Only 13 Days Until Christmas.
This Weekend Edition We're Celebrating the Release of
The Twelve Brides of Christmas Collection.
Two commenters will win this SET!!
Winners announced in the next Weekend Edition.
Two commenters will win this SET!!
Winners announced in the next Weekend Edition.
Autographed by all 12 authors!
We Have Winners
Giveaway rules can be found here. Please drop us a line to claim your giveaway at seekers@seekerville.net. All prizes not claimed in 8 weeks go back into the prize vault. We wish we could contact all our winners individually, but we'd rather write books! And P.S. - if we forget to send your prize DO let us know after 8 weeks per our rules. Thanks for your patience during this busy holiday and deadline season!
Mary Connealy talked with an accent on Monday.Either that or she talked about accent. Deanne Patterson is the winner of With This Ring. Rachael Koppendrayer is the winner of a signed copy of With This Ring along with a $25 Amazon egift card. Did we mention that this is the FIRST EVER IN THE KNOWN UNIVERSE GIVEAWAY FOR WITH THIS RING Mary's Novella collection release, coming January 5th, with novellas also from Karen Witemeyer, Regina Jennings and Melissa Jagears.
Tuesday was the day to discuss: Is it pantsing? Is it plotting? Or is it something in between? Myra Johnson described her writing process and what she needs to know before typing the very first word of a new book. The two winners of the Audible audio edition of Myra's novel One Imperfect Christmas are Vince Mooney and Wilani Wahl.
Wednesday Janet Dean talked about easing the stress of Christmas preparations in her post entitled “Lets Reflect God’s Light at Christmas.” The three winners of Home for Christmas, are Leslie McKee, Barbara Scott and Marianne Barkman.
Thursday Audra Harders and Ruthy Logan Herne worked together to set the partying table for our New Year's Eve Riotous Celebration on December 31st! The party theme is "Reach for the Stars." Jessica Nelson is the winner of a $20 Amazon gift card!
Next Week in Seekerville
Monday: Uber-productive author Hallee Bridgeman will be sharing her writing method in "Writing in Layers." She'll also be giving away a signed print copy of Christmas Star Sapphire!
Tuesday: How to make your deadlines and have a life. Seriously? Well, sort of. L.A. Sartor talks about the importance of both and how she’s exchanging exhaustion for exhilaration. She will also give away a copy of her latest release, Believe In Me This Christmas Morn.
Wednesday: Love Inspired Suspense author Debby Giusti will reveal how Advent, a time of expectant anticipation, relates to the writing life. Be sure to join in the conversation and the fun as we sip eggnog and munch on fruitcake and Christmas cookies. Leave a comment to be entered in the drawing for one of Debby’s books, winner’s choice, and a surprise gift.
Thursday: Sherri Shackelford is our special guest today. Stop by to chat with the Love Inspired Historical author of the RT Book Reviews 4 1/2 star release, The Rancher's Christmas Proposal. "Her post is called: Writing Through the Pain: When grief explodes into your writing world, how do you survive the aftermath?" Sherri is generously giving away three copies of The Rancher's Christmas Proposal.
Friday: Best of the Archives: Featuring Sandra Leesmith with Devotions for Writers. Comments are closed on Fridays to give you more time to read and write.
Seeker Sightings
Tina Radcliffe will be visiting on December 19th!
The 12 Brides of Christmas Hits the ECPA BestSeller List!
You
are invited to a Christmas wedding...that is, twelve of them! Discover
the joy of an old-fashioned Christmas romance with these twelve
heart-warming stories.
Mary Connealy and Pam Hillman are thrilled to announce that The 12 Brides of Christmas landed on the ECPA BestSeller list
at #12 in November and inched up to #10 for December. Pam Hillman's
contribution to this collection is "The Evergreen Bride." Mary Connealy's is "The
Advent Bride."
On Wednesday, December 16, read one of Myra Johnson's special Christmas memories on Emilie Hendryx's blog, Thinking Thoughts. Myra will be giving away a copy of her Love Inspired romance Rancher for the Holidays plus the Audible edition of One Imperfect Christmas.
Also, Myra's novel Pearl of Great Price is available for just 99 cents now through Christmas!
Pam Hillman is excited to share the cover from her first HARDCOVER! Stealing Jake (hardback link eye candy! lol) officially released in large print hardback from Thorndike Press this week. Major excitement going on in the Hillman household!
