For book/ebook authors, publishers, & self-publishers
I work at a country Inn rumored to be
haunted. And I’m not just saying that. The Inn has been
written up in books about haunted places and actual ghost hunters have spent
nights trying to capture on film inhabitants of the great beyond. One of more
frequent questions I get asked by people who know the Inn’s
history is if I have ever seen anything out of the ordinary? Now, I’m at the
Inn late at night, I’ve done inventory in the “haunted” wine cellar at two…
Added by Neil Ostroff on October 23, 2011 at 12:30am — No Comments
Just a quick post before I spend my weekend working at my
job and this little piece of promotion disappears into cyberspace. If you’re an
indie writer and have a book to sell than check out the site below, Indie
Snippets. They have a pretty good base of readers and having my books placed
there has increased traffic to my book sites. I think they’re a little
backlogged right now, but take a moment to fill out their submission form. It’s
free, and free is always…
Added by Neil Ostroff on October 21, 2011 at 10:38am — No Comments
Lately, I’ve been blogging about memories, life experiences,
writing, my take on the publishing industry, etc. So, today I’ve decide to do
some good ole’ fashioned promotion. My latest three books, all released in the
last year, are now available for just $1.25. As I mentioned in a previous post,
although these books all came out around the same few months, they took more
than a decade for me to consider them finished. They all have been
professionally edited,…
Added by Neil Ostroff on October 20, 2011 at 9:57am — No Comments
I’ve been pondering the notion of my books one day going
viral and selling millions of copies. I’ve been pondering how much my life
would change and what I would do with my time if I didn’t have to work at a
conventional job anymore. Of course, I would still write books, that’s a given,
but what else would I do with my time? I guess it depends on the amount of
sales. A million copies sold would allow me to live a life of ease, but if
you’re talking in the millions,…
Added by Neil Ostroff on October 18, 2011 at 2:01pm — No Comments
I dreamt of my dog last night. It has been exactly six
months since I made that awful decision to put him down. He was deaf, crippled,
and going blind. I had spent the last months of his life in denial of his
condition and constantly cleaning up his incontinence. When I went to work I
would have to line the floor with newspaper and still would come home to
messes. Finally, when all he could do was eat, sleep, and spin in circles, I
decided it was time. It took…
Added by Neil Ostroff on October 17, 2011 at 9:19am — No Comments
Once again, I’ve made the cardinal sin of trying to market
my books on forums and threads, and once again, a bunch of people are sending
me nasty replies. Which is fine if these forums and threads had a policy of no
author marketing, but they don’t. I learned early on that trying to post of
those sites gets you a base of enemies real fast. But what still confuses me is
the length that some people will go to, to make you feel bad for even trying to
distribute your…
Added by Neil Ostroff on October 14, 2011 at 9:15am — No Comments
I’ve been wondering how long it really takes for an author
to write a book. I’m not talking about a first draft, I’m talking about the
point where an author says “done!” and then sends it off to the publisher or
agent. For me, it usually takes about six months to write a draft worthy of
revision. But to consider the manuscript completed it takes a lot longer. Since
all of my books have been through the ringer with agents, editors, and
publishers and I’ve used their…
Added by Neil Ostroff on October 12, 2011 at 1:14pm — 1 Comment
Tis the season to be spooky. That said, AFTER is now half
price for the Halloween season. Many of you read my article on pricing and I
received many comments both good and bad about lowering the price of my books
and the perceived worth of the material inside. I believe that by temporarily
lowering the price of my books I will be able to generate a larger audience who
will appreciate a good, original story and want to check out more of my stuff.
If you haven’t checked…
Added by Neil Ostroff on October 10, 2011 at 12:56pm — No Comments
In earlier posts, I’ve often said that I think the 99 cent price on Kindle books seem to cheapen the worth of the book. Now, I’m not reversing that conviction completely, but what I will say is that 99 cent books
appear to be selling many more copies than those books priced just a few
dollars higher. Why? Let’s put it in terms of a used bookstore that has a rack
of books for 99 cents and a rack of books for three dollars. As a reader, which
shelf are you likely to check out…
Added by Neil Ostroff on October 5, 2011 at 1:05pm — No Comments
My father always told me that it's okay to make mistakes, it's how you
learn. Well, I'm about to tell you the mistakes I've learned while marketing
and promoting my books so that you don't have to go through the same things
when you market and promote your books. I'll put them in list form so it's
easier to digest.
