{Book Tour} Annabelle's Story Book Tour: Guest Post

Hey Guys! Today I am here with an awesome tour post for the Annabelle's Story Book Tour! As part of my stop on the tour I am here to present Leigh's Indie ABC's! Its two parts so keep your eyes out for post #2 with a promotional spotlight!! :) 

Annabelle Walsh thought she had it all. She was the star of her swim team, had a loving family, a great boyfriend, and to top it off, she’d be starting at UCLA in the fall. One day, she’d be referred to as Dr. Annabelle Walsh.
She was living every girl’s dream – until her life was turned upside down. All starting with finding out that she's not just a human, but also a water spirit. Half-human, half-sprite to be exact. Although not just any sprite, Annabelle is prophesied to be the only one who can save both the sprites and mankind.
With a mix of current events, anecdotes from Greek mythology, tidbits of folklore, and Leigh’s own imagination, we join Annabelle in her journey to restore order beneath the sea. Each step of the way her mind, body, and soul are pushed to the limit begging the question, how much can one half-human, half-sprite take?

Leigh’s Indie ABCs

When I released Sprite (Annabelle’s Story Part One) in April, I knew very little about the writing industry. Over the past 6 months, I’ve acted as a sponge for information. It’s been an amazing, gut-checking, rewarding, and humbling experience. Along the way, I’ve picked up a few tricks of the trade that I’d love to share with you all. Below is part three in what I’ve learned thus far in self-publishing my first series, Annabelle’s Story. Part one was posted on Flying on Silver Wings on October 1. Part two was posted on Little Library Muse on October 17.

Query writing — In a nutshell, it’s tough. I keep a running list of tips I’ve come across. One of which is “Showing, not telling”. I also attended a webinar on Writer’s Digest titled “How to Hook an Agent or Editor With Your Query”. Most importantly, follow the guidelines set by each agent.

Read, read, read — I saw somewhere that even authors should read a book a week. It provides great insight into other writing styles, new ideas, and so forth. I’ve been trying to follow this rule of thumb to broaden my horizons (it’s hard, though).

Setting-up Google alerts — It’s a great service that allows you to track content online. Simple, too. Just enter a phrase (I used “Leigh Michael” as one) and select a frequency. Once content appears on the web that matches your phrase, you’ll be alerted via email. Who knows what others could be saying about you out there.

Ten-Thousand Hour Rule — There’s this great book called Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. He says, “The key to success in any field is, to a large extent, a matter of practicing a specific task for a total of around 10,000 hours.” I’m well on my way toward reaching this goal.

Understanding the big picture — Sometimes this can get tricky. A blog for aspiring authors believes “we've got to train ourselves to stay in the now so that we can be most effective. The now is what leads us, step by step, to the big picture. And if we stay focused, we'll get there with less angst.” Great advice, don’t you think?

Verisimilitude — I read on another blog, “If you fail at [verisimilitude], you fail as a writer. You want your readers to believe every word you are saying. You don’t want a reader to read your work, roll their eyes, and deem it impractical.” As a writer, this is something I find quite important and I hope to improve upon.

Workshops and Conferences — I’ve attended a few workshops but I haven’t gone to a conference yet. I know I want to though. From what I hear it’s an amazing experiences. Definitely on my to-do list for the coming year, along with joining my local SCBWI chapter.

Xenodochy — Which means... acting kindly to strangers. Simply, “you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar.” This industry can be brutal. It’s important to swallow your pride and treat everyone with respect (especially after receiving a poor review).

YA vs NA — While learning as much as I can about YA, I stumbled upon a genre called NA (New Adult). It’s geared to early 20 somethings and is quoted as “bridging the gap between young adult and adult fiction.” Sounds interesting to me. What does everyone else think?

Zillions — This is the amount of copies I aspire to sell of Annabelle’s Story. Okay, perhaps this is setting my sights a little too high. On average, most independent authors don’t reach more than $500 in sales a year. Perhaps you could help me out with that.

Thank you for reading part three of my A through Z of industry learnings. Be sure to check out part one on Flying on Silver Wings from October 1 and part two on Little Library Muse from October 17.

So what’s next for me? I’ve thrown myself into a new series. This one is a historical fiction that I’m pretty thrilled about. I haven’t decided yet if I’ll pursue the traditional route or follow the same indie path. Who knows, there could be a “Leigh’s Bestseller ABCs” post one day. One can only hope!

Also, don’t forget to stop by Leigh Michael Books on October 31^st for a 

special Trick or Treat surprise!

Find Leigh at: ~Website~Twitter~Facebook~Email~Amazon~Smashwords~Goodreads~

Leigh Michael is an author of YA fiction. She's worked within the advertising world for nearly a decade before writing her debut series, Annabelle's Story. Leigh lives in Washington, DC with her husband and goldendoodle. Please learn more about Leigh and her works at www.LeighMichaelBooks.com.