Jamie Arpin-Ricci's Blog, page 12

And We Have A Winner!

I’m excited to announce that Andrew Mugford has won the giveaway for “The Last Verdict”. The contest reached nearly 7000 people, with nearly 700 likes from all over the world.

I’ve never done a book giveaway like this before, but it was a lot of fun! I also learned a lot too. If you saw post, you might wonder at the numbers: 7000 reached, 700 likes, 70 shares. While we’d expect to see fewer likes than the number reached, why were there shares so much lower?

Well, in truth, they weren’t. What...

How Important Is The Author Website?

Whether you are self-publishing your book or going through the traditional publishing world, the responsibility market your own book has never been greater. In fact, one of the most common mistakes new authors make in a traditional publishing deal is to leave the majority of the marketing for their book to the publisher. While they will have reach and resources you won’t have, they are not going to give your book the time, attention and resources you would expect. Most publishing houses put t...

Writing & Targeted Marketing – Experiment #1

While I have published books through traditional publishing, I have been dipping my toes into the world of self-publishing with the release of my new novella, “The Last Verdict”. When you publish your own title, the hard work of marketing becomes fully your responsibility. (I say “fully” because even with traditional publishing, a significant portion of the marketing responsibility still falls to the author.) To that end, I decided to try some targeted Facebook ads. Here is how it went:

I sta...

Looking For A Good Book For The Weekend?

I am thrilled to let you know that “The Last Verdict” Kindle ebook edition is now available at all international Amazon sites. If you are looking for something to read over this Easter weekend, I cannot more highly recommend this story.

What would you do if your child was murdered?
What would you do if your child was convicted of murder?

Alice Goodman has known great loss. Since the brutal murder of her daughter Madeline decades earlier, she has tirelessly fought to see the killer pay for h...

Working With Cover Designer For Your Book

One of the most important element of any book is the front cover (see my post on the topic here). This is especially important for self-published titles because nothing sets you apart (in a bad way) like a poorly designed cover. Too many new authors think they can save money by designing the cover art themselves, or asking a friend or family member to do it. With very few exceptions (and they are usually when those involved are professional designers), this approach fails. The best book in th...

Blessed Are Those Who Mourn – Four Years Later

The following post was written on March 21st, 2012, the day after my friend, Matthew Puckett, was killed by the state of Mississippi. The last thing asked of me before he died was that we wouldn’t hate, but instead work to end the system that was set to kill him. “Make them care” was his final request, which is why I wrote “The Last Verdict”. I wrote the following words the day after Matt left us, but they ring true today.

Yesterday, my friend Matthew Puckett was executed by the state of Mis...

The Vulnerable Writer

There is a brilliant scene in one of my favorite movies “The Big Kahuna”, where Phil (played by Danny Devito), a seasoned marketing rep for an industrial lubricant company, is talking to his young, zealously religious colleague, Bob (played by Peter Facinelli). Phil is explaining to Bob the nature of having character after having an upsetting conflict with their co-worker, Larry (Kevin Spacey). The conflict was caused by Bob who, failing to pitch to a major client, instead talked to him about...

A Free Gift For You!

Yesterday was a big day for me, as “The Last Verdict” finally went live. If you haven’t heard about the book yet, check out the launch page here. However, today’s post is not about the book- well, not directly. Instead, to celebrate the launch of the book, I want to offer you all a free gift: an exclusive ebook supplement to “The Last Verdict” that includes:

An interview with Ray Krone: Ray is a death penalty abolitionist and the 100th inmate to be exonerated from death row since the death se...

When A Good Story Is Not Enough

There is nothing quite like a good story. As I mentioned in the last post, there are many writers who are fantastic story tellers and so, despite less proficiency as writers from a literary standpoint, they still manage to find success through their skill at crafting compelling tales. You don’t have to be a literary master to come up with a good story.

However, don’t misunderstand what this means. It does not mean that your amazing story idea will give you a pass on bad, sloppy or lazy writin...

The Clues To A Great Story – Andrew Stanton

At the heart of good writing is story telling. In fact, the latter is often more important than the former. I’ve read my novels by mediocre writers in the literary sense of the word, but their great capacity to craft and communicate stories won be over. In this great TED Talk, filmmaker Andrew Stanton (of “Toy Story” and “WALL-E” fame), gives us a glimpse into the heart of great stories:

What did you learn from this video? What makes for great stories in your opinion?

As always, be sure to...