Writing for Hire

Quotation for the Week of January 29

2012-01-29T00:06:00.000-05:00

"McCabe's Law: Nobody _has_ to do _anything_."
-- Charles McCabe

A Little Something for Everyone

2012-01-26T18:41:00.000-05:00

I started this blog many years ago, back when I was freelancing and writing fiction. Back then, I was still working on my craft, networking with people in the business and querying agents and so on and so forth, etc.

I was, in short, laying the groundwork for what was to come later.

Back then, blogging was considered an excellent tool for online marketing, so I started one for the purpose of marketing myself as an independent writer, but I wanted to make it different from the others out there, so I diversified it to cover many different aspects of independent writing.

Now, while I can't cover all subjects all the time, I try to cover as many things as I can as well as possible. And since I'm writing fiction full-time now, that's been my focus lately.

This post will offer several links about various subjects, with very little in the way of segue between them. Deal with it, okay? :)

First, in a comment, I was made aware of a service called Scripted that's seeking freelance help. I'm offering this link, as is, and without having done anything more than reading the information presented in the description. No guarantees and for what it's worth.

In addition, here's a post called 25 Ways to Become an Effective Freelancer. I've always felt that fiction writers could benefit from the discipline required to be a freelance writer. That's why I focus my blog on the business aspects of writing, regardless of the type of writing.

With respect to epublishing, if you're interested in publishing ebooks through Google, here's the link you need. However, be advised that this has come to light. I dunno. *shrug* You decide for yourself, okay?

Also, here's a guide for downloading ebooks from Smashwords to a Kindle (courtesy of Mark Souza).

With respect to screenwriting, here are two contests of possible interest. One for short indie films and another for screenplays. If you take a look at both, I think you'll be mighty impressed.

PS: Here's something I wrote as a guest blogger a long, long time ago. Check out the date and the really ~~ugly~~ ~~crazy~~ interesting cover of my first novel, which I hadn't yet rereleased. I didn't even know how easy it was to publish ebooks at the time. Yet, I was seriously questioning the value of having a traditional publisher at all, before it became the big old whoopdy-do it's become.

PPS: Hey! I'm on their blogroll. :) Thank you to the good folks at The Writer's Edge. Twice. :) Most awesome!

Quotation for the Week of January 22

2012-01-22T00:41:00.000-05:00

"Life has become immeasurably better since I have been forced to stop taking it seriously."
-- Hunter S.Thompson

Apple, Amazon and SOPA/PIPA

2012-01-19T16:07:00.000-05:00

An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

As reported by the NY Times and CNN today, Apple has "announced three products that aim to get students and teachers to use the iPad's touch-screen interface to read, write, plan classes and communicate with each other."

These products include "a free app called iBooks Author [which] lets anyone create a digital, interactive textbook."

In fact, "[i]n a demo at the event, an Apple employee created an e-book with the app in about five minutes, according to live blogs."

All this is being pitched as part of a strategy on Apple's part to be more chummy with the educational textbook industry.

But one never knows about the possibilities, right?

BTW, here's an article of great interest for anyone who doubts that Amazon means business.

Sopapillas are delicious.

Finally, here are two opinion pieces about the SOPA/PIPA protest blackouts.

One from the NY Times op-ed page and one by David Pogue.

I'll let you choose which you like, but I prefer the one who based his opinion on the actual text of the legislation. Plus, the best use of pitchforks is to bale hay, you know?

Quotation for the Week of January 15

2012-01-15T19:59:00.000-05:00

"The most dangerous strategy is to jump a chasm in two leaps."
-- Benjamin Disraeli

Random Screenwriting Links

2012-01-12T18:27:00.000-05:00

This blog has always been about independent writing of various types. When I started it, I was a freelancer and fiction writer. Now, I'm a published fiction writer. However, I've always harbored the hope of going into screenwriting, and I now have an opportunity to explore this kind of writing more seriously.

One that I've decided to act upon.

So, I thought I'd provide some of the screenwriting resources I've run across over the years that seem particularly interesting.

Writers Guild of America, West -- among other things, the WGA is where screenwriters register scripts, in order to establish that they created them. FYI, registration is not the same as filing for federal copyright protection. Even so, it establishes a record of the date of creation of the screenplay and the name of the creator. The organization has other benefits, which you can read about on the site.

Writers Guild of America, East -- same story, different coast.

Women in Film and Video -- an organization that (among other things) holds conferences, seminars and provides resources and networking opportunities for indie filmmakers.

Screenwriting for Hollywood -- an awesome blog with loads of information, particularly for aspiring screenwriters.

Scriptwriting in the UK -- I'd say the name says it all. However, whoa! -- take a look at Danny Stack's credits -- impressive!

The Artful Writer -- Craig Mazin and Ted Elliott give you the straight poop on screenwriting. Although updating looks a bit spotty, the writing reads like a dream.

Filmutopia's Sunday Morning Movie Blog -- this blog looks really awesome, but it also looks like the blogger ran out of time or things to say. :( But the archives are there for your perusal.

Anyway, that's a random sampling. I'll be on the lookout for more.

Meanwhile, I'll be working on screenplays for films with a more modest budget than this one.

Quotation for the Week of January 8

2012-01-08T00:06:00.000-05:00

"If it weren't for my lawyer, I'd still be in prison. It went a lot faster with two people digging."
-- Joe Martin

Independent Writers Always Get to Choose

2012-01-05T17:32:00.000-05:00

Well, it looks like Amazon's Kindle Fire got off to a roaring start over the holidays. Although, the article questions whether it can compete with Apple's iPad2 (or is it iPad3? -- oh, who's counting?).

And here's some very ~~uplifting~~ interesting news about the Nook tablet.

So don't forget that indie authors can publish ebooks through PubIt! and Smashwords.

And Smashwords lets you offer free promotions for however long you want on whatever titles you select. And it provides ebooks in all formats -- for any ereader. Kindle, Nook, Sony, Kobo, etc., etc.

Just so you know.

Happy Holidays and a Brief Hiatus

2011-12-22T15:33:00.000-05:00

Just so you know, this blogger will take a brief hiatus from updating here during the holidays. However, before I ~~call it quits~~ do so, I wanted to pass along a couple of quick news items for you.

First, looks like someone's backpedaling like crazy.

Okay, so fight apps with apps. I get your point. Why didn't you say so in the first place? Besides, I'm just a techno-idiot with a really dumb phone. I couldn't care less, frankly. There's more at stake here than just financial considerations. I'm also concerned about the effect of online selling on the ability of humans to connect face to face. Capiche? (sp?)

Second, well ... I'm not touching this with a ten-foot pole. No pun intended. Really!

So, see you next year!

PS: I don't believe in New Year's resolutions. And this is why I love the Internet. :)

And as a holiday gift, here's a video adaptation of a popular book.

Enjoy! :)

Quotation for the Week of December 18

2011-12-18T14:21:00.000-05:00

"No one has ever had an idea in a dress suit."
-- Sir Frederick G. Banting

The Continuing Conundrums of Amazon

2011-12-15T18:51:00.000-05:00

So ... Amazon has been awesome for indie authors, right? Most of my own income has come from sales of books through Amazon, so they've been good for me.

However, it's also true that Amazon has recently engaged in practices that seem to be geared toward vanquishing their brick and mortar retail competition.

Or, to put it more mildly, in the words of Scott Turow, "A retailer is not expected to serve as a warming station for the homeless or a site for band practice. So it's worth wondering whether it's lawful for Amazon to encourage people to enter a store for the purpose of gathering pricing information for Amazon and buying from the Internet giant, rather than the retailer. Lawful or not, it's an example of Amazon's bare-knuckles approach."

Frankly, this lawyer is inclined to agree.

Now, as a business owner, I will continue to list my books with Amazon.

However, I will not back off from my position of supporting other retailers, because I think competition is important and indie bookstores serve a purpose other than simply selling books.

Oh, and here's another blog post about that controversial Amazon app thingy. Just another point of view worth considering.

And speaking of contradictory feelings, here's the latest review from the NY Times of the Kindle Fire.

And the Department of Justice is investigating who???? Seriously?

Finally, what on earth is this guy's major malfunction?

Quotation for the Week of December 11

2011-12-11T16:10:00.000-05:00

"Once the game is over, the King and the pawn go back in the same box."
-- Italian Proverb

Amazon: Predator or Godsend?

2011-12-08T16:42:00.000-05:00

Once upon a time, there was an indie author who wrote this post about Amazon.

Then, time went by and things changed, and the author wrote this post.

Today, Amazon has announced the launch of a new program for KDP authors. According to Publishers Lunch:

Amazon now made official what we reported was in the works last month in Publishers Lunch Deluxe: Authors who publish their work through Kindle Direct Publishing exclusively have the option of putting their titles into the Kindle Owner's Lending Library, compensated through pro-rated shares of a fund "expected to be at least" $6 million for all of 2012 (beginning with $500,000 allocated for the month of December). Titles must be exclusive to the Kindle store for a minimum of 90 days (which is a reduction from the 180 days Amazon initially sought from some authors). If books are currently available through multiple retailers, authors must withdraw the titles from competitors and restore exclusivity to Amazon in order to participate. VP of Kindle Content Russ Grandinetti claims that the "short 90-day commitment allows authors and publishers to experiment at very low risk." Experimenters should note that in the terms sheet we were shown, participation rolls over automatically until cancelled. Amazon says that 31 of the top 50 KDP authors have been persuaded to participate, enrolling 129 titles.

As we reported earlier, participating authors will also be allowed to promote their books for free without jeopardizing their high-royalty status, for up to 5 days each 90-day period. (This allows those authors to try to boost their visibility and ranking within the Kindle store.) There are no "rollover days" from one 90-day period to the next; it's use-it-or-lose-it, according to Amazon documents shared with us.

The monthly royalty payment for each KDP Select book is based on that book's share of the total number of borrows of all participating KDP books in the Lending Library. Amazon cites a representative example of 100,000 total borrows in a month of all KDP Select titles. If an author's book is borrowed 1,500 times - or 1.5 percent of the total - then the author would earn $7,500 from the pool of $500,000. (If your book is not borrowed, you do not share in the pool; but in this example, a single borrow earns $5.)

One important point of ambiguity--in both the press release, and the Amazon terms and conditions shown to us--is that the actual size of the cash "fund" that Amazon makes available appears to be up their discretion entirely. They have consistently talked about $500,000 a month and $6 million for the coming year, but the terms sheet we have seen only states "we will establish a fund on a monthly basis." They use the example of "if the fund for a particular month is $500,000...." Presumably authors might cancel their participation if the funding does not meet or exceed expectations.