It's a month-long Ruthy Spectacular at Donna Mynatt's Blog "Donna's Bookshelf"... All through December Donna will be reviewing Ruthy books and doing weekly giveaways and an end of month, end-of-year giveaway to lucky readers wanting to add more Ruthy (especially Christmas Ruthy!) to their shelves! Stop by any day, follow Donna's prompts, and have your name tossed into the famous Ruthy cat dish!
Random News & Information
Thanks to all the folks who sent links! Another thanks to everyone who checked me for a pulse.
This is the bitly link if you need it: bit.ly/1J0OKHX
Anatomy of a Cover: Romance Novels 2015–2016 (PW)
Five Things That Changed the Publishing World (Steve Laube Blog)
Meanwhile, Back at Square One ( Writer Unboxed)
Rude rejection letters could cost you the next JK Rowling or George Orwell, publishers warned (Independent)
How Instagram Works for Authors (DIY Authors)
Honey, I Broke the Writing Process (Writers in the Storm)
Why We Should Do Bad Things to our Characters (Fiction University)
Getting Amazon Reviews and Keeping Them (FB Ebony McKenna)
Meet the Woman Behind Hallmark's Christmas Movie Juggernaut (Fortune)
Enjoy this Weekend Edition feature during December.
12 Gift Ideas for the Writer in Your Life (Emily P. Freeman)
Hot Chocolate Pops (Mouth)
Novel Loading Mug (ETSY)
Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones (Amazon)
MOD Notebook -syncs to the Cloud (MOD
Foot Warmer Mat (Amazon)
Beverage Warmer (Brookstone)
The Original Stand Steady Standing Desk (Amazon)
Audible.com Membership (Audible)
Scrivener Class (Gwen Hernandez)
The Jane Austen Handbook (ModCloth)
That's it! Have a wonderful reading and writing weekend.
Oh my. I got my Christmas wish fulfilled. HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS!!! Thank you so much Seekerville! Isn't it crazy how much I miss you guys and your comments on the days Seekerville is closed for comments?
ReplyDeleteThank you, Z.TINA for another great WE, as always, I'll be back after a cup of coffee. Sandra, does your favorite come in K-cups, and if so, where can I buy them?
Have a great weekend!
Happy Weekend everyone. Hope you all have a chance to enjoy the Christmas season. I am looking forward to attending a community theater production of A Christmas Carol tomorrow. I also have a busy weekend working at the book store--selling lots of books for Christmas gifts!
ReplyDeleteCongrats to all the winners.
ReplyDeleteOur weekend has started with happy news. Our youngest son proposed to his girlfriend, and she said yes. We are feeling so very blessed!
Happy weekend everybody!
Jackie!!!! SHE SAID YES!!!!! :) That's so cool, happy dancing for you!
ReplyDeleteAnd congrats to all of the winners, that's always so fun to see. I love smiling faces bright and early in the morning!
Sandy, thank you for selling books. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!
Jackie, Congratulations to your son! How exciting!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to all the winners.
Thanks for the links. I changed the way I get into goodreads.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Congratulations to all the winners! I've been away for a couple of days as we thought my mom had a heart attack. She did in a way. They finally found she had blood clots in both lungs that was causing problems with her heart. She has been in the hospital since Thursday and hopefully she will be able to come home today or tomorrow at the latest. We would welcome any prayers form my mom, her name is Dottie.
ReplyDeleteThank you and may God bless you all!
Blessings,
Cindy W.
I meant to say 'We would welcome any prayers for my mom.."
ReplyDeleteI'm heading back to the hospital this morning. I spent the night there on Friday...not conducive for sleep so I had to come home to get rest myself last night.
Cindy W.
Cindy! Putting Dottie on my prayer list. Such a sweet, old-fashioned name. I love it. Did you know that Doc McStuffins name is really Dorothy/Dottie?
ReplyDelete:)
Praying for complete recovery!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHi Marianne, I can't even find Chocolate Velvet at the stores anymore. They changed to some other weird brand. But you can order it online at Smucker's Online Store. I checked and they do have K cups but I didn't check the flavors. They should have it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for missing us. It does seem strange doesn't it? smile
Sandy How wonderful that you work at a book store and sell books. I always thought that would be an ideal job. smile
ReplyDeleteTracey, we have warm Christmas all the time. I love it when it gets cold so I can wear my Christmas sweaters. But that rarely happens. So at least they last a long time. LOL
Jackie Great news. Yippee. Now you get to do a lot of romantic stuff like planning for a wedding. smile
ReplyDeleteCindy So sorry about your mom. I will pray for her. My Aunt's name is Dottie so it will be easy to remember. Hang in there and you are wise to get rest. You need to be strong also so get plenty of rest and eat well. Hugs to you.
