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Let’s Get Ready To NANO by Tracy Reed

November 5, 2022 by in category Pink Pad by Tracy Reed tagged as , , ,

Welcome to November. Or more commonly known to writers as NANO month. I’m doing NANO for the fourth year in a row. Actually, I think it might be the fifth, because I didn’t keep track via the website one year. Doing NANO probably wasn’t a wise move for me this year, considering everything I have going on. In my defense, my schedule wasn’t supposed to be so packed at this time of the year, but a couple of family medical issues popped up and pushed me a little behind.


So what’s on my plate for this month? Two anthology contributions…my first holiday novella (18k+ words), a short story (10k+ words), my first attempt at a romantic comedy and a very large book (100k+ words). Out of all the projects, I think the book was the easiest project. The romantic comedy was the most difficult and also the first project due…November 6th.


I felt doing NANO this year was the best way to assure I’d write the next book in the Alex series. I had another project in mind, but this book kept calling out to me.


I am a proud panther, but for this book I made some notes, because there were a few points and new characters I wanted to include.


When I decided to use the fifth book in the Alex series for NANO I was banking on using some of the unused chapters from the other books in the series. As of this writing, it’s NANO Day three and so far, I’ve only used a couple hundred orphaned words.


Another first for me is a writing schedule. I sort of just wing it. However, I didn’t realize the books in this series were so big. Books two and three are 90k+ words each and book four is over 100k+ words. In order to keep in line with the series, part of my NANO plan is to write six days a week at 3500 words. I set such a high word count schedule because I really want to complete the book by the end of the month. The last time I set a similar plan, I ended up completing the book a month later.


I like writing during NANO and I’m sure I’ll do better this year. However, I won’t be surprised if I finish the month with an incomplete book. I won’t be discouraged, but getting half way on a 100k word book isn’t too bad.


Last month, an amazing thing happened. I got my fourth BookBub Featured Ad. It happened so quickly, my head started spinning. I applied for a featured deal at nine-thirty in the morning and three hours later, I got an approval email. I was so shocked. After I stopped doing a happy dance and praising God, I went to work on a plan.


The other times I had BookBubs, I ran additional newsletter ads. I didn’t have that opportunity this time. However, I did run a regular BookBub ad for book two in the Alex series. I figured it would be a good lead in for the upcoming Alex Four release. I’d had a featured deal for book two in the series with very good downloads. This time, I didn’t get the downloads I got the first time I had a featured deal. However, I hit the top 100 Free Books in the Amazon store and Apple. Plus, the book stayed in the number one spot in one of its categories while it was free. I was shouting louder this time than when I got the featured deal.
Besides the high ranking, I also earned some preorders on book four, additional BookBub followers and sell-through on my backlist. Overall, it was a surprise with significant benefits.


Happy NANO month.

THE GOOD GIRL PART FOUR

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THE GOOD GIRL PART FOUR

THE GOOD GIRL PART FIVE

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THE GOOD GIRL PART FIVE

THE GOOD GIRL Part Trois

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THE GOOD GIRL Part Trois

THE FIX UP

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THE FIX UP

A SOUTHERN GENTLEMAN

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A SOUTHERN GENTLEMAN

MISS MATCH

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MISS MATCH

THE GOOD GIRL PART DEUX

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THE GOOD GIRL PART DEUX

WHAT MY FRIENDS NEED TO KNOW

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WHAT MY FRIENDS NEED TO KNOW

WHAT MY FRIENDS DON’T KNOW

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WHAT MY FRIENDS DON’T KNOW

GIRLFRIENDS & SECRETS

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GIRLFRIENDS & SECRETS

DESPERATE DESIRE

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DESPERATE DESIRE

INTENTIONAL CURSE

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INTENTIONAL CURSE

GENERATIONAL CURSE

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GENERATIONAL CURSE

UNEXPECTED LOVE

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UNEXPECTED LOVE
GOD’S BOMBSHELL: LIVING A BEAUTIFUL SINGLE LIFE

LOVE NOTES

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LOVE NOTES

FIRST ENCOUNTERS OF LOVE

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FIRST ENCOUNTERS OF LOVE

THE GOOD GIRL PART ONE

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THE GOOD GIRL PART ONE

THE NIGHT I FELL IN LOVE

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THE NIGHT I FELL IN LOVE

THE FLING

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THE FLING
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Rewrite Retreat

September 5, 2022 by in category Pink Pad by Tracy Reed

Happy September and Happy Labor Day.


