K.J. Chapman's Blog, page 34
September 14, 2018
Book Review: Write What Sells by Alex Foster
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Write What Sells by Alex Foster 3/5
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A beginner’s guide to book writing helping you write in categories that sell while finding niche topics that stand out. Focused mainly on nonfiction, many of the tips are valuable for fiction titles, as well. Learn how to:
Find categories that are profitable for self-publishers.
Research the potential of a book before you commit to writing it.
Find niches that will stand out from the competition.
Find great ideas to write great books.
Publish and use marketing and promotion effectively.
Review:
The title made me shudder a little because I am a true believer of ‘write what you’re passionate about’. Writing to sell books to me is a big no no, and your book will reflect that.
Upon reading, I discovered this book mostly targets non-fiction writers who want to make money selling content based books, mostly of the informative, instructive kind.
If you are one such writer, there are tips and advice for you about categories, niches, and marketing. And… its free.
This is an informative book, just not what I can benefit from.
The opinions expressed here are those of K.J. Chapman and no other parties
All books reviewed on this blog have been read by K.J.Chapman
K.J.Chapman has not been paid for this review
September 12, 2018
Writerly Wisdom
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Writerly Wisdom
“I f writers wrote as carelessly as some people talk, then adhasdh asdglaseuyt[bn[ pasdlgkhasdfasdf. “
– Lemony Snicket
September 10, 2018
Book Review: How to Make Money Blogging by Bob Lotich
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How to Make Money Blogging by Bob Lotich 3/5
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Bob Lotich founded ChristianPF.com back in 2007 and after getting laid off in 2008 he took the leap into full-time blogging. Less than a year later he was earning more from his blog than his previous day-job.
While his results are not typical, this book covers all the steps he took to make money from his blog over that two-year period.
Review:
There isn’t anything wrong with this book, it just didn’t offer me anything personally. It covers the basics thoroughly, so if you don’t know the basics, then this is great. I know the basics, and although I blog as a platform for my books and to review, rather than to make my blog my business, I was hoping for some new, innovative ways to grow, even if just a tad.
Basically, time and hard work grows a blog, and eventually, can lead to income, but I’m already aware of that.
However, like I said, this is a good freebie for beginners.
The opinions expressed here are those of K.J. Chapman and no other parties
All books reviewed on this blog have been read by K.J.Chapman
K.J.Chapman has not been paid for this review
September 5, 2018
Writerly Wisdom
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Writerly Wisdom
“ A successful book is not made of what is in it, but what is left out of it.”
-Mark Twain
August 30, 2018
Update 31/08/18
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Update 31/08/18
Once again, I’m going to post updates every month on where I am at with my writing or lack thereof.
Reading
Zero writing has taken place this month, but I have been reading up a storm. I caught up with my backlog of reviews, and next month, I plan to include what I read in my updates, but there are far too many reviews to include in today’s post.
Scheduling and Planning
The majority of my time, though incredibly limited by mama duties, was used scheduling five months of blog posts and starting to plan a marketing system for my books that works for me. Okay, so I’ll do one book shoutout. Five Minute Marketing for Authors by Barb Asselin has some interesting ideas I want to implement, and five minutes seems too good to be true, right? We’ll see.
For future reference, my Writerly Wisdom posts will go live every Wednesday, and my Updates posts will be featured on the last Friday of the month.
Coming Up
Keep your eyes peeled on my various social media platforms for any mini updates on how I’m doing with the above, and there are some book reviews coming soon. I hope you have a productive month.
August 28, 2018
Writerly Wisdom
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Writerly Wisdom
“ If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.”
-Stephen King
August 19, 2018
Review: Black Virus by Bobby Adair
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Black Virus by Bobby Adair 4.5/5
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Alienated
in a world where he doesn’t fit in, Christian Black survives because he’s different. Then the virus came, and made the world turn different, too.
Now people are dying by the million. Food supplies are short. Riots are blazing through the streets, and Christian’s only goal is to keep his family alive. But safety lies far from the city, and just getting out will be tougher than anyone knows.
