Huge 99¢ Sale! 28 Books from a Dozen Authors!

Yep, here in St. Louis, there's a definite Autumn feel in the air. Time to cozy up with that Kindle by the fire. It's the perfect time for a humongous (yes, I said HUMONGOUS) 99¢ Sale! 28 Books from a Dozen Authors! The eBooks listed on fellow writer, Michael K. Rose's blog page, Myriad Spheres, are only $0.99 October 21-25. A few are always 99¢, but the majority are being offered at this special price for a limited time. They represent some of the best work from a dozen diverse authors, including yours truly, of course!
Click on the link below and check it out!

 99¢ Sale! 28 Books from a Dozen Authors!

So What About Those One-Star Reviews?

Guest Post by Kristin Comstock

1 of 10 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars DONT READ THIS BOOK, January 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Fahrenheit 451 (Paperback)

Ray Bradbury tries to write a bestseller in this boring novel. He keeps the audience in the book for about three pages, then everyone falls asleep. If he could do it again, I think he should have never written books in the first place.

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The dreaded one star review. What does it mean really for writers and readers? I am not an author, and only a sometimes writer, but I am an avid reader and sometimes reviewer, and strong supporter of indie writers. Personally, I will probably never write a one- or two- star review. Why? I think I need to have actually read a book to review it fairly, and frankly, life is short and my reading list is long. I would never make it through a 1 or 2 star book. But that's just my personal philosophy. And I certainly don't subscribe to the  "I think this book is just a 3- star book, but there are a ton of 5 stars,so I'll give it a 1- star so it all balances, and everything will be right with the universe" phiIosophy. (Yes, I have seen this stated more than once. I'm not an author, but this one kind of steams me!) Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there are plenty of one-star reviews just begging to be written. Obviously, there are plenty of readers with a different perspective than mine,leaving one- and two-star reviews. I started thinking about this the other day while catching up on all the hot news surrounding reviews. What is the value of legitimate one-star reviews and why do reviewers leave them? So I spent a little time browsing reviews on Amazon. What I found was just what you would expect; the reasons for leaving one-star reviews are as diverse as the tastes of readers reading the books. Here's a look at some of the most common ones that I found.
Many one-star reviews were given because a reader "couldn't get into it". As in " I just can't get into ________ (wizards, vampires, bondage, etc), so I'm giving this book a one star review." These reviewers seem to be using the star system to rank books according to their personal preferences,or as a way of relating how much appeal the book had for them.

Sometimes one-star reviews are given for typos, or poor editing. I have seen poor reviews based on one error that was troubling to the reviewer. ( By the way, lest we begin to believe this happens only with indie published books, I can point to at least 2 traditionally published ebooks I have read recently which would need to get this rating because of several minor proofreading errors.)
Particularly fascinating to me are the one-star reviews that  also talk about strong points of a book or things that the reviewer liked. For example, Agatha Christie's classic bestseller, And Then There Was None: "It was well written. It was a page turner. But it had a very anti- climatic ending. So not worth my time or money"  or this for a more recent bestseller, Water For Elephants, " This writing is exceptional and managed to keep me interested during the course of the book. Still these marvelous little glimpses of author Sara Gruen's potential do not permit me to recommend this book to anybody." (Huh?) So why a one star and not a 2 star? Or 3 star, if you find a book "fast paced and super compelling" but you didn't love the way the characters developed, as one  Hunger Games reader wrote?
Sometimes reviewers wish  the author had done something different , gone in another direction, as again in The Hunger Games: "I hoped that the plot device would give an opportunity to explore human nature...but it fails." And sometimes a reviewer just is not comfortable with the subject matter. How about those one-star reviews for the popular parenting book, Everyone Poops?