Last month I did something I have never done before…a writing retreat. I did this because I needed to rewrite my November release. I wrote this series several years ago, when I was just starting my writing career. My writing style changed and the characters needed to be seasoned.


Most of the characters I write are Christian and are figuring out life while loving God. However, this series needed a lot of work. The story sounded a little preachy and that’s not what I wanted.


I had a 100K plus word book that was horribly written and incomplete. When I put this book on my production schedule for this year. I thought it just needed to be cleaned up. I had no idea it needed to be rewritten.


I took a break from my last project before starting on this one. Once I started reading to refresh my memory. I realized I was going to need more time to complete it. I pushed the release date out as fas as I could…November 29th. I’m not exactly pleased with the release date, but I’ve got no choice. I’m releasing a non-holiday romance during the holiday season.


How did I do with my writing retreat? I ended the week a few words short of 40K. I missed my goal of 60-65K words, but I was pleased with what I accomplished.


So here I am at the midnight hour trying to finish my book. The original book had some good parts which I was able to use. Let me clarify. Although the original book in its entirety wasn’t good, I still wanted to use the core story. When I made the decision, to do a major rewrite, it opened the door to a new ending and the possibility of another book. Or maybe a spin off for one of the characters.


The other thing I’m doing I probably shouldn’t is add to the series without reading the previous books. I know this isn’t very wise, but I was able to get away with it, because the book isn’t really a continuation, but more of a connected book. Not reading the other books in the series may not seem like the smartest thing to do, but only time will tell.


I was a little concerned about the word count because I’m close to 100K words. Then I checked the other books and was reminded they are 90K+, which made me feel a lot better about the word count.


As of this post, I am 3300+ words away from the end. I set a goal of today to complete the book and begin the first round of edits. Let’s see what happens.

Some of Tracy’s Books

THE GOOD GIRL PART FOUR

Buy now!
THE GOOD GIRL PART FOUR

THE GOOD GIRL PART FIVE

Buy now!
THE GOOD GIRL PART FIVE

THE GOOD GIRL Part Trois

Buy now!
THE GOOD GIRL Part Trois

THE FIX UP

Buy now!
THE FIX UP

A SOUTHERN GENTLEMAN

Buy now!
A SOUTHERN GENTLEMAN

MISS MATCH

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MISS MATCH

THE GOOD GIRL PART DEUX

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THE GOOD GIRL PART DEUX

WHAT MY FRIENDS NEED TO KNOW

Buy now!
WHAT MY FRIENDS NEED TO KNOW

WHAT MY FRIENDS DON’T KNOW

Buy now!
WHAT MY FRIENDS DON’T KNOW

GIRLFRIENDS & SECRETS

Buy now!
GIRLFRIENDS & SECRETS

DESPERATE DESIRE

Buy now!
DESPERATE DESIRE

INTENTIONAL CURSE

Buy now!
INTENTIONAL CURSE

GENERATIONAL CURSE

Buy now!
GENERATIONAL CURSE

UNEXPECTED LOVE

Buy now!
UNEXPECTED LOVE
GOD’S BOMBSHELL: LIVING A BEAUTIFUL SINGLE LIFE

LOVE NOTES

Buy now!
LOVE NOTES

FIRST ENCOUNTERS OF LOVE

Buy now!
FIRST ENCOUNTERS OF LOVE

THE GOOD GIRL PART ONE

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THE GOOD GIRL PART ONE

THE NIGHT I FELL IN LOVE

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THE NIGHT I FELL IN LOVE

THE FLING

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THE FLING
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Who’s On Your Team?

August 5, 2022 by in category Pink Pad by Tracy Reed tagged as , , ,

Hi, please forgive my post replay. I’m in the middle of edits. I selected this post because I’m beefing up my PA’s duties. I have come to the realization I need a little more help. Happy June.

Happy August. It’s hard to believe we are in the middle of summer. I’ll keep it brief.

I did something a little presumptive or not very smart. The past two years have been a lot different. Most of us probably didn’t stick to our writing schedules. In an attempt to get back on track this year, I set up three preorders. What was I thinking? Since I’m being transparent, I changed the release date on all three preorders.

