About Vania Margene Rheault

Vania enjoys reading and writing. She's lived in Minnesota all her life, and with a cup of coffee in hand, enjoys the seasons with her two children.

Pity Isn’t a Good Marketing Plan

Posted on June 30, 2025 by Vania Margene Rheault

1,483 words
8 minutes read time

box of tissues, with one coming out of the top. pink background. text says pity isn't a good marketing plan

It’s valid to talk about our struggles as authors. It’s something I do almost every Monday. We like to know that we’re not alone, that we can relate to people and what they’re going through with writing, marketing, and publishing.

But sometimes it gets out of hand. In the past week or so, there’s been a big TikTok account that has taken the concept of sharing our struggles just a little too far, and what started out as “I really need some support” has turned into a huge marketing strategy constructed pretty much on just . . . pity. I don’t want to go into all that, the article I linked to actually does a really good job, and honestly, I’m not interested enough in that person to do a deep dive to write my own post about it.

Actually, I see a rendition of it on social media all time. Little posts like, “I haven’t sold a book this week/month/year,” or “My husband just got laid off, any sales will help!” or, “I just had a death in the family. I’ll donate proceeds to their funeral if you buy my book,” or “I can’t afford my cat’s vet bills, please, any reads in KU will help a lot.” I sympathize with each and every one of those people. I really, really do. I’ve had financial trouble. I lost three cats in five years, and let me tell you, the vet costs were astronomical. I’m not a stranger to needing money, but what I didn’t do was ask my readers to help me by buying my books. Why? Because:

One: Book royalties don’t work like that. Amazon doesn’t pay us for today’s sales for three months, so even if I managed to guilt-trip a few people into buying my books, it wouldn’t help. Three months is a long time to wait when you need the money now.

Two: My financial situation isn’t my readers’ business nor is it their responsibility. Asking them to buy my book so I can have some cash to pay bills or whatever else grossly oversteps the author/reader relationship.

Three: It erodes reader trust. After a while, they won’t want to see your social media posts because they’ll be afraid you’re going to ask them to do something they can’t do. Not all readers have a ton of disposable income, and if you have a short backlist, maybe they already supported you and will feel bad now if they’ve already bought your book and don’t want to buy it again.

Four: It takes attention away from your books. As an author trying to create a professional reputation and a credible and enjoyable backlist, that diverted attention could cost you. Not only for just that day, or that week, or that month you’re begging for help, but . . . forever. Followers can mute you without unfollowing, so you may never know the true damage you cause. Out of sight is out of mind, and in this time of content saturation and short attention spans, it doesn’t take much for a reader to forget she ever read anything you wrote.

The only time you should be asking readers if they’d like to read your books is when you know that what you’re offering them is something you think they would enjoy, either because you know they’ve read similar books to yours or they asked for a recommendation and you have something they’re looking for. That’s it.

But, I can hear a lot of you saying, I share my bleak numbers and empty sales dashboards to have support and so others don’t feel alone. That’s understandable and you’re not alone thinking that, but unfortunately, the reader/author line blurs more every day. I know this and take the risk keeping this blog up. Maybe a reader would find my indie talk not to their liking and skip out, either from this blog or my books too, and that’s okay. It’s unrealistic to think that we can keep our roles completely separate, so let’s just say begging for sales in most ways is unappealing wherever you happen to be hanging out online.

Besides, and I wrote a whole blog post about this before: transparency means diddle squat if you’re not prepared to have a conversation about why your sales are in the toilet and how to fix it. Saying you had zero sales so far for the month of June means little. That’s pity marketing if I ever heard it. You can frame it any way you want: “Just letting people know how tough it is out there. No sales this month.” “Being transparent today. No sales for this month. Keep on keeping on.” “No KU page reads this month and we only have a couple days left. Fingers crossed next month is better.” Those all sound familiar because we hear them all the time, but what I really want to ask is, What are you doing marketing-wise to combat this? Are you only posting on Facebook? Only Threads? Pinterest? How’s your cover, how’s your blurb? Is your book first in a series that won’t be done until 2030?

If you’re not ready for the hard conversations, then you have no business sharing. Some people will ask, out of a want to help you, and mostly I hear, I don’t have money for ads, or ads didn’t work for me. There are a lot of reasons why ads don’t work, the top one being your book isn’t advertising-ready. The cover is off, the blurb is confusing. You didn’t choose the right keywords or categories and the ad platform is confused and doesn’t know who your readers are. Those things are fixable. The money thing, not so much, but indie publishing is the only business venture I know of where people think they can start a business with no start-up cash. It’s completely unrealistic to think you can publish a book and have it be successful completely for free. People get really mad at me when I say stuff like that and call me privileged, but it’s true. Even a simple artist who wants to sell paintings on Etsy needs money to buy canvas and paint. It’s really crazy and probably why Kickstarter has had another surge in popularity recently. Authors need money to produce books. It’s always been that way.

So, the biggest takeaway from this post today is, should you be sharing that online? Do you really want your readers to see it? Do you really want your peers to be feeling sorry for you? I have a lot of sympathy for my “co-workers” such as they are, but whenever I take a look at their books, I can usually find a hundred ways to fix what they’re complaining about. New cover, new blurb. Get that series done. Fix your formatting, your title is confusing. Your ads won’t waste money if you’re selling a book people want to read. You may need to experiment a bit with your audience–Facebook wants to shove your ad in front of everyone which we all know rarely works–but even though I’ve complained about my own ads, I’ve never lost money. Simply broken even which I don’t consider a failure, I was just having mental health issues and decided to step back from the grind.

Anyway, so 2025 is half over. We’ve got six more months to get stuff done. Can you go through your backlist and make a list of things to fix?
*Cover–just because you like it doesn’t mean it’s working
*Blurb–too confusing or too vague because you don’t want to give away spoilers may turn readers off
*Look Inside: the first 10% is important. If nothing is happening or you start off your book with an info dump, you won’t hook readers.
*Make sure your categories and keywords are solid
*Price competitively

Then you can:
*Do a couple of free days and join an author-driven promo
*Learn Amazon ads
*Buy a promo from Written Word Media or places like Fussy Librarian and Robin Reads

Let’s stop the pity marketing and take matters into our own hands. We have the power to fix things and acting like you don’t just makes you look bad.

One more thing before I head off to get my errands done for the day: Angela James is offering a deep POV workshop on July 8th for $30.00. Improving craft is another way to increase sales. No one wants to read a book that sounds like crap and is full of telling. Angela’s a fabulous editor who used to work for Harlequin’s Carina Press. Take a look at her workshop, and if you haven’t invested in your author business so far this year, this money will be well spent. This is not an affiliate link: https://angelajames.co/deep-pov-workshop/

Have a good week everyone, and if you live in an area that’s been hit by storms, stay safe!

Splitting Your Author Life in Two: Readers vs. Writers

Posted on June 23, 2025 by Vania Margene Rheault

white background. black piece of torn paper. text says in black and white, splitting your author platform.

One of the biggest mistakes authors can make is trying to talk to everyone from the same place. Back when I first started publishing and writing my blog, I did this, and it actually took me years to figure out that not all readers are created equal. If you don’t know what I mean, let me explain.

It may not feel like it, but once you publish, your author life is suddenly split in two. You have your author pals who support you, maybe read your books (and that’s a big maybe), promote you on their socials that may or may not have readers in the audience, and after a while can even turn into accountability partners, alpha and beta readers, and friends. Then you have your readers, your actual readers who, if they are on social media at all, aren’t part of the #writingcommunity. They use socials for other things like connecting with family and reading articles about gardening, cooking, movies, and politics. Maybe they like their favorite authors’ Facebook author pages because that’s where they hear about new releases, giveaways, book boxes, and in-person events.

I came this realization a while back, and when I started my pen name, decided I needed to have a hub just for readers. To be honest, I didn’t want readers reading my nonfiction stuff anyway. I use this blog as a way to help others in their publishing journeys, let other indies know what worked for me in terms of marketing (promos and ads), and just talk about what crazy BS is going on in the publishing industry. That information isn’t for readers, and it shouldn’t be. They don’t need to know how many books I’ve sold, what Amazon pays in terms of KENP, or that I make my covers in Canva and format my own books.

