Read an eBook Week!

 

I'm happy to be participating in Smashword's Read an e-Book Week promotion. If you click on my Smashwords Profile you will get a link to both of my eBooks.  The Valentine's Day Curse is Free, no coupon necessary, and Fractured Facade is 50% off from March 2-8th...at checkout use the code REW50.

 

Although the Valentine's Day Curse remains free everywhere, unfortunately I cannot create a 50% off coupon for Fractured Facade on Amazon and retailers other than Smashwords for the week, but you can download it to your Kindle or other reading device via Smashwords!

 

Happy Reading!

 

"A man only learns in two ways, one by reading, and the other by association with smarter people." - Will Rogers

 

Onwards and Upwards

So with spending less time on-line, especially on social media sites, I actually have been making progress with my tasks.

As of now, I have uploaded both Fractured Facade and The Valentine's Day Curse to every eRetailer I want to be in...Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Apple and Kobo Books. I am still awaiting Premium Status for The Valentine's Day Curse so it will take a couple more weeks for it show up on Barnes & Noble and Apple.

After one month of uploading Fractured Facade to Smashwords amd B&N, I've been disappointed with Nook readers, especially those who "clamored" for me to take my books out of KDP Select so they could download it. Although I have had some sample downloads from Smashwords, all my sales are still coming soley from Amazon. So if I don't see any improvement from the other outlets with my 90-day self-imposed time limit, I will have to rethink my decision. Hoping to spur sales, I have decided to keep Fractured Facade at $3.99 until Labor Day, and then it's going back to $4.99.

I had hoped to begin my formatting for a paperback version of Fractured Facade but I need a clear head and have been suffering from insomnia. I'm hoping today will be the day I can at least begin. I'm really not looking forward to this task.

I did take some time and slap together a quick :30 spot for The Valentine's Day Curse using the website Animoto. It's very limited, but it's free, quick and easy, and now I'm able to post it on my sidebar as well. Here it is:



Even if you're not an author looking to make a :30 spot, you should check the site out and have some fun with your photos, etc.

The writing has been non-existent, but that's okay. Besides wanting to get all the eVersions uploaded and the paperback formatted, I'm still torn as to which project I should focus on first. I'm amazed at how prolific some authors are, popping out a book a month. And then I read them, well some of them, and now know why they have so many titles. No thanks...I'd rather have quality than quantity.

I have been spending time on the other never-ending art project...the framed "Japanese" window that I still haven't conquered. I think I'm getting closer to a paint that works, and as long as my hands could hold out from all that scraping after making mistake after mistake, I think it's going to look pretty cool.

Onwards and upwards!

Back on Smashwords

After I received my royalty check from Amazon I had misgivings about not re-enrolling Fractured Facade in its Select program. After all, the majority of that check came from sales garnered after I gave away almost 10,000 copies for free...but that was a couple of months ago. The last freebie's downloads of over 3,500 more copies did not justify the amount of sales that came afterwards. And as far as borrows went, I got a measly one.

Still, it was a nice chunk of change and I wondered if I was shooting myself in the keyboard by abandoning Amazon's ship. I still didn't re-publish on Smashwords so I thought, "Hmmm, let me see if I could generate some action by having a spur of the moment, one day freebie of The Valentine's Day Curse, which is still enrolled in Select. I didn't expect much as I knew the main sites of ENT and POI would not post it as they need a couple of weeks notice and I never submitted it to them.

As I've stated before, I have begun to believe that the free eBooks carrot is losing its appeal since everyone is giving their books away. After reading comments left on posts from ENT and POI from readers thanking them (ummm, how about thanking the author who is the person responsible for the free book?) and writing, they love, love, love the free books and will NEVER pay for a book again, I began to dwell more on this practice. Although the free seems to work well for those books that are part of a series, and for prolific writers who have many books out, I fear my time may have come and passed.

I wondered if the 5 day free promotions and ability for prime members to borrow my book was still worth the 90 day exclusive period, yet I still couldn't bring myself to hit republish on Smashwords! The nail in Amazon's Select program came yesterday, before my lousy results were even done on the spur of the moment freebie, via a glance at their welcome screen. On it they were touting that prime members can now borrow for free all the Harry Potter books, as well as New York Times bestsellers and I wondered something...does that mean those books are part of the Select program, and if so, do they also have to abide by the exclusivity clause same as I do?. I checked, and nope, they don't. So I did some more checking of other bestsellers. Nope, they are available everywhere else too, no exclusivity for them either.

Now, I'm no Rowlings or Collins, but it peeves me that they get to play by different rules than I do. I think my borrows may have halted because those "popular" more expensive books are there for the taking. And I could totally understand that, but it still bothers me that Amazon changed the rules for "some" authors. I know it's their game and their board, but it's my game piece, so for now I've taken my piece off the board. I hit re-publish on Smashwords! I've already been approved for their premium catalogue as well.

