Second Chance Playlist

Here are 15 songs that I listened to over, and over, and over while writing Second Chance. Some are more Dylan-esque, others definitely inspired Gray. Here's the playlist (I also added the music links below, if you want to listen):

1. You Don’t Know How It Feels—Tom Petty
2. Kamera—Wilco
3. Give You Hell—The All-American Rejects
4. Mr. Brightside—The Killers
5. Can You Tell—Ra Ra Riots
6. Shot in the Dark—Augustana
7. Kick Some Ass—Stroke 9
8. Missed the Boat—Modest Mouse
9. Airstream Driver—Gomez
10. You Always Make Me Smile—Kyle Andrews
11. Do it Again—Stroke 9
12. Chinese—Lily Allen
13. Desire—Ryan Adams
14. Wildflowers—Tom Petty
15. Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright—Bobby Dylan

Okay, That Was Terrifying

Self publishing has become one ongoing experiment. It’s strange to step back from the traditional publishing house and do this all myself, but it’s also a great learning lesson.

I experimented with a few free promotions the past two weeks. I gave free copies of Second Chance away on Friday, September 14^th, but I didn’t really publicize it. I just posted a quick comment on Twitter, then I turned off my computer and tried not to think about it. I drove out to Crater Lake, Oregon, where there is zero cell phone service or Internet. Here are a few pictures from the trip. Not a bad getaway destination...

 

When I got back on Sunday night, I noticed 250 people had downloaded my book during the promotion. I felt pretty good about it, but then I started poking around other sites and realized that number is pathetically low for a free giveaway.

So, I tried it again, and gave away free copies of Second Chance for two days. This time, I publicized the event. I contacted a couple of sites, like Pixel of Ink, Ereader News Today, and Free eBooks Daily (there are a TON of sites out there that do free marketing; I got dizzy just looking at the lists). I contacted about twenty bloggers, my agent, and even Houghton Mifflin Harcourt was kind enough to tweet about it.

In just the first day of this promotion, 4,000 copies were downloaded, it made the top fifty books in Kindle, and made a number one spot in a Kindle category. I stared at the number—4,000 free books! Instead of feeling ecstatic, I wanted to ball my eyes out. Seriously, I'm such a drama queen. It felt so strange to give so many copies of my book away for free, but people keep reminding me it’s great publicity. Well, here’s hoping.

I guess the point of all of this isn’t to hit high rankings or make a bestseller list. I’m just proud of this book and I think it deserves a spot on people’s bookshelves. I’m trying to prove to my publisher that it’s worth picking up. I want to hold this book in my hands, so I hope this will create the buzz I need to make that happen. I also LOVE GRAY AND DYLAN. I have never had so much fun spending time with characters.

If you do download it, tell your friends about it, or write a positive review for me. 

Finally, and most importantly, thank you thank you thank you to all of my friends and fans who helped to spread the word about my promotion. I wish I could take every single one of you out for a glass of wine. Maybe someday.

~Katie

One Final Promotion

I really want to be lazy tonight and watch Modern Family, or rewatch Anne of Green Gables for the billionth time, but Dylan and Gray are bugging me to do some more publicity for Second Chance. So, I am publicizing one final giveaway. Second Chance will be free to download on Amazon (here) for the next two days (September 19^th and 20^th). As of Friday, it will cost $3.99. I think my pregnancy is making me overly generous or something, but go ahead and take advantage. If you do download it and enjoy it, tell your friends to read it. That’s all I ask, yo.

PLEASE spread the word about this giveaway on any blogs, Goodreads, Twitter, Facebook…you get the idea. Pass the love around.

 

 

Second Chance

Well, so far it sounds like people are enjoying Second Chance!  I love this book—I could seriously write Gray and Dylan forever, but, there will only be one more book in the dramatic saga that is their relationship. You can order the book here. 

Thanks for all of the kind reviews and comments people have been sending me.   Writers need their readers like birds need wings, so THANK YOU.

I have a Second Chance blog tour in the works for the first week of November. I will post details as soon as they’re finalized, and thanks to everyone who showed interested in participating!

~Katie

Read Second Chance, FOR FREE

I'm playing around with some of my promotional options on Amazon and one is a free promotion, which I'm trying out. So...

