Etreasures 2010 Holiday Kindle Giveaway

eTreasures is giving away a Kindle Wi-Fi (Value $139.00) to one lucky winner on December 15, 2010.

Entering is easy:

Sign up to receive the eTreasures newsletter - found on the left side bar at the bookstore.

All newsletter subscribers signed up by December 14, 2010 will be entered into the Giveaway.

EARN EXTRA ENTRIES!

1.  Be a GFC follower at eTreasures Publishing blog = 1 bonus entry.

2.  Friend  eTreasures on FaceBook = 1 bonus entry.

3.  Follow @eTreasurespub on Twitter = 1 bonus entry.

4.  Subscribe to eTreasures Publishing blog = 5 bonus entries.

MORE WAYS TO ENTER

5.  Post about the giveaway on your Blog or FB between October 8 and December 5 announcing the giveaway earns 10 Bonus entries (limited to one per blog/fb site).

Use the button from the sidebar or the badge above with this link:  http://etreasurespublishing.blogspot.com/2010/10/etreasures-2010-holiday-kindle-giveaway.html

6.  Post the Giveaway on your Blog or FB sidebar before November 15 and keep it there through December 14 earns 15 Bonus entries (limited to one per blog/fb site).

Use the button from the sidebar or the badge above with this link:  http://etreasurespublishing.blogspot.com/2010/10/etreasures-2010-holiday-kindle-giveaway.html

7.  Every Tweet announcement earns 2 Bonus entries (limited to one per week with a new week starting on Mondays; total available 10 weeks x 2 = 20 possible points).
Tweet: @etreasurespub 2010 Holiday Kindle Giveaway: http://bit.ly/c4hWeD #kindle #eTreasures

8.  Every $5.00 purchase at the eTreasures Bookstore from September 13 through December 14 earns 10 Bonus entries.

9.  Every Review linked to a book at the eTreasures Bookstore from October 8 through December 14 earns 30 Bonus entries.

Send proof of Bonus entries here: webmaster@etreasurespublishing.com with subject “Holiday Kindle Bonus Entries”.

We hope to make someone’s holiday that much brighter through the gift of a reader and the treasure of good books to read!

PLUS TWO RUNNER UP PACKAGES:

All entrants who have more than 75 points (other than the Kindle Winner) will be entered to win a Prize package consisting of
•    A Jensmere hook bookmark
•    A choice of a Jensmere hand made bracelet or an 8BG USB thumb drive
•    A choice of eTreasures  print book
•    A choice of an eTreaures print book

Kindle Shipping Details - International Entries
We already have the Kindle so we will ship it wherever shipping can go for a cost of $20.00 or less. If the winner is willing to pay any extra shipping cost then they may enter to win.  For example - the weight is 1 lb 4 oz.; to ship to Australia by first class mail the calculation says $12.48 so we would pay shipping. To ship it to Australia by medium flat rate box the cost is $41.28. The winner would have to pay $20.28 for the extra shipping and there would be room in the box for us to add some extra goodies!

Blogmania Gift Packages Going Out to Winners!!

The Blogmania winners all confirmed and gifts are on there way as follows: 

To International winner Frances:

1. Crochet Book bag with coupon for bookmark from author Patricia Bates

2. Music CD Songs of the Sea from Anne Marie
3. Ocean Treasure hook Bookmark from LullaJewelry
4. Mermaid Music Tags from Darkling Treasures

5. Traveler's Treasure Trove necklace from Sora Designs

6.  Amazon Gift card $20.00

To US Winner Joan:

1.  Canvas Book bag with Gift for the Goddess cover from author Carol North 

2.  Ex Libris Book stamp from Amazing Arts

3.  Ocean Treasure metal Bookhookk from LullaJewelry

4.  Mermaid Music Tags from Darkling Treasures

5.  Pirates of the Caribbean metal Bookhook from Angie's Store

6.  I [heart] Books metal bookmark from Juliethefish Designs

7.  Amazon Gift Certificate $20.00

I received the two Kindles I ordered last week and I will be mailing one Kindle to Sarah on Monday.

By October 1st we will post the giveaway for the 2nd Kindle.

We have posts coming soon on coming soon and new book releases.
Backlist authors will be contributing blog posts too so I hope you will follow along.
Thanks!
Martha

Winners of Blogmania Event!!

