Neil D. Ostroff's Blog, page 17
April 17, 2013
To not write
I’m back from vacation and for the first time that I can remember I got absolutely no writing done. I always vacation in the Florida Keys and I always spend many hours sitting by the water creating, but this time I didn’t. Why?
I used to be obsessed with hitting the big-time with my books. I dreamed that I’d be that one percent of one percent of writers who actually earn a living from their craft. I spent years sitting inside writing when the weather was beautiful outside. I’ve sacrificed and sacrificed to achieve my dream… but at what cost?
Now that I am older and far wiser than my younger days, I’m beginning to believe that enjoying our limited time on this celestial realm may be more important that the sacrifice needed to achieve fame. I explore this concept deeply in my best-selling book DROP OUT, but hadn’t applied my own ideals to my real life until this vacation. Did I feel guilty not writing? Yes, but that guilt was assuaged by the happiness I felt walking along the beach among dunes and palm trees. Happiness that no amount of money can buy.
Of course, now that I’m back the writing will commence at a feverish pace. I’m hoping to finish my dystopian novel before the long lazy days of summer tempt and drag me away from my craft. I’d also like to report my results with BookGorilla. The promotion did make a profit and did give me good exposure, however, I heard they recently raised the price and may not be as selective with the titles as before. I have another promotion with them for SILENT INVASION on April 22. We’ll see how that goes.
I’m also experimenting with the sales power of Twitter and signed up for a promotion from Booksandauthors.com. They Tweet DROP OUT’s blurb three times a day on their account. They have over 170,000 followers. After two weeks, I’ve seen no real results from this promotion as sales of DROP OUT remained steady until the BookGorilla promotion gave sales a boost and got the book down into the 4,000 range on Amazon’s best seller list. It has since returned to @ the 150,000 range even though the Twitter promotion is still running. I’ll post my final analysis of these promotions soon.
My blog ALWAYS WRITING: http://www.neilostroff.blogspot.com
I used to be obsessed with hitting the big-time with my books. I dreamed that I’d be that one percent of one percent of writers who actually earn a living from their craft. I spent years sitting inside writing when the weather was beautiful outside. I’ve sacrificed and sacrificed to achieve my dream… but at what cost?
Now that I am older and far wiser than my younger days, I’m beginning to believe that enjoying our limited time on this celestial realm may be more important that the sacrifice needed to achieve fame. I explore this concept deeply in my best-selling book DROP OUT, but hadn’t applied my own ideals to my real life until this vacation. Did I feel guilty not writing? Yes, but that guilt was assuaged by the happiness I felt walking along the beach among dunes and palm trees. Happiness that no amount of money can buy.
Of course, now that I’m back the writing will commence at a feverish pace. I’m hoping to finish my dystopian novel before the long lazy days of summer tempt and drag me away from my craft. I’d also like to report my results with BookGorilla. The promotion did make a profit and did give me good exposure, however, I heard they recently raised the price and may not be as selective with the titles as before. I have another promotion with them for SILENT INVASION on April 22. We’ll see how that goes.
I’m also experimenting with the sales power of Twitter and signed up for a promotion from Booksandauthors.com. They Tweet DROP OUT’s blurb three times a day on their account. They have over 170,000 followers. After two weeks, I’ve seen no real results from this promotion as sales of DROP OUT remained steady until the BookGorilla promotion gave sales a boost and got the book down into the 4,000 range on Amazon’s best seller list. It has since returned to @ the 150,000 range even though the Twitter promotion is still running. I’ll post my final analysis of these promotions soon.
My blog ALWAYS WRITING: http://www.neilostroff.blogspot.com
April 1, 2013
Promotions
Been working hard on my latest manuscript (still untitled) though the Easter weekend did muff up my writing schedule a bit. I also have a big promotion coming up for DROP OUT on April 4th with KND’s new Book Gorilla newsletter. I paid extra to be on the premier front page and be exposed to @ 20,000 opt-in readers. Will it be profitable? I guess we’ll see. I need to sell 150 books to recoup the cost.