But, I understand this decision isn’t for everyone. I pay for two websites, and some authors don’t even like paying for one. I enjoy blogging for other indies and connecting to the industry makes me feel “professional” so I eat the cost of the WordPress plan and domain name. But, if that’s not for you, don’t feel bad. Not every indie author wants to share their journey, stay up-to-date on what’s going on in the publishing world (both trad and indie) to have something of substance to write about, or pass on what they’ve learned because writing tutorials can take a lot of time. There are weeks when I’m at a loss as to what to say too, and I either just default to an author update or scroll Threads looking for ~~dirt~~ a topic. I feel fortunate when I can share a podcast I enjoyed and/or learned from or I’m able to find a subject like this one that might resonate with someone and help them move in a better direction. You don’t have to lock yourself into writing every week like I have, but if the views and visits are what get you out of bed, consistency will always make that happen faster. I owe a lot of my SEO to my tutorials, particularly my Canva post on how to make a paperback cover. I’ve tried to keep this blog relevant and helpful, but if you already have limited time to write, nurturing a blog that won’t sell books won’t sound appealing.

That said, if you really want to make a go of this publishing stuff, you should have an author website, a place to point readers in the backs of your books. This is where you’ll have your backlist of books and where readers can find them, a newsletter signup, your reader magnet, trigger warnings, direct sales, and any in-person events. If you check out other author websites, you’ll find that they don’t blog about process or complain about Amazon payouts or how they package author copies for shipping. Author websites cater to readers and what they want, not other authors who like to hear about behind the scenes news.

The problem with only writing to only readers is that if you don’t have a lot going on, there’s not a lot to say and that can make you feel disconnected. I write my newsletter on my author blog once a month, and I usually have something to share. A sale, a new release. Maybe highlighting an older book in my backlist that hasn’t gotten a lot of love. Creating content can be challenging if you’re a one-book-a-year author, and it might be tempting to write about what you’re working on, but unfortunately, readers don’t care until you can give them something to buy and read. When that happens, when you aren’t constantly updating, it may feel like people are forgetting about you, but you know, as I’ve said in the past, they will. You can be afraid of something that will happen, but there’s no point to that. There is so much content out there it’s inevitable, but it’s better to jog their memory after a few months of silence than waste their time blogging about something that doesn’t concern them.

If that describes you, if you feel like if you’re not reaching out then you’re invisible, then yeah, you might want to blog for indies who are interested in your process, would like to know how well your promos did, and/or how you make your covers. It gives you a reason to communicate and not feel so alone, and you’re writing to the people who actually care what you’re working on. Sales won’t come of it, which is why in the end I moved my books off this website and put them on my author website, but the more you segment your efforts, the more effective each one becomes and you won’t feel like you’re shouting at people who aren’t listening. Reaching out doesn’t even require a blog. You can create an indie Facebook group or Discord channel. A place where other writers and authors can get together but where you also know the score: your peers won’t buy your books. You can let go of that expectation and just be happy you’re in a group of people who are going through what you are and know how it feels to have zero sales on your dashboard.

So you might ask how is my author platform split in two?

Here’s what I do, and I made a graphic in Canva so you can save it or print it out if you want a quick reference.

There are a lot of places to hang out that I haven’t listed. I just can’t be everywhere and don’t want to be. Lemon8 is popular, so is Pinterest, and let’s not mention TikTok because I really don’t want to use my time making videos, but the fact is, if you’re a slow writer and you want to talk to only readers, you’re not going to have a lot to say. You can share book memes and pet photos, where you went to dinner on your anniversary, but you’re going to lose readers to other authors who publish faster. The industry in some ways is very slow, such as trends are very very slow to change, but when they do, it feels like it happened over night. Trad authors can seem like they get away with a book a year, but behind the scenes, they’re worried about getting a new book deal, if their publisher will pay for marketing, how their launch is going to go since they haven’t had a new book out in however long. Indies face the same trouble, trying to find traction while others are zooming ahead because they have more time/motivation/whatever than they do.

Figuring out where and what to post is a mental health issue, it really is. I’ve gone through my own struggles, beating myself up for not wanting to post on my Facebook author page, not making videos for TikTok when everyone says that’s where you belong if you’re an author. I boosted a post on my Instagram account and got a few new followers, but they aren’t going to do me any good if I don’t post. And you know, I’m pretty prolific, so it’s not that I don’t have content, it’s just that I don’t care. I let Amazon ads, promo newsletters like BargainBooksy, FreeBooksy, and Fussy Librarian, and author-driven book blasts like Zoe York’s ZoeBub pickup most of my sales weight, which I can do because my series and trilogies have solid read-through. Maybe I have to pay for it, but I’m reaching readers, not shouting at other authors then getting mad when my books aren’t selling.

Splitting up your author platform can take a lot of the stress off your shoulders. You know who you’re talking to and what they want to hear. Shouting to everyone will never work and you’ll only get frustrated. It’s difficult to break out of the #writingcommunity bubble, but the longer you do it the more natural it will feel and the feedback will become more positive because you’re staying in your chosen lane and once you draw the lines, you’ll actually have more time to write because that urgency to post and reach anyone you can will be gone.

Again, I know this advice isn’t for everyone, but if even reading this makes you step back and look at how you’re posting on social media, you may make some small changes that could turn into big results. Let me know what you think!

I better get off here and finish proofing my proof of Loss and Damages. I’m almost done then I can put the changes in and order another proof. I’m really excited to jump into more hockey research. I’ve put that aside to get Loss and Damages ready for ARCs next month, but I’m eager to start again. Take care everyone, and have a great week ahead!

Monday’s Author Update: Progress and Plateaus

Posted on June 16, 2025 by Vania Margene Rheault

1,438 words
8 minutes read time

I kind of copped out on you all last week, not really posting anything because I had nothing to say. Unfortunately, this week I’m in the same predicament. As Avery McKay says in my novel, Wicked Games, “I love writing. I can scribble all day. But that doesn’t mean it’s worth printing.” And that’s kind of where I’m at at the moment. I have plenty to say, but I don’t think it’s worth your time.

I scroll social media and there are so many voices out there. Screaming, and not even into the void, because I hear them, loud and clear. It has always mystified me how people can post on a social media platform, four, five, six even more times a day, assuming, hoping, maybe praying that what they are saying has some kind of worth to somebody . . . anybody. Most of the time, I don’t think it does, and a lot of what I see is just annoying, like a mosquito buzzing around my head that I can’t kill because I don’t kill things.

I was thinking about that this morning, too, that there are so many books out there, and so many opinions about them, and at some point, you have to think that none of it matters at all. That maybe, instead of posting every five seconds, it could be better for your mental health and everyone else’s if you only say something when you have something meaningful to say. There was something I read on Threads that said, “I’m not actually surprised when some authors don’t say anything about injustices in the world because they barely have anything to say in their books. Why start now” and it actually made me mad. Just because I don’t post incessantly on social media doesn’t mean I don’t care about what’s happening in the world or that my books don’t have substance. That maybe I’m doing things in my real life that make a difference that don’t need to be blasted all over the internet.

Is it a crime to be a private person now?

It perhaps isn’t a crime, but in the age of digital when you aren’t shoving yourself out there every five seconds, your chance of discoverability goes down. But I don’t want to be known for telling my followers I vacuumed the living room, or I finally got around to cleaning my bathroom, or that I have a dentist appointment that I finally kept after a year of canceling because I was fed up with doctor appointments and I just needed a break (actually, that’s what I’ll be doing Thursday afternoon. Pray for me.).

And the woman who got ran off the internet for musing about plotting a book where the hero and heroine meet at an ICE protest has probably never regretted anything more in her life. Some thoughts should just be kept inside your head. In fact, probably most thoughts you should just keep to yourself.