This time thought I want to go only into Barnes & Noble. Apple products can be downloaded via Amazon already. Kobo has just made a deal with Japan and soon will be offering authors a way to publish directly with them in their store, so I'll wait for that. As far as Sony goes, nope, it took too long to get them to remove my book. Same with Diesel and no sales on either site. No also for the Baker & Taylor library which only pays 45% royalty for one book and nothing when someone checks it out. Smart phone apps? I'll keep that via Amazon as well.

I figure I'll give my experiment three months, the same as the exclusivity clause in KDP Select. If I feel I'm not getting the results I want I'll unpublish again and re-enroll, just in time for Christmas. That's what's great about being an Indie...I can make my own decisions and changes whenever I want, and if I'm wrong, I can change it again.

So Nook readers, you can download directly via Smashwords now, or, you can wait until it arrives in Barnes & Noble. I hope you show up to the game...

Read an eBook Week

I've decided to take part in Smashword's Read an eBook week promotion by offering Fractured Facade discounted at 50% off the $4.99 regular price, so if you download it from Smashwords, the book will cost you $2.50. The promotion kicks off today and will be running through March 12th. When you get to the check-out put this coupon code in REW50.

Here's the book's description:

The peaceful life in Southwest Virginia Marie had taken for granted is shattered the moment she receives a phone call from her brother, “I just got a call from a detective. Daddy’s dead.”

After rushing to her family home in Brooklyn, New York, Marie seeks answers to her father’s mysterious death. Instead, disturbing occurrences and acts of betrayal magnify her questions.

Marie is not surprised her unheeded suspicions regarding her father’s ex-girlfriend were valid, but she is astonished how oblivious so many people had been, and continue to be, to the wily ways of the con artist.

Inheriting her father’s scheming ex-girlfriend becomes a journey Marie never imagined she’d be forced to travel.

Written as memoir, “Fractured Facade” is a cautionary tale for anyone who is concerned about a parent after that parent loses their spouse. The survivor is often thrust into the “single world,” an unfamiliar world, quite different from the dating scene of their youth, and one where some people create facades to mask their true intentions. Sadly, loneliness can sometimes cause an otherwise intelligent person to behave foolishly.

“Fractured Facade” is the tale of a father’s death, a daughter’s life, and a sociopath’s vendetta.

Meanwhile, if there are any Nook readers who prefer to download their books from Barnes & Noble, their site is still showing the discounted price of $3.99 instead of the usual $4.99. I don't know how long that price will remain as it should have already changed. Until it does, Amazon is also selling it at $3.99 because they price-match! Anyway, I hope Nook owners realize that you can download your book directly from Smashwords as well as B&N (cheaper at Smashwords!). And Kindle owners can also download directly from Smashwords, so if you had any desire or intention to read Fractured Facade, take advantage this week!

Another eBook you can read is the short story, The Valentine's Day Curse. It's 99 cents and still exclusive to Amazon. I hope folks realize you do not need to own a Kindle to read eBooks bought from Amazon. Click here for the link to all the free apps you can download to read Kindle eBooks on your iPad, iPhone, Windows, Mac computers as well as other devices.

Depending upon the outcome of this Smashwords promotion I may keep it exclusive to Amazon. I haven't had much action at Smashwords, Barnes & Noble or Apple since the beginning of the year, so am beginning to question if perhaps the KDP Select program would be worth checking out for Fractured Facade. In fact, I've already pulled Fractured Facade from Kobo since they take so long to remove it when requested, and/or change the price. Not only haven't I seen one sale from there, but they have the book in the wrong category and still haven't changed the description.

If you're like most people you probably have hundreds if not thousands of eBooks that you downloaded free languishing on your eReader. Please don't forget about them and do the author a favor when you finish...write a review. Happy reading!

Ready, Set, eRead!

So you might have been resistant to buying an eReader, vowing it would never replace your "real" books. Then you received one this past holiday, and quickly discovered it wasn't as bad as you thought, which made you say, "Hey, this is pretty cool," and after 24 hours exclaim, "What the heck took me so long?"

And if you're like me, and many others, you probably spent the next couple of days downloading anything free you could. This includes games. And in my case, I went for the Kindle because it was easy to read outdoors and, I wanted, "just an eReader, nothing else...I don't want to become distracted." Haha! Yeah, free games are available for Kindle. I probably have all of them. And I was right, I am easily distracted. Luckily the thrill of them wore off after a couple of days.

I bought my Kindle a couple of months ago, right before I published Fractured Facade. Since I had no plans to print up hard copies, I figured the least I could do was have my own book on my own eReader. I downloaded it from Smashwords, and it looks great. So it was back to looking for good eBooks from other authors to read.

