A.D. Duling's Blog, page 3

What Do You Have Friends For?

Reblogged from Savvy Writers & e-Books online:

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How friends and family can help to improve your Amazon Ranking will be a reminder today, short before the holiday season starts. They indeed can help you so much - they even don't need to buy the book (again). Amazon can give a great book a big boost to “be discovered”. These little features take only a few seconds, but can make a big difference in your Amazon ranking - and subsequently in the success of your book.

Read more… 580 more words

We all know Facebook...How can your Friends help promote your Book?

Amazon sales secrets you’re probably missing-Chazz Writes

 

Some great advice/tips from author Chazz Chute on Amazon sales secrets…worth the drop by. As always your wonderful Chazz!

Amazon sales secrets you’re probably missing.

Tagged: Amazon Kindle, Amazon sales, Chazz Chute, Chazz Writes, secrets to Amazon sales, Writing advice

Dragon lovers flock here! Review of Forged in Flame: A Dragon Anthology…

Forged In Flame by Samuel A. Mayo, D. Robert Pease, Caitlin McColl, Jana Bosky, Eric White & Brian Collier 

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Even though I am not an avid reader of Anthologies, I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. I love dragons and stories filled with them. The wonderful art that comes with a book of Anthologies, is even though the stories share a common subject, they vary quite vastly. Dragons, of course you can tell, were the theme with this one. How each author told their tale focusing around the dragon theme, for each, was very well written and very imaginative!

First Flight- Author Sam Mayo

My perception of this tale was focused in either a futuristic or post- apocalyptic environment. I love the two characters, sister and brother, Esme and Van. Van is a spunky little guy and Esme the clever gal. Flight, the skies and mechanics encompass this story and a draw in guaranteed! I very much enjoyed this tale and the creative way the author storied his dragon.

A Dragon’s Honor- Author Brian Collier

This dragon tale goes back to the Arthurian time, at least to my perspective, with valiant knights and kings and queens. In this tale, the princess, Muriel, is now in charge of her kingdom’s army and the fate of it as well. The noble knight Sir Devon, her childhood friend, still stands for his king and princess. In a battle against the enemy, they are slowly losing the war. As a last resort, Princess Muriel escorted by her Sir Devon goes on a quest to acquire allies. With the focus on dragons, I must leave it at this, not wanting to ruin the story. Another well told tale with a bit of romance on the side.

Birth Pains- Author Eric White

I will jump straight off and say this one was my ultimate favorite in the brilliant packaged deal. The way author Eric White unfolded his tale and the description in which he told it, captivated me from first word until the last. I tore through this story. With the title Birth Pains, you can assume there is a baby delivery in this tale, but with a twist. I enjoyed the grandmother and Mrylinde and the creative tale encompassed around them. Dragons are of course included, but you will simply have to read to find out the cleverness in how it was incorporated in this one.

Golden Legacy- Author Jana Bosky

A modern theme with of course dragon incorporated in it as well (it is the theme right?) A story centered around two players, Zachariah and Athena. One to assassinate the other, a conversation, a spark, a fight…oh my! That is all I’ll say…have to read. I liked the spark between these two, characters to definitely connect with.

Heart of Steel- Author Caitlin McColl

This was my second favorite. A connection twisted inside metal, gears and revenge. I enjoyed the way author Caitlin McColl unraveled her tale focused around the dragon theme and really liked the characters within it. This is another review that must be kept short, as not to spoil anything for the next reader in which this is a must read, so there…you now have to read it. Trust me, you’ll like this one also.

A Chink in the Armor- Author D. Robert Pease

Last, but definitely not the least, Job is the main character in this tale. Battle is his plight; strength, leadership, and faith are his allies…among other fellow courageous comrades. He stands firm, confident and almost indestructible. Humbling is this story and intriguing as well…remember, no spoilers…

All in all, I rate this book in whole five worthy stars, if not a sixth. You will definitely be drawn into each story. This is a book, I highly recommend for your next reading pleasure. I was given an ARC book in return for my honest review. This is my whole hearted honest review.

Author A.D. Duling

View all my reviews

Tagged: Anthologies, Book review, Dragons, Forged in Flame, Godoreads review, must read

Indie Authors- Self- publishing help, about Vanity Publishers and the Low Down of Book Reviews…

Vanity Publishing

I have my opinion of Vanity publishing, but this is not about my opinion. It’s about what you should know about it before you decide to take the leap. howtobeanauthorsite.com tells you…

“In some circles vanity publishing is not a term that is often looked upon favourably. This is because unlike conventional publishers, vanity publishers will publish work regardless of its content or quality and is done so for the sake of the author’s vanity – to be printed.” – this sums it up for me.