Second Chance will be free on Amazon today. Yes. Free! The promotion ends at midnight PST. Feel free to spread the word.

Follow this link to download the book. Write a nice review if you like it.

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Wow...That Was Fast

I uploaded Second Chance on to Kindle yesterday around 3:00 p.m., and by 8:30 p.m., it was live! That was the fastest publishing turn around I have ever experienced. Ludicrous speed style.

So, here is a link to the BOOK. Second Chance can be yours, NOW!

 

Synopsis of the story:

Can two drastically different, imperfect people be perfect for each other?

It’s been four months since Gray and Dylan have seen each other. Dylan’s been traveling in Europe, while Gray has college, baseball, and a life rooted in one place. Gray’s determined to forget Dylan, the girl he fell in love with in FIRST COMES LOVE. Besides, how do you make a relationship work with an independent loner?

Just when he decides he’s over her, Dylan makes an unexpected entrance back into his life, hoping their steamy romance can start right where it left off. Gray realizes you can tell your mind to do one thing, but you can’t always convince your heart to follow. Dylan realizes she finally has to make a choice between freedom and her relationship with Gray.

Hilarious, intense, inspiring, and emotional, SECOND CHANCE shows that love is a journey, and there are never clear road signs or maps to guide you along. You can only navigate with your heart.

I am setting the price at $2.99. The more copies I sell, the quicker I can get it into a print version. Here are ways you can help spread the word about Second Chance:

• Mention it on Twitter
• Link to it on Facebook
• Discuss it on your blog or website
• Text/call/fax/email/message...bug all of your friends
• Also, adding Second Chance to your Goodreads or Amazon list is a GREAT way for books to get recognition.

Anything you can do to help spread the word would be appreciated by me, Gray, and Dylan.

If you like Second Chance, please write a kind review.

~Katie

Second Chance

Here is the ebook cover of Second Chance. I tried to keep it somewhat in line with the paperback design of First Comes Love. When the print book comes out, I'll hire a graphic designer to add to it--graphic design isn't on my resume. But, I'm still happy with its simplicity and I think the mosaic heart is fitting for this novel.

Second Chance: Available Next Week

I decided there is a word to describe me. It’s called incorrigible. I cannot be discouraged. Ever. It might be my superpower (a superpower I think most writers have).  'No' is never an option--it just opens up a new journey of opportunity.

So, here it goes. I am self-publishing Second Chance and the exciting news is, it will be available NEXT WEEK. First, I want to say there are no hard feelings toward Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. They are wonderful to me, and continue to be wonderful to me. They are publishing Middle Ground in November, and I hope to continue to work with their talented staff of editors, designers and publicists.

In the simplest words, HMH felt First Comes Love was fine as a stand-alone and didn’t need a sequel. Well, Gray and Dylan would definitely have to disagree on that one. After months of proposing changes and rewrites, one thing became clear: they were not excited about this book. This realization pushed all of my insecurity buttons and I started to feel pretty lousy about the whole thing. I started to doubt whether Second Chance was worth publishing, which is a terrible mental place for a writer to be, especially going into rewrites. To keep my faith in this manuscript alive, I pulled it back. My books are like my kids, and I can’t put them in people’s hands who don’t love them. It would be like putting my kids in a school where none of the teachers cared about them. I would feel sick about it.

I hired a content editor and a copy editor (Team Awesome). We’ve been working on rewrites over the summer. I’m going to release the ebook format of Second Chance now, on Amazon. I will release the paperback in a few months, hopefully through Powell’s Books. I’m waiting a bit to release the paperback because I need to pay a graphic designer to touch up the cover, and buy an ISBN number, things I can’t afford at the moment. I will make the paperback available as soon as I can, I promise!

The ebook will be available on Amazon and here is the awesome news: It will cost, at most, $3.99. The perk of self publishing is you can set your own price. $3.99 people, that’s less than a coffee drink. That’s seriously pocket change. I will post a link next week where you can order the book.

Also, any bloggers interested in reading the ebook and participating in a tour, please contact me, either through my website or by leaving a message. Thanks for everyone’s support on Second Chance. I can’t wait for you to read it. It’s SO GOOD.