E.A. Copen's Blog, page 6

Reviews Are Hugs for Authors…Sort Of.

When I first published, I was told to only expect one out of every 500 readers to leave a review on my books. So many people read, but don’t leave reviews. I’ve said before that reviews are like hugs for authors, but they’re so much more. Reviews are a reputation. Reviews, good or bad, influence sales.There’s been a meme floating around that, after so many reviews, Amazon promotes your books differently. It’s time to dispel that myth. The number of reviews by itself doesn’t make Amazon do any...

So You Want to Read Indie Urban Fantasy

Today, while browsing Facebook and sipping my morning coffee, I came across a blog post from Unbound Worlds titled:So You Want to Read Urban Fantasy: Here’s Where to Start.While their list was great, I noticed it was lacking in one important department. There were no indie writers .Now, before you click away thinking I’m promoting indies because I am one, give me a chance to explain. The publishing industry is changing. Publishing is now within everyone’s reach. More and more authors who were...

Chasing Ghosts Update

It’s been a busy couple of months around here! Chasing Ghosts is with beta readers right now, which is a nerve wracking experience, especially since one of the people reading it for me is on my shortlist of top five favorite authors.Last night, I spent an hour awake after bedtime, worrying over the beta readers. What if they think Judah is too weak? What if the sentence structure isn’t good or they find that one bit of bad prose I forgot to fix before sending it out? What if, what if, what if...

SIBA Awards

I found out yesterday that both Guilty by Association and Blood Debt had been nominated for awards in the Summer Indie Book Awards. I have to say I’m shocked. A lot of friends of mine are also on the list and they’re all very talented people. It’s an honor to be in the same universe as some of these amazing writers, let alone to know them, via the internet or otherwise. But I can’t help wondering who in the heck would think anything I did was worthy of an award?Let me back up. I’ve never won...

Indie Publishing How To: Covers

So, you’ve finished your manuscript. Now what? It seems like it should be obvious. You publish it, right? Well, as it turns out, there are a few steps in between. The next few posts made over a few weeks will walk you through your next steps. These guides are targeted to indie authors intending to publish through Amazon and CreateSpace. Those are the only platforms I have experience with. However, as I learn more, I’ll be creating more guides.Today we’re going to talk about covers. Why should...

Broken Empire: Aftermath Sample Chapter

I thought you’d like a sample chapter to cut your teeth on while I finish up the rewrite. Oh, and a cover reveal. How’s that for service?Chapter OneFire swallowed the shuttle right behind Captain Timothy Val’s, sending bits of twisted metal raining into the Torian atmosphere. The blast was close enough that an impact warning appeared on the visor screen inside his helmet. Timothy switched the warning off and flexed his gloved fingers. He tried to keep from looking through the blue hue of the...

Broken Empire: Aftermath Sample Chapter

I thought you’d like a sample chapter to cut your teeth on while I finish up the rewrite. Oh, and a cover reveal. How’s that for service?

Quality Versus Quantity

If you’ve been paying attention to the publishing industry lately, you’ve probably heard at least one argument about quality versus quantity. Some authors believe the key to making a living as an indie author is to edit as well as you can afford and publish often. Some folks I’ve talked to have even suggested publishing a book as often as every 21 days. On the other side of the argument, we’ll call it the Quality Party, authors argue that it’s impossible or just unduly difficult to publish so...

Quality Versus Quantity

If you’ve been paying attention to the publishing industry lately, you’ve probably heard at least one argument about quality versus quantity. Some authors believe the key to making a living as an indie author is to edit as well as you can afford and publish often. Some folks I’ve talked to have even suggested publishing…

Re-Discovering the Joy of Writing

It’s been a while since I updated here. I honestly couldn’t bring myself to do it. Writing was pretty difficult there for a while. I hate to admit it but I was suffering from burnout. I’ve always been someone who writes a little bit every day but ever since I published Guilty by Association, I’ve…