Jason Matthews's Blog, page 25

KDP Select for Amazon Kindle Exclusive Authors

KDP Select has just been created for Amazon Kindle authors who are willing to have their ebooks be exclusively available on Amazon. Authors who participate must keep their ebooks in the program for at least 90 days to be eligible for a rewards sharing bonus through the Kindle Owners Lending Library and can earn a share of the $6 million fund in a year's time. Both Indie authors or those traditionally published can enter a single book or multiple titles, but they can't distribute them elsewhere as ebooks. They can, however, sell them elsewhere as paperbacks. December's monthly fund is $500,000. KDP Select just launched today with many top authors already enrolled including; J. Carson Black, Gemma Halliday, J.A. Konrath, B.V. Larson, C.J. Lyons, Scott Nicholson, Julie Ortolon, Theresa Ragan, J.R. Rain and Patricia Ryan.

The way it works sounds similar to how some waiters "pool their tips" in that the greater sales for the whole group creates greater money for each individual although there are ratios involved and not every author makes the same bonus. Amazon monitors the proceeds from the collective revenues of the group and then distributes the extra money made to all participating authors with a sharing percentage factored in.

From the press release; The monthly royalty payment for each KDP Select book is based on that book's share of the total number of borrows of all participating KDP books in the Kindle Owners' Lending Library. For example, if total borrows of all participating KDP Select books are 100,000 in December and an author's book was borrowed 1,500 times, they will earn $7,500 in additional royalties from KDP Select in December. Amazon expects the fund to be at least $6 million for all of 2012, in addition to the $500,000 allocated for December 2011. Enrolled titles will remain available for sale to any customer in the Kindle Store and authors will continue to earn their regular royalties on those sales…. …With KDP Select, authors and publishers will also have access to a new set of promotional tools, starting with the option to promote their enrolled titles for free for up to five days every 90 days.

Have to admit, it sounds pretty tempting. But what if an author already has multiple titles for sale at Barnes & Noble, Apple iTunes, Smashwords, Sony, Kobo and other retailers? Those authors will certainly be reluctant to pull their ebooks from those shelves. And how might Barnes & Noble and Apple respond? Probable there are some intense board room meetings happening right now to counter attack this effort from Amazon to further dominate the market. It wouldn't surprise me if other retailers come up with a similar fund-sharing scheme or some new ideas altogether.

Feels like the battle for ebook supremacy just went into overdrive and makes me very interested to know how the others will respond.

More from Amazon on this announcement at their site;

Reach a new audience – Distribute books through the Kindle Owners' Lending Library and reach the growing number of US Amazon Prime members.
Earn a whole new source of royalties – Earn your share of $500,000 in December and at least $6 million throughout 2012 when readers borrow your books from the Kindle Owners' Lending Library.
Promote your book for free to readers worldwide – The newly launched Promotions Manager tool will allow you to directly control the promotion of free books.
Instant feedback – Check real-time performance of your books in the Kindle Owners' Lending Library.

For Indie authors who want to enroll in KDP Select: You can enroll existing books by visiting the bookshelf. You'll be able to enroll a single book or easily enroll multiple books at the same time.

In my opinion, this makes the most sense for authors introducing new titles. New books can be enrolled during the publishing process. Simply select the "Enroll this book in KDP Select" option and proceed to publish the book as you normally would.

Interested? Visit the website at http://kdp.amazon.com or get more info at http://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/KDPSelect.

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Biblio Connection Passion for Books Social Site

Biblio Connection is a great site for anyone with a passion for books. It's literally brand new, launched less than a month ago on November 13th of 2011, and quickly gaining members comprised of readers and authors doing what they do–sharing the love of the written word.

Their mission: Biblio Connection is a social community for collectors of antiquarian, rare, first edition and signed books, and all book lovers alike. Our goal is to connect and encourage interaction between readers, authors, book sellers and collectors… By connecting bibliophiles–collectors, readers, authors and sellers–the experience is truly enhanced. Collectors can post listings in the classifieds, locate, trade and find information about books. Authors can introduce their latest works, post listings and participate in giveaways. Sellers can network with readers and collectors. Maybe you offer specific restoration, binding or location services that may be useful to collectors. The various features provide all book lovers a way to share the passion.

