Lincoln Cole's Blog, page 8
June 3, 2017
Giveaway with multiple winners and over $130 in prizes!
Enter to win multiple prizes, including a t-shirt, a set of World on Fire books, or a $50 Amazon® gift card!
Here's hoping you win big, and if nothing else you might get a copy of The Everett Exorcism!
May 31, 2017
Buy a T-Shirt for The Everett Exorcism! Available Now!
Get a shirt featuring The Everett Exorcism on Amazon today!
May 28, 2017
Kindle Scout Campaign - Guide - Part 1 - Prep
I'm back at it, launching another Kindle Scout campaign! This book kicks off a series of stories about Arthur that take place before the events of Raven's Peak and the World on Fire series.
It is called The Everett Exorcism, and it is available on to nominate. If it wins, everyone gets a free copy of the book to read and review before it is available to the public! I've got some pretty huge plans for this campaign and I'll be releasing more information as the campaign runs to explain what I've been doing to promote it.
First off: some basic information. Kindle Scout is a program where authors can submit never before published books to possibly win a contract and get their book published. I actually wrote a guidebook about this late last year to help people who are new to the program run the best possible campaign to increase their chances of getting picked.
The biggest addition I can make to the guidebook at this point is just more anecdotal evidence of how valuable Kindle Scout has been for me. My current winner that was published July of last year has been featured multiple times by Amazon, on various newsletters, and was a part of the Prime Reading program from January through March. It has sold many thousands of copies and is now in the UK version of the Prime Reading program. The team over at Kindle Press works very hard to publicise and promote our books.
Early Promotions
So, without further Ado, here is some information about the early days of this campaign:
Basically, my plan this time around is to focus as much on auxiliary promotions as on the campaign itself to hopefully drive engagement on the website and cross visitors over into nominators. I printed out some bookmarks featuring Raven's Peak that I can use for both the campaign and general face-to-face interactions. It has a custom landing page where people will end up that will then direct them to my Kindle Scout campaign.
I printed out 1,000 of these, and Monday (Memorial Day) I have a book signing event I will participate in where I will hopefully be able to pass some of these out. Others I will leave at as many locations as possible so people can easily get linked back to my website where the primary feature will be my Kindle Scout campaign.
I have also made a rip-sheet with the book and a QR code for people to scan that will take them directly to the kindle scout landing page where they can quickly nominate. The tear off sheets have a simple bit.ly link they can type out to get there, too.
Aside from that, I don't have a lot of direct promotion planned for the first week or so of the campaign. With any luck, this promotion will continue to work all the way through the campaign itself, and even after it ends I simply have to change the 'content' on the landing page from the bookmarks after the campaign is over so they are still valuable.
One thing I've done is to link out everywhere possible to the campaign on my website. You can look over the website (at least during the campaign) to see what I mean and just how many links are passed around everywhere. Basically, anyone who lands on my website should have no trouble finding my campaign!
UpcomingMy next post will go much further into depth about my bigger planned promotions and later I will evaluate how successful they were. I'm planning on trying out a lot of different programs (some are the same ones I discuss in my guidebook, and some are new) and explaining how good/bad they are and why. My goal is to run a fantastic campaign, try out some new promotional ideas I have, and just have fun with the campaign. With any luck, I'll be able to help prospective Kindle Scout authors pick the right promotions for them.
So, I hope you'll stick around for my campaign! Also, check out the guidebook if you want some information about setting up your entry and capitalizing on the campaign to be really successful.
A little advance information, I'm using:
Scout BoostAuthor ShoutA service recommended by Tom SwyersBooks ButterflyGeneral Advertising (Google, Bing, StumbleUpon, Twitter, Facebook, Reddit)Custom Giveaway (Gleam) To promoteAnd several more options. I'll update general information about the campaign and (maybe) give more concrete results later in the process.
So, thanks for stopping by and with any luck you'll be able to get some useful information here about the campaign and a free copy of my book when it launches!
May 24, 2017
Book Review: Outland Exile: Book 1 of Old Men and Infidels by W. Clark Boutwell
Today, I will be reviewing Outland Exile: Book 1 of Old Men and Infidels by W. Clark Boutwell, which was an OnlineBookClub.org Book of the Day for May 21st!
