Neil D. Ostroff's Blog, page 29

New Interview!

Please check out my latest interview.

http://susanwhitfield.blogspot.com/20...

Reason to write

Home from vacation and looking forward to working sixty hours in the next six days… not! There are many reasons why people attempt to, or actually do, write a book. Some are for purely egotistical reasons: money, fame, the adulation of pretty girls and boys. Some people write books because they feel they have a story to tell the world, whether it’s fiction or non-fiction. Some people write stories purely for the joy, and care little if no one else but family members ever read their words. And some people write books because it’s all they know and envision themselves ever doing. Since birth, this last sect of writers have a constant, never-ending, burning, drive inside that compels them to put their observations and imaginations to the page. These are writers who don’t care about the perks of authorsdom (artistic license here) and must compose stories everyday, like a junkie needing to blast heroin into a greedy, suckling vein. That is the category of writer that I fall into (not the junkie part). Fame, fortune, none of it matters… or so I thought. Getting on that plane yesterday and leaving Miami to return up north and go back to work changed my perspective a bit. I’m still the compulsive, reclusive, prolific author, and I can still do without the fame and adulation, but I gotta tell ya, the fortune and being on endless vacation would be nice. Give a peak at my list of books. Thanks for your support.

Writing and fishing

I’m sitting on the dock this morning, my fishing rod baited with a shrimp and hoping to catch some lunch when a strange thought occurred to me. Fishing and becoming a successful author are similar activities. Except when you’re fishing, you use bait to catch stuff and when you’re a writer you use your books to try and catch something, that something being an agent, publisher, or audience. The analogy expounds even further. With fishing, the quality of bait is directly related to the amount of fish it will attract. An author’s book is like that. Better quality books attract more of an audience. When I throw my fishing bait into the ocean I never know what I will catch. Much like writing a book and then putting it out there on the internet for readers to find. You never know what’s going to happen or how many readers you’re going to attract. That’s why fishing appeals to me almost as much as writing does. The unknown of what may happen, what you may reel in. Or maybe it’s because I’ve been doing a lot of both while on vacation. My next post may be titled, Writing and Limes. Can anyone say Margarita?
Oh, and a quick writing tip that I’ve discovered can really give your books an immediate boost. Read each sentence you have that begins with THE and then read the sentence aloud without THE. See if THE can be eliminated. If it can, see how much stronger the sentence becomes.

http://www.neilostroff.blogspot.com

Environment and inspiration

As readers of my blog know, I am currently on vacation in the Florida Keys while my step-kids are at our house up north. The Keys is and was home to many famous artists and writers including its most notable resident, Earnest Hemmingway. Hemmingway lived and fished here, and wrote some of his most memorable novels in this tropical paradise. So, how has my own writing been going? I must admit the scenery is breathtaking and watching the sunsets really does get the creative juices flowing. But I haven’t been as productive as I had hoped to be. Since I’ve been here, (a little over a week) I have almost finished with the final read of my new novel, DREAM TRAVELER; about a fifteen-year-old girl who travels to other times and dimensions whenever she falls asleep. I have also skimmed through my next novel, WASTED, about a group of crazy, drug-addicted friends, which is complete and ready for a final read. The clean air and abundant sunshine has helped make the process of revision easier, but it’s still hard to concentrate with so much beauty around me. I haven’t had any new ideas for books or started any new projects while I’ve been down here, but that’s okay. I have all winter and the coming ice and snow to isolate myself and start a new book. Also, I can’t spend too much time on my writing at the moment or my wife will get mad. Her not being a writer, I can imagine that it’s pretty frustrating that I’m sitting at my computer for hours at a time when the day outside is extraordinary. I just enjoy writing stories so damn much! Anyway, the ocean calls and the sun beckons. Gotta go.
http://www.neilostroff.blogspot.com

Vacation+no marketing=little sales

As I write this I am on vacation. Yes, vacation. That magical two weeks a year when you leave your cares behind and head off into the sunset. In my case, this is Key West Florida. It’s beautiful! Right now it’s 82 degrees and sunny with low humidity. I watched the recent snowstorm in the northeast on television and thanked my lucky stars that I left Pennsylvania two days before it hit. I do write on vacation, usually in the morning before the high heat of the day sets in, but it’s not nearly the output I do at home. Of course, if that were the case down here my wife wouldn’t be speaking to me right now. Anyway, to get to my point of the title of this post, since I have been on vacation (a week) I’ve done nothing to market or promote myself. Now, this may seem like a minuscule amount of time compared to the average human life span of 77 years, but for an author trying to get reader’s attention this seems like forever. Most ebook buyers are looking for something immediate and if you can’t snatch their attention with marketing you’re going to lose sales. My own sales have dropped nearly seventy percent this week. Now, I’m not complaining, vacation is awesome! I just don’t want my cyber-community to forget about the books I write while I’m away. Hence, this post.