Here's a link to the Amazon press release, which mentions some (but not all) of the authors in the program.

And here's a post about the program on the official blog for Smashwords. Just a bit of food for thought, so to speak.

Quotation for the Week of December 4

2011-12-04T00:18:00.000-05:00

"It is even harder for the average ape to believe that he has descended from man."
-- H.L. Mencken

All Sorts of Big Doings

2011-12-01T17:23:00.000-05:00

First, Amazon has launched a Spanish Kindle Store. Finally.

Wait! Amazon has launched Spanish and Italian Kindle Stores, okay?

And, according to a recent announcement, indie authors who publish through Amazon KDP can sell to customers living in Italy, Vatican City, San Marino, Spain, and Andorra and will qualify for the 70% royalty on titles enrolled in the 70% royalty option.

I wonder if the Pope likes hardboiled mysteries? :)

PS: Welcome to new world of publishing, Ray Bradbury! :)

PPS: So much for the Domino Theory ... ;)

PPPS: Here's a (slightly dated) article of possible interest to indie authors who publish through Amazon's KDP.

Quotation for the Week of November 27

2011-11-27T00:32:00.000-05:00

"I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them."
-- Ian Fleming

Quotation for the Week of November 20

2011-11-20T19:25:00.000-05:00

"I bought some batteries, but they weren't included."
-- Steven Wright

Oh, Holy Cow! Where Should I Start?

2011-11-17T18:20:00.001-05:00

Looks like someone's getting ready for Christmas.

Looks like someone else is, too.

Looks like someone's scrambling to catch up.

What, if anything, does this mean?

So ... Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet? Flip a coin. I guess.

PS: Merry Christmas from Barnes & Noble and James Patterson.

PPS: Given that ereaders seem to be moving toward becoming multimedia devices, information about video format shifting may be useful for those who are more technically oriented than myself (i.e., almost anyone else -- ha ha). For techno-types, if you're interested in geek talk about format shifting, feel free to check out these posts by techno-genius (and sometime quizmaster from Brentwood, England) Paul Downie on his blog Nik Nak's Old Peculiar. It's a two-part discussion on video format shifting: Part 1 and Part 2.

These days, you just never know what information might be useful, right?

Be advised that, although he's a totally right-thinking chap as I've discussed here and will no doubt happily provide a workaround where needed, Paul is not a huge Windoze fan. :)

Quotation for the Week of November 13

2011-11-13T13:36:00.000-05:00

"I'm an idealist. I don't know where I'm going, but I'm on my way."
-- Carl Sandburg

There's a Whole Lot of Sh*t Going Down

2011-11-10T18:40:00.000-05:00

I'll get down to brass tacks.

Here's the deal about Kindle Fire. Awesome.

At least, David Pogue seems to think so. Of course, he's looking at it from a technology expert/reader's perspective. Not an author's point of view.

And there's this whole messy issue of legality that's kind of being swept under the rug. Maybe.

Do you remember copyright law? It still exists. Authors hold copyright to their works. Even if they license those rights to a traditional publisher under a contract. And those contracts define what the publishers can and cannot do with the content under the license granted by the authors. Hello!

But, I'm not blogging legal opinions, okay? I'm just saying. :)

And say what you will about Barnes & Noble, but they aren't going down without a fight.

When I say a fight, I'm talking gloves off and take no prisoners.

War really is hell, isn't it?

But wait! There's more. Kindle is supposed to come to Chile in less than a year and a half.

However, as we know the Big Six isn't quite dead yet.

And believe it or not, there is life after Borders.

How does all this affect independent writers? I have no freaking idea, but I'd keep my eyes and ears open if I were you.

And as always, keep a towel handy and ...

PS: Don't forget about Kobo.

And pay no attention to the man standing behind the CEO. ;)

Quotation for the Week of November 6

2011-11-06T12:59:00.000-05:00

"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting."
-- Alan Dean Foster

Don't Dance on the Graves of Bookstores

2011-11-03T16:09:00.000-04:00

Okay. I'm not one to mince words. So I'll get right to the point.

Ebooks are awesome, right? Authors can make a living by selling their ebooks online. No question.

However, keep in mind that they're getting help. Their work is being sold in (essentially) the Wal-Mart of the online retail world, i.e., Amazon.

Of course, Barnes & Noble is selling ebooks, too. For now.

The question is, can they compete with Amazon over the long haul?

There are other ebook retailers, of course. However, we all know the real money is made with Amazon, because of their algorithms, widespread popularity, etc., etc.

And Amazon is going global, as I've reported here over and over.

Now ... authors can always sell their own books, right? By using companies like this one to set themselves up as retailers.

And ebooks are forever, right?

Well, sure ... but the Internet is a really, really big place.

And your Web site is like this compared to Amazon ...

It's tough for the small guy to compete even in the city ...

But that's life in the hood.

Get the picture? ;)

PS: Why can't we all get along?

Quotation for the Week of October 30

2011-10-30T00:41:00.000-04:00

"I'm still a geek on the inside, that's the important thing."
-- "Weird Al" Yankovic

Working with Constraints

2011-10-27T16:16:00.000-04:00

A guest post by Rick Holton

Business writers understand that it is important to know what they are trying to achieve in any communication. Once they've defined their purpose, they then think about what they have to include to achieve that purpose and what they should leave out. Another issue to consider is constraints.

Distinguish between Problems and Constraints

You should not confuse problems with constraints. A problem is something that can potentially be fixed, while a constraint is something that cannot immediately be fixed and within which you will have to work. Once you've identified your constraints, don't waste energy fighting against them. Acknowledge them and move on.

If management has hired you to solve a particular problem, and your analysis reveals that one of the major obstacles to success is management's resistance to change, that is a constraint rather than a problem. Management will never conclude that it should fire itself, and management conservatism is a limitation within which you must work.

Time and Money Are Always Limited

Ever wish you had more time or money to devote to a project? Writers in particular must be able to accept limitations. If you write proposals, for example, you will always have a deadline.

If you have a proposal due at five o'clock, you must plan to complete the task in time to meet the deadline. You could make it a lot better if you had just two more hours to work on it, but you may not have those two hours. Hence, before you correct the punctuation, it's critical to make sure all the important stuff is right.

You must also take into account the constraints of your budget. If you plan on sending a marketing letter to 10,000 potential clients, sending an enclosure may affect the cost: the enclosure itself will cost money to produce, and the additional weight could increase the postage cost.

You Are Accountable

Remember that you are bound by company policy. You would not, for instance, send out a report that flatly contradicted a recommendation your company had recently made to another client. Nor would you send out a letter agreeing to provide services that your company does not offer or does not wish to be involved in.

Your name and the firm's name are on your communication, so you are accountable for the content and professionalism of your message.

Format Can Be a Constraint

If a client demands that proposals be limited to two pages, you will have to find a way to present your ideas in two pages.

Or if your assignment is to describe all of your company's retirement products on a bookmark that will be mailed out in customers' monthly statements, you must find a way to express your thoughts in few words.

But constraints aren't all bad. If you have weeks to complete an assignment, that's how long it will take you, and think how little else you may have accomplished. As Twyla Tharp points out, "Whom the gods wish to destroy, they give unlimited resources."

Rick Holton is owner of The Holton Group, which specializes in business writing and consulting.

Quotation for the Week of October 23

2011-10-23T14:02:00.000-04:00

"Music is the only language in which you cannot say a mean or sarcastic thing."
-- John Erskine

The More Things Change ...

2011-10-20T15:48:00.000-04:00

I don't really have to finish that thought, do I? For instance ...

Are authors the new gatekeepers?

The whole point of news stories is to provide filler around the ads.

No one really cares what you have to say, so keep it short.

And this has to be one of the worst ideas for a promotion ever.

The bottom line shows that we do need copyeditors.

Content is king.

What's all this nonsense about stagnant ebook sales?

PS: Here are a couple of really new developments. POD magazines and traditional publishers who share sales data with authors. Hmm ... think they finally got a clue?

Quotation for the Week of October 16

2011-10-16T15:05:00.000-04:00

"The problem with any unwritten law is that you don't know where to go to erase it."
-- Glaser and Way

Say it Ain't So, Joe!

2011-10-13T16:28:00.001-04:00

Let me start off by saying that I have nothing but the highest respect and gratitude for the amazing Joe Konrath.

Now, when I heard that Joe was taking a break from blogging and asking for guests to post on his blog for him, that seemed just fine and dandy. Why not? I host guests on my author blog frequently, for what it's worth. :) So ... it's all good, right?

Then, I read the second post about Joe's hiatus from blogging.

Hmm ... okay, here's the thing. When I was a freelance writer (back in the days before ebooks), I knew people who did exactly what's being proposed here. This amounts to creating a compilation. And it requires a great deal of coordination and effort. I know because I knew people who did this for a living on a freelance basis (in the print world).

Now, given the sheer amount of contributors that Joe is talking about who have sent posts in (over a hundred in two days?? seriously, Joe???), I think the amount of coordination and effort required to pull this off could most fairly be described as monumental at this point.

Right. So ... with all due respect to Rob Siders and his (no doubt) monumental skills, I'm trying to picture one guy doing all this sh*t by his lonesome or even with an assistant (or two or three) (or maybe a whole battalion).

Plus, when writers agree to be contributors to compilations, they traditionally know who else is involved with the project. And they get to review and approve the final product before it goes out the (proverbial) door. Now, why do I get the feeling that's not going to happen here?

No one knows who the other contributors are. Their contribution could be sh*t, for all you know. Do you want to be associated with sh*t contributors? How can you judge? Will you rely on Rob Siders? Aren't you supposed to take responsibility? Isn't that part of being an indie author?

Don't get me wrong. Rob Siders may have awesome judgment. Or not. Who knows? But it's your job to take responsibility for your own work and your own career. And there's no easy way to achieve success in this business.

Finally, contributors to a compilation of this sort are definitely PAID for their contribution, along with the organizers of same.

Without the content, you wouldn't have the compilation, would you?

If the money would be spread too thin, they need to weed out a WHOLE lot of contributors, eh?

I suggest you listen closely to Harlan Ellison. Because, he's totally right, in my opinion.