I’m also trying a new promotion with a site called BooksandAuthors.net. I paid to have DROP OUT ( http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005FX0K7U ) its description and Amazon link tweeted on their Twitter site three times a day for one month. They have 180,000 followers, so I only need a small percentage to purchase the book to earn out. I also think the exposure from both promotions is going to be huge. The tweeting promotion started four days ago and I have already noticed a slight increase in sales.
It’s the beginning of the month again and authors who sell through Amazon know what that means, the dreaded brown bar of zero sales as the book stats reset. With the impending nice weather, I anticipate a new batch of readers aching to grab their Kindles, find a quiet, comfortable spot under a shady tree, and get lost in one of my books. Let’s hope so.
ALWAYS WRITING
A blog about the writing life, making it as an indie author, and showcasing the books I write. Please check it out.
http://www.neilostroff.blogspot.com
I’m also trying a new promotion with a site called BooksandAuthors.net. I paid to have DROP OUT ( http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005FX0K7U ) its description and Amazon link tweeted on their Twitter site three times a day for one month. They have 180,000 followers, so I only need a small percentage to purchase the book to earn out. I also think the exposure from both promotions is going to be huge. The tweeting promotion started four days ago and I have already noticed a slight increase in sales.
It’s the beginning of the month again and authors who sell through Amazon know what that means, the dreaded brown bar of zero sales as the book stats reset. With the impending nice weather, I anticipate a new batch of readers aching to grab their Kindles, find a quiet, comfortable spot under a shady tree, and get lost in one of my books. Let’s hope so.
ALWAYS WRITING
A blog about the writing life, making it as an indie author, and showcasing the books I write. Please check it out.
http://www.neilostroff.blogspot.com
March 21, 2013
The sacrifice
Spring is here and once again the oncoming nice weather will test my resolve to finish my latest novel. I find it especially difficult to keep focus when it’s a beautiful, sunny seventy-degree day outside. But as an artist I must ignore the temptation to enjoy the outside. When I am working on a first draft (as I’m doing now) I find that I can only concentrate on creating original material when I’m sitting at my desk. Something about that particular space and mindset unlocks my imagination greater than any other. In a way, I’m a slave to my own setting.
I have no problem revising second or third drafts from anywhere in the world; on plane, sitting on my deck, or being in a hotel room; but that first draft must always be written in this particular space. I guess it’s where my muse likes to hang out.
Despite a brief attack of writer’s block (my first ever), and several trips to the hospital (It’s all chronicled in my blog), the first book in my planned dystopian series is coming along. I reached 25,000 words yesterday which is just a few thousand less than I had planned in my timeline. The story is coming together well, the characters are shaping up nicely, and the futuristic setting is awesome. Now, if I only had a title for the work.
This is the first book I’ve ever started without having a title in mind. Perhaps, that’s because I have been thinking about the plot of this one for so long that the words and story came onto the page before I even had a solid idea of what to call it. I had a few titles in mind, but when I searched Amazon I found that there were already books that had those titles. As a writer, I highly recommend that you search Amazon so that your book title is unique in the world and therefore easier to find when googled. I’ll keep my thinking cap on until the right one hits me.
As I stare out my office window at the beautiful day I am going to be missing, I can’t help but wonder if all this sacrificing is worth it? Will I go to my deathbed regretting the time I spent writing rather than enjoying the wonders of nature? Will I grow old and angry that I didn’t take advantage of every nice day offered out to me? I don’t think so. For long after I’m gone my books will still be here and readers will be able to enjoy my stories. In a way, I’m sacrificing a few beautiful days to immortalize myself in the human condition.
So, I’ll lower the shades to keep sunlight from stinging my eyes and get down to the business of finishing this first draft. I may miss out on the day, but the joy I get typing away at my keyboard greatly offsets it.
My blog: http://www.neilostroff.blogspot.com
I have no problem revising second or third drafts from anywhere in the world; on plane, sitting on my deck, or being in a hotel room; but that first draft must always be written in this particular space. I guess it’s where my muse likes to hang out.
Despite a brief attack of writer’s block (my first ever), and several trips to the hospital (It’s all chronicled in my blog), the first book in my planned dystopian series is coming along. I reached 25,000 words yesterday which is just a few thousand less than I had planned in my timeline. The story is coming together well, the characters are shaping up nicely, and the futuristic setting is awesome. Now, if I only had a title for the work.