But, again….it’s not about my opinion. This site is very informative and they have part two post that goes on to tell you the pro’s and con’s of vanity publishing.

 

What are the benifits?

” Vanity publishers work for you under your guidance and direction. Therefore, you still retain control over the production process.

 Vanity publishers will save you heaps of time, because they are managing the entire process.”

What are the drawbacks?

“If vanity publishers outsource, they can charge you more or not invest time in trying to find the best deal for you. Vanity publishers do not have the same reputation as major publishers. Some people will perceive you as lacking the ability to get published by a mainstream publisher, hence your need to resort to a vanity publisher. This can hurt your credibility and may affect future opportunities with people in the industry.”

Click HERE to read more of the benifits and drawbacks. Don’t forget to read the other great articles on publishing.

Now that you’ve written a book and you don’t want to go the vanity publishing way…what do you do?

Author Emlyn Chand (Novel Publicity) and author Melissa Foster (Fostering Sucess) can help you with that. It is a privelage to say I know these ladies and definitely recommend them as your next step help. Click on their links and learn more about them and what they can do for you.

Now how about book reviews?

Author Tanya Kappes can tell you loads about that. From buying reviews, organic reviews, swapping reviews and even fake reviews.

“In essence, there are three methods of reviews you can acquire: buying them, growing them organically, and swapping them.  One method doesn’t necessarily enhance your status more than the other, although juggling the three certainly can help establish it.”

 

Click HERE to read more very informative stuff on this by author Tonya Kappes.

 

So good luck in your book endevours and thanks for the drop by,

P.S. Like giveaways? Who doesn’t right? Hop on over to my A.D. Duling’s Diddley Doodle Dandy Writings and check out Rachael Anderson’s The Reluctant Bachelorette Book Blast, where for a limited time you can purchase the book for only $.99 cents! Enter to win a $50 Amazon gift card while your there.

Tagged: author Tonya Kappes, book reviews, Emlyn Chand, Fostering Sucess, giveaway Amazon, help, Melissa Foster, Novel Publicity, pros and cons, Racheal Anderson, self publishing tips, The reluctant Bachelorette, vanity presses, vanity publishers

Bluetooth contact lenses? Really? Will this be the next technological thing?

Yep, you heard that right…Bluetooth Contacts. Actually they are called Smart Contact lenses and supposedly they will be the next bluetooth headset of the future.

I heard this in conversation and didn’t really believe it. Come on really? How would that be possible? Oh, but it is.

“Although it might sound like something from a science fiction novel, scientists at the University of Washington are working on solar-powered contact lenses with transparent LEDs embedded onto the lens. This technology could be applied in countless ways, from health monitoring to text translation right in front of the wearer’s eyes…”

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“One of the results was an “Assisted Living Contact Lens” that would project helpful information, such as the calorie count for a chocolate scone, or a GPS map overlay locating the nearest gyms.” 

Yep,  this is what you would be seeing while wearing a pair of these Smart Contact Lenses. Coupons, calories and map out to the gym…ridiculous or smart? I think it’s pretty cool! Now would I wear them? Ah…not so sure. Come on…updating in technology for me is getting the hand me down cell phone from my husband. Yes, really. If it were up to me, I would have still been using last year’s model. It took a lot of conviction to get me to use a touch screen. I’m not kidding. I still refuse to slide my finger across the letters to write a word. I have to press each individual key.

I do not own a bluetooth.

So…will this new technology be something everyone else would want? Oh yeah, I think so.  We’re already used to seeing people in business attire walking about  yelling and flailing their arms in the air  talking to themselves (nah, they have a bluetooth), so why not do it without having to hook something into your ear. Probably more comfortable.  Then again…maybe we wouldn’t.  I know I always look for the bluetooth. Imagine trying to convince someone you’re not crazy and you are talking to someone on your… eye phone?

HAHA! Love it!

“So if you see me gazing off into a distant world of information that only I can see, you may have fun wondering, “Crazy? Or contact lens?”…until you get your own.”

Thanks for the drop by,

Information courtesy of fastcompany.com

Tagged: Bluetooth, bluetooth contacts, cell phone contacts, new technology, Smart contact lenses

Chazz Writes about Quote Art: A new way to promote your books…

I thought this was a brilliant idea and will have to give this one a try… thought you might like it too. Thanks Chazz, your a brilliant man. Need help with your quote art? Chazz knows someone who can help you with that too. Read the article and then go to  KitFosterdesign. com

Here’s what he designed for Chazz…

Pretty cool right?

