Tag: book marketing

Is StoryBundle the Answer for You?

Author Pete Morin

If, like me, you are an indie author looking for ways to get your novel read, you have probably figured out by now that marketing and promotional opportunities are like grunion swarming to spawn on the California coast during a full moon. Plentiful and hard to catch.

The problem is, it is impossible to determine with any certainty which ones work. How do you find out? What works for one novel may not work for another. Each fiction genre seems to have its own gestalt.

If you are a reader looking for exceptional indie novels, you’re probably frazzled by the teeming number of self-published titles that clutter every nook and cranny of the internet, all shouting, “you won’t be able to put me down!” How do fans of indie fiction separate the wheat from the chaff? Continue reading “Is StoryBundle the Answer for You?”

The Hubris of the Long-Distance Podcaster.

Ears like this would help.

That pesky podcasting journey. We left off last time as I burbled confidently about the software required to record author interviews. I seem to recall mentioning that familiarity with the geekery was all it took. It turns out though, that you have to make a few more mistakes before all is well in the poddyverse. Just in case you fancy popping some interviews on your website for fun, traffic and interactivity, here are some of the things I learned the hard way.

I had already made a few decisions about the interviews themselves. I’ve been interviewed enough myself to know the frustrations of being asked all the wrong things by someone who clearly hasn’t read the right book, so I wanted the end result to be pleasing to the author. At the same time, I wanted to get a little beyond the usual verbal press release. I hoped to find areas of common ground, get a bit psychological maybe and of course have a fine old chat and a bit of a laugh. That’s a tall order with someone you can’t see and have never met so I plumped to semi-prepare us. Continue reading “The Hubris of the Long-Distance Podcaster.”

Trilogy Marketing Tricks by Michael Poeltl

Author Michael Poeltl
Author Michael Poeltl

As an independent author, I understand the limited reach I have against traditionally published books or series. So, as such, you have to think outside the box.

Have you written a trilogy or series? Have you created a website? Have you marketed yourself on all of the important social networks? The Facebooks and Twitters, Goodreads and LinkedIn? Did you place your book on Amazon and Smashwords in digital formats to meet all potential e-readers like the kindle, nook, kobo, Sony and ipad? Have you joined forums like Kindle boards and mobile reads to promote your work? Have you approached bloggers and reviewers of your genre?

Good, then you have taken your future and the future of your books into your own hands. Regardless of whether you’ve been traditionally published or going it on your own, marketing is always going to be on you, the author. Continue reading “Trilogy Marketing Tricks by Michael Poeltl”

Meet the Author: Chris James

Author Chris James
Author Chris James

Chris James is an English science fiction writer who was born in Hampton Hill near London in 1967. In 1998 he moved to Warsaw, Poland, where he lives with his wife and three children. He published his first novel in 2010, a futuristic court-room thriller called Class Action, and his second in 2011, called The Second Internet Café, Part 1: The Dimension Researcher, which takes the sub-genre of Alternative Realities to its logical conclusion. He is currently writing the second part of The Second Internet Café trilogy.

Chris says when he writes, he concentrates on replicating what he enjoys most as a reader: a fast pace in the story, emotional involvement with the characters, and action, as well as story continuity that works. “Many things can take me out of a story that I’m reading: bad writing, bad editing, plot points that don’t make sense, clunky and dull exposition. These are all the things I try very hard to avoid when I write.”

Originalty and an interesting premise are important to Chris in his work. “Class Action came from one thought: what would happen if there was a technology that could see into the brain and extract everything, which made it impossible for suspects to lie under oath? The Second Internet Café came from: wouldn’t it be cool if there was a place where scientists knew where every single alternative reality was, and sent special researchers to go and investigate them?” Continue reading “Meet the Author: Chris James”