Friday Fun Facts: One Indie Writers' Income

TGIF! I have 2 great blog posts to share with you today, written by none other than one of my Passionate Kisses sisters, Jessi Gage. In the first, she chronicles her income of one title published through a small press and then re-released on her own, as an indie title. The results are truly stunning -- she made 3x the amount of money when she released this title on her own. She's a great author, so I'm not surprised!

In the second, she looks at her other titles along with the costs she put out to publish on her own (cover design, editing, formatting, marketing, other business expenses) as an indie author. Remember that publishers will absorb those costs for authors, which is why you will also make lower royalties with them. Please keep in mind that not all indie authors make this kind of money in their debut year -- some do, which is terrific. Many do not.

As with any endeavor, if you're considering venturing into the world of indie publishing, do your research first. And as part of that, read these blog posts!

Writers' Wednesday: How Many Beta Readers Do You Need?

Hi gang! Found this article thanks to a Twitter feed and thought I'd pass it along to my fellow writers. It's a good look at selecting beta readers and what to keep in mind when you're considering their feedback.

Write on!

How Many Beta Readers Do You Need?

Monday Mentionables: A Review of The Orphan Train

Happy Monday, everyone! Today's blog post comes to  you from Allie the reader rather than Allie the writer. One of the (many) books I got for Christmas was The Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline. Anyone read it? It's a beautiful story and a quick, easy read -- I highly recommend it. The book follows two heroines, Molly a 17-year old foster ward who ends up doing community service for 91-year old Vivan, who was an abandoned 10-year old in NYC when she was put on one of the "orphan trains" to the Midwest and her subsequent journey through 3 different adoptive families (two of which were pretty horrific). The connection between the two "orphaned" women is obvious but not done with a heavy hand, but what I liked most was this glimpse into history. I had no idea about these orphan trains or the circumstances these immigrant children faced if they lost or were cast out by the families in New York.

Anyone else read it?