Night before the fabled release of Jacob Smith is Incredibly Average

So I'm sitting here, debating what to say about my release date for Jacob Smith.

I guess I'll go ahead and start.

If you're friends with me or Chris, you will have already heard that I've had a bit of a "soft" launch day already - the book is up on Amazon, BN, and Smashwords at the moment. It's also available in print at Createspace and Amazon, which I frankly think is one of the coolest things I've ever held. It adds a bit of reality to something that I've only otherwise seen on screen. I was in awe. I hope you guys will be too.

I apologize in advance, guys, because you will see me re-posting these links throughout the day on Friday on my social media sites.

So why the soft launch?

I am, admittedly, still new to this whole publishing thing. I knew that it would take some platforms a bit of time for them to post my book onto their store, not to mention I'm combating formatting and technology when I'm submitting it. So I tried allowing for a time difference between when I hit "submit" and when it appears in the store. Apparently, some are far quicker to approve than others.

Within a week or two, you'll see Jacob Smith popping up on Sony, Apple, Kobo, and some other formats that I didn't know existed. I'll be posting those links as soon as I know what they are.

The point is, I want this book to do well. Embracing Her Wolf has sold about 1300 copies, Bedtime at the Zoo is far less, but it's to be expected for that type of book.

Jacob Smith's story is exactly the story I wanted to write, and I want him to grow up to be special. I'm proud of the story, proud of the cover I did, proud of my editors, and I'm proud of the book. The premise has gotten a great reaction from friends and co-workers, which is encouraging. I'm also going to try putting a bit of advertising behind it to see what happens.

I'm not expecting a million best-seller or anything - I'd have to be delusional for that - but if I gain some fans out of this, I'd consider it a job well done. There are two other books I want to write to tell the rest of Jake's story, and I want there to be an audience ready for it. Don't worry, the first book is entirely standalone, just in case you don't like it.

So, what's next? I'm writing the sequel to Jake Smith, as I've said. I have a third book up my sleeve to complete Jake's journey, and I also have an adult horror novel to write, which I plan on doing for NaNoWriMo. NaNoWriMo is a slippery slope - I've tried it the past two years and I have gotten too busy to finish it. But I do have an interesting story to tell there - oh boy. It's based upon a nightmare I had. And I think it has a place.

I've also decided that I should start writing more reviews for books I read, in light of all of the recent controversy around authors paying for reviews. I usually leave an honest starred review, but I am also going to start leaving a text review. I figure it's a karma thing. I shop like a normal person, so the more good reviews a book has, the more I'm inclined to read it. So, for karma's sake, I'll start reviewing books I've read, and I'll possibly go back and review some of my favorites. It's only fair, if I hope people review my books.

So, watch out on Friday, guys for the official release. And, as I've mentioned before, I hope you like Jake's story. Because I do.

Erin.