It's designed to be so much more than just a place to talk about what you're reading. It's the site for everything related to books under one roof.

For Indie authors interested in promotion, simply fill out a Featured Bookseller Application.

You can meet people like Mark Cotter, co-founder of Yeoman's in the Fork, a rare book and document gallery located in historic Leiper's Fork, TN. Mike has over a decade of experience and has been featured on several TV spots including regular appearances on Discovery Channel's hit show, Auction Kings.

There are posts written by featured authors, like Eileen Schuh and yours truly, discussing the ins and outs of the publishing business as well as tips for self-publishing.

Sections of the site are dedicated to forums and even classified ads to go along with the expert articles. They're also developing a Just 4 Fun zone with giveaways, book quizzes and quotes by authors. Members can join existing groups and even create their own. I just started a group for Indie authors and readers who support them called I Love Indie Books. Feel free to join the group and post links to your own books or Indie works that you enjoy.

I'm impressed by the unique things Biblio Connection is doing as a social media venue. Remember, since the site is less than a month old, now's the best time to become a member and contribute at the ground level. As new members join, your forum posts and articles will be the first things people see.

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Kindle Italy and Kindle Spain, Amazon Europe Expansion Continues

Kindle expansion in Europe continues with the latest additions of Amazon Italy and Amazon Spain. My KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) report now shows sales for the new comers with designations of amazon.it and .es to go along with .com, .uk, .fr and .de (Germany). It's also in Japan with .co.jp as the suffix. Coming soon to a nation near you.

How to check if my Kindle ebooks are already available in these countries? Simply find your book's URL, like this one for example – http://www.amazon.com/Make-Market-Sell-Ebooks-ebook/dp/B003CJU49I/ and change the dot com to the appropriate country suffix, like Italy's and the link becomes http://www.amazon.it/Make-Market-Sell-Ebooks-ebook/dp/B003CJU49I/. That works for all countries where Amazon exists. Keeps it easy.

As an American Indie author, what do I need to do to make my books appear on Amazon at all these other nations? Absolutely nothing. That's the best part. The retailer automatically takes care of this so if your book is not showing up, contact customer support at KDP Publishing right away.

If you live in another country and write in English, then your books should be made available everywhere Amazon exists. If you write in a language other than English, then probably not.

Last I checked, Italians speak Italian and Spaniards speak Spanish; why would they want to read my English language Kindle book? Many won't of course, but some will as English is the most common second language on Earth with over 600 million non-native speakers, some of whom also read English.

What's the chance of sales in other countries if my book is written in English? Well, sales likely won't be great. My sales in France and Germany have been rather dismal, but they have occurred. Even my sales in the UK are pathetic compared to those for the US so it might be a matter of time to "break in" to another country.

This is why I love Amazon so much. This company has done more for Indie authors than any other retailer. They give 70% royalties to the author (provided your ebook is priced $2.99 to $9.99), they take care of all transactions and make direct deposits to bank accounts, and they continually expand and offer our books to readers all over the world.

Now I'll just keep my fingers crossed for that first sale in Italy or Spain.

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LibraryThing for Book Lovers and Indie Authors

Indie authors, do you know about LibraryThing? It's a social networking site specifically for book lovers. It's also a place for authors to present their books, although self-promotion is frowned upon so keep it on the down low. Simply having a presence there may be all you want as far as promotions goes.

From their website;

LibraryThing helps you create a library-quality catalog of books: books you own, books you've read, books you'd like to read, books you've lent out … whatever grouping you'd like.

Since everyone catalogs online, they also catalog together. You can contribute tags, ratings and reviews for a book, and Common Knowledge (facts about a book or author, like character names and awards), as well as participate in member forums or join the Early Reviewers program. Everyone gets the benefit of everyone else's work. LibraryThing connects people based on the books they share.

