The Word Cloud

8 Comments

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  by stephenterry 4 months ago

  Don't buy my E-book blog, 10th January post contains my little insight into the self-publishing business.
  
  Apart from having a professionally edited book, and one that fits into mainstream publishing, and is readable, there are two key factors, IMO.
  
  
  1. Have several books for sale. I would suggest setting a low price, until you are an established author.
  
  2. Use marketing techniques, like your two successful writers, to reach your audience.
  
  There is no easy way - both require a lot of hard work, and different skills. I hope that helps...
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  by Eddytip 4 months ago

  I dipped my toe in the self-pub water just recently, with a short non-fiction collection of short - and I mean short - stories of Thailand, My Thai Eye. It has not been very successful but that hasn't surprised me. I don't have a raft of other work and it isn't in the mainstream genre in which I'm writing a novel about: crime fiction.
  The doing-it experience was worth it though. But now, as Stephen says, I have to market it which takes time away from editing my masterpiece. Don't just stick with Amazon if you do try this out. They will probably bring you the most sales but they have drawbacks. Like they don't support all e-readers and if you are outside 'Amazon countries' they'll probably stick a $2 surcharge on the list price. With smashwords.com both of those objections are removed plus you get a higher percentage and they'll ship it to Sony, Apple and Barnes & Noble among others too.
  For the best source of doing-it digitally, visit David Gaughran's site http://davidgaughran.wordpress.com/lets-get-digital where you'll find a wealth of information.
  I am considering self-pubing my novel. With the chances of getting a traditional deal at 1 in a 1000, it seems attractive. I'll still send off my MS to agents, but if they are not open to new authors, prefer to stick with who they know - sadly lots of brainless celebs included - and offer reducing deals paid out over a years, then self-publishing sounds increasingly attractive.
  Good luck with whichever route you choose.
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  by Suze 4 months ago

  Amanda Hocking's story is inspiring. That said, she did try all the conventional publishing routes first, before rushing to self-publish. I think this is important. She would have been learning her craft with every round of rejections. The concept of instant fame with Amazon is seductive, but has it's downside. I hope to blog on this in a day or two...
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  by Barb 4 months ago

  I bought a book of Amanda Hocking's to see what her writing is like. I'd have to agree that there are some basic errors - lots of telling for example, but her plot was sound and the characters were believable - although I did want to duff the heroine up by the end of it (but that could just be me). It will be interesting to read your thoughts, Suze.
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  by Gemma 4 months ago

  I read a few books by Amanda, out of curiosity. I feel she has a lot of potential and interesting stories but every one felt rushed, as though they just weren't ready to be published yet. Which I'm guessing is the reason she had a lot of rejections.
  
  Barb, I wonder if you're talking about Switched and the heroine, Wendy. If so, then yes I wanted to duff her up, too!
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  by Barb 4 months ago

  Yes Gemma, I am talking about Wendy! She's as wet as Bella in Twilight.
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  by Gemma 4 months ago

  She is! Although I did want to punch her a little more than I wanted to punch Bella! Just a little bit.
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  by Vanessa 3 months ago

  I just saw Switched in Waterstones. I have to admit I read a sample, and decided not to buy it...