Ruth Nestvold's Blog, page 14

March 11, 2016

Amazon Takes Aim At Scammers But Hits Authors

Another important article by David Gaughran:

Amazon is an extremely innovative company – and usually quiteresponsive to self-publisher’s concerns – but sometimes it gets things very wrong too. Today is one of those times. I’ve received…

Source: Amazon Takes Aim At Scammers But Hits Authors


Tagged: davig gaughran, ebooks, Kindle Unlimited, scammers
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Published on March 11, 2016 09:15

March 9, 2016

Revising, writing, and creeping through trees

I continue to jump back and forth between two projects that are largely completed, Ygerna and Dragon Touched, revising and filling in missing scenes as I go. It’s a lot slower than the mad rush to the end of Dragon Touched was, but I’m making steady progress. Last week, I got 4700 new words written and 7 pages edited.

What am I failing at? I haven’t been doing as much marketing, and my sales are slipping. I haven’t been submitting short stories like I intended. I haven’t started putting toge...

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Published on March 09, 2016 11:49

March 5, 2016

Kindle Unlimited/Free on Kobo SFF promotion, March 5-6

It’s that time of the month again, the next Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Promotion!

March SFF promo

This promotion has two parts. The first section features a selection of books that are available through the Kindle Unlimited program — but for the duration of this promo, most of them are also on sale for 99c. :) My contribution this month is Chameleon in a Mirror.

The second half of the promo is for first in series free books on Kobo. There you can get my story “The Leaving Sweater,” the first in my se...

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Published on March 05, 2016 05:36

March 4, 2016

From trad to indie: Interview with Alicia Rasley

I’ve “known” Alicia Rasley since the early nineties, when we were both active on the writing discussion groups (called RoundTables) of the now defunct online service GEnie. I was a rank beginner at the time, while Alicia had already been traditionally published, but she was always gracious and helpful. We bonded over Aphra Behn, and she was one of the first people to read (a very early) version of Chameleon in a Mirror. So it is with great pleasure that I welcome Alicia to my blog.

Alicia Rasley, Tryst at the Brighton Inn

First of...

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Published on March 04, 2016 09:29

March 2, 2016

A New Tale of the Rose Knights, and More from Ygerna for #WIPpet Wednesday

Today, Daily Science Fiction posted the next installment in the Rose Knights series I wrote with Jay Lake, “Harlekin.” Here’s the real Harlekin rose that inspired the tale:

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Harlekin rose by T. Kiya on Wikimedia Commons

Quite a beaut, eh? :)

My progress in terms of editing and new words continues to be nice and steady. Last week, I managed to get 4700 new words written, and 39 pages revised. I’m quite happy with that.

I’m slowing down on the marketing front, though. I didn’t get any more s...

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Published on March 02, 2016 14:42

February 26, 2016

Once again, the importance of covers for indie authors

I got a really nice heads up recently on the new cover for Looking Through Lace: in the monthly e-Book Cover Design awards, Joel Friedlander called it “a strong cover that intrigues.”

Looking Through Lace

The 99c promo that is currently running for Looking Through Lace confirms my growing conviction of how important striking covers are for sales. With an advertising investment of less than $60, I have already sold 110 copies of the novella, with a day still to go in the promo. Since investing in the new covers...

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Published on February 26, 2016 17:20

February 24, 2016

Showing Uthyr around Tintagel for #WIPpet Wednesday

I managed to increase my word count again last week a little. It’s still not where I want it to be, but I got 4100 new words written and edited another 20 pages. And that is despite having the granddaughters on the weekend and having to sew a bunch of Barbie dresses. *g*

I’m actually feeling pretty excited these days about getting a few more projects completed and published, and that’s helping a lot in creating new words. This month is not going to be as fantastic for sales as last month was...

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Published on February 24, 2016 09:11

February 17, 2016

A Golden Unicorn, an update, and Ygerna for #WIPpet Wednesday

First off, I want to point you in the direction of the most recent story in The Tales of the Rose Knights that was published on Daily Science Fiction today, “Golden Unicorn.”

All of the Rose Knights of these stories I wrote with Jay Lake are named after real roses. Here the Golden Unicorn of this week’s title:

Golden Unicorn rose
Golden Unicorn

Speaking of Jay, I finally got another story I wrote with him revised and submitted to F&SF this weekend. I have such a ridiculously huge backlog of short stories at t...

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Published on February 17, 2016 15:36

February 11, 2016

New ads for Yseult, and a late #WIPpet for Thursday

I was analyzing the Facebook ads I have running today, and I noticed that I’m getting very few clicks from women on my ads for Yseult. That strikes me as a bit unfortunate, since it’s a retelling of Arthurian legend giving some of the female characters much more prominence and more pov action. So I’ve decided to experiment with a new ad in addition to the old targeting a female audience. I will write new copy emphasizing the female perspective, and I’ve been putting together some alternative...

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Published on February 11, 2016 08:10

February 6, 2016

Giant 99c SFF Box Set Sale, Feb. 6-7!

SFF 99c box set sale

For only two days, chose from over 40 boxed sets at a special sale price of only 99c! Science fiction, dystopian, fantasy, and SFF romance, there’s something for everyone who like speculative fiction here. ;)

My own contribution is Yseult, Books 1-4, on sale for 99c through tomorrow, Feb. 7.

Enjoy!


Tagged: 99c ebooks, 99c sale, fantasy, group promo, science fiction
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Published on February 06, 2016 11:59