Aimee Easterling's Blog, page 32

Expanding my reach beyond Amazon

Many
believe that Amazon sells 67% of ebooks in the U.S., and they also
provide several perks for authors who choose to subscribe to KDP Select
and eschew all other retailers. On the other hand, different types of
readers tend to flock to different platforms, with Canadian readers
largely preferring Kobo, for example. Similarly, niche books may reach
their audience better on retailers other than Amazon, and many authors
have found that non-Amazon customers are willing to pay more for books.
Finally, how can you know whether your core readers are all hanging out
on iTunes or Google Play unless you give those sites a try?



For all of these reasons,
I'm currently experimenting with moving two of my ebooks out of the KDP
Select program --- "going wide" as some authors say. You can now
download The Naturally Bug-Free Garden on:

AmazonBarnes & NobleGoogle playiTunesKoboScribdInkterraSmashwords

And Permaculture Chicken: Incubation Handbook is available on:

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Google playiTunesKoboScribd
InkterraSmashwords

On the other hand, going wide does
have growing pains that reach beyond formatting your book to match each
retailer's standards. One of the issues with going wide is that you
spread out your readers, which makes it harder to move up the
bestseller lists. In addition, indie authors have a harder time breaking
into some of the other sites (although reports are that Kobo is very
indie-author friendly).



Maybe you'd be willing to help me out? Since reviews on a book make
readers much more likely to take the purchase plunge, I'm currently
begging for anyone who's read either of these books to copy and paste
your review over onto some of the other retailer sites. And I'm even
offering limited-time free copies (and a bonus prize!) for those of you
who haven't read the two titles in the past. Head on over to my other blog for details, and thanks in advance for helping me gain traction on non-Amazon sites!

Free and sale book newsletters

Those of you who read my other blog
will know that I'm a cheapskate. I also read like crazy, averaging
about four books a week, and our tiny local library can't keep up.



Do I pay full-price for all those books? Nope, in fact most of the books
I download are free on Amazon, and I'm generally too lazy to troll the
free lists in search of my daily fix. Instead, I rely on book
newsletters to alert me to free and sale books to feed my appetite.



My favorite service is Bookbub,
although after nearly a year's subscription, I'm starting to see the
same books roll around again, leaving me with fewer titles to choose
from. Buck Books
is one of the new kids on the block that I'm trying out to fill in the
gap, and so far I've enjoyed their variety (although the hip
descriptions aren't quite my cup of tea). I even decided to list $10 Root Cellar with Buck Books today to try the service out from the author side while the book is marked down to 99 cents.



I'd be curious to hear from other voracious readers. If you're also
saddled with a library with limited selection, how do you find your
reading matter? Do you have favorite ebook newsletters you'd like to
share?

Farmstead Feast

Farmstead Feast: Winter
is now live! I've the new title to the introductory price of 99 cents
and have made it free for subscribers to Kindle Unlimited, so hopefully
you'll consider giving it a shot.



The book is full of
nearly a decade spent experimenting with real, homegrown food, from
tough cuts of venison to fresh kale salads. Every recipe in this book
not only passes the local test, it also passes the husband test (meaning
that he asked for seconds...and thirds!).



I hope you and your
family enjoy these recipes as much as we did, and if you do, please
consider writing a review. Your kind words tempt others to take a chance
on a new book. Thanks in advance for taking the farmstead-feast plunge!

Watermelon Summer on sale!

Are you looking for some lighter reading for those long winter nights? My homesteading novel, Watermelon Summer, is marked down to 99 cents today.






"A
subtly beautiful tale...this highly-readable young-adult book will find
a spot on your bookshelf to be read again and again."




--- Laura
Strathman Hulka, Story Circle Book Reviews







Grab your copy here while it's on sale, and thanks for reading!

Second edition of Trailersteading is live!