This is the first book I’ve ever started without having a title in mind. Perhaps, that’s because I have been thinking about the plot of this one for so long that the words and story came onto the page before I even had a solid idea of what to call it. I had a few titles in mind, but when I searched Amazon I found that there were already books that had those titles. As a writer, I highly recommend that you search Amazon so that your book title is unique in the world and therefore easier to find when googled. I’ll keep my thinking cap on until the right one hits me.
As I stare out my office window at the beautiful day I am going to be missing, I can’t help but wonder if all this sacrificing is worth it? Will I go to my deathbed regretting the time I spent writing rather than enjoying the wonders of nature? Will I grow old and angry that I didn’t take advantage of every nice day offered out to me? I don’t think so. For long after I’m gone my books will still be here and readers will be able to enjoy my stories. In a way, I’m sacrificing a few beautiful days to immortalize myself in the human condition.
So, I’ll lower the shades to keep sunlight from stinging my eyes and get down to the business of finishing this first draft. I may miss out on the day, but the joy I get typing away at my keyboard greatly offsets it.
My blog: http://www.neilostroff.blogspot.com
March 15, 2013
Taking pause
As a prolific writer, I find it hard to take even one day off of working on my craft. In my mind, a day spent not writing is an unfinished day, as if I’d skipped exercising or went to bed without having dinner. But every now and then the unpredictability of life pops in and you have to take time to pause.
This happened to me recently as a family member was suddenly admitted to the hospital. After a long, unproductive week of experiencing torturous writer’s block, I had finally fallen back headstrong into writing my dystopian series, when a sudden, shrill phone call put a halt to everything. Instead of delving into my imaginary world of telepathic plants, domed cities, and half-man half-animal hybrids that make up make latest novel, I found myself once again sitting in a hospital room waiting for my mother-in-law’s test results. (Those of you who follow my blog know that several months ago I spent several days hanging out in the hospital while my wife recovered from cancer surgery).
When I was younger this sort of interruption in the novel-writing process would have driven me crazy. Back in my early writing days I was obsessed and starved for success. My first few novels were written with the “fever” and almost nothing could have dragged me away from the keyboard. From the age of eighteen until thirty, my novels took precedent over all else; friends, family, lovers; everything.
As I get older, life appears to throw more and more obstacles that a young writer hasn’t yet experienced and therefore can’t judge how to react, aging parents being the topper. Though the compulsive drive to write still harpoons me daily, I have also found a certain level of peace in dividing my time making sure those I care about can hammer through tough times. My books are and will forever be my “children” and I will never ignore them or let them fade away into cyberspace, but I’ve also come to realize that our mortal time on this planet is finite and there must be a balance between writer and human being.
One must spend time outside the imaginary worlds to be a part of real life.
So, as I spend another day in the hospital waiting room and not writing my latest novel, I find myself feeling not agitated and anxious to be away from my work, but actually calm and accepting of the curve balls that life sometime throws at you. Taking pause and helping others can be the best refresher any writer can enjoy.
My blog: http://www.neilostroff.blogspot.com
This happened to me recently as a family member was suddenly admitted to the hospital. After a long, unproductive week of experiencing torturous writer’s block, I had finally fallen back headstrong into writing my dystopian series, when a sudden, shrill phone call put a halt to everything. Instead of delving into my imaginary world of telepathic plants, domed cities, and half-man half-animal hybrids that make up make latest novel, I found myself once again sitting in a hospital room waiting for my mother-in-law’s test results. (Those of you who follow my blog know that several months ago I spent several days hanging out in the hospital while my wife recovered from cancer surgery).
When I was younger this sort of interruption in the novel-writing process would have driven me crazy. Back in my early writing days I was obsessed and starved for success. My first few novels were written with the “fever” and almost nothing could have dragged me away from the keyboard. From the age of eighteen until thirty, my novels took precedent over all else; friends, family, lovers; everything.