ReplyDeleteTracey I can so understand frustration with Amazon. Hang in there. And thanks for checking. It doesn't hurt any of us to keep our eyes and ears open for change.
ReplyDeleteCindy, Praying for your Mom
ReplyDeleteCongratulations winners and the authors of 12 Brides of Christmas! As Christmas is coming closer and closer, I'm so excited for all the festivities. Today is my early celebration with some family members that can't make it on Christmas week and it'll be a blast! Already feeling all the joy and blessings this holiday season. Thank you and Merry Christmas everyone! (I was starting to ramble on...so I'll stop now). Would love to win!
ReplyDeleteChristmas Comes Early!
ReplyDeleteCongrats to all the Winners, which this week includes me! Of all the prizes awarded this month, an audible copy of "One Imperfect Christmas" would be at the top of my list!
I read "One Imperfect Christmas" when it first came out. I thought it was a romance and while I liked the story, I could not figure it out. I kept looking for the hero and heroine to appear! Myra explained that it was Women's Fiction. "It's kind of like romances that don't have to have HEAs."
I remember thinking at the time, "Well, why would anyone want to read a story like that?" And then I got embarrassed when it occurred to me that "Women's Fiction" was literature and that I've been reading literature since I could read. (When I was in the third or fourth grade, my aunt bought me a subscription to a children's book club, and those early books were so well selected by the editors that I was instantly hooked on books for the rest of my life.)
An audible book being read to you is a much different creature than just reading a book by yourself. Some readers can make a book a much better entertainment experience than reading it yourself could ever be. When reading a book everything is created in your mind by your own intuitive skills. When a book is read, by an expert reader with a wide range of voice skills, then a lot of the story is created for you. It's more real. The voice has emotion. You take in the story directly by voice without always having 'he said' and 'she said' to indicate who is speaking.
If you read to learn how to write better yourself, then listening to very well performed audio books can add a new dimension to your understanding of the novel.
Both Myra Johnson and Sandra Leesmith have 5-star readers for their Audible books. (Really good readers like really good authors are not that common.) It might pay you well in enjoyment and increased writing skills, to give a good audible book a try.
Vince
Weekend Question
ReplyDeleteIf one of your favorite authors just came out with two new romances and one was a Love Inspired romance and the other was a self-published Indie book, which book would you choose if you could only have one of them and you were not told anything about either story?
Think about that for a moment.
There is no doubt in my mind which I would pick.
Please give your answer and I'll give mine on Sunday.
I just love the Weekends with two days to comment.
Vince
Happy Weekend, Seekerville Friends!
ReplyDeleteCONGRATS to all the winners, and looking forward to another great week ahead in Seekerville!
Thanks for all these links - - eager to read many of them! :)
After a dismal-looking foggy morning, the sun is shining in my neighborhood!! :)
Time to WRITE!!
Hugs, Patti Jo (who uses waaay too many !!!!) ;)
p.s. If anyone is hungry, I've just cooked some peach pancakes and pecan waffles - - with warm maple syrup and *real* butter - - Enjoy! :)
.
ReplyDelete.
Looking forward to Monday when "uber-productive author Hallee Bridgeman will be sharing her writing method in 'Writing in Layers.'"
This is very interesting to me because for many years I was an advertising copyeditor (copy chief) and I edited in layers. I would also 'edit for' something that could be wrong. Like editing to make sure all talk and all benefits were presented from the buyer's point of view.
If you edit in layers to catch specific problems you have the very best chance to finding and fixing those problems. Now I can't wait to see how Hallee writes in layers.
Once again we have a great WE!
Thanks Tina.
Vince
BTW: I miss the 'Cover vs Cover' WE feature.
Tina, thanks for the Weekend Edition and all the intriguing links. No time to check them out today, as we're heading out this morning. The good thing--I have tomorrow. :-) Congrats to all our winners! Looks like a great lineup next week!