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9 of 61 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Ewww, February 14, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Everyone Poops (My Body Science) (Hardcover)

Honestly, if you're reading this book, you're in need of serious psychiatric help. This book should only be read by the most hard-core of poop fetishists, as it contains words that no self-respecting sailor would use. This is terrible. "POOP" STINKS
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So with so many reasons for giving out 1-star reviews, how should we, as readers and writers, be looking at this dreaded rating? The master science fiction writer,Ray Bradbury, may have just shrugged off the review above. He expressed this perspective in his 1996 interview with Playboy magazine, "When I started writing seriously, I made the major discovery of my life - that I am right and everybody else is wrong if they disagree with me. What a great thing to learn: Don't listen to anyone else, and always go your own way." There may be something to this attitude-after all, a writer has to be true to him or herself.  But, as a writer, you may not be quite as confident or successful as Bradbury yet, so , perhaps, a more useful attitude may be to take what you can learn from the review and move forward- just as Ray Bradbury surely did. 
Maybe writers should even consider one-star reviews as a badge of honor. After all, most bestsellers have a healthy blend of 1 to 5 star reviews. Hang around long enough and it's hard for a book to escape them. Sure, I know those 1 star reviews are about as welcome as a bad case of poison ivy, but consider this: A few thoughtful, yet less than stellar, reviews, may lend a bit of authenticity to the book's reviews as a whole for the potential reader. People tend to be suspicious of a book with nothing but glowing reviews. Wool (the Omnibus Edition) by Hugh Howey, one of my favorite reads of 2012 has 1562 five-star and 12 one- star. A few of the negative reviewers express doubt over the validity of all those 5 star reviews. They can't believe they're in the minority and dislike a book that so many people are raving about. But the reality is, readers hand out stars for all kinds of reasons and many times the basis for the rating is purely subjective and the low (or high) rating may or may not be an accurate reflection of the quality of the work. Readers and writers both need to take the stars as a tool but certainly not as gospel. Different strokes for different folks, y'all.. and on that cliched note, I'll leave you with this profound quote from Kurt Vonnegut:
"Any reviewer who expresses rage and loathing for a novel is preposterous. He or she is like a person who has put on full armor and attacked a hot fudge sundae."

What are your thoughts on one star ratings as a reader or writer? Do you give out negative reviews? What is your criteria for a one star rating? 



Kristin Comstock is a transplanted Michigander just like her friend,Jeff Currie. She is an educator, social media consultant and manager, avid reader, sometimes reviewer, and strong supporter of indie writers. She resides in Texas with her 3 very busy children, and 2 ornery cats. Track her down on Twitter @krismos.

5 Reasons Why Indie Writers May Or May Not Be Sticking With KDP Select.

It has been 9 months since I attempted my first free days with KDP Select. My first promo was shortly after I published Judgment Tramp, and truthfully, it wasn't exactly a success. (Read about it here) After that I decided to do a lot of detective work to discover what other writers were doing to make KDP Select work for them.  I read so many blog posts on the subject, I decided it would be beneficial to collect them all in one place and provide a list for others who were seeking information. Since then, I periodically search for new posts and continue to list people's experiences in a loose chronological order. (You can find that list here.) 
Over the course of the last 8 months or so, the majority of experiences have been positive with more and more writers jumping on board and giving it a try. I,personally, have run 5 more promos since the initial flop with various degrees of success. However, the KDP trend seems to be shifting somewhat, and, recently, I've come across more posts  from writers who have decided to cut loose from KDP Select. In light of this, I thought it would be useful to summarize why indie writers who have been participating in KDP Select may or may not have chosen to stick with it. Personally I've decided to stick with it as long as the benefits of participating in KDP Select seem to outweigh the negatives. I reevaluate every 90 days, but so far I don't see anything that will give my marketing efforts the same boost. However, the reasons that others are deciding differently are valid and worth considering. If you have been participating or are considering participating in KDP Select, maybe the following will help you decide which way to go. So here are the top reasons writers may or may not be sticking with KDP Select as gleaned from recent posts:

Writers ARE sticking With KDP Select because:

1. ...they are still enjoying the boost in sales after a free promotion , and the potential exposure to thousands of readers they might not have reached without the visibility free day promotions gives them. They may be one of the writers who credits the success of your books to KDP Select and the opportunities the program has given them. The impact of KDP Select may not be what it once was-writers are noticing a definite difference since around April/May when Amazon changed the algorithms-but many are still finding it a beneficial tool for marketing their books.  This may be especially true if the writer is a new author because using the program gives writers who may not yet have a following the opportunity for immediate exposure.

