Debutante Ball staring "Watched"

Welcome to the Debutante Ball, 

A Feast of Debut Authors Blog Tour.

The party Ends today with me. So cool!

We're all giving away our books and some awesome swag. So, enter each day on each blog below on or before December 31st to win.

Announcing Watched, a contemporary suspense Novel by Cindy M. Hogan.

Released June 6, 2011.

What readers are saying about Watched:

"Fantastic read, full of suspense and excitement."

-Bullard GMTA

"One of those books you don't want to put down."
-S. Hill

"Well written and suspenseful."

-A. Brown

"Usually I'm prone to murder mysteries by James Patterson, and this kept me just as enthralled as his books."

-S. McClure

"This is my new favorite book."

-A. Ahlstrom 

Just for this contest and to thank everyone who has made Watched a success and spread the word even more, Watched is only .99 cents for all e-readers.  

Yahoo! Go get yours today
Nook
Kindle

all other e-formats also available. Get it at your favorite spot.

All you have to do to enter is comment and tell others about the fun Each time you comment, Tweet, Facebook or blog about the ball during the rest of December, you get an entry. Just leave a comment with the link to what you did. Easy!

Have fun and go find out about all these authors. 
                  One a day. 
                              Enter their contests and win.


Have fun and enjoy the books and swag!

12 Elizabeth Mueller elizabethmueller.blogspot.com

13 Regan Guerra www.reganguerra.blogspot.com

14 Melissa Pearl melissapearl.blogspot.com

15 Claudia Lefeve http://www.claudialefeve.com/

16 Joseph Beekman http://josephsstoriesandtales.blogspot.com/

17 Pendragon Innmen PendragonWrites.com 

19 Alex J. Cavanaugh alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com

20 Gillian Schafer gillianjoy-livingtowrite.blogspot.com

21 Fiauna Lund formyfour.blogspot.com

22 Anastasia V. Pergakis http://labotomyofawriter.com/

26 Tanya Contois http://speedyreader-allthingsbooks.blogspot.com

27 Patti Larsen pattilarsen.blogspot.com

28 Red Tash RedTash.com

29 Annetta Ribken wordwebbing.com

30 Cindy Hogan watched-thebook.blogspot.com 

Leave me some love and comment!

Indie Publishing Secrets Revealed. Effective Book Descriptions

Go enter a huge book giveaway here.

What should the description of your book include on Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and all the other sites your book is sold?

1. It should start with a few catchy review quotes that are short and sweet like: "I couldn't put it down.", "well-written", "fantastic read". Definitely give credit to those who reviewed it with a dash and their last name along with "reviewer". If you get the phrases off Amazon or already got permission to post the reviews, go for it. If not, then ask permission before posting the names. Check out Watched's description here.

2. Then, tease your reader. Get them excited to jump into your book. 3-4 sentences only. here.

3. Put the back blurb in if it's a good one (and short) and it better be. here.

4. End with 3-4 other quotes that speak to other great things about your book that weren't covered in the quotes you put in the beginning. here.

5. Add a call to action- buy this, without saying buy this. For example: Only .99 cents.

• Once you have it just how you want it, ask a lot of people to read it over and give their two cents. 
• Listen to what they have to say and then ask why they say it.Tune into the feelings your description evokes. That is so important. You want people to really want to buy it. Use your critique groups, your online groups, even Facebook and Twitter to try it out.

Good Luck and have fun writing your description. Make it perfect. 

Just remember, you need this at least one month before you release or launch your book.

Free Books for You!

Come join the fun! 
I hope you win all kinds of books today!
You can pick any book you want with a 
$10 Barnes and Noble gift card. 
I'd pick Divergent by Veronica Roth if you don't own it yet. It's my favorite book of 2011, besides my own, of course.(Watched. ebook only .99 cents right now! wow!)
Easy Entry- Do them all in under 1 minute.

