Margawriterville

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Mixed--but better--results with second KDP giveaway.

My second Amazon KDP Select giveaway of Battle Axe is winding down after three consecutive days, and I must say, it's changing my mind about the program. I still don't know if it will boost my reviews or sales, but the activity has blown away that of my previous giveaway over Easter weekend.

Here's what I did differently:
1. Three consecutive days vs. two non-consecutive days (last time I skipped Easter proper).
2. Used only these paid sources:

Here's what I did the same:

1. Picked a holiday weekend

2. All the same Facebook and Twitter sources

But this time, as of 4:30 on the third day of the promotion, I'm looking at 5700 downloads vs. the meager 710 I got the first time around. I hit #2 in the free Kindle store both times in the Humor category, but this time also hit #6 in Suspense.

My theory is that the paid sources I used this time are indeed more effective (and slightly more expensive), and the three consecutive days allowed more momentum to build vs. the two nonconsecutive days. Also, I have a feeling that Memorial Day itself is a more popular time to download books, as opposed to Easter. And my books definitely qualify as "beach reads."

Lastly, either Amazon got my scheduling wrong, or I was looking at a European calendar when I picked my dates, but the three days started not on Saturday, May 25 as I had hoped, but on Sunday, May 26 and continued through Tuesday, May 28. I imagine if the promotions (both paid and my own) and the scheduling had synced up better, my results would be even more impressive.

I'll report back with after-promotion results. In any case, this has persuaded me to enter Ring of Fire into the KDP program as soon as Battle Axe expires. Giveaways to follow.

Oh, and actual writing? That may happen again someday, too.

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Pinterest: I'm doing it, even if I don't get it.

Okay, that's not entirely true. I get it, but I have to admit it's not my thing. Which is fine--there are plenty of things that aren't my thing. In fact, there are probably way more things that aren't my thing than things that are my thing. I'm a man of particular interests. And you can find a selection of them here. A note: most of them relate to my novels, because I have to weave my interests into my novels, so I can experience them more often.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Amazon KDP Select Giveaway Part 1: The numbers are in.

As I gear up for another giveaway for Battle Axe--this time for three consecutive days--I wanted to share the results of my previous giveaway, which was two non-consecutive days over Easter weekend.

I spent a lot of time in the preceding months reading blog posts and advice from other KDP participants. I boiled their tips down to a "best of" and that was the extent of my plan. Here's a rundown of the "marketing" I did to announce the giveaway:

The Marketing:

1. Posted on my own Facebook page

2. Sent out periodic tweets from my Twitter account

3. Sent an email blast to relevant people in my address book

4. Created an event on Goodreads and invited my friends

5. Sent a note to the following free websites:

centsibleereads.com
authormarketingclub.com
indiebookoftheday.com
indiebookpromo.com
frugal-freebies.com
freebookdude.com
theereadercafe.com
thatbookplace.com
indiesunlimited.com
pixelofink.com
ereadernewstoday.com
mobileread.com/forums/
www.kboards.com/
worldliterarycafe.com

6. Posted to the following free Facebook pages:

7. Tweeted a note to the following:

@ebookmybook_now

@kindlebookpulse

@kindlebookblast  

@ereaderblast

@kindlenews

@socoolkindle

@eBookDailyDeals

‪@eBookFling

@DigitalBkToday

@kindleebooks

@Kindlestuff

@KindleEbooksUK

@KindleBookKing

@KindleFreeBook

@FreeReadFeed

@4FreeKindleBook

@KindleUS

@Kindlefreebies

@KindleUK

@TweetTheBook

@kindlebookpulse

@kindleebooks

@writersRT

@kindlebookblast

@Kindlestuff

@indieauthornews

@kindlenews

@KindleEbooksUK

@FreeEbooksDaily

@KindleBookKing

@KindleFreeBook

@4FreeKindleBook

@DigitalBkToday

@kindle_promo

@higherread

@genreundergroun

8. Paid a nominal amount to be listed on these paid websites:

bargainbookhunter.com
flurriesofwords.blogspot.com
bookgoodies.com
ebookshabit.com
freeebooksdaily.com
freebooks.hub.com
kindlebookreview.com
kindlemojo.com
freekindlefiction.blogspot.com

I started my activity around 7:30am EST, and the promo is on PST, so I think that gave me an advantage. It took a couple hours just to do all of the above, then I re-hit some of the contacts throughout the day (mostly Twitter, as redundancy is more accepted/expected there). So what did it get me?

