Neil Ostroff's Blog (390)

If you follow my blog you know I’ve been trying a lot of the latest online marketing and promotion websites for writers. I started with four last week which are listed on my last post. So far, I have seen an increase in sales for DROP OUT, which is the book that I’m promoting most. Surprisingly, sales for my other books have also increased. I believe this is due to reader’s curiosity about my other material stemming from the marketing of DROP OUT.…

It’s that time of year again when I try many of the new marketing and promotional websites that have popped up and are available to authors and then my report on the results. So far, I’ve booked out $119.95 worth of services from four different sites for my suspense novel, DROP OUT. Here they are.

The first thing I tried was ebookbooster. For $25 the site sends your title and link to 25 sites that will promote it for free.…

I woke up today to the first snowfall of the year. To some that brings joy, to others (like me) it brings dread. I’m a warm weather soul but I must admit that the cold weather does have some advantages. I get a heck of a lot more writing done.

Everyone knows that it’s tough to sit inside working on a story when the sun is shining bright and the birds are calling you to enjoy the outside. And even if you’re…

Like most authors when I’m writing a book I usually write a terrible first draft. Pages filled with scrawled ideas and bland dialogue. I work on this first draft non-stop, sometimes for weeks until I get a good solid manuscript-length of material. But there is one thing I never do, and that is to write the end of the book.

When about eighty-percent of the first draft is written I go back and re-read the…

Does blogging sell books? This is the question every author who blogs wants an answer to. Well, I have my own opinion and I believe that the answer is yes, but not for the obvious reason of exposure.

   I believe authors who blog become better writers because unlike fiction, which requires the writer to immerse themselves into their imagination, blogging, which is mostly nonfiction, requires a…

It’s been said that a true writer will experience a multitude of dizzying highs and terrifying lows during the course of his or her lifetime. To make art, one must suffer whether mentally, spiritually, or monetarily to get the true juices-of-expression flowing.

I’ve been feeling a little down lately at the state of the publishing world and I know it’s shown in a few of my recent posts. I’ve been worried that the marketplace is over-saturated with…

Just wanted to let everyone know that my award winning novella DROP OUT is on sale through Ereader News Today for just $0.99.

Read what Kindle Nation Daily called “the sleeper hit of the year” what Kindle Fire Department called, “riveting, touching, and deeply heartwarming, a book that will stay with you forever”, an Indie Book of the Day winner, 19 five star reviews from all over the world.…

I have always loved stories. When I was a little kid my father asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. Without hesitation I happily replied, “A famous writer.” When I graduated high school and was applying to colleges my father asked me what I want to go to school for? I replied, “I want to be a famous writer.” To which he replied lovingly; “Better have a backup plan.” I spent four years majoring in psychology and philosophy.

When I graduated…

Here is my full interview for my hometown magazine. There's a link to see the article on the site. It did result in a few extra sales. Thanks for reading.…

I’ve been a compulsive writer for nearly thirty years. I’ve published nine books and I’ve even won some literary awards. I’ve been interviewed by major newspapers and local magazines. I recognize that a real writer is supposed to create stories for the art itself, ignoring the fickle heart of the market place and corporate profits. I know all about papering my walls with rejection slips and the joy of selling that first copy of a new manuscript.…

I just checked Amazon and my novel, DROP OUT  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005FX0K7U  just received its nineteenth five-star review. Since publishing the book last year I’ve received hundreds of emails from readers all over the world telling me how the book has…

It used to be that an aspiring author would write a novel and then painstakingly send out SASE’s (remember them) hoping to land an agent. If the author did land an agent, then the author would hope for a publishing contract. If by miracle of miracles the agent actually sold the book, then eighteen months later it came out in the bookstore (remember those) and the author started doing a grueling schedule of signings hoping to recoup more money in sales than the advance…

Read what Kindle Nation Daily called “the sleeper hit of the year” what Kindle Fire Department called, “riveting, touching, and deeply heartwarming, a book that will stay with you forever”, an Indie Book of the Day winner, 18-five star reviews from all over the world.

 …

A writer’s life is like riding a rollercoaster. There are dizzying highs and terrifying lows. Some days are more productive on the creative end and some days on the marketing and promoting end. Today is a mixture of both.

On the creative end, I recently finished the third edit of my latest dystopian sci-fi. The book is about life on Earth fifty years after humans have driven off an invading alien force. The story includes…

When you buy a book especially on the internet, what do you look for? Is it the cover that attracts you? The reviews? The description? The key to selling books is to have all three of these as A plus’s. A good cover, good unbiased reviews, and a blurb that makes people want to look at the book. With ebooks, a consumer can’t take it off the shelf and feel its texture, skim through the pages, get a sense of the thickness and how long it will take to read. They must rely on the free sample…

Now that another September 11^th has passed, we can all heave a collective sigh of relief that there has not been another major terrorist attack on American soil in the last twelve years. That doesn’t mean that those who were affected by September 11^th aren’t still suffering.

Please read the reviews for my novel DROP OUT ( …

If you follow my blog you know I've recently acquired a rescue dog, part beagle, part ?. He is a good dog, friendly, gentle, and quiet; as I've mentioned before, a good writers dog. However, I have notice my writing productivity has nosedived since this animal entered my life. Is that a good thing?

The past twenty years I’ve spend nearly half my day, almost every day in front of my computer. I’ve published nine books and have sold thousands of copies. I’ve missed out on…

So, here it is the day before the twelfth anniversary of the worse terrorist attack on American soil ever and the second year since my novel DROP OUT was published. DROP OUT ( http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005FX0K7U ) examines the tragedy left behind for the survivors and how one man copes with his incredible loss. In honorarium, I do not market or promote this book on that date.

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DROP OUT http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005FX0K7U continues to pull in five star reviews from all over the world and I’m still getting an average of ten to fifteen emails a day…

I’ve been reading a lot of threads and forums lately dealing with the topic of marketing your book. It seems there are a lot of “newbies” out there in this relatively virgin explosion of indie publishing and many can’t understand why their book isn’t selling. When asked if they market and promote their books most say yes, but complain that they have limited time, maybe a few hours a week.

  These authors wonder why they have little or no sales.…