Life Is Expensive...Books Aren't by Jannine Gallant

Life is expensive. Just getting through the month in the black can sometimes be a challenge. For that reason, we all gravitate toward sales and feel like we've scored a victory when we get a great deal. I, for one, am a deal shopper in everything from clothes to groceries. Or maybe I'm just cheap...

Let's take a look at the price of life. It certainly varies from location to location. Homes are a prime example. In the United States, the median cost of a home is $217,000 (I looked it up in case you were wondering). In Tahoe City, the median price is $720,00. No wonder my husband says we have to move if we ever want to retire! Our gas prices here are also ridiculous. Currently, $4.29 per gallon for the cheap stuff. If you live in the South, you pay $2.55 per gallon. I can't even imagine such a windfall at the pump! But, average wages are higher in CA than in a lot of other places. In Tahoe, there is very little unemployment, although work tends to be seasonal. We all have our own set of challenges.

BUT, people everywhere seem to be willing to shell out $3 to $4 for a cup of coffee at Starbucks without batting an eye. And how about greeting cards. I spend 20 minutes scrounging through the shelves for a card that costs $3.50 because I REFUSE to spend $6 on a freaking birthday card!

Then there are books. No matter where you live, books cost the same. And, in general, they're a damn sight cheaper than a birthday card! I honestly get why no one is going to pay $15 for a Print On Demand book by an unknown author. But they'll pay $15 for a digital book by Nora Roberts! FIFTEEN DOLLARS!! I just checked and nearly fainted when I saw the price. And that book, her latest, is currently ranked #18 in romance! But when we price our digital books at $3.99, readers think they're too expensive. FOUR DOLLARS for hours of enjoyment!! A price they routinely shell out for a cup of coffee that will last fifteen minutes, or a birthday card someone will look at for fifteen seconds and then throw away. Yet the book, which will probably take a reader 6ish hours to finish, is too expensive? I just don't get it.

However, I'm game when my publisher puts one of my books on sale. Because if you can't spend 99 cents on a book, you're even cheaper than I am! All my BORN TO BE WILDE books are on sale for the entire month of October for only 99 CENTS!! If you haven't read this series, now is the time to start. Here is the link on AMAZON. Or pull up the links on my WEBSITE to purchase from other retailers. Happy reading!

Fresh Covers for a New Year! by Jannine Gallant

I've mentioned before that my BORN TO BE WILDE series is getting new covers. The old ones had more of a contemporary feel, so they wanted to update them with a suspenseful vibe. My publisher has been teasing me by sharing them one at a time, and I finally got the fourth cover. They are officially changing them out on all the major retail sites this week. Today is day one of the four-day cover reveal. Yippee!

So, here they are! I like the new look. What do you think? Do you have a favorite?

Whether or not the new covers will improve sales remains to be seen. I'm crossing my fingers. If you haven't read them yet, find the buy links on my WEBSITE. Happy New Year, everyone!

New Book Covers and Branding by Jannine Gallant

A few months ago, I received the cover for the first book in my new SIREN COVE series, releasing in 2018. Then, a couple of weeks ago, I got the cover for the second book. They're all scenery and have a suspenseful vibe. I've been given permission to share, so...tada!!

What do you think? I love them! Not long after the first cover was finished, my editor emailed me to say they were giving my BORN TO BE WILDE series a new look. Everyone at Kensington loved the cover for BURIED TRUTH so much, they wanted a do-over for the current series.

I know lots of self-published authors who've gone through multiple incarnations of a book cover, making it more professional and going for a different look. But usually with a publisher, we only get one shot at a cover. So, why is my series being repackaged? The original covers are professional and eye-catching. They feature an attractive couple. They're upbeat. Romantic. Cheerful! I always thought they better suited contemporary romance than romantic suspense, even though they accurately reflect the story. They capture the content but not the mood.

