Aaron M. Patterson's Blog, page 2

Just Remember, It's All About You.

Like my mother used to say, "The world revolves around you."

Wait, or was it something else? I swear she said that… yeah. Good advice.

I get asked a lot of questions as a writer and publisher. Some of the best ones, or worst ones depending on your humor scale have to do with what to do about someone stealing their book. Or "What if the agent or publisher steals my idea and does their own book?"

I really had someone submit a MS to me once but in bits, they wouldn't show me the whole book cuz I might steal it.

So here is the deal:
You are important. Yes, you, are more important and amazing than anyone else in the world. You alone are the reason it is worth getting up in the morning. If I could wait at your feet, learn from your mind so one day I could write like you I would do so at a moments notice.

You are one of a kind. No really. No one has ever thought of your story, you spun it from your vast mind and it is so original that it is sure to bring readers to tears just to behold its glory. So please, please in the name of all thats holy WRITE FASTER!!!

The next thing I want you to know is that when you post on Facebook about your life, how you are growing as a person, how you saw yourself in the mirror and realized how amazing you are and that not sharing your gift with the rest of us would be a crime against humanity… I wept. I beg, I plead, I hang on every word, follow your every post, wait up at night thinking about how your life must be. Don't stop. Don't ever stop giving us, giving me your gift.

Now that you understand how because of you my life if full, my life has meaning I need you to know something. I can't stop thinking about you. I mean I wake up in the morning and grab my phone to check on your Facebook page. I search for your books in the hopes that you in the last 12 hours happened to write another one. I am consumed by you. You are. Nothing else matters. It is like that movie, can't remember what it was called but they say: "The Dude Abides." It is so deep, the dude just IS. You just IS, you abide and I need to know that you know that I know you know that.

So my life and breath. Remember it is about you. With your aid we all see how to go on and be something. Thank you, and may you live long and …and… danrit, I can't remember how it goes.

*No real authors were harmed in this post. If you know someone who is plagued with the ItsAllAboutMe syndrome, pass this along to them. I do not approve of mocking people so if you are offended I am sorry and no real people were in mind when this was written. All likenesses to real people are accidental. I do not really thing you are all that and this post should be read by looking in the mirror over your left shoulder. Due to some lawsuits we are required to list some potential hazards of reading this post. Choking due to consuming a beverage upon reading. Gut rot, headache, body cramps, loss of air leading in some cases to death. Fluid loss out upper and lower openings. Mental trauma, stress, hair loss and death. We recommend smoking weed and or being drunk before reading to prevent some of these symptoms. 

Author Aaron Patterson: Blog: The Worst Book Ever.

Cover Reveal for MELTING STEELE! A Sarah Steele Thriller

MELTING STEELE!A Sarah Steele Thriller
You like covers? How bout them there cover!
The first book in this series is BREAKING STEELE. Elle Ann and I teamed up on this series because we wanted to write fast paced novels in a TV series style. Much like CSI or Bones where you get to know all the cast as the season goes along yet each one is its own new story. 
So if you want to try something a little different--Not like I can do anything normal--try out any of the Sarah Steele books. 
Breaking SteeleTwisting Steele
And now the cover for book #3: MELTING STEELE Coming this winter.



























Author Aaron Patterson: Blog: The Worst Book Ever.

Where oh where did Aaron go?

The Good, the Bad and the....wait, I forgot. 
The three of you that follow and read this blog might be wondering where I went. I sorta just dropped off the face of the blog world. I could say that I was hiking in the Swiss Alps or working on a cure for cancer but in reality I have been busy and yes a little lazy.

So to give you all an update on business and personal stuff... hold on here we go.

*Just finished my 7th novel, and got to work with the rockin cool Ellie Ann.
*Bought a 2013 Harley V-rod.
*Spoke for Amazon again, got to travel a lot last year and enjoyed all of it.
*Personal life got all messed up but is was for the best. Some things have to die before they can grow.
*Doubled our sales from last year--Woot!
*Hired Kate to all but run StoneHouse Ink...best move ever.
*Dropped like 25lbs and back at the gym working on my one pack.
*Broke 100 titles for the publishing house.
*Crashed and burned on an Amazon ad mess...note to other authors, do not pay for ads on Amazon, it was a 30k lesson.
*Got myself some backyard chickens and a bunny...yeah call me Farmer Aaron.



