Amazon is an Author’s Best Friend

Hands down.

I get a check from Amazon every month. In fact, I get three: one from Kindle sales, one from Seller Central (which I use to sell my old documentaries), and one from Amazon Associate. Granted, I’m not paying my mortgage with those checks. Yet. But often it is enough to cover one of the car payments. Other authors are not only paying their mortgage, they’re making a sweet living on just Kindle sales. J. A. Konrath makes a six-figure income from his Kindle sales alone.

 

4 Steps to Twitter Success

Twitter can be a pain in the ass. No doubt. There is so much information whizzing by every second, how can one keep up? Why would anyone want to keep up?

I’ve had authors tell me they have no interest in reading what someone is eating or where they’re going. That, especially mixed with so very much SPAM twitted back and forth, gets old fast. It seems that either people are saying nothing of any importance or they’re trying to sell you something.

And, a lot of Twitter is that, unfortunately.

Still, as things are today, the absolute best way for you and your book to be seen is by effective use of Twitter, Facebook, and frequent blogging mixed with some in-person events.

To be the most successful on Twitter, you must take a four-fold approach. As outlined in my book, which goes into much more detail, it’s a blend of these four things that will help you connect with your potential readers

 

Emerging Author Spotlight: Rhonda Eudaly

This week’s Emerging Author Spotlight is on Rhonda Eudaly and her short story “Defiance” in celebration of Short Story Month 2011 (#ssm2011).

Rhonda is as delightful as she is funny. Although she does humor well, she also writes great nonfiction, and she graciously contributed an essay for my book Publishing & Marketing Realities for the Emerging Author entitled “The MTV/American Idol Effect in Writing.“

Some people really do light up a room when they come into it. Rhonda Eudaly is one of those people. She is bright, talented, funny, and fun redhead, and a gifted writer. Fortunately she has chosen to use her talents for good, creating fantasy stories that are also funny and fun.

 

Writer Beware

Unfortunately for all of us emerging authors, there are many people trying to take advantage of you and profit off of your dreams. Some of them are posing as Independent “Traditional” Publishers (or as agents, as in the post last week).

I have known authors that have lost tens of thousands of dollars to a shady publisher to those who don’t even own their own copyright. Don’t let this happen to you.

Know what you’re getting into.

And please. please. please. please…don’t sign away your rights for nothing. Any publisher worth their salt will offer you an advance, even if it is just a token advance. If they’re taking your rights, then they need to put their money where there mouth is. If they don’t or can’t give you an advance, this is a clear indication that they are not financially stable enough to monetarily invest in your work.

 

Top 5 Things Emerging Authors Can Do to Sell More Books

As is the struggle for every author, you must find your audience. Last week we discussed “The Right Followers,” and this week we’re going to talk about how to find the right readers.

Although it’s never easy to find your readers, they’re out there. And with the internet and social networks, it’s easier than ever to find them without spending thousands on promotion and touring.

The best way to grow a readership is to start with a tight niche. Sometimes this niche is not clearly definable. For example, our Rowan of the Wood series is YA fantasy. Most certainly a niche, but not a very tight one. On the other hand Avalon Revisited by O. M. Grey (nom de plume) is a Steampunk Paranormal Romance. Okay. Paranormal Romance, not a very tight niche. Steampunk is still quite tight. I don’t doubt that Avalon Revisited consistently sells 10 to 1 more Kindle copies than Rowan of the Wood because of this tight niche. Additionally, although ParaRomance isn’t terribly tight, those readers are voracious.

 

Emerging Author Spotlight: Joe Bertalmio

This week’s Emerging Author Spotlight is on Joe Bertalimio and his short story “Finding Utopia” in celebration of Short Story Month 2011 (#ssm2011)

 

Beware: Agents as Publishers

Dean Wesley Smith has written several posts over the past week on a very disturbing trend rippling through NY publishing. Authors need to know the truth behind this trend so that they can protect themselves.

Basically, agents, like the rest of us, are trying to find ways to professionally survive this huge paradigm shift in publishing. I certainly can understand and respect that, but not when it comes at the expense of someone else, namely the artist, as usual.

These agents are talking about becoming “partners” with the author, but of course, they must first recoup their “expenses” and then they’ll split the “net receipts” 50/50 with the author.

Be very wary of words like these.

“Expenses,” as I’ve learned the hard way, are unending. Unless *very* clearly defined, “expenses” can be anything and everything. What about the author’s “expenses”?

 

The Right Followers

It’s all fine and dandy to have thousands of followers, but are they the *right* followers on Twitter? This, as in everything, depends on your goals. If you’re trying to win a who-can-get-the-most-followers contest with a friend, then it doesn’t really matter who is following you. If you’re trying to market your book or product, then it most certainly does matter.

Say you’ve written a YA paranormal romance, but the bulk of your followers only read horror or don’t read at all. You can Tweet until your fingers fall off, you won’t reach many people because they are just not interested in your product.

 

Emerging Author Spotlight: Craig Wallwork

This week’s Emerging Author Spotlight is on Craig Wallwork and his short story “Morning Birdsong and the Hell Demons” in celebration of Short Story Month 2011 (#ssm2011)

I seriously laughed out loud while reading this piece. Several times.

It’s published with The Jersey Devil Press, and it’s definitely worth a read. Craig has many more short stories available to read on his blog http://craigwallwork.blogspot.com/.

After leaving school, CRAIG WALLWORK studied Art before becoming a filmmaker and writer. “Birdsong and the Hell Demons” is taken from his forthcoming novel, Dog Mile. Other short stories by Craig can be found in many a sordid corner of the world, or from his website: craigwallwork.blogspot.com.

Craig writes and lives in West Yorkshire, England. Craig’s main aspiration is to be mediocre at everything he does. He thinks maybe he’s succeeding.

 

Should You Wait for New York?

The discussion on whether to wait for New York or to self-publish is as vibrant as ever on social networks. I saw someone tweet “If you self-publish, you’re an idiot” the other day.

Interesting.

Severely judgmental, but interesting. It speaks to the lack of respect some people (many people) have for self-publishing. However, there are many self-published authors sharing their successes, and their struggles. Some are selling hundreds and thousands of books, others are selling a handful.

So, should you wait an publish with New York or should you self-publish? The answer: it depends.