The Results:

March 30: Topped out at #617 in free Kindle store, #11 in free humor, #2 in free comic fiction, #26 in free suspense. 429 downloads total.
April 1: Topped out at #729 in free Kindle store, #2 in free comic fiction, #18 in free humor, #23 in free suspense, and #19 in PAID comic fiction. 281 downloads total.
The few days after the giveaway, Battle Axe ranked as high as #51,062 in paid store and #35 in paid comic fiction. My other book, Ring of Fire (not part of the giveaway), "rose" to #263,393 in paid store, #93 in comic fiction. These rankings are well above anything I'd achieved previously.
In the six weeks since the giveaway, Battle Axe and Ring of Fire have picked up one (favorable) review each on Amazon.

My total downloads were well beneath what I was expecting--I'd read fairly common accounts of authors with downloads in the thousands and tens of thousands, so that part was surprising. And as I'd only been selling around a half dozen books or more per month up until the giveaway, selling that many in the week following should be considered a boost in sales. But we're back to nothing for the first two weeks in May. And that accounts for dropping the price of Ring of Fire from $2.99 to 99 cents.

Once I complete the second giveaway, I'll take Battle Axe out of KDP Select and consider trying it with Ring of Fire (depending on how the giveaway fares). But at the moment, it doesn't seem to have had a huge impact.

My personal feeling is that the market has gotten entirely too crowded and it's getting harder and harder for readers to pick and choose. It's overwhelming for both authors and readers at this point. I've downloaded quite a few free books myself, both indie and "legit," and some have been worth it and some I couldn't finish--or even get past Chapter 1.

Wish I had more answers, or had more encouraging advice, but that's the state of fiction these days. It's anyone's guess where things are headed, but I'd like to think that those of us with patience will be rewarded as the wanna-bes crowding the market will get discouraged from their meager sales, shake out and move onto other pursuits.

Tuesday, May 07, 2013

So many books, so little time.

I know it sounds like a pity bumper sticker or t-shirt slogan, but that really sums up the loss of Randy Rohn, an outstanding writer and even better husband, father and friend. A prolific advertising writer for more than three decades, he had only recently moved into publishing short fiction and even a novel. I know for a fact he was working on another one, and who knows how many more he would have produced had he not been cruelly removed from this life.

When I first turned to long-form fiction myself, he was one of the few I trusted to give me feedback, even if his feedback amounted to "It's the best book about jazz and lesbians I've ever read." (note: this is an oversimplification) I truly respected his talent and judgement, and my writing will no doubt suffer for his loss. We had even planned on writing a book together, "Talisman"-style, where I would upload a chapter to Dropbox, then he would follow. I still may write that book, although it will lack his unique edge (and more importantly, vast knowledge of the world in which it takes place).

The older we get, our chances to make friends grow slimmer and slimmer. That's not to say we can't have a large social circle, or be surrounded by people with overlapping interests, but true friends get harder and harder to come by. Particularly ones you'll hang onto for 25 years.

What follows is an excerpt of the words I spoke at his memorial service. I delivered these words after opening a brand new bottle of Cadenhead Whisky and pouring a shot. Not being much of a Scotch guy, I was saving it to share with him when we next saw each other, so it seemed appropriate. The pastor was not amused, which made it even more fitting.

First of all, I’d like to thank Randy for getting me out of work. He was always good at that. But I would also like to acknowledge that, for a consummate writer who knew just the right word to use in just the right way—Randy, your timing is awful.

Because Randy was one of the funniest people I’ve ever known, I’m pretty sure that he would hate for his departure from this world to be cause for complete sorrow. That, Randy, is easier said than done. It’s like turning off the music and telling everyone to keep dancing.

I’ve known Randy for 25 years. More than half my life, but less than half of his. So I’ll let others fill in those blanks and tell the childhood, high school and college stories.

Like any relationship, ours has gone through phases. There was a phase when we saw each other nearly every day in Chicago, took production trips together, hit the town together, went to lunch, concerts and CD stores on a regular basis. When he changed jobs, we still got together regularly, albeit with more scheduling. My wife and I made frequent trips to hang out with Randy's family in the suburbs. To our wives’ chagrin, he and I would typically disappear into the basement, oblivious to those upstairs, and have an informal listening party, popping the caps off beers and popping CDs into the player.

The next phase was the longest, when we lived in separate states, but thanks to the Internet, the communication and music sharing continued, and there were occasional visits, such as my trip to judge the Evansville Addys and his to christen my son and judge the Raleigh Addys.
But not enough visits. Not nearly enough.

