Eddie Jones's Blog, page 26

Let Us Endeavor to Speak Until They Silence Our Voices

CHRISTIANS FIRED FOR THEIR BELIEFS

Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency Fires Agent for Having Parler and Gab Accounts

The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency fired literary agent Colleen Oefelein after the firm discovered she had accounts on social media sites Parler and Gab. Oefelein had publicly acknowledged starting the accounts two months earlier.

Kate Hartson, Former Editor With Center Street for Supporting Donald Trump

Kate Hartson, former editor with Center Street, was recently fired, “for political reasons,” she says. The New York Times reports that her colleagues considered her a “true believer” in Donald Trump.

In an industry where imagination and words are the tools of the trade, such actions should give all authors pause for concern.

The “Information Establishment” shapes minds with words. When only one voice is heard, that is propaganda.

The “Entertainment Establishment” creates false reality and has the ability to make what is evil appear good and what is pure to appear prudish.

The “Academic Establishment” shapes young minds and is the recruiting field for the expanding army of thought police.

The “Political Establishment” enacts laws and sets public policy to insure its citizens remain in line.

The “Corporate Establishment” decides who works, eats, and lives in comfort or squalor.

All the above establishments exists within the kingdom of man.

Only in the Kingdom of God will you find free will for all, love for all from God, and the freedom to live without sin and hate through the Spirit of Christ. Those in Christ are not called to wage war on the kingdom of man. That is above our pay grade. Instead, we are called to pray that God’s words go forth and proclaim his Good News. Let us endeavor to speak, write, and teach until they silence our voices.

Calling All Christian Romance Authors

 

Announcing the opening of the 2021 Faith, Hope and Love Reader’s Choice Award, sponsored by the Faith, Hope and Love Chapter of RWA. Books published in 2020 are eligible.

All authors of Christian fiction are welcome to enter. They do not have to be members of any set group. There are seven categories available: Long Contemporary, Short Contemporary, Long Historical, Short Historical, Women’s Fiction, Romantic Suspense, and Novella.

The FHLRCA is the only contest that is solely for Christian fiction and judged by readers of Christian fiction who are not involved in the writing industry. This is an excellent opportunity to get your author’s work in front of new readers who love to tell fellow readers about books they love.

If you would like more information, the rules and entry form can be found on the FHL website: https://www.faithhopelove-rwa.org/fhlrca-contest/. You can also email me directly for information:  nancy-rca@faithhopelove-rwa.org. Please share this information with your authors and the other editors at your publishing house.

Blessings,
Nancy J. Farrier
FHLRCA Coordinator

acwc.live

Join us for the
Asheville Christian Writers Conference
February 26, 27 and 28, 2021

In the years following the formation of Christian Devotions Ministries, our small staff of volunteers would gather at the Ridgecrest Conference Center outside of Black Mountain, North Carolina, and discuss how we could help writers and authors.

Back then ChristianDevotions.us served as our only online presence. After a few years of gathering with thirty or more writers, we decided we should offer those who drove up for the day some instruction. After all, they were giving up part of their weekend simply to help the ministry. That year Yvonne Lehman, Ann Tatlock, and several other award-winning authors offered classes on plotting, character development, and other ways to improve our writing. Thus began our next ministry: a Christian writing bootcamp.

Today we call that ministry The Asheville Christian Writers Conference.

All Christian writing is a battle cry, a call to rally around God’s words and act as a herald for his Kingdom. God calls us to step up and answer with the best work possible using the talents received. We are called together to focus our hearts on the task Christ assigned us . . . to strengthen our ties with one another and hone our craft of writing in order that we might clearly spread God’s message of love for all and to all through fiction and non-fiction books, screenplays, scripts, articles, and blogs.

Past attendees have gone on to write for Inspire A Fire, our online magazine, Christian Devotions, CBN Devotions, the Upper Room, and Inspiration.org. Some attendees have received book contracts from Iron Stream Media, Thomas Nelson, Tyndale, and other book publishers.

This year we will offer both in person and  virtual options for attendees. Whether you join us online at ACWC.live or at The Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove, you will be challenged to improve, encouraged to persevere, and prayed for and pray with fellow believers who take serious the call of Christ to “go and make disciples in” his name.

