Steve Umstead's Blog, page 18
March 31, 2011
What others are saying about Gabriel's Redemption
Just a few links to some great reviews of Gabriel's Redemption. As any independent author will attest to, reviews are the lifeblood of getting noticed. Thank you one and all for taking the time to read my debut novel, for the time spent in writing such detailed reviews, and most of all for the great [...]
March 25, 2011
Are print books a dying breed? Guest post by horror writer R.A. Evans
What if my next page-turner doesn't have any pages? As I write this post I am up to my elbows in finalizing the formatting and interior lay-out for the print version of my new thriller Grave Undertakings (sequel to the acclaimed Asylum Lake). The entire frustrating process has me questioning the future of my titles [...]
March 21, 2011
Building your Author Platform
Fellow authors, I'm going to take this time and space to chat a little bit about your platform. I'll preface this by saying I am by no means an expert, as I've only been marketing my work for a few months, but I do have a long background in marketing my own company. In the [...]
March 17, 2011
Do excerpts work in helping promote your novel?
Starting today, I'm going to be posting short excerpts & snippets from my current novel, Gabriel's Redemption, on my Facebook author fan page. One per day through the end of March, just a couple of lines or a paragraph, to maybe show interested readers scenes that may encourage them to take the next step and [...]
March 14, 2011
Review of No Shelter, a Novel by Z. Constance Frost
This was one of the first novels I downloaded for Kindle, as I'm slowly integrating myself into the wonderful world of e-readers. I saw Frost's name mentioned on a message forum, so I thought I'd take a look. Very eye-catching cover, intriguing blurb, so I decided to grab a sample. I burned through it in [...]
March 11, 2011
Are you writing to write, or for others to read it?
I'm going to preface this blog post with a warning that it may come across rude or obnoxious towards my fellow writers. That being said, I have something to get off my chest. I want all of you to publish your stories! I've heard from several authors that they just want to write their [...]
March 8, 2011
Where do I price my e-book?
I'm in month two of self-promoting my self-published, self-written (sensing a theme?) e-book, and I'm tossing something back and forth here. No, not a kitchen knife – I'm sure that will come later on in the sales process – but the actual pricing of my e-book. You see, one of the great advantages to self-publishing, [...]
March 4, 2011
Give away Kindles? Not yet, I say…
I just read a very interesting article on CNN.com by Amy Gahran on the theory that Amazon should (or may even be planning to) give away the Kindle to spur interest and sales in e-books themselves. While that's a very bold theory, and as a self-publisher of e-books myself, one that I'd love to see [...]
March 1, 2011
Actual, on-paper sales results for month 1 of self-publishing
I never thought I'd do this for month #1, as I thought for sure I'd be embarrassed at my pathetic sales totals. I mean seriously, Amanda Hocking has sold over 900,000 books in her first year being published, so how lame will I look standing up to that? The numbers came in today, Kindle being [...]
February 28, 2011
Touching the future of reading – ebooks on Kindle, Nook, iPad
This past weekend, I promised myself I'd sit down, shut out all distractions, and put together a rough outline for Book 2 of the Evan Gabriel trilogy (yes, it's nearly official – Gabriel's Redemption will be the first book in a science fiction/space opera trilogy…no better way to get noticed and have validity as a [...]
