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Friday, March 15, 2013

Just Two More Days to Win a Kindle and Other Prizes - Book Launch is Saturday March 16, 2013



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John 3:16 Marketing Network Christian Book Launches 16th of Every Month
Mark Your Calendar for 
Saturday, March 16, 2013 
Final Day to Purchase Your Book
Drawing for Free Prizes


John 316 Banner





Celebrate With Us!



New Books
 by 
John 3:16 Marketing Network Authors!

Each month from the 1st through the 16th, the John 3:16 Marketing Network of Christian Authors will host a book launch featuring three to six authors. 

You will have an opportunity to win prizes as well as  download FREE BOOKS!

Make sure you enter our raffle (many times) for the drawing on the 16th! 

Help make our first launch a success by visiting our new launch page at http://John316MarketingNetwork.com  

Meet our talented, showcased John 3:16 authors and learn more about their books.   

The authors for March are:

Matthew R. Horn 
Joseph Young
Lorilyn Roberts

Again, be sure to enter the drawing -the Rafflecopter - that runs from the 1st through the 16th of every month. You might win a Kindle ($69 value), a $25 Amazon gift card, or a $10 Starbucks card. 

Click here to learn more.

Enjoy also checking out the free books available throughout the month!

There is Corn in Egypt

Showcased book for March 16, 2013


Seventh Dimension - The Door

Showcased book for March 16, 2013

Nothing Good is Free

Showcased book for March 16, 2013

Black

John 3:16
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life."


Free Book On Smashwords!, use Coupon Code: HD49M Free Book on Smashwords!  
Coupon Code:
HD49M 


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AND SAVE
25%

John 3:16 Author Membership 25% off with this coupon 
Code: Constant Contact List
$10 off regular membership rate of $40

Offer Expires 03-17-2013.  Go to http://lorilynroberts.com/john_3_16_marketing_network.html for membership information

Lorilyn Roberts llwroberts@cox.net Gainesville, Florida 32606
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Friday, March 8, 2013

Guest Post by Dianna T. Benson -- A Writer's Journey


Dianna T. Benson






When U.S. DEA Special Agent Lelisa Desmond refuses to follow an order to bury evidence in a high profile case, her superior hires a hit man to kill her deep in the ocean off Grand Cayman Island. Lelisa survives the first attempt on her life, but someone close to her is mistakenly murdered in her place.

With no one to trust, Lelisa enlists Inspector Alec Dyer for help but learns she's his number one suspect in the scuba diving homicide. She sets off on a daring mission to bring down the man who ordered her execution. A man in a high position, with power friends. A man who will stop at nothing to silence her forever in order to hide his son’s crimes. 



A Writer's Journey



In 1993, I started writing my first suspense novel. After completing five novels, I signed with an agent in 2007. Six agents offered me representation that spring; it was difficult to turn down the other five since all of them are top-notch agents. In the fall of 2007, a film agent requested a screenplay of The Hidden Son after reading the book. Just days before I completed the script, I learned the film agent suddenly and recently retired due to health issues. I never pursued anything further with the script.

In 2009 I was offered a four-book publishing contract in mainstream, but soon after that my husband was diagnosed with cancer. I turned that contract down to focus on our young family of five, and God carried all five of us through the surgeries and radiation treatments.  

I finaled in the Golden Palm in 2007, finaled in the Daphne in 2010, double semi-finaled in the Genesis in spring 2011, and won the Genesis September 2011. I switched agents January 2012. I signed a nine-book publishing contract July 2012. My first book, The Hidden Son, released in print world-wide on March 1, 2013.

Starting in February 2012, for thirteen weeks I had a pending contract offer from one of the largest traditional print publishing houses. They made me an offer only three days after my new agent submitted my work out. The entire editorial staff and the entire leadership team loved my writing, but the business team was concerned their suspense list is already too full.

The senior acquisitions editor drew up a matrix broken down by genre of their release list for 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 (my books included in it), proving to them they have room and finances for one more suspense writer (me). Much to that editor's stunned shock, after thirteen weeks the business team decided they can’t add another suspense author.