Yes, it's one more place to list your books, but this one feels smart since it claims 1.4 million book loving members or the world's largest book club (not sure if that claim is substantiated). You can also link your books to their Amazon page.

Sign-up is free and easy. Then you can add books to your bookshelf or catalog, which can be done with book title or ISBN in the search box. If it doesn't appear, books can be added manually. LibraryThing gets its book data from Amazon.com and over 700 libraries around the world, including the Library of Congress. When adding your own titles, make sure to load up on smart tags that will help browsers find it with search terms.

All users can have their own profile, which can be set to public or private status. Lists of favorite reads, authors, your library and more can be in the profile. Authors have a special yellow button (right) designating their status as members who've also published books. To apply for Author status, visit the LibraryThing Author page for more information. I literally signed up today and was already approved for my Author Page, which you can see if you like.

There's a lot to do at the site: see a list of the hottest reads, check reviews from others, do chat forums, join groups, find free books and even links to bookstores in your area. Since the site is more geared for talking about books than promoting your own, it's probably best for book lovers or for authors just to participate in the dialogue. However, it's also smart to make sure the books you have authored are listed there for others to browse.

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oDesk, Online Indie Author Assistance and more

For Indie authors who could use help with cover design, interior formatting, marketing or a variety of related aspects to the e-publishing business, oDesk is one place to look. While this blog generally focuses on doing everything possible for free to sell ebooks and paperbacks, there is an epilogue called Cheating With Money for certain authors and times where it makes sense to hire out. Although the Cheating With Money chapter could easily morph into an entire book all its own, oDesk will be added to the next updated version (January 2012) of How to Make, Market and Sell Ebooks All for Free.

What is oDesk? It's a free to join, online community of business owners and subcontractors who can connect and work together. Jobs can be large or small, full-time or just an hour. Professionals in web development, software, muti-media, mobile web, sales & marketing, translation, administrative support, general office and much more can be listed for both job opportunities and employment wanted. oDesk takes a 10% cut on every job, so factor that into the equation if you're looking for work.

Business owners looking for help can post jobs and receive contacts from perspective workers with resumes, examples, references, etc. There are tons of people out there so don't be surprised to receive dozens of replies in little time. Many of the candidates who do the work are not from the US, which often keeps the prices extremely competitive (low). Pay can be hourly or fixed price. There are feedback ratings similar to eBay for both parties and even a screenshot of the people working every 10 minutes on your project to keep things on the up and up.

Here are some keywords many writers might use to find help at the site: editor, illustrator, designer, photoshop, graphic artist, e-book, copywriter, marketer, book cover design, logos, e-commerce, internet marketing, SEO and more. I personally haven't used oDesk, but my wife got some complex photo graphics assistance for an ebook cover for $20, which she was very happy with. (Notice she didn't even ask me first, but that's another story.) Tips from customers include things like this:

hire people with more experience and reviews when possible, though some newbies can be great
have the details very specific before making an agreement
good English speaking skills are a plus (assuming you speak English)
if time-frames are limited, working with someone in a similar time-zone helps
using Skype can help bunches
don't work with people with multiple accounts, who might give you a runaround
stick with good workers and move on from bad ones (this is kinda obvious)

For people who are looking for work, simply sign up through the Find Work page and fill out the forms. Answers to several dozen questions can be found at their FAQ's page.

This oDesk looks like a pretty smart place for certain jobs. The main ones Indie authors often inquire about are cover design and formatting. My guess is oDesk will have plenty of specialists in those fields. Smashwords also has a list of cover designers and formatting help that can be had by emailing list@smashwords.com.

If any readers have experience using oDesk, we'd love to hear about it in the comments section.

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Free Ebook Experiment, Indie Author Desperation or Savvy Business?