Review:
It’s always great to find a new take on the zombie/infection genre. A strain of flu that some die from, some survive, or some are left with a mutation that slowly turns you into a ‘degenerate’, is right up my street.
This story focusses on Christian Black and his background. The foreword from the author was a little worrying for me as he states that he wrote Black Virus because when writing Black Rust he realised there wasn’t room for backstory with a fast paced plot. I disagree with this and believe good writing allows for both. So, even though Black Rust was written and published first, it has become book two. I was wary of Adair’s writing after reading the foreword.
That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed this take on the infection story, even more so because it is packed full of back story and world building. However, that foreword has made my wary of book two. If its all action and no character development or backstory in its own right, then I doubt I will like it as much as book one. I wish that foreword had been omitted.
The opinions expressed here are those of K.J. Chapman and no other parties
All books reviewed on this blog have been read by K.J.Chapman
K.J.Chapman has not been paid for this review
August 16, 2018
Review: The Text by Claire Douglas
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The Text by Claire Douglas 4/5.
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A single text changed her life. Did it end his?
Emily Latimer is furious. Her boss Andrew is being so unreasonable, as always. She fires off a text to her boyfriend, only in her haste she sends it to her whole office group.
In it she says Andrew’s being difficult about letting her have time off work. That she is angry. That she hopes he dies. The next day her face burns in the office. No one believes her when she says it was a typo, she meant to say does. She hopes he does.
It’s a nightmare. But it gets worse – Andrew doesn’t turn up for work. And then the police come knocking. Because Andrew Burton has been murdered . . .
Review:
Imagine sending a scathing txt to your friends list by accident. Imagine there’s a typo in it. I hope he does has been changed to I hope he dies. Then, the person you were texting about is murdered.
The blurb to this short is intriguing, and it is an intense read considering it is so few pages. That being said, I knew who was involved in the ‘who dunnit’ from early on. No spoilers!
This book was well written and believable. I’m not usually a thriller fan, but Douglas does it well.
The opinions expressed here are those of K.J. Chapman and no other parties
All books reviewed on this blog have been read by K.J.Chapman
K.J.Chapman has not been paid for this review
Review: A Hole in the Pavement by Tahlia Newland
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A Hole in the Pavement by Tahlia Meal and 3/5.
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Every morning, Norris watches his goddess walk to the bus stop in front of him, the gap between them far wider than the physical distance. This morning, she stumbles. He wants to run and help her, but finds himself stuck in a metaphorical hole that appeared along with his self doubt. By the time he gets out, she’s long gone. He vows that if it happens again, he won’t hesitate, but when she falls the next day, he has more than his own hole to deal with. Can he find his heroic self before she walks away?
Review:
This short is a blend of metaphor and literal. The holes the characters fall in are those of low self esteem, anxiety etc. They help each other to ‘climb’ out.
In places the narrative was a little repetitive, and I couldn’t read it (even understanding the metaphor) without thinking, ‘ why aren’t the council filling in those bloody holes?’
The opinions expressed here are those of K.J. Chapman and no other parties
All books reviewed on this blog have been read by K.J.Chapman
K.J.Chapman has not been paid for this review
Review: Is $.99 the New Free? By Steve Scott
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Is $.99 the New Free? By Steve Scott 4.5/5
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Do you wonder ANY of the following:
Is it better to launch a book for free or $.99? Is there still a benefit to the KDP Select program? When should I move my books to another platform? How do I increase lagging sales?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then it’s important to know
“what currently works”
with Kindle Publishing.
Review:
I have downloaded many Kindle pricing and promotion advice books from Amazon, and considering this is a freebie, it’s the best I’ve read. Scott provides in-depth content and undertook his own experiments with the pricing on his own books.
A worthwhile read with research and results to back it up.
The opinions expressed here are those of K.J. Chapman and no other parties
All books reviewed on this blog have been read by K.J.Chapman
K.J.Chapman has not been paid for this review
