Serial Killers are So 1978; Killer SERIALS Are HERE!!!

Do you know who's a lucky girl? ME!

You know why?

Because I have four FABULOUS partners in crime today, ready to SLAY YOU with SERIALS!!! I gave a teaser on Tuesday at Mel's blog about WHY Killer Serials are superior to serial killers (say THAT 10 times fast), but TODAY I want to tell you a LOVE STORY.

Sexy Serials Suck you IN!

Here's a secret... my first book was over 200,000 words. Books typically can have complex characters or a twisty plot. But not both. (and while that first was admittedly not ready for prime time, it hurt SO BAD trying to cut it down)

I WANT IT ALL!

So last year when Susan Kaye Quinn said she was releasing a book SERIALLY, this GIANT lightbulb went off in my head. I didn't HAVE to choose anymore! I could have a fabulous twisty plot AND character development!

And let me tell you what... the OTHER fabulous feature of these feisty fables is ADRENALINE! HOLY COW can they grip you!? Of course for some people that's problematic, but I absolutely ADORE ADRENALINE!

So YOU WANT SOME!?

Here are FIVE FABULOUS SERIALS, a couple have free first episodes (including yours truly) and ALL of us are giving away something in the Rafflecopter giveaway below!!! You should go see ALL of us at our blogs, too!!!

Some Killer Serials you should consider sampling

Andrew Leon: The Shadow Spinner Series (34 parts, 40ish pages each)

Tiberius has always thought of himself as a normal 10-year-old boy, at least until the day his mother finally decides to tell him about his father, and she tells him things that convince him that one of them is crazy, and he's pretty sure it's not him. That is until the Man with No Eyes shows up and his father falls out of the sky.

Susan Kaye Quinn: The Debt Collector Series (9 Volumes, 50ish pages each, all complete, (for you risk-averse readers) first one free)

What's your life worth on the open market?
A debt collector can tell you precisely.

EJ Wesley: Moonsong Series (5th coming in December (no end point necessarily planned, but they are coming in 3-book clusters (6th in January) for satisfying individual story arcs; link to the first one FREE)

Jenny Moonsong recently inherited the title of "monster hunter" and an ancient tribal journal/how-to manual passed down by her Apache ancestors. The Moonsongs books follow her adventures as she battles the dark supernatural denizens of the world in a series of action-packed, urban fantasy novelettes. 


 

RaShelle Workman: The Cindy Chronicles (4 published of 6 volumes)

From a seemingly insignificant word comes the greatest of fairytales... Cinderella is a witch and she's been asked to save a world she never knew existed. 

Hart Johnson: A Shot in the Light Series (10 episodes, 100 pages each, 4th available today and the first is free)

Deadliest virus in a century, or a social experiment gone awry? Sidney Knight begins to notice inconsistencies in what people are being told and what's going on as half the population dies of the flu... or is it the vaccine?



So what should you do NOW?  Enter to WIN some of this loot!!!



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cat Herding (Killer Serials Coming)

And when I say Cat Herding... I am not talking about herding cats, which is difficult... but about a cat herding authors... And while authors are fabulous and can be very compliant, cats aren't very organized... and by cats, I mean me.

Are you confused yet?

I have this amazing promotional idea for serials, right...

Serial Killers turned on their heads for Killer Serials...

So instead of:

You get:

And we are going to tell you ALL about it on Halloween!!!

A Small Favor and a Bigger One...

So this week I get a reality check. Anyone want to take bets on whether I'm delusional or if I might be onto something. Say WHAT? You say...

Well see THIS WEEK I am offering up my first FOR FREE and releasing my second in my Shot in the Light serial.

The questions go something like this:

Can I give it away? (how many downloads will I get with that FREE pricetag?)

And if I DO give it away, will it lead to PURCHASES?

I could use all of your HELP on that front. [Note: This is the BIGGER favor] Anyone willing to share THIS, would be HUGELY appreciated!

Buy Link

The LITTLER favor:

Could you please, even if I sent you one for free, click BUY on Thursday. It's free. It's easy. And I am HOPING that click will help me get a good ranking on the old free book thing... It is one of those things Amazon adds to their promo algorithm.


In Other Attempts...

I sent a copy of book 2 to anyone who reviewed book 1 by yesterday—I don't know what the 'sweet spot' is for number of reviews, but I DO know that Amazon takes it into account when they are promoting. I think if there are enough reviews, then THEY do my advertising FOR ME. That's where I want to be. But I think the number of reviews needed is like 30.

It got a couple people to post reviews, so it worked on some level.

Release Day! And The World Ends HOW? Blogfest

First, I want to throw out a GIANT thank you to those of you participating with me! Today is book release day for A Flock of Ill Omens, the first in my A Shot in the Light serial. And I REALLY REALLY appreciate those of you willing to help me spread the word!