A new phase had just begun. A promising new career for Randy as the creative director for an agency in Statesville, North Carolina. I know it wasn’t his or his wife's first choice, but selfishly, I was really looking forward to it. My son—his godson—has a soccer tournament in Statesville in May, and just last week, he and I were gearing up to see each other for the first time in a decade. We were going to make up for all those years of all that distance between us.

So again Randy, the timing? It blows.

Husband, Father, Rocker, Writer and Friend. That was the Randy Rohn I knew, and he excelled in all those roles. I thought I was a big Beatles fan. Then I met Randy. I thought I knew my way around a radio script. Then I met Randy. I thought I had a sense of what a strong, loving family looked like. Then I met Randy’s.

He was one of those rare people that brought out the best in others. I know I always stepped up my game around Randy. When I was with him, I felt sharper somehow—more observant, more articulate, more sarcastic. Which is why he made such a good writing partner.

Even when our jobs separated us physically, Randy’s presence in my life was akin to that of the “R” on my computer keyboard. I didn’t use it all the time, but I could always turn to it when I needed it. And at our age, it was a presence I took for granted. Losing Randy goes beyond losing a key off my keyboard. I’ve lost a letter of my alphabet.

You know when you’re a kid and something doesn’t go your way--your parents inevitably say “life isn’t fair.” And it isn’t. And it’s never been more acutely pointed out than right now. Life gave us one Randy Rohn, and we weren’t done with him yet. But if anyone could tell you that life isn’t fair, it was Randy. Yet after any setback, he remained positive. The guy radiated optimism, which makes it ironic that Paul McCartney wasn’t his favorite Beatle. And when you were around him, you got caught up in it. Whatever terrible thing was going on in the world at the time was forgotten. He had a terrific sense of humor, but he was also a terrific audience, particularly when it came to laughing at himself. He gave us a lot of great material, but more often than not, he was in on the joke.

When I see a movie, read a book or hear a new song, I find myself frequently thinking, “What would Randy make of this?” Note that I didn't say, “What would Randy do?” In most cases, one would not want to do—or even know—what Randy would do, particularly after a couple of drinks. The stories you’ll hear throughout the day will be proof of that.

We all know a great injustice has been done. And the temptation here is to be angry, to feel cheated. But those words and those emotions don’t even belong in the same sentence as Randy Rohn. He had plenty of cause to be angry from time to time, and I even saw him get cheated. The day Kristin was born—the day I mentioned earlier—he left the office in such a rush to get to the hospital that he entrusted someone else to present his scripts on his behalf. I don’t need to tell you what happened next. Was he cheated? Yes. Did he get angry? No. He was too full of joy over his new daughter to let petty office politics bring him down. Randy always knew what really mattered.

I wanted Randy at my funeral. I wanted Randy to DJ my funeral. So this, this situation is unacceptable. But accept it we must. Randy was nothing if not resilient, so we need to apply that same thinking as we struggle to move on without him.

In his incredible book “Hang On Sloopy,” there’s an underlying thread of melancholy throughout. The main character spends a lot of time looking back and wishing he could freeze time, because things were always better “back then.” But the book ends with the character finally moving past those feelings—although not without some sadness. To quote Billy Joel, who barely qualifies as rock and roll in Randy’s eyes, even though he was a fan: “The good old days weren’t always good, and tomorrow ain’t as bad as it seems.”

I like to picture him holding court in a corner booth of St. Peter’s Chophouse, with a rare porterhouse on his plate and a fresh Glenlivet in his hand. Elvis is on his right, John Lennon on his left. He’s saving a seat for Keith Richards, who is due any minute. Around the rest of the table are the friends and family who preceded him.

Randy Rohn was a true original. He was such a damn interesting guy. He knew a lot about a lot. He cared a lot and he touched a lot of people. The world needs a lot more Randy Rohns. But there will ever be only be one. Thank God I was blessed to have him in my life.

Randy has left the building. And there will be no encore. But it was a hell of a performance, right? One we’ll be talking about for the rest of our days.

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Gearing up for Amazon KDP Select Giveaway

When I first published Battle Axe and Ring of Fire simultaneously last year, I enrolled Ring of Fire in Amazon's KDP Select program on the promise that it offered more exposure via its lending library and ability for Amazon Prime members to download such titles for free. The downside? It's a 90-day arrangement that makes your digital (not print) title exclusive to Amazon, so I was forbidden to make it available anywhere else. The upside? None, at least that time around. I saw no discernible difference between the purchase/borrow activity of Ring of Fire vs. Battle Axe.

