Welcome back! This is newsletter number three. If you’re new, feel free to check my blog for previous installments. In this one, I’m going to talk a little about the release of The Firebreather’s Curse and give some updates on the series. I’ll get into some of the behind-the-scenes activities I’ve been up to, trying to get word out, and some opportunities for readers in the future
If you’re a new subscriber, I’m Katy. I write YA urban fantasy, and my five-book series The Talismans of Teregrin is being published by Future House Publishing. My first book released in June, and the second just came out on September 1st. I’m a former junior high and high school English teacher, English/journalism major, who currently works at home as a full-time caretaker for my son with special needs. I live in Ohio with my wonderful husband and our two adorable boys. I probably don’t get enough sleep, and I drink way too much coffee to compensate.
Updates:
· Book One, The Talismans of Teregrin, is available on Amazon.
· Book Two, The Firebreather’s Curse, is my new release and is now also available on Amazon.
· Book Three, The Menace of the Morphers, has been submitted to the publisher.
· Book Four, The Door of Hope or Peril, will enter my first round of edits this week (I hope!)
· Book Five, The Trials of Agemo, will go through a similar process once I finish with four.
Release:
I LOVE this cover! It’s so eye-catching…probably the fire, ha ha. The Firebreather’s Curse came out on September 1st, and so far, everything has gone pretty smoothly since the release. Despite delays, a few of my ARC readers have binge-read the story and already posted reviews—so huge win! Having those reviews makes such a big difference. So, if you’ve read either Book One or Book Two, please don’t forget to leave a review. I don’t read reviews unless I’m tagged in a post about them. I completely believe that reviews are for readers, and it’s not my space. To celebrate the release of Book Two, I ran a few different paperback giveaways for Book One, two on social media and one on Goodreads. I posted one to TikTok and one to Instagram, and though I didn’t get a very large response (probably due to my incompetence with the algorithm), I drew two random winners this past Tuesday. And I’m ecstatic to have two new readers introduced to the series. That’s so exciting! Because I didn’t get a lot of entrants on social media, I was nervous for the Goodreads Giveaway I’d scheduled. I found myself hoping for a hundred people, maybe. My month-long giveaway, however, has already accumulated over 2,000 requests in the first few days! I’m stunned and so very grateful. The giveaway will run from September 2nd – October 2nd, so there’s still a lot of time for people to enter and for the word to spread. My small press book that couldn’t get one agent request in the query trenches is actually marketable! Who would’ve thought?
Behind-the-Scenes:
I mentioned in my last newsletter that my brother and I have been working on a personality-type quiz for my website that will allow readers to determine what gifting they’d have if they were an Experiment. For two hours this last week, that quiz was done and live on my website.
But then we realized that the software we used to make it doesn’t offer much in the free version. We were given 10 quiz submissions before we’d have to start paying a monthly fee, and even that had limits on submissions allowed. With both of us testing it out, we’d already accumulated 5 quiz submissions, so we had to take it down. We’re starting over from scratch, but if you’ve ever written a book or queried, you know this isn’t necessarily a waste. We found a way that doesn’t work. And I still need to get my merch figured out anyway.
Speaking of merch, once I have some, I’m hoping to put together a street team that will help me post about the series on social media. In return, these people would have the option for ARCs, paperbacks, and choice of other swag…I’m hoping for some shirts, mugs, bookmarks, etc. But right now, I don’t have the incentives set up yet, so anything I get is out of the goodness of people’s hearts. And I have been fortunate to come across some really kindhearted readers who have been willing to enthusiastically post about the series just for the love of it. Such a blessing.
Now that the kids are back in school, I’m hoping to finally resolve my bookstore issues. If the formatting continues to cause delays, I’ll be asking libraries/stores to order directly from FHP or see if they’ll be willing to do consignment. And very soon, my publisher should be sending out promotional posters to my school contacts list. I can’t wait to see what the art team created! If you have any school connections and you’d like a poster, let me know.😊
So, stay tuned! Exciting things are in the works.
Katy
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