2. ...they are using ALL of KDP Select, including the free days. and aren't counting on royalties from borrows to take them to the bank.  Borrows are only part of the picture and, frankly, if your price is higher than $2.99, you will get less in royalties for that borrow than if the book had been purchased

3. ...they are willing to max out your free event by using websites, blogs, Facebook pages and other social media to advertise their free promo. This has become even more important for maximizing  chances at a bump in sales afterwards. The effect of a multitude of free downloads on sales rank has diminished since the program was first introduced, but the more visibility you achieve, whether through the promo itself or the lingering effect of  having made extra effort to advertise your book, the more likely it is that sales will pick up after your free promo. The number of free titles has increased as well, so books may need more of a marketing boost to push the number of free downloads up.

4. ...they like the great advertising  their book gets  when it appears on the free bestseller lists right alongside the paid bestseller lists; not for vanity's sake ( well, not much!), but because being next to the likes of Stephen King, Michael Connelly, or  Brad Thor makes for pretty darn good advertising. 
5. ...they are using the power of KDP Select to cross-sell their books. This may be especially true if an author has a series of books. Putting one book in the free promotion often helps build a readership for other books in a series and increases sales across all of an author's books. Despite all the changes, KDP Select still remains a powerful tool for aiding readers to sift through all of the books now available at Amazon.

Writers are NOT sticking with KDP Select because:

1. ...they believe that writers putting their books up for free is devaluing. They are afraid the use of the free promotion is overdone and creating a harmful "Walmart-like" expectation among readers who are becoming less and less willing to pay for what they have worked so hard to create and market.

 2. ... they believe that giving Amazon exclusivity is not a good idea, either for their books, and/or for the greater good. Perhaps they are a writer who has developed a readership among Nook or Kobo owners and doesn't want to exclude them, or they've tried the KDP Select program and it was good, but it's time to expand to other platforms. They may feel Amazon is dangerously close to becoming a monopoly.

 3. ...they don't like that their books' rankings take a rapid plunge, sometimes below where they started, after coming off free days, and, sometimes, take a while to recover. Since the algorithms have changed, free downloads don't seem to count as much toward sales rank as they used to and a book being free means no sales are recorded during those free days, of course, which most likely causes this initial plummet directly after a promo ends. My book has always plummeted initially and then risen back up. This is the bounce that we used to get all the time. My book hasn't bounced as well as some, but it has always bounced. What I notice, however, is a much slower rise in the rank.)(See Jeff Faris's insightful post about why you may not be achievIng the bounce quite as easily anymore.)
 4. ...they've noticed an increase in 1- and 2-star reviews, often coming from people who haven't reviewed any other books, or, obviously read the book, which makes them question the review's validity and/or intention of the reviewer. They see a tendency for some people who have downloaded books for free to leave harsher reviews. They may have seen an effect on their book's prior stellar ratings.

 5. ... they simply feel that KDP Select has run out of steam, and it's time to move on. It has lost enough of its effectiveness for them and it no longer seems worth it for many of the reasons listed above.

Which way are you going with KDP Select?

Fear of Rejection: What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger?

I don't know about you, but I have my moments of cowardice, and there are some things that bother the heck out of me. I don't like sharks--and I'm absolutely sure that one will be having me for dinner the moment I jump into the water.  I'm not a big fan of power tools or machinery, especially after having the tip of my right ring finger re-attached after an accident involving a forklift. And most of all, I'm afraid of something a lot of people are afraid of--I'm afraid of rejection.

Writers have to deal with rejection all the time, so it follows that the writers who last in the business do so by finding ways to get past the hurt of receiving a bad review or a rejection slip in order to get something productive accomplished.

More to the point, writers have to find ways to make rejection work for them. In fact, it might not be a stretch to say that rejection, at least to some degree, is an essential element of professional writing. Rejection winnows out the weak and unfit--it serves as a form of career darwinism to improve the breed. I think there was some hand wringing from industry insiders when e-books came along--but I think the darwinistic trend of the e-market will function normally; it will still be a business where only the strong survive and the true talent rises to the top of the pile. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Writers have to figure out a way to motivate themselves when rejection comes calling, and how an individual writer handles rejection will sometimes determine the path a writer takes in the quest for success.If a writer is trying to snag an agent, then the first step on the path to success is essentially laid out--and some great writers struggled for years before finally achieving success in finding an agent, Indie authors may have dodged that bullet, but there are still many bumps in the road to endure before an indie writer can become successful. I'm sure some indie authors went down that path to avoid the agent's slush pile, but I believe that being a successful indie writer is at least as hard as becoming a traditionally published author.