I could expound on the many things that contributed to the changes, but I won’t. However, the reasons and changes opened my eyes to something…I needed help…a team.

I’ve been doing well with my intimate production team.…a proof reader (my mom) and an editor. After my last release, my editor and I amended our arrangement. This new arrangement left me in a lurch…she wasn’t exactly on board with the new tone of my books. I like working with her. She understood my stories and she spoke French, which I needed for my series,The Good Girl. However, now she stated she would prefer to only edit sweet, non-sexual content books. Occasionally, I write sweet books and will keep her for those projects.

I freaked out about having to replace my editor. After all, she was half of my team. After my last release, I reached out to a friend who helped me find another editor who is on board with my writing style.

The other thing I realized was I was writing up to the deadline and trying to fit marketing in between craft and graphic design. I booked a few Facebook and BookBub ads. I also booked some newsletter swaps. However, I knew I could do more.

The past several years, I’ve heard other writers talk about their PAs. I longed for a PA, but figured that wasn’t in my budget just yet. But during lockdown, it seemed like more and more writers were talking about their PAs and how helpful they were. Pre-lockdown I reached out to a few PAs and felt as amazing as it sounded to have one, at that time it wasn’t an expense I was ready to take on.

Fast forward to lockdown and an author business workshop and a business book…”We Should All Be Millionaires”…by Rachel Rodgers, I realized not having help was costing me money.

I reached out and asked what an author PA did. I was ignorant. I thought all PAs did was schedule FB parties, newsletter swaps, send out prizes and organize ARC teams. I apologize to every PA out there because I was unaware of the value a good PA offers. I also think one of the issues I had with using a PA was control. I like to or rather I’m use to doing pretty much everything myself. I do my own covers, promotional graphics and ad graphics. I write my own newsletters and social media posts. I have an editor, a proof reader and a couple of beta readers.

If I was going to do this, I needed to know what a PA could do for me. Imagine my shock when I saw the list of things a PA could do that weren’t even on my list…book formatting, managing my social media and GoodReads page, update mailing list, arrange promotions and giveaways. I was intrigued.

I reached out to one of my FB groups for feedback and referrals. However, my friend A.M. Roark hit me up and recommended her PA…Praise Ikeme. We chatted and about an hour later, I knew she would be a good fit for me. I told Praise I wanted to take things slow and once I’ve come to grips with letting go of a few tasks, I’ll hand them off to her.

My dip into the PA water has been very good. I have my PA working with me on newsletter swaps. Within the first twenty-four hours of our arrangement, she had my first two months of swaps scheduled. I like that she sends me reminders, verifies the links on my site for the books I’m swapping. She proofs my newsletter and sends me reminders at the beginning of Newsletter Week.

I have to admit, I wasn’t very consistent when it came to sending out my newsletter. Since hiring my PA, I have a newsletter schedule…twice a month…which I’ve been sticking to. I also use the newsletter copy as blog copy. Thanks to my PA, I’m blogging again…something I hadn’t done in quite a while.

Now my team consists of three people…a proof reader, an editor and a PA. I’m excited and look forward to expanding my team when the time comes.

If you’re looking for a PA, I recommend Praise Ikeme (praiseikeme@gmail.com).

Who’s on your team?
Next month I’ll do a goals update.
Enjoy your summer and happy writing and reading.