As I get older, life appears to throw more and more obstacles that a young writer hasn’t yet experienced and therefore can’t judge how to react, aging parents being the topper. Though the compulsive drive to write still harpoons me daily, I have also found a certain level of peace in dividing my time making sure those I care about can hammer through tough times. My books are and will forever be my “children” and I will never ignore them or let them fade away into cyberspace, but I’ve also come to realize that our mortal time on this planet is finite and there must be a balance between writer and human being.
One must spend time outside the imaginary worlds to be a part of real life.
So, as I spend another day in the hospital waiting room and not writing my latest novel, I find myself feeling not agitated and anxious to be away from my work, but actually calm and accepting of the curve balls that life sometime throws at you. Taking pause and helping others can be the best refresher any writer can enjoy.
My blog: http://www.neilostroff.blogspot.com
March 8, 2013
The virtual bookshelf
There is a riding wave of enthusiasm and excitement among indie authors that finally, after centuries of struggle, we can now put our books out there on the virtual bookshelf for the world to see and for all eternity. What an incredible concept that a hundred years from now someone might happen upon one of my books and my characters would rise from the ashes of time and thrill a new reader. Or is it?
What is the likelihood that a future individual will happen upon one of my books? If you do the actual mathematics, it doesn’t seem likely.
Ebooks have only been around for a few years and their rise in popularity is growing at exceptional and exponential levels. When I first started publishing in the virtual world, getting my books noticed was as easy as posting descriptions on social networks and threads. If you were lucky enough to afford a promotion on a popular reader’s website, you could draw dozens if not hundreds of new sales. Ereaders were a novelty that the next generation had to have and ebooks were golden jewels.
Well, the reading population bought both books and devices, and they bought them by the millions. You would think that is a good thing for indie writers like me, having a new audience who have a lifetime to discover my works?
With the new wave of ereaders also comes a new wave of writers. Writers who have discovered how easy it is to publish a book and try to sell their work. Many of these indie books are coming onto the market too soon. In a rush to get published, many writers are neglecting the basics of grammar, and characterization, and the importance of details in the setting. These quickly written books are coming on the market raw and unreadable, and flooding it in the process. Many novice writers are spamming the once mighty reader’s websites giving the legitimate indie authors little exposure and the art form a tarnished reputation.
It is true that the virtual bookshelf will exist as long as humanity and the internet do, however, being discovered on that bookshelf is soon going to be like trying to find a specific grain of sand placed somewhere on the largest beach on Earth. What can possibly set apart the great writers from the wannabe’s: Marketing? Promoting? An incredible tale?
I believe the only saving grace for the gifted writer will be word-of-mouth. Only if you write a great story will absolute strangers tell other absolute strangers about it. Like all things great, it will rise above the garbage and shine like a diamond. And there will be a lot of garbage out there, I predict billions of books.
As I continue to see mediocre books flooding the market (many free or at a price insulting to the art form) I can only wonder how long it will be before I, too, drown in this oncoming sea of mediocrity. Writers whose works are truly gifted are getting lost in a flood of new titles. A virtual bookstore where anyone can sell your work is truly a Godsend to the true storyteller, however, with virtual unlimited shelf space there may soon be more books than readers who care to read them.
ALWAYS WRITING - http://www.neilostroff.blogspot.com
What is the likelihood that a future individual will happen upon one of my books? If you do the actual mathematics, it doesn’t seem likely.
Ebooks have only been around for a few years and their rise in popularity is growing at exceptional and exponential levels. When I first started publishing in the virtual world, getting my books noticed was as easy as posting descriptions on social networks and threads. If you were lucky enough to afford a promotion on a popular reader’s website, you could draw dozens if not hundreds of new sales. Ereaders were a novelty that the next generation had to have and ebooks were golden jewels.
Well, the reading population bought both books and devices, and they bought them by the millions. You would think that is a good thing for indie writers like me, having a new audience who have a lifetime to discover my works?
With the new wave of ereaders also comes a new wave of writers. Writers who have discovered how easy it is to publish a book and try to sell their work. Many of these indie books are coming onto the market too soon. In a rush to get published, many writers are neglecting the basics of grammar, and characterization, and the importance of details in the setting. These quickly written books are coming on the market raw and unreadable, and flooding it in the process. Many novice writers are spamming the once mighty reader’s websites giving the legitimate indie authors little exposure and the art form a tarnished reputation.