And you have seen the motto on this blog, haven't you? :)

Quotation for the Week of October 9

2011-10-09T13:36:00.000-04:00

"Assuming either the Left Wing or the Right Wing gained control of the country, it would probably fly around in circles."
-- Pat Paulsen

Writers #Occupy Wall Street

2011-10-06T16:18:00.001-04:00

As you know, if you're not a complete ostrich, something called #OccupyWallStreet has been taking place. News coverage has been until recently ... spotty, at best. But here's an article, FWIW. Lean to the right while reading, to maintain your balance. :)

Plus did you know that the Writers Guild of America East joined Occupy Wall Street yesterday? There's more information (if you click the previous link) about Occupy New York library and a need for book donations and volunteers, etc., etc. Hmm ...

So ... are these guys coming to sing Kumbaya or what? :)

Oh, this is nice. Do the words, "Let them eat cake," sound familiar?

PS: If you're in the DC area, look out for roving bands of these armored creatures.

Quotation for the Week of October 2

2011-10-02T00:02:00.000-04:00

"I'm thirty years old, but I read at the thirty-four-year-old level."
-- Dana Carvey

Kindle Fire and the End of Days ...

2011-09-29T16:03:00.001-04:00

As anyone who isn't completely oblivious knows at this point, Amazon is now setting the world on fire by offering a new Kindle Fire e-reader device.

The sparks are bound to hit other e-reader devices.

Not only that, but according to today's Publishers Lunch headline news:

A UK version of the least expensive regular Kindle--the non-touchscreen model--is available for pre-order, for release on October 12, at £89 (or roughly $140). A German version is priced at 99 euros. Both are ad-free models.

Furthermore, Amazon is adding a Chinese-language bookstore. Good Lord! Talk about global domination! :)

Oh, but Amazon still does print publishing, too. In fact, here's one HUGE deal its Thomas & Mercer imprint made recently (as reported in Publishers Lunch):

Lee Goldberg and William Rabkin's THE DEAD MAN series, featuring a man resurrected from the dead to battle evil among us that only he can see, including re-release of FACE OF EVIL, RING OF KNIVES, HELL IN HEAVEN, THE DEAD WOMAN, and THE BLOOD MESA as well as forthcoming titles, to Thomas & Mercer, in a 12-book deal for publication in ebook and print, by the authors.

So ... do you think this doom and gloom scenario about print books and bookstores might be just a tiny bit overstated? :) I'm not one to make predictions. I'm just sayin'. You never know. Also, check the comments. I'm not the only one with doubts.

PS: The amazing Joe Konrath has set himself up as an ebook retailer with the help of this company. Awesome!

Quotation for the Week of September 25

2011-09-25T14:52:00.000-04:00

"A university is what a college becomes when the faculty loses interest in students."
-- John Ciardi

Choose the Right Word

2011-09-22T16:42:00.000-04:00

A guest post by Rick Holton

Many business writers struggle to choose the right word. Here are a few suggestions that may help people in your organization to overcome some of their writing anxiety, while continuing to communicate effectively.

Going Toward, Looking Backward
We'll start with a couple of relatively simple ones. People often ask me whether they should say, "He walked toward the house," or "He walked towards the house." In this case, either one is correct. In the U.K. and Canada, more people say towards; in the U.S., toward. But there are also regional differences, so there is plenty of leeway. One strategy for choosing is to ask which sounds better to you.

Some people also wonder whether backward or backwards is better. When used as an adverb, either one is correct. You can say either "She looked backward" or "She looked backwards." Once again, Americans tend to drop the final "s." When used as an adjective, however, as in, "They were a backward people," only backward is correct.

Take It with You and Rest Assured
Another confusing pair is bring and take. Each word implies motion. If the motion is away from your present location, use take, as in "take this home with you" or "take me out to the ballpark." If the motion is toward your present location, use bring, as in "Please bring me the report."

Some people are also uncertain about the difference between assure, ensure and insure. We use assure when we want to make someone confident - "I can assure you that he'll do the deal." We use ensure when we want to guarantee that something will happen - "My job is to ensure that everyone gets on the bus." Insure means to buy or sell insurance. Here again, however, there are national differences. Every day for several years I walked past the Scottish Widows Life Assurance Society.

Singular and/or Simplistic
Many people these days use the word singular when they mean single. Someone asked me recently if I could give them a singular rule that would cover all the cases we had discussed. Singular in fact means peculiar or remarkable and is not the right word in this instance. It is also, of course, the opposite of plural.

Similarly, many people say simplistic when they mean simple. Something that is simple-minded or has been oversimplified is simplistic. Something that is straightforward and easy to understand is simple. Someone once told me that they liked my writing because I explained everything so simplistically. I smiled and thanked them.

A final usage that business writers should avoid is the expression "and/or." Unless you are writing a legal document, where every possibility must be stated in such detail that no one can possibly misunderstand it, "and/or" is just clumsy, and in virtually every case, can be replaced by either "and" or "or." "Hannah and/or Dave can supervise the trainees" can, for example, be replaced by "Hannah or Dave can supervise the trainees" without any confusion or loss of meaning.

Rick Holton is owner of The Holton Group, which specializes in business writing and consulting.

Bouchercon Bound ...

2011-09-13T23:25:00.000-04:00

FYI, I'm heading to St. Louis, MO this weekend for the annual Bouchercon mystery convention. For more details on that, feel free to read this blog.

I'll be back next week. If you're going to the convention, I hope to meet you in St. Louie. :)

Quotation for the Week of September 11

2011-09-11T15:50:00.000-04:00

"Too many people are thinking of security instead of opportunity. They seem more afraid of life than death."
-- James F. Byrnes

Quotation for the Day

"In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart."
-- Anne Frank

Focus on the Bottom Line

2011-09-08T16:53:00.000-04:00

If you're an ebook author, here's news that may prompt you to hire someone to translate your books into foreign language editions.

First, there's this news about Kobo's German ebookstore. Amazon Germany already has its own online bookstore, of course. So ...

Which reminds me that Amazon is supposed to be coming to Spain next week! Ay carumba! :)

But wait! It won't include ebooks. Awww ... :( Not right away, but eventually ... by the end of the year. So ... coming soon, right? Can you say, Hasta la vista, baby? :)

Oh, and BTW, here's another media that's changing due to technology, where concerns about the future and words like "legacy" are being bandied about. Interesting, isn't it?

And call me nuts, but I think there's a bit of a First Amendment problem with this.

Oh, and isn't this nice? Now that the Huffington Post has become famous by getting all its content for free from ~~desperate~~ bloggers, it's become an ebook publisher. I'll bet they'll clean up, huh? Off other writers' content. Imagine. Hmm ...

Finally, as a public service, here's a list of various Borders locations and when they're closing. Feel free to make your (very) long goodbyes.

And, as a bonus, here's something you might want to activate in your Facebook settings.

Hey, I almost forgot the BEST part! If worse comes to worse, we can always sell our own ebooks!!!!

Well, I thought that beat the crap out of this bit about Lady Gaga, anyhow ...

Quotation for the Week of September 4

2011-09-04T18:13:00.000-04:00

"I don't really trust a sane person."
-- Lyle Alzado

Are Bookstores Really Dying?

2011-09-02T12:48:00.000-04:00

Given the fact that ebooks are increasingly becoming the format of choice among readers. And you don't need a brick and mortar store to sell them. Does this mean that bookstores are dying?

Let's look at some of the evidence. We know all about Borders, of course. And things look bad along the south Jersey shore.

However, bookstores (like any business) can take steps to try to keep pace with the times.

For instance, according to this article, Dymocks (Australia's largest bookstore chain) plans to launch a Web-based self-publishing service. And we're talking books in print that Dymocks would stock on its shelves, which is most ~~bizarre~~ interesting.

Finally, when it comes to survival, bookstores can often find a way to do it. And, call me nuts, but I have a hard time imagining this place being stocked with nothing but ebooks ...

A Bunch of Awesome Links

2011-08-25T17:16:00.000-04:00

Isn't that the worst headline ever?

But if you're an independent writer and a techno-idiot (like me), you'll probably appreciate this guide on how to convert PDFs to ePub or Kindle files. I haven't actually done it, but I have some PDFs and should probably give it a test run, at some point.

Plus ... don't hold back, Joe. Tell us what you really think. :) #circlingthedrain

Nonetheless, if you were going to have a publisher, wouldn't it be cool if it were Tor/Forge and you got to do this?

However, as independent writers, we're entrepreneurs. So that comes with its own set of perks and responsibilities. Here are some tips on office space and other matters, like setting boundaries and time management, e.g., don't work in your pajamas, okay?

Finally, I'm including a link to the Kindle All-Stars Project, which sounds totally awesome!

Here's a quote from the site:

In 1967, mercurial author Harlan Ellison created a book that brought speculative fiction into the forefront of modern culture. Dangerous Visions and its sequel, Again, Dangerous Visions were a collection of short-stories written by as many breath-takingly talented authors that the not-too-shabby-himself Ellison could enlist. The series went on to win multiple awards, launch the careers of numerous talented authors and solidify SF as a legitimate form of literature.

It was a good idea then, and it's a good idea now.

I am now assembling a collection of short-stories from the best writers I can find who are either currently using Kindle to display their work, or are considering giving it a shot. In my opinion, we are the punk rock of literature. The resistance front. The same type of hungry writers that Ellison found in '67.

Do words like these get your blood flowing? Punk rock of literature. I'm SO there! :)

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that all proceeds from the project will be donated to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

I can rustle up a story or two and send them in by the deadline, I'm sure. Which is 9/15, BTW. Click the link for details. Go for it!

Harlan, my man! :)

Quotation for the Week of August 21

2011-08-21T13:39:00.000-04:00

"Disbelief in magic can force a poor soul into believing in government and business."
-- Tom Robbins

Books from the Cloud, Apps, eReaders and Amazon

2011-08-18T18:10:00.000-04:00

What with music being stored in the cloud, it was just a matter of time that books would make their way up there, too. This article is about Amazon's Web-based Kindle Cloud Reader. It may be of interest to all you techies out there. Frankly, my head's in the clouds half the time as it is, but I never see any books or hear any music. Which is probably for the best, really.

Now, the next thing I want to tell you about is an app in development. This post from the ABA (as in the American Booksellers Association) says the following (and I quote):

At Wednesday’s IndieCommerce Institute in Chicago, the American Booksellers Association announced that it is working with Bluefire Productions to create a version of the company’s popular BlueFire Reader app for IndieCommerce stores selling Google eBooks™. The app will be called IndieBound Reader and will link back to indie bookstores for purchase on the Android platform. An iOS version of the app will also be available, but without a purchase option due to Apple’s restrictions regarding in-app purchases.

Bluefire Reader is an independently developed app for iOS (and in beta for Android) with a competitive feature set noted for its clean user interface and highly customizable display preferences, including controls for font size, brightness, page margins, night mode, and more.

