How Should You Take Bad Reviews as an Indie Author?

You suck!

Bad Reviews, Everyone Gets Them

Bad reviews are inevitable. It is the natural way of things, because people are different and tastes are different. Early on in my writing, I got slammed by readers on B&N. The reviews were harsh and made me question myself as a writer. It forced me to decide why I was writing. Was I writing for others or was I writing for my own enjoyment?

Turns out, I am writing for me. I love bringing my characters to life and seeing how their stories unfold. It is a high like no other. At the time, I chose to ignore the reviews even though they hurt. I chose not to let someone else decide what I would do with my life.

Had I listened to those depressing reviews Luke and Tesse, Dan, Jenny and Ryan, and sassy little Brie would never have been born into the world. Their voices would have remained silent.

Follow you heart, authors. Ebooks allow us to write without anyone losing money if we fail. We have the freedom to let our imaginations soar. Yes, look at the bad reviews to see if there is something you can improve on. You should always be willing to grow. However, don't let it kill your dream if you know you are meant to write.

Something else to keep in mind: The people who write bad reviews are generally not your audience. It is okay if they don't like your work, because they aren't the people you are trying to reach. 

* If you want to check out my nasty reviews (you know you want to), here's a link. FYI, Amy does NOT do her cousin.

Blissfully Broken: Third in the Blissfully Series

I know some of you have been waiting quite a while to find out what happened to Dan, Jenny and Ryan. Your wait is finally over! Blissfully Broken is now out on Amazon and Smashwords and is one HOT novelette full of sexy encounters - and a little taste of revenge. This book was a struggle for me because I came down with pneumonia and tried to write through it. Well... I was set to publish last month, but needed to go back and tweak a little. I am proud to offer you this exciting peek into the lives of two men loving one woman.

Blissfully Broken

Jenny is living the dream of a ménage a trois with two passionate men. The sex is delicious, but the intense love of both men makes it that much sweeter. There is only one problem. Jenny betrayed her best friend when she accidently fell in love with Dan. Revenge and a proposal are in their future and may be enough to unravel the sexy threesome.

This racy novelette is the third in the Blissful series exploring the sexual creativity of a FMM ménage a trois involving one woman and two hot men.

Extended description:

Dan, Jenny and Ryan have chosen to live a legitimate ménage a trois. Both men are in love with Jenny and are willing to share her. Dan moves in with the couple and the three experiment with the sexual possibilities of two men loving one woman. Unfortunately, Jenny’s ex girlfriend is intent on revenge. Kelly uses one of the men to create a crack between the three. Can Jenny protect the unique relationship before the fracture grows large enough to shatter their beautiful arrangement?

Adult Material (18+)

Warning: This book contains sexually explicit content and scenes that some readers may find objectionable.

Red Phoenix: Who Are You?

Seriously, who are you?

Who am I?

I am just your average joe-ette. I worked most of my life at silly part-time jobs and one career that I really loved. However, times change and I no longer fit in that world so I've gone back to my childhood love - writing.

I am married and have kids. My children are the greatest thing I will ever do/have a part of. What a miracle kids are, even if you want to throttle them because they frustrating the crap out of you.  (I have teenagers.) But seriously, I love my kiddos. I also love my hubby - he is often the inspiration behind my male characters.

As many of you can tell, I am not an English Major. I love writing, but always found grammar to be boring and limiting. It kicks me in the butt these days as I edit my work... Funny thing is much of what I learned in school no longer holds true. I feel so betrayed!

I am a lover of the underdog. I was bullied when I was young and it has shaped me into the person I am now. I'm lucky I survived those years, some kids don't. My heart goes out to all the people suffering the scars of such treatment. Now that I have had time to reflect, my heart goes out to the bullies, too. They must be hurting units to treat others so cruelly. I will always cheer for the underdog, because they are the true winners in life.

I am a person who has made mistakes, some of them pretty big. Yet, I can't regret them because they have led me to this point and I am grateful to be where I am. I firmly believe if we learn from our mistakes and move forward then we have nothing to regret.

I am a lover of sex. Yes, there I said it. I really do. More now than ever. Writing and reading erotica will do that to a person. ;) For me personally, it has to be in a committed relationship. I can't even kiss a guy and enjoy it unless I love him - I've always been that weird. In fact, I was afraid I was meant for nunnery early on  because I was such a cold fish. Turns out, if I am going to give myself away its ALL the way, Baby - heart, body, mind and soul.

