Mark Leslie Lefebvre

Sink your teeth into the cult classic that inspired Bram Stoker's Dracula. Fear sweeps the countryside as people fall victim to a strange illness. After a peculiar accident, beautiful Mircalla becomes a ward at Laura's family home. Soon, friendship blooms between the mysterious Mircalla and curious Laura. Love is in the air, but so is something deadly. Will Mircalla's secret cost Laura her life? Carmilla, first published in 1872, is one of the first vampire novels ever written, predating Dracula by 26 years. Carmilla, with its themes of vampirism and homosexuality, shocked the standards and stereotypes for women set in the Victorian era. Today, Carmilla is considered the original archetype of female and LGBTQ vampires and Le Fanu's influence is seen throughout vampire fiction.

Sink your teeth into the cult classic that inspired Bram Stoker's Dracula. Fear sweeps the countryside as people fall victim to a strange illness. After a peculiar accident, beautiful Mircalla becomes a ward at Laura's family home. Soon, friendship blooms between the mysterious Mircalla and curious Laura. Love is in the air, but so is something deadly. Will Mircalla's secret cost Laura her life? Carmilla, first published in 1872, is one of the first vampire novels ever written, predating Dracula by 26 years. Carmilla, with its themes of vampirism and homosexuality, shocked the standards and stereotypes for women set in the Victorian era. Today, Carmilla is considered the original archetype of female and LGBTQ vampires and Le Fanu's influence is seen throughout vampire fiction.

Do you avoid thinking about money as a writer?Does the thought of analyzing finances or balancing a budget turn you off?Are you looking for a way to embrace accounting principles to help you make the most of your author earnings? Managing finances can be difficult for anyone, but writers often face unique challenges when it comes to budgeting, calculating production and marketing costs, understanding margin, and forecasting. Whether you are self-publishing, working with publishers, performing freelance writing duties, or any combination, having a solid understanding of basic accounting principals can go a long way to making your writing life easier. This is, after all, your writing business. And, as such, it needs to be treated with the same respect you give to the craft and producing professional work.Chances are you're not actually "bad with money," as you may have always believed. You're more likely just a little overwhelmed or confused about some of the basics when it comes to finances and accounting. And that's where this book comes in. In addition to being a mystery/thriller and contemporary romance author, D.F. Hart holds an MBA with Accounting concentration and has worked in the field of accounting for over twenty-five years. Mark Leslie Lefebvre has worked as a writer and bookseller for thirty years, and as a trusted book industry representative has helped thousands of writers understand the business of being a writer. Together they have created an easy and fun to read guide to help even novice writers no longer fear the financial aspect of writing.

Do you want to be a more relaxed author? Large Print edition There are plenty of books and tips on writing faster, learning more marketing tactics and strategies, trying to maximize your ranking, hitting the top of the charts, juicing the algorithms, and hacking different ad platforms. While these are all important things - which the authors themselves regularly write and talk about - it's also important to recognize that your author journey is a marathon, and not a sprint. Joanna Penn and Mark Leslie Lefebvre have been in the business long enough to see authors burning out and leaving the writing life because they turned what they love into a hamster wheel of ever more production and marketing tasks they hate. It doesn't have to be this way. This Large Print book is a collection of tips on how to be a more relaxed author - and return to the love that brought you to writing in the first place. You will discover: Why the 'relaxed' author?You are not alone. Why authors are not relaxed.Part 1: Relaxed WritingWrite what you loveWrite at your own paceWrite in a series (if you want to)Schedule time to fill the creative well and for rest and relaxationImprove your writing process - but only if it fits with your lifestylePart 2: Relaxed PublishingMake empowered publishing choicesUnderstand persistence, patience, and partnershipValue your work. You create intellectual property assets.Publish at your own pacePublish wide (or don't)Sell direct to your audienceDon't let piracy and plagiarism derail youDeal with cancel culture, bad reviews, and hatersFind a community who support your publishing choicesPart 3: Relaxed MarketingFocus on the basics firstSimplify your author brand and websiteSimplify and automate your emailFind one form of marketing you enjoy and can sustain for the long termPut book 1 in a series free or permafreeChoose social media that suits you - or don't use it at allAdvertise in campaignsOutsource when you canEmbrace who you are. Double down on being human.Think global, digital, long-term marketingPart 4: Relaxed BusinessDo you really want to run an author business?Create multiple streams of incomeEliminate tasks. Say 'no' more.Organize and improve your processesUse toolsFind voices you trust and tune out the restLearn about moneyLook after your physical and mental healthKeep a long-term mindset