It is true that the virtual bookshelf will exist as long as humanity and the internet do, however, being discovered on that bookshelf is soon going to be like trying to find a specific grain of sand placed somewhere on the largest beach on Earth. What can possibly set apart the great writers from the wannabe’s: Marketing? Promoting? An incredible tale?
I believe the only saving grace for the gifted writer will be word-of-mouth. Only if you write a great story will absolute strangers tell other absolute strangers about it. Like all things great, it will rise above the garbage and shine like a diamond. And there will be a lot of garbage out there, I predict billions of books.
As I continue to see mediocre books flooding the market (many free or at a price insulting to the art form) I can only wonder how long it will be before I, too, drown in this oncoming sea of mediocrity. Writers whose works are truly gifted are getting lost in a flood of new titles. A virtual bookstore where anyone can sell your work is truly a Godsend to the true storyteller, however, with virtual unlimited shelf space there may soon be more books than readers who care to read them.
ALWAYS WRITING - http://www.neilostroff.blogspot.com
March 4, 2013
Breaking Writer’s Block
I woke up this morning momentarily gripped by a fear and uncertainty that has plagued me as of recent. Would today be like yesterday and the day before and the day before? Would I spend the next fifteen hours walking around my office in a daze trying to rip free of this chain of boredom? Would today be the day I finally break this horrible bout of writer’s block?
For twenty-five plus years, I’ve woken each morning with my head crammed full of ideas. Imaginary characters start to converse with me and I find my thoughts drifting to other worlds and possible dimensions. However, for the last few days these comforting and familiar figments of make-believe have vanished.
I’ve never experienced a block before and find it both terrifying and strangely liberating. Being a writer is like waking up every morning for the rest of your life with homework to do. There’s always a chapter to be edited or a scene that needs tightening; a continuous mental itch to put down your thoughts that doesn’t ever get scratched or go away. To not feel that itch is as strange as cold-turkeying an addiction; like a smoker not being able to huff his first cigarette of the morning, or an alkie denied his early-afternoon sauce. I literally had restless tremors.
The first two days of my block was bearable, and my creative writing time was spent marketing my other novels (which is not necessarily a bad thing) and my usual marketing time was spent trying to find my creativity. Day three of my block was when I got scared. I spent two hours staring at the same page in front of me. My newest dystopian novel (the one I’d been averaging 1,500 words a day) was stuck on the glowing computer screen like a dead fish in mud.
Television and video games rarely exist in my life. Perhaps, that is the main reason I write. I’d rather create my own stories than watch someone else’s imagination unfold on the screen or become a pretend animated character in a programmer’s virtual reality game-world. I create my own virtual realities. I can disappear at will into a character of my own choosing and creation. That’s probably why I’m so sad that the ability went missing.
I find days without writing exceedingly long, believing hours have droned by only to realize the day isn’t even half over. I don’t know how normal, non-writers find enough stuff to do to fill the time (I know, those with kids are cursing me right now). Only after I’ve put in a good three or four hours of writing can I start my day feeling like I’ve accomplished something, and by then I’m racing against the clock to get my normal, human life activities done.
Happily, this morning I awoke with the tingles of creativity again sparking in my mind and the dreaded, creative dead-weight lifted. After four days of not “feeling it” my thoughts are again sharp, my worlds have returned, and my characters are speaking to me.
Stephen King describes the breaking-writer’s-block emotion best in his book ON WRITING. After years of drinking and drug addiction, Mr. King finally got sober, only to realize with this new sobriety he had lost his creativity. Finally, slowly, over a period of a few months, he found the beat again and the joy. He describes the feeling as this;
“I came back to it (writing) the way folks come back to a summer cottage after a long winter, checking first to make sure nothing has been stolen or broken during the cold season. Nothing had been. It was still all there, still all whole. Once the pipes were thawed out and the electricity was turned back on, everything worked fine.”