So, who is Red Phoenix? Just a fellow woman following her heart ~ no different than you. :)

~ Red

May Numbers for Red Phoenix on Amazon

Oh wow, what a month May has been for this indie author! I noticed at the end of April that my book, Brie Learns to Obey, was rising in the ranks even though it had just been released. I had no idea then how well she would do in the month of May. So well, in fact, that I ended up continuing that series and putting my other projects to the wayside.

Brie's success on Amazon means that people are starting to look at my other work.  All of my books have done better this month than previous months. The month of May has been a joy ride. Whoop!

For the Month of May 2012:

6,079 books purchased (Keep in mind that I get .35 for every book sold)
71,212 freebies downloaded

Best Sellers for the Month of May: (Numbers not as laughable as the past few months.)

Paid - Brie Learns to Obey 2458, Brie Learns Her Power as a Submissive 1448 and Blissfully in Love 498
Freebies - Deeper Baby! 18158, Brie's First Day of Submissive Training 16983 and Blissfully Snowbound 11098

* For the month of May I added two books on Amazon and no additional books went FREE.


Quick Recap of Past Months:

Starting to rise

April:

878 books purchased         

29,879 freebies downloaded 

March:

693 books purchased
27,571 freebies downloaded 

February:

298 books purchased         

12,386 freebies downloaded 

What I am Learning:

You need to keep the momentum going once a series gets popular. Brie Lives Her Fantasy was just published May 30 and is doing impressively well in that short amount of time. I plan to publish the next Brie book by the end of the month. Doable if I work hard.

Part of my success is due to the popularity of Fifty Shades of Grey. I know this for a fact because I have fans on Facebook who have said as much. I am a lucky author because of timing.

There are small time "publishers" who will try to cash in on your indie success. Unless they can do more for you than you are doing now, my advice is to avoid them. They will just slow down the process and take 50% of what you make. (That is not to say there aren't reputable small publication companies out there, I just haven't been approached by any.)

I will update you next month to see how June pans out. You may or may not experience the same success, but there is no reason not to try if your heart is set on writing. 

Right now, I am one blown away indie author.  A big hug to all my readers!

The Importance of a Book Review

Spawned by a review.

The Significance of the All Mighty Book Review

As a reader, you hold great power. You can express to the world your thoughts and impressions concerning the book you just read. Most people are busy and even if they like the book, they don't have the time to leave a response. It is a crazy world - it's understandable.

However, when you leave a review you not only help those who are interested in the work, but you can also have an influence on the author as well. In my case, I had a reviewer who left detailed information letting me know exactly what she enjoyed about the story and went on to say that she hoped to see more in that genre.

I was just experimenting with the Dom/sub world and her review of Sensual Erotica: The Flame inspired me to delve into the world with my novelette, Brie's First Day of Submissive Training. The positive response I received concerning the novelette spawned an entire series - all based on that one reader's review.

Until I started writing, I didn't understand the significance of the all mighty book review.

The reader holds great power.

April Numbers for Red Phoenix on Amazon

#6 Top Free Erotica

This has been a fun month as an indie author. I've seen one of my freebies, Deeper Baby!, make it to number 6 on the free erotica list (several others are in the Top 100). I also received a number of good reviews on Amazon this month, which is helping all of my books. 

For the Month of April 2012:

878 books purchased         

29,879 freebies downloaded

Best Sellers In the Month of April: (still asking you not to laugh at my numbers)

Paid -Boy Toys 104 with a tie for Amy's Choice 97 and Blissfully in Love 97
Freebies - Deeper Baby! 11,551, Thrilling Her 7301, Blissfully Snowbound 3131

During the month of April I added 3 new novelettes and 4 more of my books went FREE on Amazon (of the 22 titles I have on Amazon, 10 are free).

Quickly Moving Up

Quick Recap of Past Months:

March:
693 books purchased
27,571 freebies downloaded 

February:

298 books purchased         

12,386 freebies downloaded

What I am Learning:

• Keep the books coming. I have seen the numbers of my older books steadily go down. However, I believe the new ones are getting more notice because people recognize the name. (Brie Learns to Obey was recently published on Amazon and is quickly jumping up the ranks of paid novels.)
• You never know what will appeal to people. Books I thought would be a big hit fell flat, while others surprised me by their popularity.
• Listen to the readers and hone your work based on how they purchase and what they say in their reviews. HOWEVER, be true to yourself. The beauty as an indie eBook author is that you can write and publish what you want, even if it doesn't make big bucks. Someone out there will appreciate the uniqueness of your story and sometimes that is all the success you need.

