Taste of Cyn

Savvy Marketing Vs Simply Having Fun

By Cynthia Sax on May 28, 2021

I talked with a newer writer a few days ago. She is sharing updates on characters in her newsletters, hoping to increase her sales. I do that, she told me, so it must work.

Except…

I don’t share updates on characters to increase sales of my stories. I suspect it doesn’t increase sales at all.

I share updates because that’s fun for me. I like visiting with Rage and Joan and Kralj and other characters. It is like spending time with dear sometimes murderous friends. (grins)

I post the updates in my newsletters because I think you and some of my other reading buddies might enjoy them also. It might make you smile when you receive my newsletters. It might be the reason you agreed to receive communications from me. It might make you more excited about my next book release.

Who knows? (shrugs) The key thing is… I have fun with the updates.

I do many things simply because they’re fun. These things might look like marketing efforts. Because I continue doing them, other writers might believe they’re successful marketing efforts. But often, they’re simply fun things I like doing and think reading buddies might enjoy.

If you’re in doubt about whether a tactic is savvy marketing for me or merely me having some fun, contact me. I’ll happily tell you which one it is.

***

Subscribe To My Newsletter: http://cynthiasax.com/newsletter/

Under Strain

A damaged cyborg warrior is hunted by a peace-loving human female.

***

Strain is severely malfunctioning. The D Model cyborg was the sole survivor after a horrific decision was made by his cruel manufacturers. He hates all humans, and when he attacks one who is under his cyborg leader’s protection, he is reprimanded, stripped of his weapons, and told to watch and not actively participate in the next mission.

That mission takes place on a small remote planet. Its lush terrain should only be inhabited by the cyborgs they were sent to rescue, but Strain senses another presence on the surface. She is watching him, tracking him, hunting him.

A fully operational cyborg would end her lifespan.

Strain wants to claim her. Forever.

Kamyelle is the only one left of her kind. Warriors have killed the other nonviolent human inhabitants of her planet. She survived…barely…by hiding in the trees, observing her enemies, and covering herself with lifeform scan-concealing mud.

When a handsome, gray-skinned, brilliant-blue-eyed male arrives, surrounded by weapon-carrying warriors, she has to save him. Warriors harm and they kill. That is what they do.

She won’t allow them to hurt Strain.

***

Under Strain is a STANDALONE Cyborg SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes-violent universe.

It features a broken warrior, a human female who thinks he’s perfect, and velociraptor-like dinosaurs who view them both as light, tasty snacks.

Buy Now:

Amazon US:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08R322L7S

Amazon UK:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08R322L7S

Amazon AUS:

https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B08R322L7S

Apple Books:

https://books.apple.com/us/book/under-strain/id1545957749

B&N:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/under-strain-cynthia-sax/1138505613

Kobo:

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/under-strain

Smashwords:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/10602

Topics: Writing Tips | Comments Off on Savvy Marketing Vs Simply Having Fun

How Long Should Your Book Series Be?

By Cynthia Sax on March 20, 2021

I shared my thoughts on The Wicked Writing Corner about how many stories a series should have (I’ve figured out the right length for my series but that likely won’t be the right length for every writer or every series.)

Here is a snippet…

“I’m a pantser, a writer who writes by the seat of her pants. Sometimes, I’ll start a series with the intention of it being X stories long and the series becomes X+12 stories long. That happens. I write as many stories as I have to write to give readers a satisfactory end to the series.

But my ideal series length at this moment is five.

That’s because I’m self-published so I know my publisher (me – grins) will give me those five stories to run with. It is because my current favorite marketing strategy is to price the first story in the series, after a few years of being published, at permafree. And it is because, in cyborg romance, I see readership of a series dramatically drop off after five stories.

That might not be your ideal series length.”

You can read the full post here –

https://thewickedwritingcorner.blogspot.com/2021/03/guest-post-how-long-should-series-be.html

***

Subscribe To My Newsletter: http://cynthiasax.com/newsletter/

Containing Malice

This tormented cyborg craves vengeance…and her.

***

Malice, a C Model cyborg, has spent his long lifespan enslaved by the Humanoid Alliance. His cruel manufacturers have hurt him in all the ways a male could be hurt.

His enemy has now added a new weapon to their arsenal—a tiny human medic with soft hands and a delectable scent. She experiments on him multiple times a shift, delivering pain…and frustration.

He wants her. He also seeks retribution.

Once Malice frees himself, he plans to achieve both of his goals, taking Medic Illona captive and ending her research…permanently.

Illona is as much a prisoner as the cyborgs she experiments on. Since her arrival at the Human Alliance’s secret laboratory, she has carefully, stealthily, crafted a plot to free her test subjects. To conceal her covert activities, the medic has been forced to harm beings rather than heal them.

The being she has damaged the most is also the cyborg she fiercely desires— Malice, a huge, gray-skinned, blue-eyed C Model with massive hands and a voice deeper than space. He hates her, has good reason to do so, and, when he’s freed, there’s a high probability he’ll kill her.

Illona will take that risk to ensure he survives.

***

Containing Malice is a STANDALONE enemies-to-lovers Cyborg SciFi Romance set in a dark, gritty, sometimes-violent universe.

It is the first of five core stories in the Rebel Cyborgs Series.

Book 1: Containing Malice
Book 2: Under Strain
Book 3: Baring Grudge
Book 4: B Free
Book 5: Seizing Power

Buy Today:

Amazon US:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08LK4CWHS

Amazon UK:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08LK4CWHS

Amazon AUS:

https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B08LK4CWHS