indie publishing

THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY: The Story Catcher by Donna L Martin

Donna L

It’s been twelve years since I announced to the world I was a professional writer. And it’s been nine years since my first story was published. Seems like a lifetime ago.

As I go out on author visits, I am asked where do I get my story ideas from? So I’ve decided to share with my readers how each story came to be.

Back in 2012, I was a newbie author with one publishing credit to my name. My angel encounter story was picked up by CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL: Angels Among Us to be published in January 2013. I was volunteering at a local elementary school where I read picture books to the kids and worked in the library. One of the second grade teachers asked me at the beginning of the school year to work one-on-one with a young girl who was really struggling to learn to read.

Everyone in her family read to her, but the words kept running away when my little friend tried to put the sentences together in the picture books she picked from the library. I found out she LOVED Junie B Jones books. I promised her I would buy her the latest book in this series at the end of the school year, if she worked really hard as we tried to catch those runaway words. By the end of the school year, she was finally beginning to read and I had found the muse for my manuscript, THE STORY CATCHER.

Fast forward to 2021 and everyone is struggling with a world-wide pandemic. The original traditional publisher who published The Story Catcher had shut down their picture book imprint and my rights reverted back to me. But how was I going to republish my book without a publisher?

I thought about it for a long time and decided to enter the world of indie-publishing. I reached out to Estella Hickman who is the illustrator for my HISTORY’S MYSTERIES series and asked her to create new illustrations for my story to be released through my new publishing company, Story Catcher Publishing.

Then all I needed was someone to format my cover/interior files. I was so blessed to come across the profile of an amazing young man named Shahbaz Awan who eventually became my design manager, and who makes sure all my files are properly ready for publishing. On October 29, 2021 I was able to release the latest edition of THE STORY CATCHER. My little muse’s story is the same but now I also pay tribute to my Cherokee heritage through Estella’s gorgeous illustrations!

“Addie comes from a long line of readers, or “story catchers,” as her family likes to call themselves. Every time Addie tries to catch a story on her own, though, the words play tricks on her. Addie tries everything she can think of to corral those wiggly letters, but it will take a little magic to become the next STORY CATCHER”…(http://www.amazon.com/dp/B09KQ8919W/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1)

*********************

Hybrid published author, Donna L Martin, has been writing since she was eight years old. She is a 4th Degree Black Belt in TaeKwonDo by day and a ‘ninja’ writer of flash fiction, children’s picture books, chapter books, young adult novels and inspirational essays by night. Donna offers occasional BOOK NOOK REVIEWS of great children’s books and offers WRITERLY WISDOM to new and established writers. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators, Alliance of Independent Authors, and Children’s Book Insider. Donna loves dark chocolate, going to the beach and adding to her growing book collection.

Want to connect?

Email: [email protected]

Facebook: www.facebook.com/donasdays

Twitter: www.twitter.com/donasdays

LinkedIn: Donna L Martin/Story Catcher Publishing

Goodreads: Donna L Martin

Mail: Donna L Martin

c/o Story Catcher Publishing

P O Box 27788

Knoxville, Tn 37927

AN INDIE AUTHOR’S JOURNEY: Author Visits

Donna L

Story Catcher Book Signing.jpg

 

I’m delving into the world of indie publishing. Some authors go the quicker route and use a source like Kindle Direct to immediately get their books out there.

There’s nothing wrong going that route but I’ve decided to take a different path.

 

***********************

 

It’s been a while since I’ve made my round of book signings. I had a book released last year which actually became an international bestseller. That same publishing company, Expert Insights Publishing, will be releasing another book next month and I’ve contributed again. But now, with LUNADAR released last week and MY JOURNEY, MY JOURNAL releasing next month, I’m really going to have my hands full trying to promote TWO BOOKS at once…lol.

In my mind, book promotions are done for two main reasons:

 

BOOK SALES

 

 

Yes, it’s great to have that tangible book in your hand with your name embossed on the front, but any author will tell you it would be nice if that book sold a bunch of copies and made them tons of money as well. But those sales won’t ever happen without the other reason book signings are done.

 

NAME PROMOTION

 

 

The more people who know who you are, the greater the chances they will become an avid reader of your work. In my case, I have a two-fold issue. First, I have to promote myself as Donna L Martin…author of LUNADAR: Homeward Bound and next month author of MY JOURNEY, MY JOURNAL. Secondly, I have to promote myself as editor and publisher of STORY CATCHER PUBLISHING.  Multiple hats call for multiple strategies to promote oneself.

