Scott Nicholson's Blog, page 25
April 20, 2011
Kindles In Libraries
The wonderful CJ West hosted me on Book Talk Radio, you can catch the archived audio file here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/author-cj-west/2011/04/20/thriller-30-with-scott-nicholson
The big news in the book world is Amazon's announcement of a partnership with Overdrive to get Kindle books into libraries. It's unclear how that is going to affect writers (usually the last part of any business equation, the Afterthought of Books) but I believe it is going to help almost everyone--writers will be getting tax dollars, libraries will get a lot more content with their shrinking book budgets, and readers will have a virtually unlimited supply of reading material. The losers, of course, are those who want to sell their e-books for more than the price of a paper book.
Savvy librarians stretching a budget are going to broaden their choices and seek out more writers. "Hmm, I can buy these 10 books for my patrons, or I can buy this one book. Whatever do I do?" And with 11,000 libraries buying books, if every indie writer in America sells one book to each library, that's a nice bundle of cash. We'll have to see how it plays out. I already have an accoiunt with Overdrive but their upload and distribution system is a little awkward. Hopefully, the Kindle will smooth things out for everyone and be big news for readers.
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The big news in the book world is Amazon's announcement of a partnership with Overdrive to get Kindle books into libraries. It's unclear how that is going to affect writers (usually the last part of any business equation, the Afterthought of Books) but I believe it is going to help almost everyone--writers will be getting tax dollars, libraries will get a lot more content with their shrinking book budgets, and readers will have a virtually unlimited supply of reading material. The losers, of course, are those who want to sell their e-books for more than the price of a paper book.
Savvy librarians stretching a budget are going to broaden their choices and seek out more writers. "Hmm, I can buy these 10 books for my patrons, or I can buy this one book. Whatever do I do?" And with 11,000 libraries buying books, if every indie writer in America sells one book to each library, that's a nice bundle of cash. We'll have to see how it plays out. I already have an accoiunt with Overdrive but their upload and distribution system is a little awkward. Hopefully, the Kindle will smooth things out for everyone and be big news for readers.
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April 19, 2011
A Book Bucket List from Guido Henkel
A guest post from Guido Henkel, a indie author who is generous in sharing technical information as well as delivering the spooky fun Jason Dark series)As you are reading this, I have just released Curse of Kali, the tenth Jason Dark supernatural mystery that I have written. Taking place in Victorian England, it is once again a riveting mystery that our occult detective has to solve — though this time he has some help from a very, very famous detective of his time, also.
Releasing a book is always a little like the end of school. You take a breath, sit back and just kick back for a tick, enjoying the moment with a clean slate.
For me, this usually also means I need something new to read. The past weeks have kept me busy with rewrites, edits and the preparations for the launch and I did not have a whole lot of time to read other than my own stuff.
So, as I am trying to decide upon a new book, — most likely one I've been pushing off for too long — it occurred to me that there should be some kind of list of books that everyone should read. I'm not talking about the classics like Dickinson, Shakespeare, Kafka or even books like Dracula where it is implied that everyone has read them. No, I'm talking about books that I have read over the years and that impressed me so much that I would like to recommend them to you with my warmest regards. They are the books I would not want to have missed out on. Of course, such a list can never be complete and reflects my own personal taste, so feel free to suggest other books that you find too valuable to be missed.
So here goes my Book Bucket List for you in no particular order
The Lord of the Rings , by J.R.R. Tolkien Mars , by Ben Bova The List of Seven , by Mark Frost The Sword of Shannara Trilogy , by Terry Brooks Brimstone , by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child The Horatio Hornblower Series , bt C. S. ForresterCrime Beat, by Scott Nicholson (ed. note: I didn't put this in here!) There will be Dragons , by John Ringo The Seance , by John Harwood Memoirs of a Geisha , by Arthur Golden
And then last, but not least, Curse of Kali . Yes, I know it reeks of self-promotion but if you want to know how Jason Dark and Sherlock Holmes met for the first time in their lives, you have to read this mystery. If you have only half as much fun reading it as I had writing it, we should all be in for a treat.
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Marketing is not selling
Since I pounded and expounded my sales philosophy at IndieReader yesterday, I won't rehash here too much, but there's some good energy going around about "positive marketing" or "idea marketing." Al Boudreau has a clear post on The Mystery of Marketing. He also references the generous LM Stull.My skull is incredibly thick so any idea that finally penetrates from the outside instead of clanging around from within must be a good one. If you take the words "Buy my book" out of your marketing, you immediately become a better marketer. I couldn't even do it when I was sitting at tables in bookstores, and while I probably have been a little overzealous from time to time in proliferating my new books, I hope I've evolved to a more generous and compassionate model.
