Help Me Publish One More Year

This is it folks, the end of the line!

I'm really hoping the story worked as a serial release - within the boundaries of me doing it on a fixed timeline, and it being free and all. But now the real fun begins - I want to turn One More Year into a novel. (A series, actually, but this is naturally the first step.) 

So there are ways you can help me do that (as always, some of them are free) but some of you may just be here for the epilogue, so I'll start by letting you know where that is:

Join my mailing list → Get the Epilogue

Simple as that - I want to give another little bonus to the people who liked my work so much that they're sticking with me, so this is what I've decided on. The story still works without it, of course, but if you'd like one last little glimpse of Jay, Louis and the cool kids before you say goodbye (for now), I've got you covered.

It's not quite ready yet - it will be along in a few days, with my newsletter - don't worry, you'll get it this month still.

Additionally, you can get access to the Jay & Marc short story, which functions as a mini-prequel. I'm putting it out in parts, and it should be finished around Feb.

And, of course, the newsletters themselves will contain news (shocking, I know) about what I'm working on next, what I manage to get out there and published, and whatever specials, giveaways or merchandising I decide to do. Fun, right?

So there are many reasons to sign up, and you can do that HERE!

Now, on to what will actually help me publish: Do a thing, win a book!

There are other things that will also help me, most of them also free. (Only two options that involve paying, actually.) And as an added incentive for this help, I will be offering potential prizes/rewards for doing these things - because they're real support, that will translate to real benefits for me in the publishing process. 

As giveaways and/or random prizes, I'll be doing personalised eBooks (One with your name in it, and a little thank you note from me) and signed copies of the paperbacks (which, by their nature, will be personalised - and you get to see my awful handwriting, unless I manage to improve it by the time I send them out.) 

So here are those options:

Answer a Beta Reading Survey → Stand a chance to win a personalised copy of the eBook, for free

The benefit for me: I've gotten a lot of great comments on Literotica and via email already, but having a formalised collection of reader feedback for my revision notes is going to be very helpful. I'll try to make it brief, so it's easy to answer, but the good part is that if you're here, you've already done the hard part - you've read One More Year.

The reward for you: I'll be giving out an indeterminate amount of eBooks for this process. (Deliverable once I've reached the final version of the story.) I'm probably going to restrict it to anyone who at least attempts to answer every question, but eBooks are easy, and I wouldn't expect anyone who's already read my stories to have to buy the next copy out of anything other than a desire to support me, so I thought this will be a nice alternative to paying for it.

You can find that survey HERE!

Sign up for Second-Round Beta Reading (Between Mar & Apr) → Get a personalised eBook and stand a chance to win a signed physical copy

The benefit for me: I'm not entirely sure beta-reading is correct here, because this will also be a mild proof reading. I'll actually be running a competition in this round, where readers hunt for typos and other errors, and win points based on the uniqueness of what they find. More details to follow on that later.

The reward for you: There will be two signed copies up for grabs. The winner of that competition will be getting a signed physical copy of the book, and everyone who participates stands a random chance to win a signed copy (regardless of how they do.) Everyone who does this, though, will get a personalised copy of the eBook.

You can find the application form HERE! (Note: Because this is a few months from now, you don't need to promise you'll be available - fill out the form, and I'll check back with you closer to the time to see whether you can commit to reading a whole novel in the time period.)

Leave a Review on Goodreads → Stand a chance to win a copy of the eBook AND/OR a signed physical copy

The benefit for me: Reviews are what will help me reach a broader audience and sell some books, so if you finished One More Year enjoyed reading it, chances are your review is even more valuable to me than a single sale would be. I'm primarily looking for reviews on Goodreads, but I'll maybe send out an appeal in my mailing list to ask for Amazon reviews later. 

The reward for you: Everyone who's left a review on Goodreads before the release date of the novel (June 13th, btw) will be eligible to win a signed physical copy. I'm debating how many to make available, but budget permitting and based on the number of reviews I get, I'll be making more than one up for grabs. I'll also consider offering personalised eBooks to reviews I find really touching, should they not win. (The process will be randomised.)

I will not be influencing reviews or requiring high ratings, but I do have some guidelines (based around Goodreads processes and respectful behaviour that will be required to qualify for the giveaway), and you can see that all HERE!

Pre-Order the book → Get it when it comes out and stand a chance to win a signed physical copy

The benefit for me: Pre-ordering will move me up in the rankings, so it would be delightful to get some pre-orders early and start climbing so I can sell more books. It's also (should you go through with it) a sale, which will make me feel like I can invest more money into the book before its release. 

Although it's not a guaranteed sale. You can opt out at any time, so do let me know - via email or something - if you're plan on ditching the preorder before release. I won't be mad - the ranking climb will be appreciated, as will the heads up. It'll be $4.99 (US, plus tax in some places) for the moment, but I'll announce any specials or price drops via my mailing list.

The reward for you: Well, you will get the book, delivered to whatever device you read Kindle stuff on, so there is that. But just in case the deal needs sweetening, I will send out a form on release day, and if you've successfully purchased my book by then, you will stand a chance to win a signed copy.

The Pre-Order link is HERE!

Donate to me on BuyMeACoffee.com → Stand a chance to win a copy of the eBook AND a signed physical copy

The benefit for me: I've decided not to go through a publisher for various reasons, but the primary one is that I don't want to get bogged down on this book forever - I'd like to move on, and get more those other stories (and OMY's sequels) out there in the world. So the money would be helpful for all the costs that a publisher would usually front for - cover design, editing/proof-reading and initial marketing. 

I'll be putting up goals on BMAC with details about what exactly you'll be funding, but the point is you will be actively helping me cover the costs I need to make this indie book launch a success.

The reward for you: If you've invested (time or money) into one of the other processes, and are getting a copy of the book anyway, having it come out in a more polished state will be more enjoyable for you. 

But in case that's not enough, I have a bunch of bonus content that I've been dragging my feet on adding to BMAC (and will focus on putting up on there in January) that anyone who donates at least a dollar can access. 

And - of course - anyone who donates $10 (or more) automatically gets a copy of the eBook, and stands a chance to win a signed copy and $20 (or more) might entitle you to a signed copy automatically. (Although I'll still have to do the numbers on that, so that option won't be immediately available.)

My BMAC page is HERE!

If you've done any one of these options, thank you so much. And thank you for reading One More Year in general - I've had such a great time getting it out there, and I'm really so grateful to everyone who's enjoyed it and let me know. 

If you haven't done one of these options, well - reading this entire post was an odd use of your time, wasn't it? 🤣 

But feel free to tell me if there's anything else I should be doing, or to just say hi in the comments! Thanks for joining me in this journey, see you for the next one.