Oh, wow! More techie stuff. Enough to make this poor little techno-idiot's head spin. :)

Feel free to read the articles, if you want to learn more about all that, okay?

So, then I saw this and I thought, "Where have you guys been?"

And I read this, and thought, "There's no such thing as a free lunch." :)

Gone Fishing

2011-08-02T23:25:00.001-04:00

This blog is temporarily out of commission, while the blogger takes an extended e-vacation.

However ...

I'll be back. So, be seeing you. :)

Quotation for the Week of July 31

2011-07-31T19:27:00.000-04:00

"The real measure of our wealth is how much we'd be worth if we lost all our money."
-- J.H. Jowett

Some People in Publishing Actually Get It

2011-07-28T17:57:00.000-04:00

I was scanning the headlines in Publishers Lunch, when I saw one that read, David Davidar: What's the Next Chapter?

Well, being the curious sort, I clicked on the link and read the article. I'll just quote the first few paragraphs (in italics), to give you an idea.

I was hired by Penguin in August 1985. I was working as executive editor with Gentleman magazine at that time and I was bored. I was at a loose end. I decided to do a book publishing course from Harvard since it was very highly rated. It was six weeks on campus and then some months interning at a publishing house. But I had no money to pay for the course. Luckily that year Penguin was offering a sponsorship and I got that.

Peter Mayer, who I consider my guru, delivered the keynote lecture and I was introduced to him. We talked. I was the only Indian in a group of about 85 people. Peter said that they were starting Penguin in India, would I like the job? I was 26 years old. I said yes immediately. I took a small flat in Gulmohar Park in Delhi which had a teak boardroom table, easily the most expensive thing in the house!

At that time, general book publishing was almost non-existent. Oxford University Press was doing a few books. Vikas was doing a bit. Rupa were mainly distributors. I remember R K Narayan telling me, ‘You’ll be done in two-three years.’ I was very young. I didn’t know any better. I was very excited. That enthusiasm and lack of knowledge carried me through. This was the late Eighties. It was when the greatest writers of our time had their beginnings. Salman Rushdie had got the Booker. There was Upamanyu Chatterjee, Amitav Ghosh, Vikram Seth.

Pupul Jayakar was part of the first lot of books we did. I got Dom Moraes who was an old friend to do a book of poems. Then I published Shiv K Kumar who did a novel for us. In the first year we did six or seven books. There was no one on the staff but me and an assistant. I was the only editorial employee. I got a lot of attention. Slowly things started picking up.

I met Vikram Seth at the Austrian Embassy. I didn’t know him. I asked him to give us a book of poems. He said, “Why should I give it to you?” So I said, “Because I will give that personal touch, passion to publishing it.” I sent him an offer in a sonnet form. He replied likewise. (Vikram was very loyal. Actually once upon a time authors were loyal to their editors. And over time, all of Vikram’s books came to Penguin.)

I asked Vikram what he intended to do next. He said I could come to his house and read his new novel but I couldn’t take it away. So I went to his place, he took me to this shed-like room which had carton after carton of his new book. It was A Suitable Boy. I read enough of the book to know it was a work of genius. In the history of publishing there is no book which has achieved perfection. But there are great books, exceptional books. Then there are the good books and mediocre books. It’s all subjective of course. There’s no objective criteria. There’s no formula.

Can you kind of see where this is headed? I'll skip ahead a bit.

By ’97, other publishing houses had started coming up, such as Harper Collins. I became CEO of Penguin when I was 39 years old. I was increasingly doing things like running Penguin India, DK India, etc. For the last 12 years I have had very little to do with actual publishing. I missed that. I wanted to get back to making books. I love publishing. That’s why I decided to set up my own company Aleph, along with Rupa (they have the best distribution network in the country). I’m 52 years old now – another 15 years and I will have no stamina to do the things I want to.

At Aleph, I want to do brilliant books and sell them to their potential. I want to keep it small and beautiful. If you grow too big, you start getting into problems. You can’t pay attention to your books. I want to do about 15 to 20 books in the first year, take it up to about 40 in year two and 60 to 70 in year three. We will do fiction and non-fiction. Also borderline commercial. Like, I would like to publish books of the sort Stieg Larsson wrote. See, the US is a very mature market so you have a lot of genre fiction. India is a very young market, but it will happen.

Right now, I have just hired an editorial assistant. I bounce ideas off Kapish (Mehra, of Rupa), my wife, my friends. I’m thinking of hiring people by the end of the year. Though I’ve been away for many years, I’ve been keeping track of the growth of the market here. So it’s not a shock at all. Today there are tons of young, new, writers. There are so many litfests, which didn’t exist back then. I had attempted to start something of the kind, but it didn’t happen. There is a time for everything. If you’re too far ahead of the curve, it won’t happen. But hats off to Namita (Gokhale) and Willie (Dalrymple) for having organised the Jaipur Litfest so successfully.

How you buy books today has also changed so much. The chain bookshops are big well-lit spaces but they don’t have the range that indie bookshops do. In the US, once Amazon came, the chains were in trouble. Indie bookstores used to be 50 per cent of the market, today they account for only 11 to 15 per cent. They were first destroyed by the chains, then by online buying. But I think indie bookstores will come back. Online buying can’t replicate the human touch. Chain bookstores usually have very ignorant staff.

Everything is in a state of flux right now. It’s difficult to say how things will settle down in the next two or three years. But I’ve always liked change – I see it as an opportunity, not a threat. People are reading and that’s not just a notion. Sales are up.India is the only English language market that is growing. Here it’s growing at 15 per cent, so there’s room for many players. The other thing is digital publishing. Anyone can upload a book and become a writer, even if only two people read your book. All you need is a computer and an Internet connection.

And there's more about indie publishing. So let's skip ahead to this part ...

The DIY Novelist
Meet Amish. He’s a financial services professional and the author of The Immortals of Meluha, the first book in his Shiva trilogy, which has sold 1,25,000 copies since it first hit the bookshops in early 2010. His publisher has just placed an order of another print run of 50,000. Also meet Ashwin Sanghi. He’s a businessman and the author of The Rozabal Line and Chanakya’s Chant. The latter has sold 50,000 copies since it got to the bookshops in February 2011.

If it wasn’t for their strong belief in the stories they had to tell, chances are you’d never have heard of these two authors, let alone read about their pretty impressive sales figures. Because both of them, when they sent their books to publishers here and abroad, were rejected repeatedly. Ashwin sent out hundreds of manuscripts to publishers and literary agents and heard from only about 15 of them (the answer was a resounding no).

Amish says he lost track of the number of rejections he got after 20. “My literary agent had told me publishers are a rather fractious lot. No one ever agrees on anything. But in my case, there was a rare unanimity. No one wanted my book,” Amish says.

That could have been that for the two of them, but they were stubborn. Both Ashwin and Amish decided to put their money where their hearts were and self-publish their books.

In 2006, which was when Ashwin finished the Dan Brown-ish thriller, The Rozabal Line, he went in for a publish-on-demand option on Amazon.com. The idea was that if any reader wanted to buy the book, one copy would be printed for her or him. If no one wanted it, nothing was printed.

Marketing the book himself, Ashwin managed to sell about 1,000 copies this way on Amazon. “I blogged furiously at the time, and offered other bloggers free copies of the book if they’d review it,” he says. And then one copy of Ashwin’s self-published book landed up in the hands of Hemu Ramaiah, then the owner of the Landmark chain of bookstores, and head of the books distribution agency, Westland, which now also owns a publishing firm with the same name. “I got a call from her and she said she would pass the book on to Westland,” says Ashwin. “She also said that it would need a little work, and I said, sure.”

So Westland re-published The Rozabal Line and also published Ashwin’s second novel, Chanakya’s Chant. In 2010, when Amish finally finished The Immortals of Meluha, the first book in what was meant to be a trilogy based an imagined life of Lord Shiva as a mortal, he was luckier. After all the rejections from publishers – which included discussions in which Amish was asked to substantially change his book – his agent, Anuj Bahri of the bookshop Bahri Sons in Delhi, decided to publish the book himself, with Amish responsible for the marketing.“In four months, we’d sold 4,500 copies of the book and then many of the publishers who’d turned me down before came back,” says Amish. “But I decided to go with Westland because they had been our distributors.”

Neither Ashwin nor Amish hold grudges against the publishers who turned them down. “Publishers and literary agents get hundreds of manuscripts every week,” Ashwin says. “So where do they have the time to read everything they get? You have to be very lucky to have your manuscript picked up and read.” Amish agrees: “Publishers don’t really have the bandwidth to deal with the number of manuscripts they receive.”

There's more where this came from, and I could go on and on and on ...

But, clearly, not everyone in publishing is a complete idiot. :-D

Quotation for the Week of July 24

2011-07-24T13:57:00.000-04:00

"The truth is more important than the facts."
-- Frank Lloyd Wright

Where Will Borders Shoppers Go?

2011-07-21T18:00:00.000-04:00

That's an actual headline from the July 20 issue of Publishers Lunch. Seriously. As if Borders were the only bookstore in the entire world ...

The article stated as follows (and I'm quoting it in italics):

Among our many rich features reserved for paying subscribers is a new set of exclusive consumer surveys with Bowker PubTrack Consumer on issues of particular trade interest. The first study, which we ran in early June, queried the roughly 10 percent of surveyed book buyers who indicated buying a book from Borders in April about where they would expect to show if their local Borders was no longer available to them. Strategically hypothetical at the time, unfortunately that data is even more relevant now. We reran the full study in yesterday's Lunch Deluxe and, following some press attention and discussion in the trade of the results, we are sharing a portion of it below. (As ever, the full information--as well as all of our additional daily Deluxe stories--is archived at PublishersMarketplace.com for members.)

"Strategically hypothetical" -- talk about your euphemisms. :) And, yeah, I'd say the data has become "even more relevant now." Although, I question the necessity of conducting a study at all, frankly.

The good news for the trade is that more of those primary Borders customers expect to continue to patronize other physical bookstores than one might expect. If a Borders is not available to them, just over half of the group says they would find another bookstore, and 27.6 percent say their book purchases would move online. Only 8.3 percent expect that they would buy fewer books if the chain goes out of business, and another 20 percent expect to borrow more books from the library.

So ... if when Borders closes, readers will go to other bookstores. Wow, what a concept! Or they could order their books online. Or they could go to the library. What geniuses these readers are at coming up with other ways to buy books.

And WTF is wrong with the 8.3 percent who "would buy fewer books"? Don't they know other retailers carry books in stock now? Grocery stores? Wal-Marts? Costcos? For Pete's sake ...

