Launching a Series, Redux by Suz deMello

It's no secret that I've been blocked, and blocked badly, for at least ten years. Nevertheless, I plow onward, and actually managed to write an entire series during that time.

http://tinyurl.com/z3plw4m

The Highland Vampire series consists of three novels and three short stories, all of which were well-reviewed. I've retrieved most of these works for their publishers, and am now putting them out on their own. Two so far:

Viking in Tartan: Medieval romance from the Highland Vampires series.

Scotland, Yule Eve, 1260. A Viking raider with mysterious powers brings change to little Clan Kilbirnie, especially to the chieftain’s daughter Rhona.

Temptation in Tartan:

She had to marry a monster…

http://tinyurl.com/TTartan

Rumors had followed the chieftains of Clan Kilborn for centuries. Said to be descended from the Viking Berserkers, they were ferocious in battle, known for tearing off the heads of their enemies and drinking their blood.

But English noblewoman Lydia Swann Williston would marry Kieran, Laird Kilborn, to bring peace to the Kilborn lands after the horror of Culloden and the brutal pacification. A widow, she also brought needed wealth to Clan Kilborn. For her part, eighteen-year-old Lydia wanted children. With her husband killed at Culloden, she would make a new life in the Highlands.

The old chieftain of Clan Kilborn also died in battle, and she hoped that the new young Laird would lack his ancestors' ferocity.

She was wrong.

By the way, dear readers: launching a series is a lot of work--writing the book often seems to be the least of it! 

There's formatting, creating a cover or buying one, and placing promo in each one touting the entire series. Copy for websites, blogs, Facebook and Twitter must be written and posted. 

Ah, promo. The marketing conundrum. The evil worm that squirms through every writer's consciousness, every moment, even when we're trying to write. Will anyone like my story? Will anyone buy my story?

I'd been using various independent companies for promo, hoping that one would have the magic combination of contacts and know-how to push my books along. This time, however, I've decided to use Amazon ads.

So far, no luck. I'm not referring to sales but to my difficulties in creating an ad acceptable to Amazon.

First they didn't like the cover--too much naked skin, I think--I'm guessing based on their obscure emailed messages. 

What they do that's helpful is that they write the ad for you, and you just submit their version.

Which I did.

They sent it back stating that they couldn't verify my claim that the book was a best-seller. I sent them screensnips showing that the first edition of the book had been a bestseller at All Romance Ebooks. Not quite the New York Times list, but hey, I like my star :)

Let me know if you see the Temptation cover on your Kindles when you open them. Hope that will be soon!

Wish me luck.