Blog | laurelarockefeller

Jan 17, 2017
4 min

Language switching and “Empress Matilda of England”

As Matilda prayed King Henry quietly slipped into the chapel, “You are still in mourning, Matilda.” Matilda turned to him and bowed her head respectfully, “Mein König!” “You are not empress and this is not Germany.” “Ja, mein König.” “Stop calling me that and speak English, Matilda,” growled King Henry sternly. “Pourquoi?” “Parce que je suis le roi d’Angleterre et vous êtes ma fille!” “Oui, sa est ta fille, Henri,” confirmed Queen Adeliza as she strode out from behind one of

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Babelcube beware: what authors need to know before signing a Babelcube contract

Laurel A. Rockefeller

Jun 30, 2016
4 min

Babelcube beware: what authors need to know before signing a Babelcube contract

The German edition of Boudicca was beautifully translated by Christina Loew. Thanks to frequent communication and Ms. Loew’s professionalism, the translation process was smooth and easy — exactly what most authors are looking for when joining Babelcube. If you subscribe to this blog you know that in 2016 I took my books deeper into the global market. After an exasperating fore into the Chinese market via Fiberead, I had high hopes for Babelcube, a platform for translation th

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Laurel A. Rockefeller

May 25, 2016
1 min

Meet Boudicca in new youtube videos.

Since 2014 Boudicca, Britain’s Queen of the Iceni has informed and inspired you in digital, paperback, and audio editions. First in English, then in Chinese, and this spring in Italian, Spanish, Welsh, and Welsh-English editions with French and German language editions releasing on or about Labour Day weekend. Just for fun here are three brand new videos (all of them created in May 2016) celebrating this new global approach to biographical history. Can you name what languag

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In Her Own Tongue: “Buddug” Brings Boudicca’s Story To Wales | NFReads.com

Going Global: A Look at Translation Options for Independent Authors

Laurel A. Rockefeller

Apr 18, 2016
5 min

Going Global: A Look at Translation Options for Independent Authors

One of the best pieces of advice I ever received as an author was to publish as many books in as many places as possible and to sell on as many websites as possible. The writing profession is a numbers game. To win it (meaning making a living as a writer) you need to be where the customers are and sell what they want to read. You cannot achieve it with a single kindle book sold exclusively on Amazon. It won’t happen — or perhaps it could but your chances of winning the lo

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Why some book series should be read in the order written

Laurel A. Rockefeller

May 19, 2015
2 min

Why some book series should be read in the order written

Good-bye A672E92 Quintus is chronologically the first book in the Peers of Beinan Series. However it was actually written FOURTH of the six books. I love a great book series. From the JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings to Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Avalon Series, I find it satisfying to stay within the same world, getting to know characters, places, and events intimately. It’s one reason why serialized fiction is so popular and entertaining. Like both my aforementioned literary m

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Laurel A. Rockefeller

Feb 27, 2015
2 min

No Excuses: One Star Reviews on Ebooks

Indeed, critical reviews help authors by offering substance, feedback, and credibility. No author with more than five or six reviews has a perfect five star average; someone will always find something imperfect about your work. This is how it should be. Your work should receive a mix of reviews. With one exception: the one star review. If you like a book before you buy it, odds are good you will still like something about the book after you read it. Yes, there are plenty

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Laurel A. Rockefeller

Feb 16, 2015
2 min

Reblog: An Active Author Brand

Today’s book marketing post comes from Richard Ridley of Createspace. ————————————– If I had to describe the key to succeeding in indie publishing in one word, that word would be “active.” For a profession that involves a great deal of sedentary activities, those who rest on their laurels find it very difficult to sell books on a consistent basis. You have to keep moving in order to grow your author brand. Here are the three crucial areas where you should concentrate most of

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Top Four Independent Author Mistakes Certain to Drive Away Readers, Potential Reviewers

Laurel A. Rockefeller

Jan 27, 2015
3 min

Top Four Independent Author Mistakes Certain to Drive Away Readers, Potential Reviewers

Here are the top four mistakes I see independent authors making that are absolutely certain to drive away potential readers. #1 Mentioning you checked spelling and grammar in your book description or on social media. I am genuinely shocked at the number of times “authors” tout this as a reason to buy their book. It takes MINUTES to run spell check in a word processing program. You do not get a gold star or a pat on the head for doing this. Adults are expected to do this.

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Authors: this form is not rocket science

Laurel A. Rockefeller

Jan 21, 2015
2 min

Authors: this form is not rocket science

Keywords: marketing, self-publishing, blogging It is three in the morning eastern standard time. Really truly I thought I would be back in bed like a civilized lass by now. But I am taking out a few minutes in the middle of the early morning because I am utterly baffled on something when it comes to my sister and fellow authors: why can so few of you follow kindergarten level instructions? If you follow this blog you know that on Thursdays I run a character profile column

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Laurel A. Rockefeller

Jan 19, 2015
2 min

Why I said goodbye to large print

Gone forever: the large print edition of Ghosts of the Past goes out of print in favour of a larger text regular paperback edition. Ever since I first published the original edition of The Great Succession Crisis, there has always been a large print edition for my books. It is something I believe in as a low vision author, an accessible resource making reading easier. Sadly, large print remains the dark child of the publishing industry. Retailer websites bury large print ed

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Reblog: 5 New Years Resolutions for Authors

Laurel A. Rockefeller

Dec 31, 2014
5 min

Reblog: 5 New Years Resolutions for Authors

Here is another gem from Book Marketing Tools. I do not agree with everything in this blog post, especially this idea that you can and should try to do all/most of this EVERYDAY. I find focus is very important to my writing and my productivity; do things ONE at a time or you will burn out trying to be everything at once. Here is that post in full: 5 New Years Resolutions for Authors Happy New Year! A new year causes us to look back at the previous year and see all that we h

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Reblog: What Are the REAL Odds of Being a Successful Author?