Indie authors still have to sell books, and that entails so much more than writing. Indie authors may skip the agent finding process, but indie writers still have to deal with the criticism of the marketplace. More than any other writer, indie writers live and die by customer reviews. It's big part of the indie marketing process.

Indie writers have to put work out on the market to find out where they stand. An essential part of the indie writer's education is to understand how to interpret customer feedback--it's great if your project gets wonderful reviews, but it isn't the end of the world if you receive a few tough reviews--those reviews tell you about your work, and they also reveal a lot about your readers--because every review says as much about the author of the review as it does about your work.

I wouldn't jump on my proverbial sword because of a bad review, and I certainly would resist the urge to think I knew everything about writing just because I received a few good reviews. I'll do my best to learn everything I can about this craft, but at the end of the day I have to write the way I write. People will either buy into what I'm doing or they won't--but at least I will have been true to myself. I urge you to do the same.

Wrong Place, Right Time: How Dr. John Reminded Me To Study the Masters In Music and Writing

The other day I made a decision to study Dr. John's piano technique. For those of you who don't follow music, Dr. John is the dean of New Orleans-style piano players, and he's well versed in the history of music in his city. Here's a YouTube link if you want to hear him:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUX5RKK1gtI

I've been familiar with his music for years, but I never took the time to study it closely. I always figured I could approximate the New Orleans style with the skills I had, but lately I've been unhappy with my solo work when playing jobs with my bands, and I decided delve deeper into the New Orleans sound for inspiration.

It was a good thing I did--my idea of New Orleans piano had drifted considerably over the years...I thought I knew the sound and the techniques, but a few minutes of listening showed that I'd been fooling myself. I sounded nothing like Dr. John--and in fact, I was completely wrong in my interpretation of the style. Listen to the video--Dr. John has that distinctive right hand trill in his solos, and I had completely forgotten about it because I'd stopped listening to the music I was attempting to emulate.

I could have rationalized. After all, I was interpreting the style in my own unique way--I could have been satisfied with faking it. I could have continued playing the same old crap and telling myself it was good enough when it really wasn't. I probably would have done that (hell, I did do that!), but I finally got fed up with my same-old, same-old solos that never changed from one week to the next.

I realized that I stopped adding the trills to my solos because they were hard to do. Somewhere over the years they had slipped away from me, and when I started practicing I realized how bad my overall technique was--I'd also stopped practicing between jobs a while back.

Writing and music have a lot in common, and writers must be readers in the same way musicians have to also listen to music. I'm not trying to copy Dr. John anymore than I try to copy Ken Follett or Stephen King.  

But I must understand Dr. John's music in order to play Jeff Currie's style of New Orleans blues. Dr. John has to understand the music of Professor Longhair and Jelly Roll Morton to create the "Dr. John" style. I might not use the right hand trill often, but it needs to be in my bag of tricks, along with other techniques I glean during my piano studies. If nothing else, I'll have that little push I need to get me out of my comfort zone.

Everyone has to have a baseline of knowledge to perfect (or even improve) a skill. Listening to the style and technique of the masters is the first step toward that end for a musician, and reading and studying the work of top writers, is the first step for a writer. In other words, when you find yourself on the right road but you took a wrong turn, get back to basics...

I been in the right place
But it must have been the wrong time
I'd have said the right thing
But I must have used the wrong line
I'd a took the right road
But I must have took a wrong turn
Would have made the right move
But I made it at the wrong time
I been on the right road
But I must have used the wrong car
My head was in a good place
And I wonder what it's bad for...From "Right Place, Wrong Time", Dr. John

Writers, Diamonds Are Just Lumps Of Coal That Stuck It Out, and You Can Too!

Sorry about the long delay between blog posts--I caught some sort of virus that bedeviled me all last week.

In my last post I mentioned some of the writers who inspired me, and someone commented on the fact that I was at least partially motivated by the thought that I could do as well as a best-selling author. I guess that was a bit shocking, but I honestly believe many of us started our first book with that exact thought in mind.