http://www.neilostroff.blogspot.com

Websites all writers should be on

I’ve been doing a lot of marketing/promotion lately for my books and have come up with a “must-be-on” list for writers who want to promote their books. These website provide free services that can really get your books noticed. There are many other sites out there but I highly recommend you concentrate your marketing efforts on these. Did I mention that they are all free?

Linkedin.com
Thebookmarketingnetwork.com
Authorsden.com
Shelfari.com
Goodreads.com
Bookwhirl.com
Indieauthorsunite.com
Bookblogs.com
Booktown.com
Bookdaily.com
Published.com
Bookhitch.com

Believe in ghosts?

I work at a country Inn rumored to be haunted. And I’m not just saying that. The Inn has been written up in books about haunted places and actual ghost hunters have spent nights trying to capture on film inhabitants of the great beyond. One of more frequent questions I get asked by people who know the Inn’s history is if I have ever seen anything out of the ordinary? Now, I’m at the Inn late at night, I’ve done inventory in the “haunted” wine cellar at two in the morning. I’ve strolled through the old buildings for more than a decade and this is what I’ve seen that makes me question whether or not I believe in ghosts. Nothing. I’ve never witnessed one thing out of the ordinary. Sorry, but I just don’t believe there are such creatures as ghosts, which doesn’t altogether eliminate the concept of a hereafter. I just don’t think these beings of the netherworld are interested in hanging around old structures when no one is supposed to be watching them. I mean, if the human soul continues on after death than what could the afterlife be like? I have my own ideas.
AFTER
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0050Q8D8U
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0050Q8D8U

Believe in ghosts?

I work at a country Inn rumored to be haunted. And I’m not just saying that. The Inn has been written up in books about haunted places and actual ghost hunters have spent nights trying to capture on film inhabitants of the great beyond. One of more frequent questions I get asked by people who know the Inn’s history is if I have ever seen anything out of the ordinary? Now, I’m at the Inn late at night, I’ve done inventory in the “haunted” wine cellar at two in the morning. I’ve strolled through the old buildings for more than a decade and this is what I’ve seen that makes me question whether or not I believe in ghosts. Nothing. I’ve never witnessed one thing out of the ordinary. Sorry, but I just don’t believe there are such creatures as ghosts, which doesn’t altogether eliminate the concept of a hereafter. I just don’t think these beings of the netherworld are interested in hanging around old structures when no one is supposed to be watching them. I mean, if the human soul continues on after death than what could the afterlife be like? I have my own ideas.
AFTER
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0050Q8D8U
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0050Q8D8U

Free Promo! Free Promo!

Just a quick post before I spend my weekend working at my job and this little piece of promotion disappears into cyberspace. If you’re an indie writer and have a book to sell than check out the site below, Indie Snippets. They have a pretty good base of readers and having my books placed there has increased traffic to my book sites. I think they’re a little backlogged right now, but take a moment to fill out their submission form. It’s free, and free is always good.

http://indiesnippets.blogspot.com/201...

Staycation for $1.25

Lately, I’ve been blogging about memories, life experiences, writing, my take on the publishing industry, etc. So, today I’ve decide to do some good ole’ fashioned promotion. My latest three books, all released in the last year, are now available for just $1.25. As I mentioned in a previous post, although these books all came out around the same few months, they took more than a decade for me to consider them finished. They all have been professionally edited, evaluated, and even made the NY publishing rounds with a prominent agent at FinePrint Literary Agency. They all got serious interest from major publishers such as Random House and Harper publishing who all agreed the material was “very strong and unique storytelling”. In the end and due to the shrinking marketplace for new writers, they were turned down. Then Kindle came along and we all know how this story ends. So, if you’re looking for a way to escape your normal routine for awhile and lose yourself in a good book, why not, for less than a cup of coffee, have a little staycation with one of my novels? I think you’ll agree it was the best buck-and-a-quarter entertainment you’ve ever spent.

AFTER
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0050Q8D8U
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0050Q8D8U

DROP OUT
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005FX0K7U
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005FX0K7U

INSECTLAND
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005P81J48
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005P81J48