Here are some of the promo items I’m bringing with me as I make my rounds in promoting all the different hats I wear:

 

Lunadar and Chicken Soup books.jpg

 

Plenty of current and prior books. I have to establish myself as a well-seasoned author with more than just one title to my name so new potential readers will realize I’m not just a one-hit wonder.

 

SCP business cards.jpg

 

Business cards to promote my publishing company. I have big dreams for the direction of my new company and the networking I do now will help me in the future.

 

Lunadar map.jpg

 

Book promo items like bookmarks, postcards, and a framed copy of my LUNADAR map. I have two upcoming book signings…one on October 26th at the Book Market in Sevierville, Tn and then on October 30th at McKay’s Bookstore in Knoxville, Tn. I’m dressing up in a costume based on a character from LUNADAR, and have pencils and other swag items to tie into my book.

I’ve also spent a total of $50 this past week on three book promotions vias email, Facebook, and Twitter that put my book in front of more than 600,000 young adult readers. I think that a great use of my marketing budget, don’t you?

Let the marketing fun begin!

 

*****************

 

***WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT!***

***WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT!***

 

I’m happy to announce the winner of week four of my TWELVE WEEKS OF LUNADAR free giveaway! Another mystery follower who didn’t leave their name, ([email protected]) has won the $20 Wendy’s gift card. Thanks for following this blog! Congratulations! Look for my email on how to get your prize…

 
Week Five

 

***DON’T FORGET! It’s week five of THE TWELVE WEEKS OF LUNADAR giveaway and this week you get a chance to win a beautiful moon and stars necklace shown above! Just click on the pile of presents to the right of this post and choose how you would like to enter the FREE giveaway. Winners will be announced every Monday in my INDIE AUTHOR’S JOURNEY post, so enter the FREE giveaway and check next Monday to see if you’ve won!

***ALSO…it’s not too late to tell all your educator or school librarian friends about their chance to pick up a FREE copy of LUNADAR: Homeward Bound during my LUNADAR Pay It Forward FREE giveaway! I’m giving away THOUSANDS of ebook copies between now and Friday, November 2nd, in exchange for an honest review on Amazon. All they have to do is send me a Facebook message or email with their valid email address and I will send them their FREE copy, along with a copy of the LUNADAR map I sketched. Hurry and share the good news about this FREE ebook giveaway before time runs out!***

 

LUNADAR cover jpg

 

Ruler by day, a reluctant pirate by night, 18-year-old Princess Ariana fights for her subjects in the waterfall city of LUNADAR. In a kingdom surrounded by fairies and mermaids, and ravaged by deadly Drundles, only a chosen few are trusted to guard her daughter, Candra, as the secret heir to the throne.

But it only takes one ill-fated meeting for Ariana to suddenly be plunged into an escalating web of secrets found in her father’s journal, a deadly kidnapping, and an ever-weakening resolve to turn her back on the call of the merman’s song.

With Ariana’s world falling apart and the future of LUNADAR at stake, how will she bring her father’s murderer to justice and fulfill a deathbed promise to protect Lunadar’s legacy?

 

donna

 

International best selling, award-winning author, Donna L Martin, has been writing since she was eight years old. She is a 4th Degree Black Belt in TaeKwonDo by day and a ‘ninja’ writer of children’s picture books, chapter books, young adult novels and inspirational essays by night. Donna is a BOOK NOOK REVIEWS host providing the latest book reviews on all genres of children’s books, and the host of WRITERLY WISDOM, a resource series for writers. Donna is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators and Children’s Book Insider. She is a lover of dark chocolate, going to the beach and adding to her growing book collection. Donna’s latest book, LUNADAR: Homeward Bound (a YA fantasy), is now available in ebook and print form from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books A Million, and other online retailers.

An Indie Author’s Journey: Hitting A Stone Wall

Donna L

 

stone wall.jpg

 

I’m delving into the world of indie publishing. Some authors go the quicker route and use a source like CreateSpace or Kindle Direct to immediately get their books out there.
There’s nothing wrong going that route, but I’ve decided to take a different path.

