Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Book Giveaway, Alex's Awesome Surprise, & the IWSG



Today is the first Wednesday of the month, time for

But first…the results for my blog tour book giveaway!


There were 76 entries total, way more than I anticipated.  My thanks to all for dropping by and commenting during my tour.  Your support means everything to me! 

All right then, I wrote down the names of every follower who commented, assigned each a number, then used Random.org to generate the winning numbers, starting first with the runner-ups.

Those five runner-up winners of an ebook copy of The Mistaken are:

#18      Samantha May
#52      Chris Fries
#48      Klahanie
#38      L. Diane Wolfe
#64      Emily R. King

And the grand prize winner of my last signed ARC of The Mistaken is:

#66      Julie Luek

Winners, please contact me at acadia1997@msn.com
so I can get your info and send out your prize.

One more thing before my brief IWSG post:

Did you happen to see Alex J. Cavanaugh’s post last Monday?  Alex is one of three published authors who “blurbed” for my book.  His name and quote appear on the very first page along with Jennifer Hillier, author of Creep and Freak and New York Times bestselling author, Kevin O’Brien.


Alex said, “That’s even more exciting than my name on the cover of my own books.”  I sent him a signed copy with a nice little note of thanks for both his blurb and for being the driving force behind my blog tour and helping me every step of the way.  I could not have done it without him!

THANK YOU SO MUCH, ALEX!!

Okay, so now that I’ve accomplished my goal and have published my debut novel, I find myself worrying more than I ever thought I would.  Sure, I told myself it really didn’t matter how well my book sold.  I just wanted to get it out there.  But yeah, it kinda doesn’t work that way, at least, not in my mind. 

I want people to read it.  And I want those who do to love it, or at least like it, even just a little bit.  But more than anything, I want readers to rate/review it on Amazon and Goodreads.  So now I have a whole new slew of things to worry about:  Is it selling, will they like it, and will they spread the word?  It’s really way too early in the game for me to be obsessing over these things.  It’s a marathon, not a sprint.  Still, it’s there.  *sigh*

But oooh, look!  I have 499 GFC followers!
Maybe I’ll do another ebook giveaway once I reach 500. 
  
Any suggestions on how to do that one?


37 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I'm sure within a few hours you'll have five hundred!
It was more exciting seeing my name in your book than on the covers of mine. (Okay, I was excited for the first one.) But that you would allow me to read it early and contribute my very short thoughts is a great honor. And I bet your book sells a heck of a lot better than either of mine!
Congratulations to the winners.

Natalie Aguirre said...

Whatever way you publish, all authors worry about their book selling. I'm sure yours will do fine.

Awesome that you're at 499. Book giveaways to celebrate are always popular.

Unknown said...

Congrats to the winners! Hope you are more busy working on your next book then worrying about reviews or sales, but good luck with both!

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Why thank you, I can't believe I won. I will send you an email this morning.

That was a really sweet thing for Alex to say.

Publishing is a marathon. Don't sweat what you can't do right this moment.

JeffO said...

I guess there's always one more worry waiting around the corner, huh?

Anonymous said...

I'm tickled to have won a copy! Wow-- what an honor, plus, I'm a total book nerd and can't wait to dig into it. Thank you.

Congratulations on such a successful tour. Here's to a HUGE success.

Lisa Regan said...

It takes time to build momentum! Give yourself a chance. You wrote an amazing book and people will see that. But that said, I too will totally obsess come December! LOL. Congrats to the giveaway winners! Yay!

Melissa said...

Focus on writing the next one, and, before you know it, you'll be where you want to be. ;)

michelle said...

Congrats to all the winners!
It's difficult to imagine that you have such insecurities... I mean, after all, you're a published author!
I suppose there's always a new challenge to feel insecure about...

Joylene Nowell Butler said...

Congratulations, Julie! And to think I was just talking to her. She didn't say nuttin'! Probably cause she didn't know, eh! Yes, I'm particularly quick today.

Rena said...

Congrats to the winners! And yeah, wanting people to love your book is completely universal.

Andrew Leon said...

With Amazon's new anti-author policy, you may find it difficult to get Amazon reviews :(

Suzanne Furness said...

Congrats to the winners. I'm sure you will reach that 500 mark within hours! Try not to worry too much but enjoy the journey :)

Kirsten said...