Then we have platforms where pictures and videos need to accompany what you want to say and honestly, it’s really no wonder people don’t have attention spans. Even I’ve had that problem lately, watching an episode of The Outsider, then stopping after ten minutes to scroll Threads only to find there’s nothing there, then going back to my show, but then stopping again and scrolling DepositPhotos for an alternate guy for my hockey book’s cover. Then I feel stupid for not being able to finish my show and go back and force myself to watch until the end. In my case, I want to be working on my books but I also know I’m burnt out and need the break–hence watching a show in the evenings to chill out. It’s not that I didn’t like it, I’ve watched it before and knew that I did, but that feeling of not getting anything done, especially when I do have things waiting for me, wouldn’t leave me alone. Which, I can just blame on social media anyway. People are always posting what they’re doing or what they wish they were doing or what they’ve done, and you feel left out if you can’t join in.

Anyway, I am getting some stuff done. I finished that read-through of Wicked Games, and now I’m definitely going to put it away for few months. Right now I’m 33% of the way through proofing my proof of Loss and Damages and it’s been worth it as I’m finding a few typos, a scene break that didn’t need to be there and a couple of slow spots where deleting a sentence or two keeps things on track. I’m second guessing myself a lot, putting in a change and then adding a question mark as an indication that I might not really want to change it after all. A lot of the time I don’t, thinking that it’s not going to be the end of the world either way and how I wrote it was probably how I wanted it.

After I put the changes into Vellum I can order another proof, and I’m deciding between two chapter backgrounds. Let me know which one you like:

two screenshots of the first page of Loss and Damages one. One has light swirls from the top of the page that fades and the other has a light floral design that also fades down the page.

Text reads:
Dominic
The sidewalk is packed with protesters as the car pulls up to the curb in front of Milano Management and Development. I chuckle as the chants penetrate the town car. “Don’t let them win! It’s a sin! Don’t let them win! It’s a sin!” They tote signs, waving them high in the air, exclaiming the Milanos are murderers, poor people are people too, and #poorpeoplematter. My driver meets my eyes in the rearview mirror. “Sir?” “It’s fine, Duncan.” I tilt my head toward the two burly bodyguards striding through the crowd. One opens the door for me, and I climb out, clutching my briefcase. The chanting’s louder without the barrier, and it turns into a full-on explosion when they see me exit the car.  “Asshole!” “Greedy son of a bitch!” “Motherfucker!” I’ve heard it all before and the insults ping off me like arrows against a suit of body armor. My security helps me fight through the crowd, but they can’t stop a thin, blonde woman from getting close enough to spit on me. Wiping my cheek, I meet her tired blue eyes, frustration and stress digging lines into her skin. I turn away.

The first one is what I have now because it complements the chapter style I chose, but then I got to thinking about the flowers because she’s an artist who paints china. The model I chose for Dominic on the cover is standing in front of a black brick wall which is a nod to him being a land developer, so I could have “him” on the outside and “her” on the inside. I’ll order another proof and see which one I like better in print. That will just be for the paperbacks. The Kindle version will just be the chapter style. I don’t care about finding a heading image like I have previously. I don’t know what I would put there anyway and don’t feel like scrolling through stock photos.

I decided I’d make ARCs available July 15th. Let the excitement of the holiday fade and that will give reviewers two months to read for a September 15th release.

I have realized that if I wanted to write my hockey romance this summer that I might actually need to start writing it as summer will be a third over soon. Though, I didn’t realize how far into the summer the hockey season goes, as the Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers are still battling it out for the Stanley Cup and it’s mid June. So, maybe a hockey romance could be released all year without sales dipping too low during launch. Maybe I’ll publish Wicked Games first after all, but honestly, at this point, I’m just going to do what feels right. I don’t mind having books sit on my computer. I’ve never felt the need to publish something the second I got it done. Well, that’s not true, I used to feel that way when I first started publishing, but after a while, maybe the novelty doesn’t wear off, but you get more strategic and if a release doesn’t feel right, I have no problem waiting. My King’s Crossing serial can pick up a lot of slack and do some heavy lifting for the next year if it had to come to that.

I have another promo for the first book, Cruel Fate, lined up through BargainBooksy for the 20th. I changed up the copy from what I used in my Fussy Librarian so I’m hoping that I get a few more sales out of it. I think it’s important that you tell readers the series is complete (if it is) as that encourages them to buy because they know they can binge. The first three books are still on sale, and I have no interest in changing the prices, though most of my “sales” right now are from KU.

That’s about all I have this week. I read an interesting Substack article by Jan Harayda about Taylor Jenkins Reid’s publishing deal. It’s more talk on why “subpar” books sell, and what that means for the authors who get those kinds of deals, for other authors who get left behind, and the readers who are offered those books. I read Daisy Jones and The Six, and I thought it was good. I know the difference between commercial and literary fiction, and I can chose my books accordingly. There’s no harm in writing fluff, but that doesn’t mean people will always think you deserve to get paid for it. You can read that article here: https://substack.com/home/post/p-165915819

See you next week!

Didn’t Know What to Write About This Week

Posted on June 9, 2025 by Vania Margene Rheault

I tried four different times and started four different blog posts and nothing sounded right.

I came up with something Saturday night that was actually pretty unhinged and not like me at all. My gut told me not to publish it, and at the last minute, listened to my intuition (writing this on Sunday night at 9pm). Don’t need you all to think I’m losing my mind.

For now, if you’re publishing this summer and need some help, I have a few tutorials that will point you in the right direction:

I recently updated (like a couple days ago) how you can make a full paperback book wrap in Canva:
https://vaniamargene.com/2022/06/13/updated-creating-a-full-wrap-paperback-book-cover-using-canva-plus-more-screenshots/

Once you have that, you can make an ebook cover, and you can read how I do it here:
https://vaniamargene.com/2024/09/09/how-to-turn-your-books-cover-full-wrap-pdf-into-an-ebook-cover/

If you’re planning on publishing on IngramSpark, I talk you through it here:
https://vaniamargene.com/2024/03/18/an-ingramspark-tutorial/

That’s all I got, but it feels safer than what I was going to publish. I’ve felt good, just maybe trying to find some balance with living life now that I’m feeling better and where writing fits into all that with how the publishing industry is. I certainly don’t want to say anything I’ll regret.

Anyway, have a good week, and hopefully I can come up with something better next time.

Monday Author Update: Vellum, Bots, and a New Hockey Romance

Posted on June 2, 2025 by Vania Margene Rheault

2,289 words
12 minutes read time

spring desk flatlay. tulips, coffee, glasses, pen. keyboard

text says: Monday Author Update: Vellum, Bots, and a New Hockey Romance

Happy June!

Things are going pretty good here . . . I got the proof back for Loss and Damages, but I’m not going to dive into proofing it yet. Just a quick flip through made me realize I forgot to add the page that asks readers to sign up for my blog on my other website and reminds them I have a free book there. I’ll get that put in and I’m sure there will be more after I sit down to read it.

I’m not going to stress over typos anymore considering there’s backlash now if your book is too perfect. Apparently a typo-free book is a sign you’ve used AI to write, which is ridiculous, but so is the accusation by a clueless reader that if you’ve formatted using Vellum software that you’ve written your book with ChatGPT.

Screenshot of review:

Frankie
* The entire thing is Al trash
Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2024
Verified Purchase
Was very excited to read this book. Sapphic Fantasy is far and few in between. The book arrived and I realized there was some weirdness going on with the art on the cover. Try to look for an illustrator credit only to find out the entire production is made with Vellum Al.... cool. I love when a piece of media is entirely stolen and then has the audacity to say that no form of the media may be reproduced. When the entire thing is a stolen reproduction of other people's talent and hard — https://www.threads.com/@the.book.lush/post/DJigP-YslFl

Of course, that reader didn’t know what Vellum even is (and it’s not her job to, but still, maybe she shouldn’t have been voicing her thoughts on something she didn’t understand), and the creators of Vellum have changed the language of the indication that it was used in the book’s formatting. It used to say created with Vellum on the copyright page if you checked the box, and I always did to give Brad Andalman and Brad West credit for creating the software in the first place. But if that’s the way readers are going to be, I’ll uncheck the box and give them credit on the copyright instead. It’s a shame really, because these AI witch hunts are doing more harm than good, but props to Brad and Brad for fixing the terminology after these accusations spread over the web. (Not that I’ll apply it anytime soon . . . I’m about five updates behind because it already does what I want it to do.)

screenshot of Vellum software formatting of the copyright page of my book, Twisted Lies, the third book in my rockstar trilogy.