I think our favorite books intimidate us a little--and in my case the classic authors (Twain, Lee, Hemingway) still seem unreachable. But I was never intimidated by Clive Cussler, Jeffrey Archer, or Jack Higgins. Perhaps I should have been (and I'll say it again--I have a MUCH greater appreciation for those authors now that I've actually finished my two books). 

You may be searching for another blog to read right now, after reading that horribly arrogant spiel, but hang on a second. That's what it takes to write a book--especially the first one. Writers need self confidence and (dare I say it?) even a touch of arrogance to see the way through a book-length project. Some writers may not show it, but I've never met a successful author who didn't believe in their talent--at least most of the time.

Don't get me wrong--writers have low moments. My best friend could tell you all about that--especially after a phone session devoted to propping me up when I'm going through the sulky-mopeys. All self confident people have moments of doubt, but those moments don't overwhelm successful writers--at least not for very long.

You don't believe me? You're wrong--because here's the deal: successful writers are (or should be) judged by only two things...tenacity, and a willingness to keep educating themselves. That's it.

Nothing else matters--I could care less if a writer is published. A successful writer (the writer who never quits trying and never stops learning) will be published, today, tomorrow, or next year. It's just a matter of time.  Indie authors aren't left out of the party--the same confidence that makes a person a successful writer can make the writer a successful Indie author.  Writing and marketing an Indie book is all about tenacity and continual learning, to gain knowledge about what works and what doesn't.

I was an unsuccessful writer for a long time. Before that I was just a guy who talked a lot about trying to write. I was sure I could write great books, but I never proved it to anyone. Now I've written two books, and I'm still not sure I've proved anything--to me or anyone else. But I'm a successful writer, and I still think I have the ability to write as well as those authors I named--if not now, then someday. My next book will be better.

I really believe everything I just wrote...99% of the time--and my friend will be there for me when I go through my next emotional swoon. 

Find the confidence to believe that you can write at a professional level. Go figure out how to do it--and never stop learning. Have confidence. Fake it if necessary. Fake it until you believe it--and find that special friend who will believe on those days when you feel like a fraud.

Writers Must Be Readers: What Books Inspire Me (You may be surprised!)

I get this question a lot. I gave some general answers in my opening post on this blog back in October, 2011, but I thought it might be interesting to delve into the specifics of why I decided to write a book.

Most writers (and all good ones) love to read, and I'm no exception. I can't remember a time when I didn't enjoy reading, and I don't think I'm exceptional when I admit that I've read my favorite books many times over. If anything, I tend to be a little obsessive about reading the same books over and over, and I have to force myself sometimes to try a new author or genre.

One of the first authors who grabbed me was Alistair MacLean. He was the preeminent writer of thrillers back in the 1960's, and I'm always amazed at the number of name authors who credit him for being a molding force in their work. I'm not a name author, but he was a huge influence on me. There's a reason Eb has the same last name (I decided early on to use a lower-case "L" for Eb, just to make his last name a bit different).

Alistair MacLean instilled a love of mystery and intrigue in me that remains, and I was very sad to see how he declined toward the end as age and alcoholism took the wind out of his sails...his last books were barely readable. I never read those books--I don't want to remember him that way.

MacLean was the first writer who hooked me on the idea of telling a great story, but another writer made the idea of writing exciting because he used language in such a telling way. Reading his prose was (and still is) like watching water flow in a fast-moving stream, and I still grab one of his books when I need inspiration. Nothing else in print gets me charged up to write like his work. So who is this guy? One of the masters? Hemingway? Faulkner?

Not even close.

His name was Colin Fletcher, and the book that so moved me was a book on...walking. Not only a book on walking, but a how-to book, describing the practical and technical aspects of backpacking.

Make no mistake--"The Complete Walker" is every bit of a how-to book, still regarded as definitive by many (there were several editions, revised and updated over the years), but it is so much more. Colin Fletcher never let the jargon get in the way of his real mission. He was simply a master at inspiring the reader to walk, to think about walking, and to think about the "feel-how" of loving the outdoors and experiencing nature to its fullest. Alistair MacLean inspired me to think about storytelling, but Colin Fletcher made me love writing.

