…and other secret behind-the-scenes author logistics.

Don’t worry, , I won’t ask you to send your bank account to an email in Nigeria. But I will let you in on some of the secrets of why I’ve made some choices, and be as transparent as I can about expectations.

1. Meeting you where you like to hang out
2. My book prices, and scary money confessions
3. Sale prices, working together, and trades
4. The kind of promotions I’ll run in this newsletter

Do you prefer tea, hot chocolate, or coffee?

Join me for a chat!

Meeting you where you like to hang out

It has always been incredibly important to me to meet readers where they already like to be. It’s why I have started out by selling my books on all the major platforms (Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books, Nook/Barnes&Noble, and Google Play). Every one of those platforms opens the door to certain readers. Paperbacks are coming soon, and are available for Feisty Deeds. As I become more established, I look forward to becoming more accessible by offering audiobooks. (Listening to a book is 100% reading!!…it’s just a lot more expensive to produce, unfortunately.)

You can see all the listings in the universal links

Are you working to “vote with your dollars” and support companies you believe in?

I’ve been doing this for years, which is why I really try to buy what I can locally. The math about how much more money stays in the community is inspiring!

If you want to follow or support me but you’re staying off certain big platforms, please join me on:

• Substack: I write articles and try to be active on Notes, which is kind of like other social media feeds but with longer, more thoughtful posts, especially about motherhood.
• BookBub: I send my followers book recommendations and reviews. I tend to do several once a month (or two)
• StoryGraph: I’m actually just getting started on here, but it seems like a great alternative to a certain enormous book review platform. StoryGraph’s graphic tracking method makes sense to the geeky part of my brain.
• I have an account on BlueSky but frankly it’s been One Thing Too Much so far. But if you love it, ping me, and I’ll move more of my content over there.

If you're just connecting where the connections are, I also have accounts on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. The FB is entirely a repeat of the IG content, which is my more personal and chatty stuff, and so far my TT is slideshows for my books. I genuinely enjoy following you back, but if I don't, just send me a message so I know you’re not a millionaire military dude-bro who is both a book promoter with no qualifications and also wants to date me.

Book prices, and scary money confessions

My novellas are priced at $2.99. Whew, now we’ve gotten the hard bit out of the way!

But wait…why would that be hard, since it says it right on every sales platform? I think a lot of potential readers click through looking for the lowest possible price. I get it; stuff is expensive these days, and maybe you read a ton so books add up. (I do!) But here’s my confession why I don’t offer my books for the lowest possible price:

• A large percentage of novellas in my genres are priced at $2.99. It’s a fair price.
• I want the best quality reading experience for you, so I take my time writing, and use professional editing, formatting, etc. 
• The sales sites make it hard to go cheaper. They charge authors distribution fees, so they keep 30% for most prices, but skyrocket to 70% for anything below $2.99. So if I drop my price by only one dollar, I earn only a quarter of the amount.

Buy the fairly priced Castle in Kilkenny series

That’s less than a cookie at a coffee shop BUT…

That’s not my argument, it’s a segue into a funny story. Theodora Taylor wrote that authors like to say “my book is priced less than a latte” and her response is “but I know a Starbucks latte isn’t going to suck!!”

I have to agree. I find it hard to pay much for a new-to-me author when I know I might not jive with the story, so that’s why I offer my series starter for free in exchange for a newsletter subscription. Plenty of people won’t like my fairy tales, and that’s fine. You can see if it fits your style before you compare it to a cookie at Panera. 

Malin & Inish think this cookie looks adequate to their needs

"I’d like to read your books, but I really need to be careful with my budget"

I get it! You can still get my books without breaking your budget. Let’s trade!

1. I still have places on my review team. I’ll send you a copy, and you’ll post reviews and share posts on socials. 
2. I offer review copies if you have a blog/Bookstagram/BookTok and offer to feature the book. At this time, I only have epub copies. I also can arrange giveaways for your readers.
3. Also….my books are all on Kobo Plus! One monthly fee allows you to read as many Kobo Plus books as you want. I am really, really sorry that I’m not also on Kindle Unlimited, but they require exclusivity, which goes against my philosophy of meeting readers where they like to hang out, and also excludes many readers outside the U.S.

Just reply to this email if you’d like to join my review team or feature one of my books!

Tea and stitching, too

"But what do you offer for this newsletter? Any sales or goodies?"

I will let you know about any upcoming sales! They are likely to be for the first two books in the series, and likely to be for 99c (99 pence/euro cents/etc). At this point, I’m unlikely to offer free deals, because the way Amazon tallies sales means freebies actually lower my ranking. No fun! 

I’m excited about offering goodies, though! You always get cute puppy pictures, but I’ll do drawings for my art prints and other goodies. Notebooks, handmade pens, tea — who knows, it’ll be fun! 

I also have partnership promotions with special discounts. Watch out for a special offer in the very next email…and there will be more coming! 

You deserve to curl up with a good book and everything cozy, and I’m doing my best to send it your way!

Cookies for you! And you! And you!

See you next time!

Christy & the Shelties

We like cookies! I heard you had cookies! // Me, with tea.