The second edition of Trailersteading is now available on Amazon!
This expanded version contains several new profiles of trailersteaders
who used mobile homes as a stepping stone on their path to independence,
as well as a new chapter on our own experiences working our trailer
into a permaculture homestead. Learn how to build a shade trellis,
greywater wetland, window awnings, and much more!



As usual, Trailersteading
is available for free borrowing if you're enrolled in Kindle Unlimited
or Amazon Prime (although I might pull the title out when the paperback
comes out this fall, so borrow now if you want to be sure to get a free
copy). As another side note, if you're not familiar with Amazon ebooks,
it's
easy to read them even if you don't own a kindle. My favorite way is to
simply read in Amazon's cloud reader, which means you see the ebook in
your web browser. But Amazon has lots of apps available too so you can
read on your computer, phone, or other device. See this page for more details.

Thanks for reading! And while you're at it, check out the new covers I've made for Microbusiness Independence and $10 Root Cellar.
I think the Trailersteading cover needs a face lift too, but I haven't
quite figured out what the new cover should look like. Suggestions are
always welcome

Science fiction and fantasy sale

The holidays are over
(well, unless you get excited in the leadup to Groundhog's Day like I
do). No more gorging, no more fun and games with family. Finally, you
can pull out all of those books and start to read!



If you're low on reading material, today's your chance to stock up on some indie gems. Shiftless and 46 other indie novels are on sale for 99 cents each today! Enjoy!

Birthday presents for you

Today's my birthday, and my goal this year is to give everyone presents in order to celebrate the day. To that end, you've got quite a few ways to get free or cheap books this week!



First of all, Aimee joined in the fun by setting her middle-readers fantasy novel Burgling the Dragon free today. No strings attached, just an action-packed adventure for no money, so be sure to grab your copy now.



The next freebie, I'm
afraid, is in physical form, so only one of you can win. I cleaned out
my bookshelves to make room for new reading material, and came up with
$166 worth of homesteading books and a dvd for your enjoyment. Head over to my main blog to enter the giveaway.



Finally, I've set both books in my Permaculture Gardener series (Homegrown Humus and The Naturally Bug-Free Garden)
down to 99 cents apiece this week. This is a great way to learn low-work but effective techniques to make next year's garden really shine...all for 75% off!



Your birthday present to me? Go get something free!

Pack Princess is live!

Pack Princess is now live on Amazon! And, to help you catch up with the series, I've reduced the price of the first novel, Shiftless, to 99 cents for a limited time. Amazon joined in the fun by making the audio version
of Shiftless available for $1.99 for purchasers of the ebook, meaning
that you can listen to Shiftless on audio for only $2.98 (and it's
whispersynced, so you can also pop back and forth between reading and
listening if you prefer).



Finally, to further
celebrate, I upgraded the covers for all three books in the series.
That's Wolfie on the left, Terra in the middle, and the mysterious
Trouble on the right. Download your copy today if you want to find out
who Terra's mystery guest really is and whether she lives up to her
name.

Pack Princess interview

Me: I’m here today with the cast of Pack Princess. We
thought you might need a bit of a reminder on who’s who before diving
into book two of the Wolf Rampant series. Terra, do you want to start us
off?

Terra Wilder: Okay, if you really want me to. I’m Terra, and
I’m pack leader of clan Wilder at the moment. And, um, I guess I’m the
heroine too.

Wolf Young: You are the heroine. [Takes Terra’s hand.]
I’m her mate, Wolf Young, although everyone who knows me calls me
Wolfie. I run my own pack of slightly damaged werewolves.

Justin Young: Slightly damaged — that’s a joke! Halfies, meat, and misfits is what you have in that so-called pack of yours.

Me: Do I need to separate you two? [Justin gets up and stalks
to the other end of the room, taking his folding chair with him.]
Ooookay, I guess I do. Anyway, that was Justin, who’s Wolfie’s sibling
and the leader of the pack that both brothers grew up in. How about we
move to Cricket next?

Cricket Wilder: It was so nice of you to invite us all here, today, Aimee. Do you want some tea?