[image error]Giving away a free ebook draws varied and often strong opinions from authors. In writing forums, pricing arguments inevitably arise about the author's hard work, a book's worth, piracy, devaluation, the digital media evolution, traditional publishing versus Indie and more. Many authors insist books should absolutely not be given away for free, that readers only value books which are priced at a proper monetary amount. While it may be easy to see the immediate pros and cons of giving away free ebooks, my approach has always been on the positives that can result so it's my belief that good things can rise from the freebie experiment, especially for authors with great stories and plenty of them. (Please note; this is not a one-size-fits-all approach to pricing, especially for authors who currently have just one or even two books for sale. For others, the free ebook experiment can be a boost to their ultimate goals and might be considered.)

Why would anyone give something away for free when it clearly has value? Why pay for the cow when the milk is free? There are three primary reasons, in my opinion.

1. Perhaps the reason nobody can deny is this–people love free stuff and an author can instantly get her/his name out there. Readers download free ebooks by the hundreds to thousands, especially if a buzz gets going. Those who download freebies don't always read it immediately, as their Kindles, Nooks and tablets are likely full of such books, but they do download them. It is definitely a way to get an author's name seen by thousands of readers in a short time. (Word of caution–make sure the writing is excellent and the book free of typos to help the reviews stay on the positive side.)

I've done this with three titles. Years ago I experimented in my first giveaway with The Little Universe, a full length novel that normally sells for $2.99 as an ebook and $10.79 as paperback. The giveaway was hosted at one of my websites in pdf format. Over 10,000 downloads occurred, the initial response causing my web-host to demand more allocated bandwidth to the site or allow it to crash from overuse. I opted for more bandwidth but pulled the project after three months thinking enough freebies had been released. (In hindsight, might have been wise to allow another 10,000 downloads, as it only resulted in about six unsolicited reviews and just a slight increase in sales.) However, the point was made to me that freebies get downloaded by the bunches and hopefully hundreds to thousands of new readers are exposed to the writing.

2. Another reason is to upsell. If an author has multiple books and/or short stories, why not give some of the shorts or even the first novel away to get readers interested in the others. Many will finish a book and think, Great story, loved the writing–what else does this author have? That's when the hyperlinks appear for those paid stories in the Other Books By The Author section.

This was an obvious choice for a very short, 1,200 word bedtime story of mine, Shep Dreams Of Home. It was a perfect candidate to gift for free with upselling in mind. To my great surprise, over 2,500 downloads happened in just two weeks once the short story became available for free. Even more surprising, after that two week period, Amazon reverted the price back to 99 cents. The obvious happened; the downloads came to a grinding halt. Why did Amazon revert it back to 99 cents? I have no idea, and now there's less chance for upselling from happy readers as it's tough to sell bedtime stories at 99 cents. Since it is still available for free at Barnes & Noble, Smashwords and iTunes, perhaps Amazon will soon allow it to be free again per their low price match guarantee.

3. A third reason is for another motive, one which may not be apparent from the free ebook. This might be sending traffic to a website, or it might be something like generating interest in a television or film project about the story. In my experience, two skiing related stories are perfect for this, and one has just recently been listed for free on Amazon. It's called Extreme Skiing and Psychedelic Mushrooms: The Art of Chasing Fear. In just a few days it's been downloaded over 600 times even though it feels like a niche subject to me. Originally, this story and a screenplay called Minor Extremes were written in the interest of making films, both shorts and full features. Although James Cameron still hasn't called with a film deal, it's nice knowing that hundreds of readers are now downloading this story.

Logistics. Some bright students might be asking, How do I make my Kindle ebook free on Amazon when they have a 99 cent lower price limit? Well done, Grasshopper. The solution awaits in price matching at other venues. Retailers like Smashwords are perfect for uploading free ebooks and even distributing them to other sellers like Barnes & Noble and Apple iBookstore. Once the book is available for free at those other sites, Amazon robots will eventually match price with their guarantee. Readers may even report the book with the Tell Us About A Lower Price link.

As said in the opening paragraph, this approach to pricing ebooks may not be wise (or desirable) for every Indie author, but it does make sense to some.

