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

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

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

BookBub Sale TODAY!

If you’re an avid reader or an author, you know all about BookBub. It is THE place to go if you love books, sales, and want to stay up to date on new releases. Because of that, it is a coveted ad spot to get. And not cheap. Just because you WANT an ad with them does not mean you get it. It’s a competitive space to advertise. And one I’ve tried for years to get, but as an indie, it’s another strike against you.

My publisher, City Owl Press, however, managed to get a slot. For TODAY.

If you missed getting this when it came out in September, nab it below before the price goes back up!

GIRL ON FIRE
Amazon: https://smarturl.it/GirlonFireAmz
B&N: https://smarturl.it/GirlonFireBN
Kobo: https://smarturl.it/GirlonFireKobo
iBooks: https://smarturl.it/GirlonFireiBooks
Other Platforms: https://books2read.com/GirlonFireUBL
(Content Warning: This book contains instances of abuse that might be troubling to some readers.)

The email went out around 12:30 PM EST and it is already a #1 Best Seller. THAT is the power of BookBub. Insanity. That rank will fall in the coming days, but MAN is it good to see right now!

I had to take a screenshot! Ha.

Now, I need to dive back into edits for Where You Left Me, Vol 2. before that goes off to my editor soon. No rest for the writer!

Danielle/Dani Bannister, writer and taker of all the screenshots

Girl on Fire is climbing the charts!

After a CRAZY journey, Girl on Fire, a book that started as an ember is now burning up the charts. (I can’t help myself with the puns!)

Now, does this mean I’m suddenly rich? Well, no. The book is currently priced at .99 cents (publisher sets the price.) It’s a strategy. Books at that price you can get more ad space for, and visibility is important especially with an unknown like me. The price will eventually go up, but until that point, that .99 cents breaks down to about .34 cents after distributing sites like Amazon, etc. take their cut. THEN, of that .34 cents the publisher takes THEIR cut, and I get the pennies left after that. So, no. Not rich. YET. 😉 BUT, the book is doing what it should be doing. Climbing the charts in their categories, and more importantly to me, the overall rank in the whole of Amazon.

For a point of reference, this is where Girl on Fire was on 8-25-21. A few weeks before release day.

Ironically, the book was doing better as a pre-order than I’d done for a normal release. That made me feel encouraged.

Then, on 9-3-21, a few days before release, I woke up to my first ever orange banner for a paid book. (Pulled once made it to number #3 when I ran a promotion on it but at that time, the book was free so I didn’t make any money on it.) It was #1 New Release. At that point though, my overall rank was like 700,000. I forgot to snag the data. So, a mini victory and a first to me!

Then release day came. I started the morning at an overall rank that I was pretty happy with. Way lower than my normal releases.

9-7-21 5:00 AM Overall #604,141 and a rank of #150 #320 and #6,851 for subcategories.

Again, huge numbers for me. I am not a huge author in the ocean of names. YET. Throughout the day, the rank shifted downward. By the time I went to bed this is where it stood.

9-7-21 9:00 PM Overall #44,13 and a rank of #7 #11 and #13 for subcategories.

HOLY CRAP! That’s a HUGE jump.

Granted, the categories are a small ones, but again, it’s that overall rank that I’m focused on.

Fast forward to this morning. Two days after release. I woke at 4 am. (My internal clock hates me.) But when I saw this, I almost spit out my coffee.

Now, again, small category and compared to big name authors, this ain’t nothing special. But for this underdog, it’s dream come true numbers.

The success of this book rests largely on my publishing house, City Owl Press, who, from day one believed in this book. Believed in me. They saw the potential. They invested the time and their marketing dollars to get these numbers.

My job is to keep manifesting the success. I need to Ask it. Believe it. Receive it.

Oh, and to write another book just as good as Girl on Fire. No biggie. GULP.

Haven’t snagged yours while the price is still at .99 cents? Nab it below.

Amazon: https://smarturl.it/GirlonFireAmz
B&N: https://smarturl.it/GirlonFireBN
Kobo: https://smarturl.it/GirlonFireKobo
iBooks: https://smarturl.it/GirlonFireiBooks
City Owl: https://cityowlpress.com/product/girl-on-fire/
Goodreads: https://smarturl.it/GirlonFireGR

Danielle Bannister, Author and #1 New Releaser (holy crap!)

Girl on Fire is LIVE on one platform

While the official release date for Girl on Fire 9-7-21 for distribution places like Amazon, Apple, Smashwords, etc., there is ONE platform where you can read it NOW. And that is from my publisher directly. They offer up their releases early on their site before letting them out wide on other platforms. So, if you’re itching to read Girl on Fire and don’t want to wait until 9-7-21, you can get your copy at City Owl Press.

