Before I self published I did approach some small publishing houses, I even toyed with the idea of Vanity Publishers. Having received the usual rejections letters or no response at all, which I did half expect, albeit the rejections were not of a negative, saying they liked the story, it just wasn't for them. This set me off in search of selfpublishing options as I really I wanted to get my story out there in the big wide world. I initially looked at Amazons createspace for my paperback version and smashwords for the ebook version but after weeks of deliberation and Internet searching I came across http://completelynovel.com, a Print-on-demand platform, who offer a free and paid packages to publish with.
The free allows you to publish and sell through there site and the paid packages allow you to sell through booksellers world wide, including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, waterstones etc.
I started out with the free version but soon went up to the mid package and I have to say how I was pleased I am with their service and with the final product once my book landed on the doormat.
My book is now featured on the above mentioned sites and I have recently signed up with Amazons KDP program, of too which I am very pleased as and my book sales, are slowly but surly increasing. And promoting my product has certainly helped, by using the various social media platforms, I feel Twitter has given me the greatest following, although I do have an author page on Facebook, of which I advise anyone to do and in particular get an author page on Amazon if you use it, as this will give your fan base more info on you as an author. As does my webpage and blog site. I have also joined varying communities for self promotion and use some paid services to promote my work too. And off of the back of this, I now have a literary agent currently reading my book, so hopefully if she feels I have something and everything crossed we can work together to further expand my presence. I will keep you posted on how this fairs.
I have one question for anyone that care to answer, now my book is selfpublished can I still approach a main stream publisher?
‘Here they come,’ shouted Raoul. ‘There are hundreds of the bastards.’
Peter looked behind and could see Bonaparte sat impassively astride his horse. Next to him on a handsome grey mare was Citizen Barras. But whereas Bonaparte looked confident, Barras was clearly apprehensive.
‘Hold your fire men,’ bellowed Bonaparte. ‘Let the Royalists fire the first shot. But when Citizen Barras gives the command, don’t hold back. Gun crews; stand to!’
‘Only fire blank case to begin with,’ said Barras nervously. ‘That should drive them off.’
‘The guns are already charged with canisters of grapeshot,’ replied Bonaparte. ‘We haven’t time to reload them now. Anyway, people aren’t that easily fooled Citizen Barras. If we fire blanks, the moment they see there’s no blood, they’ll become twice as bold and I’ll be forced to kill ten times as many. Now; get ready to give the order.’
The mob, meanwhile, continued to advance; slow, sullen and menacing.
‘I can’t,’ exclaimed Barras as his face blanched and his mouth was suddenly dry.
‘Fortune’s a fickle citizen,’ said Bonaparte curtly, ‘just like a woman. Lose the moment and she’s gone. The mob’s almost upon us. Get ready to give the order.’
‘I-I cannot give it…’
‘Then let me give the order,’ said Bonaparte coldly.
Barras gave a hesitant nod.
The rebels were now within musket-shot range. Suddenly a booming voice erupted from within the ranks of the troops facing the Royalists.
‘Disperse in the name of the Convention.’
The answer was a stabbing of flame and puffs of smoke as a ragged volley of musket shots was fired off by the rebels. Peter and Raoul ducked behind the barricades, but several troops weren’t quick enough and spun backwards as musket balls struck home. Moments later, Peter and Raoul sighted their weapons and waited for the command.
‘Fire!’ barked Bonaparte.
Peter’s carbine spat flame and smoke, and he saw his target fall to the ground as a ball caught the rebel full in the chest.
All along the Convention’s defence line, a murderous rolling volley of muskets and carbines delivered a scything blow into the Royalist ranks. Then there were three virtually simultaneous and deafening roars.
Hidden behind a wall of musket smoke, neither Peter nor Raoul had seen the slaughter inflicted by the cannon, but when the thick bank of smoke cleared, they could see the devastation delivered by the eight-pounders. It had been instantaneous and decisive.
Bonaparte’s guns had shredded the tightly packed ranks of the mob. In one dreadful moment, dozens of rebels had been mowed down by cones of deadly shot. The carnage had been swift and brutal. Scores of dead and mangled figures lay sprawled on the cobbles.