I quickly filled up my eLibrary with many free classics, many of which I already had on my physical book shelves. I think I now have every word written by one of my favorite authors, Edgar Allen Poe. Since I downloaded all his works, I believe I have only read one, "Annabelle Lee." It's not because I don't want to read more from Poe, but until my Kindle can download more hours in a day for me, I'm not able to read as much as I would like.

After I began downloading other free eBooks, I realized the mantra, "If it's free, it's for me!" definitely did not apply to all eBooks. Now don't get me wrong, there are excellent free eBooks available as many are made free by an author as a promotional tool. I recently downloaded some free J.A. Konrath books to see what all the hub-bub was. Of course, I haven't found the time to read any yet, but when I do, and if I like what I read, I will buy some of his other books, so his promotion would have worked. Now Konrath was a name I recognized, but how do I find other authors worthy of a download?

Since I could check out most well known authors' books from my local library, I prefer to use my eReader to check out independent authors, but I am discriminating. Before I download a book, even if it's free, I read the description, sample it, and check out the reviews. I've found the best way to find a good book is through word of mouth. There's also a site called 5-Star Books which lists by genre books by independent authors that have received five stars. Fractured Facade is listed, and it's not free. Be advised, I believe most of the books featured are not free. And they shouldn't be.

Recently I read a post on the Kindle Community Boards by someone who proudly claimed they had downloaded over 3,000 free books over a weekend. That's insane. They will never read all those books, especially if they didn't pay anything for them.

Have fun downloading free eBooks, but once in a while throw an author a bone and pay for their book. $4.99 is less than a fast food meal or a fancy cup of coffee. Besides, if you pay for it, it's more likely you'll actually read it, and that's what an author wants.

KDP Select & Me Follow Up

Yesterday I wrote a post entitled, KDP Select and Me, which briefly covered independent authors opting into Amazon's Kindle Owners Lending Library.

As expected, message boards, twitter, facebook and blogs were all afire as to if this was the greatest thing since sliced bread to happen to independent authors, or, just another way for Amazon to flex its muscles. The independent community is split. After doing some more research on the program I know I will NOT be opting in.

As I stated yesterday, I have a real problem with the exclusivity clause. Amazon forbids the eBook to be sold anywhere else but with them. That edict not only includes other eRetailers but also on my own site. One of the main points in going independent was that I would have total control of my work. Why would I allow Amazon to dictate where I could offer my book?

Here's the clause..."When you include a Digital Book in KDP Select, you give us the exclusive right to sell and distribute your Digital Book in digital format while your book is in KDP Select. During this period of exclusivity, you cannot sell or distribute, or give anyone else the right to sell or distribute, your Digital Book (or content that is reasonably likely to compete commercially with your Digital Book, diminish its value, or be confused with it), in digital format in any territory where you have rights.

See that bold portion? That pretty much insures that if I chose to write a series of books I would have to opt them all in. If I don't, Amazon could use that as an excuse not to pay. I hadn't even thought about that until another independent author's lawyer brought that to her attention. He advised her if she chose to go in, she'd best go all in.

Now here's the real kicker. It's my understanding, and please correct me if I'm wrong...traditional publishers do not have this exclusivity clause...only independents do!

Amazon whet the appetite of many authors by announcing it would allocate $500,000 for the month of December, and that there would be $6 million allocated for the 2012 year. Ummm, that's still $500,000 per month. Their formula is based upon how many books are opted in, and how many are checked out by Prime Members. First off, Amazon really has no idea how many people are going to opt in, so their dangling the $7,500 royalty if your book is checked out 1,500 times is insane. The more books in, the less the royalty rate will be. And if any independent thinks that someone is going to choose their 99 cent book over a $14.99 best seller, they're insane. Because there's one other major thing I discovered...Prime Members can only check out 12 books a year!!!

Now, isn't it logical that a reader is going to check out an expensive book vs. a cheap one? When that was brought up on different forums, some independent authors said, "People will buy your book then." Ummm, not necessarily. And isn't the whole point of being in this program, and giving up all your rights, is because you think your book will be checked out, and not bought? Others have said the promotion Amazon would give your book would be worth opting in. We'll see.

I had updated yesterday's post to include a post written by Mark Coker from Smashwords. It's worth reading again.

Apple vs. PC.
IPhone vs. Droid.
Kindle vs. Nook
Amazon vs. The World?

Fractured Facade -- Available Now!

I've neglected this blog because I've been here and here, but I'm back baby!

I am thrilled to post that I finally did it...I hit the publish button and Fractured Facade is now available!

It's up and running on Smashwords and can be downloaded to any eReader, phone, or desktop. You can find info on it here or just click the cover on the sidebar. I'm awaiting Amazon to finish publishing before it goes live on their site.

Here's the trailer...



You can sample the book before shelling out $4.99 to purchase it. Hey, that's less than a pack of cigarettes or a fast food meal! If you like what you read, by all means let me know.

Thanks to everyone for their support, especially my family, who have been my constant companions on this crazy journey. You were right, Mommy could do it...