CONGRATULATIONS WINNERS!

USA/CANADIAN $100.00 Package winner:   JOAN

INTERNATIONAL $100.00 Package winner:  FRANCES

KINDLE winner:  SARAH B.

The winners have been emailed and have 48 hours to confirm the win or an alternate winner will be picked.
Thank you to everyone who entered.  And specials thanks for those who subscribed or followed in one media or another.  There will be another Kindle Giveaway coming up so stay tuned for details.  Also we still have some other nice items that will be given away along with chances to win books over the next few months.  

We hope you will watch for posts of our new releases and posts from our backlist authors too.

A really BIG THANK YOU TO our Sponsors! Please check out their sites and say thanks.

Before I close out on this event I want to say one more Big THANK YOU to:

The Blogmania Hosts

Lynda @ Between the Pages – The founder of Blogmania.
Gina @ Parker PR Online – Gina worked tirelessly on Blogmania. She was always responsive whenever I contacted her for help or questions.
Bree @ Bree Bree’s Thinking Outside of the Box - Bree stepped up to help make things run smoothly and helped promo so that the entire blogosphere knew about Blogmania.

If you would like to participate in the Blogmania event next year, check out the registration information. 

Still Calculating Entries for Blogmania Giveaway!

Whew -my goodness!  I didn't realize how involved getting to the winners would be. I have 34 double sided pages of entries I am going through to verify no duplicates, verifying points and adding extra points. I am about half way done and so far there are 962 entries for the US/Canadian Giveaway, 200 for the International and 1188 for the Kindle.  So I don't expect to be completed until later tonight.
I will return to numbering the entries after I do my Sunday Words post at MBS.
Thank you all for your patience and understanding.

 

Thanks to Justmommies for the 

counting worksheet image.

WELCOME TO BLOGMANIA! A Treasure Chest for Readers!

It is BLOGMANIA TIME! WOW! So many gorgeous prizes.  I have listed the sponsors and their gift items below. A full post for each sponsor and the gift prize can be seen at this link. 

This is blog #54 out of 169 Blogs!

I started quick and easy until I got to the Kindle and added bonuses. THE TOTAL VALUE OF THESE PACKAGES EXCEEDS $339.00

Three Prize Packages:

*A* US/Canadian package of Sponsor gift items and an Amazon gift card of $20.00 for a value of at least $100.00

  Julie has offered a hand stamped I (heart) Books metal bookmark.

Anne Marie at Seaglassin is giving a lovely Music CD Songs of the Sea

Amazing Arts is providing a personalized
A BOOK IS A TREASURE Ex Libris Bookplate stamp!

 Emily at Darkling Treasures is donating TWO sets of original handmade Mermaid Music Tags

 lullajewelry has offered two gorgeous Ocean Treasures bookmarks 

just perfect for our Treasure Chests.

Angie's Store is gifting a silver plated metal Pirates of the Caribbean inspired, large bookmark.

Sora is providing a beautiful Traveler's Treasure Trove Necklace

Author Carol North has provided a wonderful tote bag with the cover of her newly released novella, Gifts for the Goddess.

Author Patricia Bates who is an editor and promotions assistant for eTreasures has created a hand crocheted book bag especially for this event.

*B* International package of Sponsor gift items and credit of $20.00 at Book Depository (or equivalent Gift card) for a value of at least $100.00. (This is only for international entries, not US/Canadian.)

*C* One Grand Prize - A Kindle Wireless Device! 

This is open to everyone where it can be shipped.

Bonus entries for the Kindle:
+1 Follow as GFC
+1 Follow on Twitter
+1 Friend on Facebook
+3 Subscribe to eTreasures posts.
+2 for tweeting - one credit per day
+5 for posting about the contest
+25 for making a purchase at eTreasures Bookstore.
+25 for making a purchase at any sponsor site and sending proof of receipt to martha@etreasurespublishing.com
If you have completed the form but then decide to add bonuses you may add them in the comment section and I will factor them in but you must ENTER WITH THIS FORM

The giveaway ends 11:59PM EST on September 16, 2010.
Winners will be chosen using Random.org and will be chosen by September 18th, 2010. Winners will have 48 hours to respond to initial contact or a new winner will be selected.