It seems every day there’s a new accusation and it’s getting to be so it’s really tiring to be online. I get why there’s pissy conflict about it, indies saying “Why should an AI book sell better and make more money than my book that I worked so hard on all by myself” and it’s valid . . . up to a point. People have said that about books that aren’t well-written as well, the same attitude being, “Why would a book that sounds like crap do better than mine?” and it’s a really toxic place for your mindset to be. Not only because competition is the thief of joy, but because quality is subjective, and not everyone reads at the same level. Calling someone stupid for liking a book you don’t feel is worthy of the time or sales is a choice. And maybe that’s not a thought spoken a loud, but it’s there whenever the topic comes up. (How could a reader like that?) There’s room for all books and all reading levels. Is this me defending AI? Not really. Mostly it’s me thinking authors can do what they want. I’m not getting involved like some busybody who can’t mind her own business. I have my own life to live and my own projects to work on. And honestly, all the BS people are posting just makes them look like jealous idiots.

Anyway, so I’ll get to Loss and Damages when I feel like it. Right now, for some reason, I was compelled to reread my rockstars (perhaps to remind myself that book two actually did have a plot), putting in some slight editing changes as I went along and fixing a few typos and stuff I didn’t see because I didn’t have great glasses back then–and I wrote those when I wasn’t feeling good so I was distracted by that. Things like commas that are supposed to be periods, or I found a place where I used a single quote mark to start a sentence but didn’t close it. Nothing major and not many, but since I was reading for fun, I thought I might as well not waste it and if I saw something that needed fixing, I did. I can upload the new files to KDP, but I don’t know if I’ll bother with IngramSpark. I haven’t sold a book through there in years, and it would cost $75 dollars for three books if I can’t find a promo code somewhere. But I don’t like the idea of my books being different on different platforms, so I’ll probably just swallow the cost and tell myself to stop reading my books over, even if I enjoy it, because at some point it’s going to cost me money.

What I really wanted to talk about was my new summer project! You’ve heard me talk about my plans for the next little while–getting Wicked Games ready to go and getting back to work on a series that I started writing during COVID that’s 1/3 completed–but I was inspired by Alex Newton’s new K-Lytics report. If you’re interested, you can find it here and purchase the report for $47 USD. This is not an affiliate link: https://k-lytics.com/sports-romance/.

It really got me thinking about jumping on the hockey trend, though I don’t think it can be called a trend anymore. Hockey romance has been around for a long time and like Billionaires that started as a fluke when Fifty Shades of Grey came out almost fifteen years ago, it’s not going anywhere anytime soon. So there is definitely no rush to get it written and published, and well, putting out a hockey romance during hockey season would be good timing anyway.

I wouldn’t bother if I didn’t have plot, and I have no idea where it came from (no, Al didn’t give it to me). All I knew when I started thinking about it was that I had to make my MMC rich to tie him into the Billionaire brand I’ve got going for myself. My rockstars still did well even if they weren’t billionaires, but they’re rich, of course, which fits into that wealthy lifestyle my characters live. Hockey players can be millionaires too, if they’re valuable, skilled, and sign the right contracts with the right teams. They play hard and . . . play hard. But this isn’t going to be some fluffy hockey romcom. No, this book is going to be gritty and dirty because hockey’s a sport that’s rife with sexual assault and domestic violence, among other things. I like to mix up tropes, bend genre expectations, like my FMC not getting pregnant in Give &Take, my a-baby-for-the-billionaire novel, the first book in my Lost & Found trilogy, or my rockstars who never get up on stage to do a concert. I’m going to flip it. My MMC hasn’t put a skate on a rink in twenty years and when he gets pulled back into that world unwillingly, he is a very pissed off man. So yeah, I’m really looking forward to writing this standalone and I’ve already been doing some research, diving into watching documentaries like Faceoff: Inside the NHL on Amazon Prime. Here’s the hook I posted on my FB author page:

puck and hockey stick on ice. the text reads, I didn't want the hockey team my grandfather left me...and I certainly didn't want the woman who came with it.

I’ll need a lot of research because I know next to nothing about hockey and it’s going to turn into that kind of a joke where I have to watch six hours of documentary just to write one believable paragraph. But I’m wondering if this isn’t the kind of passion project I needed to boost some writerly morale, though my King’s Crossing serial suddenly selling is doing that too. With a passion project I’m excited to write and my King’s Crossing serial doing well, I’m actually in a good headspace about my writing right now. I’ve let go of the hopefulness, which I think did me a world of good. All I have going on for promo is some Amazon ads that aren’t bankrupting me. So, I can say (again) that not all my royalties are mine, but anyone who thinks books sell themselves needs to take a Business 101 class because that rarely happens. I knew it too, setting up some ads when I said I wouldn’t bother anymore. If you want numbers, I made $142.00 in May and spent $95 on Amazon ads. Since the beginning of the year, I’ve had some subscriptions renew, like Canva and my Office 365, so if I did all my numbers from January until now, I’m probably still in the red, but I’m not trying as hard as I did last year and the mental freedom is what counts.

To keep up with that mental freedom, I have to really try hard not to think about my publishing schedule. I have Loss and Damages set to be published on September 15th with ARCs going out in July. I’ve had that date set for many months, and there’s no reason to change it. I also have said I would publish Wicked Games in January of 2026, but I would absolutely love it if I could swap that out with Frozen Assets. If I can’t, for whatever reason, I can’t, but if that works out, it wouldn’t mess me up too much as I could schedule Wicked Games for Fall of 2026. I’d still have two books out next year while I finish up my series for 2027. I just hate thinking like that now because for one, I don’t have a business anymore, and that is such a business way to think. For two, it really makes my books sound like widgets on a conveyor belt, and I don’t want to think like that. I never really did, think of my books as products, that is, only when my books were published and I had to figure out a way to sell them, but trying to plan a publishing schedule makes me feel like that and I just want to focus on the writing and not what I have to do when they’re done. I mean, to be honest, I don’t have a business. I have a hobby, one I take very seriously, but it’s a hobby nonetheless. I tried to turn it into a business, but all I did was burn myself out.

There are some things I might never change in my process, like coming up with the cover concept as quickly as I can so I have time to look for stock (it’s easier to find a guy who fits when you have the background you like and the title font in place) or change my mind and start from scratch. So, with that being said, I think I might have my cover done. This will be my first “abs” cover because while I stayed away from skin so I could do Amazon ads, there are just some things that are nonnegotiable and abs on a hockey cover is one of them. I didn’t want an illustrated cover, just because there is so much crap said about Icebreaker, how cute the cover is, but then inside it’s all sex, and I don’t want to mislead anyone. I didn’t want an object cover either because I don’t feel like learning how to make one and I’m not in the mood to hire out. So, he’ll have abs, his head won’t be cut off, and even if he’s hockey, he’s going to blend in with the rest of my backlist.

That’s about all I have. A German bot jacked up my views last week, which made me kind of mad. Messed up my stats for the week. I’m not 100% it was from a bot, but it was just looking at my home page, not a specific post that could have been shared. So, I’ll go with the bot theory and I enabled two-step verification and changed the password to my website. I had a chat with a WordPress happiness engineer who said my website looked fine, and the views died down after a couple of days.

screenshot of stats for may 26 to june 1. highest views were on May 27th at almost 900. Total views for the week were 1.4k

My KC Crowne blogpost has still been getting hits, don’t know how that makes me look when I didn’t bulldoze over her. Someone on YouTube mentioned my post, or just referenced it, I’m not sure, and you can watch it here if you want:

I actually don’t like consuming content about myself, which makes it easy not to read reviews about my books. So if you watch, only tell me if she has nice things to say. Otherwise, I’m good with not knowing. Not everyone likes it when you’re Switzerland, but I just have a lot of sympathy for authors who get caught up in the grind. It’s really a mental health issue, turning to Al to ramp up your productivity because you’re scared of being left behind. That kind of panic hustle is real, and it will only get worse. Since KC Crowne, a couple more authors have been caught with prompts in their books, which is too bad. I really can’t emphasize enough to read your proofs when you order them to check the cover. Even if you don’t ask Al for help, you never know what kind of formatting errors you’ll find, pacing problems that could be corrected since you’re now reading a “book” as a “reader” and typos that you missed on screen. It’s also just a really good time to pull quotes for social media. Yeah, just please read your proofs. Mark them up. Then, if you don’t want to keep them, create a giveaway for your readers who are interested in your creative process.

