Twelve Things I Look Forward To Around Christmas...

Christmas has always been my favorite holiday, ever since I was a little girl.  Of course, it used to be all about the presents, but now it's not about that at all for me.  It's about family, the food, the movies, and the music.  So, below, I've listed the things I look forward to every Christmas... (in no particular order).

1.  Decorating the Christmas Tree.  I love doing this every year.  I love the lights, the smells, the ornaments, everything.   I loved it when I was young, when our biggest thrill was who was going to get to put the angel on the tree that year (sister and I alternated), and it's even more special now that my kids get to do the same thing. 

2.  Christmas Songs.  Unlike the above, I seriously disliked Christmas songs when I was young, but as I've gotten older, I've grown a deeper appreciation for them, and am having a blast teaching them to my kids.  They're really loving "All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth," "I want a Hippopotamus For Christmas" and, of course, "Jingle Bells."

3.  Spending Time With Family.  This may be kind of an obvious one, but there's something really wonderful being around the people you love around the holidays.  After all, that's what the season is really about.

4.  Watching A Christmas Story.  I don't know what it is about this movie, but it's a classic and I enthusiastically look forward to watching it ever year.  I have it on DVD, sure, but there's something awesome about it being on for 24 hours on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  And quoting it all day long until the hubby is sick of it.   

5.  Sugar Cookies.  Sugar cookies are available year round, true, but there's nothing like a sugar cookie decorated specifically for Christmas.  When I was young, my sister and I used to make them with my mom.  This is a tradition I plan to uphold when my kids get to be a little bit older. 

6.  Peppermint Tootsie Pops.  I have no special love for tootsie pops.  I can say the same thing about  peppermints.  But put them together and they make the  most delicious treat for the holidays. 

7.  Tamales.  Being from Tucson and all, I'm surrounded by many wonderful people who get together with their families around the holidays and spend an entire day making and rolling tamales.  And since the times I've made them they haven't been as great, I'm twice as grateful for all the wonderful friends, co-workers, and parents of my students who generously bring in tamales to share with this girl. 

8.  Mickey's Christmas Carol.  This one is another favorite from my childhood.  I remember bugging my parents to watch our worn-out VHS tape of this over and over again around Christmas time.  This year, I downloaded it from Amazon onto the TiVo.  I've been thrilled every day after daycare when I bring the kids home and they ask to watch "Mickey's Christmas," because it means I get to watch it over and over again. 

9.  Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie.  I'm, of course, talking about the stop-action one that first came out when my mother was a kid.  She watched it with me every year, and I plan to do the same with my kids. 

10.  Starbucks Caramel Brulee Latte.  Okay, fair enough, this is a new one this year, but I am in LOVE.  I plan to add it to my list of things I look forward to around Christmas time, because I'm certainly going to miss it when it's gone. 

11. My Mother-in-Law's Cioppino.  I make a mean Cioppino, but it's nothing compared to the epic Cioppino my mother-in-law makes each time we go to Washington...and I'm here now.  :D  I'm already mentally jumping up and down.  I swear, there's nothing than fresh, caught-that-morning seafood in your stew. #am_drooling.

12.  Two-Week's Vacation Around the Holidays.  Being that I'm a teacher by day, I've always had vacation around the holidays, and I love that time to recharge my mental batteries before returning for work for the new year.  

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all!  And be sure to enter the 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway below!

XOXO,
Jaycee

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Publishing Choices - Why I made the choice to self-publish when I had an agent interested.

To continue our series on publishing, I’m going throw in my two cents of why I chose self-publishing over going traditional route. 

Two days before I was about to announce the release date of THE TRUTHS ABOUT DATING AND MATING, I received an email from one of the agents I’d had it on submission with, informing me that she wanted to discuss my book.  I was so stunned that I couldn’t even answer for a day.  To be honest, I stepped away from the computer because it seemed too freaky that this was happening the exact week I had planned to make the announcement.  This was after a couple of months of hearing nothing.  (I know, a couple of months is nothing, but I’ve never been good at the waiting game.)

So, once I got my thoughts together, I decided I'd be crazy not to at least listen to what she had to say.  After a Skype call – which was very interesting and I’m sure I acted like a total dork on – I heard some ideas I liked...and some I wasn’t too fond of.  There was a lot of information to ponder.  I discussed everything with my husband ad nauseum, weighing the pros of signing with an agent, as well as the cons.  I received  a lot of advice from friends and family, who generally don’t know much about how publishing works and why I was struggling with this so much.  What it really came down to was this:  Did I really want to make a lot of changes to my storyline that I wasn’t comfortable with for a book that may or may not ever sell, or did I want to go forward with my plan of self-publishing, and for better or worse, keep my book the way I wanted it?

I didn’t have a lot of time to decide, but I used every second I had to try to figure out what I wanted to do.  

I’ve always wanted to be published, but I also had the story written the way I wanted it, and every part is in there for a reason.  I laid a lot of groundwork in Truths.  Cutting some major scenes and characters would feel like selling out and sacrificing my story to possibly get a deal.  And what if I did all that work, and the agent still wasn’t happy with it?