Tracy

THE GOOD GIRL PART FOUR

Buy now!
THE GOOD GIRL PART FOUR

THE GOOD GIRL PART FIVE

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THE GOOD GIRL PART FIVE

THE GOOD GIRL Part Trois

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THE GOOD GIRL Part Trois

THE FIX UP

Buy now!
THE FIX UP

A SOUTHERN GENTLEMAN

Buy now!
A SOUTHERN GENTLEMAN

MISS MATCH

Buy now!
MISS MATCH

THE GOOD GIRL PART DEUX

Buy now!
THE GOOD GIRL PART DEUX

WHAT MY FRIENDS NEED TO KNOW

Buy now!
WHAT MY FRIENDS NEED TO KNOW

WHAT MY FRIENDS DON’T KNOW

Buy now!
WHAT MY FRIENDS DON’T KNOW

GIRLFRIENDS & SECRETS

Buy now!
GIRLFRIENDS & SECRETS

DESPERATE DESIRE

Buy now!
DESPERATE DESIRE

INTENTIONAL CURSE

Buy now!
INTENTIONAL CURSE

GENERATIONAL CURSE

Buy now!
GENERATIONAL CURSE

UNEXPECTED LOVE

Buy now!
UNEXPECTED LOVE
GOD’S BOMBSHELL: LIVING A BEAUTIFUL SINGLE LIFE

LOVE NOTES

Buy now!
LOVE NOTES

FIRST ENCOUNTERS OF LOVE

Buy now!
FIRST ENCOUNTERS OF LOVE

THE GOOD GIRL PART ONE

Buy now!
THE GOOD GIRL PART ONE

THE NIGHT I FELL IN LOVE

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THE NIGHT I FELL IN LOVE

THE FLING

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THE FLING
3 0 Read more

Mid Year Goal Check

July 5, 2022 by in category Pink Pad by Tracy Reed tagged as , , ,

Happy July and belated Fourth of July.  I almost forgot I needed to write a post for today.  It’s not an excuse, but a reason.  My family was hit with an emergency medical issue with my dad.  For the past couple of months our schedules were interrupted.  During this period I had a release I couldn’t push back.

I had a plan for how I was going to promote this book, but that never really happened…not fully.  With all that was going on in my personal life, I found myself second guessing a few things.  How to promote a book in a series when it ends on a cliff?  How much should you spend on advertising?  What about the cover…is it too racy?  And let’s not forget my editor hit me with a major curve.  

What was my plan?  Run Facebook, BookBub, AMS and newsletter ads.  I never got new FB ads up.  I turned the AMS off.  I’m on the fence about AMS ads.  Personally, I think they are more effective for Kindle exclusive authors.  I’m wide and I don’t experience the returns Kindle exclusives receive.  I did run a BookBub ad which produced wide sales.  I never set up newsletter ads.  

I hear you saying, “It only takes a few minutes to set up ads.”  You’re right, but when you’re juggling unexpected doctors appointments, tests and eventually surgery, ads and writing are the last things on your mind.  I was grateful to God, the book was finished and edited.  I reached out to a couple of authors for advice on marketing which helped alleviate some anxiety.

So what did I do?  I had this book up on preorder for a few months and for the record, these were the most preorders to date in my writing career.  I reached out to my author and blogger community for swaps and posts.  I ran book one in a free giveaway to draw attention to the series (this really works…this is going to be a part of my release plan).  I posted to my socials as well.  I ran BookBub ads for the free book one.

How did I do?  This was my second release this year.  I released part four earlier this year which doubled the sales of book three which was released last year.  This release has been out three weeks and so far it has out performed book four in the series.  

Did I hit my sales goal?  No.  But some amazing things did happen.  

First sale on Google Play

First preorders on Kobo

Kobo Sales have already surpassed last year’s sales

Most preorders to date in writing career

Preorder for book six (which only has one chapter so far)

Gained new readers and increased read-thru in the series

Best release sales to date

What did I learn with this release?  Trust God.  I’m not preaching, but being honest.  The only way this release did well was because I asked God to help me.   I was close to stress mode.  The other thing I learned was Pre-Release Prep.   There are things I can do now even though the book isn’t complete.  I have a cover, but I can create the graphics and blurbs now.  I already have the book on preorder and as soon as it’s complete, I’ll set it up at Amazon.

The other Pre-Release Prep I’ve done is hired some help.   I realized I needed some help.  If I’d had help I would have been able to implement more promotion things and done even better.  My PA is already setting up swaps for me.    

I’m also going to use some advice I received for the last release which I wasn’t able to, because book one was too small.  Apply for a BookBub Featured Deal.  There’s a lead-in book which meets the BB requirements.  Here’s a tip…if you’re doing a series, try to write book one to the  BookBub Featured deal requirement.  If not, create a box set which can be a series starter.  I’ve already added create a box set for The Good Girl series so I can apply for a BB Featured Deal for Book Six.

Let’s do a quick check on my goals for the year.

Here’s my updated goals list:

Get my letters 

Triple my income 

Triple my mailing list – Working on this.  Added approximately 400 new subscribers so far

Master Facebook ads – I made a change last month to how much I spend and it’s paying off.  Last month,  I scaled back to one ad and it’s paid off.  This one ad for a first in series free has led to sales of the books in two of my other series.  I’m going to ride this strategy for a little while before scaling up.

Update covers – 13 covers in total to update.  8 completed.

