the newcomers like Amanda Hocking (420,000 sold and counting) and Alice Sebold (118,583 sold) and see where they are headed. Alice is just behind John Grisham in sales with her book Lovely Bones. The writing world is changing faster than speed of light and women writers are ready for the challenge.

FRACTURE The Secret Enemy Saga

Genre Anyone?

   Does your novel or story cross the genre lines? Is it something like this; my book is a contemporary paranormal romantic young adult thriller fantasy. Phew! Say that three times fast.
   Todays modern novels do not fit into the simple guidlines of yesterday. There is still the basics, but then you have a vampire who is from another world, who falls in love with a human being who finds out she can use magic and they fight the zombies and the mafia together.
   Catagory my dear? Who knows. I'm going to bed.  

from Shellwy Hitz's Self Publishing Coach blog

FRACTURE The Secret Enemy Saga by Virginia McKevitt

by Virginia McKevitt
(Georgia, USA)

Hi Shelley,

Thank you for the opportunity to talk about my book marketing strategies.

First of all, I am new at this game, so reading what other authors have done to market their books and make them successful was critical for me. Sites like yours and other experienced writers have been a tremendous help to someone such as myself. That said, here is what I have learned:

The internet is a virtual marketing smorgasbord avenue. I have put my book and myself on every social media site I can find; Facebook, twitter, Goodreads, She Writes, and the list continues on and on. I feel the best of these however is Google+ and Facebook. There seem to be a wider audience for me there.

I haven't stopped there though. I have created a blog and even a book trailer for my marketing campaign, and am now hunting reviewers with a rabid zeal. I connect with other bloggers and new writers whenever I can and try to pass on what I have learned.

It's hard work because you don't have the backing of a big house on your side, but you do have the satisfaction of knowing you are doing all you can to get your book, and really you out there.

FRACTURE The Secret Enemy Saga has had three 5 star reviews at Amazon.com and is waiting review currently on several sites. The challenges are huge, but I'm confident that I can meet them, after all I just published my first book.

Thanks again, Shelley

That Book Cover-how important is it, really?

   There are plenty of post out there on this subject and here's one more. If you don't think your book cover is important then you are selling yourself and your book short. I went back and forth over simple or striking for days, probably weeks before I decided what route to take.
   I knew what I really wanted. I wanted that reader to look at my cover and say WOW! So what was the next step. Do it myself? Maybe, but that's not what I decided. It took me awhile but my search was worth it. After perusing the internet I discovered Deviantart (great place) and found my cover artist, Char Marie.
   After a few emails and chats we were on the same page and the results were amazing. What a great person to work with. The cover has drawn so many to my book that it is amazing. I have even had people who don't read fantasy tell me the cover peaked their interest and once inside the pages they were glad it did.
   So, how important is that cover? It might be the most important step you take, second to writing your book. If you would like that kind of interest go see what Char has to offer.
   http://www.wix.com/wicked_art/wicked-cover-designs