June 19, 2017

Hello everyone, I hope you’re all well! Time for another update on things going on in the Shadow King world and beyond.

Hello, hello! I hope you’re all well.

This is just a quick update for everyone on what’s been going on (or not) with me and "Shadow King" since my April update.

There is not a lot to report. I’m still in the queue with Inkshares waiting for an editor to be available. HOWEVER, I saw in an update from another author it looks like her book has started to move forward in the process. I’ve asked the wonderful Angela at Inkshares what that might mean for my book, and I know she’s looking into that. So, with luck, I’ll have a little more info to share on that front in the not-too-distant future.

Sales have flattened temporarily and I’m trying to figure out ways to make my numbers start to tick up again.

In the meantime, I’m happy to let you all know that I have entered a new manuscript in the 2017 Launchpad Manuscript Competition. The competition is still open for entries and later this summer/fall they will start to announce their finalists list. I’m really excited to be part of Launchpad again and am looking forward to sharing details of the new story with all of you in the upcoming weeks.

With that, I will sign off for now -- have a wonderful weekend!

Best,
Susan

April 18, 2017

Hello, everyone! Just a quick update on a few things going on.

First, I’m happy to share that I am currently the "featured blogger" on John Robin’s "Epic Fantasy Writer" blog. Check out my post on lessons I’ve learned about world-building...

I’ve also set up my GoodReads Author Page. Right now it only features "Darkstar Rising," the first novel I published a few years back through Xlibris. "Shadow King" will be joining it as soon as it is ready.

And speaking of... "Shadow King" is still in the queue waiting for the project to kick-off, and once it does, I’ll be sure to let you all know right away. Sales are holding at 291 right now, and I’d definitely like to push past that 300 mark and beyond (and my birthday was earlier this month, so breaking that barrier would be a pretty great be-lated b-day gift!!).

And last but not least, I’ve given my own web site a complete overhaul, so you can check that out here: www.susankhamilton.com. I still need to make a few small adjustments (like figure out how to make it look the way I want on mobile devices). Like most web sites, it is a work in progress.

That’s all for now; I’ll send more news when it is available!

Best,

Susan

April 6, 2017 

Hi everyone,

I know this is a quick update right on the heels of my last one, but I’m excited to share the new "Shadow King" cover with everyone. Thank you to the wonderful Charlene Maguire of ShapeShifter studios for the wonderful work.

I also noticed today that Inkshares has a new badge on the Shadow King page that shows we are the #3 best selling dark fantasy title on their site. 

I’d love to see that move up to a higher ranking, so if you haven’t ordered yet, this would be a great time!

Have a great rest of the week and weekend, and I’ll send another update in the near future!

Best,

Susan

April 3, 2017

Hi everyone,

I know it has been a bit since my last update, but we all get so much email, I didn’t want to send anything unless I actually had something to say.

The good news--the Shadow King manuscript and author questionnaire that Inkshares asked me to fill out have both been turned in to the Inkshares team. So, that is one step closer to getting production rolling. The "bad" news is that I’m still in the queue so production has not officially kicked-off yet (and I don’t have an anticipated kick-off date yet). I am keen to get going and as soon as I have any news on that front, I’ll be sure to let you know!

In the meantime, I’ve been trying to figure out some of this whole marketing thing which--I confess--is a bit alien to me. I have been invited to contribute to a couple blogs, and I’ll send those links when my posts are live. I’m also looking into starting my own. And my author pages on Amazon and Goodreads are set up, and I’ll share those links with all of you in an upcoming update.

My cover is nearly complete and I’m very happy with how it has turned out. Once we get the last few adjustments taken care of, I’ll be updating my Inkshares page and sharing it with all of you.

From a sales perspective I’ve leveled off a little, and I need to refocus on that. I’m within striking distance of 300 orders, and I’d love to hit that milestone in the near future and move on up from there!

That’s it for this update. I’ll send another soon when I have information on my author pages and new cover!

Have a great rest of the week!

Best,

Susan

IT IS OFFICIAL!

"Shadow King" has passed the Quill funding goal and will be published by Inkshares! I literally just clicked the "join" button to become part of the Quill Collection.

Thank you!

When I entered the Launchpad Competition last year, I never imagined this is where I would be. Honestly, I just thought it would be great to get feedback from the judges. Then, Shadow King was named to the Launchpad Top 75 list and made it all the way to the Top 10. That opened the door, but it is thanks to all of you, to every single person who took a chance on an unpublished book and put in an order, that I’m able to send this note today. The support has been absolutely amazing and I am grateful for it.