During this thirteen week timeframe, the senior acquisitions editor thought it was just a matter of time before my contract finalized, so my agent understandably let go of all the other interest in my writing. Soon after those thirteen weeks with that publishing house, Ellechor Publishing House, a small traditional print house, contacted me and asked me to submit my 2011 Genesis Winner, Illusion of Safety. A few days after I did so, they offered me a nine-book contract.

The publishing industry today is not just about the writing (not even close). A reputable agent won’t offer representation unless he/she truly believes the writer has potential in today's market. Your marketing platform needs to be an absolute stand-out. Example: I’m an EMT and a Haz-Mat and FEMA Operative; I write suspense and medical thrillers.

However, even if you have a solid marketing platform, there are other obstacles.

Two other large traditional print houses loved my writing as well, but neither could offer me a contract only because they can’t have me competing with their current authors who write the same genre I do.

A limited number of books every month are print-published worldwide. Every traditional print house nowadays (large and small) is fighting to stay in business, and it takes a ton of money to publish and market a book, so the business team of any traditional print house needs to be convinced spending tons of money on a debut author is profitable for them without hindering any of their current authors.

Contest wins look great on a proposal, but in the end the business side of a publishing house makes the final decision on contract offers, and reality is unpublished writing contests have no relation to their current lists, their financials, the market, sales, a writer’s platform, or what constitutes as excellent and high profitable writing.

A little discouraging, but my hope here is to inform (not discourage) as well as to focus on the positive.
The publishing industry is rough, but I think stand up comedy is way harsher. When a comedian gets rejected (their act isn't going well), they're on stage in front of a live audience—yikes.

Keep in mind, if you’re unable to land an agent and/or a traditional print publishing contract, it doesn’t prove your writing is the problem, so continue to believe in yourself as a writer.

Above all, if you love to write, then never stop writing. God gave you a passion, so spend time on your passion and enjoy yourself! It may not be all about the writing anymore in the industry, but it will always be all about the writing to us writers.



*****

Dianna T. Benson is a 2011 Genesis Winner, a 2011 Genesis double Semi-Finalist, a 2010 Daphne de Maurier Finalist, and a 2007 Golden Palm Finalist. In 2012, she signed a nine-book contract with Ellechor Publishing House. Her first book, The Hidden Son, released in print world-wide March 1, 2013.

After majoring in communications and a ten-year career as a travel agent, Dianna left the travel industry to earn her EMS degree. An EMT and a Haz-Mat and FEMA Operative since 2005, she loves the adrenaline rush of responding to medical emergencies and helping people in need. Her suspense novels about adventurous characters thrown into tremendous circumstances provide readers with a similar kind of rush.

Dianna lives in North Carolina with her husband and their three athletic children.



Friday, March 1, 2013

Fearless Friday! Meet Matthew R. Horn


Meet Matthew!

Growing up in north-central Indiana, Matthew learned the value of a good imagination at an early age. Bob Kane and Bill Finger's Batman, Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt, and Ian Fleming's James Bond were constant visitors to Matthew's imaginative world.

At the age of 14 Matthew began taking writing classes from none other than his own mother. Having a Master's in English, she wanted her children to be able to communicate properly with the written word. Of course, Matthew hated this. However, nearly twenty years later the lessons learned combined with the imagination born from sheer boredom have cultivated a desire to share his imaginings.

To better tell his adventure stories, Matthew began taking lessons in Martial Arts in 2011. Having achieved a Red Belt in Tae Kwan Do and having broken his nose during a sparring session, Matthew has a unique ability to combine his imagination with real-life experiences to tell stories in a way that are creative and adventurous, yet gritty and realistic.

In September of 2011 Brighton Publishing made Matthew's second book, The Good Fight, his first published novel. The sequel, Nothing Good, is Free is now out in eBook and will be released by Brighton in paperback in March 2013. The final installment, The Price We Pay is currently being written and will hopefully be released during the summer of 2014.

You can contact him clicking the "Email the Author" link from the homepage. You can also follow Matthew on both Facebook and Twitter.