About the Book [image error]
The United States is dead and the Democratic Unity killed it.
After catastrophic wars and the Meltdown, The Unity rules from its East Coast citadel, leaving the outlands to savages and its strangely altered plants. Providing free health care, employment, and ThiZ (the drug of any really civilized life), the Unity mandates retirement at forty before fatigue and error contaminate a culture of youth, innovation and vigor.
With liberating body implants, history’s finest democracy supervises every citizen for her/his/its own and the nation’s welfare. Seventeen-year-old Lieutenant Malila Chiu, is a veteran officer who, despite well-earned fame, finds her career in tatters. Vandalism at a distant station triggers her demotion. Facing denunciation … or worse, Malila’s one option is to enter the outlands to repair the station herself. At first, the repairs go well.
ReviewThis book was a fairly simple one to read and was quite enjoyable, but it certainly helps that I am a fan of good dystopian fiction. The characters were well developed, particularly Malila Evanova Chiu and Jesse and I really wanted to know how their dynamic would play out and what sort of long term situations might arise from it. The author did an amazing job of detailing out the scenes and it really helped the book come alive.
There were a few parts I didn't particularly enjoy, and I thought that the social commentary aspects of the book got a little heavy handed at times, but that isn't to say it wasn't interesting and valuable social commentary, just that I wish it was a little more subtle and the author didn't try to bash the reader over the head with it quite as much.
Still, it was a quite enjoyable read and I can imagine a lot of people loving it, so I'm going to give it four out of five stars and say that I'm looking forward to reading more by this author. He did a really good job of bringing this story to life and setting up his dytopian and science fiction world.
About the Author
Born in Chicago and raised outside Philadelphia, Clark has taught and practiced intensive care for newborn infants on four continents and eight countries, as he continues to do. He lives with his bride of 40 years in Alabama. They have two grown children and two grandchildren. He has been an avid solo hiker, backpacker, and climber since he was a mere lad of 11.
"Outland Exile" is his debut novel and the first book of an expected five book series centering on aging, medical care, cybernetics, society and faith in a future America.
Book Two, Exiles' Escape is due out from Indigo River Publishing, summer of 2017. The third book (w/t Malila of the Scorch) and the close of the Jesse/Malila narrative is due late 2018.
Check it out at Online Book Club!
The Everett Exorcism cover is complete!
The cover for my upcoming novel, The Everett Exorcism, is complete and ready for release! The Kindle Scout campaign for the book will be starting later this week and should be available by Memorial Day (May 29th) for nomination!
So, without further ado...
Let me know what you think in the comments below!
May 23, 2017
Book Review: Vacation to Graceland by Philip Cornell
Today, I will be reviewing Vacation to Graceland on behalf of Online Book Club, and it was OnlineBookClub.org Book of the Day on May 18th!
About the Book [image error]
A man, his mother, his sister, his granny, his niece, and his nephew make a trip to Memphis Tennessee for a family reunion. During the course of the trip, the family encounter a series of circumstances that mold the trip into an unforgettable experience. Through the arguing and internal bickering within the group, they come together and strengthen the blood bond they share with each other. Reflecting on each and every situation encountered, the man realizes the trip is an overall social, emotional, and educational journey.
ReviewI didn't dislike this book, I just wish there had been more substance to it.
The thing is, the book is really short, and the vagueness of a lot of the important details left something to be desired. I enjoy reading powerful and meaningful stories with intricate storylines and a lot of moving parts, and this story was basically the exact opposite. It is about a road trip, a family reunion, and then getting home.
I actually found Crissy to be my favorite character in the story, in that the author spent less time and energy trying to make her circumstances humorous and ridiculous. It was nice just getting a chance to see someone who wasn't quite as over-the-top as the rest of the cast.
That isn't to say I didn't enjoy reading the story, and the fact that it was short and humorous really helped bring it together. I just wish there had been more of...well...everything. It was a good story and I will give it a 4 out of 5 star rating. People who like to read funny stories without a lot of substance will enjoy checking this one out.
Check it out on Online Book Club!
