S.W. Hubbard's Blog: Reading & Writing with S.W. Hubbard, page 6

Powered by Indie: A Mystery Author’s Indie Publishing Journey

Indie publishing gave me back my writing career.

In 2006, Pocket Books, a division of Simon and Schuster, dropped its paperback mystery line and I found myself without a publisher. I wasn’t too alarmed. After all, I had beaten the odds by getting published once. I could surely do it again.

So I wrote a romantic thriller called Another Man’s Treasure about an estate sale organizer who, while cleaning out a client’s attic, finds a tantalizing clue to her mother’s long ago disappearance…with deadly results.

My literary agent sent it around to all the big New York publishers. Every editor who read it loved it. The manuscript went up the food chain at every publishing house but ultimately met with the same rejection: we don't know how to market this book. It's not romantic enough to be a romance. There aren't enough serial killers and car chases for it to be a thriller. Although the protagonist is an estate sale organizer and has a dog, it's too dark to be a cozy.

We don't know how to find readers for this.

I had written the kind of novel I love to read: a twisty plot, fully human characters, a touch of humor. Surely there were other readers like me. I’d just have to find them.

So I decided to publish it myself. My agent said, “You'll see. This will never work.”

But what did I have to lose?

So in 2012 I published Another Man's Treasure with Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (and the paperback through Create Space). Slowly but surely, I found readers for my novel. I found them on Facebook and Twitter and Pinterest and GoodReads. I found them on BookBub and Ereader News Today and scrolling through Amazon. I found them at book groups and library talks. I found middle-aged women just like me who are looking for a strong female character who solves her own problems. They love Audrey because she has friends and family and a career and a dog named Ethel. But she also has problems: she misunderstands her father, she clashes with her boyfriend, she worries about her employees, and she struggles to get along with her in-laws. In other words, she's totally relatable. Also, she solves murders ☺

Since 2012, Another Man's Treasure and its two sequels, Treasure of Darkness and This Bitter Treasure have been downloaded nearly a quarter of a million times. I’ve made more money from these books than from any of my traditionally published books. And I’ve had the satidfaction of controlling my own destiny. When a marketing technique works, I keep doing it. When a technique fails, I try something new.

Thank you, traditional publishing for rejecting me. Thank you, Amazon for bringing me in contact with my tribe, my devoted readers. I'm proud to be #poweredbyindie.

Powered by Indie: A Mystery Author’s Indie Publishing Journey

Indie publishing gave me back my writing career. In 2006, Pocket Books, a division of Simon and Schuster, dropped its paperback mystery line and I found myself without a publisher. I wasn’t too alarmed. After all, I had beaten the odds by getting published once. I could surely do it again. So I wrote a […]

The post Powered by Indie: A Mystery Author’s Indie Publishing Journey appeared first on SWHubbard.

Crime Fiction Review: The Long and Faraway Gone

The Long and Faraway Gone by Lou Berney My rating: 5 of 5 stars This 2016 Edgar Award winner is all about the six degrees of separation that link us all, and the sudden flashes of insight that bring the past into focus. Lou Berney writes about Oklahoma City, a big city that’s really just […]

The post Crime Fiction Review: The Long and Faraway Gone appeared first on SWHubbard.

Crime Fiction Review: JAR CITY

Jar City by Arnaldur Indriðason My rating: 4 of 5 stars It’s refreshing to read a short, straightforward mystery–no flowery descriptions, no long diversions into the detective’s tormented psyche, no flipping back and forth between different points of view and different time frames. Yes, good old-fashioned police procedural mysteries still exist! Our hero has a […]

The post Crime Fiction Review: JAR CITY appeared first on SWHubbard.

New audiobook of Another Man’s Treasure

   I’m so excited to announce the launch of my first audiobook! Another Man’s Treasure is now available on iTunes, Amazon and Audible.Turning my baby over to another artist to let her interpret my work was exciting, but a little scary. I was so fortunate to work with the fabulous actor and voice artist, Janelle […]

The post New audiobook of Another Man’s Treasure appeared first on SWHubbard.

