Benjamin Sobieck's Blog, page 36
June 23, 2012
Do Print Books Still Matter?
If I were a gambling man, I'd place my money on e-books becoming the dominant way people consume fiction. Saleswise, they already are in many markets. Give it a couple more years, and e-books will be beamed directly into eyeballs.
So does it matter for an author of any genre to put out a print book?
Tonight, I was at an event with many prospective readers. Let's call them, "my relatives." They said Kindles are great and everything, but they really wanted a print book. Given they tend to be middle class, educated women in their mid-years (i.e. a large demographic that buys books on a regular basis), I took their comments to heart.
It's good to get with the times on the e-book front, but it'd be foolish to abandon traditional readers. The beauty of this Golden Age of Writing is you can have it both ways. It's never been easier to fill readers' preferences in every demographic.
I'm not alone in this thinking. New York Times bestselling author Debbi Mack - someone who made it big on e-books - writes more about print books here on her blog.
What do you think? Do print books still matter?
5 Ways to Support Maynard Soloman, Gal-Damn Detective
All this week, I offered 5 Funny Detective Stories - A Maynard Soloman Collection for free on Amazon Kindle. (It's still free through Friday, June 22.)
Thousands of new readers are being introduced to the series, and I couldn't be happier about it. It feels great to get words in front of readers after the work it takes to get them there.
If you enjoyed this collection, please show your support for me and the Ol' Badger. There are five ways to do it:
1) Leave a review of 5 Funny Detective Stories on Amazon. This helps people find the series. More readers means better stories, since readers are playing a larger role in the stories. Which brings me to...
2) Buy the latest Maynard e-book, Maynard Soloman Takes the Bus to a Strip Club. It's inspired by true events from two Maynard fans. I'll leave the finer details to your imagination. It came out after 5 Funny Detective Stories, so you haven't read it yet. At 99 cents, you're still walking away with a bargain.
3) Give a friend the first e-book in the series for free. Maynard Soloman Solves the War on Drugs is always a free e-book on crimefictionbook.com. Give them this link.
Heck, that freebie also works great as an anniversary present for the missus. Year four is e-book, right? Or was it paper? Don't worry, this is the last year you'll have to think about it.
4) "Like" Maynard Soloman's Facebook page. Just click here to go to the page. You'll receive random musings from Maynard and the latest announcements. This is also where readers can become part of the next story. Cool, huh? You won't get that with a 50 Shades of Hype book.
5) Sign up for the e-newsletter. My e-newsletter has all the extra cool stuff I stash just for the cool cats who subscribe. I throw in special freebies, exclusive stories and other fun tidbits. It's not always about me or Maynard. The last edition had a summer reading guide featuring the crime e-books I've personally reviewed. Plus, you get a free e-book just for signing up. Click here to sign up for the free e-newsletter.
Whether you jump on one or all of these things, THANK YOU! Your support means a ton to me.
June 22, 2012
LAST CHANCE! Free Kindle E-Book: 5 Funny Detective Stories
Today is the last day to nab 5 Funny Detective Stories - A Maynard Soloman Collection as a free Kindle e-book.
Since I'll likely remove this e-book from KDP Select, today really is the end of this title being free on Amazon. It's not that I'm ending it with Amazon. I just want to bring this e-book into other markets, like Nook. That means ending the exclusivity agreement with Amazon, which is how the freebies are arranged for Kindle.
So get it now and enjoy five satirical adventures on the house from the world's most codger-iest private detective, Maynard Soloman.
Click here to get this free Kindle e-book of funny detective stories.
P.S. Please do me the favor of leaving a quick review on Amazon or Goodreads.
P.P.S. Want more free e-books? Click here.
June 21, 2012
A Crazy Idea for a Print Book Giveaway
Yeah, it's late, but I have this idea and I wanted to write it down before I forget.
A lot of authors do giveaways with their print books. It's a great idea on its own, but I want to crank it up a notch. My plan is to give away one "regular" print edition of Cleansing Eden - The Celebrity Murders, plus a "special Bluegrasse edition."
The special edition would have a cut-out inside. Kind of like those old movies with the revolver inside the book. But instead of a sidearm, I'd put in some homemade "bluegrasse." Nothing illegal, of course.
The winner would receive both books. One to read and one to keep their "stash" inside. (For the record, this doesn't mean someone would store pot inside the book. That was never my intention. I'd much rather prefer they keep a vial of liquified walrus pineal gland and a syringe.)
Sound good? Or just crazy? Crazy is in the title of this post, after all.
June 20, 2012
Video: Unboxing the Very First Cleansing Eden Print Book
* The print book will be available as soon as that color fix goes through. Should be just a few more days. So close! Here's the e-book version on Amazon.
* When you buy the print version, you get a link inside the book to get the e-book version for free.
* I didn't have high expectations with Amazon Createspace's print quality. Figured it'd be OK at best, like the POD books from back in the day. Nope. Really a nice job. You can't see here, but the cover image is super crisp.
