For book/ebook authors, publishers, & self-publishers
We all know that blogging is one of the best ways to get attention in today's Internet world. A blog is a godsend to your website, bringing it traffic, fans, and more. But you have to post regularly.
Stuck for what to blog about? Here are some tips for novelists, but the same tips can apply to writers of nonfiction, memoirs, children's books, business books, and more.
For the rest of the 51 ways, see: http://blog.bookmarket.com/2011/06/45-ways-to-blog-as-novelist-tips-for.html
If you like this list, help me add more. Email: johnkremer@bookmarket.com.
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The Orangeberry Summer Splash will be making waves this August 2012.
100 authors, 100 blogs on a mini book tour marathon. Are you one of them?
For more details and to sign up, please go to http://www.orangeberrybooktours.com/2012/05/orangeberry-summer-spla...
Part strange
One of the strangest things about being a writer is people’s reaction when you tell them that you are. Most of the time there’s a slight admiration followed by the general expression that “yeah, everyone says they’re a writer”. But then when I tell them to Google my name and see what comes up, the admiration becomes real. Here’s what I’ve discovered about the nature of the arts and you can feel free to disagree with me, because like I say, these are only my biased opinions. Most people can paint a picture and most people can draw a picture and most people can play an instrument. I’ll also say that most people can write a story and most people can create a sculpture from clay. But when it comes to writing novels; that is an art form that most people can’t do. And it is not because of a lack of talent or differentiation of talent that separates these art forms. All require great skills. But unlike writing a novel: a song, painting, sculpture, short story, etc., can be composed, drawn, or molded in one day, or at least the majority of it if the artist is talented. There are numerous stories of hit music written in fifteen minutes or a painting that a great artist completed in one day. But with novel writing, I dare you to find anyone who can write a novel in one day. What separates novelist from all other arts is the time needed to create a great work. There are no fifteen minute hits, but there can be fifteen-year-in-the-making novels that hit it big. I think people are fascinated by novelists because of the commitment it takes to write several hundred pages that make coherent sense and tell a great story. The seclusion and isolation novelist must endure to create their masterpiece. It usually takes me about eight months to complete a book. That’s a lot of hours alone.
I'm happy to say, I've been the TOP selling author of Back To The Books and my interview is featured in this promotion.
Future is now
As I watch the price of ereaders drop, I feel the excitement of a bright future for indie authors much the way musicians must have felt when the first Sony Walkman came into existence (I know I’m showing my age). Readers can now take thousands of books with them anywhere they go; on vacation, in a plane, in a car. And now with Nook and Kindle introducing the backlight, people can read in bed while their significant other sleeps with the lights out. Just a few short years ago, seeing someone reading off an electronic device seemed odd. Many people said they’d never buy an ereader because they liked the feel of paper and the texture of a book. Now, those same people are realizing the convenience of carrying copies of their favorites in a small, lightweight device. And with airlines charging fees for baggage, readers are fully realizing how much space and weight they’re saving buy not lugging around their written entertainment. Now, when I see someone reading from a Kindle or Nook, I don’t do a double take because it is an unusual sight. Now, when I see someone reading off an electronic device I smile, knowing my potential audience is growing. And speaking of audience, AFTER is still free until midnight tonight. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0050Q8D8U
Right now, I’ve had close to four hundred downloads from three countries and sales of my other books are getting a little kick, too.
The Second Installment of "After Armageddon" is now available for your enjoyment at www.ghostsofrubyridge.com/sasquatch ... just scroll down to find it and enjoy... first installment is at the bottom of the page...
