Happy Saturday

number 7 LGBT fiction ranking (yay)

It’s still Saturday where I’m at (for a few more minutes), and guess whose book is currently in the Top 10 of Free LGBT Fiction books on Amazon right now? 😀 That’s its highest ranking among all the charts it’s been on since its release, by the way. (It’s also currently in the Top 30 of Free Women’s Fiction books.) Now to figure out how to keep it up there when the book goes back to regular price tomorrow…🤔

All the credit to @TheBookTweeters, Freebooksy, and The Fussy Librarian for all the book promo this past few days. And starting next month, I’ll be going exclusive with KDP Select. (It won’t be immediately on October 1st, despite what I may have said before, as I have to delist my book from other sites, and that could take a while.) I’m intrigued over the idea of earning coins from page reads there, and hopefully things work out from the exclusivity. To Draft2Digital, Apple Books, Smashwords, Kobo, and B&N, all my thank-yous, and adios.

She’s Free (Again!)

playgirl cover (new silhouette didot 5)

Who wants a freebie? 😀 My work will be leaving Wide Distribution at the end of this month, as I’ll be going exclusive with Amazon’s KDP Select starting in October. (It’s temporary, but I’ll see how that works out for me for the time I’m with KDP Select.) For those who prefer getting their eBooks on non-Amazon sites, this is your last chance to get my book, and for free! (You can also get it at no charge on Amazon as well.)

This “Goodbye To Wide (Distribution)” sale (I know–not a catchy name) starts now and ends 11:59PM PDT 9/30/23.

Link to non-Amazon stores 

Link to Amazon (and I finally got my first rating there, and it’s not a bad one, too!)

More Changes…And Frustrations!

playgirl cover (new silhouette didot 5)

I finally made the genre change for my book. The simple process may have taken longer for me than it should have, but I was also working on another book cover for it. (And I also hit a busy period with my day job.) I also made some minor changes to the manuscript, which I had to do and I have my reasons why (I can be an edit slut who trips over trivial shit). Even though over 2K people now have my book (thanks to the free book promos from earlier this month) and I may be shooting myself in the foot here. Nonetheless, I’m finally FINALLY done with revising The Playgirl. It’s in the proper genres, the story is now truly to my liking (even though someone on Booksirens thinks otherwise–more on this later), and it’s got a cover I wish I could’ve gone with for its true debut back in July.

A little backstory to the cover: I selected that image as it was another one of my cover alternatives (you always need cover image backups). With my protagonist being a liberated, fun-loving woman, you don’t get more liberated than (an image of what appears to be) a nude woman enjoying herself. I chose the font design/arrangement because there’s something to the Didot font (that you see in the title and author name) that’s stylish and dramatic (and my story has elements of both). I also drew inspiration from the typography found in Harpers Bazaar magazines during the Tilberis-Baron days during the 1990s, and the result just pops. And, yes, I did that cover myself. Graphic design is starting to become my passion, haha.

*VENT ALERT!*

I have to say: I still feel like a total noob in this self-pub game. Here I am, still making some changes to a book I worked on for seven-plus years. I should’ve been fully ready with my shit when I clicked on Publish in late July this year, but I guess I wasn’t.  So I stumbled here and there with my debut. That said, it’s all a learning process. With my day job, I know I was a lot different in my craft when I started in my profession over 12 years ago than I am today. I’m sure I’ll be a totally different writer 12 years from now. Not in terms of content, though–I know what my forte is!

I plan on doing another freebie promo for the “new and improved yet again” Playgirl; it will likely be towards the end of this month. I’ll announce it at the same time I reveal my other bit of Important News. For those who got free copies of my book with its 1st and 2nd covers, you can get one more cover to add to your collection!😆

And, of course, get my book here (Amazon) and here (non-Amazon links).

Happy Monday

Thank you to JustKindleBooks.com and Bookspry.com for the book promos this weekend!

And look who’s currently in Amazon’s Top 25 of Free Contemporary Romance books! (OK, I may not be topping the charts but it’s a start!) At the risk of sounding like a total noob in this self-pub game, I gotta say: book promos really work! You don’t have to go to BookBub; I didn’t, and I don’t want to take out a loan to get a promo deal with them right now. The sites I used are pretty affordable, and JKB does have a $5 off promo code for first-time users. 

Now, onto figuring out how to get sales (and actually get some royalties for a change) when my book goes back to its regular sales price… 🤔😂

amazon rank (con. rom free chart 9-4-23 new!)

