Today Author Debra E. Marvin is visiting our blog and giving away a copy of her new book. Here’s a little about her.
Debra E. Marvin tries not to run too far from real life but the imagination born out of being an only child has a powerful draw. Besides, the voices in her head tend to agree with all the sensible things she says. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Sisters in Crime, and serves on the board of Bridges Ministry in Seneca Falls, NY. She’s released “Alarmingly Charming” in Austen in Austen Vol 1 from WhiteFire Publishing, and “Desert Duet” and “Starlight Serenade” from Forget Me Not Romances, after many unpublished contest successes including two finals for the Daphne DuMaurier award. Debra works as a program assistant at Cornell University, and enjoys her family and grandchildren, obsessively buying fabric, watching British programming and traveling with her childhood friends.
DEBRA’S SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:
Reviewers Needed Please!
by Debra E. Marvin
Thank you for inviting me to your blog, Tamera! I enjoyed learning more about you and your recent release at our recent online event with Colonial Quills.
Here’s what’s on my heart: Reviewers. Reviewers are so very important to an author’s success, and yet actually enlisting reviewers was one of the last things I thought of through many years of writing. I was thrilled to become part of a group blog (Inkwell Inspirations) about six years ago, and would have given up long ago without their collective guidance and encouragement. They are a major part of my writing journey.
Sadly, after I’d begun to sell books, I still didn’t understand the importance of reviewers. I’d heard about “tribes” and I’d watched authors worry and work their way through marketing, but when my first book went up on Amazon, I held my breath waiting for the magic to begin. Surprise. Nothing happened. I did some marketing (not a lot!) and I asked a few people to read my book. I sent out a couple digital copies. But it seemed to be dead in the water. People I’d asked to read and review weren’t quite getting to the point of actually reviewing it. Or, worse… I thought they didn’t like it. (Ahhh. The worries when the new books exists in a vacuum!)
Book two: I was ready! I marketed all over the place. Gave away books, asked for reviews, went from blog to blog to blog. I begged people to review. I had a bit more success, but not much. Amazon supposedly has an average of 500 new books a day. To get noticed, one has to work hard, have incredibly good luck or get arrested—preferably in an international incident. Hard work was my option, so I spent six weeks marketing my book. Sadly, over half the people who say they will read and review don’t. I understand that in a way. I’ve accepted books I never got around to reviewing. Sometimes it’s because I lost interest, but mostly it’s a matter of time.
Book three: I came out of the gate with blazing marketing and blatant begging. I’d read everything I could on marketing, watched webinars and spent every spare minute wondering how I could better market my books.
And somewhere, things started to click. I’ve made more connections and readers who are willing to review. They won’t all review, and they won’t all love my books. But it’s a slow and steady growth. For each person who actually reviews, I want to jump up and down and send them chocolates and flowers. Review writing can be simple (the way I do it) or classy (the way I wish I could do it.) Both kinds of reviews make me happy!
Starlight Serenade
The Englishman would look back one day and blame it all on Jazz…
Flagstaff, Arizona 1930. Full-time Astronomer, and part-time sharp dresser Julian Dyson didn’t discover Pluto but he does discover a nasty case of self-righteousness when a former Ziegfeld Girl’s folly threatens his good name.
Broadway understudy Clara Longworth and her peculiar younger brother are on their way to a new life in Hollywood when they are stranded along Route 66. Clara is asked to fill in as nightclub entertainment, but her good intentions set her up as accomplice in the blackmailing of a government man who makes the real thugs look classy.
Until Julian and Clara put their heads together for more than dancing the Black Bottom, their big-as-the-night-sky dreams are on target to fail. Maybe they need a telescope to see what’s right in front of their starry eyes.
You can buy Starlight Serenade at this link.
Debra is giving away an eBook copy of Starlight Serenade next Thursday. To be entered in the drawing, comment answering this question: Readers, do you take the time to review books? Do you feel confident about it? What kind of encouragement would help you make that step? (Please let me know if I might add you to my newsletter list. It only goes out when I have a new release.)
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