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I just put up a novel on the Amazon Kindle store. I have no idea if it'll sell well at all, since I don't really have $$ to do much proper marketing. But gently caress it, I love writing and I just wanna get some stuff out there, see if it's worth it.
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Aug 17, 2011 03:42
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(nothing to see here)
Azure_Horizon fucked around with this message at 20:26 on Nov 2, 2013 |
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Aug 17, 2011 21:56
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FingerbangMisfire posted:That's a really cool cover. Does it fit on the Kindle? Seems pretty tall. it does. It's 500x1280. But yeah, my friend, the illustrator, when he showed me that cover? I just about died. I've never seen a cooler cover on a book, aside from some of the covers for Only Revolutions by Mark Z. Danielewski. Azure_Horizon fucked around with this message at 22:13 on Aug 17, 2011 |
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Aug 17, 2011 22:11
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I also put up The Dream Metropolis on Smashbooks as well, if you could get that link in there!
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Aug 18, 2011 01:25
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Thanks dudes. Let's hope the cover is enough to generate interest somewhere. I don't have any $$ to market it properly. =[
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Aug 18, 2011 04:02
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FingerbangMisfire posted:Twitter, social network bombing and book review blogs is pretty much all any of us have done (though I did buy an ad on SA, which was neat), so I wouldn't worry about that. You can succeed without spending a dime on marketing. Just need to self-promote. Book review blogs? Like which ones?
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Aug 18, 2011 04:44
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vilkacis posted:Smashwords lists it for $3.99, though. I have no idea what's up with Amazon, honestly. It's $3.99 there for what it's worth, just follow the Smashwords link for now.
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Aug 19, 2011 10:24
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Both are very important, but I would go with one that's not only cheaper but easier to acquire: A good cover.
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Aug 19, 2011 23:30
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FingerbangMisfire posted:You can definitely charge $.99. I charge $.99 for all my shorts. When I was working out the details of my book before publishing it, Amazon refused to let me go under $2.99. But I wasn't planning on selling a 260pp novel for any less than $3.99 at the moment. There wasn't an option to go cheaper.
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Aug 20, 2011 04:25
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The difference with editing is that, after browsing Kindleboards, it appears that people have blown fat wads of cash on editors that can still totally miss gaping flaws in your prose and story. That's a big part of the reason why I shied away from an editor for the first book, but that doesn't mean I won't hire one to work on a second edition in the future.
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Aug 20, 2011 09:05
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While pro editing does sound great, I just don't have $700 - $1,500 to plop down at this point for it. I only paid my artist friend $40 for an absolutely sick cover and that should be enough for now. I'll rely on my self-editing to get me where I need to go for a bit.
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Aug 21, 2011 02:45
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Faded Mars posted:How do I go about opting out of publishing my ebook on Amazon through Smashwords? I'd like to put it up on Smashwords to do free review copies and whatnot, but I am already in the publishing process on Amazon. Do you just uncheck "Kindle" under eBook formats? You can sell to both Amazon and Smashwords without interference. I'm selling it in Kindle format on both and have yet to find issue with it. Plus they tell you strictly to NOT uncheck that format since it's the most popular Smashwords format (aside from ePub). Azure_Horizon fucked around with this message at 07:33 on Aug 24, 2011 |
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Aug 23, 2011 19:53
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clockworkjoe posted:I know I could use help with formatting but I'm in an unusual place. My book is heavily illustrated and it took me weeks to figure out how to format it for kindle. I still don't have an epub version because Indesign exports epubs differently than mobi files. Try using Calibre for conversion, as well as Adobe Digital Editions to make sure your epub file is okay.
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Aug 25, 2011 00:38
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SlenderWhore posted:I have about three different 90,000-word YA novels sitting on my hard drive that I can't seem to get published. I'm afraid it may have to do with the fact that the young adult market right now seems to almost exclusively consist of "girl meets creepy supernatural creature and falls in love" and every single variation thereof. Two of them are post-apocalyptic urban fantasy, and the other is a sort of black comedy set in the 50's about a girl who is trying to stop the devil from claiming her soul. It's a slow burn, like selling all books is, and it's no guarantee. But if you shop the book around to enough blogs and try and get as much publicity you can from word-of-mouth you might do well and get a Web presence going. If you really want people of the world to read your awesome novel, try your hand at it. You'd probably have more luck in the e-world than the current publishing mold. I, too, am an English major and totally think it will help.