ETA: she’s now at #9. Top 10, bay-bee!! 😁

My First TikTok!

Yes, it’s for my book. Doesn’t look too bad, given that an old made it 😆

Come follow me there! 

@lexinesage

Heeeyyyy everyone! 👋 My 1st post here! (OK, my 1st & a half–had to delete the 1st post as I wanted to edit my description but can’t 🤷‍♀️) Long story short: I’m a self-published author with stories to sell and write. Not my full-time job…yet. And I think I did pretty well in making this inspo reel/book trailer, given my advanced age 😆 Also, starting tomorrow, you’ll be able to get my book for FREE! I’ll be running a Labor Day sale from 9/1 to 9/5 on Amazon/Kindle, Apple Books, Kobo, B&N, Smashwords, and other eBook retailers. So if you like contemporary steamy romance/drama lead by kick-ass female protagonists, that’s LGBT-friendly, celebrity-influenced, and full of sex and suspense, get my book The Playgirl now! Happy Readings! xo #1stpost #mywork #ebook #selfpublishedauthor #thePlaygirl #thePlaygirlbook #labordaysale #amazonbooks #kindlebooks #applebooks #kobo #smashwords #smashwordsbooks #barnesandnoble #inspo #insporeel #inspopost #contemporaryromancebooks #steamyromancebooks #contemporarybooks #lgbtbooks #booktok #dramabooks #strongfemaleprotagonist

♬ Bad Bitch – Lexy Panterra

New Cover, New Sale!

playgirl bw alt cover (red cursive + print font 3.love)

The Playgirl has a new look! I liked my OG cover, but I wanted more of a sensual and dramatic image to match the tone of the story. All credit goes to Mocker @ Dreamstime.com for the capture. (I changed the color and did the font work.) I also made some minor revisions to the story, so there will be some small but noticeable changes from the true 1st Edition and the Revised Edition.

I’ll also be running a Labor Day sale, where you can hook up with the new and improved Playgirl for FREE! From Sep. 1st thru Sep. 5th, you can get my book free of charge at Apple Books, Smashwords, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, and other eBook retailers. (I’m in the process of issuing the same sale for Amazon (which still has my 1st edition for sale at the moment), where I currently cannot offer my book for free unless I’m exclusive with them.* Hopefully that can be done by this Friday.)

*I’m also thinking about going exclusive with Amazon via their Kindle Select/KU program to see how that goes for my book. If I choose to, it will likely happen in early/mid September, and you won’t see my book sold elsewhere for a few months. So get your copy while it’s still sold Wide!

Now On Book Sirens!

Playgirl eBook cover

Much thanks to Book Sirens for accepting my eBook The Playgirl! For those unfamiliar with Book Sirens, it’s a site that authors can use to help promote their work. If their book is accepted by the site, it becomes eligible for review, done by its many readers who can download Advance Reader Copies of the author’s book if it interests them. For newbies like me still waiting for that first (legit) review, it can be quite a helpful service. And affordable, for those watching their budget. (Who isn’t these days?)

If you’re a reader/reviewer on Book Sirens and itching for a contemporary drama/romance that’s got plenty of spice, star power, and scandal, with kick ass women, LGBT-friendly storylines, and a happy finish (I won’t say if it’s Happily Ever After or Happy For Now), check out The Playgirl! I did cap a certain amount of readers that can download my book (I get charged per reader who downloads my book), so reader spots are limited.

Coming To Your Kindle! And…

playgirl on kindle (crop)

How do you like my mockup? 😁

Late night confession time…

So, I may be a writer, and have been writing for years. But I’m a rookie in this self-publishing game, and I must have misinterpreted some rules on Draft2Digital when I was originally publishing my eBook The Playgirl a few weeks ago.

amazon pub

Seeing this made me think, OK…so it’s either my eBook goes to just Amazon/KDP only, or I sell it to the other non-Amazon outlets. Wanting my book to be sold at many sites instead of going exclusive with Amazon, I chose the latter. Who knew I was making quite the rookie mistake? The more I read into where other self-published authors sold their books, the more I realized that, yes, you can do business with both Amazon and other non-Amazon outlets. I also realized how damn green I am with self-pub.  In the words of thee Homer Simpson, “it’s my first day!”

Anyhoo, this Friday, you’ll be able to read The Playgirl on your Kindle, so place those preorders now! Also, for a limited time only, you can score my book on either Amazon or non-Amazon sites for only 99 cents! That’s cheaper than the stuff at Dollar Tree these days! 😆