It’s time to continue with my novel.
http://www.neilostroff.blogspot.com
For twenty-five plus years, I’ve woken each morning with my head crammed full of ideas. Imaginary characters start to converse with me and I find my thoughts drifting to other worlds and possible dimensions. However, for the last few days these comforting and familiar figments of make-believe have vanished.
I’ve never experienced a block before and find it both terrifying and strangely liberating. Being a writer is like waking up every morning for the rest of your life with homework to do. There’s always a chapter to be edited or a scene that needs tightening; a continuous mental itch to put down your thoughts that doesn’t ever get scratched or go away. To not feel that itch is as strange as cold-turkeying an addiction; like a smoker not being able to huff his first cigarette of the morning, or an alkie denied his early-afternoon sauce. I literally had restless tremors.
The first two days of my block was bearable, and my creative writing time was spent marketing my other novels (which is not necessarily a bad thing) and my usual marketing time was spent trying to find my creativity. Day three of my block was when I got scared. I spent two hours staring at the same page in front of me. My newest dystopian novel (the one I’d been averaging 1,500 words a day) was stuck on the glowing computer screen like a dead fish in mud.
Television and video games rarely exist in my life. Perhaps, that is the main reason I write. I’d rather create my own stories than watch someone else’s imagination unfold on the screen or become a pretend animated character in a programmer’s virtual reality game-world. I create my own virtual realities. I can disappear at will into a character of my own choosing and creation. That’s probably why I’m so sad that the ability went missing.
I find days without writing exceedingly long, believing hours have droned by only to realize the day isn’t even half over. I don’t know how normal, non-writers find enough stuff to do to fill the time (I know, those with kids are cursing me right now). Only after I’ve put in a good three or four hours of writing can I start my day feeling like I’ve accomplished something, and by then I’m racing against the clock to get my normal, human life activities done.
Happily, this morning I awoke with the tingles of creativity again sparking in my mind and the dreaded, creative dead-weight lifted. After four days of not “feeling it” my thoughts are again sharp, my worlds have returned, and my characters are speaking to me.
Stephen King describes the breaking-writer’s-block emotion best in his book ON WRITING. After years of drinking and drug addiction, Mr. King finally got sober, only to realize with this new sobriety he had lost his creativity. Finally, slowly, over a period of a few months, he found the beat again and the joy. He describes the feeling as this;
“I came back to it (writing) the way folks come back to a summer cottage after a long winter, checking first to make sure nothing has been stolen or broken during the cold season. Nothing had been. It was still all there, still all whole. Once the pipes were thawed out and the electricity was turned back on, everything worked fine.”
It’s time to continue with my novel.
http://www.neilostroff.blogspot.com
February 28, 2013
Get read!
It’s the end of the month, which means my book sales stats will again be reset to zero. As I’ve mentioned many times before, it’s a little depressing to start each new month from scratch. Sometimes I think it would be nicer if they just kept the numbers going.
That said, I sold a pretty fair number of books this month. It helped that I ran two promotions and that Kindle Nation Daily gave me extra free publicity by presenting me with an interview by a fifth grader and then publishing it on their site.
I’ve also just finished up with my two-month long marketing frenzy and I am anxious, really anxious, to start back up on my latest Dystopian series. I finished the first draft of the first book back in January and have been letting it stew and simmer for the past six weeks. I’ve fleshed out the characters, setting, and plot and am ready to jump head first back into this one.
My marketing frenzy included downloading long samples of each of my novels to many popular writing sites. I don’t outright solicit my books, but do make mention at the end of the sample that the whole book is available. This seems to be working as my sales have continued to increase even weeks after my promotions ended. The sites keep a counter of readers and collectively, on all sites, I’ve had @ 9,000 reads in the last week. Not bad.
Here is a list of those sites. All of them are free, easy to download, and get great traffic. Do not spam the sites with self-promotion or you will be removed. These sites get readers, use them.
Nothingbinding.com
Scribd.com
Writing.com
Writers.net
Book daily.com
Published.com
Bookhitch.com
Writetobreathe
Worthyofpublishing.com
Wringroom.com
Bookmatchers.com
Writerscafe.org
Bookpleasures.com
Wattpad.com
ABCtales.com
Fictionpress.com
Shelfari.com
Authonomy.com
Ficwad.com
As I now plunge back into my latest book, I am still dedicated to placing writing samples on at least three new sites a week and will continue to update my existing samples. The more you update your samples the higher you will be placed on their new additions list. Good luck.
