Vincent Zandri's Blog, page 21
January 16, 2011
When the Kindle Will Be No More!
Last night I watched The Book of Eli on Netflix. It was about a man who must walk across the US in a post apocalyptic period in which a great war has ravaged the world, decimating its populations. What's also apparently happened is that books were burned. Lots of them. Especially Bibles and all manners of scripture no matter their religion, since it was religion that sparked the great final conflict in the first place. Go figure.
There is only one more King James Bible left on the planet and our man, Eli who is played by a bad-ass but entirely spiritual Denzel Washington, is the one selected by God to transport that printed "Word of God" to the west, where a group of survivors await him. In the meantime, the world has become mostly illiterate, written words holy or not, being the root of all evil.
It was while watching this movie something funny struck me.
Lately I've been blogging a lot about having run-ins with bookstore owners and readers who choose to ignore change even in the face of change, about the staying power of the Kindle and most E-Readers for that matter. One bookstore owner put her feelings succinctly when she called the Kindle a "toy" and a "fad."...
Grab the rest of this thrilling blog at The Vincent Zandri Vox: http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
The Remains
There is only one more King James Bible left on the planet and our man, Eli who is played by a bad-ass but entirely spiritual Denzel Washington, is the one selected by God to transport that printed "Word of God" to the west, where a group of survivors await him. In the meantime, the world has become mostly illiterate, written words holy or not, being the root of all evil.
It was while watching this movie something funny struck me.
Lately I've been blogging a lot about having run-ins with bookstore owners and readers who choose to ignore change even in the face of change, about the staying power of the Kindle and most E-Readers for that matter. One bookstore owner put her feelings succinctly when she called the Kindle a "toy" and a "fad."...
Grab the rest of this thrilling blog at The Vincent Zandri Vox: http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
The Remains
January 14, 2011
The Kindle and The (Ladies) Book Club!
I was invited to be the guest author at a local ladies book club this past week. I don't mean "ladies" in a demeaning or male chauvinist sort of way. By "ladies" I just mean that no men are invited to this particular book club. And because no men are invited the ladies like to dress up the way they want, drink what they want (and a lot of it!), and chat loudly about whatever they want, whether it has to do with books or not.
This group of women were for the most part all married, 50ish with kids either graduated from or just about to graduate from college. They were college educated, funny, sincerely interested, seriously interesting, collegial and just plain nuts....in a good way.
Get the rest of the story at The Vincent Zandri Vox!: http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
The Remains
This group of women were for the most part all married, 50ish with kids either graduated from or just about to graduate from college. They were college educated, funny, sincerely interested, seriously interesting, collegial and just plain nuts....in a good way.
Get the rest of the story at The Vincent Zandri Vox!: http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
The Remains
January 9, 2011
Kindles Present Endless Author/Reader Opportunities!
Remember the days when you'd sign a major contract, get a big ass check in the mail, and just spend a year or so partying like a rock star in New York or Los Angeles or Lincoln, Nebraska for that matter? There was nothing else to do because after all, your book probably wouldn't be hitting the shelves until at least a year from contract execution.
I remember my original editor for The Innocent telling me to "Take a break," at the lobby bar of the hotel we were staying at for Bouchercon back when that novel was first about to be published by Delacorte.
All that's changed now with the new publishing model which includes heavy reliance on Kindle and E-Book sales. It's no longer cool for an author to write one book a year or every two years (Egaads!).
Get the rest of the scoop at the Vincent Zandri Vox: http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
Sweet Dreams/Remains
I remember my original editor for The Innocent telling me to "Take a break," at the lobby bar of the hotel we were staying at for Bouchercon back when that novel was first about to be published by Delacorte.
All that's changed now with the new publishing model which includes heavy reliance on Kindle and E-Book sales. It's no longer cool for an author to write one book a year or every two years (Egaads!).
Get the rest of the scoop at the Vincent Zandri Vox: http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
Sweet Dreams/Remains
January 3, 2011
Author Richard Godwin Hits the Airwaves!