Learn how to write a sellable blurb

Use Ingram Spark – Launching first books this month

Direct distribution – I started with Nook.  So far, it’s worked out.  Considering selling ebooks direct from my website.

Increase BookBub US Followers to 1000 –   Added two hundred new US followers.

Increase my prices

Release 3 BooksTwo down, one to go.  I also added three short stories for anthologies.  One is. My first Christmas story.  

How are you doing with your goals so far?

Tracy’s Books

THE GOOD GIRL PART FOUR

Buy now!
THE GOOD GIRL PART FOUR

THE GOOD GIRL PART FIVE

Buy now!
THE GOOD GIRL PART FIVE

THE GOOD GIRL Part Trois

Buy now!
THE GOOD GIRL Part Trois

THE FIX UP

Buy now!
THE FIX UP

A SOUTHERN GENTLEMAN

Buy now!
A SOUTHERN GENTLEMAN

MISS MATCH

Buy now!
MISS MATCH

THE GOOD GIRL PART DEUX

Buy now!
THE GOOD GIRL PART DEUX

WHAT MY FRIENDS NEED TO KNOW

Buy now!
WHAT MY FRIENDS NEED TO KNOW

WHAT MY FRIENDS DON’T KNOW

Buy now!
WHAT MY FRIENDS DON’T KNOW

GIRLFRIENDS & SECRETS

Buy now!
GIRLFRIENDS & SECRETS

DESPERATE DESIRE

Buy now!
DESPERATE DESIRE

INTENTIONAL CURSE

Buy now!
INTENTIONAL CURSE

GENERATIONAL CURSE

Buy now!
GENERATIONAL CURSE

UNEXPECTED LOVE

Buy now!
UNEXPECTED LOVE
GOD’S BOMBSHELL: LIVING A BEAUTIFUL SINGLE LIFE

LOVE NOTES

Buy now!
LOVE NOTES

FIRST ENCOUNTERS OF LOVE

Buy now!
FIRST ENCOUNTERS OF LOVE

THE GOOD GIRL PART ONE

Buy now!
THE GOOD GIRL PART ONE

THE NIGHT I FELL IN LOVE

Buy now!
THE NIGHT I FELL IN LOVE

THE FLING

Buy now!
THE FLING
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Tracy Reed has a NEW RELEASE and FREEBIE!

June 20, 2022 by in category Pink Pad by Tracy Reed, Spotlight, Writing tagged as , ,

Tracy Reed has a NEW RELEASE and FREEBIE!

THE GOOD GIRL Part Five

Gabriella’s decision to become romantically involved with her Billionaire boss, shoots her up the corporate ladder and gives her the happy ending all women wish for. There’s just one problem, she doesn’t want the fantasy.

Excerpt:

GABRIELLA

The problem was simple. I was being thrust into a life I wasn’t sure I could or wanted to handle. It’s one thing to date or be married to a rich guy. But this is different. Phillippe and his family weren’t just rich, they were part of the secret rich. They were the kind of people who build hospitals, community centers, sponsor the arts, fund research, influence politicians…elect politicians.

When things began to get serious, he told me there were things he couldn’t tell me. I just had no idea, they included so many zeroes. I’m not stupid or naive. I knew Phillippe was well off, but this is way beyond my imagination. It’s also a world I’m not sure I want to live in. Sometimes love and great sex aren’t enough to build a marriage on.

PHILLIPPE

I wasn’t used to these feelings. In a matter of months Gabriella had infected my blood stream. I wasn’t the same. I wasn’t a cocky arrogant boorish man. It’s like that man died the moment I laid eyes on the petite curvy ball of love, I was privileged and honored to call my wife.

I thought about going over to the manor, but I didn’t want to face Mere. I was ashamed to tell her, I messed up things and may have lost the love of my life. The other reason I didn’t want to go there was my grandfather. If he were there I don’t think I’d…in my current state, I couldn’t be sure I wouldn’t do him physical harm.

He was the reason I was in this mess. If it hadn’t been for him insisting I get married and me being so stubborn, I never would have gotten involved with Gabriella. Now because of his interference, I may have lost the only woman I will ever love.

NEW RELEASE

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Buy from Apple Books
Buy from Barnes and Noble
Buy from Kobo

Download FREEBIE: The Good Girl Part One at www.readtracyreed.com

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