Me: [Mumbling under my breath] It’s always the nice ones that I
lose control of. [Raising my voice so I can speak to the whole room.]
No tea for me, thanks, Cricket, but do you mind introducing yourself?

Cricket Wilder: How silly of me! I’m Terra’s stepmother, and this great big wolf by my side is my husband, Chief Wilder, Terra’s father. He used to be in charge of clan Wilder. Now he just…um…consults.

Unnamed Uncle Wilder #1: Consults! Ha! I don’t see why we can’t go back to the good old days when men were men and…

Hawk: What my brother-in-law is trying to say is that some of us aren’t so keen on our new alpha. But we don’t all feel that way. I’m another one of Terra’s uncles, but I’m her mother’s brother, which makes me a bit less…um….[throwing a glance at his brother-in-law, then lowering his voice]…never mind….

Bev: Well, I’m Hawk’s sister, and the young man looking all doe-eyed beside me is my son David.

David: I…

Drew Walker: [Nudging his cousin sharply in the side.] Shut up, your mommy already introduced you. I’m Drew, Terra’s cousin. And you can see one of her other cousins, Milo, guarding the door. There are a slew of us running around…but I’m the best!

Wade: Right. So, that’s it for the Walkers for the moment,
since we couldn’t cram any more of them into the room. I’m part of
Wolfie’s pack, but I’ve been living here with Terra for a while to help
keep things on more of an even keel. Wolfie calls me and my friends the
yahoos. That includes [pointing to the next three shifters down the row]
Glen, Blaze, and the beautiful Fen.

Fen: Don’t make me hit you.

Me: Okay, see, this is supposed to be a cordial introduction, not a pitched battle. Sarah, how about you tell us who you are next?

Sarah: You know, I really don’t think I should tell you who I am. But you can call me Trouble if you want to.

Dr. Dale Baker: You’re not really as much trouble as you think
you are. But since I can tell that Aimee wants us to stay on track,
I’ll introduce myself next. I’m Dale, Terra’s brother-in-law and the
only human in the room….

Keith Baker: Well, except for Aimee, of course. Unless she’s a closet werewolf. Dum dum dum dum!

Me: Thanks, Keith. Way to get rumors started. That was Dale’s
son and Terra’s nephew, for those of you who are keeping track at home.
And, since we’re running out of time, I’ll just name the other pack
leaders present quickly and let you go. The tall, older man is Thomas Bell, the youngster beside him is Gavin Griffin, and then Chad Walker is the third pack leader down the row. Beside Chad is his mate Camilla,
who is also the daughter of the Reed pack leader and a distant cousin
to Terra. And, on that note, I’ll let you get back to your regularly
scheduled reading. Thanks for dropping by!

Cricket: Now, who wants cookies?

Keith: Oooh, I do! Unless they’re oatmeal. I hate oatmeal.

Wade: This would be a good time to fade to black….

Me: Don’t forget to pick up your copy of Pack Princess, which just became available for preorder today! Oh, and yes, I’ll take a cookie, thanks.

[Fade to black]

Chicken books on sale!

The
chicken-lovers among you will be thrilled to hear that I'm celebrating
Thanksgiving early by putting my chicken books on sale! But before you
go nodding off, you can get the first book without plunking down a cent
--- The Working Chicken is currently free on Smashwords and at Barnes & Noble.
Find out why hard-nosed homesteaders don't name their chickens and much
more in this photo-rich introduction to backyard chicken care.



If that introduction tempts your appetite, my more in-depth series, Permaculture Chicken,
includes three books bound to make your chicken-keeping adventure run
more smoothly. And each ebook is marked down to 99 cents this week ---
buy them all and save 74%! Here are the links: Permaculture Chicken: Incubation Handbook, Pasture Basics, and Thrifty Chicken Breeds. Maybe next year you can grow your own free-range chicken for Thanksgiving!



Thanks for reading! And if you like what you read, why not make my day by leaving a review?