What’s next?

I don’t have a release date, but I understand from Inkshares that there are several Quill books in the queue for editing services ahead of me, so it is likely it will be a month (and perhaps a bit more) before I turn in my manuscript. Publishing timelines differ a little between Quill and full publishing, and this blog post will give you an idea of what the full publishing timeline looks like. So, it will still be a little bit before you have Shadow King in your hands.

In the meantime, I’ll be doing one more review of the manuscript before I turn it in and working on getting more sales and more exposure. Also, I’ll be getting a vastly improved cover thanks to the excellent efforts of Charlene Maguire at www.shapeshifterstudios.com. I’m really excited about the concept she’s come up with and I think you’ll love it, too!

I’ll send another update when there’s news to report, but in the meantime, if any of you have questions for me, please don’t hesitate to ask. You can reach me through the Inkshares platform or at my email: susankhamilton@yahoo.com.

Take care!

Susan

PS. On the off chance my embedded link gremlin is at it again, here’s the full link to the blog post: http://blog.inkshares.com/post/154475375840/a-note-on-pub-dates-from-the-inkshares-production

Hello from snowy Boston!

The clock is really ticking down...

Believe it or not, my funding window is down to hours and not weeks -- Feb. 15 is the last day. I’m happy to report a few more orders have come in, but I still need a little over 30 more orders to hit my mid-range goal of 300 pre-orders (and of course, hitting the full 750 would be amazing!).

So, if you’re still thinking about ordering but haven’t yet, now is the time (and you get the discounted pre-order price)! I have to say, getting those orders would be one AWESOME Valentine’s Day gift!

You can order on my Inkshares page: www.inkshares.com/books/shadow-king

As always, thanks so much for your support and interest--I’ll send another update once the funding window closes and let you know where everything stands.

Best,

Susan

Hello everyone!

Wanted to send out a quick update. There are just about two weeks left in the funding window for "Shadow King!"

So that means there is still an opportunity for new readers to pre-order their very own copy at a discounted price (and signed to boot if you order a paperback!). It would be a great pre-Valentine’s Day gift to see that order number start to tick up.

And the manuscript received a lovely review from J.T.R. Russell as well (thank you, sir!). Reviews from readers are extremely important, so if you’ve read the sample chapters, please take 5 minutes out of your day and leave a review.

So what’s next? 

I’m going to get back to a bit more promotion in the next two weeks. Lately I’ve been pushing to incorporate feedback from the Launchpad judges into the manuscript so that it is in the best possible shape when I turn it in to Inkshares. (And I’m very happy with how it is turning out!)

I’ll keep you all posted as we start the countdown to the close of the funding window!

Take care,

Susan

Hello everyone, and Happy New Year.

Now that we’re through all of the holidays, I wanted to make sure everyone got an update on what’s going on with "Shadow King."

First, while we have officially made it to the Quill funding level, I’ve extended my funding window a little (into February) in order to accomplish a few things. First, of course, is to drive some more pre-orders before everything moves into production. Second, this extra time is letting me incorporate some of the excellent feedback that I got from the Launchpad judges into the manuscript before anything is turned in to Inkshares.

I’m also happy to report that "Shadow King" is being considered by the Fantasy Syndicate for January. I’m very happy about being considered by this group, and I hope that later in the month I can share some good news on this front. And if any other syndicates are looking for a great book to support this month, let me know!

Additionally, very preliminary work is being done on a new -- and MUCH better -- cover for "Shadow King." Many thanks to my friend, Charlene, for applying her considerable talents to this effort. I’m sure it will look amazing when it is done.

Now, along with polishing up the manuscript in preparation for production, I’d really like to bolster the recommendations and reviews on my Inkshares page. If you’ve read my sample chapters, please consider taking a minute or two to pen a review for my page -- let other readers know what you think! And if you have a book on Inkshares as well, I am happy to return the favor!

Those are the biggest things going on -- Thank you all again for being on this crazy-wonderful ride with me!

Best, Susan

PS., As always, if you haven’t pre-ordered a copy yet, there’s still time! You can find ordering info and my sample chapters on my Inkshares page: www.inkshares.com/books/shadow-king.  And feel free to share that link!

Hello and happy Monday, everyone.

I just wanted to send a quick note to congratulate my final two Launchpad Pre-Order Raffle winners: Jackie Verrow and Tracey Bigelow! Both ordered their copy of "Shadow King" in December and have each won a $25 Amazon gift card.

Wishing all of my readers and supporters a very happy holiday and New Year!

All the best,

Susan