Influencer Readers Needed
I am just bursting with all sorts of news and excitement, dear Reader. I'm having a hard time figuring out how to calm down and tell you all my things in an orderly fashion. It's probably going to take several blog posts to get through all the exciting stuff.For today, I'll just start off with the biggest piece of news first.
The edits for Yorien's Hand are DONE!
That's right, the monumental task is accomplished, and I have ordered a PROOF COPY! (two, actually)So, what does that mean?Well, it means that all the major editing is finished. The proof copy is coming so that I can make sure that the cover looks good, and so I can go through and do a final polishing pass on the interior - catching any last pesky typos, formatting issues, things like that, but there will be no major changes from this point on.It also means that I am ready to start lining up Influencer Readers, and that I can start talking about a release date! (Yes, I did steal the term "Influencer Reader" from Anne Elisabeth Stengl... I like it better than "ARC Reader.") What is an influencer reader? I'm so glad you asked!An influencer reader is someone who takes on the responsibility of reading a book before (or shortly after, in some cases) it is released, for the express purpose of telling the world what they thought of it in the form of a review posted on the interwebs. In short, an influencer reader lets people know right from the outset what sort of book they can expect to read when they pick up a newly published work.Influencer Readers are a vital part of every good book release, and I would be honored if any of you dear Readers out there might be willing to lend your expertise in these matters to my little story.Now, these sorts of things have to have rules, of course, or it wouldn't be any fun.The rules are fairly simple:1. All influencer readers will receive a PDF copy of the finalized Yorien's Hand, exactly as it will appear in print (minus any typos I catch between now and the release date).2. Influencer Readers need to be able to post a review on Amazon no later than January 18, 2016 (which is my tentative release date at this point). Posting the same review elsewhere (goodreads, blog posts, etc) is also nice, but not required.3. All Influencer Readers who get their review up within a week of the release date (Jan 18 - Jan 25) will have their names entered into a drawing to win a Paperback copy of the finished book. (Autographed copy if you're in the US, non-autographed if you're elsewhere in the world - sorry, the price of dragon-delivery is a bit high these days, and finding a reliable one is difficult, dragons are well-known for their voracious reading, but not so much for being careful with their books, and I wouldn't want you to receive a singed and smoke-filled book... so the normal postal service will have to suffice). Q: Do I have to have read King's Warrior and Second Son in order to understand this story and be an influencer reader?A: Absolutely not! While this is a continuation of the series, it is my hope that this book can stand on its own as an adventure tale. Yes, it definitely builds on the characters and themes of the first two books, picking up 3 years after the end of King's Warrior, but this story is fairly self-contained, and the book does reference and explain briefly things that the reader may not know having not read King's Warrior (or may have forgotten in the interim)! Q: How do I sign up to be an influencer reader?A: Simple! If you think you can fulfill the requirements, please send an email to jenelle@jenelleschmidt.com with the subject line "Influencer Reader" and let me know you are interested in participating!