Everyone Needs an Author Elf...Find Out How to Get One!

I've been facebook friends with Lisa Kessler for over a year.  We have followed one another's successes and cheered each other on in our personal publishing journeys.  Lisa is a wonderful writer, and a singer, and now she adds another ball to juggle: Author Elf.

I was so entranced by this subject, I asked Lisa to write a guest post for me, so I can introduce the concept and Lisa's new company correctly.  So, please welcome Lisa Kessler!

Hi everyone –

Thanks to Samantha for the blog spot! J

With a New Year right around the corner, this is the perfect time to talk about multi-tasking and time management, right?

I’m Lisa Kessler, and I’m a fiction writer. My first novel, Night Walker, was released in 2011, and then re-released again in mass-market paperback in 2012. My eBook novella, Night Thief also released in October of 2012. It’s been a big learning curve for me as a writer to balance all the facets of my new career path.

In school, you read the classics and picture Hemingway, Bradbury and Shelley penning their masterpieces in a dimly lit room and then the masses flow into the bookstores to read it. Simple, right?

Sadly, the reality of publishing these days isn’t nearly as simple. Readers have to be able to find you and your book. There are millions of titles out there, with more popping up on Amazon every day. You can no longer write a book and wait for readers to grab a copy.

How do readers discover you and your books?

That’s where I have found things to be tricky. What good is your book if no one ever reads it, but if all I’m doing is promoting, then I’ll never write another book. It’s a crazy cycle! As a writer, I often have a tough time juggling my calendar and my projects. It seems like I turn around and my monthly author newsletter has become bi-seasonal. Whoops!

We really need assistants to check out websites, scout for positive reviews, nudge us when it’s time for another newsletter to show readers our new book cover, etc.  But most of us can’t afford the manpower.

That’s when my hubby and I came up with Author Elf. After helping a few writers with facebook release parties and twitter training, we realized that each writer has different needs, but it all starts with organization.

Writers need an elf working behind the scenes to keep us on track!

That’s where we can help. We’re setting goals with authors and building calendars with reminders. We’re also setting up Google alerts for reviews and checking websites to be sure they’re current. All the minutia that we know is important but we never find the time to take care of, that’s where your elf comes in.

You can find out more here…  http://www.authorelf.com/about-us.html

So as we kick off 2013, you don’t have to work alone. We’ll be right there to lend a hand so you can have more time to write…  And who doesn’t want that? J  Happy New Year!

Lisa Kessler – Lisa@authorelf.com

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My Personal Path To Publication - Lisa Kessler

Hey gang, today I have a homegirl on the blog.  Please welcome a fellow San Diegan, Lisa Kessler.  Lisa is the author of the recently released paranormal title, Night Walker, published by Entangled Publishing, this past August.  Lisa and I are both from San Diego; she still lives there, while I am transplanted to Los Angeles.  Another of my hosted authors is from San Diego as well, Scott Prussing.  It's so neat to me to discover authors so close to me through the magic of facebook.  It makes me think that I have the chance to meet some of these talented authors someday, perhaps at a convention or signing.  With all the conversation that goes on with facebook, I just think it's nice to know some of my contacts might be friends someday.  Lisa's book is available now, both in ebook and print form.  Now, read about her journey and see how it came to be.

1. How long have you been writing? 

I wrote for fun every night for about 3 years, and started publishing short stories.  It took 10 years for me to get my first novel published.

2. Are you published and if so, how long have you been a published author? If not, what’s your plan?  

My debut novel, Night Walker, was just released in August.  Woot!

3. Which route did you choose for becoming published, the traditional route, with an agent, the “indie” route, going directly to the publishers yourself, or deciding to self-publish?  

I self-published one of my longer short stories just to try it out and learn about indie-publishing.  It’s been a great experience and also got my name out there with book bloggers before my novel was released.  My novel is published by Entangled Publishing in Print and eBook.

4. Why did you choose that particular route?  

I learned from my self-published short, Across the Veil, that editing and formatting are tough and cover design is even tougher.  Entangled Publishing also gives me a publicist to help me spread the word about my book.

5. How long did it take you to write your first novel? 

I wrote the first draft of Night Walker in 6 months.

6. How long did it take you to publish it?  10 years.

7. How many times did it get rejected before it got published?  

Yikes I lost count!  Night Walker is a contemporary paranormal romance, but it also has history woven into the story.  Traditional publishers and agents did enjoy the story, but they didn’t know how to market it.  I got rejections for that, rejections that my hero was too dark, the list goes on and on.  I was starting to lose hope in getting it published…

8. Tell us about your worst rejection letter.  

I can’t think of a really horrible one.  It’s never fun hearing them tell you they love the book BUT we’re going to have to pass… ugh!

9. What was the best news you ever got in your writing life and how did it make you feel?  

Talking to the acquiring editor at Entangled over the phone and hearing how much she loved my book.  It was the sweetest redemption to find a publisher willing to take a chance on the book and me…

10. What’s the worst piece of advice you ever got?  

I had an agent once tell me that foreign settings and heroes never sell…  Huh! LOL

11. Now, tell us the best! 

The best advice came from Kelley Armstrong and Barbara Vey who both encouraged me to join RWA.  Without the networking and involvement in RWA chapters, I might not ever have heard of Entangled Publishing and Night Walker might still be trapped in my computer instead of out in the world… J

12. What’s the one thing you would want an aspiring writer to take away from your personal path to publication? 

Never give up.  I posted a blog about it… http://lisakessler.wordpress.com/2011/09/11/never-give-up/

13. Where can we read your blog? Buy your books? Connect with you on facebook? On Twitter? Your website?

Night Walker is available online everywhere, but here are the links for Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Night-Walker-ebook/dp/B005EYT7JW/ref=pd_sim_kinc3?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2  and Barnes & Noble - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/night-walker-lisa-kessler/1104527195

My blog is: http://LisaKessler.wordpress.com

Facebook is: http://facebook.com/LisaKesslerWriter and http://facebook.com/NightSeries

Twitter is: http://twitter.com/LdyDisney

And my website is: http://Lisa-Kessler.com

He gave up his soul for a second chance to love her...

Two and a half centuries ago, Calisto Terana lost everything when a zealous priest murdered the woman he loved. Now, desperate for another chance to love her, he wants redemption for the mistake that cost her life.
She's haunted by dreams of her own death...
After catching her fiance with another woman, Kate Bradley returns to San Diego to clear her head. The last thing she needs is romance, but after meeting Calisto she's drawn to him in ways she doesn't understand.
They've waited in the shadows for centuries...
Calisto has no doubt Kate is the reincarnation of his lost love, but the Fraternidad Del Fuego Santo has a new watcher with dark ambitions of his own. As old enemies reemerge and a new threat arises, the betrayal that enslaved Calisto to the night might destroy the only woman he's ever loved again.


Okay, I'm sold!
Plus, if that's Calisto on the cover....need I say more????
And Lisa is more than just a pretty face.  She is also contributing a workshop at www.savvyauthors.com along with her husband, Ken Kessler, Social Media for Writers, which begins today.  Here is the link: http://www.savvyauthors.com/vb/showevent.php?eventid=1049.  If you are having trouble mastering the skills, get in touch with Lisa because these platforms are invaluable for the author who is marketing herself or himself.  And check out Lisa's book!