Mistakes were made…

By me. I’m an idiot.

What’s new there? If you got my newsletter over the weekend, you already know why I’m a moron. And I’m sure you concur with my assessment. For those of you who missed it, let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up. *a million points for knowing that reference.

I bought 500 bookmarks with all of my books to date on them. Signed them all even.

Then, my publisher decides we need to change the title of one of the books before it releases in April.

*head meet desk.

So… who wants a bookmark or two? Seriously. I need to offload these ha.

Gimmie a bookmark!

If you’re curious as to what title changed, it was for the Yonder platform release.

is now…

The marketing team wanted more searchable words in the title to get as many eyes on the story as possible. Which, I get. I just wish I had known that the name change was a possibility or else I wouldn’t have blown money on bookmarks. ha.

That’s what you get for assuming everyone. 500 useless bookmarks. ha. Grab yours today!

*snort but also take some!

Gimmie a bookmark!

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Dani/Danielle Bannister author and collector of bookmarks that are wrong

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New Release, New Contract!

A new contract in February was NOT on my 2023 writing BINGO card, but I’m here for it!

I just signed another contract with City Owl Press for a new project, making this my 4th contract with them. The first project I signed with them was their acquisition of Enigma which was retitled/recovered/re-edited to become Girl On Fire. They later acquired film/TV rights negotiation rights for my book The First 100 Kisses, followed by a contract late last year to sell A Single Step to the Yonder App. That title is aligning for an April 3 release, but stay tuned as that gets closer.

This new project that I just signed for was something I was going to pitch to them for their 2024-2025 lineup. Mostly because I knew their release schedule was pretty tight and I still hadn’t written the book at that time. They had wanted me to write another dark romance/suspense/thriller to jump off the success of Girl on Fire. Sure. Easy. No problem. *panics

Fast-forward to December 2022. I had a rough draft of the manuscript but I knew it was flawed. There were some problematic situations and I was dealing with a subject matter I wasn’t sure would be ‘fit-to-print’ given the taboo nature of what my crazy brain thought up as a story. (Seriously, WHERE did this idea come from????) I presented this conundrum to City Owl Press and they suggested assigning me a content editor of theirs to see if, together, we might figure out what things needed fixing to get it to a project I’d want to pitch to them. I took them up on the offer and was quickly assigned such an editor. They asked the content editor to have it finished by April so they could determine if it would be a good fit for their 2024-2025 lineup.

I’ve never worked with a content editor before so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but we had until April to figure out the issues, so I sent her the draft of what I had and went about my normal writing schedule, putting that project on the way back burner. It was in someone else’s care now. I had months to focus on other stuff while that draft was ripped to shreds. I gave them the draft on December 28, 2022.

Seven days later, the manuscript came back to me. The content editor devoured it. And had some great suggestions for where to improve the story, but overall, loved what she saw. Twisted as it was. Places I thought they’d ask me to tone down or remove, they said to leave in. She helped me see the places I’d been struggling, and offered up ways to smooth over the rough edges. We bounced back ideas and messages.

Suddenly, that backburner project was bubbling over and needed tending. Not wanting my current writing plans to go off the rails, I did my revisions on this project at night and on the weekends until I addressed all of the issues the content editor had. I sent my final revisions back to her and she, in turn, let City Owl Press know they needed to sign this book right now. An offer came the next day to publish it for August of THIS year.

*gulp

Now what? Now, I come to terms with the fact that this book is going to see the light of day. *double gasp. I can count on one hand the number of people who have read this story. It is NOT a sweet romance. It is NOT a steamy romance. But there is romance. Just not where you might expect it. This one is dark. I’d say it’s darker than Girl on Fire… I honestly don’t know what genre to even call it. Is it dark romance? Is it a thriller? Horror? I’ll let the publisher decide. That will be their headache when they try to market this one. ha.

But… but… WHAT IS IT ABOUT?

I’m not quite ready to say yet. I know that’s a lame answer but this one is going to take some time to carefully explain/promote/discuss. As of now, I only have a draft of a blurb, no cover, and no marketing materials. Just a finished content edit of the book and a signed contract for an August release. I’m not even ready to say the title as it might not end up being that and if it does end up with that title, it will give a big clue as to what the book is about so…

In the meantime, I have to write the second book for it. Currently, this story arc is outlined as a duet. And I’d like to have the second book ready to go shortly after the first book is live because I hate waiting for sequels to come out just as much as you do.