A constant barrage of "Buy my book" will isolate you, and then you can't do anyone any good, much less yourself. You get unfriended and unfollowed, and then where are you? Screaming "Buy my book" in the desert.
My daughter likes #4 for Liquid Fear, and I wonder if I am afraid to go there. I will have to think on it, because it feels a little like overreaching. Instead, I am shifting some energy into sharing The Skull Ring, because I think it hasn't reached its full audience yet, plus I've revised a lot of my covers to make my mystery/thrillers a more cohesive brand and separate from my supernatural thrillers and short stories. And I am not screaming "Buy my book." I'd rather you feed your family, or buy some seeds, or donate to your favorite local charity. That's what I do when you buy my book.
Thank you, universe, and thank you, friends. Let me know if I can help you, because you have been so incredibly good to me.
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April 16, 2011
Think "#27" If You Like
I was just telling my friend and collaborator JR Rain about how James Patterson used to make mock charts of the bestseller list for his sales and publishing meetings. He'd put his book (not yet published) at #1 and show the sales staff. It made success easy for them to visualize.
I'm too lazy for that, but I do believe in the power of creative visualization. When Liquid Fear started its run, my family picked #27. We committed to thinking #27, and while I don't want to feel greedy, focusing on ebooks when so many people need prayers, food, and shelter, I generally try to share my success and spread my resources where people benefit. (My daughter wants #4, but first things first). If you care to think "#27, Scott Nicholson," in a positive way, for the highest good for all, then I'd appreciate it.
I am also re-doing some of the covers on the less-successful books because it feels like a fun time to take chances. I hope your life is as fun and crazy and free as mine.
Time to kill? Go to Tina's Book Reviews where I am giving away an e-copy of Duncan the Punkin and waxing on "The 200."
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I'm too lazy for that, but I do believe in the power of creative visualization. When Liquid Fear started its run, my family picked #27. We committed to thinking #27, and while I don't want to feel greedy, focusing on ebooks when so many people need prayers, food, and shelter, I generally try to share my success and spread my resources where people benefit. (My daughter wants #4, but first things first). If you care to think "#27, Scott Nicholson," in a positive way, for the highest good for all, then I'd appreciate it.
I am also re-doing some of the covers on the less-successful books because it feels like a fun time to take chances. I hope your life is as fun and crazy and free as mine.
Time to kill? Go to Tina's Book Reviews where I am giving away an e-copy of Duncan the Punkin and waxing on "The 200."
###
April 13, 2011
The Top 100 Ego Trip
Thanks to everyone who helped Liquid Fear break the Kindle Top 100! We're in the 70s tonight as I write this. For some reason, this time around seems a lot simpler--I did a launch but it actually made its rebound run while I was in the wilds of Kentucky and away from the Internet for three days. That means YOU did it, not me.
I was sitting in the parking lot in my rusty old truck, picking up wifi from a coffee shop when I saw it had cracked Top 100. I high-fived my daughter, but she hasn't really been impressed since she saw me at #1 in Christian Science Fiction & Fantasy last year, ahead of Stephen King and--even bigger to her--CS Lewis. Now it's just that thing Dad does. I look out the truck and the world goes on--no one really cares! They're on their own trips.
Since this was so painless, I talked to my wife on the phone. We agreed to picture the Number 27. It's a square root of three and has several multiples, so it's more fun to shoot for than 29. Disintegration hit #30 at the end of last year. It slid since then, so I know these things are ephemeral, but I also know to just enjoy it, know it will end, and know it will come back. So #27 is the goal, since I like having goals.
I was thinking today that the Amazon real-time rankings have been one of the worst things ever for writerly ego--we can tell whether people love us or hate us at any moment of the day, but worst of all, we can tell HOW MANY OTHER WRITERS YOU LIKE BETTER! No number is ever good enough. If you're #1, you know somebody's gunning up behind you. If you're 300,000 (I have a book or two way done there) you think you are crud, even if the books are awesome (and IF I WERE YOUR MONSTER is a neocult classic).
And the numbers really don't validate anything, except other numbers. They don't mean a message is valuable, or good, or helpful, or in any way instructs us or redeems the human race. The rankings have totally removed quality from the conversation. Now it's "units sold" and "rank" and "income" and I'm probably as fixated as anyone, because I run my business like a conductor, keeping every product humming in tune to fill its role in the symphony. When a lesser-known book hits a sour note, the music seems off, and it's hard to enjoy the many other wonderful harmonies. Just like when you finish writing a book--you're more likely to obsess over the thing you didn't quite nail than the hundred things that tied up nicely.
