Steve Jobs [remember him?] philosophy

Steve Jobs quote about life:

“Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact and that is everything around you that you call life was made up by people who were no smarter than you.
The minute that you understand that you can poke life and actually, if you push in, something will pop out the other side – you can change it. You can mold it. That’s maybe the most important thing.”

Caroline Barnard-Smith VS John Locke

Screaming into the Virtual Wind

Caroline Barnard-Smith, Dark Fantasy Writer, makes a good point on the John Locke method of selling a million ebooks. It comes down to this: why do you write?

Do you write for art or money? Ideally, the money follows the art. Caroline quotes John Locke, “my books may not be great literature, but they certainly don’t suck… I no longer have to prove my books are as good as theirs [traditional publishers]”

Hummm...

Promote Your Books and eBooks

Join the blog and use comment to post your books blurb and link!

Marketing Tips for New Writers

 From the Kindle Publishing Support Forums:

Marketing tips for new authors
Posted: Nov 9, 2011 3:46 PM
Click to reply to this thread Reply

I thought it might help to start a thread for new authors, so they can learn from our mistakes and successes. I do not pretend to know all the answers, but I can explain a few things that might help. The following will look like a huge ad, but I am offering you inexpensive alternatives that I use and recommend. I have written 21 books, so I have a little experience to share.

1. Name recognition is important. Promote using the name you have chosen to write under. The more people see your name, the more they will remember it.

2. Build a website. I use Google Sites because they are free and professional looking. Example of a Google Site: www.firstchapterproject.com

3. Read everything you can find on book promotion. There are tons of free articles and blogs on the web. Set aside a day or two just to educate yourself.

4. Ask yourself if your book is really one that appeals to mass market readers. If not, set your sales goal accordingly so you are not disappointed. Trust me, this is not the path to easy riches - it takes hard work.

5. Most don't like it when I say this, but do not swap books with other authors in exchange for reviews, pay for reviews or ask people to "like" your book who have not read it. Note: if you have 167 likes and no sales, what does it tell the readers? Don't ask friends and family for reviews. Be honest and wait for real reviews, which are far more gratifying.

Reviews are for readers, not writers.

6. Work hard on your book blurb (description). If it is flat, boring, too long, gives too much away or has errors, readers won't buy. -- How to Write a Book Blurb that Sells (And Other Ebook Marketing Advice)
http://amzn.com/B005SY5SZ0 $.99

7. Find an editor fast. You may think your book is perfect, but it is better to make sure. I have seen authors receive as many as 10 bad reviews for typos that could have easily been avoided. Bad reviews are hard, if not impossible, to overcome. Try Frankie - inexpensive editing http://frankiesfreelanceediting.blogspot.com

8.Don't fall into the formatting pit. Formatting does not require a 4 year degree. A word.doc works just fine and in most cases, better. but if you are overwhelmed or too busy - Formatting - www.eformatters.com (my daughter)

9. Face it - you are not going to retire on just one book. Keep writing. A series is your best choice and will keep readers coming back for more. I have only heard of one author who's made a million on only one book, and it was traditionally published with mass marketing behind it.

10. There is only one sure way to sell books - write one that readers will recommend to other readers. Unfortunately, no one will find your book if you don't tell them and that's where the hard work comes in. Prepare for six months to a year before becoming profitable.

I know there are others on this board who can add to my advice. Hopefully we will hear from them on this thread.

Marti's Author page -- http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003XSYENA

Climbing that High Mountian All Alone - the Indie Authors

From the Kindle Publisher Support Forum:

"Naughtybutnice,
Indies have every right to be proud. Here's an earlier thread I wrote on this subject:


I'm proud of you...
Posted: Nov 6, 2011 5:02 AM Reply

For all Indie writers, especially novelists,
I know that most of you are avid readers with favorite authors, be they literary, sci-fi, fantasy, mystery or an eclectic mix. Go pick up one of those books now and check out the "acknowledgements". In most cases, you will find a lengthy list of team members that made that book a success: agents, researchers, editors, publicists and "supporters"...all with skin-in-the-game, rooting for the book. Oh, and money. Lots and lots of money.

But that's not you, is it? Most of you have produced one or more original, entertaining and well-written books all by yourself. Maybe you paid an editor or someone to help design a cover, but it was all your emotional and financial investment, your guiding hand. It still came down to you to say, "Okay. I'm ready to publish." And then you became the whole marketing department, too. Gradually, thank God, you actually began to sell some books.

And the traditional publishers and their fans came running to congratulate you on this solitary miracle, right? WRONG. They came at you throwing eggs, bad reviews and negative blog posts. Right here on Kindle they started a forum thread titled "How to Avoid Indie Authors".

You know what? Screw them. I know what you have achieved. You have climbed a very tall, forbidding mountain all by yourselves...AND I AM SO PROUD OF YOU.
Lioness"

Bizarro Lit | Cracked.com

Bizarro Lit | Cracked.com

Transcendental Bizarro Sci Fi Fiction

Bizarro Definition
I'm playing around again with sub-genre classifications of Bizarro fiction. Bizarro is defined quite well by Lee Thomas in the following quote:
"Bizarro is literature of the weird. This isn’t the same thing as experimental fiction, which is weird in its structure and sometimes unreadable. In Bizarro, it’s the characters, plot, setting, or premise that is weird. Bizarro is linked to absurdism and surrealism, but being fun to read is more important than any particular theory or philosophy." - Lee Thomas Bizarro Fiction: Literature of the Weird

Transcendental Bizarro
Transcendental Bizarro is not so concerned with gore and grossness for it's own sake. The movie equivalent of Transcendental Bizarro literature would be a David Lynch movie. I am a big fan of David Lynch. In my opinion, his movies are filled with suggestions of a higher reality beyond the material realm. This theme runs through most of his work and is easy to see once you grok the stylistic techniques he uses.

The list of ebooks on the Beam's Doorway website are now classified as the sub-genre Transcendental Bizarro.