OHMYGOSH!  I'm twitterpated!  At least I think I am. If that word means what I think it does... The book (episode) is UP and LIVE and for SALE!!!

That's a trip to post something all on your own. I will say though, it took about 7 takes before the proof copy looked right--all those things you don't THINK about formatting-wise. But it looks GOOD!

Did I mention it's UP!!! *gasp*

Wanna hear about it?


Deadliest virus in a century, or a social experiment gone awry?

Every year they warned about the flu and more often than not, it amounted to nothing. Sidney Knight, a young freelance reporter had certainly never written on it. But a trip to Lincoln City, Oregon cut short by a beach full of dead seagulls and a panicked warning from her brother, the scientist, catch her attention. This batch is different. Deadlier. And the vaccine doesn't seem to be helping. It almost looks like it's making it worse...

A Flock of Ill Omens: Part I is the first episode of A Shot in the Light, an Apocalypse Conspiracy Tale about what happens when people play God for fun and profit. There will be approximately ten episodes, each the equivalent of about 100 pages.

Good Reads has a sneak peak posted. You can find the purchase link and more information about the book here. And if you want it FOR FREE, I will be offering it free on the release dates of at least the next two in the serial: September 19 and October 10.

And if you want to BUY it, it is HERE. (actually has the whole first chapter, too)

Hart Johnson writes books from here bathtub and can be found at Confessions of a Watery Tart, though be warned. She is likely to lead you into shenanigans.

Now for my bloghop entry!!!

The year is 2069 and Global Warming has increased the average temperature by about 15 degrees. People have finally accepted that nudism is MUCH SMARTER than other fashion statements. It just is breezier that way. And having taken ON nudism, the planet has become a nicer place. People just get along better when everybody is naked. It's really HARD to be a jerk when your business is right out there in the open.

But an Evil Sect of TWEED-WEARERS has deemed that this is INAPPROPRIATE and are trying to instill their will on everybody else! Now once a person has spent some time naked, putting on tweed on a 90-degree day... well you can SEE where the civil war begins... The Tweedists try to cool the world to make the Nudists wear clothes, but their strategy BACKFIRES--everyone knows the energy in the universe is constant, and you can't cool something off without warming something up, if you know what I mean...

There is a devastating battle in which the nudists finally CATCH the Tweedists trying to set off a nuclear bomb (a strategy only understood by a knucklehead who would wear Tweed when it's hot out), and they decide to ship all the Tweedists to Mars where it is known it is cool enough they can be idiot Tweedists up there. The remaining nudists go back to living on a peaceful, if less populated and material planet. (the end of the world as we know it)


So there!

And I have a HUGE Favor, if you wouldn't mind... Could you help me spread the word?

Share the buy link:  A Flock of Ill Omens
Like me on Facebook: Hart Johnson
Mark me as 'to read' on Goodreads: A Flock of Ill Omens

And if you HAVE read, a review would be helpful!!! I won't bug you for it every time, but I think on a serial, a lot of reviews for the FIRST really give it a boost. Honest reviews are perfect! I want to do several of these serials, I think, and I learn from criticism as well as praise!

PLEASE check out the entries of the other participants and how THEY see the world ending!

This is the Week!!!

I can't believe I'm doing this, but here goes nothing, eh?

Want some of what I've learned? And perhaps more importantly what I've failed to learn but know I need to? I know some of you are eagerly watching, as you have serial plans of your own. I think the serial conversion will be MUCH easier for those of you who've self published before and I will just say, if I were a thinking gal... which I apparently am not... I'd self publish a stand-alone and learn the ropes before committing to this level of chaos.

Then again it is the serials that convinced me I wanted to dive in at all. I will keep publishing mysteries traditionally and haven't decided on my YA stuff. May continue trying that traditionally as well. Or not... See how redundant this is making me? *cough*

Formatting.

Okay, can I just die a little now?

See, uploading to CreateSpace isn't hard, but then figuring out what exactly they've done without pushing publish? Yeah, I don't know how to do that.

So I downloaded Calibre to convert for these early distribution things I've done... and it converts to Kindle pretty easily (once I realized I had to save my Word doc as rtf). But the ePub (for Nook) is a little wonky--page breaks don't read and the acknowledgements did weird things with my apostrophes and quotes... and the PDF is a mess on the iPad, or so I hear. I don't HAVE an iPad.

And if you're a writer, you should probably proof your emails before sending *rolls eyes* luckily the 50 copies I sent all went to people who KNOW me and know how I am.