Wide-eyed rebels stood behind their dead and wounded compatriots stunned; their charge instantly halted. Then some desperate individuals tried to rally the mob. But as they surged forward again, their rain-sodden Bourbon banners held high, a commanding voice could be heard above the agonized cries of the wounded and dying rebels. In a strident voice, Bonaparte coolly ordered his gunners to load another volley of grapeshot.
‘Fire!’ he yelled.
Cannon erupted once again and men tumbled to the ground like lifeless marionettes. The crowd recoiled in disbelief at the death and destruction delivered by the deadly guns. The cobbles, only seconds earlier slick with rain, were now slick with blood.
Amazon’s search relevancy is based on the information that is provided in product feeds, specifically in the Search Terms, Title, Brand, Manufacturer, MPN, and UPC fields.
In the Search Terms fields, sellers are given a choice to provide 5 key terms or phrases. More often than not, sellers choose words that already appear in their Title, Brand and Manufacturer fields. This is not necessary. Amazon’s system automatically includes Title, Brand and Manufacturer when determining search relevancy.
Instead, come up with new and inventive words that relate to the product at hand.
If you are struggling to come up with search terms, contact Amazon Seller Support and ask for suggestions. Or, if your company has a Google Adwords account, use the Keyword Tool to see what the most commonly searched words are for your product. You can then apply these words or phrases to your Amazon search terms – this practice is based on the notion that Amazon’s search pattern will likely be the same or similar to Google’s.
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This Raising Money to Publish Books pdf document will show you where the money is and how to get it. There are grants, government programs, creative ways to borrow and lots of good financing advice. If you need money to publish your next book, this report will help you get it. 6 pages.
Download here, RaiseMoney.pdf. This document was provided to our Premium Members. Upgrade your account now to receive this document and the hundreds more to come, for as low as thirty-dollars a year.
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Editorial copy, such as reviews, is infinitely more credible than space advertising. Here is an article that appeared in the late 1980’s that says it all—better than we can.
Appeared in THE WALL STREET JOURNAL Good Reviews Are Heavenly In the Crowded Software Field By RON WINSLOW Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
BREAKTHROUGH SOFTWARE CORP. paid $6,000 for an ad in PC Week magazine last month to advertise its Time Line software program and received 100 responses. In January, however, a favorable review of the project management program in PC Products magazine generated nearly 900 inquiries, says William Lohse, president of the Novato, Calif., company.
That's one reason why the hundreds of magazines and newsletters that have sprung up to serve personal computer consumers are so important to software publishers and other computer product manufacturers.
Market surveys show that word-of-mouth and product reviews are the two most influential factors in a customer's decision to buy software and often a review gets word-of-mouth going. Such big-time software publishers as Lotus Development Corp. and Microsoft Corp. are sensitive to how their products are received. And small concerns clamoring for attention among the 5,000 software companies that issue up to 400 new products a month, would almost die for a favorable review in a leading magazine; they often die without one.
A review "authenticates your software in the marketplace," says Barry Smith, vice president, marketing, of Lightyear Inc., a small Santa Clara, Calif., software concern. "Not getting attention is a real problem. If you don't get above the noise level, it really doesn't matter how good a product is.
OF COURSE, some software, such as Micropro International Corp.’s WordStar word-processing program, have become dominant products despite critical reviews. Nevertheless, companies often revise marketing strategies in response to what reviewers write about them and their competitors. Magazine editors, meanwhile, must stay abreast of an avalanche of new products while grappling with deadlines, review standards, ethics and a demanding readership— and with trying to beat the competition.
For magazines, the quest to be first can be perilous. Monthlies, whose deadlines may be three months in advance of publication often write preview news articles based in part on so-called beta-test or pre-release versions of a product. A year ago, editors and industry analysts were impressed with an early version of an Ovation Technologies Inc. product touted as the first integrated software package. Personal Computing featured Ovation on its cover last July. But before the magazine hit newsstands, Ovation suffered setbacks and the software never came out.
To avert similar embarrassment, many magazines clearly tell readers when articles are based on beta-test products. Editors may check the financing of start-up companies before giving exposure to otherwise promising products. And it is industry standard that new products aren't formally reviewed until they are on retail shelves.