As an author I often asked to blurb other author's new upcoming novels. The positive to this is that I not only get turned on to new and exciting writing, but I get free stuff. Namely books!!! The downside is I simply don't have the time to blurb all the books I'm asked to blurb so almost certainly I'm missing out on some great new offerings. I'm almost never disappointed with the books I blurb and in fact, I see a real trend coming about of noir authors who are taking real chances with their style, their use of POV, tense, imagery, etc., as opposed to the garden variety white bread dullness the NYTs insists we purchase on a weekly basis...
Get the rest of the story at the "VOX!"
http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
The Remains
Get the rest of the story at the "VOX!"
http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
The Remains
December 28, 2010
Social Media Balancing Act: A Guest Blog by Super Author, Bri Clark!
So I'm always either being applauded or spanked for utilizing social media for selling my novels like The Remains or The Innocent (see how I just did that?) But then, how else can one get the word out about one's new book? Rather, what better, more efficient medium is there to help spread the word? Yet authors who utilize this all important if not miraculous tool must realize that specific written and unwritten rules of engagement must be adhered to. Or else, you're nothing more than a spamaholic.
It is with this marriage of marketing and internet magic that I give you a guest post by up and coming writer, Bri Clark.
Get the rest of the scoop from The Vincent Zandri Vox!
http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
The Remains
It is with this marriage of marketing and internet magic that I give you a guest post by up and coming writer, Bri Clark.
Get the rest of the scoop from The Vincent Zandri Vox!
http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
The Remains
December 24, 2010
X-Mas Day is D-Day (Digital Download Day)!
It's Christmas Eve 2010.
D-Day for the digital E-Book Revolution. On this day and in particular, tomorrow, Christmas Day, more Kindle, Nooks, E-Readers and more will be unwrapped and put to use than on any other single previous day. Not only will there be a rush to purchase E-Books, but more will be sold tomorrow than ever before.
The good news for authors: there is an infinite supply of your books on the virtual shelf. Even if thousands of them get uploaded tonight and tomorrow and during the week, your book will always be available to the reader. And even if it doesn't sell all that well, it won't be pulled off the shelf to make room for the new Patterson or Brown. It will always be there, right beside the new Patterson and Brown. Not only do authors make more money on the e-book sales, but so do the publishers. Not only are independent publishers pushing sales on Xmas, so are the majors like my former NYC boss, Random House. Check out this article in PC Speed:
Get the rest of the scoop at The Vincent Zandri Vox:
http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
The Remains
The Innocent
D-Day for the digital E-Book Revolution. On this day and in particular, tomorrow, Christmas Day, more Kindle, Nooks, E-Readers and more will be unwrapped and put to use than on any other single previous day. Not only will there be a rush to purchase E-Books, but more will be sold tomorrow than ever before.
The good news for authors: there is an infinite supply of your books on the virtual shelf. Even if thousands of them get uploaded tonight and tomorrow and during the week, your book will always be available to the reader. And even if it doesn't sell all that well, it won't be pulled off the shelf to make room for the new Patterson or Brown. It will always be there, right beside the new Patterson and Brown. Not only do authors make more money on the e-book sales, but so do the publishers. Not only are independent publishers pushing sales on Xmas, so are the majors like my former NYC boss, Random House. Check out this article in PC Speed:
Get the rest of the scoop at The Vincent Zandri Vox:
http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
The Remains
The Innocent
December 22, 2010
New Years Resolutions for an Old Dog!
Ok, it's time for the Vincent Zandri totally unoriginal New Years Resolution blog. I actually just wrote like 1,000 words and my Firefox crashed and I lost the whole freaking blog. So here it all is again, in a nutshell, and yah, I'm entirely pissed off right now:
-I have two new books coming out this year that are traditionally contracted with StoneGate Ink: Godchild and The Concrete Pearl. I'd like to add at least two more books to this starting with plans for Aaron Patterson and I to combine our bestsellers, The Remains and Sweet Dreams in a E-Book only special edition. The Innocent and Godchild will also be combined in a special "Jack Marconi" series edition.