 
The Good Fight
ISBN 978-1-936587-04-9 
 
About the Book:

Jeffery Scott had always made it on his own. An unwanted child, Jeff spent his childhood being pushed from family members to orphanages before finally ending up on the street, until one night, in an alley behind a popular restaurant, Jeff’s life was saved by a dark suited vigilante. Through the mask of the vigilante, Jeff found the courage he needed to change his life, to get an education and become the person even his own family had told him he could never become.

Sixteen years later, Jeff is only a semester away from graduating from community college. With his eyes on graduation, Jeff’s life once again crosses with the dark suited vigilante. But this time, he learns the vigilante’s identity. Over the next year, Jeff fights to discover the line between what he wants and what he must do. His decisions will not only affect those he cares about, but will also alter the course of his life.

 
Purchase on Amazon
Purchase at Barnes and Noble
 
 

Nothing Good is Free
ISBN: 978-1-621830-37-5

About the Book: 

Detective Martell of the Chicago Police Department has a big problem on his hands when he discovers a connection between a recent drug bust and a case he worked on in the ’80s. Not sure if he can trust his peers, Martell goes to the one person he knows he can count on: Jeff Scott. 

Jeff has taken over as the city’s vigilante after Jim, his predecessor, was killed in a drug bust. Toward the end, Jim’s demeanor took a turn for the worse as he became more violent in his work and went after bigger thugs, which ultimately led to his untimely demise. The last thing Jeff wants is to let a life of violence get the better of him and end up like Jim. So, in a pursuit to avoid the same destiny as his mentor, he seeks the truth about Jim and the life he led before the two joined forces. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Buy on Amazon
 
Now for the interview:
 
Share something not many people know about you:  In January of 2011, I joined the Blue Dragon Tae Kwan Do school in order to learn a new skill, try something new, but also to learn the mechanics of hand-to-hand combat to better write my adventure novels. This last December I took a punch to the face while sparring and broke my nose. Having now been through the surgery and almost fully recovered, I feel that I have ‘earned’ a unique viewpoint in how these fight scenes can be described. I would, however, not recommend anyone try this at home.

Are you a “pet person” or prefer no pets? I love animals and grew up with cats in the home.  However, my wife is extremely allergic to pet dander and as such, my house is animal free.

Would you rather travel or stay at home? Honestly, it depends on the last time we went out. I love to read, and spend time with my wife in the safety of our own home. However, we love to travel and have seen a good deal of the country so far.  We just booked our first European trip as well.

Do you read more or write more? I definitely read more than I write. I try to read the Bible every morning and I like to read fiction before I go to bed. My writing usually occurs when my wife and child are napping.

Prefer cake or pie? I know I’m not helping by straddling the line, but if it’s a birthday, cake. If it’s a holiday meal, pie. I love’em both.

Would, or do, ride a motorcycle or prefer to ride/drive a car? Finally an easy one. I love motorcycles and have two of them. My father taught me to ride as his father taught him. I always ride with full gear ie. helmet, leather coat, leather gloves, jeans, and boots.

 Bus or taxi or walk? I prefer to walk. I don’t like to spend a lot of money on transportation and I prefer the freedom of space.

 Are you part of a big church congregation or a small church? Definitely a small church. I attend a small church in a very small town. We know everyone and everyone knows us. It’s a great family.

 Do you like to telephone people or prefer to use e-mail? I think I’m more effective with email. As it’s less personal I don’t feel as many restrictions on word usage. 

Are you happy or joyful? Joyful. I know Jesus, how could I not be?

Do you eat at home or eat out? I’m a routine guy so eating at home is the most important thing.  However, I really love a good restaurant.

Listen to music or prefer quiet? I enjoy music sometimes, but I definitely prefer quiet.

 Prefer sunrises or sunsets? Sunsets. When I get up in the morning I’m usually focused on a workout or on getting my routine started. The evening is when I take the time to enjoy the beauty of a wonderful sky.