I think there's more to this than going for a suspenseful look. I've always wondered about the mystery of author branding. I never could quite grasp the concept, but with these new covers, I'm beginning to see the light. Kensington is feeling their way with me, finding my specific niche in their company. My brand. I write suspenseful stories where rugged, outdoor settings are a focus of the plot. They're repackaging my books to give me an identifiable look. Currently, only the first two covers are finished. Until all four are available, the old covers remain up on retail sites. I'm giving you all a sneak peek to make my point!

I love this new look, this brand they're giving me. So here they are, the old...

And the new...

What do you think? For those of you who read my books, does this look more like me? I hope one day readers will pick up my books and identify me by the covers the way we do authors who have a brand we know well. For now, I feel like I've found my niche in the world of romantic suspense.

The final two books will get their face lift soon. Stay tuned... And if you haven't started this series yet, read WILDE ONE...with the old cover. Get your copy at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, or KOBO now. Or, pre-order BURIED TRUTH. The buy link is on my website. Happy reading!

Book Sales...a Good Idea or Not? by Jannine Gallant

I just got my statement and check from Kensington for my 4th Quarter 2016 sales. As of the end of 2016, I had five titles available through Kensington's Lyrical Press. This was also the first quarter in a while I didn't have a BookBub ad, so all sales were pretty much organic without that giant boost. And, I had two new releases, one the very end of September (so it didn't get any representation in the 3rd Quarter) and one the end of October. After some intense scrutiny and number crunching, I thought I'd share my insights on sale books with all of you.

First of all, for those of you who are curious about the benefits of BookBub, here are some figures for a book that released over a year ago. Every Step She Takes released in July of 2015. in July of 2016, it was featured on BookBub for .99 cents. I actually made it into the top 100 overall on Amazon for one day during that period. Total sales of this book for the 3rd Quarter were 3,541 copies. By contrast, total sales for this book the 4th Quarter were 468. I think the value of BookBub speaks for itself. I don't know of any other site that can produce those types of numbers.

So, in the 4th Quarter, my pub put several of my books on sale, trying to stir up interest. The thing with sale books is you don't make a whole lot off of them because Amazon gives the publisher 35% of the total for a .99 cent book vs. 70% for a book priced at $2.99 or higher. The author share of a .99 cent book with a publisher taking their standard 60% is about .14 cents. My ex-agent gets her 15%, so I make .12 cents. Those who are self published would make .34 cents. On a $2.99 book, I make .71 cents, so 6 times as much on a non-sale book. You might ask yourself why anyone would ever sell their book for .99 cents at those prices. Good question. Answer to follow so keep reading!

Remember those two brand new releases in my Born to Be Wilde series? In 2016, neither of them were on sale, and both sold for 3.99. The results were pretty pathetic... 270 sales for Wilde One, and 222 sales for Wilde Side. During this same time, my oldest book with Kensington, Every Move She Makes was on sale for over a month. The result...it sold 662 copies. This book released in March of 2015 and has been on a ton of sales including BookBub, yet it still outsold the brand new releases by 300%! As for actual profits, royalties for every one of my five books were within a $30 differential despite a huge swing in total sales. But, those sale books have an intrinsic value as a promotional device. I estimate that at least 1 in every 3 people who buy the sale book will pay full price for the other books in the series. Those would have been lost sales without the .99 cent book.

You're probably sick of the math lesson by now, but my conclusion is sale price books do help boost your overall sales, both in numbers and $$. So, even if you think you're making pennies off each one (which you are), in the long run, it pays off.

I hope you found all this helpful if you're considering putting your own books on sale. As for my books, right now all three Wilde books are on sale. WILDE ONE and WILDE THING are 99 cents, and WILDE SIDE is $1.99. The sale on Wilde One is supposed to end today, so grab it while you can. I'll be very interested to see what these sales do for my 1st Quarter 2017 figures. I'll report back in a few months! Just click on the titles to go to the Amazon buy links. Happy reading!