So what I've done in the last few days:

*  Edited book 2 for my copy editor, Leanne
*  Edited book 3 for 2nd readers.
*  Incorprated changes FROM my copy editor to Book 1

*  Figured out how to upload portions of it, along with cover and description to Goodreads.
(here's a hint--even though I actually have no real intentions of selling paper copies of this, I had to upload and push publish and get my ISB and all to do this... not because it's probably necessary, but because I couldn't figure it out otherwise)

*  Formatted for Kindle and ePub (which covers the rest except iTunes--need a Mac to format for iTunes, it will have to wait) and sent it to about 50 early readers (if you want it, you can have it, too--just shout--I need an email)

* Wrote my acknowledgements and cover copy
*  Wrote the email to go with my sent books (this is the one where about half of you got a few typos)
*  Sent my blogfest info out (it is Thursday by the way, and you still have time to enter. Here are details.).

*  And then last night (which is tonight in my world) I hope I finished the first draft of Book 4

Are you tired yet? I know I am. Thank goodness I have an extra day this weekend!!! I will be around, but maybe not until noon or so...

Like Crack (My Nefarious Plan)

This is my plan *BUWAHAHAHAHAHAHA*. It's my theory that a serial's success is dependent on how addictive it is. So I am taking a little time to study successful drug dealers.

You think I'm kidding?

Well, okay, mostly I'm kidding. Except not really. Because it makes sense.

And see, once you READ this ill make sense *shifty*

FIRST, I offer up a sampling for free... a BIG sample. It has to be enough to hook somebody, after all... So I plan on offering this puppy (only it's not really a puppy—it's a 100-page book) to ANYBODY WHO WANTS IT.

Got that? You want to read it? It's FREE! Now Kindle won't let me ALWAYS have it free—they are stinkers that way. But they WILL let me have some free DAYS, so for each successive book, I will give the first away, but I am going farther... I am just offering it up to alla y'all here... you want it? Just tell me. And as soon as it's ready, I will send it to you.

I am starting a LIST—so just gimme your email --my email link here works if you'd rather send it privately than posting  (unless you know I have it already—then just shout).

I will ALSO ask you to officially download it on that first free day, just so it goes into my numbers (and so if you want to review, you are a 'verified' reader... And I WOULD appreciate reviews on it... But I am not requiring it. I just wanna HOOK YOU! *cough*

See how glamorous you'll be!

The NEXT drug dealer lesson is then not letting it be too long between doses, or you will get through withdrawal and may not NEED the next one. So Book 2 will be just 2 weeks after book 1... And then Book 3 just 3 weeks after that. I am hoping by that point to have you all good and addicted and then I can set you up in a brothel... wait. No, wrong story.

And HEADS UP!

Reserve the date! September 5 is MINE—a wee blog fest if you don't mind... I will put the details up on Wednesday.

Why Do I Do This?

So remember how I said I was going to release A Shot in the Light serially? I proceeded to make myself a CALENDAR and some DEADLINES... and I started to research everything I need to do.

Man, this is HUGE!

But I will do it.

My first deadline is TODAY. I need to have the first book first draft READY. And by first draft, this is not really typical... this is the first draft of the BIGGER thing, but the original thing had a first draft last summer. So SOME chapters, this is a first draft... for 7 of 12 chapters, this is NEW (as of the road trip). For 2, I have changed PoV and added some, but taken from the original. And for three, I have just changed from first to third person.

It's invigorating to do.

The overwhelming part was looking into the TOTAL timeline. Because not only do I need to plot MY deadlines, I needed to build in appropriate time for the myriad fantasticos who are helping me. First readers, second readers, and my editor.

So each book has not ONE but SIX deadlines I marked on a calendar, and SOMETIMES, one deadline for one book is the same as a different deadline for a different book... BUT when I broke it into 4 calendars for the different tasks, it isn't quite so much to think about. Everyone but ME really only needs to be on top of their own tasks, after all.

SUSAN KAYE QUINN is a GODDESS

That just needed to be said. Because the OTHER thing I did last week was immerse myself in her very helpful and amazingly organized list of blogs to help self-publishers. Man, she has laid it ALL out there. I am currently in AWE. Though I still feel overwhelmed, I ALSO feel like I have a very good set of guidelines there. Anybody considering self-publishing should GO HERE and you can learn everything you need to know.

I spent MUCH of the day Friday there and I'm only through about half of what I am trying to learn.

Wait... Now How Do I Blog Again?

Halo, fine friends!!! Back from a three week break—the first of that length in my four years of blogging. And I've realized I don't feel like I know what I'm doing anymore. Erm... not that I claim to have ever had full competence...

My trip was GREAT and I will have pictures to share...
I had some experiences, and I have some wisdom to share (stop laughing)...

And I have rejuvenated a project like you would not believe and I am UBER excited about it. So maybe THAT is where I'll start.

A Shot in the Light was mostly written last summer—two months of PACKED writing and my final count was some 127,000 words.

So Ima make it longer...

*cough*

You think I'm kidding? Lemme e'splain... no. Is too much. Lemme sum up...