Or they could even download their books on e-readers. For some reason, the survey didn't mention that part. Maybe they forgot about that.

Separately, a surprisingly loyal 14.7 percent say they would move their business to Borders.com, assuming such a site survives. That response alone could indicate a reason for others to consider bidding on the website--similar to Pearson's acquisition of the Borders and Angus & Robertson websites in Australia. (Another 7 percent says their book buying would not change, so it's not clear what they would do.) As you would expect, the anticipated change in book acquisition behavior was smaller for those people who don't see Borders as their primary bookstore.

Okay, whatever ... honestly, did you really need a study to tell you this? You guys are funnier than The Onion.

According to one blogger, "The demise of Borders, though widely expected, is sending shockwaves through the publishing industry that authors will undoubtedly be feeling in their wallets, as the Wall Street Journal reports." But if you read the article, it doesn't say that anywhere. In fact, I don't feel a thing in my wallet.

I think the worst of this will be felt by publishers, sales reps, Borders employees and people directly involved in the print publishing sales chain. Unfortunately, I suspect Borders employees will bear the brunt of these closings worst of all. Not the authors. Not the shrewd ones. ;)

Most of my income comes from ebook sales. So, I'm really sorry, Borders. I wish it could have worked out better for you. Honest! I'll miss you! Really!

But there are other places to buy books. There really are. And don't forget the ebooks ...

Which reminds me, you might want to do this quick while you can! :)

Quotation for the Week of July 17

2011-07-17T14:06:00.000-04:00

"Inspiration is wonderful when it happens, but the writer must develop an approach for the rest of the time... The wait is simply too long."
-- Leonard Bernstein

Email: The Biggest Time Suck

2011-07-14T22:27:00.000-04:00

So many people lay the blame for wasting time on social media. Particularly Twitter. However, if you ask me, I'd say Twitter is the most efficient way to get your marketing message out. Assuming you've taken the time to build a following, form relationships, and create an overall presence through your participation.

The real time suck is email. Reading email is a time-consuming task that so often produces little for the effort. This point was underscored for me, when I read this article by David Pogue of the New York Times. Pogue is the Times' technology writer and he has email issues. What does this tell us? :)

This brings me to the subject of email lists. I'll be blunt. I think marketing on email lists is mostly a waste of time.

Your message only goes out to list members. And many times, the responses you get have nothing to do with the price of eggs. :)

Quotation for the Week of July 10

2011-07-10T13:19:00.000-04:00

"Consistency is not really a human trait."
-- Ruth Gordon, as Maude in the movie Harold and Maude

Another Indie Author Resource Roundup

2011-07-07T17:40:00.000-04:00

Over on Joe Konrath's blog, I read his recent post about a service called BookRooster.com. Now, if you check out BookRooster, you'll note that the service is to "invite suitable reviewers to review your book, to distribute your book to those who have agreed to review it and to track to make sure at least ten reviews are submitted by BookRooster.com reviewers."

Please note, this is not a pay-per-review service. The reviews obtained are supposed to be objective. The fee paid goes toward administrative costs. And $49 is not exactly a prohibitive amount to pay to get at least ten objective reviews.

Sounds cost-effective and like a time-saver to me. :)

However, if you're totally the DIY type and want to submit to reviewers yourself, here's a list of some review sites you might want to try courtesy of indiebookslist, a site that promotes books by featuring excerpts. You may wish to check this site out, too.

And here's a spreadsheet for the self-published courtesy of Seth Godin, if you need it. But, OMG, is it complicated or what? :-O

Finally, I agree with Jack Eason, who says, "Don't give your sh*t away for free!"

You've seen the motto on this blog, right? :)

Quotation for the Week of July 3

2011-07-03T00:36:00.000-04:00

"Operationally, God is beginning to resemble not a ruler but the last fading smile of a cosmic Cheshire cat."
-- Sir Julian Huxley

Make Your Writing More Readable

2011-06-30T18:06:00.000-04:00

A guest post by Rick Holton

Many people recognize that business is fast paced and that if you want to communicate successfully, you've got to make the reader's task as easy as possible. Here are four tips for increasing readability and getting your message read.

Use an Effective Subject Line or Title

When I think of using an effective subject line, I think most often of email, where people are often tempted to write subject lines like "Hi," or their name or the day of the week.

I'm a lot more likely to read your email, however, if it says something like "Financial data for housing report," or "Resolution to seating problem." Then I know why your message is important to me. On a longer document, a title serves much the same purpose.

Break Up the Text

You can also use format to your advantage. It is much easier, for example, to read relatively short paragraphs than it is to read an entire page with no breaks. I recently read a novel that was written as a single paragraph. It was an excellent book, but business, unlike literature, is transactional. The reader needs the information we're sending to solve a business problem now.

You can further help the reader to understand your message by trying to limit each paragraph to one idea, while remembering to create transitions between paragraphs.

Use Subheads That Are Complete Thoughts

Instead of using subheadings like "Argument" or "Causes," which tell the reader very little, use subheadings that are complete thoughts. This makes the reader's task much easier, and even if the reader reads nothing else, he will still come away with your key points.

Summarizing every three or four paragraphs in a few words, however, is not as easy as it sounds. It takes practice. Here's where clear thinking comes to your rescue. If you understand your purpose and what message you intend to deliver, it becomes easier to identify your key points.

Also a caution. Subheads may not be appropriate in many emails or in other short documents, like a one-page letter. Adding subheads to a short personal communication might imply that you think the reader is too dumb to understand your message unless you spell it out for him.

If you can't use subheads that are complete thoughts, use topic sentences. In other words, in the first sentence of the paragraph, indicate what the key idea of that paragraph is going to be.

Use Diction to Increase Readability

Choosing the right word will make your message clearer, and you can achieve this, in part, by using ordinary language, by omitting needless words, and by using verbs.

If you use jargon or other words that are unfamiliar to your audience, they will not understand you, so keep in mind their level of expertise in the subject you are writing about. Remember: your goal is to communicate.

You can omit needless words by looking at what you've written and seeing what you could leave out without changing your message. Or see what's irrelevant to your purpose. Do not use expressions like "at this point in time" when you can say "now."

Using verbs will also enliven your style and help you omit needless words. Avoid, for instance, expressions like "she made the decision that..." Say instead, "she decided..." And try not to overuse colorless verbs like is and are or words like make, have and give.

These simple steps can simplify the reader's task and help you get your message across.

Rick Holton is owner of The Holton Group, which specializes in business writing and consulting.

Quotation for the Week of June 26

2011-06-26T12:57:00.000-04:00

"Nothing is more conducive to peace of mind than not having any opinions at all."
-- Georg Christoph Lichtenberg

How Much Does Rank Matter?

2011-06-23T16:31:00.000-04:00

All authors want to be bestselling authors. Am I right?

Let's think about that a moment. Sure, being a bestselling author means you've sold a lot of books, which is good. However, are we all going to become bestselling authors? Does it matter? Is that the point of being a fiction writer?

I suggest you take a look at Seth Godin's blog post, The Grateful Dead and the Top 40.

I'd say that sums it up nicely. :)

Quotation for the Week of June 19

2011-06-19T14:29:00.000-04:00

"In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is stoned to death."
-- Joan D. Vinge

Spam, Spam, Spam, Amazon and Spam

2011-06-16T18:12:00.000-04:00

It's one thing to hear about ebooks being pirated from various illicit online sites. Not everyone will bother to mess around with such sites or trust that what they get from them will be free of viruses and other problems.

It's quite another to hear that people are simply plagiarising authors' ebooks in their entirety from Amazon's DTP and selling them as their own on same, at least according to this article.

And while we're at it, get a load of this! According to the article:

Thousands of digital books, called ebooks, are being published through Amazon's self-publishing system each month. Many are not written in the traditional sense.

Instead, they are built using something known as Private Label Rights, or PLR content, which is information that can be bought very cheaply online then reformatted into a digital book.

These ebooks are listed for sale -- often at 99 cents -- alongside more traditional books on Amazon's website, forcing readers to plow through many more titles to find what they want.

Aspiring spammers can even buy a DVD box set called Autopilot Kindle Cash that claims to teach people how to publish 10 to 20 new Kindle books a day without writing a word.

Heavens! :-0 I'd just like it noted for the record that all the words in my .99 ebooks were, in fact, written by me. :)

PS: While I'm talking ebooks, I'd like to put in a quick plug for SHAKEN: Stories for Japan. The proceeds of sales go entirely toward Japan's disaster relief efforts. This anthology includes 20 short stories written voluntarily, i.e., nobody is making a dime off this book, people, except the charity, of course.

So, please consider paying the very reasonable amount of $3.99 for a download. Or you could read a sample of my story "Cherry Blossoms" first. See what you think. I hope you enjoy it. :) Thank you!

Quotation for the Week of June 12

2011-06-12T00:27:00.000-04:00

"The nice thing about egotists is that they don't talk about other people."
-- Lucille S. Harper

Quotation for the Week of June 5

2011-06-05T00:01:00.000-04:00

"The older I grow, the less important the comma becomes. Let the reader catch his own breath."
-- Elizabeth Clarkson Zwart

Social Media and the Writer

2011-06-02T20:00:00.000-04:00

Since I like to provide resources that are actually useful, I hope you'll find this one to be. This article provides a set of Twitter hacks, i.e., the closest thing I've seen to a user guide. Not too shabby, eh? :)

Now, when it comes to social media strategy, I'd follow the advice of Guy Kawasaki. I must say, I like the way this guy thinks.

Of course, not to put too fine a point on it, but doesn't it really come down to three simple words? :)

Quotation for the Week of May 29

2011-05-29T14:38:00.000-04:00

"Some national parks have long waiting lists for camping reservations. When you have to wait a year to sleep next to a tree, something is wrong."
-- George Carlin

A Self-Publishing Guide and More eBook Stuff

2011-05-26T18:23:00.000-04:00

First, I was sent a link to this article: 10 Things You Need to Know About Self-Publishing. I think it's worth a look. Now, although it seems to focus on print publishing, most of the points are still applicable, even today in the age of ebooks. Just take the advice and think about it in online terms and you'll see it's still quite useful, actually.

Second, here's an article called Five eBook Mistakes. These are exactly the reasons why I prefer not to format and/or design the cover of my own ebooks. I'm also a strong proponent of having an editor and/or proofreader review the book before it's published. Thank you very much. :)

Finally, does anyone else find this slightly hilarious?j

Quotation for the Week of May 22

2011-05-22T18:11:00.000-04:00

"A happy childhood is poor preparation for human contacts."
-- Colette

Six DIY eBook Formatting Tools

2011-05-19T19:55:00.000-04:00

Okay, for those of you who enjoy this sort of thing, here's an article that lists six ebook formatting tools you can find online and use yourself.

