Tim Hawken's Blog, page 9
April 21, 2013
A Matter of Death and Life
I have recently had a philosophy piece about death published on Litkicks.com. In particular it’s about what it means to know that we are going to die, and deals with issues such as death denial in everyday life.
The essay has drawn a lot from the experience my wife Tara and I have been through in the past 3 years, after she was diagnosed with an incurable brain tumour.
Please read the full article here.
March 31, 2013
What is Art?
What is Art?
I recently contributed a philosophy-based piece to Lit Kicks called What Is Beauty. This is the follow up: What Is Art?
You arrive at a contemporary art show with a friend. Excited about the new and interesting things you’ll see, you hurry toward the entry. Out in front there’s a stunning installation. It’s a car with pummelled-in sides. Red and white paint is flaking off the doors to reveal rusted panels underneath. The bonnet, however, is flawless blue. The sheen of the paint almost glows with newness. Standing, admiring the work, you say to your friend that perhaps it’s a commentary on America’s motor industry: embattled, but still turning out quality work. The featured artist for the evening emerges from the front door. You’re about to praise his vision, when he smiles sheepishly, indicating the car, “perhaps if I sell some pieces tonight, I’ll be able to fix it up a bit more. It’s still just a heap of junk right now. I’d better get it out of the way before anyone else arrives.” Taking his keys out of his pocket, he jumps in, struggles to start it and rumbles off to the car park.
Embarrassed, you look down to your feet. So, that wasn’t art? Just a few moments ago you were sure it was brilliant. Does it stop being art now that the ‘artist’ called it junk? Or is it still art because you made it so in your mind? Your friend shakes her head at you and walks inside. The question you want to yell after her chokes on your tongue: What makes art, ‘art’ anyway?
You can read the article in full here
February 3, 2013
What is Beauty?
What is Beauty?
I recently contributed a piece to Lit Kicks discussing the question ‘What is Beauty?’
It begins:
Picture yourself walking into a bookstore with a friend. You pick a copy of Les Misérables off the shelf, party because of the shiny ‘movie edition’ cover, party because you’re curious to see what all the fuss is about. Turning to a random page you read the quote:
“When love has fused and mingled two beings in a sacred and angelic unity, the secret of life has been discovered so far as they are concerned; they are no longer anything more than the two boundaries of the same destiny; they are no longer anything but the two wings of the same spirit. Love, soar.”
Stunned by the beauty of the words you read them out loud to your companion. He snorts in derision and picks up Ann Coulter’s latest release. Running his fingers across the jacket photo, he says to you, without a hint of sarcasm: ‘Now, she’s beautiful.’
How could you both be so convinced that you’re right, yet be so wrong in the other’s opinion?
You can read the rest here if you’re a philosophy nerd like me.
January 5, 2013
January 1, 2013
Hammer of the Gods
Charlie Bewley, the actor attached to play Michael in the movie adaptation of Hellbound, is starring in a new film, Hammer of the Gods.
Check out the trailer. It’s looking evil!
December 25, 2012
Hellbound FREE on Kindle
For a limited time, Hellbound is Free on Kindle. Merry Christmas!
You can download the book via Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Hellbound-Trilo...
December 5, 2012
The Coast Poet
Tim recently contributed a piece to Sea Stoke Magazine called The Coast Poet. The title and idea is a play on the name given to the famous colonial Australian poets who everyone referred to as ‘The Bush Poets.‘
You can read the poem in full here, matched up with some beautiful artwork by Luke Hallam.
November 26, 2012
Shop now for Christmas
Hellbound and I Am Satan are available in paperback or hardcover from all good online book retailers. Order now to ensure delivery before Christmas.
We recommend Amazon or Book Depository.
September 25, 2012
The Imaginary Friends Show
Tim recently dropped in to talk with the Imaginary Friends Show (The One True Podcast). Check it out here: http://imaginaryfriendsshow.com/2012/...
August 27, 2012
Can a Free Kindle Promotion Increase The Sales of Books?
Can a Free Kindle Promotion Increase The Sales of Books?
Many authors and publishers alike would love to know whether giving away copies of a book is likely to promote, or harm, the sales of any given title. Fortunately we now have a platform that is not only simple to switch on and off, but easy to track. With KDP Select, my publisher and I recently went through the process of offering my first novel, Hellbound, for free on Kindle. The reason to give this option a try was to help celebrate and market the fact that the sequel to Hellbound, I Am Satan, had just been made available in stores.
The results where pretty conclusive: Over the five days that Hellbound was put up for free, it was downloaded close to 4000 times, which is more than it sold in the past year for eBooks. Not only that, after the free period finished, sales were still higher by quadruple the previous month AND sales for I Am Satan were given a boost as well. The fact that the title rose to Number 1 on the Amazon Fantasy Rankings for free kindle books, also meant it was sitting next to books the likes of Game of Thrones and The Hobbit. This gave some added exposure and put it in the periphery of customers who might yet have taken the leap to actually purchase the book. It certainly makes sense, especially if there is a sequel in the mix, that the more people you have engaged in the story, the more who are likely to continue the journey with your other books. You have to stand by your writing.
So, what are the steps needed to take to ensure some success when giving your book away, and what considerations need to be kept in mind?
KDP Select. This is an Amazon based platform, where you can offer any title of yours for free for a total of five days within any 90-day period. That means you can offer it for five consecutive days once during three months, or, you can split the days and have it up for one, two or three day lots. At first I thought this felt a little restrictive because we wanted to put Hellbound up for free for a whole month. However, what we learned was that five days was easily enough. The first three days, the book jumped up the charts and downloads were a lot stronger. For the last two days, the rank dropped over all, and it felt like interest had moved on to other free titles. Why? Promotion.
Promotion. There are a number of great sites where you can advertise that you’re giving your book away for a limited time. Many of these sites are completely free of charge and service their members. Most of these sites update daily, so if you have top billing on their page for two days, it starts to get pushed down by other newcomers. Hence, the first couple of days are when you get the most juice out of your giveaway. The trick here is to make sure you’re up on as many sites as you can all at once. It means your book will jump up the rankings on Amazon and, once it’s there, people paying attention to which books are popular will also download your book. It’s a flow on effect.
3. Which sites to use? There are plenty out there, but I’ll stick a few of the free ones, since if you’re giving a title away for free for the first time, it’s hard to justify a further advertising expense.
Pixel of Ink : This site was the biggest membership base I saw on Facebook and Twitter. A well-run site. I’d recommend to get in early, since they receive a lot of submissions. Notify them of your promotion at least 3-4 weeks before it happens.
Digital Ink Today: Are active on both Facebook and Twitter.
Books on the Knob: Also have some reviews and show discounted books as well.
The Kindle Daily Deal: Offer both priced and free title lists. Run by a friendly author called Phil Torcivia. A small cost of downloading one of Phil’s books is applied, but it’s well worth it, since he’s a talented writer in his own right.
The above is by no means an exhaustive list of sites out there, but it’s a start. If you know of any other great ones who I haven’t mentioned, feel free to list them in the comments section below.
So there you have it. For me, giving something away for free was a positive experience and has had a significant flow on effect to expose my other books. It’s well worth the risk, unless you’re already selling as many copies as Fifty Shades of Grey.
I Am Satan and Hellbound are available now on Kindle for just $2.99USD each.
