E.R. Yatscoff's Blog, page 19
April 26, 2012
Keep on Keepin’ On
Currently, I’m into editing The Blob…In My Shoes(juvenile) as is my writer’s group. They’re on Chapter 4. Originally this story was entitled Eldon’s Shoes and it went through at least 10 ten drafts. Lobster Press said it would be better if I changed the perspective to 1st person. This is not as easy as it sounds. They still didn’t like it, but I thought it read better. Can’t please all the people all the time, so please yourself, right? I went through it another 5 times and submitted it to Amazon Breakthrough Novel competition. It made the semi-finals. So it’ll be the next juvenile out. I also finished chapter 4 of VooDoo Boy another juvenile which I’m really liking. Final Response a firefighter novel is waiting for cover art and I’m hoping for a July release. I’m throwing around writing a classic children’s story, updating it, like Return To Oz This will be a closely guarded secret as fairy tales are being made at a very quick pace. Hopefully, my idea won’t be scooped.
April 15, 2012
Book price reduction
I’ve decided to try and increase sales of my eBooks by reducing their prices. Freebies didn’t work. My firefighter mystery/suspense novels are $4.99 and my juvenile/chapter eBooks are $2.99. I also have a juvenile for .99 cents until June. Why? Well, everyone’s downloading the Hunger Games @ $5.00 so I have to compete and undercut Suzanne Collins. Sorry to do this dear, but here I come. My firefighter eBooks are garnering good reviews. My juvenile chapter books are page-turning old fashioned romps with bullies and bravery and integrity. No zombies.
Kindle Smashwords
March 28, 2012
My Online Interview
Kitty Bullard of the blog Great Minds Think Aloud posted her online interview of me. http://www.greatmindsthinkaloud.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=interviews&thread=1077
Kitty's got a pretty good website and blog. She called my work "phenomenal" which pleases me greatly.
March 11, 2012
Two New Short Stories
I'm nearly finished two short stories, both non-fiction travel experiences. They'll be posted soon under Read Me. The one Stupid Blood Tourist will be entered in a travel contest being promoted by World Nomads with 1st prize a scholarship of sorts; a trip to Asia to write for Travelfish.org. They might want a younger person but…. The other story is about buying glasses in Vietnam and so far untitled. Also, I'm well into tweaking Final Response, up to chapter 14, so maybe I'll even have it finished by summer. I'm liking this one more and more. VooDoo Boy, a juvenile, after 3 chapters is simmering in my brain waiting for more inspiration.
Today is the final day for Read An EBook Week at Smashwords and the response for me has been cool even with a 25% discount on a few of my stories. Boo Hoo.
March 3, 2012
Read an eBook Week – 25% discount
It's a 25% discount on my juvenile suspense Ransom and my adult fire fighter thriller Gerry's War. The discount code is REW25
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February 22, 2012
Do you like my tentative title?
My 3rd firefighter novel (see FF novel tab) title has never sit right with me. My wife recently said it sounds like a gardening book. We came up with Final Response. Any comments?
February 7, 2012
.99 cent juvenile/middle grade book promo
It's here and at a very attractive price. If you or your kids likes reading page-turning romps Out On A Limb is for you. And the price! Such a deal. I put my two mischievous boys from Ransom, Big Bill and Squirt up against Egghead, the mean old man who hates kids and kills neighborhood cats. These boys have no magic wands, have no rapport with wise creatures, and have no futuristic weapons. Best of all it's a contemporary story set right here on planet earth. From what I've seen on bookshelves this may sound old-fashioned and boring – not. Go to Smashwords and Kindle, download a sample, and check it out. Check out the synopsis under the Children's Books tab above. Maybe next time I can get Big Bill and Squirt to face-off against Godzilla or Zombies…….no, then they'd need weapons and stuff, and things would probably get ridiculous, over the top.
If you're interested, Kitty Bullard of Great Minds Think Aloud posted her online interview of yours truly
I expect this eBook to be at the other eBook sites in the near future.
January 24, 2012
Fiction Writing Tip – Hooks
Let's face it, there are readers who will abandon your story. There's little worse than a boring ending to a chapter. Give readers a reason to hang in there with you, to turn the page. A recent review of mine on Gerry's War proved I'd kept at least one reader's interest:
"This book was really a great Sequel to Old Flames. I stayed up till 3 am finishing it and can't wait for the next in the series. The characters feel real and they act like normal people."
I did my job to keep the pages turning. I think my best hook ever is in my upcoming firefighter story Too Late For Spring(first two pages are posted on this site):
*The men shouted and shoved back chairs as they shot to their feet to block me. George surprised me by positioning himself in a fighting stance, albiet a wavering one. As I jostled through the men, his arm moved swiftly to the counter.
He turned in a flash; a knife from the butcher block gripped in his hand.*
Yeah, killer hook. Actually, this eBook will have some of my best hooks, only because it's my most violent.
One from my juvenile chapter book Archie's Gold:
*When I turned to look right I caught a glimpse of something like a curtain dropping at the corner of my eye, almost behind me.
My arm blazed with pain as if a steel vise clamped it.*
It's not difficult to write a hook if you arrange things, just don't give anything away.
January 17, 2012
10 Reasons to Read eBooks
1) You are not limited to specific eReader devices. Smashwords and a few others can download your selection and match any format for any device, including laptops and PCs.
2) Price. EBooks are cheaper than hard copies, even new releases.
3) EBook providers never run out of copies.
4) A virtual library at your fingertips. Download them wherever your computer can get online. I spent last winter in S.E. Asia and really had to search for book stores. The ones I found were full of the usual suspects: Stephen King, Grisham, etc. and local non-fiction on history and the wars that devastated the countries in the last 50 years. As long as you have a good signal from a Wi-Fi you're set. Even some of the crappiest towns in Cambodia have Wi-Fi somewhere. I suspect a lot of these bookstores will die soon leaving the book dependent reader SOL.
5) Free books. Try walking into a bookstore and leaving with a free book; that is, one you haven't stolen. There are thousands of free eBooks online.
6) Traveling. My Kindle and my laptop can hold a million books and take up little space in my carry-on.
7) If you have an eReader you can password protect rendering it useless to thieves. My Kindle looks like a diary or journal.
You can give reviews and express your opinion about the book, giving you more of an attachment to your favorite/hated authors.
9) Any book, any time.
10) Old and new books. Publishers are posting their entire libraries, some going wa-a-ay back. Indigo Chapters bookstores in Canada now returns books to publishers after 45 days. This requires readers to make frequent trips to the bookstore to find something interesting lest they miss it. As far as I know, my eBooks will stay online for a long, long time. The question begs, "For how long?"
January 8, 2012
New eBook promo coming
I plan on releasing a new juvenile/middle grade, Out On A Limb, in late January or early February. To help it along Ransom will be 99 cents and my other eBooks in the genre will be reduced by a dollar. The promotion will run until the end of the year. If your kids like adventure check them out on this site.
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