Author Adelaide Acree shares her release of Book E, planning for Books F, G, and H, as well as project managing her workload when she needs to write two books at once!

An Engagement at Eastbury is Out Now

Book E is out now and exclusive to Amazon Kindle Unlimited! In last month's blog, I went into my editing process, but if you want a quick look on costs to edit and publish the book, see below the breakdown for this 80K manuscript

• Beta Reader (x 2) $85 each

• Line Edits $343 

• Copy Edits $250

• Proofreading $495

Below you'll see my book cover design for Book E (I was going to have the setting in Eltham Palace until my research told me the palace was rebuilt in the 1900s). Originally, I was designing my book covers in Adobe Express. It's an easy program to learn, the filters, shadows and stock images/videos are easy to locate. But when I decided to publish print books, I wanted them to look more professional. Since I have a Creative Cloud membership, I decided to learn how to use InDesign. It was a bit complicated at first, but now I have become more comfortable using the program.

I'm proud of how Book E turned out. Cousins by marriage might turn some readers off, even if they protagonists are not related by blood. But my writing brain did not want their connection to be any other way. 

I plan to pay for Amazon and Meta ADs to announce the new book and continue to let people know I've moved all my ebooks to Kindle Unlimited. The only negative I realized after moving them was I lost all my reviews! So I think in my advertizements, I'll need to ask for ratings and reviews.

Planning my F and G Book

For readers who follow my blogs, you'll know I'm behind schedule by one book. I technically planned to have Book F out by now and Book G out by the end of September. I've heard plenty of authors write multiple books at a time, so I'm going to give it a go. 

I have draft one underway for Book F, so I need to start on Book G, which I have the outline for. I go back to university September 2. I have to knuckle down in August to get drafts 1 and 2 done, so I feel comfortable sending it to my editors at the end of August/early September. I want Book H to come out at the end of November, so with my studies, I'll comfortably meet the deadline.

Paperbacks 

Last month, when I couldn't get my print book cover templates to be accepted in D2D, I ended up hiring someone in Upwork. I gave the freelancer my requirements, reviewed their profile and reviews. Thinking they would be a great fit, hired them. 

I knew something was amiss when they sent me the first book cover to review and it was all wrong. I'm not quite sure why I didn't part ways there and then, but a month later and much back and forth where they kept making mistakes (this could have been avoided if they double checked their work), I finally received the indd files, so I can fix up the mistakes they made. 

Their indd file output was accepted by D2D, so as I clean up the mess, I'm reuploading them into D2D. If they are accepted, it will be a win because I couldn't figure out why it wasn't working for me. I did notice they added the D2D blank template behind the indd file, which I didn't think to do. I'll be trying it with Book E. I definetly won't work with them again, nor recommend them. It's a shame as they are a children's book designer and would have worked with them on my Crocs Rule! book.

Social Media

It's the end of the month, so need to plan August's posts. I'm going to work on that for the rest of July, so I can concentrate on writing my manuscripts. I have repurposed old posts that never recieved any views or likes when I first started my accounts. Now my account is established, reposting them with different graphics or format rewards me with triple the views. Views are increasing, but I still need more engagement such as new followers, likes, and comments. I'm attending a conference this weekend, so looking forward to the marketing sessions to see if I can leverage any information to help me improve my accounts.

Other News

I'm still trying to get out into the garden every morning for fresh air and exercise. I planted seeds last month in a mini greenhouse, and I was pleasently surprised 90% sprouted! My French and Garden beans were the first ones to grow, so I planted them in bigger pots. They are now big enough to plant in the ground, but with 14 plants, I have to dig up some grass to make new veggie gardens. That's okay because I'd prefer a garden over grass.

I went for a long walk yesterday and felt great, but my feet did not, so now I'm on the hunt for new trainers. I had Merrils and Saucony last. My Merrils were great, but from repeated crouching, I wore them out and created holes in the material. The Saucony's were too small on one foot and ended up only using them to ride my bike. The brand On keeps popping up everywhere, so I might give them a go. 

Until next time…

MNP xx