Monday, February 25, 2013

Part I, What I Did Not Know About CreateSpace, by Lorilyn Roberts, and Part II, Comparing Lightning Source and CreateSpace, by Bruce Brodowski


PART I
WHAT I DID NOT KNOW ABOUT CREATESPACE
By Lorilyn Roberts






Lightning Source and CreateSpace are the two leading companies that self-published authors use to publish books. While the process of publishing with Lightning Source is more complicated and time-consuming, the end result of publishing with CreateSpace may be different from what you expect, particularly with their expanded distribution.


Recently I went to Books-A-Million to see if they would be able to order one of my books for the bookstore. Since the manager is someone I know – her mother is one of my best friends, she, of course, wanted to know all about my new book. I asked her if it would be possible for Books-A-Million to order my book Seventh Dimension – The Door either for the store or for a customer. She looked up my book on the computer and found it on the Books-A-Million website, but it showed that store delivery was not available. However, my book could be ordered online by a customer as long as it was delivered to the customer’s home.


The manager said they had gotten around this issue before (a book being listed as “not store deliverable”) and she would see what she could find out.  When I came home, I called CreateSpace. Their phone rep said their expanded distribution, which I paid extra for, was done by Ingram. I would have to ask them why Books-A-Million didn’t have store delivery availability. I went on the web and searched for Ingram. In an epiphany moment, I got a live person (not a recording or computer) who was very helpful (amazing things happen every once in a while).


This is what I discovered as one of the major differences between CreateSpace and Lightning Source: CreateSpace does not have returnability of books. In other words, if a bookstore were to order 10 books and only five of them sold, the bookstore couldn’t return the unsold books to CreateSpace. If that same bookstore ordered 10 books from Lightning Source and only five sold, the bookstore could return the unsold books to Lightning Source (if your contract is set up that way). Therefore, it’s much easier to get bookstores to buy books from self-published authors who publish with Lightning Source than with CreateSpace.


The CreateSpace rep also said that with CreateSpace, you can open your own ebook store and give an additional discount to bookstores. Another choice is for bookstores to set up their own account with CreateSpace and then they could order books directly from CreateSpace. However, I doubt that a major book chain would open a CreateSpace account to be able to accommodate one customer who special-ordered one book. Also, CreateSpace only gives a 25 percent discount to bookstores. Not awful, but not the best. When I did my initial research between the two companies, no one explained these differences between the two companies in terms that I understood. 

I also noted on the CreateSpace website, they make this statement:

We will determine how to handle Customer returns of Units, which may include, without limitation (a) in the case of physical Units, placing the returned copy of the Unit into inventory and reselling it to another Customer, in which case we will have no obligation to pay you any Content License Royalty for the resale of such Unit (because we paid, or will pay, you for the original sale of such Unit); or (b) destroying the Unit and calculating amounts due to you net of the Content License Royalty we previously paid for the destroyed return. We reserve the right to prohibit returns under any circumstances (or to impose any other restrictions on returns) with respect to sales or rentals (if applicable) of electronically formatted Units. If a Unit is returned and we have already paid you a Content License Royalty on the returned Unit, we may offset the amount of the Content License Royalty we previously paid you for that returned Unit against future Content License Royalty, or require you to remit to us the amount of the Content License Royalty we paid to you for the returned Unit.

Despite the fact this paragraph makes it appear that CreateSpace allows for book returns, I checked with their representative once again, and they do NOT have “returnability” of books. Period.


The Ingram representative said, though, that you could get around this. She gave me an email address and I contacted that Ingram person to see what I could do to make my books returnable with CreateSpace. I wanted bookstores to be able to order Seventh Dimension – The Door for a customer as a special order even if they weren’t going to stock it.


I specifically asked this question of CreateSpace before I decided to publish with them: “If a customer walked into Barnes & Noble and requested my book, could the store purchase my book for their customer?” I was told yes, with expanded distribution. THIS IS NOT TRUE! Again, store delivery is not available through CreateSpace.


With Lightning Source, you can.  In fact, bookstores may even stock your books if they know they can return your books if they don’t sell. I cancelled my expanded distribution with CreateSpace and will be adding Lightning Source as one of my publishers for books I want to sell outside of Amazon. I want any bookstore to be able to order my book for one of their customers without having to set up a separate account with CreateSpace. What bookstore is going to do that for one customer for one book? Nada.