Ok, go check it out for yourself- Chazz’s article- and  happy book promoting!

Tagged: Art quotes, book promotion, Chazz Writes, KitFosterDesign

Every Writer needs to listen to Author Jeff Goins and here’s a book for you…and it’s FREE right now, so hurry!

Yep, you heard me right. If you’re a writer, then you need to lend an ear to writer Jeff Goins. The moment I discovered him and his blog, I paid very close attention. You MUST follow his blog and you need to get his latest ebook Every Writer Needs a Tribe: A Practical Guide to Finding  (and Writing For) Your Audience (The Digital Writer)

The days of writing the next great novel alone somewhere in the woods and then mailing it in are over.

Today, the authors that make the largest impacts and enjoy the most success engage regularly and meaningfully with their specific readership. If you wish to follow in their footsteps, then you must first build your tribe.

In this book, you’ll learn why constructing your own author platform–catered exclusively to your specific tribe of ideal readers–is vital to the hopes and dreams of digital writers. Moreover, you’ll learn how the smart authors are building big tribes that allow their writing careers to thrive.

From the five types of platforms to the one weird way to get a larger audience, you’ll learn everything you need (and nothing you don’t) about nurturing a thriving, raving readership primed to take writing career to the next level.

See you inside!



How about I let Jeff tell you why you should upload his book (It’s FREE right now thru Sat)…

Hey friends,

I hope you’re well. In case you didn’t hear, this week I released a short eBook on Amazon for free. You can get it here.

This is not a book in the sense that I spent months working on the content. I repurposed almost ALL the content from my blog (adding a few new pieces here and there and thoroughly editing it of course).

I didn’t publish it to make any money. Frankly, I don’t care if anybody buys it after this week (although I’m sure some will). So why did I do it? To start a conversation.

And that’s exactly what book publishing is about. Understanding this is essential for anyone who wants to spread a message in the 21st century.

A bad business model

Seth Godin calls book publishing an “organized hobby.” When people try to make money off of selling books, they’re often disappointed. Because that was never the intention.

Book publishing is about spreading ideas. If you don’t go into the red, you’ve succeeded. There are fair easier (and smarter) ways to make a buck.

Authors trying to make a living off their words often get frustrated and disillusioned with the process. Because they fail to realize what a book is supposed to do.

But there’s hope…

It’s about impact It has never been easier to publish a book. And a result, many people are doing just that — some of them succeeding in BIG ways.

Do you know what the common denominator is for most of these success stories? Generosity. A willingness to give away your work in exchange for attention.

This is what a book has always been good for. Consider the following:

The Bible

The Communist Manifesto

To Kill a Mockingbird

Blue Like Jazz

These books were not written to make money (but of course, they did). They are not about the stories they contain. They’re about change. Publishing made it possible for those messages to spread and thus make an impact.

How to make this work for you

This works if you’re a novelist, an entrepreneur, or even a musician. Your art is not an end to itself; it’s supposed to change something.

“But,” you wonder, “I can’t work for free… can I?” Of course now. No one’s asking you to move to the poorhouse to inspire us. You just need to stop being stingy with your gifts.

A creative gift is intended to be given away. So start giving.

Creat something that causes your message, your idea, your story to spread. THEN, and this is an important part, create inroads to other opportunities to help you meet your goals.

For instance, one of the reasons I released Every Writer Needs a Tribe (the free eBook I mentioned earlier) was to get people excited about my upcoming course, Tribe Writers. The book gives me permission to talk about the subject and offer other ways to help or inspire people.

If this idea intrigues you, check out Dan Miller’s post: Forget the Royalties—Just Give Your Book Away. He’s someone who has made a LOT of money by building businesses around the ideas his books have spread.

But what if it’s NOT about the money?

Don’t get me wrong. It’s not about dollar signs for me. It’s about changing lives.

That’s why I wrote Wrecked, and that’s why I’ll continue to write and publish books. The royalties are nice, but for it’s really about life change.

Of course, money can help your art flourish. This has always been the case. Without generous families like the Medicis, much of the Renaissance would not have happened. What’s exciting about being a writer today is you can now be your own patron.

If you want to do this, a great place to start is by writing something and giving it away. Then you can use that platform to enter a deeper trust relationship with your audience.

Once trust is established, some people will even be willing to pay you for your work. And of course, some won’t. Which is fine, because the opportunity to help is its own reward. But if you need to pay the rent, the opportunities are there.

The bottom line is this: A book is a bad way to make a buck, but it’s a GREAT way to start a conversation. What you do after that is up to you.

Good luck.

