KDP Select update: promotion helps. But not a ton.
Just finished my third and final KDP Select giveaway for Ring of Fire, with abysmal results. It was really just a test. With the first giveaway, I spent a large chunk of time pre-promoting it and even spent a not-insignificant amount of money getting it listed on other sites. Downloads were upwards of 6K, but ensuing reviews were nil and sales didn’t even cover the cost of the promotion. Second giveaway was nearly identical to first, except I spent a little less money, the same amount of time, and got slightly fewer downloads (5K+). I hit #3 in Suspense Thriller, for Pete’s sake, so I definitely got exposure. Again, sales and reviews afterward: nil to nearly nil. SO, I thought for my Read More…
Guest Blog Post: Russell Elkins, Author of Open Adoption, Open Heart
Anyone who knows me knows I’m adopted. I’ve known all my life and have never made a secret of it. I had a very satisfying childhood and view the family that raised me as my true family. That said, I was found by my birth mother several years ago and we now have a steady, ongoing relationship. The experience inspired me to write Battle Axe, which is not to say it is based on my experience in any way–it simply served as a catalyst for my imagination to run wild and wonder what would happen if a man my age suddenly found out he was adopted, at age 40, and was subsequently found by his birth mother…or someone claiming to Read More…
North Carolina Month on Booksie’s Blog!
It’s North Carolina author month on Booksie’s Blog. Ring of Fire, my humorous suspense novel set in a thinly-disguised Chapel Hill, is featured today.
What’d I Miss?
A lot has changed since I was last here, mainly in the publishing world. The ultimate goals used to be 1.) find an agent and 2.) get published. Not that I’d turn down either an agent or a publishing deal at this point, but I’d give them a lot more thought than I would have in 2009. Why? The rise of ebooks and indie publishing. I’ve spent the last few months devouring all kinds of research on how to properly take one’s fiction directly to readers. It’s not only possible, it can be highly rewarding–not in terms of money, although that would be nice, but just getting your book (or a digital version of it) in readers’ hands. I’ve had my Read More…
We Lost Another Reader.
Not a reader of this blog. If we lost one of those, we’d be in negative numbers. I mean a devoted reader of fiction, those invaluable souls who keep us writers in business. Okay, by “us,” I mean “people who get paid to write fiction.” Maybe one day “us” will include “me.” His name was Carl and there was no one else quite like him, nor will there ever be again. He was born in Germany, immigrated to Charleston, SC at age 10 with a strong German accent he never lost. He fought in WWII against Germany and even provided translation after the fall of Berlin. His love of all languages inspired him to become fluent in at least a Read More…
He did it, but can I?
Genre-hopping. Let’s check in with Neil Young on the subject: “I used to be pissed off at Bobby Darin because he changed styles so much. Now I look at him and think he was a f—ing genius.” I’ll go on the record right now as being one of the planet’s biggest Bobby Darin fans. In my book, he’s second only to Sinatra. No one had the swing or swagger down better. Not Bennett, not Torme, not…well, hell, who else was there? Sammy? Nat? They had their moments. Harry Connick, Jr. and Michael Buble give it their best, and Harry comes close on occasion, but there’s an over-earnestness to both of them. At least Harry can write and play. Buble is Read More…
Prince Charles, you have my sympathy.
So I met Carl Hiaasen last night. Yeah, that Carl Hiaasen. My favorite living author. The undisputed king of that tiniest of sub-genres: comic suspense. Turns out he’s not ready to pack it in yet. And here I was, ready to step in with my two comic suspense manuscripts and assume the throne. The guy’s friends with Jimmy Buffett–isn’t that enough of an achievement for one lifetime? Does he really need to keep writing these…books? The tireless and exceedingly nice guy has just brought out a third YA (young adult) book (“Scat,” which my son and I started last night and is very promising) and is working on another adult one as we speak. Which of course means less shelf Read More…
The Query, as it stands.
So I’m getting some traffic with this. After forty years, Dorsey Duquesne believes he’s finally found his mother. Too bad she keeps trying to kill him. BATTLE AXE, my 100K-word suspense novel, will appeal to fans of Carl Hiaasen, Janet Evanovich and Bill Fitzhugh. When his father dies, the last thing Dorsey needs is a mid-life crisis. But when the funeral lures long-buried family skeletons out of the closet, his childhood is reduced to a carefully constructed set piece. His sense of identity dented, Dorsey hires a strip-mall P.I. to track down his birth mother—and finds a feisty German woman who not only blames him for the death of her lover, but whose only interest in a mother/son relationship involves Read More…
Take that, Elmore Leonard.
In his “book” (if can call a hardback with one sentence per page a book) “10 Rules of Writing,” Elmore Leonard states emphatically: Never use any word other than “said” to attribute dialogue. Although I’m sure he would quibble with my use of the word “emphatically.” Because it’s an adverb. Anyway, my son brings home this flyer from school recently that flies in the face of the great Mr. Leonard’s advice. So who’s right? The multi-million selling book author with 50 years of writing under his belt, or my son’s fourth grade teacher? Personally, I like a good dialogue attributer now and then. But then, maybe that’s why I’m not published. Round one to you, Mr. Leonard.
You’re a Lucky Fellow, Mr. Smith
We interrupt your trek to the polls with this reminder of why. Hey, you’re a lucky fellow, Mr. Smith, to be able to live as you do,And to have that swell Miss Liberty gal carrying the torch for youYou’re a lucky fellow, Mr. Smith–look around you if you want to brag,You should thank your lucky stars and I mean, thank all 50 in your flag This bit of Capraesque patrioti-corn was recorded by Frank Sinatra in 1964 and features the incredibly dated backing of Fred Waring’s Pennsylvanians. However, it stirs the soul to this day, particularly on this day. You’re a very, very wealthy gent–I don’t care if you haven’t a centYou can still have things your own way, on Read More…
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