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Aug 25, 2011 05:39
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I really dislike that you have to call Amazon to get a new edition of your book up on the site. You'd think with how streamlined the KDP is, they would have added a feature less cumbersome.
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Aug 25, 2011 21:52
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Goat Bouillabaise posted:First check's in. I am officially getting paid for writing fiction. Wait 'till it starts to pay the rent. That's the part I'm excited for most -- when I can stop doing anything else and just write for a living.
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Aug 30, 2011 01:18
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Goat Bouillabaise posted:Yeah, but that's the Great Dream in any case. Gonna take a while for anyone to get there. It seems a lot more likely in this new age of self-publishing than it did when all we had was traditional publishing methods. Plus, the success stories are just popping up. Though, 90% of all self-pub authors aren't selling at all right now, so it's still very early to see if it's truly going to be a valid financial avenue.
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Aug 30, 2011 06:03
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I think the best part about that "How You Will Not Sell..." book is how absolutely horrid the product description is both spelling and grammar-wise. I felt my heart twinge.
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Aug 30, 2011 20:19
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I've sold 12 copies in a week and a half. I lowered the price on both Amazon and Smashwords to $2.99 because I felt a 225 page novel shouldn't really be going for $3.99. I have been marketing the ever living gently caress out of the book, emailing blog reviewers right and left. I've heard back from a couple but most are so backlogged with books to read that I won't be seeing any progress on that front for a bit. And I've been doggedly abusing all my friends talking about the book and urging them to tell their friends, but the big problem is most of them are not Kindle users so I have to wait for my illustrator to conform the cover to the Lulu template so I can get physical copies to them. In other words, I can't utilize a large chunk of my readerbase because they don't loving own a Kindle (and refuse to read it on any number of free Kindle conversion apps. for iPhones/iPads/smartphones/computers). Here's to a much more profitable September, even if 12 copies if pretty drat good for someone with zero web presence/author reputation.
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Aug 31, 2011 22:26
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You can sell to approximately 8 countries at 70% royalty: United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Canada, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg. The other 238 territories in the world bring your % to 35. I'm going to open up my book worldwide by the end of the year if I get enough interest by then.
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Aug 31, 2011 22:41
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clockworkjoe posted:wow crazy. Why wouldn't you open it to the world, already? Mostly due to the fact that I don't have enough web presence yet. For example, I've sold... nothing in Germany. No one knows who I am in Germany, no one cares yet. How am I to expect random person in Japan or random person in Nigeria to buy my book either? I gotta feel a bit more comfortable about interest in the book before I start giving the world a perusal. As for Createspace, I think I'll give it a look. I don't like the fact that I can't make hardcover copies through them, though.
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Sep 1, 2011 09:15
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I took the advice here and opened up my book worldwide. Here's to better sales!
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Sep 1, 2011 21:47
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Awesome thing happened recently. One of my short stories, "Deconstruct", was accepted into a new Kindle anthology called Kindle All Stars. The first of these anthologies has been titled "Resistance Front". The anthology includes top-tier, mega-iconic authors such as Harlan Ellison (who has won more awards for imaginative literature than any other author yet, and is personally fascinated by the project), to unknowns such as myself. The project is headed by Bernard J. Schaffer, who is better known as having the #1 top-selling Sherlock Holmes novel on Amazon, Whitechapel: The Final Stand of Sherlock Holmes. For those of you who have short stories you really think are awesome, there is still time to submit (September 15th is the deadline). The anthology will be on sale sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas for .99 cents. All proceeds go to the Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
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Sep 3, 2011 21:17
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(nothing to see here)
Azure_Horizon fucked around with this message at 20:27 on Nov 2, 2013 |
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Sep 4, 2011 05:17
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bardryn posted:Congrats on your inclusion, if more than a year late. I've just joined both the forum and the world of self-publishing with a book I finished back in 2007 and have revised a number of times since. With teaching being such a tough field lately (I'm in my third year as a sub, still looking for a full-time position), I thought it was a good time to have a go. I'd love to hear what any of you think, about the book or how to go about marketing it. Thanks! Cool idea and I like the product description. I would, however, lower the price. Your book is not the length of a novel (it is actually a novella) and I would price it between .99 cents and 2.99.