ReplyDeleteSuper Congrats to Pam on the release of her hardcover of Stealing Jake! Also huge congrats to Pam and Mary on making the bestseller list for 12 Brides of Christmas!!
Janet
Cindy W, praying for your mom. Hope Dottie's home soon, feeling good, and you can catch up on your sleep.
ReplyDeleteJanet
Jackie, What fun to have an engagement in your family at Christmas! Congrats to your son and future daughter-in-law!
ReplyDeleteJanet
Hi Myra:
ReplyDeleteI'm 23% into "Rancher for the Holidays" and I am amazed by how accurate and detailed your photography and darkroom descriptions are and how well they jell with my experiences when I was a professional photographer who did his own darkroom work.
If it is not a trade secret, will you tell us how you came by this information?
Vince
Tracey, have fun tonight! Know you'll have a busy day preparing.
ReplyDeleteJanet
Vince, I would have to pick both books if the author was one of my favorites. :-)
ReplyDeleteJanet
Patti Jo, thanks for the yummy breakfast! I'm always happy when you show up in the Seekerville kitchen!
ReplyDeleteJanet
Congratulations to Pam, hardcover is a major achievement.
ReplyDeleteTracy, I know how you feel, it's 50 degrees today. In NEW HAMPSHIRE. We're going to get slammed later on in the season, so I'm enjoying it.
This weekend I have a chapter to read for my crit partner, and I'm working on stockpiling some guest blogs for the future. I have a community Christmas festival this afternoon, a free holiday play tonight, and the Nutcracker tomorrow afternoon.
Thank you, Patti Jo, after that spread I won't eat again today.
KB
Cindy W: Prayers for Dottie
ReplyDeleteJackie - Congratulations!
I'm sorry to have to miss New Year's Eve this year. My Atlanta kids I haven't seen since last Christmas will be home that day. I will enjoy them all I can.
So much good news in the WE. Congrats to Pam! Congrats to Pam again and Mary! Congrats to all you winners!
ReplyDeleteSending wishes for a weekend just like the one you would like :-)
Nancy C
Praying for your mother, Cindy W.
ReplyDeleteJackie - What exciting news!
Congratulations to all of the winners and to Pam and Mary!
Tina - Thank you for the wonderful WE. You've been busy, so it's much appreciated.
Enjoy the weekend everyone. With temperatures in the 70's, I'll be writing outside today!
I was finishing a chapter last night and didn't get to Seekerville.
ReplyDeleteBut this way I had all those links to look at this morning.
Congrats to all the winners!
Here's fresh coffee.
Praying for your mom, Cindy.
ReplyDeleteAnother great WE! Took me almost the whole morning to get through all the links in between those nasty Saturday chores. About to head into the sunshine and warmth and do some gardening...yes in December in Canada!!!!
I want the hot chocolate pops in the worst way! Might have to make myself a cup of hot cocoa...wait...it's too hot for that. LOL
Love the standing desk idea but seriously expensive when you consider how easily you cold make your own.
Happy second last weekend before Christmas everybody!
Hi Janet:
ReplyDeleteYou're a good diplomat but by definition, if you pick both, you get neither one. It's kind of like wishing for more wishes when you are given three wishes from a genie.
Having to pick just one or never being able to ever read either book, will provide the most useful information on this topic.
But that's okay. No one has to answer this question. It's optional.
However, I have no doubt about my choice. It is not even close. Ha!
Vince
Hi Pam:
ReplyDeleteI read and loved and think your, "The Evergreen Bride" is one of your best stories. What's important to note is that both your novella and Mary's "The Advent Bride" can be bought as stand alone books for just 99 cents each. I love to see this option being offered by a publisher and I hope to see many more publishers take the same path.
Vince
Happy weekend everyone!! I imagine there's some shopping going on today. :) But not for me. We did a little a little last night. Today will be a grocery store trip as well as some baking.
ReplyDeleteTwo of the kids will be home on Sunday!! Woo hoo!!
Vince, you're going to enjoy Hallee's post! It's an interesting method for cranking out a story quickly.
ReplyDeleteHope you're feeling better!
Patti Jo, I had to laugh at your use of "real" butter. We always called it that when I was growing up because at the time, margarine was so popular! LOL But we always loved real butter better in my house. And I'm the same today. :)
ReplyDeleteVINCE. In answer to your questions about my photography research?
ReplyDeleteTwo words.
The. Internet.