I don't know. Today I am in the Top 100. I nailed it. For a day, at least, it's in tune. Life is good. Thanks for listening.
###
I was sitting in the parking lot in my rusty old truck, picking up wifi from a coffee shop when I saw it had cracked Top 100. I high-fived my daughter, but she hasn't really been impressed since she saw me at #1 in Christian Science Fiction & Fantasy last year, ahead of Stephen King and--even bigger to her--CS Lewis. Now it's just that thing Dad does. I look out the truck and the world goes on--no one really cares! They're on their own trips.
Since this was so painless, I talked to my wife on the phone. We agreed to picture the Number 27. It's a square root of three and has several multiples, so it's more fun to shoot for than 29. Disintegration hit #30 at the end of last year. It slid since then, so I know these things are ephemeral, but I also know to just enjoy it, know it will end, and know it will come back. So #27 is the goal, since I like having goals.
I was thinking today that the Amazon real-time rankings have been one of the worst things ever for writerly ego--we can tell whether people love us or hate us at any moment of the day, but worst of all, we can tell HOW MANY OTHER WRITERS YOU LIKE BETTER! No number is ever good enough. If you're #1, you know somebody's gunning up behind you. If you're 300,000 (I have a book or two way done there) you think you are crud, even if the books are awesome (and IF I WERE YOUR MONSTER is a neocult classic).
And the numbers really don't validate anything, except other numbers. They don't mean a message is valuable, or good, or helpful, or in any way instructs us or redeems the human race. The rankings have totally removed quality from the conversation. Now it's "units sold" and "rank" and "income" and I'm probably as fixated as anyone, because I run my business like a conductor, keeping every product humming in tune to fill its role in the symphony. When a lesser-known book hits a sour note, the music seems off, and it's hard to enjoy the many other wonderful harmonies. Just like when you finish writing a book--you're more likely to obsess over the thing you didn't quite nail than the hundred things that tied up nicely.
I don't know. Today I am in the Top 100. I nailed it. For a day, at least, it's in tune. Life is good. Thanks for listening.
###
April 12, 2011
Czerwony Kościół
Okay, I published my Polish translated version of The Red Church to Smashwords, through a creative arrangement with the publisher (basically trading print rights for ebook rights), and discovered Kindle doesn't support Eastern European languages...yet. So my move to take over the world hits a snag. That's good, because I'm a little tired at the moment!Of course, the big news is Kindle has introduced an ad-supported Kindle for $25 cheaper--if you don't mind an ad as a screensaver you can save money. I am not putting up a link because it's easy to find. Just go to Amazon and you can't avoid it. As a writer, I think it's great that it will help expand our markets, and Amazon is going to make a ton on content long after the devices are cheap. But it's also the first move into ad-supported e-books. My unpopular prediction ("unpopular" because people somehow feel threatened by change) is that e-books will be primarily ad-supported by in five years (well, now just a little more than four). I am optimistic there will remain a way for writers to make money, or the books will stop, and the content will collapse, and so will the advertising. So everyone will find a way to make it work.
My friend Stacey Turner has featured an interview with me today at Spot Speaks.
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April 9, 2011
Back from the dead
Just back from three days without wireless--I am surprised to find the Internet is still here. You may find me at October Country if you're looking for interviews, though I am getting kind of tired of talking about myself. In summary: e-books are cool, writing is fun, and it's great to be alive...
Stephen James Price over at Generation Next Publications is working up print files for the children's book Duncan the Punkin, which we hope to have online for print in a few weeks. The print edition of Liquid Fear is also wending its way through the pipeline. If you participated in the April 1 Fool's Gold Rush, those blogs should be announcing winners in the next day or two. I hope you got one of those groovy gift certificates, and I appreciate everyone who made the tour a big success!
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Stephen James Price over at Generation Next Publications is working up print files for the children's book Duncan the Punkin, which we hope to have online for print in a few weeks. The print edition of Liquid Fear is also wending its way through the pipeline. If you participated in the April 1 Fool's Gold Rush, those blogs should be announcing winners in the next day or two. I hope you got one of those groovy gift certificates, and I appreciate everyone who made the tour a big success!
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April 5, 2011
Cool things to look at
Getting ready to go out of town for a brief trip (combining business with pleasure). In the meantime you can find me today at Candace's Book Blog:
Wed: Stella Ex Libris
Thursday: Gina's Insatiable Readers
Featured books are Tuesday: Burial to Follow, Wednesday: Liquid Fear, and Thursday: Curtains. Hey, thanks for all your support! A column on calculating agents called "Fifteen Percent for Life" is up at Indie readers and JA Konrath and Barry Eisler kick around the pros and cons of self-pubbing if you are a writer type.