If you wish to attend in person, we would love to see you! Currently, we have a limited number of rooms available for on-campus housing. Act fast to reserve a room on site at The Cove. Hotel space is available nearby, but staying at The Cove is a treat you will not want to miss.

ACWC from ACWC.live on Vimeo.

Marketing Your Book With Amazon Ads

Amazon’s advertising business is booming during the pandemic. It’s growing faster than its retail, cloud computing, and Prime subscription divisions—and chipping away at Google’s dominant position. – Financial Times

“Enormous power consolidated around a small number of major online platforms such as Facebook, Amazon, and Google will jeopardize future independence for authors. These dominant platforms wield their supreme power to stand between you and your audience. We’ve traded one group of authoritarian overlords for another. These platforms are the new gatekeepers for indie authors. And access comes at a cost: advertising. – Mark Coker, CEO and founder at Smashwords

I was an early advocate of advertising books with Amazon ads. In my experience, the most effective and economical marketing solution for making a book known is with Amazon ads. When I ran LPC, Amazon ads served as our core marketing strategy. Our goal was to receive $1 in revenue for every 30 cents invested. Many times we could invest as little as fifteen cents to earn $1. Those days are gone. Now many Amazon ads only break even (invest $1, receive back $1). Still, if your goal is to make your book known and you do not mind losing some money in the process, Amazon ads remain a good option.

Based on my experience Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are poor ad dollar investments. This makes sense when you think about. These platforms appeal to a large audience. With Amazon ads you target readers of print and Kindle ebooks and from within that market, you aim for niche category readers.

Bookbub is another advertising option, though again I have found Bookbub ads to be less effective than Amazon. Bookbub also lacks the granular diversity necessary to tailor your book’s add to a specific set of readers. For example, YA and middle grade are two segments, but there is no genre distinctions beyond age. An ad for a YA coming-of-age novel will appear along side YA mystery and romance novels.

All the things that worked in the past to drive sales:


Amazon Ads
Bookbub ads
KDP free days
KDP countdown days
Email newsletter promotions
Free audiobook codes
Publisher Rocket ebook and print keywords research
Facebook launch
Rafflcopter
Ask David tweets
Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Parlor tweets
BookFunnel for reviews

no longer return the results author’s enjoyed in years past. This is not surprising. With social media and the Internet, that new thing that worked for you on Friday is shared over the weekend with friends and by Monday all the world is adopting your strategy.

I would love to hear your thoughts on what works and does not.

FREE AUDIBLE CODES

If you enjoy audiobooks, I have FREE Audible codes for most of my Monster Mystery Series titles, and the Caribbean Chronicles series. I also have FREE codes for The Day The World Sneezed. email: eddie@eddiejones.org for free codes.

 

 

Advent – Counting Down to Christ One Ornament at a Time – The Helmet of Hope

Day 16

“Put on the hope of salvation as a helmet.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:8. The Apostle Paul did not have the Panthers in mind when he wrote to the church in Thessalonica, but his words of encouragement apply. Helmets protect our skulls. Skulls protect brains. Brains sometimes think too much and hope too little. Let’s hope 2021 brings peace, joy, and changed hearts.

Advent – Counting Down to Christ One Ornament at a Time – Be Brave!

Day 15

You have to be brave to be a Braves fan. Oh sure, there was that decade in the 90s when they dominated the National League. But like Cinderella’s Ball, Atlanta’s magic ended when the clock struck 2001. COVID almost delivered, but it’s the Braves we’re talking about. Stockings filled with coal hang over the fireplace of Braves fans and we’re good with that.

Advent – Counting Down to Christ One Ornament at a Time – There’s an App for Us

Day 14

App St. provided many wonderful memories. By far the best was love found and families united. App St. moved up and our kids grew up, but the good times shared in Boone created memories that burn brightest during Christmas.

Advent – Counting Down to Christ One Ornament at a Time – Roar of the Crowd

Day 13

When the Panthers came to Charlotte they bumped my beloved Redskins from local televised games. My family roars for the Panthers. I still root for “The Football Team.” With COVID the canned roar of the crowd sounds hollow. Still we check the scores. Do our teams stand a chance this year?

Advent – Counting Down to Christ One Ornament at a Time – Changing Schools

Day 12

Not every college pick sticks. One year at Elon and Win moved on to State. From the Ashes of Phoenix sprouted an engineer grad.