:-D
Busy, busy day! Dress rehearsal this morning for our annual church Christmas concert. Home for lunch and a short rest before going back for the real thing this afternoon. We are blessed to belong to a church with a fantastic music program--singers, instrumentalists, handbell ringers, liturgical dancers--groups for everyone from tots to . . . um . . . people my age and older. Dare I say we have the best minister of music in the entire Southeast! (Not biased or anything.)
ReplyDeleteCongrats to the winners! An extra Christmas gift this year! I hope everyone is enjoying an extra special holiday season so far! We are having tons of rain here in Oregon.....a little bit of TOO much flooding to go along with that too! I'll just keep paddling my boat :) Merry Christmas everyone!
ReplyDeleteFOORBALL LOVERS NOTICE
ReplyDeleteToday at 3 pm Eastern Time, CBS, comes the Army vs Navy football game. This is my favorite football game of the year. This is America's football game. It's played after all the other college schedules are completed so it can stand alone! (One of my mother and father's first date's was going to the Army/Navy game because my uncle was in Annapolis at the time and could get tickets. Yes, before the war!)
GO ARMY!!!!!!
ReplyDeletePrayers for Dottie and for Vince!!
ReplyDeleteCongrats to the winners! Looks like another fun week ahead..
ReplyDeletetoss me into the draw please.
CONGRATULATIONS WINNERS!
ReplyDeletePlease add my name to the draw!
Hi Tina:
ReplyDeleteI got my uncles mixed up. The uncle at the time of the Army/Navy game was at West Point!
Go Army!
I don't care how many relatives were in the Navy. I'm rooting for the underdog!
Army is ahead at half time!
Thanks Tina. I wish you could be here to share one of my Ruth special cookies! : )
Thanks for all the prayers and cookies!
Vince, You are teasing us again. We have to wait till Sunday to know what you will pick? Oh wait. I see more comments from you. Better go read them. Maybe you got talked into telling us early.
ReplyDeleteCindy I know you will have a special time with those Atlanta kiddoes. Enjoy. We will miss you, but we certainly understand.
ReplyDeleteOh Yum, Patti Jo's Peach pancakes. And real butter. I"m with you Patti Jo and Missy. Its supposed to be healthier for you anyway.
ReplyDeleteWay to go Helen I have to say, my writing is on the back burner. But I do have my shopping and Christmas cards finished. yippee Now I can focus on the writing.
ReplyDeleteHey gang. Slacker alert!
ReplyDeleteI've been at a Christmas party all day. Of all things!
Well I'm home now only to see it's the day to give away a pair of books.
I've got the cookbook and the 12 Brides of Christmas here at the house. And Pam's got another set at her house.
Lots of fun, lots of food. What would be better.
So sorry to be chiming in late. I spent the morning with my daughter-in-law, then the afternoon at a book signing. I hated missing all the chatting today! I'm home for a few minutes before I'm out the door again to church.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like I've suddenly got a life! lol
Thank you for celebrating the release of Stealing Jake in hardback and the 12 Brides hitting the ECPA Bestseller list. It's been a fun and exciting WE! :)
Hi Sandra:
ReplyDeleteNo tease.
I'm going to wait until Sunday.
I don't want to influence anyone before Sunday so as to allow anyone who wants to give an opinion an open field.
The answers and rationale for those answers could be instrumental in creating better marketing approaches for selling Indie books.
Vince
Oh my, Vince what a conundrum. How long is the indie book?
ReplyDeleteI spent the day cutting dough to make noodles. I made the dough yesterday. That's another job out of the way before Christmas!
ReplyDeleteCOVER VS COVER is a Love Inspired feature.
ReplyDeleteYou will find it on their FB page. I only feature it when it has a Seeker.
Here is the link to the LI FB page.
Love Inspired Books on Facebook
Hi Marianne:
ReplyDeleteConundrum undone.
Both the Love Inspired and the Indie book is 58,250 words long.
I hope that helps.
BTW: There is no right answer. Just say which one you would select.
Vince
Hi Tina:
ReplyDeleteThanks. I didn't know that about Cover vs Cover. I tried to check it out on FB but it would not let me see it unless I signed in but if I sign in, FB automatically reinstates years of my FB pages that I don't want to mess with anymore. Too much of a time sink. I need to create a new email account and start a fresh FB page. Then I could visit. This has been very helpful. Thanks again.
Vince
Army lost. So sad.
