Can I buy some milk with this smiley emoticon?

I’m feeling a little bit bitter today.  It’s not a feeling I enjoy, so I’m gonna write it out.  Here’s my issue.  We’re getting hosed.  I have literally smeared the internet with words – and 90% of them do nothing for me monetarily.  I have one novel on Amazon: Joe Café. I have gotten 25 reviews and the book is rated at 4.5 stars.  Cool.  I got a review a while back that started “Well written & compelling.”  Good, right?  Then it said the ending was abrupt and that it was “worth it” as a .99 cent book, but the reviewer saw that the price had been raised to $4.99 and it was not worth that much.

Bad reviews come, and I have enough good reviews that the fact that some random guy thinks my book ends abruptly (a conscious choice) doesn’t bum me out much.  What gets to me is the economics.  I am not a greedy person.  But here is what pisses me off.  If you thought the book was “Well written & compelling,” then it was worth $4.99.  Do you know how much a sandwich costs?

Continue reading “Can I buy some milk with this smiley emoticon?”

Amazon.com: Use the Monster Part 1

Whether you think Amazon.com is too big for its own good, or not, doesn’t matter. As Indie authors, we’re all on it, and we all need it. One thing Amazon does do well is providing authors with tools to get the word out about their work(s). You’ve got to give them that.

But not all authors are taking advantage of the free tools offered by Amazon.com. Today, we’re going to start with Amazon Author Central pages – because this is the FIRST thing an author should do.

One way Amazon makes Author Central pages convenient is that you don’t need to set up a special author account. You can use your existing customer account log-in (if you’re already a customer). If you’re not, you can set up an account. This account is NOT linked to your Kindle Direct or Createspace accounts, if you have those. This is completely separate.

Before I show you how to claim and set up your author page, you’d probably like to know why you need one. #1 – they’re free. It’s like having your own multi-media website from which people can also buy your books. #2 – you can post your biography, video trailers and even rss feeds from your blog(s) and twitter there. #3 – you can post upcoming events, signings, appearances, etc. #4 – potential readers can post questions directly to you in the “discussions” forum. And lastly #5 – All your books will be linked to one page where people can see everything: how many books, how many reviews, and the cost. Here’s a screen shot of my Amazon.com Author Central page to give you an idea (click on it to enlarge): Continue reading “Amazon.com: Use the Monster Part 1”

Sneak Peek: Jennifer Zane’s “Gnome on the Range”

Gnome on the RangerToday we get a sneak peek of author Jennifer Zane’s novel, Gnome on the Range:

Once you get the zing you can’t go back.

Jane West has everything a woman could want. A job in a small Montana town’s only adult store, two busy young boys and one dead husband. Everything except a little excitement–a little zing. But that changes one summer morning at a garage sale when her kids buy some garden gnomes.

Now someone wants those gnomes and will let nothing get in their way. Including Jane. This new excitement for Jane spells trouble for a relationship with new neighbor–and hot fireman–Ty Strickland. Can Jane and Ty handle a relationship meddling mother-in-law, crazy kids, and stay alive while trying to solve the mystery of the garden gnomes?

Gnome on the Range is now available on Amazon.com.

Continue reading “Sneak Peek: Jennifer Zane’s “Gnome on the Range””

Test Poll of Polling Software Poll*

The surviving members of our crack engineering team  (inspired to greatness by the gruesome spectacle of the IU “early retirement” plan) have been hard at work around the clock to solve the problem with the polling software.

Now we shall test this new poll-taking thingamabob and see what is what.

The last poll on polling made me feel:

View Results

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*Post title provided by the IU Department of Redundancy Department.

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