Scott Nicholson (kick ass author of books like The Red Church and Burial to Follow) is going on a blog tour next month. He planned on doing a giveaway while he was at it. Yesterday, he announced he is now giving away not one but two Kindles.
Check out his blog posts for details on how to enter and get ready to follow Scott around the blogosphere to rack up as many entries as possible. Good luck!
And buy some of his books to say thank you. :) (I've really enjoyed what I've read by Nicholson so far.)
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Saturday, August 14, 2010
When Life Gets In The Way
This last week has been madness. Firstly, we had an unexpected house guest which threw my "work" routine out of whack. The reason we had a visitor for a couple of days was down to a bit of drama involving some extended family members. I have to say, people think some of the stories I write are repulsive but truth is always worse than fiction. I can't understand how vile people can be and how there are always those willing to keep it a secret. Never mind me, outrage always come easily to me.
Then, my piss poor broadband provider had a major screw up so we lost connectivity for a few days. I'm actually scared by how lost I was while we were internet-less. I felt like I was missing everything. When it came back, I couldn't figure out what I needed it for, I was just anxious when it wasn't around. Sad but true.
I got a lot accomplished when I didn't have the Internet to distract me so maybe I should disconnect more often. I finished one thing, got back to work on another and started something new so I think I'll just have to accept that some days I'll get more done than others. At least until school starts!
Then, my piss poor broadband provider had a major screw up so we lost connectivity for a few days. I'm actually scared by how lost I was while we were internet-less. I felt like I was missing everything. When it came back, I couldn't figure out what I needed it for, I was just anxious when it wasn't around. Sad but true.
I got a lot accomplished when I didn't have the Internet to distract me so maybe I should disconnect more often. I finished one thing, got back to work on another and started something new so I think I'll just have to accept that some days I'll get more done than others. At least until school starts!
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Tag Exchanges
Tagging ebooks on Kindle is just another attempt to get noticed. The theory is: the more tags you have, the more visibility you have in your genre/category. There has been a pretty successful tag exchange running on Kindleboards for a while now. Another has been created, this time for the Kindle store in the UK. It's kind of a good idea to get stuck in now while it is all so new and shiny. There are plenty of websites and places that take part in tag exchanges but Kindleboards has the best ones going. :)
Just to note, tag exchanges are based on the themes/genres/categories of a book. They in no way represent the quality of the book and as such are not similar to review exchanges. Tagging is above board imo. If you're interested in tagging, take a look at the following links:
Tag Exchange - Amazon.com
Tag Exchange - Amazon.co.uk
Just to note, tag exchanges are based on the themes/genres/categories of a book. They in no way represent the quality of the book and as such are not similar to review exchanges. Tagging is above board imo. If you're interested in tagging, take a look at the following links:
Tag Exchange - Amazon.com
Tag Exchange - Amazon.co.uk
News of the Week
It seems like the momentum is suddenly picking up on the ebook market and changes within the industry. Between Amazon releasing a cheap ass Kindle and opening up a UK Kindle Store, they are cementing themselves in the foreground of the ebook market.on an international level. They'll also encourage sales of Kindles and ebooks in Europe. People are only really beginning to notice ebooks here in Ireland but that's mostly because nobody has provided cheap ereaders. My Sony ereader was expensive and it can't hold too many books. I cannot wait to get me aKindle. The only way Amazon are really going wrong (as far as I can see) is not expanding into a variety of file types. If they took the lead from Smashwords and offered ebooks with a choice of file type, they might open up their customer base even further.
Smashwords announced a new distribution deal this week. This time with Diesel ebooks. They're also reporting record traffic, customers and sales. Things can be a little slow over there but they are constantly working to improve and expand. The next shipment to the Diesel ebook store is on the 9th of August but some books have already been shipped.
Interesting news - Dorechester Publishing have announced their decision to cut out mass production of print copies and concentrate on ebooks instead. They will be using a POD service when necessary. They aren't the only company who will be forced to go down this route because of poor sales. To me, POD makes a hell of a lot more sense than mass production anyway. We all have to adjust to change, Dorchester's adaptability may keep them afloat.
Smashwords announced a new distribution deal this week. This time with Diesel ebooks. They're also reporting record traffic, customers and sales. Things can be a little slow over there but they are constantly working to improve and expand. The next shipment to the Diesel ebook store is on the 9th of August but some books have already been shipped.
