Sandy Appleyard's Blog, page 24
February 26, 2013
Places to Market your Book for Free or Minimum Cost
You’ve hit a slump in book sales and don’t know where to go. Is this you? I feel your pain….I did a quick Google search and came up with a few goodies that I’ll share with you.
Kobo
Make sure your book isn’t still on KDPS when you submit it to Kobo, but essentially it’s a free service that enables your book to be distributed on their database, which includes Chapters/Indigo and W.H. Smith to name a couple. You need to have your book in epub format with an eISBN to submit.
Indie Bound
I was surpri...
February 25, 2013
The Message in Dad’s Bottle: Where it all Began (freebie alert)
When I look back at my first book ‘The Message in Dad’s Bottle’, it puts me in a very reflective mood. I began writing that back in 2007 and didn’t finish until 2008. It wasn’t published until 2010 simply because I was starting from scratch with the whole researching, submitting and self publishing process. Reading the book makes me realize just how far I’ve come as an author.
‘The Message in Dad’s Bottle’ is a memoir about living with an alcoholic. Back then, my purpose for writing the book w...
February 23, 2013
What Makes a Romantic Mystery Like Blessed and Betrayed ‘Addictive’?
What Makes a Romantic Mystery ‘Addictive’?
We’ve all read a romance novel or two and I’ve always found it compelling to ask myself, as a fan of this genre, why is it so addictive? What is it about romantic mysteries that makes us want to skip meals so we can continue reading? I’ll use my book Blessed and Betrayed as an example to show you what I’ve come up with:
Relatable Characters
The characters have to be someone you’d be friends with in real life. They have to be quirky, unique and well roun...
February 22, 2013
Well…..That Was Embarassing!
Need a laugh? Do you think kids are funny?
These are excerpts taken from a ‘diary’ I’ve kept of all the funny things my kids have said since they could speak. I plan to self publish it some time this year…..enjoy!
We were in a local public washroom one day. Olivia went first and then I went. When I got up, Olivia wanted to flush the toilet for me. Just before she did, she looked in the toilet and exclaimed “Mommy, you went poo too!”
I took the girls out for a walk, and we had just crossed over t...
February 20, 2013
Book Sales Slow? Here’s Some Tips to Help You Out of the Slump
My debut romance was on Amazon at the beginning of December. It was free during mid-December as part of the Kindle Direct Publishing Select free promotion period. Sales have been good up until the beginning of this month.
In conversation with other, more seasoned authors, they’ve shared a few tips with me on how they got their books out of their sales slump. I’ve done them all and I’m here to share some of them with you today.
Freshen up your book cover.
This is by far the one that will have the...
February 19, 2013
Breastfeeding Intolerance from a Surprising Source
Photo credit www.nursinginpublic.com
Ranting is usually avoided in my blogs, and most of the time I talk about writing, social media or the funny things my kids do. But today, I’d like to talk about something completely out of left field. Breastfeeding.
I’ve probably lost all the male readers after that; except maybe some young fathers……but if you’re still with me; you can have your say too.
On a visit to our local community centre today, I realized that the more things change, the more they rem...
February 18, 2013
What if Readers Don’t Use the ‘Look Inside’ Feature?
I was responding to a reader who was commenting on my previous blog about reading 99 cent books, when I realized something may be terribly wrong.
Her comment was regarding the ‘Look Inside’ feature on Amazon.com. Most people I assume use it when making book buying decisions; if they like the supplied excerpt they buy, if not then they move on.
It occurred to me that perhaps our ‘freebie hoarders’ just download our free books during our KDPS promotion, only to delete them later if they don’t lik...
February 15, 2013
Monetizing: It’s Not Just About Money
If you’re an author like me, you see all these swanky, monetized blogs and shy away from the thought of doing it yourself. They look flashy, sophisticated and way too much bother. None of us can afford a web designer and all we want is to blog, self promote and keep things simple.
Why Would you Want to Monetize your Site Anyway? Besides the obvious….
I discovered that the features of a monetized site offer you so much more than you would think. Not only does it make your site look more appealin...
February 13, 2013
What’s Your Biggest Pleasure as an Author?
As a writer, nothing has quite topped the feeling that I get when I finish writing a book. Seeing my book in print for the first time, well that’s a close second. Every day we get little pieces of heaven from our writing projects. Whether it’s gaining a new follower, a pleasant comment about our work or even just a retweet or mention can sometimes make our day.
As writers, we don’t often see monetary rewards, which I think is sometimes a good thing. How often in life do we get pleasure out of...
February 11, 2013
The Writer/Reader: A Jekyll and Hyde Character
I wondered for days why people wouldn’t want to buy a story that was only 99 cents. Even when you go to the Dollar Store and buy an item that lasts only 5 minutes, you still don’t feel cheated, so why would someone hesitate to buy a 99 cent book?
It’s not the money…is it the time?
Picture this. You’re an avid reader. You’ve had a long week at work and you just can’t wait to sit down to a chilled glass of wine and a good book. Friday night approaches and you get into your jammies, get the kids t...