ReplyDeleteHi Tina:
ReplyDeleteIt is sad. Army could have saved its season with a win over Navy. Yet Army lost the game because of bad decisions, big mistakes, and too many giveaways for an underdog team. Army beat Army not Navy. Navy just didn't make mistakes. Well, wait until next year!
I read Janet Lambert's "Practically Perfect" when I was a kid, and that was my first Army/Navy game experience! Penny Parrish in NYC, the game at West Point, she stumbles into the beginnings of what will be a career on Broadway... I loved that book, that series! Vince, thanks for the memory!!!!
ReplyDeleteOkay, I'd pick the indie and here's why: I like the unexpected. I savor the larger realm. I love Love Inspired books, and I love working for them, but I also like stretching boundaries and when you're writing category romance, your boundaries are firm.
Now having said that, it would have to be an indie in genre. I'm not a person who would be at all amused to jump into an author's indie and find out it wasn't a sweet, clean read, even if it's under a different name. For me, that's a dealbreaker even though I know a lot of people do it.
Congrats to all of the winners! Please put my name in for the drawing!
ReplyDeleteHi Ruth:
ReplyDeleteThanks for your very well reasoned support for the Indie over traditional publisher romance.
I felt I had to name a well respected Traditional publisher for my example in order to make the choice real. However, selecting the Indie book should in no way be considered a criticism of Love Inspired.
We're just talking one choice here. You can have one of two books by the same author. Which would you pick if you could only have one of them? This even happens when you win a choice of books from a given guest author. It's not that deep. : )
Also, let's assume that both books, the Love Inspired and the Indie, both present the same level of romantic passion as the author is known for writing.
I think you pointed out one of the important strengths of Indie books. In marketing it's important to empathize the strengths while mitigating any perceived weaknesses of each type of publication.
Thanks again. I wish you were here so I could reward you with a great cookie! : )
Vince
After thought: what are the odds that pantsers will pick Indie and plotters will pick Traditional?
Thanks for all of the sweet comments about Scott and Kelli.
ReplyDeleteVince, I'm glad you love the cookies!!! :) BIG SMILE HERE, BAKED WITH LOVE, MY FRIENDS!!!
ReplyDeleteYou know, I'm going to take your question further.
I'm going to wonder if it isn't the pantser/plotter difference, but rule-breakers vs. rule followers????
And is that a simple personality "Don't Boss Me Around!!!!" difference? :)
And when I can't break the rules, I like to figure out how to stretch the weavable borders to make the story my own.
I expect we all do that. But I think some of us are.... SIGH.... Naughtier than others!
:)
Our Herne family Christmas party is here today... So fun to see all the relatives, all the kids, growing up, and the grown up ones! Fun, food and frolic... well, as much frolic as you can do in a crowded house in December!
ReplyDeleteI love doing parties. And then I love sleeping afterwards, LOL!
Chocolate Cream and Eggnog Cream pie for everyone!
Indie, after I read you comment, Vince. The thing I have against Indies is mostly the editing, but any favorite author of mine would overcome that.
ReplyDeleteHi Vince, Ruthy and Marianne , I have to agree with Ruthy and Marianne in that an indie book is very likely going to have some deeper elements than are accepted in the LI reads. They are pretty strict and firm on their guidelines which is definitely understood because of their audience and credible marketing. I am a plotter btw and would still pick the indie if it was an author I already like.
ReplyDeleteIn the past, I have critiqued with some of the best authors around and know from reading their work that wasn't accepted by traditional and is now out there in indie and doing exceptionally well. Ruthy ahemmmm!!! And other Seeker's work.
One of my favorite books of Ruthy's was never accepted by traditional and is still selling well on indie.
This is not to say that I do not like LI books. I love them.
Okay Vince. Will check back later for your input.
Ruthy Your party sounds like fun. We have our big family party with hubby's family on the 26th.
ReplyDeleteI love watching all the children grow up so fast each year. smile
My Take on the
ReplyDeleteWeekend Question
"If one of your favorite authors just came out with two new romances and one was a Love Inspired romance and the other was a self-published Indie book, which book would you choose if you could only have one of the books and you were not told anything about either story?"
I would select the Love Inspired book because I've known and enjoyed the LI product for over ten years.
I can depend on the publisher to deliver a well edited and fact checked novel. I also know that I will be satisfied with the product even if I am not delighted with any given story.