Honestly, I don't know if these cover every single need. But a cursory look reveals such words as Mobi and ePub, which are both formats often used on different platforms.

Anyhow, if you're into DIY formatting, here are some tools. Now, go knock yourself out. :)

As for myself, I'd much rather leave the formatting to someone else and spend the time doing things no one else can do for me. Such as, the writing and marketing of my book.

Quotation for the Week of May 15

2011-05-15T12:57:00.000-04:00

"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject."
-- Sir Winston Churchill

Quotation for the Week of May 8

2011-05-08T17:24:00.000-04:00

"Hollywood is a place where they'll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul."
-- Marilyn Monroe

Twitter for Marketing: It Really, Really is a Marathon, Okay?

2011-05-05T16:48:00.000-04:00

Even though I'm not as hugely successful as some authors, in terms of notoriety in the media (for which, frankly, I feel fortunate), I have been making darn good sales. Both my novels have been Kindle bestsellers and one of them made this list. Twice. And as for sales on Amazon UK ... you wouldn't believe what's going on with that ...

So some authors ask me, "What's the secret? How did you do it?" The thing is, I can't point to any one thing I did. There is no one magic bullet. I simply wrote my blog posts and tweeted and Facebooked. Okay, so I'd do book launches and promotions and stuff, now and then. But mostly, I tried to make my content as interesting as possible. When on Twitter, I responded at random to interesting tweets now and then, or retweeted stuff I saw and happened to like. Sometimes, I would make contacts through blogging that would end up becoming followers on Twitter or Facebook friends. See? It all just sort of blends together.

So when I see articles like this one, I think, good grief! What were you expecting? Overnight success? Because I wasn't. And look where I ended up. Less than two years after publishing my first novel. Now, is that so bad, really? :)

Quotation for the Week of May 1

2011-05-01T17:29:00.000-04:00

"I passionately hate the idea of being with it, I think an artist has always to be out of step with his time."
-- Orson Welles

Writing Freelance Doesn't Mean Writing for Free

2011-04-28T16:58:00.001-04:00

When are publishers (AND writers) going to get it through their thick skulls ... that it doesn't pay to write for free? Was that a bad pun or just a lousy choice of words?

Case in point: the AOL memo to the writers it canned. You're fired, but we'd love for you to write for us for free!

Well, sure. Why not? What else do unemployed writers have to do except wear their fingers out to the bone writing sh*t for free and collect unemployment while someone else gets the financial benefit of their efforts?

Oh, but I forgot! What about all that wonderful exposure? Yeah, right. Well, I've got something to expose. And I think the title of this blog sums it up pretty well. Thanks, Kathy Kehrli for the AOL article. :)

But I'll let Harlan Ellison have the last word! :)

Quotation for the Week of April 24

2011-04-23T23:51:00.000-04:00

"We forfeit three-fourths of ourselves in order to be like other people."
-- Arthur Schopenhauer

Amazon is Everywhere

2011-04-21T16:24:00.001-04:00

Well, it was bound to happen eventually, wasn't it? Amazon is expanding its reach around the globe. According to this article, Amazon is launching a new print-on-demand service in Japan. Now how about that?

But wait! There's more. You see, according to Publishers Lunch (and I quote), "Amazon announced today the launch of their first non-English Kindle store, debuting in Germany with 'over 25,000 German-language titles,' including '71 of 100 Spiegel bestsellers' and 'thousands of German classics downloadable for free.' The store appers [sic] to have lots of English-language titles for German customers as well, since the company says the store has over 650,000 titles in total.

"When the German Publishers and Booksellers Association launched their own ebookstore last November through Libreka.de, they also began with approximately 25,000 German-language ebooks for sale (which is still the count displayed on the site).

"Amazon says their title counts also include 'thousands of independently-published German-language titles through Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing service,' which obviously is now available in Germany as well. The so-called '70% royalty option,' which has previously applied only to ebooks sold in the US, UK and Canada, is now extended to Germany and Austria.

"Seven of the top 10 bestselling titles this morning were priced at 13.99 Euros or greater, with the No. 1 title priced at 19.99 Euros, and no title in the top 20 costs less than 8.99 Euros. Many of the ebooks are priced between parity with print prices and 20 percent below those prices (though ebooks carry higher VAT).

"The family of Kindle reading apps is available in German, but the Kindle ereader itself still provides only an English-language keyboard (German keyboards have a somewhat different layout) and English-language menus. Selling at 139 Euros (or about $200 at today's exchange rates), the wi-fi device costs considerably more than in the US."

Wow! So, I guess it's time to hire a translator, huh? lol So ... what else you got? How about this? Kindle books you can borrow from the library?

Now, that's a win for readers, librarians and authors. Yay!

Quotation for the Week of April 17

2011-04-16T23:33:00.000-04:00

"A friend is someone who will help you move. A real friend is someone who will help you move a body."
-- Unknown

Did the Mainstream Media Miss the Scoop?

2011-04-14T19:27:00.000-04:00

Don't get me wrong. It's not that I'm not happy for the indie authors mentioned in this article. Nor do I mean to diminish their accomplishments, of course. And I'm glad that self-publishing is much less stigmatized than it once was.

However, if you're going to write an article about indie author success, you'd have thought the journalists at ABC might have bothered to keep up with the New York Times ebook bestseller list.

This article is dated April 7, 2011. Nancy C. Johnson and Victorine E. Lieske are two self-published authors who made the New York Times ebook bestseller list on March 6, 2011. Hello? And you people call yourselves journalists???

I might add that these authors each stayed on the list for several weeks. Plenty of time to be noticed and mentioned in this piece. (Or by someone in the media other than Publishers Lunch! Pathetic!)

And note to New York Times: NOT WHAT SHE SEEMS (the ebook) was published by Victorine E. Lieske, not CreateSpace. Get your facts straight ...

PS: There was some other author who made the list, too. Twice. But that's neither here nor there. :)

Quotation for the Week of April 10

2011-04-10T00:42:00.000-04:00

"The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat."
-- Lily Tomlin

Avoiding Needless Jargon

2011-04-07T16:33:00.000-04:00

A guest post by Rick Holton

Organizations need jargon. Every industry or organization has its own specialized terms that express common ideas clearly and succinctly. Often these terms take the form of acronyms. It's far easier, for example, to refer to CBC 16 than to the Corporate Banking Center in Far Rockaway.

The problem arises when we attempt to use these shorthand terms with people who aren't in our industry or organization. We are so familiar with them that we forget others may not know them. The following tips will help us remember to write or talk so people will understand us.

Use Simple Words

Highly jargonized speech has always been with us. If you read the terms "downgradient from" or "avian activity," for example, you can tell you're in the engineering or environmental world.

Although there may be fine shades of meaning (unknown to me) between these terms and "downhill from" or "birds," the average person is not going to know the difference, so you should use the simpler words.

Expand Acronyms When Necessary

Acronyms present a special problem. Not only might they confuse the uninitiated, but they can have several alternate meanings. CBC, for instance, can also mean Complete Blood Count (OK, so I've watched a few doctor shows), Canadian Broadcasting Corp., or Carolina Bird Club.

When I was a banker, we required prospective borrowers to give us a personal financial statement, referred to internally as a PFS. I would occasionally hear officers, however, tell a new client that we would need a PFS from them. When the client looked at them blankly, the officers would explain by expanding the acronym.

Remember: The Goal Is to Communicate

Sometimes people use jargon as a euphemism or to avoid responsibility. Just think of Alexander Haig's "That's not a lie; it's a terminological inexactitude," or Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction." Politicians are particularly adept at using jargon-laced speech to hide the fact that they're committing themselves to nothing.

In some cases, people use jargon (and other forms of stilted prose) because it makes their message seem more important. In fact, it just keeps them from communicating effectively, and they are forgetting their goal.

Resist the Urge to Turn Nouns into Verbs

One source of modern jargon is the impulse to turn nouns into verbs. My first day of business school, I was surprised to learn that I could access the facility from the rear. A friend of mine once worked at a company where they turned detritus into a verb. You didn't throw anything away - you detrited it.

Particularly egregious is the use of "impact" as a verb (the proper word, by the way, is "affect") and the adjectival formation "impactful." These terms are mainly promulgated by second-tier news publications and local newscasters. You will seldom see "impact" as a verb in top-level publications like the Wall Street Journal, and don't hold your breath waiting to hear Brian Williams refer to something as "impactful."

Watch Out for Adjectives with Double Meanings

Another source of confusion is giving existing adjectives new meanings. In a bank training class, the instructor kept referring to "checkable deposits." My thought was, "Hey, we're the bank; we ought to be able to check them." Turned out, he was referring to deposits against which one could write a check.

Ditto for "actionable." If the things on your to-do list are actionable, it now means you can act on them. Don't use this expression with lawyers, however, for whom it will always mean something that can be litigated.

Remember Your Audience

Your use of jargon should depend on whether your audience is likely to understand you. If they already know what CBC or PFS means, by all means use them. If they don't know, don't test their ability to figure them out. In business, you only have a few seconds to get your message across, so you should make the reader's task as easy as possible.

You should also remember the principle of conservatism. No-one is going to criticize you if you use the verb "affect," but if you use "impact" as a verb, there are still some people who will think you're a hack.

Rick Holton is owner of The Holton Group, which specializes in business writing and consulting.

Quotation for the Week of April 3

2011-04-02T23:49:00.000-04:00

"Everything you can imagine is real."
-- Pablo Picasso

A Self-Publishing Roundup

2011-03-31T18:10:00.000-04:00

A while back, I did a short series of posts about self-publishing ebooks, starting with this one and followed by this one and this one. There were others after that, but frankly, even these seem a bit out-of-date.

Since I'm a pretty ~~lazy~~ busy person these days, I thought I'd point you to two really great sites, if you're thinking about self-publishing your work. First, here's a list of helpful sites for self-publishers provided by the very successful indie author Karen McQuestion. I highly recommend you peruse the list of resources she's provided. Pay attention, folks! Karen's signed with Amazon Encore and had her work optioned for film, so ... we're talking major success here, people.

Second, some advice on indie e-publishing from also majorly successful indie author Elisa Lorello. Again, I urge you to read and pay attention. Elisa is another Amazon Encore author. So, between the two of these gals, we're talking major awesome!

