Wednesday, November 16, 2016

This Is For The Lover In You (Short Video Starring Lashuntrice)


"This is for the lover in you 
No, I mean me
My mind’s going crazy 
I dream about the first time you kissed me
It was supposed to be just a hug 
But it led to more
And afterwards I tried to fuck it up"

Poetry about the woman that is still waiting on the man of her dreams to claim her. 

Don't be fooled by the cover. This is not a wedding book. The leading character hasn't walked down the aisle. She's never been proposed to and has barely been in what society would consider a real relationship. She's not even sure what a real relationship would consist of anymore. Instead of meeting the man of her dreams she's met good men that didn't think twice about her, the men willing to play games with her emotions, and at some point she started letting her guard down so she could allow the experiences in.  

The video below is a look into what the book 'This Is For The Lover In You' is all about. The author Lashuntrice acts out several emotions in the feature poem, titled after the book. Watch the video below and then purchase your copy on Amazon



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Bloggers: Don't just look and keep it moving. Spread the word.


Sunday, November 6, 2016

Why I No Longer Want (Unsolicited) Advice On Book Marketing

Purchase Woman Manifested: A Poetic Tale
By Lashuntrice
On Amazon Today 

A long time ago I dreamed of one day becoming a writer. I wanted to learn how to write in as many ways as possible. Just to name a few, there's scripted television writing, newspaper writing,  television news-writing, blogging, and of course book writing. I wanted to be a writer and every writer eventually publishes books that they expect others to read. I was not an exception.

I wanted readers. It's why I always found someone to share whatever I was writing throughout my school years. It's also why I went to college for broadcast journalism, but also took a bunch of literature classes that had nothing to do with my minor in psychology. It's why I spent years blogging on here and thinking I was building of some kind of audience that would purchase books when I was finally ready to publish. 

If you've been following this blog from the beginning there has been a lot of entertainment posts. I've also made posts where I specifically highlighted other people's accomplishments. However, in between talking about celebrity gossip  and cheering someone else on, I made sure to highlight my own poems and short stories. In publishing these stories I've gotten some good feedback. This feedback helped me decide what kind of topics I wanted to focus on once I became that author I always knew I'd become. 

Others knew this time in my life was coming also. They also knew (and still know) that in order for an author to succeed, they have to be willing to purchase that authors book. Well, they also have to be willing to read and talk about the book whether its good or bad. It seems like that concept is understood for everyone, but me. 

Since publishing my first book in March through Createspace, it has received a lot of exposure. I was able to sell some copies, but not a good enough amount for the exposure it has received. Only a few of those people who purchased the book actually took the time to read and leave reviews (whether on social media or Amazon). I'm thankful for them. 

However, I learned a huge lesson this year when it comes to book marketing. I can't take unsolicited advice. One of the advices I was given over and over again was that my first cover of 'Woman Manifested: A Poetic Tale' wasn't good enough. The cover was a photo I took from my personal collection and then spiced up for distribution. There were few problems with it, but it was my start and I loved it. Yet somehow I managed to let others talk me into changing the cover so the book would sell more copies. The book didn't sell more copies though. Instead it decreased in sales and as of now I've seen that second cover (while a nice cover) on another person's book. 

I also had people telling me that I was marketing the book wrong. For some reason, they saw it as a problem that I was marketing the book to my Facebook friends and Twitter followers. There are quite a bit of people on my Facebook friends list that knew about my passion for writing long before Facebook's existence. There are also a lot of people on Twitter who followed me because of this blog. Yet people were telling me that they weren't my audience. My issue is if they're not one of my idols, then why would they even take the time to check out whatever I was writing in the past? 
Purchase This Is For The Lover In You by Lashuntrice on
Amazon Now 

The biggest reason I no longer want unsolicited advice is because what works for one person doesn't work for another. My name is Lashuntrice and I'm doing everything to figure out what works for me. I'm not some other author. I don't have the money authors with lots of marketing avenues have. However, I am a damn good writer and I'd rather see purchases than hear whatever people think I'm doing wrong. 


Lashuntrice

Lashuntrice