Becoming the character
I’m very happy with my new cover for PULP. I’ve contacted my editor and formatter, so the process is underway for my eighth novel to be published electronically. It’s been a long, twenty-year road to get these books complete but now that I’m nearing the end of my backlist of previously written novels, I can now concentrate on future projects, namely my latest, IMAGINATION. It’s been seven months of work and I’m about seventy percent complete. The book is written and the characters and plot are flushed out. Now begins the part I like best when writing a novel, creating the back story for the characters. This is when I get to create personalities and live vicariously through them. There are six main characters in IMAGINATION ranging from a dying old man, to an innocent man convicted of a hideous murder, to a downtrodden rabbi whose faith is renewed as he starts experiencing visions. I still have three chapters at the end of the book that need to be written, but I can only finish those after I’ve sorted out character details. I’m anticipating an early fall completion of the book and to have it on the market by the holiday season. After that, I will probably spend a little time tweaking my YA literary novel, WASTED and then decide if it is worthy of publishing. And after that… who knows? But I do have a manila folder stuffed with ideas for novels that I’ve been keeping for over two decades. Maybe I’ll break into it and see what’s there. Also, I’m running another promotion on Amazon right now. AFTER is free!!! That’s right, free! Until Sunday night. Here’s a chance to sample the type of novels I write for free! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0050Q8D8U If you like it, please check out my other books. One more thing, I’m going to be adding a link on my blog to buy my books on devices other than Kindle. My exclusive contract has expired and it’s time to start marketing to all devices. I had almost 1000 sample downloads and more than 100 sales through Kobo and Nook before I went Kindle exclusive so it’s time to open up new floodgates. We’ll see what happens.
June, 2012. Lara Biyuts’ long-awaited new story is finally published. At Lulu.com ISBN 9781471727962 and Smashwords.com
Big royalty check
Being a writer means experiencing dizzying highs and terrifying lows as a novel transforms 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 is also true when it comes to sales. Unfortunately, I’m obsessed with checking my sales numbers so my emotions can swing greatly from one day to the next. Today is a good day however, even if I end up having no sales. Why? Because I just received my largest royalty check yet from KDP. It isn’t just the amount that excites me (and it’s a pretty good chunk) it’s the fact that I’m only receiving about sixty-fives cents a book in royalties. That means that hundreds upon hundreds of people have purchased copies, which for me, is the reason I write. Sure, I’m happy for a big check, but I think for many artists and musicians having an audience for your work is as soul-satisfying as hitting it big. If I never write another word, I’ll always be happy in the knowledge that all the time I’ve spent alone writing has been worth it. I wish I could express how it feels to not only entertain readers with stories that I love telling, but for readers to think highly enough of my work to shell out their hard earned cash to retain a copy for themselves. Thanks to all my readers for making this possible. I do have two big sponsorship coming up this month, both on Kindle Nation Daily. One is for SILENT INVASION on June 16th, and the other is for DROP OUT on June 29th. I’m hoping the timing of these will coincide with the start of the nation’s vacation season and push my books to a new level of sales and an even bigger royalty check next quarter.
Are you ready for rest, relaxation and reading this summer? Mixed Messages is available on Amazon at a reduced rate.
http://www.amazon.com/Mixed-Messages-Patricia-Gligor/dp/0615603815/...
A serial killer is on the loose in Westwood. Is it someone close to Ann? With all the mixed messages she's been getting, she can't be sure it's not.
Anything can happen
When it comes to indie publishing on Kindle I’ve learned to expect the unexpected when sales are involved. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to why books sell on some days and don’t on others. The key is to market and promote on a regular basis. That said, I’ve been feeling frustrated with my sales lately, having set sales goals that far exceed what my actual sales are this month. I set these goals several months ago when it was colder and my books were selling, and it seemed like my writing career was well on its way. But then something happened and sales remained stagnant and then actually started to fall. I went into a kind of panic (I’m sure all writers are familiar with this) that no one would ever read my books again and that I would never have another sale. Feeling a bit like a failure, I decided to give SILENT INVASION a free three-day promo this past weekend. I didn’t really hype it all that much as truth be told, I didn’t really have time. The promo went well and I gave away about four hundred books in three countries. That made me feel pretty good that I got a new group of readers, but what made me feel even better was that when I checked sales this morning I saw that INSECTLAND was way up. INSECTLAND is the second book in the three book series. DREAM TRAVELER is the third. I’m assuming my sales of INSECTLAND are directly related to the free promotion. If that’s the case, I should see sales of DREAM TRAVELER rise over the next few weeks. Also, I’m now in the process of getting FROSTPROOF on all my sites and then will begin a marketing and sponsorship campaign for that one. Iuniverse gave me back all rights to the electronic versions of my books so PULP is my next novel to go live worldwide. I’ll probably have that one ready to go by end of June. I do have a sponsorship for DEGENERATES coming up on May 27th on Kindle Nation Daily. My last sponsorship on that site was for DROP OUT and it ended up selling a lot of copies. My fingers are crossed for DEGENERATES because it will open up my YA readers to my adult noir thrillers and once readers get a taste of them anything can happen.
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