IN LATE 1983, Byte magazine alienated many readers with its practice of publishing "product reviews" written by the manufacturers themselves. Byte used the articles in part to provide technical insight into new products, but Byte readers grew worried that the magazine "wasn't on their side," says Philip Lemmons, the current editor. In an editorial last March, he apologized for the magazine's insufficient "zeal in purging promotional material from certain articles" and other mistakes and reaffirmed Byte's editorial independence, Byte still runs manufacturer-written articles, but their purpose and authorship are clearly explained.
Some magazines also have established guidelines aimed at providing fair reviews and ensuring integrity. Rory J. O'Connor, senior editor of InfoWorld, has written a 60-page manual— unavailable to manufacturers—to make sure his 30 free-lance reviewers apply the same standards to the products they write about. He requires writers to disclose to him any financial interests they have in high-tech companies to avoid conflicts of interest.
Meanwhile, software publishers play to and react to the reviews. Microsoft added cursor control keys to Word, a program for Apple Computer, Inc.'s Macintosh computer after reviewers commented that writers don't like using a mouse to work with text.
MICROPRO RECENTLY held a press briefing to "reposition" its Wordstar 2000 program as a "new" product aimed at a "new market." InfoWorld, which considered the product an upgrade of the original Wordstar, had criticized it for being slower than Wordstar and for difficulty in converting Wordstar files for use with Wordstar 2000.
And Ashton-Tate Inc., a Los Angeles software company, changed the shipping date last year of its Framework program to coincide with the release of Symphony, a similar product by Lotus. The strategy almost backfired when Ashton-Tate missed its new deadline, but it recovered in time to generate a flurry, of Framework vs. Symphony showdown reviews, nearly all of which Framework won. “We took full advantage of the (computer) publications with that," boasts an Ashton-Tate spokesman.
Lotus says it is "quite satisfied" with Symphony's sales despite the unenthusiastic reviewer reception, however. Indeed, Symphony currently outsells Framework by five or six to one, says Robert Lefkowits, an analyst with Cupertino, Callf.-based InfoCorp.
But Lotus plans to handle the press differently with the pending release of Jazz, a Symphony-type program for the Macintosh. Reporters seeking to review Jazz are being asked to attend a training class later this month, a spokesman says, to get "an understanding of the product and a perspective in which to review it."
That doesn't bother InfoWorld's Mr. O'Connor. He plans to give Jazz to a reviewer who doesn't attend the session. "The buying public isn't going to be going to one of these briefings," he says.
Enjoy your weekend everyone. If you're looking to download some free eBooks, all you have to do is go towww.indiewritersupport.com and go through our streams of book tweets.
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EMSA Publishing is an independent online publisher whose goal it is to facilitate new and established authors in having their novels published. We strive to publish page-turning works of fiction for up-and-coming authors to give them a stepping stone toward meeting their goal of becoming published and best-selling authors. Authors should either have an established online platform or be willing to create one and use it to promote their books.
EMSA Publishing offers eBook distribution and print-on-demand services. Authors who sign with us will receive editing services, a professionally designed cover, and marketing support for building and maintaining an on online presence including blog tours and reviews, web page creation, press releases and social media. The author pays nothing up front and receives a competitive royalty percentage payment.
Interested authors should send a cover letter with a brief synopsis and the first 20 pages of their manuscript in the body of an email to query @ emsapublishing.com Most genres are welcome. Please refer to our submission guidelines at http://emsapublishing.com/submissions/ for further details.
Today, I am going to show you how you can host a very productive book promotion that will allow customers to download your kindle book for free, or at a discounted price, for any duration of time, and the quantity amount of individual downloads you desire, without applying for the amazon-book-lending KDP-Select program. If you can drive more sales to your Kindle edition by getting others to give it as a gift, the rank for your book’s sales page will improve and will ultimately lead to more visibility on Amazon, thus increasing your overall sales.
With this practice, you'd be able to create a promo code like the one shown below that can be applied to each of your published book/eBook. Better yet, your giveaway will be publicly displayed for all Amazon visitors at https://www.amazon.com/ga/giveaways.
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Creating a Promotion
To create a self-sponsored promotion or sell your own products (autographed-books, tee-spring etc) through amazon, you would first need to create a seller-central account here, http://services.amazon.com (the first month is free).
In your seller account account, under the Advertising link, click Promotions. And then click Create for the promotion type you want to offer.
