A Message from Ali Cross

The Writer's Dojo is returning to its roots and invites you to join in on the fun! 

When I first started the writer's dojo in 2008, I did it as a way to keep the glory of National Novel Writing Month alive all year long. I loved the camaraderie and support I received during the month of November and desired that same feeling of community every month of the year, in every aspect of writing--not just the drafting.

Beginning February 1st, 2013, the writer's dojo returns to its roots and ushers in a new age of ninjawesomeness. Each month we will open three training rooms at the writer's dojo website. A room for drafters (Writing Month, aka WriMo), a room for revisers (Revising Month, aka ReMo) and a room for those querying (Querying Month, aka QuMo).

We invite you to set your own goals, whether it's to write a thousand words a day, revise ten pages a week, or submit twenty queries in a month, and register your goal in the appropriate training room.

Every Monday we'll post the leaderboard for the previous week, and at the end of each month those who met their goal will be able to post the coveted Writing Ninja Warrior badge on their blog or website.

To help you reach your goals, we have a number of ways to support you:

CHATS: At the dojo every Thursday at 4:00 p.m. Eastern time.

TWITTER: Anytime, day or night, at #writingninja.

GOOGLE+: Join our community for random write-ins and sprints.

NEWSLETTER: Subscribe to our Ninja News and once a month you'll receive an email with an encouraging note and a list of the top performers for the previous month. There will also be opportunities for giveaways, starting with February's newsletter!

We hope to see you at the dojo as you reach for--and achieve--your goals! --

~Ali~

Indelibles Samplers for Your Reading Pleasure

Love a good love story?

Want to get lost in a great fantasy read or historical romp?

Enjoy mindbending futuristic tales?  

We have a sampler for you...

Four amazing samplers! FREE!

Best-selling books. Best-selling authors.

Contemporary - Science-fiction - Historical - Fantasy

But this isn’t all about us. 

This is about you, the reader, finding books you love to read.

Just click on the pictures for your free download!

Contemporary Sampler

Fantasy Sampler

Historical Sampler

Science Fiction Sampler

                                 To celebrate the release of the samplers,

we're giving away free books!

Four winners will win the ebook of their choice from any sampler.

1. Download your FREE samplers today and enjoy the experience.

2. Fill out the rafflecopter form for a chance to win!

3. If the book is already free, you'll receive the second book in the series!                               

Enter now!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks! And enjoy!

The State of the Industry

FYI--

If you haven't seen this, yet, this blog post by Elle Casey is totally worth the read. It's long, but it covers just about everything related to the state of the publishing industry today: the role of agents, the new "slush pile," readers' choice, pricing, etc.

Just thought you might be interested! :D

~Katie~

Hot New Releases!

Now available in a single volume, G. P. Ching's bestselling Soulkeepers Series, books 1-3, will sweep you away on an adventure of good vs. evil, with plot twists that will keep you guessing until the very last page. Amazon In the year 2050, a secret government study nicknamed Operation Source Code injects eight volunteers with a retrovirus. The goal? To abate the energy crisis by reprogramming human DNA to power personal electronic devices. The experiment works but with disastrous consequences. Seventeen years later, Lydia Troyer is far from concerned with the energy crisis. Growing up in the isolated community of Hemlock Hollow, life hasn't changed much since 1698 when her Amish ancestors came to America. She milks her cow by hand, makes fresh bread every morning, and hopes to be courted by Jeremiah, the boy who's been her best friend since she could walk. But when Lydia's father has a stroke and is taken to the outside world for medical treatment, Lydia and Jeremiah leave home to visit him. An ordinary light switch thrusts Lydia into a new world where energy is a coveted commodity and her own personal history makes her the most sought-after weapon on the planet. Amazon Be careful what you let in… Siler House has stood silent beneath Savannah’s moss-draped oaks for decades. Notoriously haunted, it has remained empty until college-bound Jess Perry and three of her peers gather to take part in a month-long study on the paranormal. Jess, who talks to ghosts, quickly bonds with her fellow test subjects. One is a girl possessed. Another just wants to forget. The third is a guy who really knows how to turn up the August heat, not to mention Jess’s heart rate…when he’s not resurrecting the dead.   The study soon turns into something far more sinister when they discover that Siler House and the dark forces within are determined to keep them forever. In order to escape, Jess and the others will have to open themselves up to the true horror of Siler House and channel the very evil that has welcomed them all. Amazon   When your mind is a weapon, freedom comes at a price. Four months have passed since Kira left home to join Julian’s Jacker Freedom Alliance, but the hole in her heart still whistles empty where her boyfriend Raf used to be. She fills it with weapons training, JFA patrols, and an obsessive hunt for FBI agent Kestrel, ignoring Julian’s worries about her safety and repeated attempts to recruit her for his revolutionary chat-casts. When anti-jacker politician Vellus surrounds Jackertown with the National Guard, Kira discovers there’s more to Julian’s concerns than she knew, but she’s forced to take on a mission that neither want and that might be her last: assassinating Senator Vellus before he can snuff out Julian’s revolution and the jackers she’s come to love. Ebook at Amazon (UK, DE), Barnes and Noble Request a Kindlegraph Scarlet remembers. Everything. Her past lives, Tristan, Gabriel, Nate: she remembers it all--including how to get to the Fountain of Youth. But time is running out. Heather and Gabriel have been kidnapped by Raven, while the curse that has plagued Scarlet and Tristan for centuries has shifted, putting the star-crossed lovers in more danger than ever before. Water from the Fountain of Youth is the only thing that can save Scarlet and her loved ones. But the water comes at a price. With lives--and hearts--at stake, Scarlet leads her friends on a dangerous journey to the Fountain of Youth. Where eternal life is possible, but death is certain. Buy Links: Amazon Barnes & Noble