Also, cool news--I've traded my "paper advance" for the ebook rights to the translated edition of the Polish edition of The Red Church! So look for Czerwony at an ereader near you! This will make my third translated edition to go live.And a great, simple writing chart by Kurt Vonnegut to help you understand story arc.
If you need any book design, my recs are Stephen at Generation Next for book layout and Ted at Dellaster Design for ebook formatter.
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Wed: Stella Ex Libris
Thursday: Gina's Insatiable Readers
Featured books are Tuesday: Burial to Follow, Wednesday: Liquid Fear, and Thursday: Curtains. Hey, thanks for all your support! A column on calculating agents called "Fifteen Percent for Life" is up at Indie readers and JA Konrath and Barry Eisler kick around the pros and cons of self-pubbing if you are a writer type.
Also, cool news--I've traded my "paper advance" for the ebook rights to the translated edition of the Polish edition of The Red Church! So look for Czerwony at an ereader near you! This will make my third translated edition to go live.And a great, simple writing chart by Kurt Vonnegut to help you understand story arc.
If you need any book design, my recs are Stephen at Generation Next for book layout and Ted at Dellaster Design for ebook formatter.
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April 4, 2011
Where I Am Today...
...besides sitting at my computer in ratty old sweatpants:
Infinity Books, blog of UK star Keith Brooke
Lost for Words (with signed paperback giveaway!)
Books and Things with Melissa
Aaaaaand the $200 gift card giveaway still has four days left, so hop your little buns around to these 11 blogs and tweet and Facebook from each to increase your odds!
Rewind: If you missed my post last week, I chimed in on some indie math at Indiereader.com. Thanks for all your support. I'll be off typing in the woods later this week, so don't forget to pretend to be me on the Internet while I'm gone!
Oh, yeah, while doing my taxes, I found I had written a check to an (alleged) double murderer who delivered a load of firewood to our house. He dropped a log on my finger and mashed the heck out of it (I eventually lost the nail) and he just laughed like crazy. Lesson is never let strangers come to your house for any reason. Keep an eye on the mailman!
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Infinity Books, blog of UK star Keith Brooke
Lost for Words (with signed paperback giveaway!)
Books and Things with Melissa
Aaaaaand the $200 gift card giveaway still has four days left, so hop your little buns around to these 11 blogs and tweet and Facebook from each to increase your odds!
Rewind: If you missed my post last week, I chimed in on some indie math at Indiereader.com. Thanks for all your support. I'll be off typing in the woods later this week, so don't forget to pretend to be me on the Internet while I'm gone!
Oh, yeah, while doing my taxes, I found I had written a check to an (alleged) double murderer who delivered a load of firewood to our house. He dropped a log on my finger and mashed the heck out of it (I eventually lost the nail) and he just laughed like crazy. Lesson is never let strangers come to your house for any reason. Keep an eye on the mailman!
###
April 2, 2011
Where I've Been This Week
Thanks everyone for your
Liquid Fear
love--we hit #130-something on Amazon US, around 2,700 on Amazon UK, around 36,000 on BN com, and now it's hanging around in that weird land of #150 at Amazon, teetering on the edge. It could go one of two ways, but I doubt it will hang right there, because it's a volatile territory for rankings and algorithms. I will be raising the price to $2.99 as soon as it finds its plateau, so if you know any mystery/thriller lovers, please encourage them to jump in. And the Fool's Gold Rush is going on all week, so you still have time to enter at the participating blogs for the $10 gift cards and hopefully the $100 bonus booty!
Here are some blogs I've been at recently, apart from the Fool's Gold Rush blogs:
Indie Good Cop/Bad Cop at Joe Konrath's Newbie's Guide
One For the Money, Two for the Show at Indiereader
Liquid Fear and bioethics at Seduced By Books
Writing talk at Character Happens
Thanks for all your support! Currently working on a secret dark fantasy project, of which nothing will be revealed...and a few options for the next "Scott Nicholson" book...
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Here are some blogs I've been at recently, apart from the Fool's Gold Rush blogs:
Indie Good Cop/Bad Cop at Joe Konrath's Newbie's Guide
One For the Money, Two for the Show at Indiereader
Liquid Fear and bioethics at Seduced By Books
Writing talk at Character Happens
Thanks for all your support! Currently working on a secret dark fantasy project, of which nothing will be revealed...and a few options for the next "Scott Nicholson" book...
###