So how does this shift the 2023 release plan? Not much, actually. Vol. 4 of Where You Left Me came out last week and Vol. 5 is still on track for its May release. The Yonder project in April, which is done except for promotion, then, this new project in August (which is done save for copy edits), and then MAYBE something in November. The bulk of my writing for 2023 is done. I’m working on projects for 2024 because, despite my constant releases, I am a pretty slow writer. It only seems fast because I write my books well in advance of my release dates.

For now, I’m busy promoting Vol. 4 and trying my luck with Facebook ads (it’s so confusing. ha.) *shameless self-promotion to follow:

WHERE YOU LEFT ME, Vol. 1 (0.99 Cents)
WHERE YOU LEFT ME, Vol. 2
WHERE YOU LEFT ME, Vol. 3
WHERE YOU LEFT ME, Vol. 4 (NOW LIVE)
WHERE YOU LEFT ME, Vol. 5 (Pre-Order)

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Until then, I have some writing to do. 🙂 See ya next week!

Danielle/Dani Bannister, author and signer of contracts

In One Week: Release Time-Again!

It feels like only yesterday I was talking about the release day of Waiting in the Wings. And now here I am again talking about a different release! Insanity.

Gulp. In one week (02.07.2023) Vol. 4 of the Where You Left Me series comes out. Vol. 5 is shortly thereafter with a May release. My first series… Nuts!

The tricky thing with a series is trying to promote the books after book 1 until the series is done. If readers haven’t read the first book they aren’t going to care about your subsequent releases. They might perk up once the series is finished but until then, you are basically putting out books a lot of people aren’t reading. It’s a long game and one that can be hard for authors to handle financially. There are still cover and editing costs not to mention marketing expenses, for each release. If readers aren’t picking up those middle books, a lot of authors won’t be able to afford to finish the series.

But there again, that’s the long game for you. Once the series is finished, I will do a bigger market push. For now, I’m just working as fast as I can to get the series done. And your support of these middle ‘Jan’ books is so appreciated. (A million points if you got the Jan reference.)

Haven’t started the series, but want to, and not sure where to begin?

There are TWO places you could start the series. The FREE start is by checking out the prequel chapter that I wrote from the guy’s POV as to how he ends up at the wedding in the first place. It’s not vital to the series, but it is a fun short read that gives you some insight into the character you might not get from the series…

Or you can start with Vol.1 which is only .99 cents. I’m going to be running some promotions on Vol. 1 to try to help get eyes on later volumes. If you see a promo, let me know! I’m curious if these new-to-me sites will be helpful!

WHERE YOU LEFT ME, Vol. 1 (.99 Cents)
WHERE YOU LEFT ME, Vol. 2
WHERE YOU LEFT ME, Vol. 3
WHERE YOU LEFT ME, Vol. 4 (02.07.23)
WHERE YOU LEFT ME, Vol. 5 (Pre-Order)

Well, that’s all from me for this week. I’ll be back next week with release news. Eeep! Until then, I need to get Vol. 5 polished so I can send that one to the editor. In the meantime, thanks for being awesome and supporting indie authors!

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Dani/Danielle Bannister, author and release of all the books

Vol. 4 Edits Due Back Today!

Getting your manuscript back from your editor is both exciting and terrifying. On the one hand, you’re a step closer to release day, HUZZAH! On the other, the editor’s very job is to tear your book apart and highlight, in red, all of your mistakes. Which you then have to accept. Literally. I have to push a button to accept each and every correction. And there are always a lot. Like hundreds. Despite having read the manuscript backward and forwards. Despite having other sets of eyes on it to check for issues. The editor always finds an obscene amount of errors. Some, as you know, will even pass her careful eyes because…

Some authors will choose to hit the ‘accept all’ button in Word which will take all of the corrections and fix them at once. Not me. I’m a glutton for punishment. I want to know what I messed up. what word did I spell wrong this time, how badly did I screw up my commas this time? Will my editor pointing out my crutch words stop me from peppering every subsequent manuscript with them that she has to cut again? Probably not. Will I ever learn how to use a semicolon properly? Doubtful. Will I ever remember what traumatic past I gave my heroine? Unlikely. But the hope that I will retain the knowledge my poor editor is trying to convey is there. And so I look at each mistake one at a time.

Once those errors are all fixed, I’ll do the final format check for the ebook (I do the paperback upload on release day for marketing reasons) then I’ll upload it to all the platforms so it will be ready for its release day on Feb. 7, 2023. (Ack, that’s two weeks from now!)