NOW GO OUT AND HAVE FUN!

 Here are the other blogmania sites to visit for more great prizes!  If you would like an excel or Word tracking form I have one available if you email me at Martha@etreasurespublishing.com. I will try to post it but I just haven't figured out how to link it yet.

1.	A Design Diva with Interior Motives (US/CAN)	2.	A Dash of Nutmeg (US)
3.	A Few of My Favorite Things (US/CAN)	4.	A Gluten Free Journey (US)
5.	a {mod cot} life (US)	6.	A Mom After God's Own Heart (US) (US/CAN)
7.	A Mom's Take (INT)	8.	A Writer's Mind (INT)
9.	Adelle Laudan - Author (US/CAN) (INT)	10.	Alexia's Books and Such (US)
11.	Alice Audrey, Author (US) (INT)	12.	Amundsen House of Chaos (US)
13.	And Then There Were 4 (US/CAN)	14.	Andy Mathis (INT)
15.	Aubut Family (US/CAN)	16.	Being Tazim (INT)
17.	Believing is Seeing (US/CAN)	18.	Between The Lines (US) (INT)
19.	Between The Pages (US/CAN)	20.	Bitten by Books (where amazon will ship)
21.	Book Obsessed (US)	22.	Book Sake (US)
23.	Book Whore (US)	24.	Books and Things (US)
25.	Books R Us (US/CAN) - possible (INT) ?	26.	Bookworming in the 21st Century (US)
27.	Bree Bee's Thinking Outside of the Box (US) (INT)	28.	Bright Morning Star (INT)
29.	Broken Teepee (INT)	30.	Busy Moms Tips (US)
31.	Busy-at-Home (US)	32.	CalleLillyCafe (INT)
33.	Cheeky Reads (US/CAN)	34.	Children Teaching Mama (US/CAN)
35.	Chronicles From The Crib (US/CAN)	36.	Chubby Cheeks Thinks (US)
37.	Colorcrazed (INT)	38.	Coupons Are Great (US)
39.	Crazy Cat Lady's Library (US)	40.	Crazy House (US)
41.	Curling Up By The Fire (INT)	42.	Dark Faerie Tales (INT)
43.	dBeauty Junkie (INT)	44.	Deanna's Tidbits (INT)
45.	Debbie Sews Retro (INT)	46.	DebsHere (US)
47.	DemonLover's Book Review (US/CAN)	48.	Designs By Dawn Marie (INT)
49.	DK'S Book Reviews (US/CAN)	50.	Dolly Outfitters (US)
51.	Earl's Daughter (US)	52.	Ellz Readz (INT)
53.	Enjoy Life, Enjoy Now (US)	54.	eTreasures Publishing (US/CAN) (INT)
55.	Evoluchun's Misc (US)	56.	Extreme Personal Measures (US)
57.	Fab Find Foodie (US)	58.	Family and Life in Las Vegas (US) (US/CAN)
59.	Fang-tastic Books (US)	60.	Farber Family Adventures (US/CAN)
61.	Florida Frugal Family (US)	62.	Forever and After (US/CAN)
63.	Freebie Spot (US)	64.	Happy Birthday Author (US/CAN)
65.	Health, Beauty, Children and Family (US)	66.	Home Grown Families (INT)
67.	Hookless Shower Curtains (US)	68.	Hope. Dreams. Life…Love
69.	I'm a Lazy Mom (US/CAN)	70.	Inspired by Fiction (US/CAN)
71.	Jeannie Ruesch's Happy Endings (US/CAN)	72.	Jennifer's Musings (US/CAN)
73.	Just My Blog (US)	74.	LB and J (US)
75.	Leksi Designs…This Handmade Life (US/CAN)	76.	Let's Just Give It Away (US)
77.	Life with 5 monkies (US)	78.	Lipstick and Luxury (US/CAN)
79.	Literaturely Speaking (US/CAN)	80.	Little Yayas (US) (US/CAN)
