Ruth Nestvold's Blog, page 58
February 22, 2012
Got a #1 slot again!
Even though my "Dragon Time" collection is still reviewless on Amazon, it's doing amazingly well during its freebie. The stats as I am writing this:
When I last checked the downloads, it was at over 1400. Behind Yseult and Never Ever After on the first day, but already more than double what If Tears Were Wishes got during the three days ...
Moving forward on editing and another free promotion
Despite the fact that I managed to catch an eye infection from my son or my granddaughter, I've been making consistent progress on the editing of Shadow of Stone. I just try to close my right eye regularly to rest it. But it has definitely slowed me down, and it doesn't help that I spent a couple of hours in doctors' offices yesterday.
I also got samples off to several editors I'm considering hiring. That's going to eat up all the profits I've made on my ebooks until now, but I'm investing...
February 19, 2012
Epub joys and woes: New review of Yseult, getting reviews for Tears
For me, one of the nicest things about switching from an emphasis on traditional publication to indie is that I'm getting a lot more direct feedback from readers. Ok, direct feedback isn't always good, as we know, and I tend to approach reviews of a novel that I spent years writing with a certain amount of trepidation. Which is why I do not haunt Amazon, waiting to see if another review will show up — and that in turn is why I'm a bit late reporting about the lovely new review of Yseult by a
February 17, 2012
Extending free promotion for another day
My short story collection If Tears Were Wishes is up to #10 now in contemporary fantasy:
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #530 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store)
#10 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Fiction > Fantasy > Contemporary
When I looked at the bestseller list though, I realized my poor little collection of borderline fantasy stories is in the vampire category. That means it's competing against all these paranormal romances with strange creatures that are supposed...
February 14, 2012
If Tears Were Wishes and Other Short Stories Now Available for Kindle
Time and the dark
Had come, but not alone. The southern gate …
Made now an entrance for three other men,
Who strode along the gravel or the grass,
Careless of who should hear them. When they came
To the great oak and the two empty chairs,
One paused, and held the others with a tongue
That sang an evil music while it spoke…
Edwin Arlington Robinson, "Mordred, A Fragment"
Ok, that doesn't have anything to do with my most recent short story collection, but it's the quote for Chapter 22 ...
February 12, 2012
New Collection, New Cover, and New KDP Select Results
Ok, so I went a bit overboard on the alliteration there, but I couldn't resist. Been another busy week. I continue to make consistent progress on this editing pass of Shadow of Stone, and I have a new short story collection in the works. I'm not quite done yet, but I do have a cover:
Shiny, yes? 
The artist of this one is Karri Klawiter, who has just started branching out into cover design. If you're in the market for a ebook cover, definitely check her out! She's great to work with and very ...
February 5, 2012
"Never Ever After" #30 in – um – Mythology???
When I saw the rankings of my short story collection, I was a bit confused, but then I realized it must be because I categorized Never Ever After as "FICTION / Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology" (in addition to fantasy short stories). In the bestseller category, the mention of fairy tales gets lost, and I'm suddenly in the "World Literature/Mythology" category. Whatever. At least I'm on a Top 100 list again! Not sure if that category is going to help me much in the long run, but...
February 1, 2012
Giving more books away and a new review
I was recently asked how my strategies for getting reviews were working, and all I can say is – not. I have several people interested in doing an interview with me, though. When you think about it, it makes a lot of sense. Writing a review is definitely more work than sending out interview questions and then posting them to your blog. I'm not knocking it; it's just an observation. I'm learning as I go here.
I did get a review yesterday, though, completely unsolicited, for my new story...
January 28, 2012
Never Ever After, Monkeys, and an Interview
It's been a busy week. I got another short story collection up for Kindle, Never Ever After, containing three previously published stories based on legends and fairy tales.
Here's the description:
"A Serca Tale" is a retelling of the old Irish legend "The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Gráinne.""King Orfeigh": A young Irish king has lost his wife to the king of Faerie. Is there any way he can win her back?
"Happily Ever Awhile": Everyone knows the story of the filthy girl who married the prince by...
January 25, 2012
The Indie Experiment Continues: Tags and Pricing for Ebooks
Despite the fact that I've gone back to dedicating a couple of days a week to marketing, Yseult still has not gotten back above ten copies a day in sales. At least it's (mostly) hanging in there on the Top 100 list in historical fantasy. (Right now it's off again, sigh.) But who knows, without my extra efforts it might have totally fallen off the radar by now. Just dropping marketing efforts completely for a couple of weeks is another experiment I should conduct in this brave new world of...