The other (and potentially huge) alleged asset of the program is that it offers up to five "giveaway" days where you can offer your title for free and they'll promote it as such. I had read that doing so before you had a reasonable number of good reviews was a waste of the days, so I devoted the rest of the year to amassing said reviews. I relied some on family, friends and my writer's group members, but largely my reviews came from strangers whom I approached via Goodreads. Since I deem my writing style to be in the same vein as Carl Hiaasen, I blindly contacted readers who had reviewed his most recent book (favorably, of course), and offered them one or both of my books in exchange for a review. If they liked it, of course.

Much later, Goodreads told me to stop this, as it violated their self-promotion policy. I honestly thought if I was approaching people with something for free, it wouldn't be considered self-promotion, but I complied. In the end, I must have contacted hundreds of readers. I'd say half replied, and a fraction of those actually read and reviewed one or more books. Oddly, most of the Goodreads readers posted their reviews only on Goodreads, so I ended up with a few dozen reviews on that site, but only 16 and 12 on Amazon, for Ring of Fire and Battle Axe respectively.

So, a year later it seems like I have enough decent reviews to give the KDP thing another try, including the giveaway days. As I've read the best times to do this are over holiday weekends, I'm doing a two non-consecutive day giveaway on March 30 and April 1, then again over Memorial Day weekend, using up all five days. I'm going with Battle Axe this time, for no particular reason, but I've also heard that having more than one book in the Kindle store makes the giveaway more successful, because once someone reads your free book, there's another one available for them...to purchase.

We shall see and I shall update. In the meantime, if you're in the market for a free humorous suspense novel on March 30 or April 1, 2013, just click here.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Top 3 Reasons You Need to Do Character Sheets

I initially resisted. In fact, I'm resisting right now, and am only writing this blog post to avoid writing another character sheet. But I'm here to tell you they are as invaluable as they are tedious.

I've been using Scrivener, which is an amazingly robust writing program that allows you to consolidate nearly ALL of your miscellaneous data (research, photos, maps and yes, character sheets) into one document. In fact, it comes with a template built in (see inset below).

While this is a great start, I'm recommending something far more involved. If printed out, the character sheet I use would take up five pages. I can't remember where I got the version I'm using, but here's a current link to it.

Detailed, huh? And yes, it's daunting, but like writing itself, once you get into it, you get more into it. Here's why they're a great training ground before you type those ominous words, "Chapter One."

1. They help you catch your breath. I've been thinking about this novel, its characters, its setting and its plot for literally years now. Have I written anything down? Not much. So these character sheets ease me into the story by way of introducing ME to all my own characters. Like stretching before a marathon, or having your salad before your meal, it's just good solid preparation.

2. They give you ideas. You may think you know what the plot is, and how you're going to get from Point A to Point B, but once these characters start taking shape, they may surprise you. You may invent details about them that lead you down whole new paths--also a good thing. Don't think of it as a diversion or something that's "keeping you from writing," because it IS writing. Plot points, motivations and epiphanies might emerge during this process, so keep an open mind and notepad.

3. They start to write themselves. As you move into pages 2, 3 and beyond on these things, you'll find yourself thinking "what is my character's favorite movie? really?" And then you'll wonder what IS their favorite movie--and why? And that leads to another character trait, maybe due to some family history, and maybe that leads to a bit about their unhappy childhood, and having one parent, and...well, you get the picture. These are your characters, so own them. They deserve to live and breathe, and the more qualities you imbue them with (and make sure it's a mix of good and bad, just to keep it real), the better they'll serve you. I think you'll find they start serving you before you're even done creating them.

I know they're not for everyone (and hell, I didn't even do them for my first two novels, but there's a lot I didn't do for my first two novels that I wish I could have done differently), especially for "pansters," but I say give one a shot. Start with a secondary character--you'll feel you're getting way too deep into their past, their social circle, their wants and dreams, etc. You'll be writing about things you don't think secondary characters even deserve. And that's a good thing--by doing so, even a secondary character becomes more three dimensional and less likely to end up a plot device or stereotype.

Monday, December 03, 2012

Guest Blog Post: Russell Elkins, Author of Open Adoption, Open Heart

Anyone who knows me knows I'm adopted. I've known all my life and have never made a secret of it. I had a very satisfying childhood and view the family that raised me as my true family. That said, I was found by my birth mother several years ago and we now have a steady, ongoing relationship. The experience inspired me to write Battle Axe, which is not to say it is based on my experience in any way--it simply served as a catalyst for my imagination to run wild and wonder what would happen if a man my age suddenly found out he was adopted, at age 40, and was subsequently found by his birth mother...or someone claiming to be, at any rate.