Feeling a Little Panicked by Jannine Gallant

I've never been one to doubt my skill as a writer. Other authors share their angst--feelings of not being good enough, worry that people won't like their books, fear the ideas will run dry, etc. etc. I can empathize but not really relate. I've always been very confident about my craft...or maybe delusional is a better word... But all of a sudden, I'm having self-doubts. I think it's that mass market paperback contract and the advance I have to earn back. I don't have a huge following. Why would a romance reader standing in the aisle of a Barnes and Noble pick my book out of the many familiar authors on display? I'm jittery just thinking about it...and I'm only on my second cup of coffee. Plus, this is a new line of books for Kensington, and I'm one of their guinea pigs, uh, I mean launch authors. So, I don't even have a familiar little emblem on the spine to draw loyal readers.

So, what do I have going for me? What will make that reader reach for my book? The first thought to pop into my head--the cover. My editor tells me they're working on it now, even though the book won't release until 2018. I've shared my ideas for a concept. Who the heck knows what I'll get, but it won't be a half-naked man. This is romantic suspense, and their focus will be on a suspenseful cover. I love scenery covers, but my greatest fear is you MUST HAVE name recognition for scenery covers to work for you. People don't know me from Adam.

Oh, and on the cover note...my editor also told me they need an author photo on the inside back cover. When I mentioned this to my daughter, she stared at me in horror. "Please don't tell me you're going to use the one you have up on Facebook?" So, I made a panicked phone call to get my hair cut (it's been a year and looks like hell) and another to the photographer who took both my daughters' senior pictures. She's pure magic, but I seriously doubt I'm going to look as awesome as my gorgeous, skinny, young girls. No one is that good... Then I stood in my closet for an hour wondering why I own nothing that will make me look like a best selling author...hey, appearances count, right? Anyway, the photographer is squeezing me in later today, so please hope for the best.

Back to my angst...I'm currently writing the last chapter of the first book in my SIREN COVE series. For the first time in, well, EVER, I'm wondering if the book will work. They wanted traditional romantic suspense, and I aim to please. I've got a very dark undertone to the suspense, plus a secondary mystery with a creative twist. I've tried to tie it all together and think...hope...pray...I've succeeded. But I'm worried. Will new readers (the one's who're going to pick up my book despite the fact there's no naked man on the cover) keep flipping those pages to see what happens...or are they going to find the plot too convoluted? I'm hyperventilating just thinking about it. Is this book clever...or did I try too hard? I guess I'll find out.

We all have a safety zone, and I'm out of mine. What about you? Do you freak out over new and different or take it in stride? Or do you stay with what's familiar and comfortable and doesn't give you an ulcer?

The first two books in my current series, BORN TO BE WILDE, are available now. People seem to like them, but I could use more reviews...just saying. All buy links are on my website. Or, click on the covers to go straight to Amazon. Happy reading!

Another New Release ~ I'm Not Kidding! by Jannine Gallant

Let's talk about the strategy of spacing our new releases. It used to be I was simply thrilled to get a book written and submitted. Then came the long wait while it made the rounds, looking for a home. The whole process took a year or two or three before the book was released into the digital world. Then everything changed with the popularity of contracting an entire series of books instead of single titles. Now, I submit Book One (or 3 chapters of Book One) and a proposal for the rest of the books in the series to my publisher. I'm given turn-in dates and release dates before I've even finished the first book in the series. The pressure to produce is on...

But with the advent of contracting a series comes strategy in release dates. With my Who's Watching Now series, I had a March release and a July release in 2015, then the final book didn't come out until March of 2016. The results were a huge drop off in sales for the final book in the series. The momentum for Book One held through Book Two, and both sold very well, but people forgot about them and didn't pick up Book Three. Nor did they pre-order that far in advance. Sad. Very sad.