I guess I'll be buying my copy of The Mistaken now that I know I'm not going to win one! I'm really looking forward to reading it.

Call me naive, but I still have a lot of faith that solid storytelling skills will sell novels in the long run. Stay in the race, you're doing great!

Luanne G. Smith said...

Congrats to the winners of your fine novel. :D

I can't even imagine (yet) what it's like to have a novel out there. The stress! But you've got some great blurbs from other authors, and lots of friends spreading the word, so hang in there.

Livia Peterson said...

Sales will crank up, we'll spread the word.

Like Melissa said, focus on writing the sequel and before your eyes, you won't believe what will happen: hopefully, you'll be a bestseller. You're an awesome novelist, Nancy!

Congrats to the winners! :)

M Pax said...

It is a marathon. Don't compare yourself to anyone else. There's no real science as to what goes viral and what doesn't. Keep publishing and your odds of finding the lightning go up. I'll keep reading. :)

Azia said...

Now you're at 500 ;) haha You also just made me realize that if I ever had a book listed on amazon-- someone would need to keep as far away from the internet as possible because I would constantly be checking for reviews. I really want to read your novel!

Heather M. Gardner said...

You're doing a great job, Nancy!
Keep it up!
Don't worry about the numbers. Keep writing!
Heather

Intangible Hearts said...

Oh Nancy, don't worry and enjoy the moment. You deserve it! Congratulations and I saw the nice signed copy you sent Alex. Awesome!

Unknown said...

What a fun week you've had. I read Alex's post about your book. And congrats, Julie!

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

congrats to the lucky winners!!!

And yay for Alex's praise and support! He is a legend.

Empty Nest Insider said...

I also want to congratulate the winners! I did read Alex's inscription of your book, and I can't wait to read The Mistaken! Julie

Empty Nest Insider said...

Uh oh! I meant to say Alex's wonderful blurb, and your lovely inscription to him. Sorry about that.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for visiting my page! Congrats on ur debut novel and keep writing! :)

Shannon Lawrence said...

Congratulations to all the winners!

You're right, it isn't a race, but I also know it will be hard to not worry over all of that. You will rock this!

Shannon at The Warrior Muse

StratPlayerCJF said...

Woot! I'm VERY excited about winning the ebook, Nancy! Thank you very much! (E-mail on the way) It's already near the top of my TBR list and I'm really looking forward to reading it!!!

Also, I KNOW you're going to have tremendous success with this book and all your future ones, too (no pressure, lol) -- you're a wonderful and very talented author, a caring and approachable person, and way, way, WAY more attractive than that OTHER "S. Thompson" author dude. ;^)

N. R. Williams said...

Hi Nancy
Congratulations on your book and how great the blurbs are. It is wonderful to have friends like Alex.
Nancy

Unknown said...

Making my way through the IWSG list. I've gotten sort of obsessed with it today. I don't even know how many I've done, but I'm having a blast! I usually begin at the bottom and work up for a day or two. Glad I made it to yours. :) Best of luck to you with your marketing!!

Tara Tyler said...

no one likes to wait for reactions, thats why theres twitter!

congrats to the winners! so looking forward to reading this!

Jennifer Hillier said...

Yay Alex! So proud of you both. :D

Camille Picott said...

I am so with you! All that work to get the novel out, and then all this other stuff -- reviews, sales, book love, etc. And I am with you -- I want it all! :)

Anonymous said...

I did see Alex's post . . . it's a wonderful support group around you, I'm sure you'll have no problems reaching 1,000 in no time!

Arlee Bird said...

Whether the book sells or not at least you have the satisfaction of knowing you are published. That is a big step forward and an accomplishment to be proud of.

Lee
A Faraway View

Emily R. King said...

I'm starting my copy tonight. :) Thanks so much, Nancy!

Author A.O. Peart said...

Congratulations to the winners!

Alex wrote a fantastic blurb. I've read it a while ago and thought it was very sincere. What a guy :-)

Good luck reaching even a greater number next time - I have no doubt you will.

Mark Koopmans said...

Hey,

Boy, do I agree with your marathon v sprint idea... I swear when I heard (years ago) that it took some writers three years to write a book, I was like, "are ye mad?"

But, yup, here I am three years later, just about to finish WIP#1 and now you say I have to start worrying about people *reading* it and *reviewing* it.... ah yai yai...

(Falls over in cloud of dust and empty bottles of Sam Adams.)