Posted in Books, Writing, tagged amazon, book promotion, books, creative writing, ebooks, free book, free kindle book, Kindle, novel writing, novels, publishing, self-publishing, Unraveling Time, Writing, writing tips on 08 Apr 2013| Leave a Comment »
I’ll admit it. I got nothing done this weekend. I was positively glued to my iPad, pulling up the growing stats on my promotion for Unraveling Time, watching the numbers click upward hour by hour, day by day.
It was fascinating, and it totally exceeded my expectations.
(And in case you missed it, no worries; it’s still available for free, thru midnight tomorrow. Don’t be left out. Go claim yours!)
So, instead of something pithy and/or insightful, let’s talk about the progress so far.
Posted in Books, Writing, tagged amazon, book promotions, creative writing, ebooks, free books, Kindle, novel writing, novels, publishing, self-publishing, writing techniques, writing tips on 06 Apr 2013| Leave a Comment »
Yesterday’s promotional campaign–offering Unraveling Time free of charge for an entire weekend– came under the heading of “It couldn’t hurt.” I thought it might get my book in front of a couple of new readers. It did, but it did more than that. There are secondary effects.
Unraveling Time is a time-travel/historical/adventure/romance (yep…it is) and as such, I listed it in two sub-sub-genres: Historical fantasy and Time Travel Romance (didn’t know there was a Time Travel Romance sub-sub-genre, did you?) Well, this morning, due to the free copies that people have downloaded, Unraveling Time is in the Top Ten for its genres. Now, I grant you, those are rather specific sub-sub-genres, but here’s the thing. At Amazon, there are people who subscribe to the RSS feed of top sellers in those genres. There is even an RSS feed for top free books in those genres. And that, my friends, is targeting your demographic.
Of course, it’s a free promotion, and I’m not making a dime off it, but as folks in another business say: The first taste is free.
Already, I’ve had emails from people thanking me for the free book, telling me that they’ve started reading it already and are enjoying it, and one email from a brand-new reader just to tell me that she really loved a line from the book (“…and the sand
beneath him that smelled of ancient anger.”)
I can’t tell you how big my grin was when I read that.
So, if you some friend or colleague or even just a blogger like me says, Here’s a book for free, go get it. Even if you don’t read it, you’ll help that person’s book reach new readers and that is, essentially, what most of us are striving for.
k
Posted in Books, Writing, tagged amazon, book promotion, creative writing, ebooks, free books, Kindle, novels, publishing, Unraveling Time, Writing on 05 Apr 2013| 1 Comment »
It’s out there. For free. Go get one!
Unraveling Time is free through Tuesday!
What are you waiting for?
While you’re doing that, I’m going to write up a review of the book I finished yesterday.
k
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Posted in Books, Writing, tagged book giveaway, book promotion, books, e-readers, ebooks, free book, Kindle, novels, publishing, self-publishing, Time travel, time travel adventure, time travel romance, Unraveling Time, Writing on 04 Apr 2013| Leave a Comment »
Attention, biblio-nauts! I’m kicking off a promotion for one of my recent novels.
Starting tomorrow (Friday, April 5), you can get a free copy of Unraveling Time for your Kindle-reader.
No gimmicks. No strings. From April 5 through April 9, this book is entirely free. Go, get it, and keep it forever. It is literally yours for the taking!
(Remember, you can read Kindle books on your PC, your Mac, your iPad, your iPhone, your Android phone or tablet…anywhere!)
Still not sure? Read an excerpt of the book right here on this blog! What can you lose (except a weekend spent with a good book)?
Want to know more? Want to know what it’s about? (more…)
Posted in Books, Fallen Cloud Saga, Writing, tagged amazon, ankylosaur, Beneath a Wounded Sky, creative writing, dinosaur, ebooks, Fallen Cloud Saga, FC:V, novel writing, novels, parasaurolophus, plesiosaur, pterosaur, self-publishing, T-Rex, Writing on 01 Apr 2013| 2 Comments »
It’s one of those things I dreaded. A reader of the Fallen Cloud Saga has asked me what species of dinosaurs I used in the series. Don’t get me wrong, it’s terrific that readers want this kind of detail and “behind the scenes” info, and I’m more than happy to provide it, but I know this will only give ammunition to Paleozoic anoraks to shoot holes in my world-building techniques. The row that ensued over my leaving Quebec under French control was epic. I can only imagine what will happen with this.
But, rather than just a cold list of species, I’ll give a little of my thinking to the scenario as well.
Posted in Writing, tagged author control, Barb Hendee, creative writing, ebooks, editing, novel writing, publishing, self-publishing, the noble dead saga, Writing, writing tips on 18 Mar 2013| 4 Comments »
A friend of mine, Barb Hendee, is half of that incredible tag-team author-pair that has brought you The Noble Dead Saga and many other novels and series.
Well, Barb has a blog, and she often posts articles of a writerly nature. While all of her articles are good, her most recent article made me choke on my coffee and laugh out loud.
For the uninitiated, it’s as easy to suppose that all published authors are fabulously wealthy as it is to assume we have total control over the publication of our books. Hardcover or softcover? Price point? Cover art?
None of these are within an author’s control, once you sign that contract. I’ve even had the title of some books changed without either my consultation or assent. Go ahead. Try to guess which ones.
Meanwhile, go check out Barb’s article on the topic.
k
Posted in Books, Writing, tagged amazon, books, creative writing, ebooks, Kindle, novel writing, novels, publishing, self-publishing, Writing on 18 Mar 2013| 1 Comment »
My wife and I take walks around Seattle’s Green Lake. It’s one of the best parks in the city, and it’s beautiful at any time of the year. It’s a nice 3+ mile circuit, during which we’d talk about many things, quite often about my writing. My wife (my First Reader) is a great sounding-board for plot ideas, plot problems, character development ideas, etc.
When I sold my first book, our walks had a new topic: which of these lakefront houses would we buy when the money started rolling in?
It’s true. I so firmly believed in the future success of my books and my career as a writer that I was eyeing million-dollar properties. So, what the hell happened? Why didn’t Oprah’s Secret kick in? (more…)
Unraveling Time
Desert Wind
Ploughman's Son
Ploughman King
The Year the Cloud Fell
The Spirit of Thunder
Shadow of the Storm
The Cry of the Wind
Beneath a Wounded Sky
Cryptogenesis: A Memoir
Kurt R.A. Giambastiani 