* Takeaway lesson for all you authors out there: Make sure you lighten up any dark fonts. 'Cause they'll print darker than you see on the screen. Also, if you're not uploading images at 300 pixels/inch, you're wasting your time.
* I have nothing against Wisconsin-based PODs. I just threw out a state.
Reminder: Free Kindle E-Book of 5 Funny Detective Stories
It's the summer solstice! That means it's time to break out the...uh, what do people do during the solstice? I have no idea. How about a free Kindle e-book?
5 Funny Detective Stories - A Maynard Soloman Collection is a free Kindle e-book through Friday, June 22. Go get it and enjoy five satirical adventures from arguably the world's most haphazardly brilliant private detective, Maynard Soloman.
Click here to get this free Kindle e-book of funny detective stories.
P.S. Please do me the favor of leaving a quick review on Amazon or Goodreads.
P.P.S. Want more free e-books? Click here.
June 19, 2012
Social Media: More Dead Novels than a Nazi Book Burning
The other day on the Facebook I had a chat with a friend about how social media sucks away time from writing. No, the irony didn't escape us. We agreed that social media is responsible for more dead novels than a Nazi book burning. (Or rather, I agreed with myself, which happens a lot on social media.)
Shiste, the brown shirts couldn't dream of a way to stifle creativity more effectively. Social media is as addictive as it is required in the author world. You can network all manner of opportunities...at the cost of your author soul. For all the time spent on Facebook, Twitter and whatnot, you may as well be at the rally tossing your own books in the fire. But hey, at least a lot of people showed up. Go talk to them. Roast marshmallows in the flames of your words.
I'd be a hypocrite to not point out I use social media all the time. It's helped rocket 5 Funny Detective Stories to number 1 on Amazon Kindle for political humor. Not once. Not twice. Thrice. In four countries.
You can't get those results without soaking social media in your promotional goo. It wouldn't matter if I channeled the ghostly spirit of Oscar Wilde through my fingertips. If no one knows what you're doing, no one's going to read it.
The trick is to find a balance. Much easier said than done.
I found inspiration in K.A. Laity's blog post at A Knife and a Quill here. She's a person who's always on social media, yet still cranks out the material. Even if you're not a writer, you could benefit from her tips about balance.
June 18, 2012
Maynard Soloman is Number 1 in the World
In the US...
In the UK...
In France...
In Italy...
As there are only four countries in the world, it's safe to say 5 Funny Detective Stories - A Maynard Soloman Collection is the number 1 political humor e-book on the planet. Because, as Maynard would say, "Who gives a shit about France?"
Er...ah...wrong quote. I'm sure by "France," he meant every country other than the US, the UK, France and Italy. Sorry, France. And screw you, everyone else.
5 Funny Detective Stories - A Maynard Soloman Collection is a free Kindle e-book all this week. Click here to get it.
Review: A Great Grab Bag of Short Stories
I nabbed this from Darren Sant's book review blog here. He wrote the following review of Burning Bridges: A Renegade Anthology. What a guy.
A collection of extraordinarily diverse stories. Some authors have embraced the theme of burning bridges, using broad strokes to outline it, whilst others have been more subtle. As quirky a collection as you will find.
There are stories of chance encounters. There is a tale of revenge that goes horribly wrong. A man on a mission does battle with extra terrestrials in his quest not to be late for work. In K.A. Laity’s excellent fable like story Horse Clock the goddess Sekhmet reflects on the past and makes a decision. In another story a wise guy gets his just desserts for messing with the wrong guys daughter. In B.R. Stateham's The Gift hit man Smitty helps an injured mobster by doling out his own brand of justice.
Mark Cooper Disciple hints at horrors in his usual deft way. In Joshua J. Mark's Safety First we are given a cleverly constructed and intelligently written glimpse into the mind of a killer. Paul D. Brazill tells a beguiling tale of beginnings and endings. Benjamin Sobieck’s tale The Last Injustice was moving and humorous at the same time. L.Vera’s Killing Deities conjured up wonderful visual images for me.
There are a whole host of other talents within this collection. You won’t perhaps like every tale in this collection. One or two make even have you scratching your head in confusion. However, if you are open minded embrace the diversity contained within this unique collection. A charity anthology that is well worth the cover price.
Genre: Various
Publisher: Independent
Format: E-book Anthology
Rating: 5/5
Click here to get Burning Bridges: A Renegade Anthology from Amazon for 99 cents. All proceeds go to charity.
Free Kindle E-Book: 5 Funny Detective Stories
Celebrate the summer solstice with a free Kindle e-book!
5 Funny Detective Stories - A Maynard Soloman Collection is a free Kindle e-book today through Friday, June 22. Go get it and enjoy five crusty adventures from the world's foremost codger and private detective, Maynard Soloman.
Click here to get this free Kindle e-book of detective humor.
P.S. Please do me the favor of leaving a quick review on Amazon or Goodreads.
P.P.S. Want more free e-books? Click here.