Oh, yeah, and while I'm at, can you believe a bookstore that would stock books by SELF-PUBLISHERS??? Whoa!!!

One more thing. If you're going to self-publish ebooks, don't forget about PubIt!

Quotation for the Week of March 27

2011-03-26T23:37:00.000-04:00

"1. Never tell everything at once."
-- Ken Venturi

Everyone Must Choose Their Own Path

2011-03-24T19:46:00.000-04:00

There's no one right way to make a living as a writer. And even though I might be critical of the publishing industry's business model, that doesn't mean I want publishers to fail.

If I've chosen to be an indie author that choice was made because it seemed like the most logical and efficient way to get my work out to readers, not because I was trying to destroy anybody. (As if I alone could do such a thing. Ha!)

Since I've started down this self-publishing road, it's become an increasingly popular and even respectable option, for newbies as well as traditionally published authors.

Up until now, self-publishing ebooks has mainly been the purview of: 1) midlist authors with recovered rights to out-of-print works; and 2) new and emerging indie authors (such as moi :)).

I guess it was just a matter of time before a REALLY big deal like the Barry Eisler story happened. Walking away from half a mill offered by a Big Six publisher is causing a whole lot of jaws among my peers to drop. (For the record, I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner. But that's me.)

You can read the details in a great big long post on Joe Konrath's blog right here.

Oh, yeah. And while that was going on ... guess who was looking for a traditional publisher?

Like I said, everyone must choose their own path. And, frankly, print isn't dead. Yet.

Quotation for the Week of March 20

2011-03-20T14:40:00.000-04:00

"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."

-- Hunter S. Thompson

Random Publishing News and More eBook Stuff

2011-03-17T18:05:00.000-04:00

Don't you love my headlines? So specific. Anyhow ...

During a time when bookstores like Borders are filing for Chapter 11 (and B&N could follow suit -- maybe), news like this can hardly be considered welcome. Of course, we all know that Target and Walmart carry books, but Urban Outfitters? Hmm ... interesting.

Onto ebooks then ...

Did you know that Random House UK won't be adopting the agency pricing model? Did you now? Well, okay. Fine. Next!

Here's a wild notion. Form a fan club. Then mobilize it. Or to be more specific, network and mobilize it. The article speaks of an app called FanTrail that was set to debut this month. About said app, the article says as follows (quote):

Like MySpace or Facebook, FanTrail, which also has an Android version in the works, gives artists a simple template for creating an online home, in this case a free mobile app to keep in touch with fans. But FanTrail also includes several innovations that reflect the entertainment industry’s growing need to control the white noise of social networks.

One function, called LoveMail, allows musicians to record short audio messages to fans, a touch that the company, also called FanTrail, sees as more personal than artists’ sometimes ghostwritten Twitter feeds. Another feature, LoveMeter, ranks fans’ loyalty by measuring their activity in buying music and checking in at concerts.

All that love has real dollars-and-cents value, and for Joel Rasmussen, one of the developers, FanTrail solves one of social networking’s most persistent problems: distinguishing true, money-spending fans from all the rest.

On older social media platforms, the artist “doesn’t know if you friended once on Facebook and then walked away, or if you’ve been to every show and know the producer on every album,” said Mr. Rasmussen, 40, who produced and co-wrote a 2006 documentary about the industry’s problems, “Before the Music Dies.”

“This gives artists and fans a new tool to build that relationship to a level that hasn’t been possible before,” he added.

Now, call me a complete nut case (yeah, it's been done :)), but could something like this be adapted to serve author needs? Am I total visionary or just an idiot? Yeah, yeah, probably the latter ...

Meanwhile, according to this source, the European Commission confirmed that it raided several companies involved in ebook publishing.

It seems to involve the alleged violation of antitrust rules and ebook pricing and such. Apparently.

And speaking of ebook prices, would you pay $238 for an ebook??? Good God!!!

And, in conclusion, never piss off librarians. Period.

Quotation for the Week of March 13

2011-03-13T00:14:00.000-05:00

"Never be afraid to laugh at yourself, after all, you could be missing out on the joke of the century."
-- Dame Edna Everage

Basic Writing and Social Media Guidance

2011-03-10T18:12:00.000-05:00

I've got only two items, but they're choice.

The first one is Unsuck It -- a database of business jargon that you can either browse or search, in order to find the real, non-jargon word(s) to use instead of the sucky, jargony version. (And hat tip to The Irreverent Freelancer. Thanks, Kathy!)

The second is possibly the best guide to using Twitter that I've ever read. Bar none. My thanks to D.B. Grady. Who, I might add, has a blog of note, in my humble opinion.

Quotation for the Week of March 6

2011-03-06T14:58:00.000-05:00

"There's an old saying about those who forget history. I don't remember it, but it's good."
-- Stephen Colbert

Piracy on the eBook Seas!

2011-03-03T18:54:00.000-05:00

Avast, ye mateys! I bring you news of ebook piracy.

CNET reports a big increase in Kindle ebook thievery. Oh, my God! So is the sky falling or what?

I don't think so. I found this out via GalleyCat, which (among other things) provided a list of the Top 10 pirated ebooks. Check out the list. I don't see LEAST WANTED, IDENTITY CRISIS or FIVE UNEASY PIECES on there. In fact, even if I cared about it, I suspect my books are flying well under the piracy radar. So, for my own part, I'm not concerned. Are you? What say ye to these scallywags who would abscond with ebooks as booty?

Anyway, if your books aren't about sex, wealth, Photoshop, math or toilet paper, I'd say worry not. :)

Quotation for the Week of February 27

2011-02-26T22:48:00.000-05:00

"The one function TV news performs very well is that when there is no news we give it to you with the same emphasis as if there were."
-- David Brinkley

How Ya Gonna Keep 'Em In Brick & Mortar Once They've Done E?

2011-02-24T18:04:00.000-05:00

Well, well ... it looks like Barnes & Noble is taking a page from Amazon's ebook (so to speak) with regard to adding features to its digital publishing platform. As this item from eBookNewser indicates, B&N has created a PubIt! bestseller list (presumably the B&N equivalent to that other online retailer's bestseller list -- you know ;).

Other expanded marketing capabilities include "the opportunity to be selected for B&N’s 'Read In Store' program, a platform in which Nook owners can read free content while inside a Barnes & Noble bookstore." That's nice.

Does this mean brick and mortar bookstores are doomed? Not necessarily. As long as they have something to offer and can stay relevant, they'll continue to do business.

Please note this blog post about Powell's Books, a Portland, OR, bookselling mainstay (or to quote the post "the most vaunted brand in the independent bookstore world"), which recently laid off employees due to a drop in sales last year.

You'll notice the post focuses on solutions. Ways to fix the problems. Imagine!

Here's one: Integrate your digital and brick and mortar strengths - If you offer great service in the stores, try to offer it online

Hey, what a concept! Here's another:

It's obvious that Powell's can't compete on price, and it's also clear that Powell's want to increase sales at stores as they don't want to stay an online business. To get there they need to extend their best comparative advantage - being a local business in Portland. The problem is that just being a local business is usually not enough and works in very few places ....

Powell's should adopt a strategy that is based on providing local incentives - for example partnering with other local businesses ...

Wow! Who'd have thought? Do something to set yourself apart from the others. Make yourself unique. The essence of branding. Gee. And I don't even have a degree or training in this sh*t.

But ... what's really awesome is the third one!

Get POD into your stores (at least to one of them at first) by adding the Espresso Book Machine (check at McNally Jackson in New York). This machine can print in minutes affordable, library-quality paperbacks and can also print anything in the public domain, increasing the store's inventory by over 4 million potential titles. This is something that can really increase the value of a visit in your stores for your customers.

Hello? What have I been saying? Give POD a chance. Print isn't dead yet. But bookstores could order books as needed. Returnability could become moot if print runs were reduced in size or eliminated. Seriously. Am I the only one who can figure this out?

Or are we just going to beat this dead horse some more? Rehashing old information, over and over? Expecting new answers to emerge like magic or something?

Anyway, I recommend you read the Powell's Books post. Great suggestions! That make actual sense.

Quotation for the Week of February 20

2011-02-19T22:49:00.000-05:00

"Writing is not necessarily something to be ashamed of, but do it in private and wash your hands afterwards."
-- Robert Heinlein

Inevitable, Unsurprising and Sad

2011-02-17T16:24:00.000-05:00

Right. I come here not to gloat or say mean things about the inevitable news about Borders Books that's only been coming down the pike for months (years? some would say 20 years???). Unfortunately, like a train wreck, I feel compelled to gaze upon the spectacle, yet feel dreadful.

Simple fact: I don't hate bookstores. In fact, I love them. They might not carry my books, but that doesn't make them any less pleasurable to me as a reader.

So maybe I could argue about their policies regarding the returnability of books. Meh. I can still sell ebooks with no problem. So who cares, really? Who's really getting hurt by that policy now? Oops, let's not go there, okay ... we're not here to bury bookstores, right? Sorry, sorry, mea culpa!

Anyhow, all is not lost for Borders. They're filing for Chapter 11, so it's not like they're going to completely up and disappear.

They will be closing lots of stores. But one in a revitalized section of Maryland will remain open! So -- yay! :)

Quotation for the Week of February 13

2011-02-12T23:20:00.000-05:00

"Those who believe in telekinetics, raise my hand."
-- Kurt Vonnegut

Ebooks, Brick and Mortar, and All That

2011-02-10T17:36:00.000-05:00

This post is little more than a compilation of links, really. Hopefully, you'll find them interesting.

First, The Author's Guild on How Apple Saved Barnes & Noble. Probably.

But wait! It would appear that even as we wait breathlessly for Borders to file for bankruptcy, Barnes & Noble may do so, also. (At least, in one blogger's opinion.)

Meanwhile, Publishers Lunch continues to issue reports with words like "decreasing," "decline," "smaller," "reorganized" and the ever-popular "moved on to other pursuits" with an amazing increase in the ratio of those words to the total word count of their reports.

Hmm ...

So, in light of all that, and when you look at how badly authors get screwed by publishers who sell their ebooks who, in turn make out so well, according to this post ...

You have to ask yourself why you'd want to have a traditional publisher, right?

This certainly applies to authors who write children's and young adult books, because even the New York Times has acknowledged that young adults and kids are totally getting into ebooks now.

So, why not be your own publisher? An author-preneur. You can do it.