"In the desert you rediscover, every time you go back, the cleanness that exists in spite of the dust, the complexity that under-lies the apparent openness, and the intricate web of life that stretches over the apparent barrenness; but above all you rediscover the echoing silence that you had thought you would never forget." - Colin Fletcher 

There are many other books that inspire me, but the real reason I decided to write a book was because I read all of Jack Higgins's books. I'm not always sure why I like his books, and I get infuriated when he uses the same plot devices over and over. He's a writer (his real name is Harry Patterson, and some of his work was published under that name) who writes to a specific formula, so the characters are eerily similar from one book to the next; Sean Dillon is basically the same character as Liam Devlin--not only in mannerisms, but right down to the physical description of the two characters. Hell, forget "basically the same"... they could be clones. It may infuriate me, but Jack (or more accurately, Harry) is laughing all the way to the bank. There must be something about his formula that grabs me, because he's still writing, and I still buy his books.

But the big thing is this--Jack Higgins made me believe I could write, and that infuriating formulaic style of his convinced me that I could write just as well as he could. Hell, I was absolutely sure I could do better! (From a bank balance standpoint I still have a ways to go before I catch him--and of course now, after trying it myself, I see that writing is a bit tougher than I first assumed.)

I always wonder if other writers started out with the same mindset that I had. I know some of you did.

There are other writers who inspired me, but the truth is that I was sure I had a book in me, and I was able to learn enough to get by from reading.

Reading is the key--and every book, good or bad, has something to teach me. I read Janet Evanovich because her writing helps me understand how to write from scene-to-scene, and I read Ken Follet because I love how he can make his good characters flawed while also making his evil characters human. I marvel at Hemmingway's short stories because he understood human nature so well (I must say it didn't help him much--or worse, it might have been the root of all his problems).

I've been haunted by water ever since reading Norman Maclean, and Louise Dickinson Rich made me love the Maine woods. John A. Murray and Rick Bass helped me become fascinated by grizzly bears, and Bruce Catton made the Civil War real. Harper Lee made me idolize Gregory Peck...and Gregory Peck made me marvel at the genius of Harper Lee. I can honestly say that I've read all of her books--every single one.

The real reason I write books is because they grab me...and they always have and always will. I write books that I would want to read, and I know I haven't done well enough on a particular book when I want to run away from reading it after writing it. I knew "Judgment Tramp" was good because I read it over and over once it was finished--and that's quite a thing for a writer to say after going through the torture of writing a book!

What books have inspired you and why? Any surprises?