I understand from other articles I have read on the web that Lightning Source will also distribute to Amazon and I can’t limit that distribution to outside of Amazon. That means I will have two detail pages and two sales rankings because I have a CreateSpace ISBN for CreateSpace and a separate ISBN for Lightning Source. The biggest disadvantage with that is when it comes to sales rankings. Instead of all sales being to one ISBN number, they will go to two numbers. I suppose you have to choose which is more important—sales ranking or availability of books to bookstores. It’s a tough choice, but I think I’d rather go for book sales. I’d take money any day over sales rankings, even though I know a higher sales ranking generates more sales. But when you are at the bottom of the barrel, all you can do is go up, so I figure I can’t lose, except not to do anything but limit my books to Amazon distribution, which has been paltry at best as far as print book sales.



(As an update to the comments above, I later learned you can "retire" the ISBN number from Create Space and just use the ISBN number for Lightning Source and you can ask Amazon to add all the reviews from the Create Space ISBN version to the Lightning Source version before you retire the Create Space ISBN. I have since done this and resolved the issue).

The above comments were originally posted in a similar form on the John 3:16 Marketing Network Forum and one of our members, Bruce Brodowski, posted some additional information. For those who are still confused or uncertain about whether to use CreateSpace or Lightning Source, here are his follow-up comments. He has published with both CreateSpace and Lightning Source.
 



PART II COMPARING LIGHTNING SOURCE AND CREATESPACE
by Bruce Brodowski




1. LSI does not do business with authors. They only deal with publishers. That means you have to set yourself up as a publisher with a DBA (doing business as) legal name.



2. LSI ONLY accepts book covers on their templates. If you don't have a means to do that, (such as Indesign) then you have to hire it out. I hired out mine to Walt Shiel and now to Lisa Hainline.



3. Mainline bookstores do not shelve books of self-published authors. However, they will order them through LSI IF they get their normal discount of 40%. They require all books to be returnable; otherwise, they will not order them. This means that all books submitted to LSI must be set up at a 55% discount and returnable. Be careful! LSI gives you two choices:


Returnable and shipped to you—you get charged for the cost of the returned
book—OR you can make them returnable from the bookstore and then destroyed. I have since changed all of my books to make them returnable and destroyed to cut the cost of returning them to me.



4. If you establish an account with LSI, you need to fill out ALL of the forms necessary for ALL other countries. There are several.



5. The advantage of LSI is they own Ingram Distributors, which is the largest distributor in the world. This allows your book to be ordered from LSI to all bookstores in other countries.



6. You need to use you own ISBN. They are available through Bowkers.


7. LSI is better quality than CreateSpace BUT more expensive. Your cost per book is more than CreateSpace.



8. NEVER approve a book with LSI until one or two weeks after CreateSpace. Otherwise Amazon.com will use LSI INSTEAD of CreateSpace and you will make fewer royalties.



9. NEVER upload your interior pages to LSI UNTIL ALL MISTAKES ARE CORRECTED. Only upload the final version. I just made this mistake. I found grammar errors. I uploaded the revision. Then I found content errors.


I uploaded the revision. LSI nailed me for $40 for each revision. I just lost $80 and will have to sell 80 books to recover from that mistake. From now on, I will upload my books to CreateSpace first, order proof books, make revisions, and when I finally approve the PDF for CreateSpace, I will upload that PDF to LSI.



10. There is an upload cost for LSI. You get what you pay for.



11. Always order books for yourself from CreateSpace. They are cheaper. I am about to put an order in for 50 books. Always drop ship single copies of books through CreateSpace. Let them do the packaging and shipping and bill you for it.



I have now successfully published on CreateSpace with no upload cost and no revision cost. I am distributing only through two channels: Amazon.com and Amazon Europe. This is the main way of selling my books to the public. My books are being sold on ALL Amazon.com websites in all countries.



I do not use Expanded Distribution because I have an LSI account and I use my own ISBNs. There is a danger in using CreateSpace ISBN's as discussed in Charlotte at our last writers’ group meeting. If you use CreateSpace’s ISBNs, CreateSpace can do anything they want with your book. By using my own ISBN, they can’t. In my opinion, the Expanded Distribution is worthless.