81.	Live Love Laugh with Leslie (US)	82.	Love With A touch of Magic (US)
83.	Lovin' & Livin' Life Reviews (US)	84.	Lovin' Life on Less (US)
85.	Loving My Life (US)	86.	Kelly's Lucky You (US/CAN)
87.	Luxury Reading (US)	88.	Making Time For Mommy (US)
89.	Mama B (US/CAN)	90.	Marvelous Mommy (US/CAN)
91.	MI Savings (US/CAN)	92.	MelissaStuff (US)
93.	Mia Ma Miah's Diaries (US/CAN)	94.	Midwestern Gone Idahoan (US)
95.	j is for joseph.com (US)	96.	Emmy's Boos and Rawrs (US)
97.	Mom to Bed by 8 (US/CAN)	98.	Momma Maven in the Making (US)
99.	Momma Told Me (US/CAN)	100.	Mommy Has to Work (US)
101.	Mommy's Free Time (US/CAN)	102.	Mommy's Minute (US/CAN)
103.	Mother of Pearl It Is (US/CAN)	104.	my favorite PINK (US)
105.	My Life As Grandma (INT)	106.	My Life with Rats and More (INT)
107.	My Silly Monkeys (US/CAN)	108.	Night Owl Crafting (US)
109.	Nine More Months	110.	Nomie Eco Ware (INT)
111.	Not-Really-Southern Vamp Chick	112.	Of Ink and Quille (US/CAN)
113.	Paranormal Bites (US/CAN)	114.	Past The Print (INT)
115.	Proud Book Nerd (INT)	116.	Que's Ramblings (US)
117.	Reading At The Beach (US)	118.	Reading Teen (INT)
119.	Reading, Writing and Waiting (US)	120.	Reflections with Coffee (US)
121.	Review Retreat (INT)	122.	Reviews and Giveaways by The Chickenista
123.	Rex Robot Reviews (US/CAN)	124.	Rockin' Deals (US)
125.	Sandra K. Marshall	126.	Sarah's Blog of Fun (INT)
127.	Save the Date for Cupcakes (INT)	128.	Saving Obsession (US)
129.	See It! Love It! Win It! (US)	130.	Seize the Book (US)
131.	Shelley's Swag (US)	132.	SidewaysGravity (INT)
133.	Simply Living on a Budget (US)	134.	Simply Stacie (INT)
135.	Skhye's Ramblings (US)	136.	Stanwood PlaySchool (US/CAN)
137.	Still Blonde after all these YEARS (US)	138.	Stretching the One Income Dollar (US/CAN)
139.	Studio Chic Design (INT)	140.	Survey Junkie (US)
141.	Sweet Mint Studios (US/CAN)	142.	Sweethearts (US)
143.	Tammy's Book Parlor (US/CAN)	144.	Texas Monkey (US/CAN)
145.	The Clever Mommy Chronicles (US/CAN)	146.	The Coupon Goddess (US)
147.	The Freebie Junkie (US/CAN)	148.	The Girl is A Mom (US/CAN)
149.	The Missionary Mama (US/CAN)	150.	The Mommy Diaries (US/CAN)
151.	The Organizing Genie (US)	152.	The Susquehanna Writers (US/CAN)
153.	The Sweetest Romance Authors (US/CAN)	154.	The Thrifty Things (US)
155.	The Two Savvy Sisters (US)	156.	The Very Best Housewife (US/CAN)
157.	This Mama Loves Her Bargains (US)	158.	Toddler Awesome (INT)
159.	Trees Will Bend (US/CAN)	160.	Tribute Books Reviews & Giveaways (US)
161.	Truth Be Told (US) (INT)	162.	Upstate Ramblings (US) (INT)
163.	Village of Moms (US)	164.	Women's Life Link (INT)
165.	WordVessel (US)	166.	Writing is a Blessing
167.	Yellow Tennesse (US)	168.	Tim and Angi's Family Blog (US/CAN) (US)
169.	Today's Adventure (US/CAN)