I guess that’s it. I always go into writing these like I’ll just be quick, then you need half your day to read. Sorry about that!

I hope you have a good week ahead, and I will chat with you next week!

Thursday Thoughts: What is your book’s value?

Posted on May 29, 2025 by Vania Margene Rheault

When we think about our books, we think about value. What is the value to our readers? We want to give them a good book at a competitive price. That’s pretty much a no-brainer when we publish. Readers want and need that value because if they feel like authors have wasted their time and/or money, they won’t be a repeat customer. And that’s how most authors make their money–readers reading their back list and anything new they publish.

But we also think about value for ourselves. We’re told not to give away our books or price them low because we’re cheating ourselves and not doing our books and all the work we put into them justice. We can argue about it all day long, the benefit of having a loss leader, using free books to find new-to-you readers. We give away ARCs hoping for reviews, we hope that an inexpensive book will fuel word-of-mouth. And what that conversation comes down to is, how much do you value your book, and what does value mean to you?

At some point in your career, you may find you value readers and feedback more than you value the royalties that come with sales. The market is so saturated that maybe being seen and being read will feel like a victory even if you’re not making money. I’m not really talking about exposure, though that could be part of it. We work for free, like doing a guest blog post or donating a novella to an anthology, hoping to get our name out there. Exposure can be valuable, if the right people read it, as they could offer you opportunities you wouldn’t have had otherwise. But if you’re donating to a publisher or company who can afford to pay you and simply doesn’t or doesn’t want to, maybe you feel like your contribution isn’t that valuable after all. After all, there’s hardly a scarcity of writers out there. We’re easily replaceable, and I’m not just talking about AI, either.

They say that people value things they pay for and that’s true, but they also avoid things if they have doubts what they’re buying is worth the money. (A good cover, blurb, and look inside is imperative.)

I was just thinking about this when I saw a post from an author who said someone told her to never put her books on sale, but she ignored that advice and has built a successful author business around a book she priced at .99. She found more value in putting her book on sale than she would have keeping her book at full price.

So when you think about your books and author business, think more of just how much work you put into your book. You might price high, but are you finding value if no one wants to pay it? Or do you think that one sale at 9.99 is better than 10 sales at .99? I know you’re not guaranteed to sell books at any price, but I think you do stand a better chance of selling books at a “reasonable” price, and that means whatever price you would be comfortable buying someone else’s book.

You might feel a sense of validation over that one sale, but how far will that carry you? How far will that carry your author business?

We say that success means different things to different people, and I think that’s true for value as well. A common cliché is you get what you pay for, and maybe that saying is what fuels authors to price high or never put their book on sale. Except, in these days of no gatekeepers, paying more doesn’t mean, as a customer, you’re going to get more.

Anyway, that was on my mind. I hope you all have a great day and weekend ahead!

Chat with you Monday!

Six Things I Learned after Starting My Pen Name

Posted on May 26, 2025 by Vania Margene Rheault

2,277 words
12 minutes read time

I thought starting my pen name (not really a pen, VM Rheault vs. Vania Rheault but for now, that’s what I’ll call it) would be the ticket to not fame or fortune, but I wanted to start my career on the right path after a couple of years of not doing things the proper way.

When I first started publishing, I did what a lot of indies did, and still do. I published what I wanted, didn’t really have a plan. I genre-hopped, looking for that genre I wanted to settle into long-term. No one told me I didn’t have to actually publish those experiments, but I wouldn’t have listened even if they had. Publishing without gatekeeping was a free-for-all, and it still is, indies publishing whatever they want without regard to a publishing schedule, marketing, or anything else that would start them on the right foot. Probably the only habit I had and still hold on to now, is writing all my books in a series first before publishing them. I started that when I wrote my Tower City Trilogy and I’ll never stop, even if that means I have a year or two between launches. But, let’s break it down. Here are the six things I learned when I started my pen name back in 2020, well, 2022 when I first published my Cedar Hill Duet and I tried to do things the “right” way.

You can’t click Publish and walk away.
If you don’t have a launch plan, this is what a lot of authors do. They don’t know how to launch and it can hurt you. When I published my Cedar Hill Duet, I didn’t put them on Booksprout for reviews. Before 2022, it was a free service, and I used it for my Rocky Point series under my full name. Then it went to paid, and I listened to the annoyed authors who said they were going to stop using that service. I should never have listened and put my own books up. Reviews matter. No one wants to think it, and I know correlation doesn’t equal causation, but Captivated by Her and Addicted to Her are my worst selling books and I attribute that to their low number of reviews. So, if you don’t have a plan or don’t want to have a plan, like cover/title/blurb reveal or newsletter, at the very least, try to get as many reviews as you can the week of your launch. They will affect how your book does from that day forward.

Nail your cover the first time.
When I decided to do my pen name, I really wanted to make sure I published correctly the first time. And by that, I mean I wanted to make sure my covers met genre and reader expectations. I’ve written a lot about how my cover for The Years Between Us screamed Women’s Fiction, and after I changed it to a couple, my sales went up. It was a beautiful cover but didn’t match the blurb or what the book was about.

I changed the cover to Wherever He Goes, too, and that helped. Unfortunately, I’ve had to change covers for some of my first person books even though I tried my best to avoid it. Your skills get better or better models come along, your taste changes, whatever, but no matter why you have to change your cover, if you change it to something better, just know that you’re blowing your launch period. I totally fucked up my launch for my Lost & Found trilogy because I didn’t wait to find better models. I published with what I had, and didn’t change the covers for a year or so after my launch. I gave them another edit, too, so I “re-launched” them, but man, you really waste Amazon’s bump if you screw up the first month of your release. Title, blurb, and your cover’s tone need to be spot on. Just because you like something or it looks professional doesn’t mean it’s a good fit. You have to do market research, and nobody wants to do that because it sounds like you’re selling out. You’re not. You’re helping the right readers find your book, and that’s all that should matter. I wrote more about choosing the appropriate cover, and you can read it here: https://vaniamargene.com/2024/04/08/my-marketing-secret-shh/

Don’t listen to everything you hear.
One of the riskiest things you can do online is listen to other people. I’m on Threads a lot (you know this) and the number of opinions out there, well . . . you know the saying: Opinions are like assholes . . . everyone has one and they all stink. There is no place this is more true than when you get a bunch of romance authors together, be it on Threads or in a Facebook group, and they’re telling you what they like and what they think should be the standard. No 3rd act breakups, no cliffhangers. Don’t use the word “folds” when you’re talking about p*ssy. Don’t make him an asshole, don’t write about rape. Don’t romanticize stalking. Don’t write in 3rd person. Don’t write your blurb in 1st person. Don’t do this, don’t do that, but what’s funny is that when you take a look at popular books, THEY ALL DO THAT! Yes, there is some advice out there that’s good, like don’t genre-hop if you hope to build an audience. I’m a firm believer in writing your blurb in the POV your book is written in. But at the end of the day, when it’s just you and your book, you need to write what you enjoy. Even if that’s a super dark romance that would get you locked up (and not in a good way). If you’re bombarded with opinions about how nasty the enemies-to-lovers trope is, and that’s what you’re working on, it can be discouraging. But honestly, you’re not writing for other authors anyway, and if an author tells you she hates cliffhangers and you love them, tell her to fuck off. There are readers for everything, and it’s okay if people self-select out of your books. You don’t want people who don’t like what you’re writing to read your stuff because all you’re doing is courting bad reviews. It can be difficult staying true to yourself, but you’ll be happier for it.