There is some exciting stuff coming up so keep writing and learn fast.

Aaron

Author Aaron Patterson: Blog: The Worst Book Ever.

A call out to James Patterson

A little less talk...
If you follow books, eBooks and publishing you saw the news floating around about the ads James Patterson is paying for to get people talking about bookstores closing and government bailouts. As you know I am not much for talking if it does not result in something being done. So with the smooth pen of one Joel Fishman we, i.e. Joel calls for some action.

I will not go into a lot of detail as Joel does a fine job in this POST.

What do you think?



Author Aaron Patterson: Blog: The Worst Book Ever.

Amazon Acquires Goodreads!!!

Amazon and Goodreads... it's about time. 
I have not been blogging as of late, what can I say, I've been writing. lol But this brought me out of my hole and I will come up for some air to report on this amazing news.

I will paste the press release below but the long and short is Goodreads has needed to do something to monazite itself for a long time. People love Goodreads and most books get way more reviews on Goodreads than Amazon. So as a writer this is great news.

What I hope happens:

I hope they let reviews on Goodreads carry over to Amazon, maybe have a tag that says this was a Goodreads review.
I hope they take on the Wish list so people can add a book to their list, maybe even a reading now section. Goodreads is great at connecting readers and writers.
I hope they make it a one click buy on Goodreads so if someone wants to buy a eBook they can click on the Goodreads page and it will go right to the checkout. You never know.

In short, this is yet another reason why Amazon is where it is at. B&N, Kobo, and Apple are so far behind that if I was part of any of these companies I would be a little embarrassed. I really think it is time for one of the others to step up and make a run for it. I mean come on B&N, do something new, make us stop and stare in awe at your new innovation!!! Or just sit there with that same dumb look on your face... lol

Free advice people: Learn Amazon, work Amazon, and step up your Goodreads presence. This is gonna be one fun ride, grab your surfboard, the wave is HUGE!!!

Amazon.com to Acquire GoodreadsSEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar. 28, 2013-- Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) today announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire Goodreads, a leading site for readers and book recommendations that helps people find and share books they love.“Amazon and Goodreads share a passion for reinventing reading,” said Russ Grandinetti, Amazon Vice President, Kindle Content. “Goodreads has helped change how we discover and discuss books and, with Kindle, Amazon has helped expand reading around the world. In addition, both Amazon and Goodreads have helped thousands of authors reach a wider audience and make a better living at their craft. Together we intend to build many new ways to delight readers and authors alike.”“Books – and the stories and ideas captured inside them – are part of our social fabric,” said Otis Chandler, Goodreads CEO and co-founder. “People love to talk about ideas and share their passion for the stories they read. I’m incredibly excited about the opportunity to partner with Amazon and Kindle. We’re now going to be able to move faster in bringing the Goodreads experience to millions of readers around the world. We’re looking forward to inspiring greater literary discussion and helping more readers find great books, whether they read in print or digitally.”“I just found out my two favorite people are getting married,” said Hugh Howey, best-selling author of WOOL. “The best place to discuss books is joining up with the best place to buy books – To Be Read piles everywhere must be groaning in anticipation.”Following the acquisition, Goodreads’s headquarters will remain in San Francisco, CA. Founded in 2007, Goodreads now has more than 16 million members and there are more than 30,000 books clubs on the Goodreads site. Over just the past 90 days, Goodreads members have added more than four books per second to the “want to read” shelves on Goodreads.Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Subject to various closing conditions, the acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of 2013.


Author Aaron Patterson: Blog: The Worst Book Ever.

The most misunderstood writing rule: Write what you know.

Write what you know? I say write what you want to know.
Every time I hear someone use this line I cringe. Not because it is not true but because the one saying it most the time has no clue what it means or how to explain it to others. 
If it was true that a good writer has to write what he or she knows, there would not be young writers, or what about people who write about dragons and wizards... did they grow up on a dragon ranch and study magic? 
Now in crime fiction or a story that has to be real this rule gets to be even more misunderstood. So I shall give you my 29 cents about the subject. 
Write what you know: What most writers mean is if you were a doctor write medical thrillers or the like. If you were a cop write police procedurals. This is NOT what you should do, yeah it might be easier but you can write whatever you want.

