Happy Friday’s eve! I had a coworker who would say that every Thursday.
Today I’m thrilled to host Emma Nichols. She recently published Finding You and yesterday she released Remember Us. As I’m writing this, the books are number 1 & 2 on Amazon in the lesbian romance genre.
How cool is that?
And, Emma is giving away one e-book copy of Finding You & Remember Us to one lucky winner. Details are below.
Please welcome Emma Nichols!
A Debut Author in the world of Lesfic
As a new author, getting my book published was actually the easiest part of the process. There are so many options now, that it can be confusing to the uninitiated. But, the world of Indie publishing has enabled many of us lesfic authors to get our stories into print; stories that would otherwise never have been published through mainstream publishing routes. Some may say, there in lies the problem; more trash hitting the market because there’s no policing of quality. I have to disagree. Through Indie publishing, readers determine what’s good and what’s not. As one well-known lesfic author said to me, ‘If readers want to read it, they will.’ My debut book, Finding You, hit the Kindle top 10 in the US and UK, 2-days after in was released – readers are reading it! Yes, I know it’s only Kindle, but it’s a great start. Ebooks, Kindle, Smashwords, and others alike have all made it easier for new authors like me to get the visibility we need, in order to find that illusive audience – the lesfic reader, but our readers can also help.
What makes a huge difference, and especially for a new author, is a review. Annette touched on the topic in her post here on 14th July. Feedback is really helpful for an author; the reader’s perspective enables us to write more interesting and engaging stories, which leads to greater reader enjoyment – and of course, better reviews too! It’s a win-win. We spend hours pouring over our manuscripts, tweaking this and that, recruiting beta readers and maybe even a formal editor. But still, the bottom line is, ‘Does my reader love it?’ And… ‘Will they say so, for others to see?’ The power of the review, for a book, to convince a reader to buy an unknown author’s work is immense. The reality is, many people say how much they love the book, but don’t venture so far as to put a review on the site from which it was bought. Sometimes, sadly, this is down to lesfic readers wanting to remain anonymous. As a new author, I reduced the price of my book and used the KU programme to gain visibility. All I can do now is hope that what people read they like, and that they remember my name. The reviews are coming slowly, but I feel constantly on edge, just in case that scathing comment comes in – a comment that is completely out of context and can be deadly, for a new author.
Sadly, there is still a huge snobbery within the publishing industry; precious and often highly opinionated literary purists, who would rather rot in hell than read some of the published books. Yet, the audience for lesfic is vast – different preferences, reading abilities, likes and dislikes – and I’d hazard a guess that most don’t want to try to read a work of literary genius. If they have to work too hard to make sense of the sentences, or follow the plot, they will quite frankly lose the plot, but they’re also not stupid and want a great story. I have put down some brilliantly written material technically speaking because it didn’t hold me – I’m not sure what that says about me? But this is precisely why there needs to be a wide range of material out there for us lesfic readers. Thank heavens for tools such as ‘look inside’ and sample downloads, which means a reader can get a sense of an author’s writing style and story line before buying the book – thus avoiding one of those hideous reviews.
There is certainly a lot of anxiety around putting yourself out there as a legitimate lesfic author. In fact, for me, coming out as an author has been more terrifying than coming out as a lesbian – and I had a mother who definitely didn’t approve! I’m one of those who people would prefer high visibility for my book whilst I stay hidden under the covers. But, shouting out from the rooftops, that a new book has arrived is necessary, otherwise we just won’t get seen, and those delightful gems will stay buried forever. Our only hope is that some of our readers will continue the shout once we’ve set the ball rolling. I concur with Annette – is it too much to ask that we support each other to provide a great flow of books?
Emma’s Latest Release: REMEMBER US
In this sequel to the best-selling lesbian romance novel, Finding You, Lauren Vincenti travels back to Corsica to recover her health and rebuild her relationship with her mother. But things don’t quite go to plan. Is Lauren able to let go of the past and will she comply with her father’s last wishes for her to take over the family business?
Anna Taylor-Cartwright’s career is hitting a new high, and her best friend, Eva, is in love.
Get ready to fall in love all over again, with the brilliant conclusion to The Vincenti Series.
Author Bio
Emma Nichols lives in Buckinghamshire with her partner and two children. She served for 12 years in the British Army, studied Psychology and an MBA, and published several non-fiction books under another name, in sports peak performance, before dipping her toes into the world of lesbian fiction. Her debut novel is in two parts. Finding You and its sequel Remember Us.
** Giveaway **
Here’s your chance to win Finding You and Remember Us. You don’t want to miss out!
I’m so excited to see your books and wishing you tons of success, Emma!