1. Follow this blog -mandatory
2. Like my Watched Facebook page here +2 extra
3. Like my Watched Amazon page here  +2 extra
4. Follow my 7 things I love blog  extra +1
5. Join iWriteNetwork +1 extra- an awesome site for authors or would-be-authors
**Leave me a comment here with what entries you did and your email so I can notify you if you win.
This giveaway ends on the 31st, so hurry.

Good luck! Now go enter all the other giveaways

Indie Publishing Secrets Revealed - To Consider

Today I'm blogging at iWriteNetwork.


Click here to read my indie secret for today.

Click here to join iWriteNetworkning, a nuts and bolts site to support writers of all abilities.
Come on over and join a safe place to interact with other authors and learn all there is to know about writing, marketing and publishing. It's free and you'll learn a ton.

Every other week we interview an amazing author on Saturdays at 9 am MST. We post notes on the interviews on the site and you can ask questions during the interview. If you are unable to be there live, you can always listen to the BlogTalkRadio interview at any time.

Stay tuned for an awesome all day workshop coming in January. It will rock.


See ya at all the iWriteNetwork sites. Let's learn together.


Oh, and the merriest of Christmases to you all.  

Indie Publishing Secret- One Hour of Daily to Dos

I'm making a list, checking it twice....



It is so important that you keep up with all the little things. (That don't involve your manuscript)And remember, the little things are really the big things. I don't spend more than You can do it all in less than one hour a day. If you procrastinate, it will overwhelm you.

1. Yahoo/gmail other mail services.
      Make subfolders for all your mail and always move emails to the right
      folder. Check once in the morning and once at night.Don't wait to
      reply. Do it now. 10-15  minutes total.

2. Google reader (google.com/reader) A great tool for checking out all the blogs you
     follow in one spot. Scroll through and pick 5-10 to comment on daily 5 minutes

3. Facebook profile (Friends) 
     Post at least once a day and scroll through the news clicking "like" and commenting for 5 minutes max
     twice  a day. This is where you do more personal posts.

4. Facebook page (s) (Likes)
    Post something interesting about your book or what you're working on. It is writing or author related. 5
    minutes max

5. Forums/groups (Yahoo, Facebook, Linked-in)  you belong to. 
    Change your settings to receive digest versions of posts. Scroll through and comment on as much as you
    can in 10 minutes. Be disciplined.

6. Twitter 
     Send out a tweet at least twice a day and scroll through the recent tweets and comment, retweet and reply
     to as many as you can in 5 minutes

7. Goodreads-
     Sign up for digests and look at it in your mail. Comment and update book statuses for 5 minutes.

8. Shelfari- Not mandatory, but nice to update your books and follow a few people here and there.

9. Amazon page (Author central) Check all your author info, sales info and page once a day. Make sure it is current and looks good. Update any appearances, signings, etc you have coming up. 5 minutes

Meet Awesome Debut Authors and Win

Welcome to the Debutante Ball, 

A Feast of Debut Authors Blog Tour.

The party starts today and goes all month long.

And we're all giving away our books and some awesome swag. So, enter each day on each blog below on or before December 31st to win.

Announcing Watched, a contemporary, romantic suspense by Cindy M. Hogan.

Released June 6, 2011.

What readers are saying about Watched:

"Fantastic read, full of suspense and excitement."

-Bullard GMTA

"One of those books you don't want to put down."
-S. Hill

"Well written and suspenseful."

-A. Brown

"Usually I'm prone to murder mysteries by James Patterson, and this kept me just as enthralled as his books."

-S. McClure

"This is my new favorite book."

-A. Ahlstrom 

(And I don't know any of these people. I get at least one email a day thanking me for Watched. So freaking cool!)

Just for this contest and to thank everyone who has made Watched a success and spread the word even more, Watched is only .99 cents for all e-readers.  