See, I had a young freelance reporter from Portland, Oregon (Sidney Knight) whose brother works at the CDC... She notices all these dead birds when she is at the beach trying to get a few projects done (Ew, right?) and calls him...

He warns her not to get a flu shot... she gets HOME and realizes this flu thing is much worse than she thought... within days she's lost a friend and lost contact with her brother so she decides she needs to go to Atlanta to figure out what's what...

THAT was the original story...

Working Title is Ill Omens, details in progress

Now I am ADDING:

*  Her nurse friend who flees to avoid the (work required)  flu shot
*  A public health PhD student who is planning the Zombie Apocalypse (seriously... well, sort of)
*  A mercenary who suddenly finds all his buddies are dead...
*  And a senator's daughter/law student who hears some things that make her really uncomfortable.


All these people are 20-somethings... Some of them will have sex. *cough* (is that TMI?) Is it better or worse if I disclose whether it is with each other or not?  These things are so confusing!

Does this make it new adult? I don't know the answer to that... not worrying about it. They are interesting young professionals, mostly... I will call it good.

What I DO know, and what I am SUPER excited about is this serial release thing.

To my original first three chapters I've added seven (and will tease out an 8th—pulling from Sidney, my original MC and giving some of the meat to Sarah, my nurse--for balance mostly--there is an important scene they are both in)--what WAS 46 pages is now 100ish.

I know Susan Kaye Quinn, who I've admitted to stalking, likes each to have a conclusion, and I WILL... but maybe not as solid a conclusion as she does. I am really doing these in the spirit of serials... there is a conclusion--or rather a large theme tied up--but there is ALSO a 'the story continues'. And most of my PoVs will continue into each next segment... except when people die... erm... It IS an epidemic! And WAR!


So do you want to know my PLAN? *BUWAHAHAHAHAHAHA*

Come on. You have to cackle with me if you want to know...

*BUWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA*

I need to do a couple things this summer:


1) OUTLINE to the end... you know I can't abide pants... But seriously. If I am going to start publishing this, I need to know it is really manageable and I am not going to end up written into a corner. What I mean by outlining is a sentence or two about what each section that the ENTIRE FREAKING THING will have.

2) Have a clean draft of the first six sections written by the end of August. My feedback loop requires I work this far ahead.

3) Through book three peer reviewed and formally edited. (I am actually going to finally PAY Leanne for copy editing and Joris for covers!!! Both have been amazing all this time, helping me for free, but I am going to be asking them to drop everything and help out, and both deserve to finally get the professional recognition they deserve.)

4) I will work up a formal calendar with all my deadlines, as I dig that stuff.

5) I will get an author profile up at Facebook and Goodreads

6) I will do a crash course in self-published formatting and stuff (and stuff to include all the STUFF I need to know--any experts in stuff, give a shout, I need you)

7) I will push PUBLISH for the first of these the first week in September—isn't there a day of the week for new releases? THAT day...

8) The first FOUR will be two weeks apart.

9) The pacing of the rest will be either a month gap, then two weeks apart for three more, month off, two weeks apart (you see what I'm getting at) or three weeks for all...I sort of like the 3X2 with a month break but I can't really explain it to you logically expect I plan to make PoD available for these in a clustered way (first 4, then 3 at a time) and at least for HALF there are thematic splits at these breaks. I am not in enough detail yet in the second half to know if that is still true.


I also need to look at Christmas and stuff... see what paces best if it is 10, they could ALL be ready by then and I could sett sets, but I have my doubts 10 is enough.

I really want to be done at least a month before the release of Keeping Mum so I can concentrate on that in February. I'm not sure right now whether I want 10 total or 13... I'd like ONE freebie, then clusters of three, but I get that it may not work out that way. THIS is part of what the outlining is about.

It's been a while since I was this jacked up about revising... Maybe because part of this process is writing. And MAYBE, just MAYBE part of it is that I wrote all those extra chapters longhand in the car... I need to get my notebook back to the bathtub... I was typing last night and made myself CRY when I'd WRITTEN the bloody thing I was typing. It should NOT have been new information, but it was a heartstring-tugger.

Gratuitous llama kiss because that's how I roll

So now that I am back, I am going to make a better effort as a blog READER... I try to get to people who comment first... and it seems like for AGES that is all I've managed (and that not well)... But work is picking up the pace (on top of having been gone 2.5 weeks)... hopefully it really will be better. Kick me if you feel neglected. I totally don't mean to do that. If you comment, I swear I mean to get to you within the week...

HEY: Question for you savvy folks... especially self-publishers: Are you incorporated? Or have you formed a separate entity for your writing endeavors? That is something I'm considering. I'm thinking if I plan to pay people, it will make this all smoother. Can someone give me a primer on the advantages? Or point to a blog that does it for them?