Blogmania Sponsor: Author Carol North

We have another Blogmania gift from one of eTreasures' own authors, Carol North. Carol is donating a wonderful tote bag with the cover of her soon to be released novella, Gifts for the Goddess.  I have one of the totes with another of Carol's covers. I love the tote which is so handy to carry books to and from my office!

Gift Value $16.00 plus shipping (US or Canada)

Stay posted for more news on Gifts for the Goddess which is being released this month!

Learn more about Carol and her books at:
Escape Into a Story by Bestselling Author Carol North


View Carol's trailers:  http://YouTube.com/user/caroljnorth

Check Out Our Updated Blog Design!

I want to thank Mary at Mary, Mary Quite Contrary Design Shop for our fresh Blog design. Mary was easy to work with and very prompt. I filled out a form with items I wanted, she made a mock up and then worked with me to change the details as I requested.

I also have to thank Stacey at Simply Stacey and Kelly at Kelly's Lucky You because I won Mary's services at the blog design giveaways held by Stacey and Kelly.

Blogmania Sponsor: Jensmere Design

Jensmere at Count it All Joy has made two lovely hook bookmarks especially for Blogmania.

Gift Value $14.00

Jensmere also made these purse or key charms and the eyeglass chains  especially for eTreausres' gifts.

Blogmania Sponsor: Soradesigns!

This is another beautiful gift donated by Sora Designs

Isn't this a treasure!

Traveler's Treasure Trove Necklace

Gift Value: $35.50 plus shipping

See other lovely items at Sora Designs here: http://www.soradesigns.etsy.com/

and facebook: www.facebook.com/soradesigns

Blogmania Sponsor: Angie's Store

Here is another awesome bookmark gift from Angie's Store.

This is a silver plated metal Pirates of the Caribbean inspired, large bookmark. The bookmark itself measures 4 3/4 inches long and the charm chain is just over 4 inches long. It includes the following charms: one smiling skull in an elaborate frame, one parrot, one brass barrel, one skull key, one treasure chest, one ship, and one treasure map.

Legal Disclaimer: This is not authorized Pirates of the Caribbean bracelet from the books. Credit is given to the authors for any references to characters, events or quotes from the Pirates of the Caribbean series. I make no connections or associations between my work and Walt Disney Pictures property. I do not own nor claim license to the books, movies adaptation or any associated trademarks. No copyright infringements intellectual or otherwise intended. All pictures and designs © copy right of Ang549, Angie‘s Store.

Gift Value: $24.00 plus shipping

Visit Angie's Store to see other theme inspired art, including Harry Potter and Twilight.

Also, all you Hunger Game fans check out Angie's new Hunger Game inspired items!

Blogmania Sponsor: lullajewlery

Here is another beautiful prize from a Blogmania Sponsor:  lullajewelry

lullajewelry has offered two gorgeous Ocean Treasures bookmarks just perfect for our Treasure Chests.

One will go to each of the packages - US/Canada and International!

Total Gift value $18.00 plus shipping.

Visit Lulla Jewelry at her estsy shop
or her blog to check out more art and other media links. 

Blogmania Sponsor: Darkling Treasures Art & Creations

A Big Thank you to Emily White at Darkling Treasures for being another Blogmania sponsor.

Emily is donating TWO sets of original handmade Mermaid Music Tags -5 per set.  This will allow one set for US/Canada and one set for International!  These are really unique and lovely looking!

Total Gift Value: $11.00 plus shipping

If you like mermaids, fairies and dragons check out other selections by visiting Emily and her unique art work and gifts at:

Website:
http://www.darklingtreasures.com

Etsy:
http://darklingemily.etsy.com/

Blogmania Sponsor: Amazing Arts!

 Stacey at Amazing Arts is contributing a great book plate stamp as a Blogmania Sponsor!

This gift is a personalized A BOOK IS A TREASURE Ex Libris Bookplate stamp! Just picture your name there!

Gift Value: $15.50 plus shipping.

If you like rubberstamps, check them out at http://www.amazingarts.biz/

You can also find Amazing Arts at:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rockford-IL/Amazing-Arts/35036105544

Twitter @maidenearth
On Etsy!!  AsspocketProductions.etsy.com

On YouTube too! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNoRVPS-vHQ

Blogmania Sponsor: Seaglassin

Thank you to another Blogmania Sponsor, Anne Marie at Seaglassin.

Seaglassin is giving a lovely Music CD Songs of the Sea by Anne Marie.

Gift Value $12.00 plus shipping.

Visit Seaglassin at these links and see their beautiful jewelry! 
www.seaglassin.com
www.seaglassin.etsy.com
seaglasstreasures.blogspot.com

http://twitter.com/seaglassin
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Sea-Glass-Treasures/311371930215

Blogmania Sponsor: juliethefish designs!

http://www.juliethefish.etsy.com

Julie has offered a hand stamped I (heart) Books metal bookmark.