There has never been more opportunity, more options, more pathways for writers. But with choice come potential pitfalls, traps, and career-limiting plays. Some of the perils writers might encounter on their writing and publishing journey come from nefarious operators seeking to prey on the hopes and dreams of writers. Other dangers might even come from within, tendencies and traits that authors sometimes overlook; misunderstood information, or potentially even well-intended, but misguided and misinformed advice picked up along the way. This book, which draws upon more than three decades of experience in writing, publishing, and bookselling, explores those pitfalls and hazards that writers should be aware of so they can navigate their own pathway to writing and publishing success.

Any author can get their book listed in an online catalog. But what if you want more? What if you want to rise above the digital masses and be relevant to booksellers and librarians?In today's digital age of publishing, it's easy to get your book listed on major retail and library sites around the world. But what about: Attracting the attention of the curators of these sales channels.Succeeding in getting some of these channels to highlight, spotlight, and promote your book to their customers or patrons.Having a bookstore or library actually order and stock your print book.Being invited to either host or participate in a live event in a bookstore or library.Standing out as a talented and relevant professional or subject matter expert.All of these things take a bit more effort than the average creative person is willing to invest. But that's where you come in; because this type of success is reserved for the truly dedicated author like you.With the right amount of foresight, preparation, effort, and determination, you can rise above the digital slush to a place where you and your book can stand out to exactly the right people.This book walks you through all that you need to know in order to leverage the tools available for successfully working with both bookstores and libraries. It is derived from the author's three decades of experience in the book industry as a writer, an editor, a bookseller, and a publishing industry representative.If you want to leverage insights into the systems and logistics associated with print, eBook and audiobook distribution to retailers and libraries, to maximize your availability in these formats as well as your overall sales and earnings, then this is the book for you.An Author's Guide to Working with Bookstores and Libraries is a no-BS overview of the publishing industry, bookstores and libraries. It outlines the basics of what authors need to know when navigating their way through the complex print, eBook and distribution options available to authors. Whether you are traditionally published or self-published, this book provides guidance and insights to help you maximize your sales, your earnings, and your author brand.

Do you want to increase your overall sales and visibility on Kobo?Are you having trouble gaining any traction or growing your reader base outside the Kindle store?Wouldn't it be empowering not to be dependent upon a single retailer for the majority of your eBook income?If you want to tap into the mind behind the creation of Kobo's world-class self-publishing platform, Kobo Writing Life, to understand both the basics and some of the complexities of the platform, then look no further.Mark Leslie Lefebvre was the Director of Self-Publishing and Author Relations at Kobo for six years. Kobo Writing Life was born out of his own desire as an author to establish an author-centric free publishing platform. Drawing upon insights from his years at Kobo as well as his previous two decades of bookselling, writing and publishing experience, Lefebvre shares the challenges, quirks and tricks that are important for helping you leverage Kobo's strengths to your advantage.In this book you will learn: How to navigate the Kobo Writing Life dashboard as well as Kobo itselfStrategies to optimize your metadata to increase both sales and visibilityThe importance of leveraging Kobo preorders by understanding how they workWays to maximize your margin and global earnings per unit saleProven price optimization techniques that the most successful authors useHow to increase your chance of promotional sales direct at Kobo. . . and more . . .Killing It On Kobo is an in-depth, heart-felt and eye-opening series of insights collected in a single volume to give you full access to information and proven strategies that you can use to maximize your own sales and ultimate success selling through Kobo.

What seven traits do the most successful authors have in common? Which strategic approaches can have the most positive effect on your author career? Where should you focus your energy and effort for maximum results? How do these components work together to help you forge a powerful path through publishing?Join Mark Leslie Lefebvre, who draws upon more than three decades of experience in writing, publishing and bookselling as well as his affinity for alliteration to highlight the importance of and provide examples of how these 7 P's (Practice, Professionalism, Patience, Progression, Persistence, Partnership, Patronage) can guide you on your writing and publishing journey.Regardless of whether your path involves traditional publishing or indie publishing, this book will help you understand the fundamental stepping stones to publishing success.