So, my pub had the bright idea of back to back releases for my second series, Born To Be Wilde. Wilde One came out the end of September. Wilde Side just released the end of October. Books Three and Four are on pre-sale with release dates in February and May of 2017. And, I'm noticing an interesting phenomenon. Based on Amazon rankings (which I track relentlessly to the detriment of word production) after Wilde One came out, I saw pre-orders for Book Two but not much action on Three and Four. However, in the week since Wilde Side released, pre-sales for the final two books have jumped. So, something about reading two books back to back motivates people to pre-order the rest of the series when the wait isn't terribly long. Very cool. Now, if I could just get the first two into more hands, I might actually see some serious success with this series.

But there's a downside to this rapid fire release schedule. Promotion. I have a feeling all my Facebook friends are sick to death of seeing posts about my new books. I only scheduled a couple of blogs for each book that required new content posts on sites with high traffic. Both books went on the standard cover/blurb/excerpt blog tour arranged through my pub. Those get little traffic or exposure and seem like a huge waste of time and money...but what do I know? I can't promote the same content day after day on social media without running the risk of being unfriended by everyone I know! It's quite the conundrum. Right now I feel like my best bet is to stop harassing my Facebook friends and rely on organic sales. I'm going to have to trust that people who buy Wilde One or Wilde Side will like them enough to pick up the rest of the series. And if my pub can get me a BookBub ad, I'll probably kiss their collective feet in relief! In aid of that goal and the 20 review requirement, if you've read either book, please, please leave me an Amazon review. I'll be eternally in your debt!

So, what have you found to be a winning (or losing) strategy for release dates? Those who self-publish are in control of their own destiny, so it'll be interesting to see if you have a process beyond finish the book and publish. Curious minds want to know.

In the meantime, pick up your copy of Wilde One or Wilde Side anywhere e-books are sold! Info on all my books can be found on my Website.

Book Covers...or...That Feeling You Get by Jannine Gallant

The big morning arrives. You haven't even finished your first cup of coffee when you open your email and discover the one you've been waiting for is in the queue... You know, THE ONE. A jpeg for your new book cover accompanied by an email telling you it's your FINAL cover and can't be changed unless they spelled your name wrong, and even then, they might just let it go... Nerves flutter. Your stomach tightens. Still, you're beside yourself with excitement. Your finger hovers over the button to pull up the image while you say a little prayer...

We've all been there...unless we create our own covers or have a heck of a lot to say about the cover images chosen. With Kensington, they ask for info on the book, a description of my H&H and my ideas for the cover. After that it's out of my hands. For my Who's Watching Now series, I got similar covers with attractive backgrounds close enough to work for each story, and hot, headless guys. Even though my heroes had never worn tank tops in their lives, I decided I was okay with all those muscles showing. At this point in my career, I'd rather sell books than have total accuracy in my cover images. Also, though some readers aren't fans of headless heroes, you can't pick the wrong model if you can't see his face!


I was on edge waiting for my first cover in my Born To Be Wilde series. I knew the concept would be repeated for all four books, so it was nerve wracking! The email came, and I was in LOVE! The hero and heroine of Wilde One looked EXACTLY how I pictured them (except for the ubiquitous tank top) with the perfect background. Whew...huge relief. Since the first two books will be back-to-back releases, my cover for Wilde Side followed close behind. I stared. I swallowed. My stomach dropped. But, but, that wasn't how I pictured my hero and heroine. She had on too much makeup, and he had weird, trendy hair and a too-intense expression. But the background was spectacular. Always a plus. Maybe my expectations were too high. The cover worked, but it wasn't...perfect. I am, however, getting used to it. Maybe trendy hero hair will attract a younger audience. Just because I'm not a big fan of makeup doesn't mean readers will find anything wrong with my heroine and her fake lashes. LOL


So, do the strong mind pictures we have of our characters set us up for failure when it comes to covers? Have you received covers you either loved or hated? What do you think of mine? Will they sell books? After all, that's the cover's number one job. Pleasing the author is just a bonus!


To pre-order Wilde One or Wilde Side, just click on the titles above! Check out my other books on my WEBSITE.