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Indie Author Charlotte Abel, Enchantment and More

One of the perks to my job is meeting great new authors, like Charlotte Abel. Reading entire books from all these people is out of the question, as time is limited and books abound, so occasionally I'll pick a new book based on the premise, the author and just a hunch. Usually it's something along the lines of my typical genres, but sometimes not. That's how it was with Enchantment by Charlotte Abel, and it's a good thing a chance was taken. Enchantment  is a delightful story, beautifully written and fun for a broad range of readers. YA lovers will definitely eat this one up and crave for more from Abel. (Available as ebook and paperback.)

The talented author took some time to answer my questions, which I'd like to share below.

Charlotte, how long have you been writing, and did you always know you'd be an author?

I first considered writing as a career back in high school when a few of my angst-riddled short stories and poems were published in an anthology. I've had many careers since then, but I never quite managed to shake the desire to write.

Decades later, after reading a certain young adult paranormal romance series — and throwing the final book against the wall in frustration — I started imagining how I might have finished the series if I'd written it. That's when I serendipitously discovered fan fiction and (gasp) decided to give it a try. It's my dirty little double "eff" secret … real writers don't write fan fiction. But I'm so glad I did. That's where Enchantment's fan base started and I'm still getting new readers from that story.

My intention was to write a twenty-thousand word novella to find some closure with this series, but I ended up writing a 200,000 word opus that has taken on a life of its own. After it won a couple of awards, including "best original plot" and received over 2,000 reviews, I decided to get serious about writing my own completely original fiction.

I bought and read every "how to write" book I could get my hands on, submitted a writing sample to a juried workshop, bought a laptop and converted the guest room into an office. I write, or do writing related things such as this interview, at least eight hours a day.

Where can we find this fan fiction of yours?

I'd much rather direct new readers to "Enchantment" and hope LSaTYLF (that's only hint you're getting) fades away quietly into obscurity. I'm very proud of the plot, but the writing is first draft material and amateurish. As fan fiction, it's pretty good, but it'd never stand up as a professional product. I'd love to pull the story, but people are still reading it and I can't imagine the outrage if it disappeared before they finished. These are the kind of impassioned and loyal readers every author dreams of finding and I want to take good care of them — I also don't want to piss anyone off. (One reader sent me a death threat for killing a major character.)

Seriously, a death threat? I wish my writing was that good, or maybe not. Besides Enchantment, what other books or stories have you written, and what are your current projects?

When I finished the fan fiction story, I began work on "Shattered," a novel about the son of a wealthy industrialist who gets lost in the Sawatch mountains and falls in love with a member of an eco-terrorist cult. It was ninety percent done when I took a break to attend the workshop. I learned more in that single week than I did studying on my own for two years. I also realized that if I ever wanted to publish "Shattered," I needed to start over and rewrite it from the beginning, using the original story as a 150,000 word outline.

I shoved "Shatte red" onto the back burner and expanded the short story I wrote during the workshop into a novel. That story is now "Enchantment" and the first book of a three part series. "Shattered" is still on hiatus waiting for me to finish "The Channie Series" and another, as yet untitled, paranormal series.

Cool, you have another series planned?

Sort of. I was tossing story ideas around with my publicist just for the fun of it. She latched onto one of them and insisted I bump it to the top of my "to be written" list since there's a ground swell of interest building around this type of story. (Sorry, I can't say more about it, but she'd kill me if I shared her research).

Understandable. Publicists can be dangerous that way. Enchantment is full of magic. Has that subject always interested you? Where do you get your ideas for magic, and how did that evolve?

I might have subconsciously used magic as a metaphor while writing "Enchantment." Romantic attachments have the power to both heal and destroy. Pure love can purge selfishness from even the most self-centered and immature soul, inspiring great acts of courage and sacrifice. But obsession or lust can turn sane people into raving lunatics that don't care who they hurt as long as they get their way.