My blog: http://www.neilostroff.blogspot.com
That said, I sold a pretty fair number of books this month. It helped that I ran two promotions and that Kindle Nation Daily gave me extra free publicity by presenting me with an interview by a fifth grader and then publishing it on their site.
I’ve also just finished up with my two-month long marketing frenzy and I am anxious, really anxious, to start back up on my latest Dystopian series. I finished the first draft of the first book back in January and have been letting it stew and simmer for the past six weeks. I’ve fleshed out the characters, setting, and plot and am ready to jump head first back into this one.
My marketing frenzy included downloading long samples of each of my novels to many popular writing sites. I don’t outright solicit my books, but do make mention at the end of the sample that the whole book is available. This seems to be working as my sales have continued to increase even weeks after my promotions ended. The sites keep a counter of readers and collectively, on all sites, I’ve had @ 9,000 reads in the last week. Not bad.
Here is a list of those sites. All of them are free, easy to download, and get great traffic. Do not spam the sites with self-promotion or you will be removed. These sites get readers, use them.
Nothingbinding.com
Scribd.com
Writing.com
Writers.net
Book daily.com
Published.com
Bookhitch.com
Writetobreathe
Worthyofpublishing.com
Wringroom.com
Bookmatchers.com
Writerscafe.org
Bookpleasures.com
Wattpad.com
ABCtales.com
Fictionpress.com
Shelfari.com
Authonomy.com
Ficwad.com
As I now plunge back into my latest book, I am still dedicated to placing writing samples on at least three new sites a week and will continue to update my existing samples. The more you update your samples the higher you will be placed on their new additions list. Good luck.
My blog: http://www.neilostroff.blogspot.com
February 19, 2013
Millions will see this!
I read a funny disclaimer on a website the other day. It was a site dedicated to posting samples of author’s writing. The disclaimer warned that any material posted may be seen by millions of people. I nearly burst out loud laughing.
If only that were true? Can you imagine if each one of my book samples got read by millions of people? If only a very small percentage of those readers purchased the book I’d be rich. The reality is the internet allows you the opportunity for millions of people to read your work, not a guarantee. And that’s if they know your book samples exist at all.
Today’s cyber exposure is limitless for authors, but it is up to the author to get noticed. I’ve spent thousands of hours marketing my books and I’ve estimated about 150,000 samples have been downloaded. That’s a far cry from the warning that millions may see this.
In an era when websites can easily manipulate an uninformed author into spending hundreds on advertising, one needs to check the rankings before hopping headfirst into purchasing an expensive advertisement. There’s no site in the world that can guarantee millions will see your ad or sample chapters when the site only has 300,000 lifetime hits. If anyone out there knows of a website that can guarantee a million people will see my promotion I’d readily spend a big portion of my budget for that exposure.
As of now, I have long samples of all my books on more than two dozen FREE sites and have collectively received a decent amount of hits (in the thousands) and that’s okay with me.
They key to getting discovered is not to place all your eggs in one basket, because no one basket gets that much attention. Spread your samples across the vastness of the cyber-world. Download to as many sites as you can find. Eventually, and with time and patience, you will get the millions reading your samples, and hopefully a few might buy the book.
http://www.neilostroff.blogspot.com
If only that were true? Can you imagine if each one of my book samples got read by millions of people? If only a very small percentage of those readers purchased the book I’d be rich. The reality is the internet allows you the opportunity for millions of people to read your work, not a guarantee. And that’s if they know your book samples exist at all.
Today’s cyber exposure is limitless for authors, but it is up to the author to get noticed. I’ve spent thousands of hours marketing my books and I’ve estimated about 150,000 samples have been downloaded. That’s a far cry from the warning that millions may see this.
In an era when websites can easily manipulate an uninformed author into spending hundreds on advertising, one needs to check the rankings before hopping headfirst into purchasing an expensive advertisement. There’s no site in the world that can guarantee millions will see your ad or sample chapters when the site only has 300,000 lifetime hits. If anyone out there knows of a website that can guarantee a million people will see my promotion I’d readily spend a big portion of my budget for that exposure.