To create a promotion:
Step 1: Conditions
Buyer purchases: Select the customer purchase threshold that will qualify for the promotion from the drop-down list.
At least this quantity of items: Promotion applies when a customer purchases at least X eligible items in a single order. You must enter a whole number.
At least amount (in $): Promotion applies when a customer spends $X or more on eligible items in a single order.
For every quantity of items purchased: Promotion applies to every X units when a customer purchases eligible items in a single order. This option is only available for the Money Off and Buy One Get One promotion types.
To select a list that is not included in the drop-down list, choose Select another.
To select every item in your inventory, select Entire catalog.
Buyer gets:
Money Off: Select an option from the drop-down list.
Percent off
Amount off (in $)
Fixed price for all items (in $): Promotion gives customers a fixed price for all X units of eligible items purchased in a single order. This option is only available when the promotion is set as "Buyer purchases for every quantity of items purchased."
Buy One Get One: Use the default option of Free items.
External Benefits: Use the default option of Post-order benefits.
Applies to:
Money Off: If you select Qualifying Item, click Select an ASIN to search for the applicable item.
Buy One Get One: If you select Qualifying Item, click Select an ASIN to search for the applicable item. Set the quantity of the additional item that will be free when the promotion applies.
External Benefits: Use the default option of Purchased Items.
Advanced Options:
Tiers (for Money Off only): Create stackable promotions that will apply in increasing order. You can create up to 9 tiers. For example, buy 5 items and get $5 off, and buy $10 items and get $10 off. If you select Applies to Qualifying Item, tiers will not be available as an option.
Exclude Items: Select a product list to exclude from the promotion. To select a list that is not included in the drop-down list, choose Select another.
Step 2: Scheduling
Date Range: Set the start and end date and time. The start date and time must be at least 4 hours in the future.
Identifier: Create an internal description and Tracking ID. The Tracking ID does not appear when buyers redeem a promotion offer. It exists for your use only.
Step 3: Additional Options
Claim code: Select Claim code to require that a claim code be used to redeem the promotion. Click Claim code to expand the setting options.
One redemption per customer: Select this option to limit the claim code to be redeemed only once by a customer.
Claim code: Click Suggest a code to generate a random claim code or enter a custom claim code. For more information, see Claim Codes and Combinability. Note: Promotion Manager saves claim codes in upper-case letters and converts the numbers 0 (zero) and 1 (one) to upper-case letters O and I. This offers customers increased flexibility when entering claim codes. For example, customer entry of claim code "top10tix" or "TOPIOTIX" will both be accepted at checkout.
Claim Code Combinability: Select how you want to allow claim codes to be combined from multiple promotions.
Customize messaging: Create and/or customize the required and optional messaging types, including Terms & Conditions, and set the display precedence. Click Customize messaging to expand the setting options.After you complete the information for the promotion, click Review. On the Review Promotion page, review the information for your promotion. To make any changes, click Back. To finish creating your promotion, click Submit.
Checkout confirmation text (for External Benefits only): This message will display at the top of the checkout page to describe the benefits a customer will receive after purchase.
Checkout display text: The default text is Promotion Applied and will display on the checkout page.
Short display text: Provide text to display on the product detail page and in search results. This text will only display for Featured Merchants who win the Buy Box.
Detail page display text: Select this option to display the promotion message in the Promotions and Special Offers section on the product detail page. This text will only display for Featured Merchants who win the Buy Box.
Purchased items display text: This text will be used as the Standard text option for Detail page display text.
Detail page display text: Select the standard text, which is populated with the Purchased items display text, or enter custom text. Be sure your custom text is clear and accurate to help customers understand the promotion.
Display precedence: This number governs the order of your promotions on the product detail page, in case you offer multiple promotions for the same item.
Terms and conditions
Tiered Promotions
For the Money Off promotion type, you can create an offer that increases based on the amount of items purchased. For example:
Buy 10 reams of paper, and save 20%. Buy 30 reams of paper, and save 50%.
Note: Tiers are not an available option for External Benefits and Buy One Get One promotions.
To create a tiered Money Off promotion, follow these steps:
In Step 1, expand Advanced Options.
To add a tier, click Add Tier.
Enter the second tier quantities.
Repeat as many times as you want.
To remove a tier, click Remove Tier.
Have a good day.
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