Marketing Experiment

Rhymes Through Time

books2read.com/Rhymes-Through-Time

I was getting frustrated trying to figure out how to market poetry books.  I had two out, Voices In My Head and They Won't Shut Up but sales were flat-lined. Those that had the first two wanted me to publish again, but I really could not find a legitimate reason to pour more money down this seemingly bottomless pit. 

Cost was not my only deterrent. I had the poems, I had more than enough of them to publish another book.  The problem was I could not find a cover that would connect to the first two books.  I figured I would wait it out and see if a solution would come to me.

Suddenly an idea light-bulb had appeared inside my head!  Amazon had Kindle Unlimited!  I could have a small book with samples of the first two and some new stuff and offer it there!  I would be letting people see what I do and advertising all three books at the same time!

A dear friend, Wren Liddle, created a beautiful cover for me and I set about deciding how to do the interior.  Since it was a sample book, I decided not to sort the poems into sections like I had the first two. Instead, I decided it would be completely random. I selected poems from each book and from those unused on my computer by pulling their titles out of a hat.  Then I placed all the selected titles in the hat and picked the order they would appear.

I published Rhymes Through Time only as an e-book and submitted it to Kindle Unlimited.  Unfortunately, by the time I decided to play with KU, the rules had changed and not in a way that benefited a poetry book.  I removed it from the service but left it available as an e-book.  I assumed that since it had poems already available in print no one would care to have it in paperback. It was several years later that I was talked into having a print version created.  With a back cover poem already written, and the help of my friend Erika Szabo, https://www.goldenboxbooks.com, I quickly had my third book in print.

It has been a while but, Rhymes Through Time is again being used as an experiment.  At the suggestion of Erika, I submitted it to be formatted as an audio book.  It is being narrated by Linda A. Hynson and will soon be available on ACX!  In fact, I just listened to the first 15 minutes and accepted it!  To hear my poems read by such a talented woman is a surreal experience.  I am beyond excited!  Erika again came to my rescue when she informed me a new cover would be needed for the audio book as it had to be designed as a square.  This is the gorgeous cover she created for me!

 

I  am looking forward to hearing the completed book!  Will more audio books be coming?  I am not sure.
Find Cindy on her:
Website:
http://carternovels.com/author-cindy-j-smith.html
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/cindysvoices
FB:  https://www.facebook.com/CindysVoices/
GOODREADS:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6505989.Cindy_J_Smith
Pinterest:
https://www.pinterest.com/cindyjsmith1/

How It Came To Be

Words On The Wind

 books2read.com/Words-On-The-Wind

I decided to have all the new poems I had written since Rhymes Through Time edited.  QUIET! Please? was to be my next published book, but I could not find anyone who could make a cover that would connect to the first two. (To be honest, after seeing how easy it was to just randomly select poems instead of sorting them, I was not looking very hard.) Several Facebook friends who had been reading my poems as I wrote them kept asking me to publish another collection.  So, I made a poll and asked, "If I were to publish another book using randomly selected poems, what would you name it?"  Several people offered suggestions.  One, Jessica House, not only suggested a title, she actually created a cover for the book!  How could I possibly ignore such love and support? I let them decide how many should be included then set about choosing. I pulled out my trusty hat, put all the titles in and picked poems.  The order is the way their titles were picked.

POEM

You feel the rhythm
And also the words
Mind creates a path
Where once all was blurred
The voice you're hearing
Is really your soul
Listen, it can heal
Your heart, make it whole
This poem is all you
The words and the rhyme
See thoughts you've hidden
Deep down in your mind
If you see nothing
You must be afraid
To let the real you
Escape from the shade

Find Cindy on her:

Blog:
https://cindysvoices.blogspot.com

Website:
http://carternovels.com/author-cindy-j-smith.html
Twitter:  @cindysvoices
FB:  https://www.facebook.com/CindysVoices/
GOODREADS:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6505989.Cindy_J_Smith
Pinterest:
https://www.pinterest.com/cindyjsmith1/