KDP Select Free Days Part 2: Or My Sloppy Attempt To Make Sense Of It All

Ok so here it is... After weeks of intense research, hours of reading  blog posts until my reading glasses fogged over, laboring over charts and graphs worthy of CSI, I am happy to announce I have found the magic formula for success using the KDP "free" promo!! Ok, I exaggerate a bit. Not to say that a "magic" formula doesn't exist out there somewhere, but much like the Road to El Dorado, remains somewhat elusive. If I am to be truthful, there is one thing that emerged  from my "research" above all else,and it's how varied the experiences have been thus far.  This post is my meager attempt to make sense of it all, sort through others' experiences and try to find the answers to some questions I have as my next 3 day "free" promotion of JUDGMENT TRAMP approaches (2/21-2/23 in case you were wondering :)
So in my attempt to gather all the various threads of thought on the KDP Select's free book promo, there were certain questions I wanted answered. I'll try to go through them one at a time and summarize what I've learned, citing other authors and blogs along the way. Many good folks have reported on their experiences and far more coherently than I , so I encourage you to check them out.
1) Obviously the number one question: Was it a positive or a negative experience for most people? I can say for certain,with few exceptions, that among the writers who have posted about their experiences, most were happy that that they participated, some ecstatic even. Results range from barely lukewarm (see Red Mojo Mama(Kathy Lyn Hall) to approaching "KDP saved my book" and "beyond wildest dreams" territory. (See John Betcher, Rob Blackwell, Ellis Vidler, David Kazzie, David Wisehart). Positives far outweigh the negatives in reports by participating authors. Of course, I suppose there is that possibility that only those with success stories to share are sharing, but from reports it would appear that KDP Select has been a boon for many. The immediate results have made a lot of people happy, but still there is a long term, wider impact that is still unknown, and for some the jury is definitely still out. (See Derek Haines and R. S. Guthrie's post/discussions)
2) How many days should a promotion run in order to gain the most, and which days are the best? Most seem to agree that a promotion needs to run a minimum of 2 days for the book to gain momentum.  One exception was Colette whose letter was posted on Ashley Barron's blog. She felt grouping the free days together  was "a waste" and felt it more beneficial to spread them out for advertising and exposure of your book.  In general though, one day just doesn't give enough time to gain the downloads needed to propel a book into the bestseller lists. As Katie M. John says in her excellent post, "It would seem (from very early analysis) that it is better to block the promo days together. Allowing more time for the book to travel up the freebie charts gets it far more visual coverage on the Amazon sites" 
 As for what days seem the best? No clear consensus, however Pixel of Ink warns against the first of the month as there is a glut of free books offered on those days. What seems to make the most sense to me is to offer your book for free during the week. People who get lots of sales report most of them happen over the weekend. Therefore, wouldn't the best strategy possibly be to offer the book for free during lower sales days and watch it soar into the best seller ranks, where it will be ready to attract sales on the weekend when more people are looking to buy books? (Hint: I am going with this strategy this week, will let you know)
3) Does having more than one book published make a difference? As I mentioned in my post, My Results With KDP Select's Free Days Part 1  one of the reasons I elected to try the KDP Select program was because I had just published my first book on Amazon and felt I had nothing to lose. Worst case scenario, I figured, my book would gain some exposure, maybe pick up a few readers, and of course, those all important reviews. I still think it was a good decision for me. Obviously, if you have more than one book, and you are published elsewhere, other factors  need to be considered. In terms of gaining the most success possible, and by that I mean the whole shebang-exposure, readers, ranking,sales,reviews- it is infinitely better to have published more than one or two books.  In general, it seems that writers who had an expectation that their other non-promotional books  would see increased sales were not disappointed. Katie M. John reported, "Around 40% of the giveaway copies translated into #2 sales."  This was especially true with books in a series. Pushing one book up the ranks gives more opportunity for readers to find you and your other books. Makes perfect sense. However, once again, this theory is challenged by exceptions. as David Kazzie and Rob Blackwell have both demonstrated. Both have only one book published on Amazon and enjoyed incredible success with the promotion.
4) How were sales after the free promotion ended? This is a little bit of a mixed bag. Initially sales improved for most, while some saw sales plummet. Some like Cheryl Tardif have continued to see an increase in a book's sales. "My thriller THE RIVER is selling more per day than it was per month. My daily average has slowly been INcreasing, not decreasing as I thought it would, even weeks after my free promo ended."  Diane Rapp (http://www.quicksilvernovels.com) just reported today on a World Literary Café Chat forum that before her free days she was "lucky to get one sale a day and now I'm averaging 40 plus some Borrows."  Again, no hard and fast rules here. Genre matters, reviews matter, luck matters... but, in general, the free days affected post-sales in a positive way,  even if slightly. However, if you were like me, and had 1 review, no platform, no exposure on Amazon, and were essentially clueless at the time of your promotion, then it was less likely your sales would continue to improve after the promotion ended. I feel less clueless this time around, time will tell if I actually am.
5) And what about those borrows? I have to admit to being utterly mystified by this. One of the surprising things to me is the number of borrows that are made by Amazon Prime members  of the lower-priced books. Don't get me wrong this is great news  for indie authors participating in the KDP Select program. After all, with every borrow, you get a slice of the Prime pie. I believe for Feb. the royalty for each borrowed book is $1.60. Maybe it's me, but I never expected my $2.99 book to get borrowed. It would be nice (none to date), but I expected Prime members would use their once-a-month free "borrow" on the higher priced e-books. I mean if you have only one free borrow a month... If anyone understands this, I'd love to hear the explanation, but the fact remains many writers have seen borrows increase along with sales. 
6) One of the biggest questions as a newbie to the whole internet self-marketing thing was, what kind of advertising should I do? How do i promote my book during the free days? I am confessing here and now, I feel  as if i was an infant to the whole social media, twitter, facebook thing in December, and I only feel like a  toddler a couple months later. I am slowly getting my feet wet. I think I'm catching on to expanding my network with Twitter(and finding it kind of fun). I'm branching out into other places with a friend who is much more savvy in these things than I. I know that the more i'm out there promoting my book, building my community, and gaining exposure, the better, but it is slow going for me. This is another blog post because I am in total awe of those of you who seem to have your toe in everything and STILL write. The short of it is, I feel I am in a better spot this promotion than last, but recognize I have a long way to go. I will keep plugging away and learning from the more experienced Indie writers out there! For today, I'll share a few resources I've found. I know this is a very short list. Feel free to add on in the comments! 
 Karen Baney has a very good post with some tips to follow and Jeff Bennington is about to release his ebook The Indie Author's Guide To the Universe in which he reveals his successful methods for indie authors. He has blogged to great extent as well. I do plan on investing in this book when it's released later this month. 