I’ve completed the final edit and decided my young adult fantasy novel needed a map to help my readers visualize LUNADAR as I see it.

 

Lunadar map

 

It took me one quiet Sunday afternoon to complete it and I am rather proud of my first time effort to draw a fantasy map. I found some scrapbook paper with a pirate scroll design on it. I researched different fantasy maps and listed all the places around LUNADAR I wanted to show.

Once I found elements I liked, I sketched it out on the scrapbook paper with a #2 mechanical pencil. Then I looked for different compasses. I wanted something to tie the map to LUNADAR’S overall storyline. I knew once I saw the sun/moon compass that this was the one I had been looking for. Once the map was completed, I outlined it with an ultra fine tip black marker.

I then took a picture of it with my iPhone in black and white “noir” so I could load it to the front pages of my book. I thought I was breezing through all this like a boss.

Then I hit a stone wall.

I can’t get the two edges of the map to line up on my formatted pages so it’s going to look dumb on the pages of my finished ebook. I’m going to do a shout out to my illustrator friends on Facebook to see if they know something I don’t that can help me. 

Cross your fingers…unless, of course, you are someone with an answer to my problem…and then, please use those said fingers to help another writer out…

 

PLEASE?

 

donna

 

International best selling, award winning author, Donna L Martin, has been writing since she was eight years old. She is a 4th Degree Black Belt in TaeKwonDo by day and a ‘ninja’ writer of children’s picture books, chapter books, young adult novels and inspirational essays by night. Donna is a BOOK NOOK REVIEWS host providing the latest book reviews on all genres of children’s books, and the host of WRITERLY WISDOM, a resource series for writers. Donna is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators and Children’s Book Insider. She is a lover of dark chocolate, going to the beach and adding to her growing book collection. Donna’s latest book, LUNADAR: Homeward Bound (a YA fantasy) is scheduled to be released in ebook edition by June 2018 from Story Catcher Publishing, with the print edition coming out by Spring 2019.

An Indie Author’s Journal: The Roadmap

Donna L

 

road map.jpg

 

Eight years ago I crossed the line from amateur writer to professional author with the publication of my first story. At the time, I thought the only viable route to publication was the traditional one. I spent the next eight years in search of traditional agents, editors, and publishers. Many lessons were learned and somewhere along the way my feelings about the indie world changed.

I’m a perfectionist at heart (what serious writer isn’t?) and I began to wonder if I could produce as good a product…if not better…than some of the books I’ve seen published over the years.

So I began to do some research.

And I took the time to really think about what I wanted from this experience.

Did I want to simply throw my name on some slapped together ebook so I could tell the world I added another published book to my writing resume?

No.

So, I decided I needed a roadmap to take me on my journey into the world of indie publishing. A checklist or step by step guide to take my young adult fantasy novel LUNADAR: HOMEWARD BOUND from completed manuscript to published ebook and paperback version via print on demand (POD).

STEP ONE:

Create a strong website to support my blog, any future book releases, and  my overall author platform. 

I’ve been a Blogger fan for many years under www.donnalmartin.com, but it didn’t offer me all the plugins and technology support I felt I needed going forward as an indie author. I’ve since switched to a WordPress format. I paid the $100 per year to have access to the upgraded site and really like how my new website looks. Check it out at www.storycatcherpublishing.com

Next week I’ll share the next step I took on the road to indie publishing, including giving you a sneak peak of the book trailer I will use for LUNADAR. My target release date is the Spring of next year and my goal is to prove to myself, more than anyone else, that my new company, Story Catcher Publishing, can produce a great quality book on a poor gal’s budget. I’ll list my costs along the way and you’ll be the judge of how well I did once you see the finished book.

With a little luck and a lot of hard work, my hope is to continue “catching” and sharing great stories…together!

 

Author Profile Pic

 

International best selling, award winning author, Donna L Martin, has been writing since she was eight years old. She is a 4th Degree Black Belt in TaeKwonDo by day and a ‘ninja’ writer of children’s picture books, chapter books, young adult novels and inspirational essays by night. Donna is a BOOK NOOK REVIEWS host providing the latest book reviews on all genres of children’s books, and the host of WRITERLY WISDOM, a resource series for writers. Donna is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators and Children’s Book Insider. She is a lover of dark chocolate, going to the beach and adding to her growing book collection.