Gettin’ Sociable

I’ve finally caved, and signed up to more social media than just this blog. I KNOW, welcome to 2016, me.

I’m going for Twitter and Instagram for now, to make sure it stays manageable. First priority has to be the writing, or at least, that’s what I try to remind myself on a daily basis…

The only thing is, I’m a little lonely with my brand new accounts. Come hang out with me, let’s talk even more often!

http://twitter.com/AuthorLibby

http://www.instagram.com/authorlibby/

 

(Current progress: 36,264 words into first draft)

PSA: If You Have A Kindle, Update It. NOW.

Remember when I told you Kindle was making some changes? Well, to bring those changes in, they’re also updating your eReader.

The deadline for downloading the update? March 22. So you have only hours left, hop to it!

This reminder brought to you by my calendar, and my own failure to download the update so far. Fixing that…NOW.

If you’re not sure if you need the update, I’ve got you, boo – here’s a graphic to check whether you need it or not. Now move move move!

A Shiny New Era

 

I’ve been loyal and faithful for a long time. But it’s time to have a chat with my significant other. I just don’t think I’m a one-store kind of woman.

My books have been going straight to Amazon so far. And I’ve loved working with the ‘Zon – still do, in fact. Their Select programme lets readers who pay a monthly fee treat my books like they’re in a library, checking them out for no further cost to them, while I get paid by pages read.

But. The price of the system is being exclusive to Amazon. So, while I love making books available for readers to try, I can’t ignore the readers who don’t use Kindle. It’s just not fair to them.

This was the first picture that came up for “open relationship”, and it’s being included purely for that glorious bucket hat.

So I’ve had a chat to Amazon about trying an open relationship. Now I’m flirting with iBooks, Kobo, and Nook. They’ve been very attentive so far, which I do like in a partner.

As of now, I can’t see me going back to exclusivity. So hello, Nook and iPad readers! It’s a delight to meet you, let’s hang out some time.

 

P.S. Bonus points to anyone who caught the Lion King reference in the title, and now has the song stuck in their head.

 

(Current book progress: 26,378 words into first draft)

The Times A-Changing For Kindle

Change is coming to Kindle! This is particularly big news for romance readers and writers, because damn, we get through so many books that most of us are eReader addicts.

 

I know, change is scary, but I think these are genuinely exciting! For one thing, it’s linking to your Goodreads and Amazon wishlist. So you might actually get through that enormous TBR list. (However slow the process may be…)

Here’s what those wishlists will look like

You can also get recommendations from what your Goodreads buddies are reading, as well as bestsellers in the genres you read. It refreshes every time you turn on the Kindle from sleep mode.

Fun!

The last change I’m most excited for is the ease of sharing favourite quotes – because let’s face it, I’m reeeally lazy about that on Goodreads currently. Now it can be as simple as highlighting!

So. Easy.

I promise this isn’t a Kindle ad – if you’ve got a Kobo or a Nook, more power to you. But it’s some major changes from a giant in the industry, and I’m pretty psyched for them! If you’re interested, you can check out the full list of changes here.

Do you like the changes?

 

(Current book progress: 3,482 words.)

 

Audiobooks: Yay or Nay?

I’ve been toying with the idea of audiobooks. I produce both print and eBook for my readers already, because those are the most commonly used forms. Just because I’m personally all about eBooks doesn’t mean I ignore the print fiends. (You’re fuddy duddies, but I say that with love.)

BUT. I’ve never been one for audiobooks, which means I’ve never even considered them until now. They are (apparently) very easy to organise, it’s just a question of whether I want to bother spending the energy.

What say you? Do you use audiobooks? Should I publish in audio as well as print and eBook? Or maybe only bother when the entire trilogy is out? Let me know what you think!

Welcome To The Technology Age, Me

Going into self-publishing is quite daunting sometimes. In reality, you still have to do all of the same things you did before. Publishing houses won’t help you with the writing or the marketing, which are arguably the hardest parts. The distribution, cover design, and editing are all manageable as long as you work with the right people.

But that doesn’t help with the mental change! There’s something about taking away the safety net. You have nobody to blame but yourself if you get lazy.

Which is exactly what I’ve gone and done. I’ve neglected the people who are interested in my books, by making it so that they have to check in with my blog to know when there’s a new release out. Under that system you can easily miss the five day window when I make the Kindle copy free.

So, consider this my mea culpa. I hereby solemnly swear, no more being lazy. If you want to know when I have a new book out, and to make sure you get one of the free copies, put your email into the form below. I will only use this list to let you know about new releases. No spam here. I’ve also put a permanent link on the side of this blog, so you can update your email at any time.

Suddenly I feel very organised and pleased with myself!

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Quality time means quality

When my husband and I first got together, it was a bit of a revelation to him that sitting side-by-side, staring at a screen, didn’t count as quality time to me. Absolutely not! Time, yes, quality, no.

I’ve found quality time is so important to a happy relationship. My husband and I both work very busy jobs, outside of the normal office hours – I work two, if you count writing romance books! So having at least a couple of times a week where we really talk to each other is crucial. Otherwise, I’ve been known to find out things about my husband’s life from his workmates, which then leads to a grumpy wife, who likes to know everything firsthand 😉

The biggest help was actually setting aside dinner time as catch up time. If we’re both home for dinner, the TV is off, and phones are put aside. Such a simple thing is heavenly! There’s a time and a place for everything, and a time and a place for cutting it out.

I read an article recently that compared being on the phone too much to being unfaithful. Clearly, they’re going to an extreme to make their point, but I think they have a kernel of truth in there. If you’re depriving your partner of your time and attention, for silly things like a phone game or Twitter, are you really being fair to them?

Even if you’re single at the moment, there’s a still a solid argument for cutting down on the scren time. Think about the last book you read, or TV show you watched. Were the characters watching TV or hanging out on social media? Or were they doing something more meaningful and interesting?

Do you find it a struggle to get quality time? Ever considered cutting down the screen time, or even cutting out the screens altogether?