* Note: Amazon allows for returns of eBooks. They are the only online bookstore I know of that does this. I noticed a big difference this month. Boy Toys which has done well previous months had 13 returns versus 4 in March. (Same book and I even had more sells last month). I will never know why they were returned - no one left reviews, but it was a significant jump. In total, 58 paid books were returned in April as opposed to 12 in March.  

I will update you next month to see how May pans out. I will say this, if your heart is to have your work published this is the perfect time for Indie Authors. It's a ton of fun!

Varick: A Dark, Sexy Vampire Read

Would you die for this man?

The Vampire that has been swimming in my head since I was a teenager has finally been released in the novelette titled Varick: The Reluctant. He is a hero (of sorts) who struggles to survive in world he wants nothing to do with.

The power of his redemptive love for Aleshia will end up changing the course of both their unnatural lives.

Varick: The Reluctant

The dark, sexy world Varick Roth is born into is ruthless and harsh - vampires are lethal creatures. He resists the violent culture, but his is a lonely existence until Aleshia enters the darkness. Her youthful passion stirs feelings he once thought lost. In a fit of rage, his sire condemns her to a vampiric hell only Varick’s love can overcome.

This erotic novelette explores a unique vampire society defined by its violence and lust. Thrust into this dark world, Varick must fight to retain his noble character in the midst of unspeakable cruelty.

Extended Description:

Luther - both sire and enemy, turns Varick at the young age of nineteen. Varick’s sense of justice sets him apart from his new race, forcing him to live alone. Along comes Aleshia, a young human ready to end it all. Against her wishes, he saves her life by condemning her to his living hell. Varick’s depth of love for her is tested the day Luther returns to exact his terrible revenge.

Adult Reading Material (18+) This book is for mature audiences only and contains sexually explicit content.

Why do Indie Erotica Authors Publish Unedited Work?

The Secret Behind the Problem

Nothing is worse than getting into a hot and heavy scene and then stopping cold because of a misspelled word or a confusing phrase. 


I am an indie author who goes under an alias to write my erotica. Why? People who know me may not appreciate my craft. :) But it leaves me in a pickle. I can't ask friends to edit my work and being a new indie author I am not making enough money yet to pay for a professional.

Why Are There Errors?

I am not an editor at heart. I desperately want my books to be free of errors, but I have reread them so many times that I can't see the mistakes. My mind knows what I meant write and automatically replaces my mistakes. They look clean to me when I publish.

I use Microsoft Word to go through and check for errors, but we all know that it still misses obvious mistakes and sometimes the "fixes" are completely wrong.

It is my full intention to pay for an editor to go through all my work once I make enough money. It is extremely important to me.

The Reason My Indie Books Are Cheap

I price my books for free or 99 cents in the hope that my readers will overlook the mistakes and enjoy the content. I want to share my stories and trust that my readers will understand.

Sequel to In 9 Days Includes Elements of the Phantom of the Opera

I recently finished the sequel to In 9 Days. Originally, I planned for it to be a short story and nothing more. But I had so many fans request a sequel that I delved into what would happen when Luke and Tesse met years later.

What flowed out was a beautiful love story that did justice to the couple. I added the element of a love triangle and allowed Tesse's involvement in the musical The Phantom of the Opera to play out in her real life.

Short Description:

After waiting three years for Luke Sanders to return, Tesse decides to move on with her life & into the arms of a new lover. Fate, however, has different plans when Luke returns the week before Tesse’s big début as the lead in The Phantom of the Opera. Her life seems to mimic the musical when she is forced to choose the handsome new boyfriend or her devoted scarred lover once known as The Freak.

9 Days and Counting is the touching sequel to the coming-of-age story, In 9 Days. This novelette delves into the emotional reunion between Tesse and Luke.

Extended Description:

So much has changed since Luke left Tesse behind. She is in college now, starring as Christine in the musical, The Phantom of the Opera. Jerrod, who has loved Tesse for several years, finally gets the green light to court her. However, Luke’s return puts their new relationship in jeopardy. The love Tesse and Luke share has not diminished over time, but their lives have taken opposite paths. Three hearts are on the line and one will be sacrificed. Does the Phantom finally get the girl or will her handsome new beau win Tesse’s heart?

Adult Reading Material (18+)