Writing Freebies

There are almost as many people creating companies that offer resources to writers as there are writers jumping into the self publishing frenzy.  There are a lot of hungry fish out there and everyone seems to be chasing those dollar-sign shaped fish hooks.

There’s nothing wrong with that, but you have to be careful to pick a company that can be counted on to deliver some bang for your bucks.  Personally, I have no intention of paying anyone to either publish my writing or to promote it.  I don’t even enter contests if they have an entry fee.

There are lots of these companies, however, that offer free advice or tools that I am perfectly willing to take advantage of and pass on here.  I found the site below when doing some research on freelance rates that has several free offerings you might want to check out.  I’m sure they are hoping you will like their generosity enough to inquire into their paid services, but please know that I am not advocating for them.  If you are interested in what they have to offer, go for it.  Or just take the freebies and go on your way.  Your choice.

We hope you find these FREE writing resources useful for the writing you do. Check back with us often to see what other writing freebies we’ve come up with lately.

via Writing Freebies | No 2 Pen Writing and Communications.

Amazon Highjacks Apple’s Article

The letter Scott Turow, President of the Author’s Guild posted in early March is really about a potential lawsuit against Apple and five publishers.  But his mention of how Amazon practices make the Apple decision an inevitable one results in the majority of the following comments focusing on Amazon and whether or not what they’re doing is good for writers and publishing. Depending on which argument I am reading at the moment, I feel like a fan at a tennis match not sure which player I want to win.

Yesterday’s report that the Justice Department may be near filing an antitrust lawsuit against five large trade book publishers and Apple is grim news for everyone who cherishes a rich literary culture.

The Justice Department has been investigating whether those publishers colluded in adopting a new model, pioneered by Apple for its sale of iTunes and apps, for selling e-books. Under that model, Apple simply acts as the publisher’s sales agent, with no authority to discount prices.

via Letter from Scott Turow: Grim News | The Authors Guild Blog.

Best Seller Categories

This looks like a great site to bookmark if you are a self published author.  The article linked below on how to use categories to call attention to your book is only one of the good pieces of advice I found.

The “category path” is how Amazon determines the rankings. The main ranking that we are used to seeing is the “Paid in Kindle Store.” This ranking includes everything from newspapers to games and even Kindle accessories. You can see how important it is to categorize optimally.

via Helping you become a #1 Bestselling Author | Indies Unlimited.

Self Publishing Comparison Chart

There is a link in the article below to a chart showing a comparison of the different self publishing options that might prove helpful if you are thinking of going that route.  You can also click on the picture below to go directly to the chart.

The self-publishing industry has gotten a makeover.

Distribution costs have gone down and design quality has gone up. The fact that undiscovered writers can get someone to design, edit, publish, distribute and market their books for a few thousand dollars in a matter of weeks is nothing short of amazing.

Self-publishing services are designed for a large number of clients who have relatively small budgets. As with the yellow pages, there is a lot of up-selling and packaging of individual services. But that’s not to say that the services aren’t valuable.

via Self-Publishing Guide From Digital Book World | Digital Book World.

Everybody’s Doing It

Authonomy is a site where people post chapters or sometimes whole books.  In return they get read, rated and critiqued by fellow writers.  Those who rate well through this process rise to the top and make it to the Editor’s Desk which means they get read by editors at Harper Collins publishers.  The idea is to catch the editor’s eye and get a book deal with them, although most seem to only get an indepth, helpful review of their work from said editor.

Now it seems Authonomy is also getting into the e-publishing business.  No advance for the author but no mention of a cost to them either.  Instead, the author receives a share in royalties.  There is also the possibility that some titles could earn hard copy production as well.

Wannabe authors post their works to Authonomy, the writing community site launched by HarperCollins in 2008, in the hopes of being discovered and getting published. They’re a step closer to their goal with Authonomy’s launch of a digital imprint, which will “hand pick” the best writers on the site and publish their work as e-originals. Chosen authors won’t receive advances; rather, the imprint is operating on a profit-sharing model. The titles that sell well as e-books will also be released in print.

via HarperCollins’ Writing Community Site Authonomy Adds E-Book Imprint | paidContent:UK.