To sum up, my book A Journey to Heaven is available online at Barnes and Noble because of my account with LSI. The bookstore in Meadville, PA, Tattered Corners, that is hosting Tammy's March 9 book signing was supplied 10 books that I drop shipped to the bookstore through a CreateSpace order. As of yesterday, the store is also able to order more books through LSI/Ingram and will do that at a 40% discount before the book signing. The book store Park Road Books (an Indie bookstore) in Charlotte, NC, has approved carrying A Journey to Heaven on consignment. I will order books through CreateSpace at my cost and supply them to that store. They will pay me 60% of the sales price of the book twice a year.



One other thing: I have a sales use tax license for NC and have had temporary licenses for other states in which I have sold. The only way around this is to have a bookstore run your books through their cash register during a book signing. They collect and pay the sales tax.
Borders did that for me as well as a sweet bookstore in Inlet, NY.



Phew, that is a lot to cover and I probably forgot some things. I hope this may help to clear up the differences between Lightning Source and CreateSpace.



You can contact Bruce Brodowski on his website at http://orphanheart.wordpress.comhttp://orphanheart.wordpress.com/



You can contact Lorilyn Roberts on her website at http://LorilynRoberts.com.




To learn more about the John 3:16 Marketing Network, where information like this is shared daily, go to http://lorilynroberts.com/john_3_16_marketing_network.html






Sunday, February 17, 2013

New YA Bible Study Plan Available




Now there's a Bible lesson plan for Just Like Jonah Wail Tales, a short story collection teaching there's a price to pay when you disobey to 10- to 14-year-olds. Just Like Jonah Wail Tales Workbook is aimed at parents, Sunday school teachers, youth group leaders and all those who want to share their faith with young people.

Wail tales are exaggerated tales of woe, or fish tales, where the main characters land in a whale of trouble, just like Jonah in the Bible. They turn to God and learn he hears their call when they fall.

"This workbook edition will provide relevant Scriptures and discussion questions to help parents and teachers hone in on the different ways the main characters disobey," says author Cheryl Rogers, who publishes New Christian Books Online Magazine. "It's also good for individual Bible study."

Just Like Jonah Wail Tales Workbook contains eight short stories, with modern Jonahs who mess up in assorted ways. One is prideful and needs to learn about serving, another is fearful, another skips her math homework when it's too hard, another is selfish, and another hosts an underage drinking party when his parents aren't home. The ebook teaches the biblical path of salvation through the example of these characters who call upon the name of the Lord.

"It is my goal to teach these youngsters early through the mistakes of these fictitious characters, so they hopefully can avoid living through wail tales of their own," Rogers says.

A former newspaper reporter, Rogers came to know the Lord as an adult through a serious illness. "There is so much I didn't know," she says, "although I went to church regularly."

So Rogers has dedicated herself to sharing the good news of Jesus Christ through her writing, which includes fiction and nonfiction for all ages.

Her original Just Like Jonah Wail Tales is a short story collection without the discussion questions and Scripture citations, which can be read individually or used by students in group Bible studies.

Her free ebook The Lesson of Jonah: There is a Price to Pay When You Disobey includes one story with discussion questions, plus Scripture cites and optional homework.

Also for the 10- to 14-year-old market, Rogers has written a mystery/adventure about a group of 10- to 16-year-old boys who head to the Florida backwoods for a back-to-nature retreat. Lost in the Woods: A Bible Camp Mystery is the first in her new series about the youth group from a Central Florida community church.

When Bible Den's Leader Chet Harrigan takes his group to the backwoods they are expecting adventure, but they get more of it than they planned. The bumbling adventures of this relatively inexperienced group of campers keep readers guessing. Thirteen-year-old Zack disappears in the middle of the night, more than half of the campers become ill, and a hurricane takes an unexpected turn in their direction. The boys must find Zack, and fast!

The wail tale collection, and Lost in the Woods: A Bible Camp Mystery, are available in multiple ebook formats from the New Christian Books Online Store and other e-retail outlets. Please contact the author to order print copies.