Because I now have a pre-order link up for the last volume, I’m trying my hand at some paid promotions. Cause let’s face it, I’m not the world’s best marketing guru. And the competition for visibility in the contemporary romance market is no joke. Even with over twenty titles out, I am a drop of water in the ocean of romance books, so I’ll need all the help I can get!

In the meantime, if you haven’t picked up Vol. 1 and wanted to, it’s on sale for. 99 cents now. Or you can always read the prequel chapter for free right on my blog. It’s only 15 pages but it gives you some insight into what happens immediately before the series starts and gives you a sense of my writing voice.

WHERE YOU LEFT ME, Vol. 1 (.99 Cents)
WHERE YOU LEFT ME, Vol. 2
WHERE YOU LEFT ME, Vol. 3
WHERE YOU LEFT ME, Vol. 4 (02.07.23)
WHERE YOU LEFT ME, Vol. 5 (Pre-Order)

Now that Vol. 4 is basically finished, I will be starting my third draft of Vol. 5 in February to get that ready for its May release.

What am I working on until then? That’s a secret… for now. Hope to have some news to share on that soon. That’s all for now!

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Danielle/Dani Bannister, author and maker of typos

New Year. New Round of Giveaways!

If you’ve been following me for any length of time, you know that I like to do a few giveaways a year. Sometimes they are exclusive giveaways only to my newsletter subscribers, sometimes they are only on Facebook. I like to shake it up so I can make sure to reach where everyone is.

For 2023, I’m going to double the number of giveaways I do so that I can reach readers in the places they are! That means that no matter where you follow me, you’ll have a chance at the giveaway (and if you follow me in all four places, four times the chances!)

So, what am I giving away, and when? Great question.

Yes, I realize the seasonal order is off, but I made the book design before I made my giveaway plan. Yes, it makes me twitch, but I’m moving on. *twitch.

That means the next giveaway I’ll be doing will be the Spring Giveaway of my Romantic Comedy books. That will include signed paperback copies of:

1. Doppelganger
2. Must Love Coffee
3. Taking Stalk
4. The ABCs of Dee
5. Waiting in the Wings

Now, when and where will this giveaway happen? Another fabulous question! I’ll do this giveaway in March (I KNOW that seems like forever away, but it will be here soon enough.) WHY March? Well, two reasons.

• In January my focus will be on getting the word out about A Single Step: A Kaden’s Keepers Series on the Yonder App (release date coming soon.)

• I have ANOTHER release in February (I know. The Yonder thing threw a wrench in my release plan but we’re making it work.) On February 7th, Vol. 4 of my Where You Left Me series launches.

WHERE YOU MET ME (Free prequel chapter)
https://daniellebannister.wordpress.com/free-story/

WHERE YOU LEFT ME, Vol. 1
https://books2read.com/WYLMV1

WHERE YOU LEFT ME, Vol. 2
https://books2read.com/WYLMV2

WHERE YOU LEFT ME, Vol. 3
https://books2read.com/WYLMVl3

WHERE YOU LEFT ME, Vol. 4 (02.07.23)
https://books2read.com/WYLM-V4

WHERE YOU LEFT ME, Vol. 5 (Pre-Order)
https://books2read.com/WYLM-V5

So, basically after each release month, I’ll do a giveaway as a thank you for putting up with me. 🙂

To recap:

MARCH-SPRING GIVEAWAY–Right here on the blog!

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JUNE-SUMMER GIVEAWAY–On my Newsletter

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SEPT-FALL GIVEAWAY–On my Facebook Group

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DEC-WINTER GIVEAWAY–On my Author Page on Facebook

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There you have it! If you want to make sure you’re in the loop on all of them, just make sure you’re following me in all four places. If now, you’ll still in the loop for one!

Until next week! I have words to edit!

Danielle/Dani Bannister, author and year long giveaway artist

2023 Release Plan-Get the scoop!

Well, 2022 has been properly kicked to the curb! That means it’s time to ramp up the action for 2023.

Last year, I was able to maintain my goal of four releases in one year. They all happened to be under my pen name, oddly enough. I published Volumes 1-3 of my 5 novella series, Where You Left Me, then ended the year with my rom-com Waiting in the Wings. A lot of W titles for 2022. Totally not planned!