Gift value: $10.00 plus shipping.

Visit juliethefish designs here!  Check out her link for Dads, Grads and Teachers.

Blogmania Event: Treasure Chests for Readers!

We are excited here at eTreasures Publishing to be part of BLOGMANIA on September 15 & 16!!! Yes, you read right....BLOGMANIA is going to be TWO (2) DAYS this time!!!! The event is going to be bigger and better, with up to 175 blogs involved all with prizes exceeding $100.00 in values.

Currently there are over 115 wonderful blogs confirmed!!! One blog has prizes totaling $1000.00!
Each blog is going to have some FANTASTIC giveaways, allowing you, our devoted readers, the chance to win some wonderful items, from jewelery, to books, to toys, to gift certificates and more!!!

The prizes here at eTreasures will consist of gift certificates, books, and ebooks.  Additionally, we are pleased to have several sponsers adding some lovely prizes to our Treasure Chests!
We will have a major US/Canada prize and a major International Prize each with a value of $75.00.
There will be two runner up US/Canada prizes and two runner up International Prizes all for of a value of $25.00 each.  There may be additional prizes as well with that news to be announced as we get closer to the event!

We will be posting pictures of the wonderful gifts and links to our sponsers.  We encourage you to visit the sponsor sites to show your appreciation of their support.  There will also be a list of the sponsors posted in the sidebar until the event.   Get ready for a great event!

Ordering eTreasure Books!

We have gotten the backlist inventory of eTreasure Publishing books set up in our new Bookstore. Unfortunately the template is having technical difficulties so that the cart is adding the ebook and print book prices when a book is added to the cart.  We are working on getting this fixed and I will announce when it is resolved.  Until that time the books are available at Amazon.  They will also soon be available at CoffeeTime Romance and Fictionwise.

HOWEVER because of the split of profits to the distributor the authors get a very small amount when books are purchased through distributors.  Accordingly, we encourage you to purchase ebooks or print directly through the publisher. Until the Bookstore cart is fixed, you can send your order request to: publisher@etreasurespublishing.com

We will confirm your purchase order WITH A 10% DISCOUNT for ebook or print purchases. Also we will calculate shipping charges and payment can be directed through paypal.  We apologize for the current inconvenience and appreciate  your patience!

Our Links and Friends

With all that's been happening this year, eTreasures has spread its wings in a big way. Following is a list of places you can check us out - drop us a line, or just see whats new and exciting in our world.

Of course here on our blog: http://etreasurespublishing.blogspot.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/etreasurespub

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/people/Patricia-Bates/100000741757540

LiveJournal: http://etreasurespub.livejournal.com/

And our brand new forum: http://www.etp-treasureschest.com/


Coming up starting May 15, 2010 we will be offering Free to everyone, a web based seminar entitled Is it Romance or Fiction with a Romantic Element.

eTreasures Publishing Writer's Seminar

Is it Romance or Fiction with a Romantic Element?


OVERVIEW

During the next three days, we hope to clarify the differences between writing Romance and writing Fiction with a romantic element.

This will include:

The key points of a romance novel

*What part characters play in the storyline

*The conflicts that affect the protaganists

*Goals/Motivations of the characters

*How the romance is the basic plot of the novel(novella). Its an intigral part of the novel, without it there would be no story to reveal to your readers.


The key Points of a work of Fiction

*How Good vs Evil is the prime motivating factor of the story

*The romance story-line is secondary and has no real affect on the story, in fact it could be left out and the story would still flow forward.

*The growth of the protaganist is based not on a Happily Ever After with their partner - but rather defeating the obsticles and conflicts that are thrown in his/her way throughout the story. IE: Lord of the Rings - the romance between Aragorn and Arwin is secondary - it enhances the story but doesn't control it.

Website Statistics - Track Your Success

Track Your Success

Copyright 2010 © by Carol North

The conventional wisdom says writers should have hosted domains for their web sites, rather than freebees attached to services, such as Google. They say it's more "professional.' That's not half the benefit of a hosted domain. The big deal is the availability of sophisticated web statistics, which can track the number and type of visitors and the success of your advertising efforts.

