Meet Sue Brown


Today’s post is provided by the fabulous Sue Brown. She’s published about twenty books and has included an excerpt from her latest novel, The Isle of…Where?  I’m honored to share her words of wisdom with you.  I’m featured on Sue’s blog today, too. Visit here. With no further ado, here’s Sue!

What? You have a book accepted by a publisher? You are about to launch your writing onto an unsuspecting world? CONGRATULATIONS!!

My publisher tells me she accepts eight percent of all the manuscripts she sees. I imagine the numbers must be similar for most publishing houses.

But wait…

If you haven’t got that far, if the book is still a gleam in your eye, read Sue’s 5 Simple Tips to Getting Published. They are very easy to follow. Number 1, write the damn book!

If you have finished your book, and the publisher has given a big hell yes, you have some work to do. Your job isn’t over yet. I naively thought that once I got published that would be it. I’d skip off into the sunset and write more bestsellers! Hah! Little did I know that the work was only just beginning.

So here are Sue’s 5 Simple Tips to Selling your Book, or Get Selling!

1. If you won’t promote, you won’t sell. Got it? You could write the next bestseller but if people don’t know about your book, they won’t read it. Readers like to be guided, titillated and wooed. So get out there and woo them.

2. Social media is your friend. I’m sorry, but sticking your head in the sand and saying “I don’t like Facebook, Twitter, Blogging,” is tantamount to saying “I don’t want to sell my books.” Use the media. That is what it’s there for. As soon as you have that contract, get talking about your book. Talk about the plot, the characters! Make the readers want to know more. Friend other writers, readers and reviewers. The more people that know about you, the more will buy your book.

3. Get all the free advertising you can. Many reviewers and writers are more than happy to interview you. Talk about you, show your cover art, and give the readers a teaser.

4. Promote other people’s work. Other writers are just like you and they love promotion. A word to the wise… approach a big name in your genre and offer to promote their book, and then advertise it everywhere. Instant traffic to your blog!

5. Think about your marketing plan. Before you go “Eh?” let me say branding. People need to recognise you instantly. I will do a separate blog about that, but let’s start with something simple. Ask your friend to describe you in three words. You might be surprised at the result!

So there we go. 5 tips to promoting your book. It sounds daunting, but once you get started you might find it fun, and you’ll definitely make friends along the way.

And finally one last tip… if in doubt – ask.

Author Bio: Sue Brown is owned by her dog and two children. When she isn’t following their orders, she can be found plotting at her laptop. In fact she hides so she can plot and has got expert at ignoring the orders.

Sue discovered M/M erotica at the time she woke up to find two men kissing on her favorite television series. The series was boring; the kissing was not. She may be late to the party, but she’s made up for it since, writing fan fiction until she was brave enough to venture out into the world of original fiction.

Sue can be found on the internet at her blog, her website, Facebook, and Twitter.

The Isle of… Where? by Sue Brown

Excerpt:

Chapter One

THE conversation had gone something like this:

Alex: “You need a vacation after being stuck inside with me for so long.”

Liam: “Somewhere hot. Sandy beaches, blue sea, hot men.”

Alex: “I can promise you the beaches are sandy.”

Liam: “What do you mean? Alex, what are you planning? I know that look in your eyes. I thought we were talking about a vacation.”

Alex: “I’m offering you a vacation, moron.”

Liam: “Where?”

Alex: “The Isle of Wight.”

Liam: “Where the fuck is that?”

Alex: “The UK.”

Liam: “It rains there and the men aren’t hot.”

Alex: “Ewan McGregor, man, Ewan McGregor.”

Liam: “That’s a low blow, even for you.”

Liam’s vision of a tropical vacation with cocktails and cabana boys faded away with the tide and instead there was this, a special hell, surrounded by screaming kids and overweight moms. Alex really knew how to give his best friend a good time.

Liam leaned against the glass and sighed. Somewhere up there, Alex was laughing at him. The bastard could have given him a train ticket to anywhere; the Orient Express, for instance. The lyrics said a “Ticket to Ride,” not fucking Ryde. But no, Alex loved the Isle of Wight after a summer vacation during college and he would not be moved. So a ticket to the ass end of nowhere it was. Maybe Alex had secretly hated him all these years.

The Isle of Wight was obviously a popular destination for families, because from the second Liam had gotten on the ferry to the island he hadn’t been able to get away from whining brats. Liam wasn’t one of those men whose life was going to be completed by progeny. He liked Kathy well enough, even though he’d deny it if pushed, but she was Alex’s kid, so of course Liam liked her. Children en masse were hell on earth. Particularly the little fucker behind him.

The train eventually reached Ryde. Could any train ride be so slow? The island was the size of a handkerchief. The majority of the crowd got off, to Liam’s relief. He was particularly pleased to be rid of the evil kid who had spent most of the journey kicking the back of his seat. After days of riding this train from hell, he had no patience for some bored brat. He’d glared at the monster when the kicking had started, and then tried glaring at the mother. The woman had stared back with sublime indifference. Liam thought about moving to the seat behind the kid and kicking his seat to see how he liked it. He could just imagine how that would go down. Pervert On Train Attacks Small Child! Liam’s imagination ran wild as he visualized the headlines. It might even get on YouTube. Somebody would record it on their cell phone and upload it. Liam shuddered as he imagined the small clip going viral. His mother would never speak to him again. The nightmare had kept him occupied until the train disgorged the horrid child and his equally horrid mother at Ryde Esplanade.

For the couple of minutes it took to get to Ryde Pier Head station, Liam leaned against the back of the seat and closed his eyes. Forget the last few days riding this God-awful train. Today was the day to fulfill Alex’s request. Then he could go home and get on with his life.

His empty life.


5 responses to “Meet Sue Brown”

  1. Thank you for sharing the tips, Sue! I’m hoping they’ll be of use to me someday – if I could ever get beyond chapter five of writing my own book!! I must admit I’ve never read this genre before, (waiting for Michael’s release!) but I’m intrigued by your latest work. Anything written about an island and the ocean has my vote already. Good luck!

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