Just because you do everything right doesn’t mean you’ll find success.
This is probably the hardest lesson of all. You can spend a ton of money on editing, you can publish with the perfect cover and a ton of reviews, but in the end, that doesn’t mean you’re going to find success. And by success, I mean, readers, sales, royalties, whatever success means to you. I’ve said in the past that success to me would be making a part-time income with my books. Part-time for me would be about 15k a year. It would help me out tremendously, that little extra money, but this year I gave up that dream and realized that maybe what I’m writing just isn’t going to hit the market the right way, or my reluctance to be on TikTok will always hold me back. My books are too quiet, or I chose the wrong sub-genre when I rebranded myself. I don’t know, but the fact is, there are thousands of authors out there who publish regularly, publish good books regularly, and they get absolutely nowhere. They spend more than they make, they get burnt out, and/or they publish to no one over and over again. After you come to that realization, you’re hit with the trite sayings like “A quitter never wins and a winner never quits” or “Believe in yourself and you’re halfway there” and you just wanna cry (or puke). When 2025 rolled around, I decided to change how I looked at my writing. I can’t call it a business because I don’t have one. That implies money in and money out, and right now, I pay more than I earn. So, in that vein, I decided to stop doing what I think I should be doing and just do what I want. That means writing what I feel like writing without regard to a publishing schedule. I stopped all my ads. Don’t care about social media and post only when I have something to say. I stopped chasing the dream and I feel better. Writing is fun again and that has turned into my new definition of success. Here’s an interesting article by Jane Friedman about having what it takes to make it: https://careerauthors.com/do-you-have-what-it-takes-to-make-it-in-publishing/

Numbers don’t mean anything.
Social media sucks. It really does. I believe that you should have a hub where readers can find you if they want. (That should ultimately be your website, but I understand the value of a Facebook author page or an Instagram account.) Authors should have some kind of social media presence, if only to prove you’re a real person instead of a made up author some guy sitting in his mother’s basement created using AI. You can’t appear fake in this day and age when there are so many bots out there that can act and interact like a real person. As AI usage gets worse and worse, readers knowing you are real will be part of your marketing toolbox. But in the past seven or eight years I’ve been online, I’ve learned no matter how many followers you have, that doesn’t mean you’re going to sell books. They might like you because you have pets or because you live in the same state. They like how you do your hair or think you’re pretty, whatever it is, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to be able to sell them your books [see Billie Eilish: https://medium.com/better-marketing/billie-eilishs-book-flopped-because-her-marketing-team-assumed-it-would-sell-itself-71c32dc19af3]. I just looked up someone who has over 5k followers on her Facebook author page, and she sells very few books every month–and she has a lot of books. So, if you don’t have many followers or you’re just on social media to kill time or to amuse yourself, don’t feel bad. Finding readers is hard work and it’s a long game. Besides, depending on how you run your social media, you could just have other authors following you, and when it comes down to it, that’s not helpful. I wrote about busting out of the #writingcommunity bubble, and you can read it here: https://vaniamargene.com/2021/12/06/how-to-break-out-of-the-writing-community-bubble-and-sell-books-to-readers/

Mix friendship with business at your own risk.
I help a lot of people do their covers, format, even just give them publishing advice through my experiences and what has worked for me. I’ve paid my friends to edit and beta read, I’ve done a lot of free work that I was pleased to do because you’ll learn fast that the #writingcommunity can be full of people only in it for themselves. I’ve also accepted some payment for the work I’ve done for others, but no matter if it was free or paid, in the past eight years I’ve been at this, nothing has pleased me more than helping someone publish their book. But not every relationship is infallible, and mixing business with pleasure isn’t always something that works out. I’ve lost friends because the business part of our relationship soured, and unfortunately, that’s a risk you take. Sometimes you can see that person for what they are and you realize that in time your friendship would have tanked anyway. But, it’s important to understand what you’re getting into, even simply saying you’ll format for someone or if you offer to whip up a quick cover. Writers and authors are some of the touchiest people on earth, and I’m included in that because I know I’ve gotten upset over things other people would have shrugged off. But when I help someone, I’m a professional at heart and always do my best to give them a product I would be proud of if it were for my own book and I don’t think I’m out of line to expect the same–especially when cash exchanges hands. I’d never beta read while watching TV or use photos on a cover that weren’t safe to use. Even though I have ethics and integrity, not everyone does, and I stopped talking to someone who admitted she was editing my book while she was at a hair salon, and I cut ties with someone who backed out of reading for me when she gave me her absolute promise she would finish. I know that sounds callous, but we had underlying issues and those instances just happened to be what did me in. So if you think you’d be heartbroken to lose that friendship, don’t let the line between personal and business smudge. It’s difficult to get past that.

I’m sure there are more things I’ve learned, but this blog post is long enough for now and I touched on the topics that I have found the most important in publishing and the most important to me when it comes to my experiences. It’s tough to cut out the noise, but like I said, at the end of the day, it’s only you, your book, and your readers and if you go to bed happy, that’s all that matters. People will come and go, opinions and advice change. Do your best with what you have, keep true friends close, and go outside and touch grass every once in a while.

That’s all I have for this week. Next week I’ll let you know about a shiny new thing I couldn’t step away from and what my publishing schedule will entail because of it.

Chat soon!

Author Interview: J. C. Maine

Posted on May 19, 2025 by Vania Margene Rheault

Today’s interview is with J. C. Maine. We met over on Twitter, like most of my online friends, and we managed to stay in touch over the years and a platform change where we reconnected on Threads after I left. I love hearing different experiences with self-publishing and sometimes I learn a little something too. Jump into this short, but sweet, interview!

Let’s talk about social media. Where do you like to hang out and do you find it beneficial to selling books or do you use it only to network with other authors?
Most of my time online is spent on Instagram. I think it’s very beneficial for promoting and selling books, because it forces you to be visual. It’s also a good way to network.

You seem to write a little bit of everything. How do you decide which project to write?
Whatever moves me at the moment. I was inspired by the dynamic of a real-life couple when I wrote the novel, I Can’t Help It. When Covid-19 disrupted our way of life in 2020, the uncertainty inspired me to write Days of Revelation.

How much of the work that goes into publishing do you do yourself, like formatting, cover design, and editing? Do you like all aspects of it? What is your favorite part?
I do my own formatting, and I do the majority of the editing. Occasionally, a beta reader will also help me with editing. I want my book covers to look professional, so I outsource that to someone who specializes in it. I somewhat enjoy the editing. Unfortunately, I’m not a fan of formatting.

What do you think is the hardest part of publishing and what do you do to make this part manageable/affordable/profitable?
Definitely the formatting. I have to tinker with it for a few days before I get the inside of
my books the way I like it.

Your books are enrolled in Kindle Unlimited. How did you decide to enroll in KU
and not publish your books wide?
I enrolled in KU because I didn’t want to put pressure on someone who wanted to read my work, but didn’t want to pay a lump sum for it. I write books more for exposure than for profit, so giving readers access to it this way doesn’t bother me. Although there are other self-publishing companies I could use, for me it’s a lot easier to work exclusively for Amazon. Besides, I can always order and sell physical copies of my book.

What are you currently working on and what are your plans for the rest of the year?
I’m working on a new thriller. This will be the first time I’ve written a book from a 1st
person point-of-view. I’m having fun writing it so far, and I think people will really like it once it’s published.

J.C., I appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions and sharing your experiences with indie-publishing. J.C. is active on Threads, BlueSky, and Instagram, and you can follow him on Amazon and Goodreads.

I hope you all are having a great spring so far, and have a lovely week ahead!