It's hard to say where my ideas come from (including the previous paragraph) but most of my stories start with a vague idea of a character. As they take on a life of their own, so does the plot. There seems to be a recurring theme of free will versus fate in every story I write, but I'm not sure why. It must be something I need to work on in my own life.

Interesting you say that; I find many of the issues in my novels are also things that need to be learned in my life. Might be our way of working through personal discovery… So tell me, what is your writing process? Do you outline or just start writing?

I've always written by the seat of my pants until I started working on "Finding Valor." I thought it would be faster if I outlined it so I could avoid all the winding paths my characters insist I take, leading me away from the main story. The jury's still out on whether or not that's working.

Your interests include being outdoorsy and also archery! How do you like life in Colorado?

I love Colorado, especially the weather. Two days ago I was riding my bike wearing a t-shirt and shorts. Today, there's about five inches of snow on the ground. The weekend forecast has us back up to sixty degrees on Saturday. The only thing we lack is an ocean.

[image error]As far as archery goes, target practice has to wait until I attend OJAM at my parent's farm in Oklahoma every spring. The neighbors tend to complain when I sling arrows in my suburban backyard, even though I hardly ever miss the backdrop behind the target.

I could see that making for nervous neighbors. So, how did you decide to become an Indie author?

At first I wanted to go the traditional route. I went to a writers' conference and pitched "Enchantment" to an agent. She loved the story but insisted I cut my 145,000 word manuscript to 75,000 words. I went home, cut the heart out of the story and got it down to 85,000 words. But when I went to her website three months later, it was "down." I was devastated. I assume she left the business.

I started researching other options on the internet. When I learned how much marketing and self-promotion a new author was expected to do on their own, even with an agent and a traditional publishing house, I couldn't see the value of signing a contract. Not at this stage of my career. Anyway … once I decided to go indie, I rewrote Enchantment, gave it a new heart, a riskier, but more powerful ending and designed the cover myself. I was able to keep creative control right where I like it — with me.

Since I published it as an ebook, I was also able to keep my costs low and pass that savings on to my readers. No paper, no ink, no shipping. Within a month I had enough requests for a print edition that it was worth the effort to reformat everything, including the cover. I'm glad I did it. Signed copies make great prizes for contests and are a nice thank you gift for loyal readers that help promote the book.

Who do you see as your primary audience?

My logical audience should be teens and women ages fifteen to early twenties, but I'm surprised — actually, I'm shocked — by the number of men that love the book. I set out to write a young adult paranormal romance, but the book seems to have a much wider appeal. (Not that I'm complaining).

Hey, I fit that description. If you could cast the movie for Enchantment and recommend characters, who would you choose?

I had more fun (and difficulty) with this question than any other I've ever been asked about  "Enchantment." After hours of online research, I appealed to my readers over at GoodReads. The consensus seems to be Logan Lerman or Drake Bell for Josh and Dakota Fanning for Channie. But considering the time it takes to convert a book into a movie, I think most of the potential cast are still in diapers.

Here's the list I came up with …

Josh: David Herman (I met him at the Dacono track last year while researching BMX racing, after creating Josh's character sketch. The resemblance was amazing … everything from his physical appearance to his boyish charm and amazing bike handling skills was spot-on perfect. Too bad he's an elite athlete instead of an actor!) But

Channie: Gabriella Wilde

Hunter: Louis Hunter

Eric:

Kassie: AnnaSophia Robb

Momma:

Daddy:

Aunt Wisdom:

Abby: ????

Diego: Taylor Lautner (If he can pull off a Spanish accent)

Courage, Zeal, and Savvy: This one is tough, probably need one kid to play all three parts but with child labor laws …

Love it. Enchantment has just been out a few months, and it looks to be doing well with readers. What's the secret to its success?

I wish I knew so I could I be sure to apply it to the sequel. Writing a "good" book that connects with readers on an emotional level is essential. It doesn't have to be prize winning prose but it needs to be written from the heart. If the author doesn't love the story, and especially the characters, neither will anyone else.