I am not a cop, doctor or dragon wizard. But I write about cops, time travel, angels, demons, and sometimes romance.

Write what you know: The correct way to view this rule is to write what you know--what do you know about heartbreak? What do you know about fear, love, hate, greed, truth, lies, and revenge?  You ever get that feeling you are being watched, the fear that someone might be in the house in the middle f the night?

This is what it means to Write what you know. Old or young we all feel and have life experiences. Even children feel shame and loss when one of their friends says their mean and that they don't want to play anymore. 
Stephen King said in his book On Writing:  that a great writer writes without fear. I never understood this till I understood that it takes courage to look at a painful time in my past and draw from that pain to write a scene about that same feeling. It is hard to let myself feel again the feelings I may have buried and transfer that to my story. But to go from a good writer to a great writer you must feel.

Now that you know what this old saying really means, can you Write what you know? No matter if the book is about dragons or cops it is all the same thing, feelings and how that moves the story.

What are some examples you may have had with your own writing? Did you draw from your past or maybe what you are going through now in your own life?

Author Aaron Patterson: Blog: The Worst Book Ever.

Newsletter notice!

I have a brand new bright shiny newsletter!

So I have been meaning to do this for a long time and well lets just admit it, I'm lazy and not that computer savvy. So here is the scoop, I now have a cool NEWSLETTER. It will only go out when I have a NEW BOOK, or something you MUST know. This means you will not be bombarded with dumb notices on what I ate for lunch, who I followed on Twitter and other lame news to fill your inbox.

But if you like my books and want to be the first to know when new stuff is coming out you will want in on this action. I may even do some sweet giveaways and give you cool insider info that the other readers will not get.

The link to sign up is to your right... ------->>>> Look over there... see it? Cool. Now sign up and I won't have to sent out a hit on you!

Aaron

Author Aaron Patterson: Blog: The Worst Book Ever.

One Day sale! Breaking Steele! $1.99

Today Sunday the 20th I have my new thriller Breaking Steele on sale for $1.99 on Amazon. Check it out!

That is all.

To buy Breaking Steele click HERE


Author Aaron Patterson: Blog: The Worst Book Ever.

Let's do the numbers! (3rd edition)

Let's do the numbers... Again

The Numbers! I know, so many writers are freaked out and never talk about this stuff and each year I let it all out for you to see. Why? So you the writer, who wants to make a living can really see what you can do, make plans and write to the income you want, not cross your fingers and hope you hit it big.

Many of you know about my "Amway" speech, it goes something like this: Find your averages. That is what do you make per title per month. Notice that I didn't say per unit? That is because in the land of eBooks it is about your per month income NOT your per book or unit income. This is where a lot of authors get mixed up.

If you make 1K per title per month you have to write how many books to make the money you want? It is simple math and I HATE math, but this I can do. So, even if your averages are low you can still make a living, it just means you have to write more books. Now, don't you feel better knowing what you have to do? Do you feel more in control? Good, that is the point.

Now that I told you all that lets go over the last year, see what this may look like.

My average per book per month is around 4.1k. This means that on 5 books I will make 50K per year per book. These averages are good, not the best I've seen but not the worst. This means in the book world I would be a mid-lister, and most mid-listers don't make a lot of money based on 12-15% royalties. But me? I can make a good living selling what in the traditional publishing world would only grant me a 4K per year check.

Now, in case you are just as bad at math as I am, here is the end of the year total. 250K off 5 titles. Not bad for a home-schooled punk huh...

Now, what if I want to make more, build and grow this thing. What happens if I have 10 titles at the end of the year? That means I make 500K per year. Now lets keep going, 20 titles, will put me at one million a year based on these averages. But I don't count for the rollover that will happen by having that many titles out. I should hit a million a year with 12-15 titles as the chance for one hitting big goes up and the fallout from that gives me a boost.

