Stop Writing. Right Now!

what happens when you dont write person-731165_960_720Between 2011 and 2017 I wrote and published seven books. I’m not a fast writer, in fact compared to many authors I write quite slowly. I ponder and I stare out of windows. Then, I write and I rewrite. In fact, my methodology is to start over at the beginning of my work-in-progress each time I sit down to write. I know, it’s masochistic, but it’s what I do.

During those years, writing became an almost daily part of my life. I even quit my day job for a short period of time to write full-time. When that didn’t go as planned and I went back to the daily grind, I still managed to put some words together and create some books. I’d put in my eight-hour days at the office and I’d write on days off and evenings. It worked out fine. Then, last year I stopped writing. No more fiction. No more made-up stories spilling from my head onto the paper. I just stopped. Continue reading “Stop Writing. Right Now!”

Getting Reviews: Voracious Readers Only (Part 2)

voracious reading books woman-1852907_960_720Back in May, I reported on my first trial with Voracious Readers Only, a site that makes connections between readers and authors in a promising new way. As you’ll remember, my first experiment was to allow VRO to give away 20-25 free copies of my book Ghost Walk, Book 1 of my paranormal mystery series. Out of those, I did realize a few reviews, and according to site owner Larry Froncek, my results were in the high normal range.

Larry thought my book would be a good fit for their Evergreen Program, which offers my book free to any new subscribers who opt for the thriller/mystery genre. The program is $20 a month and I can cancel at any time. I decided it was worth the chance to connect with lots of new readers, and after 30 days, I have the results. Larry was kind enough to give me his insider stats so I could have a better understanding of how it all shook out. Continue reading “Getting Reviews: Voracious Readers Only (Part 2)”

Indie Author Newsbreak 9-6-2018

indie author newsIt’s Friday again. You know what that means. You don’t? Aw, sorry, Skippy.

Okay, it means, if we really have to tell you, that it’s time to get edjumacated about the goings on in the publishing industry. There’s always something new, and we mean to ruin it for you. Wait, that r-word was supposed to be REPORT, not ruin. Silly me. I hate it when my fingers get typing Tourette’s.

There’s another vanity publisher in town – can you believe it? These guys just don’t get that we’re on to them already. But it’s true – David Gaughran writes about HarperCollins’ new offspring: Elm Hill Books.

Suddenly, everyone wants to get into the book business – or at least when it involves selling them at a beach resort on a beautiful island. The Guardian reports that even a White House press officer joined the race for this bookshop job in the Maldives.

And Penguin Random House has made some waves (not at a nice beach resort, though) with their new policy on lending eBooks at libraries, Publishers Weekly reports in their article entitled Penguin Random House Changes Library E-book Lending Terms. The consensus is that this is bad news for authors with series books, and hopefully they will realize this is yet one more reason that going indie is better.

redneck indie author hat-591973_960_720In other news, some authors have been getting creative in their quest for the almighty dollar. One author who shall remain nameless (because I made him up) lives in the back hills of a remote area and realized he needed a vocation that would enable him to write while on the job. And, with the favorite local sport being alcohol consumption, he decided to start his own designated driver business. He calls it “Guber.” Way to go, dude! I bet he gets some juicy stories during his fares.

Next week, we’ll see what other interesting innovations redneck writers have created, or not.

Publishing on IngramSpark Is Easy

ingramspark-logoAs you may have heard, Createspace is being absorbed by KDP Print. Many folks expressed interest in finding a different publisher/distributor for their print books. Indies Unlimited has had articles comparing different paperback options and explaining how to move books from CreateSpace IngramSpark, but we haven’t had one yet that shows you how easy it is to publish directly to IngramSpark.

For some reason, authors seem to be intimidated by IngramSpark, but it’s really quite simple to navigate. The most difficult part of publishing to IngramSpark is making sure your manuscript is ready. I’ve never had a manuscript that worked for CreateSpace not work for IngramSpark. After all, 6×9 is 6×9; there’s no reason for a manuscript not to work on both. Continue reading “Publishing on IngramSpark Is Easy”