Follow J.C. here:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/J.C.-Maine/author/B087TPZD7W
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20343208.J_C_Maine
Instagram: jc_maine
Threads: jc_maine
Bluesky: jcmaine.bsky.social

Author Life Lately: The ol’ bait and switch

Posted on May 12, 2025 by Vania Margene Rheault

1,919 words
10 minutes read time

Author Life . . . is the only life for me. (Just kidding, and no, I wasn’t tipsy writing this blog post.)
Happy Monday, if it is for you. I don’t mind Mondays, they’re a break after working four ten-hour shifts at my job. They usually entail some chores and couple of errands since I don’t have time for much while I’m working. Today I’ll be doing some of that and hopefully listening to more Loss and Damages. I’m halfway done . . . my trip to the Mall of America and the Minnesota State Zoo took up a large portion of last week and I didn’t get anything book-related done, though it was a nice break. I’m not really in any rush to finish it, but after having a heart to heart with a friend, I decided to work on my next series which will be called The Husband List just to get that off my plate. I have no idea how long it will take me to write four books and package them all. I’ve decided to write the four instead of rewriting book one to have only two left because I think it will just be easier to write four more plus it will be a nice addition to my backlist. But the minute I’m done with Loss and Damages and Wicked Games, I’ll be looking through stock photos for men for the covers. Six covers, six men, figuring out the series concept . . . that will take me just as long as writing the remaining four books. I like the idea of it though, so I’m going to jump in and see if I can turn that series into something special.

Besides that, it’s the same old, same old. Summer is coming and the days are getting warmer and longer. I don’t have anything planned for the next three months besides relaxing, writing, and going on a couple of day trips with my sister and daughter. We usually go to the zoo that’s in a town 45 minutes away and to Bismarck, ND, for my sister’s birthday in June. Last year it was raining and we couldn’t go to the zoo there, but we’ll try again this year. I’m kind of a zoo junkie, though I know how sad and inhumane it is for those animals be locked up.

This is me bonding with a tired old bear. I know how he feels.

Russian Bear exhibit. Minnesota State Zoo

It was free, now it’s not, and isn’t that the way life goes?
As far as anything in the indie publishing industry is concerned, Bryan Cohen is doing his ~~famous~~ Amazon Ads Challenge again, but it’s disappointing because he decided to charge this time around. It’s not like anything that hasn’t been done before. There are quite a few indie publishing services that have started off as free and then as soon as they had customers who relied on their services, they changed to paid tiers only. The two that come to mind right off the top of my head are StoryOrigin and Booksprout. So, what Bryan is doing isn’t new, but it makes me wonder if he’s going to be subjected to any backlash or if the new authors who were planning to take his challenge will just pay the $9.00. For the information he gives you, that’s still a bargain, but I won’t be able to recommend his challenge as freely as I used to because if you’re an indie strapped for cash, even $9.00 can feel out of reach. I’m fluent in “poor” and $9.00 to me is three gallons of milk. Nothing to take lightly if you’re struggling paycheck to paycheck.

I also wonder what Amazon will think of Bryan suddenly charging for his challenge. For the past couple of years they’ve backed him and recommended his challenge to authors, and it makes me wonder if they’ll still encourage authors to participate or if they’ll be salty Bryan’s making money off them (or trying to. Who will actually pay remains to be seen). He wouldn’t be the first one to do that, either, so maybe it’s not a big deal. There are plenty of Amazon ads resources out there, including books from Janet Margo who is a former Amazon employee. Bryan’s been under fire in other ads groups on Facebook, some members saying that his approach is just flinging spaghetti noodles at the wall, but his challenge does more than just tell you how much to bid. Probably the most valuable part of his challenge is that he goes through what will actually make your book marketable. I’ve seen some pretty gnarly covers and read some very confusing blurbs during his challenges, and if anything, it makes authors open their eyes and choose covers that will sell, not only covers that they like. He also explains ad copy, page reads, and read-through. But if you’re looking for a book that does the same, Nicholas Erik has updated his book on book marketing, and I found it extremely useful. Also, you can keep his book, whereas Bryan’s course has a time limit even though you paid.

I won’t be paying to participate in his challenge. I’ve already taken it a couple of times and I feel I’ve been in this business long enough to understand what makes your book sell:
1. Good cover. It’s the first thing a reader sees, especially using Amazon ads where you don’t choose your own graphic.
2. Good blurb
3. A title that’s not confusing
3. Strong look inside (first 10% of your book)
4. Strong keywords (the seven fields you fill in when you set up your book to publish)
5. Categories that actually match your book’s genre
6. A list of comp authors and comp book titles if you choose to do keyword ads
7. A short hook if you want to add text to your ad
8. Competitive price

Those are pretty non-negotiable before you even set up your ads account. Once you do that, Amazon will know whom to show your ad to, and that can make or break your ads. Then bid .50 cents or so per click (it’s gone up over time due to market saturation, but NEVER go with their recommended), and you’re pretty much all set. I don’t think I revealed any super-secret information. Most of that stuff is no-brainer material anyway but can be difficult to come up with once you need it. Like the keywords you should choose while you’re setting up your book in the KDP dashboard. The number of reviews can affect sales, so can your book being first in a series but your series isn’t done. You need to take a lot of things into account for ads to work. And well, Bryan tells you that stuff whether you want to hear it or not. I’ll be interested to see how his challenge does now that it’s paid. Nothing in life is free, baby. Except this blog. You’re welcome.

Never kill the dog (unless you want John Wick to come after you).
There was some emotional discussion last week on Threads over an author who defended killing a dog in her book.

screen shot of thread post. text says
erinleeauthor
indieauthors
3d
I killed a dog in my book & said there's no afterlife. Then I watched a writing video that said pets can have big roles in books so be careful. & a beta reader asked me if a dog dies & said she checks a site with a list of books to avoid. Then a dating app guy said my afterlife rule was a "hard pass" & dipped. Damn, people. Dog culture is dire. They're a great pet, but stop acting like they have little moons orbiting them. Your behavior is raising our vet bills. They're not a child. Chill.

2.7k hearts 10k comments 745 rethreads or quotes 931 shares — https://www.threads.com/@erinleeauthor/post/DJZS7YSRIw- A million views? OMG.

This is a bad take. A bad take. A bad bad bad take. Especially after all the crap we had to read and hear about Kristi Noem killing her own pup last year. It’s kind of amazing how something can go viral (chances are good I could write the exact same thing and get the obligatory 10 views Threads seems to think I deserve), and I hope she got what she was looking for putting her nasty thoughts out in public. It does bring into question what should be listed on content warnings or if animal death is considered “normal” in the genre you’re writing in. Horror, I would imagine, can get away with a few things Romance can’t, for example. I killed a cow once, and it was very much needed for character trait evidence, but I don’t have it listed on any content warnings anywhere. Fortunately, the feedback I’ve gotten for that book has been nothing but positive. I told ARC readers on Booksprout there was an animal death, but no one mentioned it in their reviews. I don’t go out of my way to kill things, even people. When they die, it’s surprising to me and never planned. It just happens, much like real life. Though, when I was putting together the content warnings for my King’s Crossing page on my website, I included this:

screenshot of trigger warning on my website. text says
One last thing–people do die in this series, but if you read through to book 4, I assure you, Gage’s dog is okay through to the end. I would never hurt a dog!

picture of dog vector. german shepherd

Baby, actually, plays a pivotal role in the books where Gage is the MMC, and I considered her a main character in her own right. Anyway, nothing quite shakes up the internet like talking about dogs dying, so be careful what you say. Erin ended up taking her book down and now she has quite a few one-star reviews on her product page. What she thought was “any press is good press” didn’t turn out to be true. Wanna peek at the book she will now have to rebrand and publish under a pen name to hide? Look here: https://www.amazon.com/Dead-Aware-Erin-Lee/dp/B0CRZJDZJZ

Everyone complains, but no one says thanks.
Everyone complained when it wasn’t possible to buy books off the Kindle app on an iPhone or iPad because of Apple’s fees and restrictions on external purchases, but no one mentioned when a recent court ruling prevented Apple from doing so. Apple is appealing, but for right now, if you use the Kindle app on your iPhone or iPad you no longer have to go to the browser to buy a book. I read on my Kindle Fire anyway, and I’ve always purchased books on my laptop because for me, it’s easier to look around the product page. But this is a big win for authors right now and we can only hope it lasts. If you want to read more about that, you can here: https://www.theverge.com/news/661719/amazon-app-ios-apple-iphone-ipad-kindle-buy-books

That’s about all I have for this week. My schedule is back to normal and I’ll work on Loss and Damages on my days off work. It’s going to be hot, the highs in the 90s until Thursday, so I will also be lying on my balcony enjoying the heat and sun.