This was taken from  Kindleboards Sites  to consider notifying in advance of your promotion: Pixel of Ink - they have an onsite form specifically for freebie notices Ereader News Today - use the admin addie on their Contact page Kindle on the Cheap - email form onsite Free Kindle Books and Tips - email Michael: kindle at gagler dot com. (You can also post on the facebook wall for free) You can also announce the freebie at Authors on the Cheap on Facebook on the days it's free in addition to sending the notice to Kindle on the Cheap. There are many more sites like this popping up, but, aside from Pixel of ink,  i'm not sure how many  of these have made a difference.  Well, as I wrap this up, my thriller, JUDGMENT TRAMP, is poised begin a 3 day free promotion in the Kindle Store. This time I have some reviews, I've sort of figured the twitter thing out and have the promotion listed on several FB sites, threw a little Pixie dust around my computer, and I'm good to go...  It's free 2/21-2/23 by the way..if you're so inclined..  *Update Wow, as I got further along writing this, I realized what a wealth of information has been shared by other authors out there. I couldn't possibly include everyone and I know i missed many of you. Instead of listing everyone's blogs here, i've decide to add a page. I'll start putting that up in a day or two. I think everyone's thoughts on KDP Select gathered in one place would be very helpful. Feel free to add your post or one you found helpful to the comments anytime!  **Please go to my "Gathering of KDP Select Experiences" page for additional reports and updates by authors who have enrolled in KDP Select. ** By the way, my book has been free for approximately 19 hours as of this writing, and I've doubled my average hourly download from last time, and will most likely go beyond my 2 day total for my first KDP promotion in Dec. by the end of the day.  I am currently ranked #89 in Mysteries & Thrillers! (Insert fist bump,here.). I never broke into a top 100 last time so, so far, so good for this old toddler. Stay tuned! 8^D

Ignoring the experts--a published writer stays true to her work

I have always found tales of success in the face of a naysayer particularly inspiring. At some point in our lives, most of us have had an idea, endeavor, or passion that someone else didn't agree with or understand. That's at best. More likely, we also have had people who told us outright, perhaps even with best intentions, that we were going down the wrong path, our goals destined to remain in the realm of day dreams, our path clearly the wrong one. 

When I read a story about someone who persisted and followed their own path despite a naysayer (and a so-called "expert" at that) and met with success... well, it gives me a little more hope, and a little more pep in my own step! Today, as the new year approaches, I thought I would repost a blog post by an author friend of mine, Nancy Bilyeau. Nancy has followed the traditional publishing path and her first novel, The Crown, will be released here in the U.S. on Jan. 10, 2011.

The Crown has been receiving rave reviews despite an "expert" writing instructor's opinion that historical fiction just might not be the genre in which she should be writing. Reading her blog inspired me, and I hope you will feel the same way. I, for one, plan to continue to learn and grow in 2012 while pursuing the path that feels best for me.

Every writer has to choose their own path, and sometimes well meaning advice has to be ignored, or at least tempered with the writer's unique perspective of what they want their work to express. Nancy made the right choice, and this post is proof of her courage. She understands the golden rule: writing is a deeply personal affair--and every writer must be the final judge of his/her work. No teacher or critique group can understand the work like the writer.
A Bloody Good Read:Where writers and readers of historical thrillers talk shop: Confessions of a Genre Writer: In 2006, in my first online fiction workshop, I submitted two chapters from the historical thriller I’d begun writing. My fello...