As for Indie books, well, I've read a good number now that were major disappointments. This includes fine authors who also publish traditionally.
Some of these books had major errors that I think a good editor would have caught. While many, if not most, readers would not recognize these errors, they can still ruin the enjoyment in reading that book.
I know that some authors can point to Indie books that are selling well and which were turned down by several Traditional publishers. Yet, even with these books, I've found major problems.
Here's one such problem. When a book with a major flaw, that a traditional publisher would not allow to be published, gets released as an Indie book and goes on to sell a lot of books, the author may think that all is well. Thus the flaw may never be uncovered and the same problem may occur in future books.
No problem, right, if most readers don't 'see' the flaw? Not exactly. Some of the readers will notice the flaw and not trust that particular author again. You can see how bad this can be for a Traditional publisher, like Love Inspired, because that 'lack of trust' can spill over to all the books in that publisher's line. That's why successful Traditional publishers maintain strict guidelines.
So an author can be selling a lot of Indie books which have flaws that still 'seem' okay but in the long run may result in a loss of readers for that author.
I've had enough of these bad Indie experiences to become leery of Indie books in general. Yes, yes, I know Ruth and Julie have had wonderful 5-Star Indie books that I've delighted in reading. It is these good experiences that keeps me reading Indie books.
Remember: this question assumed that all things were equal. Often they are anything but equal.
For example, if I heard that a favorite author, who had only published Love Inspired books up to that point, had both a new Indie book out and a new LI book and I was asked, "Which of these two books would you pick", I'm sure I'd pick the Indie just to see what that favorite author was up to. I'd jump to get a Debby Giusti Indie CID romance involving Catholic chaplains, when as a general rule, I would have selected the new Love Inspired.
The traditional decision would be based on reasonable expectations while the Debby decision would be based on curiosity.
This just shows there are many reasons to read a book. The better we understand those reasons, the better we can direct our marketing.
Vince
I always look forward to Seekerville and I like that weekends are different, including links and names of contest winners. Seekerville folk are very encouraging.
ReplyDeleteRegarding Vince's question- haha I'd have to know why I could only have one. It would have to be that either my bookstore was out or the internet was down because that is the only way I'd be stopped from having them both. Who can resist a favorite author?
Joking aside, I agree that it's very disturbing to find errors in the indie books and it can be a real turn off but even worse is finding errors in print books because we know they were supposed to have gone by an editor. I love print and indie. I tend to read print more slowly but I take indie every place (and I mean every place) so I read way more indie books than I do print books. My daughter loves the audible books and even listens to them when we're taking care of the horses. I see value in all three types.
Barbara Fox, indie can be but is not limited to Ebooks.
ReplyDeleteVince, I totally agree, but you did say equal, and I trusted you
Happy weekend Seekers and Villagers & congrats to this weeks winners!
ReplyDeleteTo answer Vince's question.....my choice would be LI hands down. NOT that I don't enjoy indie books, because I have read/enjoyed my share, but because LI is my go-to book out of all the ones available out there! Inquiring minds wanted to know, there you go :-)
Looking ahead to another great week. I don't know about you, but seems to me Christmas comes way to quick anymore!
VINCE I would reject the restrictions and find a way to get both. just see if I don't!
ReplyDeleteIt's my own personal version of the kobayashi maru
Special Thanks to All Who Took Part in my Weekend Question
ReplyDeleteI can see that this group is much too creative for an ordinary hypothetical question. I needed to add to the question these two provisions:
The two books are the only two in existence and after you select your choice the other book will instantly go out of existence with no possibility of ever being brought back into existence.
If you fail to make a choice within 17 minutes, both books will be gone forever.
Now it becomes a question of survival! Which book would you save? The Indie or the Love Inspired.
This might be a better way to get to the heart of the question.
Vince
Congrats to the winners! Looks like a great upcoming week.
ReplyDeleteSo many exciting links to follow this weekend, I'm really wondering how you pack them all into one post. I absolutely love seeing all the exciting Christmas cover books. So beautiful and so many to look forward to reading. It's so exciting to see so many of the author's I love with new releases or new releases releasing early in 2016. Please count me in for the The Twelve Brides of Christmas Collection giveaway. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteDeanne P.
Toss me in for the Christmas collections! I wonder why I don't enjoy these great Christmas
ReplyDeletestories all year long..
Merry Christmas & congratulations to all the winners!