I continue to be an advocate for adoption and for adoptees and their birth parents to find each other--and then decide if it's right to continue a relationship. I know such reunions--much like open adoptions--do not always go as intended, but one must keep an open mind.

With that, I turn this blog over to Russell Elkins, who has just published Open Adoption, Open Heart: An Adoptive Father's Inspiring Journey. More information about Russell and his book follows this post. Russell's appearance was arranged by Kathy, who writes the wonderful I Am a Reader, Not a Writer blog.

All of the most wonderful people in the world have had a group of people hating them. Jesus Christ was crucified; Martin Luther King Jr. was murdered; even people like Michael Jordan had people who despised him simply because of his achievements. Every church, organization, group of people who band together to do good in the world have another group opposing them. Adoption is no different.

I didn’t really realize the extent of it until I jumped into the adoption advocacy world. My favorite thing I’ve been called is “adopta-raptor” because people like me swoop down and snatch people’s kids. I’m sorry, I know that even though she was trying to be malicious when she called me that, the way to insult someone is not to call them something cute like that. I had to laugh.

Most of the people who hate adoption are people who have felt cheated or wronged by the process. Almost universally, at some point in their adoption experience the control over their own situation was taken out of their hands- a mother forced by her parents or someone else to place her child for adoption, a grandpa who didn’t want his daughter to place her child, a woman who chose adoption after being raped, a father whose children were removed from his home by the state, etc. Hatred toward adoption is almost always centered around a situation having gone wrong at some point. Not many people who have had little to do with adoption truly hate the concept enough to fight against it.

That’s why my wife and I stand as tall as we can for adoption. We see things so very differently from our side. For us, it was a way to build a family, and family is what life is all about. Family is what helps us learn to love in ways that we can’t experience anywhere else. And with adoption, especially now that most adoptions are “open” adoptions, we have learned to love our children’s biological parents in a way that we never understood possible before.

The relationship we have with our children’s biological families is very unique. It’s not natural for us as human beings to want to share the concept of parenthood with someone else- that goes for the adoptive side as well as the biological side. Yet, we make it work! Not only do we make it work, it works very well. It was not automatic, though. Open adoption is not a single event- it’s a journey. It’s a road that twists and turns and both sides have to find the balance together.

I’m a better man because of open adoption. I’m a better man because I have learned to love in a new way- the way only a parent can learn to do by being a parent. I’m a better man because of the way I’ve learned to love that unique branch of our family tree that we call “birth parents” because, yes, we love them and, yes, they’re our family too.

All I’ve ever really wanted to do and all I’ve ever really wanted to be is a father and a husband. Everything else I am and do is a tangent of that. Adoption has made that possible and I will be forever grateful for that.

Author Bio:

Russell Elkins was born on Andrews Air Force Base near Washington, D.C., in the fall of 1977. Along with his five siblings, he and his military family moved around a lot, living in eight different houses by the time he left for college at age 17. Although his family movedaway from Fallon, Nevada, just a few months after he moved out, he still considers that little oasis in the desert to be his childhood hometown. He and his family now live in the Boise, Idaho area.

Russell has always been a family man at heart, looking forward to the day when he could be a husband and a father. It took him a little while, but eventually his eyes locked onto a beautiful blonde, and he has never looked away. Russell and Jammie were married in 2004. Years of struggling with infertility left Russell and Jammie with a decision to make and their lives changed dramatically when they decided to adopt.

Russell and Jammie have adopted two beautiful children, Ira and Hazel, and have embraced their role as parents through open adoption. Both are actively engaged in the adoption community by communicating through social media, taking part in discussion panels, and writing songs about adoption. Russell also writes a weekly post for Adoption.com and contributes regularly to Adoption Voices Magazine.

Book Summary:

The world of adoption has changed dramatically over the past twenty years. No longer do biological parents have to say goodbye to their child forever. They now have more options when deciding the type of adoption to pursue, such as open adoption. Open adoption creates the opportunity for a special relationship between biological parents, the adoptive parents, and the child.

Open Adoption, Open Heart is an inspiring and true story, which takes the reader deeper into the feelings and emotions experienced by adoptive parents. As you read this incredible story, you will experience the joys, difficulties, and amazing victories facing adoptive couples. Russell and his wife, Jammie, invite you to share in their inspiring and heartwarming journey.

See the book trailer here.