On January 1st, I got the cover image for the Yonder App serial story, A Single Step: A Kaden’s Keeper Series. As of this posting, I don’t have a release day for when it will go on the app, but I’m told early this year so… I’ll let you know!

After that first book, the second and third releases are close behind. The last two novellas in the Where You Left Me series will be out in 2023 as Vol. 4 is already up for pre-order for Feb. 7, 2023. Vol. 5 will release in May of 2023. 🙂 Then, the unrevealed title in August will be released by my publisher City Owl Press. As for the 5th release, on paper, it can be done, but in reality, it might not work out. Hence, why I write all my plans in pencil. Life happens. That’s what erasers are for.

With 2023 penciled out, do I already have tentative writing plans for 2024, 2025, and 2026? I sure do. Are any of those books written yet? Some have drafts going, other titles are only ideas at this point. But this is how I turn the ideas into reality. I give them a deadline by which they can realistically come to fruition. Then, using that deadline, make monthly goals, then daily goals. If you meet the daily goals, you reach the monthly goals, and if you meet the monthly goals, chances are, you’re going to meet your yearly goals. 🙂

Clearly, I have my work cut out for me this year, but I have a plan. And that is, after all, step one.

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Until next week, I have a few words to write.

Danielle/Dani Bannister, author and planner of all the words

And the winner is…

During Dec. 1-24, I ran a huge giveaway on my Facebook author page. 24 days with a new ‘gift’ each day. All gifts would go to one US winner. But just what was up for grabs?

• A moody and broody swag bag
• A signed copy of Short Shorts
• A rom-com swag bag
• A signed copy of The ABCs of Dee
• A character’s name of the winner’s choosing in an upcoming book of mine
• A signed copy of Pulled
• A signed copy of Pulled Back
• A signed copy of Pulled Back Again
• A bookmark swag collection
• A signed copy of The Lurkers Within
• A signed copy of What Moons Do
• A signed copy of Doppelganger
• A signed copy of Must Love Coffee
• A signed copy of Taking Stock
• A 30 min Zoom call with me to talk about whatever
• A sexy swag bag
• A signed copy of The First 100 Kisses
• A signed copy of The Second 100 Kisses
• A signed copy of Where You Left Me, Vol. 1
• A signed copy of Where You Left Me, Vol. 2
• A signed copy of Where You Left Me, Vol. 3
• A signed copy of Girl on Fire
• A signed limited print run hardcover of the 10th Anniversary Edition of Pulled
• A signed copy of Waiting in the Wings

And a partridge in a pear tree! Ha! Almost ALL of my books (except for the fantasy trilogy.) The rules were pretty simple. Each day, I’d post the daily gift and people could enter using a Google Form. The more days they entered, the more names their name was put in the ‘virtual’ hat. Then, I used Random.org to pick a winner from the list of entries.

And that winner was…

The winner has been notified and their package will be on the way this week. Fair warning, it’s gonna be a big and heavy box!

In 2023, I plan more giveaways on a variety of platforms, so be sure you’re following me in the places below to get in on all of them because sometimes I make the giveaways exclusive to the platform. I’m sneaky like that.

Places to Follow for Future Giveaways:

My Facebook Author Page (general release/book news): https://www.facebook.com/DanielleBannisterBooks

My Facebook Reader Page (behind the scenes look into my insanity): http://bit.ly/WriteAllTheWordsDanielle

My Newsletter (subscribers get monthly perks): http://bit.ly/DanielleBannisterNewsletter

This Blog (all the news and personal stuff too): http://daniellebannister.com/

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Well, I think that about does it for 2022! Next week, you’ll get an update on what the 2023 releases are shaping up to be! Hope you all have a WONDERFUL New Year and catch you in 2023!

-Danielle/Dani Bannister, author and epic giveaway giver

I CAN FINALLY SPILL THE DEETS!

I know things have been a little nuts with me and my recent trip to the ER, (I can move my limbs now. More details on that once a new med has been chosen.)

But do any of you remember a slightly vague post I mentioned a bit ago about signing a deal for something but I couldn’t quite share the details until the ink was dry? Well, it’s dry!

I now have a one-year contract via City Owl Press with Webtoons under their Yonder app! For those unfamiliar with either, they are massive reading apps that do very well internationally. Yonder is a new serialized fiction line that they are launching, so my story is literally starting on the ground floor of the platform. Only one way to grow from there! (Think Kindle Vella, in terms of format, chapter-by-chapter releases, but on a larger distribution scale.)