A Taste of Poetry

A MEMORY

A wrinkle in time
That's what it is
Just a bump in the road
A blip in life's continuum
Hands of a clock sticking
Popping backwards a little
Pausing for a moment
Before moving forward
Reflecting what was
What could have been
Then it rushes onward
Ticking away the years
Striving, reaching out
Stretching towards the future
Until it pauses once again
Allowing the past to return
Become real again
Another memory relived
Heartache or happiness
Either way it is the past
Wrinkling the fabric of time

© Cindy J. Smith

My Voices

My published books

Cindy J. Smith has written poetry, and with every experience in life, she has found inspiration. Wife, Mother and Grandmother, she has a myriad of beautiful memories to draw from. Never having been good at playing the part of "starving artist", she has had many careers, but her current one, an over-the-road truck driver with her husband, Dave, has provided amazing opportunities for inspiration in her later years.

books2read.com/Voices-In-My-Head

 Ever want to get a second opinion on life? In this first book of poetry series, Jasmine's Wish, Cindy has had voices giving her theirs all her life. With straight talk and sarcasm, they rhyme their views to her. In this first book, she offers you a glimpse of the path she has been traveling while seeking her way in this world.

books2read.com/They-Wont-Shut-Up

 In this second book of poetry, Jasmine's Wish, Cindy's voices continue their relentless sharing of their opinions.Touching on many of the emotions and life situations humans encounter, they offer their viewpoint in the hopes of finding the path to peace. At the end of the book, Cindy has shared a small section spotlighting the works of her angel daughter, to whom this book is lovingly dedicated for her Birthday. 

books2read.com/Quiet-Please

After being alluded to many years ago in Rhymes Through Time, I have completed QUIET! Please?, the third book of Jasmine's Wish. This selection of poems is arranged in categories as are the first two books in my "Jasmine's Wish" series. My voices have been writing poems for my entire life. Their constant jabbering is taking its toll. Despite my begging and pleading for quiet, they keep talking. Come on over and see how they can write about anything at any time. The categories may be set, but the topics are as varied as grains of sand.

books2read.com/SilenceByCindyJSmith

This is the final book in the Jasmine's Wish collection. Life is too short to get stuck in a rut. Luckily for me, the voices show me many different views of the same situation so that is never an issue. Despite their varied revelations, I am relieved they've finally begun to give me moments of peace. (Perhaps it is because I forced them to work everyday last year.) Whatever the reason, I do enjoy the quiet even though I miss them when they are gone. When they do return, I am still amazed that after all these years their rhymes are still unique blendings that reveal truths I never noticed.

 books2read.com/Words-On-The-Wind

This time we float along like an Autumn leaf on a breeze, pausing here and there before catching the wind and flying once more. Each stop is a unique view of life and the world before us. Come on in, and see if you can catch the words on the wind.

books2read.com/Rhymes-Through-Time

You will not find sex, violence, blood or gore, and nor will you find vampires, zombies or ghosts. You will find poems about fleeting and elusive moments captured in rhyme through the sands of time.

 books2read.com/365

This collection was created from my 2017 New Years Resolution. Seeing and hearing various remarks about the new year being "a clean slate" and that "each day is a new page in life write something fresh" inspired me to vow to write a poem everyday. I do write almost everyday so I challenged myself to collect the very first poem, no matter the topic, as the day's offering. No theme was involved, everything was fair game. I wanted to be able to look back and see if perspectives really do change daily. I offer everyone a ride on this poetic rollercoaster, where life changed at the speed of a turned page.

books2read.com/Caesar-And-The-Bluebells

Caesar lives on a farm with his owner, Lori. Caesar is a retriever who loves playing in the field of bluebells while protecting the farm. Lori puts two gnomes in her garden for decoration. Caesar thinks something is not right about them. The next May when Lori and Caesar visit their bluebell field, it is destroyed. The fairies are worried. Their queen is missing! Caesar knows the gnomes are involved. Can Caesar find the Queen and fix the mess?