Ruth Nestvold's Blog, page 25
February 26, 2015
Improved word counts and sales, and Gaetano’s reaction for #WIPpet Wednesday
My blogging discipline certainly leaves something to be desired these days. But I guess a day late is better than a week late. :)
At least the writing continues to go well. Word counts are picking up, and I’m hoping to get back into 1,000 words a day mode again soon. Shards of Glass is taking shape, coming in now at 5900 words. As I develop a better idea of what exactly needs to happen, daily word production improves accordingly.
Sales continue to improve as well. This month, they are up almo...
February 23, 2015
Cover reveal: Torn (Bound Trilogy Book Two) by Kate Sparkes
Today I am happy to participate in the cover reveal for an online writing buddy, Kate Sparkes, for the second novel in her Bound Trilogy, Torn. I did an interview with her a while back about all the things she did right when launching her indie career which you can read here.
Synopsis:
Aren Tiernal knows that safety is an illusion, that his cruel and powerful brother Severn will never forgive his betrayal. Still, returning to Tyrea to challenge Severn for the throne would be suicide. It���s n...
Starting out as an Indie Author: Writing blurbs for your books
The importance of your book description for making a sale
I had already started writing this installment of my series for indie authors, when I saw these results from the Fussy Librarian reader poll:
Question: When you’re looking for a new ebook, which is most likely to persuade you to buy? Please rank in order of priority.
Description: 3.51
Reading the first few pages: 2.23
Cover art: 2.13
Number of reviews and average rating: 2.13
1200 readers replied to this poll, so it is not something to snee...
February 18, 2015
Results of recent promos, and more with Minerva for #WIPpet Wednesday
I’m exhausted. I’ve been running around with granddaughters all day today, and I am definitely noticing in my bones that I’m not as young as I used to be. They have Fasching vacation right now (the German Mardi Gras), and we have them overnight. I took them to the first really huge mall here, which opened in November, making good on a Christmas present I gave them. My feet hurt.
I wasn���t really feeling like posting as a result, but I didn’t post last week either — also because of various st...
February 16, 2015
Writing: The Playground of Lost Toys
This sounds like a really fun idea. Maybe I’ll try writing a short story again for a change!
Originally posted on Colleen Anderson:
���Usually at least once in a person���s childhood we lose an object that at the time is invaluable and irreplaceable to us, although it is worthless to others. Many people remember that lost article for the rest of their lives. Whether it was a lucky pocketknife, a transparent plastic bracelet given to you by your father, a toy you had longed for an...
February 9, 2015
Starting Out as an Indie Author: Where to promote permafree books
I’ve talked before about how permafree can be used as a marketing strategy for ebooks. Permafree is indie author shorthand for permanently free. Many sales venues allow you to set the price of your book to free; others do not, most notably Amazon. But it is still possible to make a book free there, either through price-matching, or by writing Amazon directly, listing the other sites where your book is free, and pointing out the promotional advantage of having the book free. As an example, her...
February 8, 2015
The Cover that Judges You
I had to share this. :)
February 6, 2015
Sea lions on the Oregon coast for Terribleminds Fiction Challenge
Note: I’ve long wanted to participate in one of Chuck Wendig’s Friday Fiction Challenges, but somehow I never seem to have the time. This week, I’m a bit ahead of myself, and I decided to give it a shot. This on the 1st “fourth” of a story — which someone else should take up next week! If you want to play and see how it works, check out the rules here.
And now for my open beginning:
“I’m not going back to Germany.” Deirdre scuffed the damp sand with her white Reeboks, erasing a random dog pri...
February 4, 2015
A little flirtation for #WIPpet Wednesday
The writing has been going quite well for the past few weeks. I’ve been consistently getting over 1000 words a day written, with a few exceptions here and there, like when I was putting stuff together for our taxes. It’s something of a breakthrough for me, since for years I’ve regarded it as a particularly good writing day if I get 700-800 words completed.
It started when I decided to power through and get the rough draft of Facets of Glass finished by the end of the month — which I did, hurr...
February 2, 2015
Starting out as an indie author: To KDP Select or to not KDP Select
Recently, a friend of mine expressed surprise that when you publish through Amazon (KDP or Kindle Direct Publishing), it is also possible to generate income when someone borrows your book. I’ve been aware of this for so long, it never even occurred to me to point it out in this series. The possibility of making money from borrows is just one of the ways Amazon tries to entice authors to make a book exclusive with their platform.
And since they introduced Kindle Unlimited, borrows have gone wa...
