At first the argument suggesting authors should not read their reviews was compelling. Justified from an emotional point of view, this sage advice was intended to protect authors from ultimately meaningless harshness and even cruelty - after all, there are a lot of nutcases out there - or so the reasoning went. Indeed, a few … Continue reading Reviewers: Part of the Team
Readers
Marketing On Radio
This past week has been busy. To gain visibility for my latest Zack Tolliver, FBI series novel Canaan’s Secret, I took a guest spot on two radio shows, one a blog talk radio show and the other an old fashioned over-the-airwaves local radio show live in a studio. The effectiveness of both for my … Continue reading Marketing On Radio
For Friends, Fans & Followers
Now is the final push in my effort to maximize sales of CANAAN'S SECRET, my newest Zack Tolliver tale on Pre-order at Amazon. It will be released tomorrow! Successful sales on Pre-order will lend increased visibility to the book on Amazon.com and visibility is the lifeblood of book sales. If the readers can't see it, … Continue reading For Friends, Fans & Followers
What I Learned
Last Saturday the Sisters and Misters of Central Coast Sisters in Crime launched their inaugural one day conference for writers and would-be writers, Writers In Action. It was a great success. And I'm gonna tell you a few things I learned. But first let me say "Thank you" to those who purchased CANAAN'S SECRET on Pre-Order … Continue reading What I Learned
Free For Followers
Free as a sales technique is losing its edge. That's the current thinking, anyway. The reasoning is there are now so many ebooks offered for free at any one time, the market is saturated. More, some hypothesize, readers have learned to wait for books to be offered free, stockpile them, and thus save themselves the … Continue reading Free For Followers
Publishing Patience
Marketing your book is like driving with your foot on the accelerator and the brake at the same time. One must have patience while waiting to see and understand results from Social Media advertising, waiting for readers to write reviews (or not), waiting for reviewers to read the book, waiting as the sales algorithms at … Continue reading Publishing Patience
The Land of the Paperback
One hears a multitude of statistics year to year regarding the health of book sales in every format, and much is said, including the now famous remark by the CEO of Hachette Books, Arnaud Noury, that e-books are a “stupid product”. There are indications of some movement away from the digital format by a … Continue reading The Land of the Paperback
Coincidence, or a Pattern?
If you spend a good deal of time engaged in historical research, as I do, it is possible to come to believe everything on earth is connected in some way. This connectivity often appears to be chance or coincidence, but upon close inspection I often suspect patterns. It can be difficult to ascertain the difference … Continue reading Coincidence, or a Pattern?
About Relating To Reviewers
Perhaps I should begin by emphasizing that I appreciate all my reviewers immensely (even, or possibly especially the critics). I know the time it takes to assess, formulate, and write one's feelings about a book. A book is a complicated blending of thoughts, actions, and emotions, many of which often conflict. Reviews are not judgments; … Continue reading About Relating To Reviewers
A Review of Publishing Today
With a title this assumptive, I hasten to acknowledge I possess no lofty credentials or superior access to data upon which to base the ideas which follow. I am not a queen bee, I am a drone. But even the drone bee is cognizant of change in the quality of the honey over a period … Continue reading A Review of Publishing Today
R Lawson Gamble 