Neil Ostroff's Blog (390)

It never fails to amaze me how we have become such an instant society. Now, what exactly do I mean by that? We have become a society in which entertainment, whether television, movies, or books can be had at the press of a button almost anywhere in the world and at any time. As a writer, that means you must have a constant presence in order to stand out among all the clutter.

I have been on vacation for the…

If you read my blog you know that in the last week my novel, DROP OUT http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005FX0K7U has recently soared in the Amazon rankings below #1,000 in the paid store and #25 in romantic suspense. My sales bump started with a free Ereader News Today sponsorship and has continued with the novel staying in the low 20,000’s in the rankings this week. So, how do I keep up the momentum?

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Success for a writer can be defined in many ways. For some, success can only be defined in monetary terms. For others, world-wide recognition and fame are the incentives. But every once in a while an unsolicited review from a total stranger can put all my time and effort into perspective.

This is one of them. New…

If you follow my blog, you know that recently my book DROP OUT  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005FX0K7U  was listed under bargain books on the website Ereader News Today. This was unlike any promotion I had done before. Instead of paying an upfront fee for the sponsorship, the website takes a small percentage of sales that come from…

 I recently had my first sit down interview with a magazine reporter and she asked me the question, “once an author indie publishes a book, how do they get that book noticed?”.

          I told the reporter the standard replies of using social networking and placing…

Great new review on Amazon. DROP OUT is really starting to take off. Thank you to all who have emailed me personally to tell me how the story has touched their lives. To read more about me and my books please check out my blog: ALWAYS WRITING …

I had my first sit down interview with a real magazine reporter the other day. I thought it went very well. Who knew I could talk about myself for two hours straight? haha



Rather than focus solely on my books, we talked about the indie publishing scene and how it is changing the traditional publishing game. I threw out a few good catch phrases like "Amazon.com is a book search engine and not a bookstore", and when asked…

          I was recently contacted by a prominent NY literary agency who shall remain nameless at this point, about possible representation. They got wind of me because of my constant promotional efforts and then explored a little deeper into the kinds of books that I write. They have not said they will definitely represent me but want to see more samples of my writing and my future…

         I’ve reach that much sought after and elusive milestone of finishing a book. My latest novel (my thirteenth to date) is now complete and awaiting a second read. This new novel took exactly one hundred and twenty-two days from first sentence until the final sentence.

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          Ebooks have surpassed regular books in sales for the first time ever! What does that mean to the 21st century writer? It means that the future of publishing is here! It means that the stigma of reading ebooks has passed. It means a world-wide audience can download a book in seconds. It also means we will probably soon be seeing the end of traditional bookstores.…

          Being a writer means experiencing dizzying highs and terrifying lows as a novel transforms from mere idea bubbling in the brain into reality on the page. There are times when you believe that everything you’ve written is total crap and there are times when a character reveals something or does something that you hadn’t expected and you find yourself on this emotional high. This…

          I’ve been contemplating the future of the author in today’s high technology society. What will become of us and the books we write? Will the paperback go the way of the compact disk and disappear forever? Will publishing houses dissolve into nonexistence the way most record labels have? Will a paperback book become a rare object of antique art? I don’t know. But one thing I do know…

          Nobody said it would be easy. Nobody said it was always going to be fun. Nobody promised me that after spending twenty-plus years holed up in my office writing novels that anyone would ever read them. Nobody promised me anything would ever come of my writing, and yet I still do it.

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          I’m often asked by media and friends how do I create my characters? At last count I have somewhere in the neighborhood of seventy-five to eighty spread over my nine published and three unpublished books. These characters have histories and vivid personalities. Some are absolutely terrifying, some are adventurous, and some are tragic, yet beautiful. All of my characters have…

          When I start to really get into writing a story I go into what I call a ‘writer’s zone’ where all distractions are muted. Time slips away and my surroundings blur into the images in my mind. This is creating something from nothing at its finest.

          There is no television show or video game that can…

          It’s raining. Fat drops meander down the glass windowpane in my office like so many overfed translucent snails. Water puddles in the street forming miniature estuaries where worms tunnel up from drowning liquid seeking refuge across the sidewalk only to die between the smooth beaks of a snacking warbles.…

I’ve been doing the internet interview thing again and recently I was asked something that I hadn’t been asked before. The questioned posed was; “What do you hope to achieve with your writing?”

I had to think about that one for a moment before I could offer a reasonable response. I’m actually not looking to achieve anything with my writing except to provide people with entertainment (an imaginary retreat from the real world). I’m not looking to win…

I used to think I was a really strange person. While everyone else I knew was out socializing and going to concerts, movies, and having meals out, I would stay at home, sit in my room, and write stories.

I thought I was even odder when I got…

The secret to making it as a successful indie writer is this: PATIENCE. Authors are experiencing first hand a new era in book selling where a writer can instantly connect with a publisher and then sell directly to a reader. This offers millions of new voices to be heard, which can be both a good thing and a bad thing for readers. Good, if the story is well-written, and bad for all the novice books taking up virtual shelf space and attention. It used to be that authors received a quarterly…

I’ve been pondering the notion of my books one day going viral and selling millions of copies. I’ve been pondering how 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? It depends on the amount of sales.

A million copies sold would allow me to live…