If you’re looking for something to listen to while you, too, are flirting with heat stroke, I’m going to be digging into this podcast episode with Jane Friedman. She’s got a new updated version of her book, The Business of Being a Writer, and she’s been promoting that. I love listening to her talk about the industry. If you’re interested, you can find it here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-make-a-living-as-a-writer/id472152554?i=1000705377607

A new Craftwork conversation about the business of being a writer with Jane Friedman. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, is now available in an updated second edition from the University of Chicago Press.

Friedman has spent 25+ years working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World. Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC.

***

Otherppl with Brad Listi is a weekly literary podcast featuring in-depth interviews with today’s leading writers.

Have a great week, everyone!

Monday Author Update: When you can’t decide what to write next

Posted on May 5, 2025 by Vania Margene Rheault

1,491 words
8 minutes read time

I was going to post something else today, something about writing “rules” and publishing “rules” mostly because I saw an author on Facebook who was complaining about sales who definitely wasn’t making choices I would be making, but alas, no one wants to read about rules. And, well, no one wants to hear what they’re doing wrong, either, which is fine. Some people need to learn from their mistakes, and some don’t realize they’re making mistakes, blaming their lack of sales on other things. *Cough* Like the Amazon boycott. *Cough Cough*

So, that doesn’t leave me with much except my own updates, of which there are not many. I’ve been listening to Loss and Damages, and Word has updated their read aloud feature since I used it last. The process is a lot smoother and it’s really easy to listen now. It can be tedious because it takes a lot of time, but I catch syntax errors, missed words, repeated words, and typos. I catch enough that I would never skip this part of the editing process. I’d much rather listen to my manuscript than feed it chapter by chapter to ProWritingAid, even if I have been pro-Al in the past. I will still Google a grammar question here and there, but even if I miss things, I like to be in control of my own editing. It’s slow going, I can only listen to about thirty pages at a time, but it’s worth it. That’s what I’ve been doing for the past few days since I took a break after I finished writing and doing a couple read-throughs of Wicked Games. I’ll be able to write Loss and Damages‘s blurb, format it, and order the proof sometime in the next couple of weeks, and that book will pretty much be a wrap.

Next I’ll maybe give Wicked Games another read-through, though I might let it sit for a while longer yet. I was going to jump into a series I have that’s 1/3 completed, but thinking about tackling another big project like that really wears me down. I never used to be one to shy away from work, but I’m still not feeling well, I’m always tired, and it doesn’t sound appealing. I’ve been reading Dea Poirier’s Last Girl to Die, and in that book, a detective goes back to her home town to solve a murder. It got me thinking about my own books and tropes, and besides a book in my Rocky Point series where Logan goes home to Rocky Point for a wedding and reconnects with his high school girlfriend, Ivy, I’ve never written a “back to my hometown” book.

I started putting the pieces together about a guy who left his small town after high school graduation to strike it rich, and he does. He gets called home because his grandpa is dying and there he bumps into his high school sweetheart. She knew it was better for him to leave after graduation and pretended to hook up with another guy to force him to go. I was thinking about all the shit he could step in going home, and the characters started grabbing me. It would be another standalone, but I realize now that I’m inching away from true Billionaire romances. Giving characters money isn’t the only thing that defines the genre, and shoving my characters into small towns doesn’t fit, no matter how rich they are. I turned to the billionaire genre and the alternating first person POV hoping it would springboard a career, but lately I’ve just been writing “Contemporary Romance” that would have better fit under my full name written in 3rd person. I don’t know what to do about that since I don’t want to write in 3rd person anymore. I could keep writing in first, but that would also possibly mean a shift in what my covers should look like. I’m seeing more covers with couples on them in general, but I’ve been watching my brand so carefully that suddenly throwing a couple on a cover would look very out of place. I’m between a rock and a hard place. I whole-heartedly believe in writing what you want, but I also believe you need to package those stories correctly or they won’t meet reader expectations resulting in readers not finding the books they want and/or poor reviews.

Along those lines, I have to stop looking at that series as a drudgery or I’m never going to want to write the rest. I could start looking at the books one by one instead of the series as a whole and maybe that would help my mindset. Maybe I’m still burnt out getting my King’s Crossing books done then jumping right into editing those Rocky Point books, but whatever the cause is, I’m not wasting the two books already written so I better just put some lipstick on and get my shit together, as Elizabeth Taylor is rumored to have said. Whether I’ll do that before or after this new standalone remains to be seen. It just depends on how loudly this new set of characters speaks to me. On the other hand, already having a standalone planned after my series is done would be like a little treat to myself for working so hard. It was very nice writing Wicked Games, no pressure at all to set up other books or having to think about more than one cover.

Speaking of series, my King’s Crossing serial isn’t lighting the world on fire, but I am happy to say that readers are making it to the sixth book. That’s always a gamble, writing such a long series, especially all at once instead of publishing as you go. I will always finish a series that I start just for the personal satisfaction and closure, but it’s nice when it pays off. I tried running an FB ad to it, and while it was getting clicks, sales and borrows didn’t keep up with ad spend and I paused it. I have a couple of Amazon ads running, some are auto placement and some are category placement, and that’s the only thing pushing my series right now. Well, any of my books. If I’m selling other books that aren’t my King’s Crossing serial, it’s because readers found my FB author page or my IG account or they’ve read me before and they’re reading other books. That’s about it. I was thinking of buying a BargainBooksy, since Cruel Fate is still .99, and seeing what that does. My Fussy Librarian didn’t do that much, more than if I had done nothing, but still. A BargainBooksy Romantic Suspense feature is $72.00, and it would be nice to think that I would earn that fee back but it doesn’t always happen.

I’m also going to run a giveaway of my paperbacks and the mug I made. If I run my giveaway in conjunction with that, maybe it would help a little. I have no idea. Here’s a picture I took for the giveaway.

I’m still teasing the giveaway on my FB page. I’m going out of town this week, Monday through Thursday (if you read this on Monday I’m probably on the road), and I didn’t want to run the giveaway while I’m gone in case something happened and I can’t fix it. I’ll do all of that when I get back and I’m available to post about it.

That’s about all I have. Life would be super if I felt better, but a lot of people can say that. If I had access to better doctors, I might even go back to see if there was anything else that can be done, but I don’t trust the idiots where I live and driving five hours to see someone who knows what they’re doing isn’t feasible. I was driving back and forth last year and it wore out my mental health and my wallet. It’s been nine months since my last appointment and in some ways I’m feeling a lot better and in some ways I’m not. I don’t know if, in the ways I’m not, that’s even treatable, but like I said, figuring that out seems like it would be a lot of work. I might just end up with a, “You’re old and this is your life now,” diagnosis that would just be depressing to hear or something that could possibly be, if not fixed, made better, through surgery, but I’m not letting myself get cut open again. I think that’s what caused a lot of this mess in the first place.

Next week I think I have an author interview scheduled, and if something happens with that, I’ll just let you know how my trip went and hopefully I can tell you I’m done listening to Loss and Damages.

I hope you all have a wonderful week ahead!

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Vania Margene Rheault

Independent Contemporary Romance Author & Blogger

Author Archives: Vania Margene Rheault

About Vania Margene Rheault

Pity Isn’t a Good Marketing Plan

Monday’s Author Update: Progress and Plateaus

Didn’t Know What to Write About This Week

Monday Author Update: Vellum, Bots, and a New Hockey Romance

Thursday Thoughts: What is your book’s value?

Six Things I Learned after Starting My Pen Name

Author Interview: J. C. Maine

Author Life Lately: The ol’ bait and switch

Monday Author Update: When you can’t decide what to write next

About Vania Margene Rheault

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