Interesting news - Dorechester Publishing have announced their decision to cut out mass production of print copies and concentrate on ebooks instead. They will be using a POD service when necessary. They aren't the only company who will be forced to go down this route because of poor sales. To me, POD makes a hell of a lot more sense than mass production anyway. We all have to adjust to change, Dorchester's adaptability may keep them afloat.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Open for Business
The UK Kindle store seems to have opened on Amazon. I thought it wasn't supposed to officially open until later in the month. My books are available to buy for 75p. I don't seem to have an author page and my books aren't linked together in any way. My reviews haven't carried over from the US Kindle site. I'm still scoping it out.
Funnily enough, I thought the new UK Kindlestore would be a more European oriented deal. I can't buy books there, I still have to use Amazon.com. I'm not complaining, just surprised. I assumed I'd have to scoot over to the UK site once it opened.
Eclipse is topping the paid bestseller list, priced at £3.14.
ETA: The DTP has been slowly updating. You can now view your book in either the US or UK Kindle Stores and you can also start viewing separate sales reports for either store.
Funnily enough, I thought the new UK Kindlestore would be a more European oriented deal. I can't buy books there, I still have to use Amazon.com. I'm not complaining, just surprised. I assumed I'd have to scoot over to the UK site once it opened.
Eclipse is topping the paid bestseller list, priced at £3.14.
ETA: The DTP has been slowly updating. You can now view your book in either the US or UK Kindle Stores and you can also start viewing separate sales reports for either store.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Finding Your Books in the iBookstore
Smashwords posted on their site updates recently about how to see your book in Apple's iBookstore if you don't own an Apple product that allows you to view the application. It's been really annoying not knowing if your book has appeared or not. I noticed on my latest sales report on Smashwords that I had some sales from Apple but I also wanted to check ratings. Working from the Smashwords method, here is the link to my free short story. (People do not like it. LOL)
http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/isbn9781452306254
The link is made up of the address to itunes, the country (in this case US but adjust it for other countries, Canada is CA, UK is GB, France is FR and Germany is DE.), followed by the word book and lastly the ISBN of my story. You can find your own ISBN on your Dashboard on Smashwords, just click on the ISBN manager, copy the ISBN, get rid of the dashes and add it on the end of the address.
Just take my link and replace the ISBN with your own, go to the page and bookmark it for easy reference. If it doesn't load up then recheck the link. If it looks valid then it might mean your book isn't on Apple yet.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/isbn9781452306254
The link is made up of the address to itunes, the country (in this case US but adjust it for other countries, Canada is CA, UK is GB, France is FR and Germany is DE.), followed by the word book and lastly the ISBN of my story. You can find your own ISBN on your Dashboard on Smashwords, just click on the ISBN manager, copy the ISBN, get rid of the dashes and add it on the end of the address.
Just take my link and replace the ISBN with your own, go to the page and bookmark it for easy reference. If it doesn't load up then recheck the link. If it looks valid then it might mean your book isn't on Apple yet.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Advertise Your Books (and What I've Been Reading)
Another two useful links today. Books on the Knob is another book review site accepting ebooks and indie authors. A brand new site has been set up to advertise urban fantasy and paranormal type books. They accept young adult versions. Indie Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance are looking for book reviewers and bloggers to help make this site a success. ETA: Just spotted this link on Kindleboards for a site called Blazing Trailers. They advertise book trailers if that's your thing.
I haven't been reading much since I had the baby, I can't concentrate on anything for long but the following are some books I read before her arrival. Not sure what I'm going to read next, way too many choices out there right now. Recommendations please! I started rereading a Charlaine Harris Southern Vampire book while I was in hospital but still haven't finished it. I had forgotten how meh I was about it in the first place. Anyway, the last bunch of books I read are:
A Peculiar Collection
Coombe's Wood (set this aside before but gave it another try after reading the short story collection above by the same author and really liked it.)
The Lake & Other Stories
Waiting for Spring (have to mention: this one never appealed to me by description but I really, really enjoyed it.)
Last Days and Times
Bobby's Trace
I haven't been reading much since I had the baby, I can't concentrate on anything for long but the following are some books I read before her arrival. Not sure what I'm going to read next, way too many choices out there right now. Recommendations please! I started rereading a Charlaine Harris Southern Vampire book while I was in hospital but still haven't finished it. I had forgotten how meh I was about it in the first place. Anyway, the last bunch of books I read are:
A Peculiar Collection
Coombe's Wood (set this aside before but gave it another try after reading the short story collection above by the same author and really liked it.)
The Lake & Other Stories
Waiting for Spring (have to mention: this one never appealed to me by description but I really, really enjoyed it.)
Last Days and Times
Bobby's Trace
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