Laurel A. Rockefeller

Dec 24, 2014
6 min

Reblog: What Are the REAL Odds of Being a Successful Author?

Okay, you have your new year’s resolution all set! Now you are ready to go make a splash professionally. Before you look at site statistics and let yourself feel overwhelmed, please take a look at what Kristen Lamb has to say about the odds of your success and how much control you really have over it. I do not agree with everything in this article, but it is certainly worth thinking about. What Are the REAL Odds of Being a Successful Author? didn’t even consider becoming a

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Reblog: 7 Point-of-View Basics Every Writer Should Know

Laurel A. Rockefeller

Nov 2, 2014
4 min

Reblog: 7 Point-of-View Basics Every Writer Should Know

This article reposted from BookDaily.com explores the subject of point of view in writing. —————————- Boudicca: Britain’s Queen of the Iceni takes a Celtic-British point of view. In writing lingo we refer to point-of-view (POV) as the character through whom we tell the story. We get into the head of a particular character and see the story through her eyes. Sometimes we have one POV through the whole story. Other times we have multiple POVs. Recently while reading a book, I b

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Laurel A. Rockefeller

Oct 10, 2014
5 min

Repost: Why Networking Is a Dirty Word

Another very useful blog post from Stage 32. Today’s is called Why Networking Is a Dirty Word. ——————————————— Today’s blog marks the return of one of my favorite people on the planet, Julie Gray. The author of Just Effing Entertain Me: A Screenwriter’s Atlas, Julie Gray is a script consultant and writer living in Tel Aviv, Israel. A Huffington Post and Script Magazine contributor, Julie is a favorite speaker at the London Screenwriter’s Festival and has taught story at Warn

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Laurel A. Rockefeller

Oct 3, 2014
2 min

Reblog: What Authors Can Learn From American Idol, Dancing With The Stars, And The Voice

I received this fantastic piece of advice from Marla Madison on BookDaily.com and just had to share it with you: What Authors Can Learn From American Idol, Dancing With The Stars, And The Voice Does the best singer win American Idol or the Voice? Is the most accomplished dancer the winner of the Mirror Ball Trophy on Dancing With the stars? Anyone who is a regular viewer of talent reality shows knows this uncontestable fact: the most talented doesn’t always win. In fact, the

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Reblog: Five Ways to Write Characters People Care About

Laurel A. Rockefeller

May 15, 2014
2 min

Reblog: Five Ways to Write Characters People Care About

The following is re-blogged from http://writersrelief.com/blog/2014/05/write-characters-people-care-about/ Princess Anyu from Laurel A. Rockefeller’s Peers of Beinan series “In a previous article, we explored five ways to make your characters more three-dimensional. Once your characters are believable as living, breathing individuals, the next step is to make readers care about them. When readers are invested in the characters’ struggles and personal stories, they are much mo

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Throwback Thursday: Evolution of Great Succession Crisis cover art

Laurel A. Rockefeller

Apr 10, 2014
1 min

Throwback Thursday: Evolution of Great Succession Crisis cover art

It’s Thursday. You know what that means: time to flash back to the past and see where we’ve been. For the next three Thursdays, we will look at the evolution of cover art in The Peers of Beinan Series, visually exploring how the book covers have changed since the series launch in August, 2012. Cover art for The Great Succession Crisis, 1st edition paperback as published in September, 2012. Thanks to constructive criticism from reviewers, this cover art changed for the revi

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Laurel A. Rockefeller Books

Language switching and “Empress Matilda of England”

Babelcube beware: what authors need to know before signing a Babelcube contract

Meet Boudicca in new youtube videos.

In Her Own Tongue: “Buddug” Brings Boudicca’s Story To Wales | NFReads.com

Going Global: A Look at Translation Options for Independent Authors

Why some book series should be read in the order written

No Excuses: One Star Reviews on Ebooks

Reblog: An Active Author Brand

Top Four Independent Author Mistakes Certain to Drive Away Readers, Potential Reviewers

Authors: this form is not rocket science

Why I said goodbye to large print

Reblog: 5 New Years Resolutions for Authors

Reblog: What Are the REAL Odds of Being a Successful Author?

Reblog: 7 Point-of-View Basics Every Writer Should Know

Repost: Why Networking Is a Dirty Word

Reblog: What Authors Can Learn From American Idol, Dancing With The Stars, And The Voice

What Readers Wish Authors Knew

Reblog: Five Ways to Write Characters People Care About

Helpful Online Writing Resources

Throwback Thursday: Evolution of Great Succession Crisis cover art