Blood and Snow 6: Masquerade's Moon   Snow's birthday party is a Masquerade Ball, but a war is brewing, and her party may be the battle ground.   Amazon    Blood and Snow 7: Seal of Gabriel   The seven magical properties of the Seal of Gabriel.   Amazon   Blood and Snow 8: Telltale Kisses   Snow goes on a kissing spree.   Amazon

Friday Links

Happy Friday!!

I am *SO* thankful the weekend is here, you guys. You don't even know. Am scheduling some *MAD* editing time for this weekend. 

Thank you to everyone who commented on this week's Indie Life post! This is something we'll be doing once a month because, let's face it, writing is a lonely profession, anyway, and then trying to do it all yourself.... It gets overwhelming at times. 

If you have a few minutes, hop on over to the Indelibles blog. I'm talking about why you should "make me care."

Also,  if you haven't seen this, yet, check out Susan Kaye Quinn's AMAZING new book trailer. Chills, ya'll. Seriously.

It's supposed to be 70 degrees here this weekend. I have *no idea* what happened to winter, but I'm not complaining. :D

See you next week! 

~Katie~

Indie Life--Freedom

 To me, the word "indie" is

synonymous with "freedom." 

Freedom means writing what I want to write, when I want to write it. It means telling a story the best way I know how. Freedom means taking risks--stretching those creative wings. Freedom means making mistakes. It means making this story better than the last. Freedom might even mean failing.... but it also means "get up and try again."

Indie is freedom, and freedom is power.

That is all.

Because being Indie doesn't have to mean going it alone.

JOIN US FOR INDIE LIFE!

December Numbers and Year in Review

Hi Everyone!

I hope you had a fantastically restful holiday! 

I'm back with some numbers! 

The grand total for December:

3,539

The Guardian

            Amazon US: 1015, Amazon UK: 1, Amazon DE: 3, Amazon CA: 1, BN: 97, iTunes: 10, Kobo: 7

               Total: 1,134           (36.5 sales per day)

Cross My Heart

            Amazon US: 524, Amazon UK: 118, Amazon DE: 6, Amazon FR: 2, Amazon IT: 1,  

            BN: 293, iTunes: 327, Kobo: 139

               Total: 1,415       (45.6 sales per day)

Vendetta

            Amazon US: 458, BN: 31,  iTunes: 3, Kobo: 3

               Total: 495         (15.9 sales per day)

           

Revelation

            Amazon US: 395, Amazon UK: 1, BN: 26, iTunes: 5,  Kobo: 3 

               Total: 430         (13.8 sales per day)

Trilogy

            Amazon US: 40, Amazon DE: 1, BN: 14, iTunes: 1, Kobo: 9

                Total: 65           (2 sales per day)

And to recap my journey: 

In December 2010, I released my first ebook, The Guardian, and sold 19 books. In December 2011, I had three books available: The Guardian, Cross My Heart, and Vendetta, and sold 3,017 books. By December 2012, I'd added two more titles: Revelation and a 3-in-1 Trilogy omnibus.  

In 2010, I was stressing about where I was headed as a writer. 

Self-publishing? No way!

By July 2011, I'd sold 10,000 ebooks. By July 2012, I'd sold 30,000 copies of Cross My Heart alone. I hit the 50,000 ebooks sold milestone in September of 2012.

In 2011, I sold 21,373 ebooks.

In 2012, I sold 42,707 ebooks.

Since I began, I've sold a grand total of 64,080 ebooks. 

Self-publishing? Yes, please!

___________________________________________

At the start of the new year, I usually like to sit back and take stock in what I accomplished during the previous year and make plans for the coming months.

I haven't really done that this year, mostly because I feel like if my head is above water, I'm doing okay. I've been on break from work these past two weeks, though, and I remembered what I'm capable of accomplishing if I have more than an hour a day to write.

I feel like 2013 will be the "year of job lamenting," as I struggle with the fact that I am risk averse in that I will never quit my job as long as I have health benefits, and that I will never be able to write as much as I want while working full time. :)

The good news is Mr. Klein just completely overhauled my office: new paint, new lighting, relocated bookshelves. . . . AND I have an orchid. It's all very zen. Here's to many hours of producing new works for you to read.

And, that being said. . . .

I do plan to release a YA Contemporary Romance this year. 

And it will be sooner in the year, rather than later. I'm shooting for early spring 2013. There's still some editing to be done and beta readers to seduce and a cover to design. . . .

But I think you'll like it. I hope you will, anyway.

Obviously, more details will be forthcoming. :)

In the meantime, thank you so, so very much for a truly amazing 2012! I'm looking forward to everything 2013 has to offer.

Happy New Year! 

*mwah*

~Katie~