So you see, anyone can make money as an author. The key is to get away from the big publishing model, and reach out on every platform you can. audio, E, print, bulk sales, book clubs etc... if you think publishing is just having a print and eBook you are missing out on a lot of money.

This is like Amway, the more books you write, the more you make and with eBooks it can keep going, nothing gets old, update your titles every three years and you have a new book to sell to new readers!

Any questions?


Author Aaron Patterson: Blog: The Worst Book Ever.

2013 my predictions and some off color humor.

Reading all these blogs about the new year, what people are planning on doing and in publishing what may happen in 2013. I was not going to say much on the subject as I imagined many blogs would say the same thing. To my shock and horror I'm seeing not only a lack of info on the subject but the ones I have read are way off base. Thus...you get me. lol

First off, I plan to lose a little more weight...hahaha!

What to do about Amazon...the big monster, the bad boy on the playground? We sure do love to build them up and tear them down don't we.

So far every blog I've read says that Amazon is going to go down in flames, B&N, Kobo and other sites are going to rise from the ashes and give them a run for their money. To this I giggle...snicker and break into a full laugh until my gut hurts and I am weeping!!! See I even used three !!! just to show you how funny this prediction is.

But Aaron, why do you say this? They have unhappy authors fighting bad reviews and all around they are big, mean and scary so they HAVE to go down.

I am sorry but Amazon is a baby company, just about to hit their stride and no one is in their way. B&N...who are they? Oh yeah, an old school store that has an outdated website with poor search engines. Kobo? I think I saw them on the side of the road chocking on Amazon's dust... They may be a player in 4 years but not any time soon, again, they only sell books, Amazon sells everything so they get more traffic. But wait, you didn't mention Apple.

Wow, nothing gets by you. I didn't mention them because in the eBook world they don't exist.

I guess I will mention Google only cuz if I say the word Google in my blog I might get something out of it. They put out an outdated eReader and are not user friendly. Enough said.

The simple truth is people go to Amazon to shop for EVERYTHING. They are bigger, have more stuff and ship fast. What is the downside?

Not only that but they have department after department dedicated just to eBooks. The rest treat eBooks as a sideline.

So my prediction is in 2013 there will be more of the same.
*Doom and gloom from the big 6, Indies will fall off cuz they don't sell due to bad writing and crappy covers.
*The big authors, indie and otherwise will get even bigger and to get noticed you will need to have money or be really good at building up a fan base.
*Next, Amazon will take even more marketshare and freak out just about everyone.
*B&N will shut its doors by the end of the year or get bought-out.
*Goodreads will open their doors and sell eBooks on their site and try to play the Amazon game.
*Smashwords will seal their doom as they continue to be marked as the place to go if you have no clue what you are doing. They are already known for putting out junk and as a publisher and want to be taken seriously, they are the mark of death.
*"Marketing your book" scams will explode as indies scramble and kill each other over the scraps.
*The rise of the small press will keep trending but many will fall away as they see that publishing is more than just listing a book online.

I could go on and on but you may want to know that most of this is good. Amazon doing better is SWEEEEEEET, it means we sell more books, make more cash and build a solid fan base. B&N going under is good because they refuse to change even though they know how. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure it out. When they go down it will send a message that people just want a good book and they want it fast and cheap. Lol... that sounds bad but its true.

How can you end the year with a smile instead of a frown?

*Keep writing books. Most will get frustrated with their sales and quit, if you don't you will do better.
*Stop talking to doom and gloom people. One they don't know what they are talking about and it is just annoying most the time. Go get a massage or get arrested, live a little and stop infecting people.
*Learn, learn, learn. The big mistake with most indies is they do not learn. They want to be spoon fed and have no clue what business they are in.
*Be nice...people like and buy from nice people. I once did not buy a book even though I really wanted to read it because I didn't like the author, they were mean and grumpy so I skipped the book.
*Write more books.
*Build a newsletter, the best way to let people know what new junk you are selling.
*Write more books.... get it?

I am really excited for this year, big things are coming and if you are ready you will be sitting really good this time next year. So strap on and put on your big boy pants the ride is gonna be awesome!




Author Aaron Patterson: Blog: The Worst Book Ever.