How do you market your books and what avenues have you found to be the most rewarding?

I hired a publicist. In today's market, it's more important to have someone who understands how to use social media to promote a book than to have a traditional agent or publisher that doesn't. I love connecting with readers on Twitter and GoodReads. I sent a signed paperback to someone I met on GoodReads and she just announced that she bought a display case for the book. Now that's rewarding! (I'm still grinning like a possum in a hen house.)

What are your hopes for the future?

I want to live long enough to write all the stories bouncing around inside my head. I also want to spend a couple of months in Hawaii researching the setting for my next series, but I'll settle for a couple of weeks.

Like the way you operate, Charlotte, and we'll keep an eye out for future successes. Thanks for your time. More about Charlotte can be found at her blog site – http://charlotteabel.blogspot.com/.

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Click here for the home page of How to Make, Market and Sell Ebooks All for Free.
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WAE Network for Writers, Agents and Editors

WAE Network is so brand new there's not much to say except try and get on the free list before 1,000 newbies sign up. All it takes is an email and to wait patiently for the site to be finished. Could be hours, could be weeks, really not sure.

From their site: WAE Network is the first Social Network for Writers, Agents & Editors. Join WAENET.com for the opportunity to interact with agents and editors like never before! The first 1000 people to sign up for the launch and Share with their friends below will receive a FREE lifetime membership! The number of shares is below next the plus sign. You will receive an email with your membership details once the site is launched.

Earlier today the counter showed 382 sign-ups, which means just 618 left. The thought of a good dedicated site for Indie authors to rub cyber-elbows with agents and editors sounds good to me. Hurry and sign up, could be fun!

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Indie Books Blog, Authors Get Featured

Indie Books Blog is a great site for authors to submit books and for readers to find new talent. Started back in June of 2010 by author, Scott Nicholson, an extremely productive indie in his own right, the blog markets his books as well as hundreds of others, typically featuring a new author and book each calendar day. One of the nice things about the self-publishing community is the widespread concept of helping each other, like the spirit of a rising tide lifting all boats. This site accomplishes that. Readers are always looking for new books, often undiscovered gems, and so the indie community benefits both readers and its authors by sharing the works of everyone.

Of course, not all of the books are terrific. To be blunt, some indie books are plain awful, which is a common complaint in places like Amazon Kindle forums. But there are many diamonds to be found among the rough. Scott puts it this way at his site; "Since I don't have time to read and review a ton of books, this blog is more of a central showcase where you can meet new authors, learn about new releases, and get some links to learn more about the work or author if you are interested. While minimal attempts will be made to vet content, each writer must stand alone, and each reader must make a wise choice of whether or not to purchase."

Interested in being featured on the site? Authors need only complete a simple 4-answer questionnaire and include cover art, bio and product description. Full details can be found at the Get Featured page. They also have a Twitter account to see updates on new features – http://twitter.com/#!/indiebooksblog.

Sounds good to me. Think it's time to see if they'll feature The Little Universe and find out if it brings any new readers.

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BookNutter for Readers and Authors

BookNutter is all about books, devoted to avid Book Nutts (readers). It's a fairly new site and seems to be growing rapidly. The list of members has doubled in just the time since I joined, so could be a great place to discuss new books and even promote your own (no spamming of course). You'll find everything there from Twilight to the latest from Indie authors. There are general discussion forums, book reviews, interviews with authors, even a page for poetry and more.

For Indies who'd like to submit a book to the site, there's a handy BookNutter Book Submission form to fill out, a few boxes with the usual suspects: book title, description, URL and also Tweet Content, Keywords, Amazon URL and Additional URLs, which is a nice feature for getting links out there. (Smart to fill those with Barnes & Noble, Apple, Smashwords links, etc.)

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Click here for the home page of How to Make, Market and Sell Ebooks All for Free.

Subscribe to this blog for updates on what Indie authors can do to sell ebooks.

add me to your Google Plus circles.



+Jason Matthews

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