If you want to hear the story of how Girl on Fire came to be, you can watch me talk about how the story started as an ember, and then burst into flame below.

Want to get it on your preferred platform? You can pre-order it from the sites below!

Amazon: https://smarturl.it/GirlonFireAmz
B&N: https://smarturl.it/GirlonFireBN
Kobo: https://smarturl.it/GirlonFireKobo
iBooks: https://smarturl.it/GirlonFireiBooks
Goodreads: https://smarturl.it/GirlonFireGR

Or sign up to get an ARC (Advanced Review Copy) on NetGalley here: https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/book/233687

Until next week!

Danielle Bannister, author and one platform teaser

SURPRISE! COVER REVEAL DAY!

I did tell you that the full reveal would be soon, didn’t I? Well, the wait is over! Today I show you the full cover and new title!

Hard to even see the girl inside the smoke. It left readers unsure what the book was about.

Where I was afraid to lift up the trauma and pyromania aspect that Sarah goes through, City Owl Press wasn’t. They put it all right there on the cover. Readers who see this cover will know that they are about to go on one hell of a bumpy ride. And, ultimately, that’s what a cover should do. Let you know what the feel of the book is without reading a word.

Pre-order links for the book are up in some places already, while others don’t allow for pre-orders longer than 30 days, so those will be coming once it gets closer to the official release day of SEPTEMBER 7, 2021.

PLATFORMS UP FOR PRE-ORDER NOW*

B&N: https://smarturl.it/GirlonFireBN
Kobo: https://smarturl.it/GirlonFireKobo
iBooks: https://smarturl.it/GirlonFireiBooks
Goodreads: https://smarturl.it/GirlonFireGR

*Some sites may still be uploading at time of post

PLATFORMS IT WILL POST TO CLOSER TO RELEASE

Amazon
Amazon print
City Owl**

(**City Owl will have the book LIVE for purchase on their site two weeks PRIOR to the official release. Stay tuned!

BOOK TRAILER

Eeep! So excited! I’ll let you know when the other links go live for pre-order! Until next time…

Danielle Bannister, Author and revealer of book covers

COVER TEASE 3!

By now you all know how much I love to tease out a cover/title reveal. Well, this next book is no different. Today we take off yet another layer. The next one will be the FULL cover!

For those not familiar about what I’m referring to, it’s the cover tease for the book f/k/a as Enigma. That title has been acquired by City Owl Press. They have retitled the book and are going in a completely different direction marketing wise and I’m here for it!

Enough teasing, Danielle, SHOW ME THE NEXT REVEAL!

eeeep!!!

The book doesn’t go live until September 7, but the pre-order links should be available soon. I’ll be sure to share them as soon as I get them! Which should be SOON!

Until then my peeps, stay cool!

Danielle Bannister, author and revealer of book covers

Cover Tease number 2!

For those following along with the rebirth of Enigma into its new form under my new publisher’s vision (City Owl Press) today is cover tease number 2!

When the publishing house acquired the manuscript they told me they’d be not only changing the overall LOOK of the book, but the TITLE would change as well. Which actually makes a whole lot of sense from a marketing perspective.

While I ADORED my original cover and title, it didn’t do its job of conveying what the story would be about. And ideally, that’s exactly what a cover should do at the first glance, even in a thumbnail. You should be able to see a cover/title and pick up the overall vibe of the story. Within that three seconds, the tone of the book should be there. It’s the very first stop a reader makes. From there, they’ll typically look at the description, then the reviews, then the sample. Each stop on the reader path is important, but if you miss the first light, you’re toast. That’s why covers matter so much.

The two covers are wildly different to be sure. But one makes a subtle statement and one makes a bold one. Go big or go home, right?

Here’s the sneak peek at the revised cover! (Full reveal on July 8.)

Obvious differences are, of course, the coloring. While Enigma is mostly white with an extinguished match (Sarah is a pyromaniac) with her looking out from that smoke, this new cover is notably darker, because at the end of the day, it’s a pretty dark story. The pyromania element is still evident, not only in the burning match, but we now will also have the word FIRE as part of the title.

City Owl Press isn’t shying away from the trauma Sarah goes through, but is rather leaning into the horrors she endures. Something I don’t think I had been ready to do when I first put the book out there. I think I was almost embarrassed by the things I put Sarah through. While I loved the story, I wasn’t really sure I wanted people to read it. I’m ready now.

All that’s left to do is be patient and let release day (Sept. 7, 2021) approach.

Danielle Bannister, author and impatient waiter of books to drop.