What do I do?

After about a week, I finally came to a decision:  I was going to pass on going that route, and move forward with my original plan of self-publishing.  I’ve heard various reactions from people close to me, such as why are you settling for self-publishing?  What if you never get a chance like that again?  I thought that’s what you always wanted! 

With the new shift in the publishing world, self-publishing didn’t feel like settling.  It may not have been the deal I had always been dreaming about, but the idea of taking charge of the entire process myself – while scary – was also really exciting. 

I knew it was going to take a lot of work, but I was willing to put the time in.  I ran a blog tour by myself.  I bought an advertisement spot.  I sent out some review copies.  I ran some contests.  Oh, and I did a few strategic $.99 cent sales. 

In return, I’ve sold ten times the number of books I ever expected to.  I invested a fair amount of money in getting the book ready, and I made it all back in the first month, three times over.  My overall rating on most sites is pretty dang good.  From that, I’ve also learned that bad ratings don’t really bother me anymore.  

There are plenty of books people loved to death that I thought were horrible.  Different strokes, right? I remind myself of how many people have told me they enjoyed my book.  They far outweigh those who hated it.  I’ve built an audience and still have days where a simple tweet or email from someone who loved my book brightens my day and makes me feel like I’m walking on air.  

The simple fact is, I did it!  I put a book out there by myself, the way I wanted it to be, and not only did people buy it and read it, but plenty have enjoyed it and taken time of their busy days to let me know that.  And ten months after my release, people are still buying my book, they're still reading my book, and many are still letting me know how much they enjoyed it.  That right there is how I know I made the right choice in self-publishing, and why I consider myself successful from having done it!

This doesn't mean I won't ever consider traditional publishing again.  There will always be a part of me seeking that bit of validation, but I don't feel it as much I used to.  I got what I wanted the first time out without a publishing deal.  That may be all the validation I'll ever need.  

Does a cover really sell a book?

Hello, all!  Jaycee DeLorenzo, here.  Aside from being an indie author, I also have my own cover design business, Sweet 'N Spicy Designs, and because of such, I was asked to present about cover design at Tucson's annual event, The Tucson Festival of Books.  

I was so excited to attend and planned to recap some of the highlights of the festival…and then, well, you know what they say about best laid plans.  My daughter came down with the roseola virus, my son had a fever, and my hubby was feeling under the weather, as well.  So, I had to miss most of the festival.  I was only there for about two hours.  An hour and a half of that was spent doing my own presentation, along with Jim Azevedo, marketing manager from Smashwords. So, because I didn’t get to stay and my only real highlight of the festival outside of the panel was meeting Lynn Rush (very cool!), I’ll share some of the highlights of my presentation, because it's information that every indie author should be aware of: 

“Does a cover really sell a book?” 

In short...

 

Packaging is Everything!

For the unknown author, which many of us indie authors are, the cover is the single most critical marketing tool you have. Make it a good one!

Cover design is both an art and a science, and it’s market-tested.

Make an Impression!You have approximately 3-8 seconds for your front cover to make an impression.  

Your cover should:

• Grab the reader’s imagination and make a promise ( it should tell them you’re going to either entertain, teach, inspire, or motivate them).
• Make the reader want to find out more.
• Reflect the quality and professionalism of your overall work.

Visually Engage Your Reader!

Your title, font and imagery should make the reader want to take notice.  

Imagery can be beautiful, bizarre, funny, scary...whatever you want, as long as it correctly sets the tone of your book and elicits an emotional response.

• Know your category and genre.
• Study books that have been successful in your genre.
• Get unbiased feedback from others.  This does not include your mom or best friend.

Know Your Audience!
Does your cover match your audience’s expectations?

Look at other covers in your genre and take note of design aspects they have in common (font, imagery, colors, etc.)

Utilize these elements because they’ve been market-tested and proven effective.

Make a Promise!
Everything about your cover should indicate what the reader should expect from the book.

Once you’ve made a promise, KEEP IT! Readers do not react well to a promise that has been broken.

Quality Matters!
Writers are professionals.  Everything about their cover should reflect professional quality.

If your outside packaging unprofessional, readers will assume the same of your book (poor story, poor editing, etc.)

You need to make the reader feel confident that your book is worth their time and money.

The Market is…

...Glutted with books.

Find a way to make your book stand out and simultaneously fit in.

If you can’t design your own cover, hire a professional. It is a worthwhile and critical investment.

Make readers want to buy and read your book!

In the end, you have to ask yourself:

• Does design support the story you’ve written?
• Is your design going to engage your audience?
• Does it elicit an emotional response? Can it make a reader feel a connection?
• Does your cover make the right promise to your readers?
• Will your audience be able to identify with the cover?
• Does it promise quality and professionalism?
• Will it fit in (and stand out) with other covers in your genre?
• Have you received positive, unbiased feedback on it?
• What does your gut instinct say?

If it’s not working, try-try again! In the digital age, you have the freedom to change your cover until it works.

Until next time!  

XOXO,