Panic enSUES in the Publishing World

Lawsuits are a growing  byproduct of the not so subtle panic the publishing world seems to be engaged in.  The basket has been upended, people, and everyone is scrambling to recover the contents.

Some may call this an era of evolution in book publishing, but it also could be called the Era of Major Lawsuits taking on golliaths, such as Google … and now Apple and five major publishers: HarperCollins Publishers, Hachette Book Group, Macmillan Publishers, Penguin Group Inc. and Simon & Schuster Inc.

The issue at the center of the lawsuit against Apple and the five publishers is one that has plagued virtually every crevice of the industry: e-book pricing.

via Does Agency Pricing Lawsuit Against Apple and Book Publishers Have Merit? : Book Business.

Amazon’s Answer To Apple’s Terms

My sister is the one who warned me about Amazon’s change to the way you download books using Kindle apps.  She has an iPhone.  I was thinking the Android might not be affected by the change, but when my phone recently updated, I see that the Kindle app updated as well, and seems to be directing me to the Amazon website when I want to buy/download new books, so I guess Android was not immune.  But here’s a new twist.

A few weeks ago, after Apple began enforcing the new iOS terms, one eBook reader, Kobo, came out and said that they would work on a web app to bypass the restrictions. But again, others like Amazon and Barnes & Noble remained mum, and changed their apps to remove links to their stores. Turns out, Amazon was quietly doing the same thing. And now it’s ready to go. And it’s very good.

via Amazon’s Answer To Apple’s Terms: A Web-Based Kindle Cloud Reader — Brilliant On PC, Better On iPad | TechCrunch.

Even the Big Dogs Do It

U.K. publishing house Pan Macmillan announced plans to launch Macmillan Compass, a new digital only publishing imprint. While the new imprint will release e-books for all formats and distribution will be through Pan Macmillan’s established channels, it has not been determined as yet if the e-titles will be available for sale in the U.S.

via Pan Macmillan to Launch Digital-Only Imprint, Macmillan Compass.

News like the article above increases my confidence that the small press releasing my book this fall is on the right track.  New Libri puts a big emphasis on eBook publication, and in some cases, may even choose not to print hard copies if concentrating on eBook sales makes the most sense.

If even well established traditional houses like Macmillan is promoting a digital emphasis, can success for New Libri (and by default–me, too!) be far behind?

The Future Of Books?

Big, slow, ponderous old publishing houses have zero chance of moving as quickly as individual authors who saw an opportunity to sell directly to the readers those bastard publishers had been denying them for so many years. That’s why, if you browse any of the bestseller lists on Amazon’s Kindle store, or Barnes & Noble’s Nook store, among the inevitable James Patterson and Twilight megasellers, and the reams of free, out of copyright classics, you’ll see an amazing number of supercheap titles by writers you’ve never seen in print.

via The Future Of Books Will Be Divided Between Electronic And Print.

When I get discouraged about other authors selling multiple copies of their 99 cent short stories/novels while my two just sit there, I soothe myself with the same sentiments shared in the article above.  99 cents is pretty cheap.  I’d be willing to take a chance that a book I buy for 99 cents might turn out to be badly written, or not follow through on the promise I sample before buying.

Multiple sales of 99 cent ebooks does not necessarily mean that book is a success.  In my opinion, a successful book is one the reader finishes and actually enjoys.  Another person might have a different opinion.  After all, whether the reader finishes the book, whether he enjoys it or not, the writer did get paid for the book, right?

What is success?  Getting paid for something, or doing it well?  You decide.

Indiebookslist

Dedicated to promoting Indie (and not so Indie) authors and their work, one excerpt at a time.

via indiebookslist.

If you have a book to promote, or enjoy supporting independent booksellers by buying books from them, this site is an interesting promotional tool I found thanks to the forums at Amazon KDP.  Authors submit a chapter excerpt and information about their book, then this site posts two of them a day.

Try it, you might find a book you want to read.