Jeff

goinswriter.com

So there you have it…sounds good huh? Check out this book and check out his other two…you’ll thank him for it…

Tagged: Every Writer needs a Tribe, FREE kindle, Inde author tips, Jeff Goins, publishing tips, selling your book tips, tips, writing tips

The Sunshine Award!

Reblogged from Emily's Tea Leaves:

Wow. Last week the stars must have been shining on me particularly brightly, because I was nominated for not one, but four different blog awards. *blushes* Of course, they all have their own rules about acceptance and re-nominations, so rather than overwhelm you with all the different facts about myself and lists of other bloggers I want to nominate, I’m going to do them one at a time, say three or four weeks apart.

Read more… 554 more words

The Wonderful Emily Wheeler has nominated me for the Sunshine Award! How wonderful! In order to accept this award, you must nominate 10 others and answer a few questions about yourself. Hop over to Emily's blog and get to know her...stay tuned for my post and nominees!

Build Your Twitter Following–Quickly!

Build Your Twitter Following–Quickly!. No this is not pay for your peeps kind of service…great advice by author Derek Blass…author of Enemy in Blue

Tagged: Derek Blass, Enemy in Blue, followers, twitter, Twitter tips

Heard of Fan Fiction.net? E.L. James has…Need Twitter tips? How KDP Select by Amazon Equals FREE Ebooks for Readers

By the title alone, you now understand the title of my blog. Yep…my thoughts are very random and all over the place…but they do help others (at least I hope so) and they make sense (hoping again).

Heard of Fanfiction.net? Well I never had until I read a very interesting article about E.L. James’ hubby Naill Leonard, author of The Crusher. Get to know the author more through his perspective and if you hate fan fiction and possible Fifty Shades of Grey…this might soften your heart a bit. Mine has… check out my previous posts on E.l. James.

 

 

Fifty Shades of Grey is sharing those Seven Shades of Crimson with Actress Kristen Stewart

Fifty Shades of Grey…The Controversy

Click Here. It’s a very nice success story and a big congrats to both authors even though I will never read the series, sorry E.L….nothing personal….just not my type of reading.

 

Now onto Twitter… how does this have anything to do with E.L. James and her Fifty Shades of Grey fan fiction start? Absolutely nothing…kind of. If you read the article above, you will find out E.L. James got her success based on word of mouth and yes later it did spread via Twitter… but mostly it was by the physical mouth. How cool is that?!  Each success story is different and realistically not every author is going to get famous like E.L., but using Twitter in trying to accomplish that ain’t a bad thing either. Many authors will back that statement up. Tweeting about their books does help the sales and spreading the word a little. Author Richard Stephenson has a few tips on how to use Twitter in exposing your book to the world. Have a read here.

Now with KDP Select via Amazon, this does have a lot to do with E.L. James…not that she used it (at least I don’t think so), but she is tops on Amazon and  using KDP Select has helped other Indie Authors reach the top as well. How does it work…you probably already know. I am sure many, many authors have blogged about their experience(s) with KDP Select, but if you haven’t then do read this. KDP Select is not just beneficial to authors, it’s also beneficial for the readers as well. Why? Does the word FREE catch your attention? Yep, FREE.

By using the KDP Select (making your book exclusive with Amazon for three months) the author gets five (5) days to give their book away for FREE to readers. Readers like you who could definitely benefit from FREE. Likin how  I use the word FREE a lot. Ok, I promise…no more after this…Today and tomorrow my book is FREE (oh! this is why) Yes, sorry… I could not blog about many beneficial and interesting reads without throwing in the fact that my book The Key #1 of The Anna Kippling Series is FREE today and tomorrow. Check out the cover to your right…yep that’s the one. You can click on that or click here to get your FREE copy. Ok…no more now…promise. Cross my heart, scouts honor and all that.

So as a reader, you’re liking KDP now and liking the benefit of not paying for those ebooks (Like how I avoided using the word FREE…darn it!) Well now that you’ve been made aware of this wonderful, wonderful thing…how do you find them? Well here’s two places for that I can give ya.

1. ENT- Ereader News Today

2. Follow  Free Kindle Ebooks on Twitter

There you go! Thanks for dropping by and do pick up your copy of my book along with those other free ones…appreciate it!

P.S. Do leave your authors a review…they really appreciate them!

Tagged: E.L. James, E.L. James start, ENT, ereader news today, fan fiction, Fifty Shades, Free, free ebooks, Free Kindle Daily, free kindle ebooks, KDP select, Naill Leonard, the Crusher, tweets, Twitter tips, using Twitter, word of mouth