Number 1. When posting on forums don't just promote yourself with no other
redeeming information. When I first started out I'd post summaries…
Added by Neil Ostroff on October 1, 2011 at 9:43am — No Comments
INSECTLAND is now available nationwide! This week will be spent marketing
and promoting. I have several hundred people on various websites and forums
that are anticipating this book. Hopefully, it will reflect in the sales. If
you're looking to read a story like no other, than this book is for you. Please
check it out. Thanks.
INSECTLAND
Be frightened! Be very frightened!
Tiny, dragon-like creatures hiding in our homes are going to harm us. They…
ContinueAdded by Neil Ostroff on September 26, 2011 at 4:00pm — No Comments
The year is 2005 and I just signed with my agent at
Fineprint Literary. I was full of hope and excitement and dreams of hitting it
big. Unfortunately, three and a half years later we ended our contract. Now,
with six books available for sale and another four on the way I’m beginning to
wonder if it is worth the effort to try and get signed again. Considering the
average “good” agent receives over 100 email queries a day, what are my odds of
getting discovered even if…
Added by Neil Ostroff on September 23, 2011 at 5:30pm — No Comments
Yeah, I had a top agent once; Gary Heidt at Signature Lit. Yeah, at one time I was
also signed to one of the best agencies in NY; Fineprint Lit. Yeah, I got phone
calls that editors wanted to buy my books. Yeah, you guessed it, they all fell
through in the end. But you know what? I don't care. Cause now, I can write,
publish, and sell anything I want. When I was signed to these agencies I got
dozens of rejections, not because my stuff was bad, the editors all said,…
Added by Neil Ostroff on September 16, 2011 at 1:04pm — No Comments
Added by Neil Ostroff on September 14, 2011 at 5:00pm — No Comments
Lately, I've been getting into the interview thing. You'd be surprised how
many bloggers are looking for material and are willing to give an interview
with nothing in return. Of course, whenever I'm interviewed I promote it
heavily throughout the web which drives traffic to their blog. It's a symbiotic
partnership. Though I'm not sure how many sales these interviews generate, it
does give me lots of exposure. And I have gotten some nice feedback by…
Added by Neil Ostroff on September 13, 2011 at 11:30am — No Comments
Hey all,
There’s a new site that will promo your book for free. It’s
called Indie snippets. They’ve listed two of my books so far and will do more
in the coming weeks. Here are the links to the pages. Check it out.
http://www.indiesnippets.blogspot.com/
Added by Neil Ostroff on September 9, 2011 at 10:30am — No Comments
I’ve seen the commercials; a young child is telling a story as the computer automatically types it, fueling an imagination-laced story. The commercial makes it seem like anyone can be a writer. But by definition, what is a writer? I believe the term will soon be obsolete. Why? Because with speech recognition anyone can sit at a computer and talk into it, but it takes an artist to tell a story that fascinates. I do believe that soon millions of people will call themselves writers…
ContinueAdded by Neil Ostroff on September 5, 2011 at 11:47am — No Comments
I asked myself this question after a dear friend died of pancreatic cancer only eight days after his initial diagnosis. The experience left me feeling empty and searching for purpose. I wrote DROP OUT as a way of dealing with the senselessness of it all. Writing the book allowed me to explore why we are here on this Earth and in this physical world. Since the story revolves around one man's loss after 9/11 I believe the book is even more relevant as the anniversary of that terrible day…
ContinueAdded by Neil Ostroff on September 1, 2011 at 7:00pm — No Comments
And so the waiting begins. The hurricane is coming. It’s always strange the denial people feel before a disaster hits, especially a day like today. Here in Pennsylvania, it’s a sunny, beautiful day. But I’m not fooled. I’ve been watching the weather channel and I know it’s coming. I know in 36 hours my life will be significantly changed if the storm gives us a direct hit. I’m not saying I’m going to lose my house or anything like that, though we may get some pretty serious storm damage, I’m…
ContinueAdded by Neil Ostroff on August 27, 2011 at 5:58am — No Comments
By now most people are aware that a hurricane is coming our way here on the east coast. I’m pretty safe in Pennsylvania, but I sympathize with those along the shore. I know it’s going to be a rough ride.
Besides the wind, rain, hail, and destruction, there is something fascinating about watching Mother Nature unleash her wrath. It makes you think that with all our technology we’re still vulnerable when it comes to our environment. Perhaps, one day we will be able to…
ContinueAdded by Neil Ostroff on August 25, 2011 at 9:20am — No Comments
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
1999
1970
© 2024 Created by John Kremer. Powered by