The Venom of Vipers - almost done!

After four revision passes and five editing passes, I'm almost ready to stick a fork in this book! It won't go on sale until December 1, though. I'm going to send it around to review bloggers to try to drum up some pre-release publicity. Want a sneak peek? Chapter 1 is available on my web site!

Featured at Bargain eBooks!

The Kinshield Legacy received a new 4-star review on Amazon today. Julie Ann Dawson of Bards & Sages Publishing started off by writing, "The Kinshield Legacy is a well paced, intricately plotted fantasy wrapped in a beautifully crafted setting. Author K.C. May does an exceptional job of breathing life into the kingdom of Thendylath. The lore and history of her setting weaves throughout the plot, tying everything together expertly." Read more at Bards and Sages.

The Kinshield Legacy is also being featured today at the brand new blog, Bargain eBooks. Check it out!

Book marketing tip #1

From time to time, someone on one of the forums I frequent asks for ideas about getting the word out about their book. Although I haven't had my ebooks out very long, I've been compiling a list of book marketing tips that I've tried or thought of trying or heard about others trying. Someone suggested I blog these ideas, so here I am!

This first tip is for folks who've published a book for the Amazon Kindle.

The Kindle Boards is a very active community of Kindle readers and authors. Join this community at http://www.kindleboards.com

Once you're a member, post an introduction at http://www.kindleboards.com/index.php/board,3.0.html -- people at the Kindle Boards want to get to know you as a person. This is a good time to remind authors to be active at the forums you join. Don't just go there to promote your stuff. Contribute to topics, start discussions or ask questions about stuff you're interested in. As an independent author, we're in a great position to connect directly with readers. Here's a terrific place to do that!

Now that you've joined the Kindle Boards and posted your Hi message, post an introduction for the book at the Book Bazaar http://www.kindleboards.com/index.php/board,42.0.html  This is the only place on the site that authors are permitted to promote our books. Only make one thread per book -- you can add updates to the thread once per week. Don't "bump" your book's thread.

Next, read this thread: http://www.kindleboards.com/index.php/topic,27235.msg660219.html#msg660219 and follow its instructions.

Finally, put a link to your book in your signature on the Kindleboards (a how-to is provided in a sticky at the top of this forum: http://www.kindleboards.com/index.php/topic,29609.0.html) and post elsewhere on the board. Readers use this board, and they may buy your book based on your posts. Make it easy for them by providing links in every post.

The Indie Spotlight

The Kinshield Legacy is today's featured novel at The Indie Spotlight. When I submitted the info, I hadn't updated the cover yet, or moved the paperback printing to createspace, but the rest is current. :)

http://www.theindiespotlight.com/

The paperback is available at Amazon, but it's almost 4 bucks cheaper at B&N! ;)

New forum for ebook readers

Whether you have a Nook or Kindle or Sony or iPad, this forum is for discussing ebooks of all sizes, shapes and formats! Come check it out: http://ebookgab.com/

Book of the Day

The Kinshield Legacy is today's Book of the Day over on the Kindle Boards. If you own a Kindle, or you're thinking of getting one, swing by the Kindle Boards and have a look around. It's full of Kindle fans from across the world!

The End

Last week, I finished all new writing on The Venom of Vipers, my upcoming science fiction novel set in Phoenix in 2023. After working for a year and a half on this book, I finally typed The End. Immediately, I was overcome with emotion: sadness, relief, fear! It's exciting to officially be in the revision stage. I enjoy the writing part. I love the revision part! It's where I get to bring out the detail and get all the ducks lined up. Edits are fun too -- put a nice shine on it and get it ready for the whole wide world. I'm not one of those who writes a pretty first (or second) draft. The revision and edit stages are where my best work happens.

In any event, I'm offering autographed ebooks to all who pre-purchase from my web site. I create an autographed ebook by writing something personal to the buyer on a sheet of paper, scanning it into my computer and adding that image to the manuscript (on or near the title page) before I create the final ebook.

If you're interested, visit http://www.kcmay.com/venom.html.