Don't have the bucks? That's okay. There's a resource for creatives called Kickstarter. "A new way to fund & follow creativity." That includes writers, natch. :)

And a hat tip to Elisa Lorello's blog for the link to Kickstarter. Thanks, Elisa! :)

Quotation for the Week of February 6

2011-02-05T23:10:00.000-05:00

"I'm just a person trapped inside a woman's body."
-- Elayne Boosler

A Meaningful Ebook Bestseller List

2011-02-03T16:58:00.005-05:00

As most people who keep their eyes and ears open in the publishing business know by now, the New York Times is soon rolling out its ebook bestseller list.

The only catch, of course, is not all ebooks will be on it. It will be skewed as Publishers Lunch points out primarily toward larger publishers' books. (What a surprise -- not!) And the self-published will not be included. (Well, no sh*t.) Thus, significant bestselling authors, such as indie author Amanda Hocking will be conspicuously absent, despite the fact that she estimates she's sold at least half a million downloads of her ebooks. I mean, what kind of bestseller list leaves an author like that off, anyway?

Anyhow, take a look at this article in Publishing Trends, because it'll give you an idea of the big picture when it comes to the development of all these ebook bestseller lists. Because there's more than one of them. (The New York Times doesn't corner the market on these things, you know.)

And, BTW, do check out the link at the very bottom of the article. The one with Publishing Trend's own ebook bestseller list. Guess who's on it? ;)

Quotation for the Week of January 30

2011-01-29T23:49:00.000-05:00

"Never knock on Death's door: ring the bell and run away! Death really hates that!"
-- Matt Frewer

A Mini E-Roundup

2011-01-27T18:44:00.000-05:00

The first resource I'm going to point you to (all you mystery and thriller authors, pay attention!) is All Mystery! eNewsletter. To quote the site:

This is a published monthly e-newsletter that features a variety of authors from the august veterans to the rising stars of tomorrow.

Each issue has a fun theme to tickle your imagination: British authors, exotic locations, paranormal detectives, historical mysteries, and romantic suspense, to name a few.

I feature three or four authors and include the following:

    * Colorful book covers with click through to the author website
    * Book description
    * A few reviews of the book
    * Buy Now click-throughs to a variety of buying sources: a small bookstore, B&N , Amazon, publisher

Could be a good place for mystery writer types to promote their work. (And hat tip to Timothy Hallinan for that resource.)

And here's an article that had me asking, "What the heck is a quora anyway and why should I care?"

Also, here's a Mystery Scene Magazine article in which electronic media is discussed in much broader terms, with a brief mention in one paragraph at the end for books. My, how desperately the author seems to be grasping at straws in defense of printed books. Using statistics and everything. And, um, "even Kindle needs source material"? What? I'm sorry. Where have you been, Gary Phillips? Your statement reveals that you don't know that many authors are bypassing or delaying print publication and publishing straight to ebooks now. Apparently.

And finally this Writer Beware blog post which cautions us that just because one ebook author is a raging success that doesn't mean every ebook author is going to be a raging success, too.

How can I say this politely? I can't. Well, duh!

PS: Scan the comments. Most of them are a waste of time, but look for Joe Konrath's. Clear, concise and on the mark.

Quotation for the Week of January 23

2011-01-22T23:28:00.000-05:00

"Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia."
-- Charles M. Schulz

Learning from Direct Mail

2011-01-20T19:21:00.000-05:00

A guest post by Rick Holton

Do people in your organization have to persuade others? Perhaps a quick look at direct mail – an extreme case of persuasive writing – will help them improve their writing skills.

Identify Product Characteristics and Target Market
Like any other writer, the direct mail writer has to plan before he writes. He should understand the characteristics of the product or service he is trying to sell and identify the target market and what motivates them.

He should also decide on a focus – whether, for example, to fill a need, create a desire, sell on quality, sell on price or sell competitively.

Organize for a Neutral Audience
Because a direct marketer is able to segment his market – in other words, he writes primarily to people who might potentially agree with his message – he should write for a neutral audience.

One difference from ordinary persuasive writing is that the direct mail audience is much larger, and a success rate of one or two percent is a good day's work.

If you're trying to persuade a single individual, however, you want a success rate of 100 percent. If you know that the person you're writing to disagrees with you, organize for a hostile audience – put your conclusion first and then your arguments.

Get the Reader's Attention
In a direct mail piece, you have a second or two to get the reader's attention. The reader will look first at the P.S., comments handwritten in the margins, call outs, and words or short phrases in boldface type.

Once you have the reader's attention, you can create interest by adding concrete detail, using, for example, statistics ("8 out of 10 dentists recommend...") or referring to well-known people or companies who may have used your product.

Involve the Reader
Be sure to use the "You Attitude" – look at the situation from the reader's point of view, and demonstrate why your message is important to the reader.

If you are publicizing a conference, for example, don't say, "Speakers will talk about minimizing fuel costs." Say instead, "Learn how to minimize your fuel costs." And no mailbox sweepstakes will ever say, "We have selected six winners." They will always say instead, "You could be one of our six winners."

Make the Action Step as Easy as Possible
In the action segment, you want to overcome reader inertia. Consequently, you will want to make the audience task as easy as possible. You do this by enclosing a business reply card, by giving a deadline, or by offering a bonus or discount to those who respond promptly.

Although they would not write to an individual the same way they would write a direct mail piece, people in your organization should benefit from applying the above principles to their daily writing tasks.

Rick Holton is owner of The Holton Group, which specializes in business writing and consulting.

Quotation for the Week of January 16

2011-01-15T22:56:00.000-05:00

"Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men."
-- Martin Luther King Jr.

I Just Love Studies

2011-01-13T17:48:00.001-05:00

Sisters in Crime recently commissioned a study of mystery book consumers in the digital age. There seems to be a lot of hoopla about the results.

As a (proud and long-time) member of said organization, I've been encouraged to share the contents of this study, by tweeting, Facebooking and blogging or whatever other means I have at my disposal, so I am.

First, if you want to read the study, just click here.

Second, I'll share the study's key findings (along with a few of my reactions to the findings in brackets):

Demographics:
• For all genres, not just mystery, women continue to buy the majority of books, but men’s share of books is higher in dollars than in units.
• Baby boomers and matures (people over 45) purchase over half of all books bought.
• In the “mystery-detective” category, women and older buyers are even more highly represented.
• Mystery buyers tend to be
o Mostly female – 7 out of 10 are women
o More mature– nearly 7 out of 10 are over 45

[Okay, let's pause for a moment. Is anyone surprised? Isn't all of this conventional wisdom so far? But let's keep going and see where this leads.]

Retail Channels:
• Mystery buying is not only about chains or online retailers.
o 11% of units are sold through book clubs.
o 6% of units are sold through independents.
[Which leaves a hefty 83% of buying from chains or online retailers, then, thank you.]
• Mysteries are mainly purchased in stores, followed by borrowing from the library, followed by purchasing online.
[Well, what a surprise -- not!]
• 47% of books bought by men are purchased in a retail store.
[Ditto.]
• E-books play an increasingly larger role
[Well, duh.]
o 7.0% of purchases in Q2 2010, increased from 1.7% in Q2 2009.
• Book clubs attract more females than males.
• Around 20% of all readers acquire their mysteries at libraries.
• Online retailers mostly attract readers under the age of 40.
• Only 12% of readers 60 and older bought books from online retailers.
• 13% of readers 60 and older acquired a mystery through book clubs such as Mystery Guild.
Marketing and Awareness:
• Browsing bookshelves is no longer the only way readers become aware of mystery titles.
• Book clubs such as Mystery Guild remain one of the top ways readers become aware of mystery titles.
• The majority of mystery buyers are over 50 and not as influenced by online marketing methods as readers under 50.

[Okay, how many times could I have copied and pasted "No kidding!" or "Well, duh!" or variations on that theme?]

[Seriously, is any of this really surprising?]

[Anyhow, FWIW, here's the big wrap-up.]

Mystery Reading Behavior Overall:
• 68% of mysteries are purchased by women.
• Over half the mysteries purchased are sold to people over the age of 55.
• 19% of all readers acquire mysteries at libraries.
• 11% of all mysteries are sold through book clubs such as Mystery Guild.
• 39% of all mysteries are purchased in stores.
• 35% of mysteries are purchased by people who live in the South.
• 77% of mysteries are purchased by households with no children at home.
• 48% of mysteries are purchased by readers who live in suburban areas.
• E-book sales are growing fast. In 2009, 1.7% of books sold were e-books. In Q2 of 2010, 7% of books sold were e-books.
• Readers under 40 look for dark, suspenseful stories.
• Readers under 40 don’t see mysteries as distinct from other genres as older readers do.
• Readers over 60 are more loyal to the author or character than younger readers.
• Readers enjoy mysteries to solve the puzzle. They also love surprises, thrills, and suspense.
• Name recognition still influences readers to buy popular authors.
• Readers are attracted by appealing book covers.
• Readers want a preview of story elements before they buy.

Now, can you imagine? Readers actually enjoy surprises, thrills and suspense? Unbelievable. And book covers. Who knew appealing ones mattered? And this name recognition thing. What do they call it? Um, branding? You mean it applies to books? Inconceivable!

And I'd care more about all that demographic data if I weren't doing quite nicely selling ebooks online where none of those numbers really matter.

Sorry, Sisters. Just sayin'. :)

My Ebook Launch for LEAST WANTED -- and a Cause

2011-01-11T18:53:00.000-05:00

As those of you who follow this blog probably know, I’m a mystery novelist with a new ebook release titled LEAST WANTED. (Just click on the link to read about the book.) I also happen to have dystonia (please click on the link to read another post about dystonia), the third most common movement disorder.

On Wednesday, Jan. 12—as in, tomorrow!—I’ll be holding an ebook launch for LEAST WANTED. What I’m doing is structuring the launch so as to make a donation to the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation based on where the book ends up ranking in the Amazon Paid Kindle Store at the end of the day.

Here's how it'll work. If, by the end of the launch date, LEAST WANTED:

Hits the Top 300 in Amazon’s Paid Kindle, I’ll donate $100; or

Hits the Top 200 in Amazon’s Paid Kindle, I’ll donate $250; or

Hits the Top 100 in Amazon’s Paid Kindle, I’ll donate $500; or

If we should get so lucky …

Hits #1 in Amazon’s Paid Kindle, I’ll donate $1,000.

So, tomorrow—Wednesday, Jan. 12—please help me promote my book (it is a book promotion, yes? :) ) and support a worthy cause and download a copy of LEAST WANTED from Amazon for the very, very low price of 99 cents (more than a bargain, I’d say).

That is all. Thank you!

PS: And to those who've already read this here or here, my apologies for the repetition. :)