Partnership with Yonder app by Webtoons

They asked me to submit a proposal with the genre, the word count, a log line, and any troupes. If they were interested in seeing the first three chapters after reading that, they would reach out.

Well, a few weeks later, they asked for the first three chapters. A few days later, a contract was signed before they even saw the finished manuscript. They were hooked. Eeep! So what now? Currently, we are designing the cover, and soon, I’ll be told when it will appear on the app which should be in early 2023. Once I have those details, you can be assured that you will be in the know!

Until next time, I need to log into the day job!

Danielle/Dani Bannister

So… How did the signing go?

Glad you asked! 😉 As I prepped for the First Annual Bangor Area Maine Author’s Book Fair, I wondered one, if anyone would come since it was the first year, and two, if they did come, would they want romance books?

In my experience, Maine readers tend to be looking for coastal covers, stories told on the ocean… lobsters and lighthouses. All of the things that I do NOT write. I went into this signing knowing I’d be the odd duck out but hoping for the best.

Upon set up, I quickly realized I might be a tad over the top for this event. In romance, your table HAS to be flashy because there is so much competition in the genre, but here, I kept looking around at the tables that just had books and a few bookmarks on an empty card table, and here I was setting up this elaborate display. I kept wondering if I was coming off as a showoff? Was my book display overt? Was the bedsheet I used as a tablecloth too obnoxious. Was my swag over the top? I was almost embarrassed by my table.

There wasn’t much time to fret though because once I had finished setting up, people were already coming in the door. And they kept coming. Steady from 11- to about 3:30. When the sun started to set, so too did the foot traffic. But in that time, I remained busy. I sold 22 books, which was way more than I thought I’d sell!

When things had died down, a few of the authors approached my table to inquire about where I got my stand, how I made my swag, and to just ask marketing questions in general. Me, the one who has felt like a fraud her whole writing life. Oh, irony. I happily answered their questions as best I could and I left the signing thinking, maybe I had learned a thing or two over the years. Baby steps. Even after 11 years at it.

Now, what will I do with the money earned? Replenish my stock for one thing, ha. And the rest will go into the account to pay for future edits/covers/swag/marketing etc. And maybe some Chinese takeout for the author. 😉

Until next week, friends!

Danielle/Dani Bannister author and local signing seller

Needed by November…a project update

In early November, I shared a post about some exciting news. I’d lined up a project that would pay me my first-ever advance. Well, that project needed to be turned in to my editor by the end of November. 80,000 words. Obviously, my Nanowrimo project was kicked to the curb to make room for this very large and looming deadline.

To be fair, I didn’t have to write all 80,000 words in November. I’m not THAT fast of a writer. I have a day job, after all. Even pulling off 50,000 for Nanowrimo is a struggle. And those words aren’t great. They are mostly word vomit. I couldn’t turn in word vomit on this. I needed to turn in as polished a manuscript as I could.

What I had was about 56K words of a third draft. I tend to do 4-5 drafts. My original plan with this book was to add an additional 10K words, then send it off to City Owl Press for a 2023 or 2024 release, and work on the next in the series in the meantime, so that I’d have something to follow it up with. In other words, this project wasn’t on the front burner. I’d planned to send it to them in February of next year. I had a whole different project in mind for Nanowrimo. That plan was tossed to the curb the second I got the offer to turn that manuscript into a longer piece.

Suddenly, I had three weeks to make 24,000 words appear. That may not seem like much, but when you have already completed the story arc, it’s a little trickier to find new plot points. To that end, I had a beta reader read my draft to let me know what she wanted me to expand upon. She gave me some great feedback and I ended up pulling in a plot line I’d been planning to introduce later in the series. Her feedback showed me it would be beneficial to add it now. It helped to round out an otherwise 2-dimensional character. Thanks, Cassy!

It is now November 29th. One day before the deadline. Did I make it?

I did! I even had time to do a final read-through of it before I sent it along. What happens now? Well, I’ll be getting a contract very soon (and then I can tell you more about it) but until then, it will be edited by City Owl Press, sent back to me for approval, and then sent off to where it will eventually be distributed. The when and where of that will be in the upcoming contract, so stay tuned!

Until then, I find that I have a few days ‘off’ from my writing schedule. A first for me in a very long time. Not to worry, a new project kicks off on Thursday. 😉 No rest for the wicked!

Until next time, friends!

Danielle/Dani Bannister, author and crusher of looming deadlines