Friday, February 8, 2013

Interesting



I found this interesting. It was published yesterday.

Here is a profile of your average book reader, according to research recently released from the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project:

·         25% of Americans 16 years and older did not read a single book in the past dozen months.
·         27% read 11 or more books in that time.
·         21% read 1-3 books.
·         27% read 4-10 books.

·         23% said they read at least one e-book in the last year.
·         67% said they read at least one printed book.

·         25% of 16+ Americans own tablets – up from 10% a year ago.
·         19% of 16+ Americans owned one book reading device at the end of 2012, whereas 10% did so at 2011’s conclusion.

·         The older one got the less likely they read books. 90% of 16-year-olds read books, but only 67% of those 65 or older do.

·         But the sweet spot for finding readers rests in those with college or graduate degrees, those who live in households earning more than $75,000, and those whose ages fall between 30 and 49.

·         81% of women vs. 70% of men read at least one book last year.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

This sponsorship worked!




The KFD sponsorship for IMAGINATION http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ATFC3JM on Tuesday did fairly well and once again eclipsed all my other marketing efforts in return dollars to spent ratio. I got below the 5,000 rank for a bit on Amazon and sales did increase dramatically for a few hours. As usual, I would recommend KFD as a top return.

I’ve slowed marketing efforts on my other nine novels to focus more on the four-book dystopian series I’m working on. It seems no matter how hard I try to focus on marketing, I always quickly return to the creative process of the novel writing art form.

I envy those authors who have personal publicists who handle all the drudgery involved in getting your name out there. How nice would it be to focus solely on writing? I’m not complaining however, the internet has provided the average writer with worlds of exposure at the click of a mouse. The only problem is that world is getting more crowded.

I do have a few more sponsorships this month and I expect to see some good results, but then I think I’m going to stop spending money on them for a while. The whole sponsorship process has been polluted by writers who have more money than talent and can buy up all the sponsorship space. The result is that readers aren’t taking the ads seriously anymore because they’ve been burned by bad stories.

I believe this to be true because I’ve seen my results from paid sponsorships dwindle over the past two years. A well-placed sponsorship used to sell hundreds if not thousands of copies, now I think readers are way more wary of what’s being touted as the ‘day’s best read’, ‘or book of the day’.

I still believe the best way to hit it big is by word of mouth and the luck of going viral, but I also think the secret lies in posting long samples of your work on as many sites as possible. There’s no need to try and convince someone to buy your book when they’ve got several sample chapters already in front of them and are enjoying what they’re reading. I always end my sample chapters with a simple note and link to purchase the book. I find this much more effective than spending good money on ad space consumed by “vanity” writers.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

The Fire Department: Imagination: Kindle Book of the Day 2/5

The Fire Department: Imagination: Kindle Book of the Day 2/5: Are you in the mood for an original thriller? If so, we've got the book for you! In  Imagination , when Christopher Parker's helicopter cras...

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Kindle Fire Book of the Day!

My KFD promotion is underway and they had some great things to say about the book. Check it out.



From Kindle Fire Department.com:

Are you in the mood for an original thriller? If so, we've got the book for you! In Imagination, when Christopher Parker's helicopter crashes and he's taken prisoner by enemy forces, he has no where left to go but into the confines of his own thoughts. This book takes the psychological thriller genre to an extreme! Fast paced, exciting, and excellently told, this is a book you're going to love.
IMAGINATION is a fast-paced and exciting psychological thriller about a prisoner of war who escapes into his own mind and creates a new reality! Check it out now!

http://fireapps.blogspot.com/2013/02/imagination-kindle-book-of-day-25.html


Sunday, February 3, 2013

So, you married a writer?

Happy Super Bowl Sunday! In honor of today, I'm re-posting a very popular snippet from a few years ago. Many of my followers have yet to read this one.



So, you married yourself a writer, eh? You bought into the romantic notion of the two of you sitting fireside, drinking glasses of pinot noir while your significant other sits beside you writing the next great American novel. The only sound is the crackling fire and the tapping of the keyboard as they belt out their genius.
Every once in a while your significant other looks up from their masterpiece and flashes you a smile that makes you feel like you’re the most special person in the world. Your house and bank account are huge and your worries are small.
Yeah right, think again. Unless you’re one of the lucky few who actually make a living at their craft the reality is much different.

My wife married me, a writer, and let me tell you how reality is for her. I have a strict routine which I follow daily. Any deviance from this routine and I feel disconnected with the world and my place in it. This routine has been ongoing for fifteen years now. I have been with my wife for sixteen years, so this is nothing new for her.

Every morning, after brushing my teeth, I fix a cup of instant coffee and sit down in front of my computer. That’s how it is. That’s what I do. This is my most creative time and I’m always at my best. This is when I write new material and give old material a serious read. I must do this alone, which means no noise, or activity around me.

My wife spends her mornings upstairs alone, watching TV or getting ready for work. My writing usually lasts about an hour and a half and when I’m finished, I immediately exercise for another hour. At this point, my wife has started her day and is off somewhere not to be seen until the evening hours. For me, depending upon if I’m working my conventional job or not, the afternoon is spent marketing and promoting. Before I went indie, I used to fill this time with querying agents and publishers, but thanks to the digital revolution, these people are no longer necessary. My nights are spent jotting ideas and reading other people’s books. Occasionally, my wife will sit beside me and also read a book.

Every month I get direct deposits from Kindle and various other outlets, and I smile that I’m actually earning money at my craft and people are reading my stuff. However, as far as the romance of what being married to a writer is like; it does exists, at times, but usually we’re both drinking pinot noir and there isn’t any writing going on.