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Sep 4, 2011 09:03
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man, you know what's a bitch? Writing the next book. I keep finding myself wanting to tie up loose threads from the first book rather than push the plot forward for the second. Ugh.
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Sep 6, 2011 10:46
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Myrddin Emrys posted:Thanks, sent them a short story. Science Fiction, wasn't sure if that's what they were looking for or not. There are no genre specifications -- only what they deem fits in with the general 'theme' of the book which is at this point unspecified. Harlan Ellison no doubt submitted a sci-fi story so I don't think it'll get you taken out.
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Sep 7, 2011 00:05
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There's a little less than a week left to submit to Kindle All Stars Presents: Resistance Front! You can also write a story between now and the 15th and submit it as well. Good luck!
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Sep 9, 2011 19:38
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I got accepted into a Halloween giveaway special on a blog called RedTash. My book is part of a free giveaway along with a contest where the grand prize is a new Amazon Kindle with 3G. Sadly, he's got enough authors to give away promotional copies, but you can at least join in the contest. It's really easy and there's multiple ways to enter. The deadline is October 16th for you to enter. If you do win, you'll also get free copies of all the books listed on the blog.  Here's the blog and special Three days left to submit a story to Kindle All Stars Presents: Resistance Front! Azure_Horizon fucked around with this message at 00:48 on Sep 13, 2011 |
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Sep 13, 2011 00:43
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Myrddin Emrys posted:Any idea how long it takes to hear back about the Kindle All Stars dealie? A week to two weeks. They have a lot of submissions to get through still.
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Sep 13, 2011 03:59
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5,000 words or less.
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Sep 13, 2011 07:44
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Good luck! I hope ya'll get in.
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Sep 13, 2011 22:00
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FingerbangMisfire posted:These are all so wonderful and perfectly ridiculous. If you ever get near NY or need a reader, man, let me know. Yeah, I'd love to act in one of those. They sound like soooo much fun.
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Sep 14, 2011 20:19
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Roshi posted:I'd submit a K23 Side Story, but they don't make a whole lot of sense out of context by themselves. That might be a problem. The stories need to be able to work on their own to some degree. But you might still get in, since you are an established author and KZ3 is a recognizable series of stories.
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Sep 15, 2011 02:29
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FingerbangMisfire posted:In Kindle All-Stars News: I'M IN! *High-five* They just announced that Harlan Ellison is indeed inside the anthology. We're inside an anthology with Harlan Ellison omg
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Sep 16, 2011 01:11
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My proof copy for The Dream Metropolis arrived in the mail today. It looks BITCHIN'. Paperback version will be available on Amazon in 5 days or so.
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Sep 16, 2011 21:19
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(taking down images in this post)
Azure_Horizon fucked around with this message at 20:27 on Nov 2, 2013 |
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Sep 16, 2011 22:54
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Createspace. These people are awesome. Easy as hell to do, only problem was getting the cover just right so none of the details were cropped out by the bleed.
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Sep 16, 2011 23:58
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It's US trade 6x9''. You don't have to submit a .pdf of the text, you can submit .doc's that work fine too so long as you use their template. As for the cover, all you need is an image that is 6.125'' x 9.125'' because that has to include the bleed, then make sure that all the important stuff of the cover is at least .375'' from the sides. The spine, however, has to be calculated by some really small fraction multiplied by the amount of pages. They tell you it on Createspace. Then you have to make sure the title + author name are .375'' from the top and bottom of the spine, the bleed area. It just takes a bit of tinkering, but if you are good with Photoshop it's a breeze. I had my illustrator do it for me.
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Sep 17, 2011 02:26
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So now that submissions have ended, you might think you can't do anything for Kindle All Stars? Wrong. There is a Cafepress store selling mugs, t-shirts, and hoodies. All proceeds from the store go to funds for the project's creation as well as to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. We are hungry authors leading a resistance front. Join the resistance. In other news: Barnes&Noble is offering a special cover sweepstakes where the random winner gets a cover professionally designed by the gurus at 99 Designs. Azure_Horizon fucked around with this message at 10:58 on Sep 18, 2011 |
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Sep 18, 2011 10:55
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