New Audiobook of ANOTHER MAN'S TREASURE

I'm thrilled to announce that the audiobook version of Another Man's Treasure is now available on Amazon,Audible, and iTunes. The book is narrated by the fabulous actor and voice artist, Janelle Tedesco, and she really brings Audrey, Ty, Jill and the rest of the characters to life. Even if you've already read the book, listening to it is an entirely different pleasure. If you're not an Audible member, try a FREE trial membership and make ANOTHER MAN'S TREASURE you're first pick. You can't go wrong! Here's a link:
http://www.audible.com/pd/Mysteries-T...

Crime Fiction Book Review: The Last Girl

The Last Girl by Jane Casey My rating: 3 of 5 stars I wanted to like this more than I did. The Maeve Kerrigan series is a British police procedural with a female protagonist, so it should be up my alley. I read an earlier book in the series, THE RECKONING, and liked it well […]

The post Crime Fiction Book Review: The Last Girl appeared first on SWHubbard.

FREE Short Story: MAD BLOOD

"I only poked her a little bit, but there was mad blood everywhere."

I read those words in a New York Times article about inmates who make incriminating statements while talking on the pay phones in Riker's Island, the infamous jail in New York City. Who was this man? Who did he "poke" and why? What was his definition of "a little bit"? And what happened after the mad blood was spilled? To answer those questions in my own mind, I wrote the short story "Mad Blood".

The story first appeared in the Mystery Writers of America anthology, The Mystery Writers of America Presents The Mystery Box. With its themes of domestic abuse and children left to their own defenses, the story is darker than much of my work, but the characters I've created here, 12-year-old Trent and his little sister Ducky, are among my favorites.

I love this story and I want to share it with my fans. When you join my mailing list, you'll receive a link that allows you to download the story FREE in the format of your choice: Kindle, Nook, iPad, Kobo, Sony or Android. Or read it right on your computer--it's short. Sorry, no print version is available.

Follow this link to get your story: FREE Short Story

Audiobook of Another Man's Treasure is in the Works

Great news! I'm working of the audiobook version of Another Man's Treasure, which will be available on Audible and iTunes. This is my first foray into audio, and I'm enjoying the process of auditioning narrators. It's fascinating to hear how different voice artists interpret the same passage from the book. I've had nine auditions submitted, and I'm continuing to search for the perfect voice to bring Audrey to life: not too slow, not too melodramatic, just a touch ironic. I've also learned that I now have a new responsibility. Instead of searching for typos, I'll be searching for mangled pronunciation. FYI actors: "eau de cologne" is pronounced "oh deh" not "eeew dee". Do you enjoy listening to audiobooks? What do you think makes a great narrator? Any pet peeves?

Best Kindle Unlimited Mysteries

Are you looking for the best Kindle Unlimited mysteries to read? Separating the winners from the duds can be difficult, so I've started a list of well-reviewed mysteries that you can read FREE with your Kindle Unlimited subscription. Also, if you're an Amazon Prime member, you can "borrow" these mysteries FREE one at a time. But even if you aren't a KU subscriber, these are all great, reasonably priced mysteries. I've read many of these Kindle Unlimited mysteries myself, and I only add titles that are rated 4-star and above. There's something for everyone here: light and funny, legal thrillers, private eye, and police procedurals. This isn't an exhaustive list of Kindle Unlimited mysteries, so if you have a favorite that you don't see on the list, please comment here and I'll consider adding it. Of course, my own two mystery series, The Palmyrton Estate Sale Mysteries and the Frank Bennett Adirondack Mysteries are available on Kindle Unlimited. If you enjoyed them, please check out the work of these other fine mystery authors:
Kindle Unlimited Mysteries by S.W. Hubbard
Another Man's Treasure
Treasure of Darkness
This Bitter Treasure
The Lure
Blood Knot
Dead Drift

Kindle Unlimited Mysteries by other authors
Advice Column Mysteries by Roberta Isleib
Joe Dillard Legal Thriller Series by Scott Pratt
Tubby Dubonnet Series by Tony Dunbar
The Ellie Foreman Mysteries by Libby Fischer Hellman
The Skip Langdon Series by Julie Smith
Blanco County Mysteries by Ben Rehder
Dev Haskell Series by Mike Faricy
Charlotte Anthony Mysteries by Meg Wolfe
John Tall Wolf Series by Joseph Flynn