Yahoo! Go get yours here today

All you have to do to enter is comment and tell others about the fun Each time you comment, Tweet, Facebook or blog about the ball during the rest of December, you get an entry. Just leave a comment with the link to what you did. Easy!

Have fun and go find out about all these authors. 
                  One a day. 
                              Enter their contests and win.


Today you can find out all about Elizabeth's book and win, tomorrow, Regan's and so forth. 


Have fun and enjoy the books and swag!

12 Elizabeth Mueller elizabethmueller.blogspot.com

13 Regan Guerra www.reganguerra.blogspot.com

14 Melissa Pearl melissapearl.blogspot.com

15 Claudia Lefeve http://www.claudialefeve.com/

16 Joseph Beekman http://josephsstoriesandtales.blogspot.com/

17 Pendragon Innmen PendragonWrites.com 

19 Alex J. Cavanaugh alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com

20 Gillian Schafer gillianjoy-livingtowrite.blogspot.com

21 Fiauna Lund formyfour.blogspot.com

22 Anastasia V. Pergakis http://labotomyofawriter.com/

26 Tanya Contois http://speedyreader-allthingsbooks.blogspot.com

27 Patti Larsen pattilarsen.blogspot.com

28 Red Tash RedTash.com

29 Annetta Ribken wordwebbing.com

30 Cindy Hogan watched-thebook.blogspot.com 

See ya tomorrow with a Indie Secret.

Searching for a Title

It is truly a miracle that I finished my Nano goal of writing a 50,000 word book in one month. I actually finished on the last day. Yay!!

Now, I need to name the book and edit it.

I'd love your help in naming it. Vote for your favorite.

1.Self-publishing: the nitty gritty

2.Self-publishing: the real nuts and bolts

3.Indie-publishing how to

4.Indie-publishing: the nitty gritty

5.Indie-publishing: the real nuts and bolts

6. The Definitive Guide to Self-publishing

7. Your suggestion here

Thanks for your help!

Oh, No!

Wondering where I've been? 

This has been one crazy week.

First, I got this horrible cold on Sunday.

On Mon. I was behind on my Nano goal and had a good 10,000 words to finish by Wednesday...

I'm subbing for three months for my good friend, Jen, at a junior high in Davis County.(She had the cutest little girl on Thanksgiving Day). So, I had to sub every day from 8-3, then, I had to be at a different Costco each day from 3:30-7:30.

On Mondays, I spend the evening with my family. This Monday was no exception. I was still sick.

I wrote every chance I got on Tues and finished my 50,000 words on my indie publishing book on Wednesday afternoon. Nano completed! Whew! Boy, did that feel great! My critique group came from 8-10 p.m. Still sick.

On Thursday, hurricane winds showed up at my house about 2 am. The winds were so loud, no one slept. They hung out until about 2 pm. No kidding. Winds up to 100 miles an hour crashed against everything in their path.

Our 40 year old pine tree bit the dust, landing on my little fruit trees, flattening them. Something hit our chimney and broke it off, our fence fell right before our eyes, one section at a time, our pool house collapsed, shingles went flying, along with our trampoline that crumpled up in a small ball and we have no idea where our wooden bench went-not a leaf remained in our yard.

Even though trampolines were flying through the air, the School District did not close the schools and so, my car being pelted by all kinds of debris, I drove to the junior high. It only took me 30 minutes(it usually takes me 10). I saw three semis on their sides on my way and my car swayed precariously the whole way there.
We were in class for 1 hour and the power went out. We played games in the dark (the window did cast a bit of light).

At noon, they finally let may teachers leave since most of the parents had already picked up their kids.

The power was also out at my house. Once the temperature hit 50 degrees in our house, we headed for my mom's to spend the night.

Luckily, the school district closed the schools on Friday. I spent the day at Ogden and Bountiful Costcos.

Today, Sat., I spent the day at the SL Costco and my cold is still hanging on....

But, I'm back...hooray! Tuesday I'll have some fun indie news for you.

Happy Winter!