Visitors

During the current month 599 unique (new) visitors accessed this web site. The total of all visits is 961, which means 362 people are return visitors to the site. That's the best news. Something is keeping them coming back, perhaps an ongoing contest.

Pages 

The pages category shows you how many "hits" per page, and which are your most popular pages. The listing showing only a backslash "/" is the site's home page. It was visited 679 times, was the entry point to the site 536 times, and was the exit point 441 times. According to the total of the Viewed column, there was a lot of navigation to the other pages between entry and exit.

The total of the Entry column is 961, which is also the total number of visits to the site. Same for the Exit column.

Let's analyze  the books.htm page. It shows 162 entry points and 194 exit points. This is good news. It means 162 visitors specifically came to the site to view the site owner's books. They came either through direct entry of the URL into their browsers, clicking an external link, or because the site is in their favorites list. In addition, 32 visitors entered the site via a different page and took the time to visit the books page before exiting.

The viewed column registers 2008 visits to all the pages. There were 961 total visits to the site so each visitor viewed an average of 2.1 pages. The stats category shows the number of times the system updated the statistics log.

Browsers

The stats here alert you to the types of browsers used by visitors to your web site. The practical purpose is to install the top three or four browsers on your computer, then test and adjust your web pages to display properly on each of the browsers. In this way you can ensure the visitors to your site have a satisfying experience and don't, for example, see text on top of text.

Links

The Links category is where you track the success of  advertising campaigns and see where many of your visitors are coming from. It does not count entries to your web site via search engines.

The graphic shows three of the site owner's advertising efforts:

    * IWOFA Spring Contest
    * Bitten By Books listing in the contests section
    * Fallen Angel Reviews Author Page

The Full list contains details of other efforts.

Summary

These are only a few of the benefits of having a hosted domain with sophisticated web statistics. Before deciding on a domain hosting service, ask to see an example of the web stats provided free by the service. Some services charge separately for the type of stats shown in the example. Luckily, mine doesn't.

Hooks aren’t just for fishing

“Get that goddamned freak out of here!” In Darkness Reborn by Alexis Morgan

William jolted awake as an orgasm rolled through him. The Irish Devil by Diane Whiteside

I stiffened at the red and blue lights flashing behind me, because there was no way I could explain what was in the back of my truck. Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

Three different books, three different writers and yet everyone of them set their hook in me in the first sentence. I had to continue reading to find out what happened next. As a writer that’s your job, what your publisher expects from you: to set your hook and play that reader until they finish the book.

So how do you do it? Every author has a theory or method to do it. One of the best quotes I’ve heard – and unfortunately, I don’t know who to thank for it. “Enter the scene later than you think you should and leave before you think you should.”

Too many new authors spend the first chapter or two giving the backstory. I think of it as the story is a tree. The trunk (main plot), limbs and leaves (Character’s and subplot) are what the reader sees. But as the author you see the roots. Where the character was before page one. What shaped their lives and led them to the point they are in that first sentence.

An opening chapter has ten components:
1. Inciting Incident
2. Story worthy problem
3. Initial surface problem
4. Setup
5. Backstory
6. A stellar opening sentence
7. Language
8. Character
9. Setting
10. Foreshadowing

The first three are primary considerations. If you don’t have a story worthy problem why should a reader invest the hours to read your book? Inciting incident, something has to get the ball moving. Initial surface problem maybe it’s the heroine needs the hero to come with her or fix her tire or the list is endless.

Wait, back-story is number 4 and I said back-story is bad or did I? Back-story in and of itself isn’t bad but it needs to be given in small bites. You don’t shove an entire hamburger into your mouth you take bites of it and that’s how you need to handle backstory. A smidge here, a dash there and by the end of the book your reader knows the characters. Les Edgerton says it best - “The single biggest fault of most writers is that they don’t trust the reader’s intelligence to “get” what’s going on without providing lengthy backstory.” Trust your readers! They will reward you with loyalty.

Each chapter has a hook too. Don’t put your character nicely in bed at the end of a chapter. Your reader will nod, yawn, close the book and go to sleep. Think of the last book you read that you couldn’t put down. Now go get it. Look at the end of the chapter. See the little cliffhanger? That’s what you need to do.

Now since I always like to leave you with resources:


Hooked: writing fiction that grabs the readers at page one and never lets them go by Les Edgerton