As of now, I have long samples of all my books on more than two dozen FREE sites and have collectively received a decent amount of hits (in the thousands) and that’s okay with me.
They key to getting discovered is not to place all your eggs in one basket, because no one basket gets that much attention. Spread your samples across the vastness of the cyber-world. Download to as many sites as you can find. Eventually, and with time and patience, you will get the millions reading your samples, and hopefully a few might buy the book.
http://www.neilostroff.blogspot.com
February 15, 2013
So exciting!
Please check out my latest sci-fi adventure, SILENT INVASION it is the first novel in a series of three. It is also Kindle Nation Daily’s ebook of the week for their new site devoted to kids and young adults.
Thank you.
http://kids.kindlenationdaily.com/201...
Thank you.
http://kids.kindlenationdaily.com/201...
February 7, 2013
This sponsorship worked!
The KFD sponsorship for IMAGINATION http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ATFC3JM on Tuesday did fairly well and once again eclipsed all my other marketing efforts in return dollars to spent ratio. I got below the 5,000 rank for a bit on Amazon and sales did increase dramatically for a few hours. As usual, I would recommend KFD as a top return.
I’ve slowed marketing efforts on my other nine novels to focus more on the four-book dystopian series I’m working on. It seems no matter how hard I try to focus on marketing, I always quickly return to the creative process of the novel writing art form.
I envy those authors who have personal publicists who handle all the drudgery involved in getting your name out there. How nice would it be to focus solely on writing? I’m not complaining however, the internet has provided the average writer with worlds of exposure at the click of a mouse. The only problem is that world is getting more crowded.
I do have a few more sponsorships this month and I expect to see some good results, but then I think I’m going to stop spending money on them for a while. The whole sponsorship process has been polluted by writers who have more money than talent and can buy up all the sponsorship space. The result is that readers aren’t taking the ads seriously anymore because they’ve been burned by bad stories.
I believe this to be true because I’ve seen my results from paid sponsorships dwindle over the past two years. A well-placed sponsorship used to sell hundreds if not thousands of copies, now I think readers are way more wary of what’s being touted as the ‘day’s best read’, ‘or book of the day’.
I still believe the best way to hit it big is by word of mouth and the luck of going viral, but I also think the secret lies in posting long samples of your work on as many sites as possible. There’s no need to try and convince someone to buy your book when they’ve got several sample chapters already in front of them and are enjoying what they’re reading. I always end my sample chapters with a simple note and link to purchase the book. I find this much more effective than spending good money on ad space consumed by “vanity” writers.
http://www.neilostroff.blogspot.com
I’ve slowed marketing efforts on my other nine novels to focus more on the four-book dystopian series I’m working on. It seems no matter how hard I try to focus on marketing, I always quickly return to the creative process of the novel writing art form.
I envy those authors who have personal publicists who handle all the drudgery involved in getting your name out there. How nice would it be to focus solely on writing? I’m not complaining however, the internet has provided the average writer with worlds of exposure at the click of a mouse. The only problem is that world is getting more crowded.
I do have a few more sponsorships this month and I expect to see some good results, but then I think I’m going to stop spending money on them for a while. The whole sponsorship process has been polluted by writers who have more money than talent and can buy up all the sponsorship space. The result is that readers aren’t taking the ads seriously anymore because they’ve been burned by bad stories.
I believe this to be true because I’ve seen my results from paid sponsorships dwindle over the past two years. A well-placed sponsorship used to sell hundreds if not thousands of copies, now I think readers are way more wary of what’s being touted as the ‘day’s best read’, ‘or book of the day’.
I still believe the best way to hit it big is by word of mouth and the luck of going viral, but I also think the secret lies in posting long samples of your work on as many sites as possible. There’s no need to try and convince someone to buy your book when they’ve got several sample chapters already in front of them and are enjoying what they’re reading. I always end my sample chapters with a simple note and link to purchase the book. I find this much more effective than spending good money on ad space consumed by “vanity” writers.
http://www.neilostroff.blogspot.com