The Advantages of a Solid Critique by Jannine Gallant

Who wants to be told our books have issues--lots of issues? Uh, not me. I'd rather hear it's perfect out of the gate. Too bad that's NEVER the case. Usually I have mixed feelings when I send my finished manuscript off to my CP because I know she's going to point out everything I did wrong. Some things I agree with. Some things I don't. But, here's where both sorts of comments help.

1) Frequently I know in the back of my mind that something isn't working. Let's take my most recent effort, Wilde Side (Book Two in my new Borne To Be Wilde series), which Margo just sent back with pages and pages of (minor) suggestions. Minor is her word. My thought was, "Are you freaking kidding me!" The opening is a white water rafting trip with a congressman who is running for president, his aide (the heroine), the rafting guides (owner of company is the hero), c-man's male relatives to make him look like a family man to the voting public, and the media who are filming/writing an article about the trip. LOTS of people. Margo's comments were things like, "Who's this guy--I can't keep them all straight." Huge sigh. I was a little worried about this. Let me stress that someone is trying to kill the congressman, so I need suspects present. But I had too many extras. Solution: I ditched the journalist and his cameraman and stuck with only the two man video team. Of course one of my suspects was the journalist, so I had to rewrite some of his sections to switch him to video. (More heavy sighs.) But, it was easier than I thought it would be. The result was a tighter group with less confusion. (I hope!) My point is it took a fresh pair of eyes to see what I couldn't. And she was completely right about there being too many people.

2) Next up - repeated comments that this or that doesn't work, and I need to change it. My reaction, "Is she crazy? It works just fine!" After simmering down and mulling over the part in question, I asked myself why it didn't work for her. Let's take the part I'm "fixing" right now. My heroine and the congressman have been knocked off a cliff and are holding on for dear life. Comments about the rocks that knocked them over and facial expression that couldn't be seen from above abound. All of it seemed completely fine to me. I could picture the whole scene... Too bad Margo was picturing something completely different. I didn't have enough detail to make my vision clear. Adding in a few sentences should solve this problem, and I'm able to leave it the way I want it. Turned out to be an easy (but necessary) fix.

3) Sometimes she points out problems that I don't really believe are problems and suggests solutions to solve said problems that I don't want to do. I'm left stuttering to myself, "But...but...that's not what I want to have happen." We've gone back and forth about this one. Kidnapping occurs, and kidnapper has to haul his victim across a couple of states. Her comments are about how, "This is crazy because no kidnapper would give his victim that much opportunity to escape. Change the location they go to to someplace closer." I don't want to change the location. I set up this location with a ton of effort and have multiple reasons for not finding a new one. So, I looked at the problem behind the problem. The probability that my heroine would get away during this journey. My solution is to make the kidnapper colder and more aggressive. If he has to get gas or food, he gives her the old Vulcan nerve pinch to the neck to knock her out. If she has to pee, she's going to have to do it in the bushes not at a gas station. I sort of skipped to the end of the trip without filling in how they get there, but I need to go back and add these details to make my "must have" road trip work for a discerning reader. So, the drastic (my word not hers--she's still saying minor! LOL) changes she wanted aren't going to happen in this case. But, I will do my best to address the concerns that caused the suggestions.

So, whether or not you agree with everything your CP has to say, my advice is to look deeper into why she's saying it. Chances are there is something behind the suggestion that needs to be addressed. You may not want to solve the problem one way, but it would behoove (love that word!) you to dig into the underlying issue and give your story more clarity. And, if you're sending your poor little manuscript off to your editor with no critique beforehand, you can probably expect to have to address far more problems with someone you can't say no to. Do yourself a favor and get a CP who isn't afraid to tell you when your writing sucks and save yourself a lot of headaches down the road. I'd far rather fix problems my way than an editor's way.

I'll shut up now with the sage advice. Happy writing!

Find info and buy links for all my books on my website.