Get the rest at The Vincent Zandri Vox:
http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
The Innocent
The Remains
Moonlight Falls
-I have two new books coming out this year that are traditionally contracted with StoneGate Ink: Godchild and The Concrete Pearl. I'd like to add at least two more books to this starting with plans for Aaron Patterson and I to combine our bestsellers, The Remains and Sweet Dreams in a E-Book only special edition. The Innocent and Godchild will also be combined in a special "Jack Marconi" series edition.
Get the rest at The Vincent Zandri Vox:
http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
The Innocent
The Remains
Moonlight Falls
December 14, 2010
Toying with the Future of the Kindle!
A prominent local independent bookstore owner sent me an email just the other day explaining that book sales were undergoing a "temporary" lull over the introduction of a new "toy." She meant of course the Kindle as well as all e-readers and what she was intuiting is that said Kindles, et. al, are just a passing phase.
Is she kidding?
Does anyone really think Kindle and E-Readers are going to go away anytime soon or at all for that matter? Isn't this the same as saying the music industry has decided to give up downloads in order to go back to vinyl or 8-track tapes? Should we give up digital cable television for the old rabbit-eared reception broadcast over VHF waves? Maybe we should all hand in our personal computers for adding machines and slide rules?
For the rest of the story head on over to the Vox:
http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
The Remains
The Innocent
Is she kidding?
Does anyone really think Kindle and E-Readers are going to go away anytime soon or at all for that matter? Isn't this the same as saying the music industry has decided to give up downloads in order to go back to vinyl or 8-track tapes? Should we give up digital cable television for the old rabbit-eared reception broadcast over VHF waves? Maybe we should all hand in our personal computers for adding machines and slide rules?
For the rest of the story head on over to the Vox:
http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
The Remains
The Innocent
December 8, 2010
Happiness is a Warm Gun!
So I've been avoiding a John Lennon blog.
Precisely because so many will be written today being the 30th anniversary
of the date on which that miserable mofo Mark whatever whatever-his-face decided that because he had absolutely zero talent at anything, he could at least pull through with aiming a Saturday Night special at the Beatle's founder and pull the trigger.
The rest of the sad story at the Vox:
http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
The Remains
Precisely because so many will be written today being the 30th anniversary
of the date on which that miserable mofo Mark whatever whatever-his-face decided that because he had absolutely zero talent at anything, he could at least pull through with aiming a Saturday Night special at the Beatle's founder and pull the trigger.
The rest of the sad story at the Vox:
http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
The Remains
December 3, 2010
Crash Landing in New York!
I barely made it out of Europe the weather was so horrid. Torrential rains in Florence, snowstorms in Germany. Rain and wind in Philly, and in Albany, ex-wives and now, an ex-girlfriend. Gas is 50 cents more than when I left a month ago.
The indy bookstore at which
I'm supposed to sign first editions of The Remains tomorrow has decided to also book an ex-local news anchor who self-published a book about doing, well, the local news. I just went to the store and its full of posters for the ex-TV anchor.
Warning: Be careful being too vocal about becoming an ebook bestseller. Stay out of the press even when they beg you for interviews. Don't promote yourself. Be a nobody. Don't get reviewed. Don't sell. And by all means, avoid attributing much of your your success to the emergence of the new publishing model.
Why exactly did I leave Italy again?
For the rest of the story head to The Vincent Zandri Vox:
http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
The indy bookstore at which
I'm supposed to sign first editions of The Remains tomorrow has decided to also book an ex-local news anchor who self-published a book about doing, well, the local news. I just went to the store and its full of posters for the ex-TV anchor.
Warning: Be careful being too vocal about becoming an ebook bestseller. Stay out of the press even when they beg you for interviews. Don't promote yourself. Be a nobody. Don't get reviewed. Don't sell. And by all means, avoid attributing much of your your success to the emergence of the new publishing model.
Why exactly did I leave Italy again?
For the rest of the story head to The Vincent Zandri Vox:
http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/201...
