Writing

You’ve got books. You want to sell books. Once you’ve shaken down all your friends, what comes next? Many authors who use Amazon’s KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) to publish directly to the Amazon Kindle market end up trying out Amazon Marketing Services (AMS), which allows authors to advertise their books within Amazon’s ebook ecosystem based on similar books and book searches.

There’s a catch. The AMS reporting is extremely slow and often confusing. I can’t do anything about the ridiculously long delays (sales sometimes show up days after they happen), but I hope to provide some guidance to make the reports more meaningful as you try to determine your ROI (Return on Investment). …

Amazon Marketing Services and ROIRead More »

Here’s our author for today’s Six Question Saturday!

Jenelle is a rare and elusive creature known as an “author.” She enjoys wandering in the woods, opening doors in search of hidden passageways, and carrying on animated conversations with those strange and invisible beings known as “characters.”

Jenelle grew up the oldest of four children. Every night before bedtime her father read to her and her siblings, and it was during these times that her love for adventure and fantasy were forged. While she adored the stories of the Lord of the Rings, the Chronicles of Prydain, the Wheel of Time, and the Chronicles of Narnia; it wasn’t long before her imagination led her to the creation of a world and story all her own. …

Six Question Saturday with Jenelle Leanne SchmidtRead More »

Here’s our author for today’s Six Question Saturday!

Jeremy Rodden considers himself a dad first and an author second. He is the author of the middle grade/young adult Toonopolis series of books that take place in his cartoon universe. He also edited, contributed to, and published The Myth of Mr. Mom, a non-fiction series of essays by stay-at-home dads. …

Six Question Saturday with Jeremy RoddenRead More »

Here’s our author for today’s Six Question Saturday!

Savannah Jezowski lives in a drafty farmhouse in Amish country with her Knight in Shining Armor, her little warrior princess and a loyal brigade of dogs and kitties. She is the author of When Ravens Fall and is also a featured author in Five Enchanted Roses from Rooglewood Press. Her work has been published in Ray Gun Revival, Mindflights and in the student publication of Fountains at Pensacola Christian College. She likes books, faeries, writing hats and having tea with her imaginary friends. …

Six Question Saturday with Savannah JezowskiRead More »

Here’s our author for today’s Six Question Saturday!

Jennifer Kibble is the author of the Phoenix Element series. There are three books in total so far and she hopes to write more. That is when she isn’t distracted by her “day job” as a cook. Or her cat Tidus who likes to jump onto the computer desk. Not to mention her dog Shepard who wants all the attention. But I digress: Phoenix Element! This is a young adult fantasy series with elements of magic, adventure, and super heroes. Think Harry Potter meets the Avengers. Wait, this is an author blurb, not a book blurb. Oops. Jennifer has been writing off and on, starting when she was in the fifth grade. Jennifer didn’t start to get serious with her writing until witnessing the final launch of the space shuttle Discovery. Exploring the museum, and later on hearing the boom of a rocket stirred something within her. And here we are. …

Six Question Saturday with Jennifer KibbleRead More »

What’s the state of play for Kindle Unlimited in August 2017? Let’s start with a very brief overview and move on to some of the controversies currently surrounding the program along with my understanding of it’s value proposition.

Kindle Unlimited is a subscription service offered by Amazon that enables members to read an unlimited number of participating books for $9.99 per month. You can sign up for a free 30-day trial here. Authors can add their books to KU by enrolling the books in Kindle Select via the KDP platform or via their publishers. Kindle Select requires the ebook edition of an enrolled book be only offered to the market via Amazon, includes a couple other benefits and stipulations, and is managed based on a three-month term. …

Kindle Unlimited state of playRead More »

Here’s our author for today’s Six Question Saturday!

Erica is a writer of fairytale fantasy and romance. Currently she has three books out, and is working on edits for a fourth. Besides writing, she enjoys being with her family, and watching Korean dramas. She met her husband role playing online- he was an elven warrior mage, and she was an elven priestess. They decided to do the crazy thing and meet in person. …

Six Question Saturday with Erica LaurieRead More »

Here’s our author for today’s Six Question Saturday!

By day Lauricia Matuska is a teacher; by night she fights time and responsibility to compose a few lines of her novel-in-progress. Her debut fantasy novel The Healer’s Rune was published by Brimstone Fiction in January 2016.

Currently, Lauricia is working on the sequel to The Healer’s Rune, tentatively titled The Guardian Prince. She is in the early stages of revision, and plans to have the manuscript ready to send to her agent by the end of August 2017. You can watch her progress on this work via the progress tracker on her website at Lauricia-Matuska.com. …

Six Question Saturday with Lauricia MatuskaRead More »

Here’s our author for today’s Six Question Saturday!

Don’t believe all the hype: Sarah Ashwood isn’t really a gladiator, a Highlander, an expert fencer, a skilled horsewoman, an archer, a magic wielder, or a martial arts expert. That’s only in her mind. In real life, she’s a genuine Okie from Muskogee who holds a B.A. in English from American Military University, and is the author of the Sunset Lands Beyond fantasy trilogy, Amana, A Minstrel’s Musings, and more than 37 works published in a wide variety of anthologies, magazines, and webzines. She lives (mostly) quietly at home with her husband and three sons, where she tries to sneak in a daily workout or run to save her sanity. …

Six Question Saturday with Sarah AshwoodRead More »

Here’s our author for today’s Six Question Saturday!

Arthur is the author (no jokes, please, he’s heard them all) of five books. These include William Bradshaw King of the Goblins, William Bradshaw and a Faint Hope, William Bradshaw and War Unending, William Bradshaw and Fool’s Gold and Goblin Stories. These books were almost inevitable given that the author has been a fan of science fiction and fantasy since he was old enough to walk. Major influences include the works of the puppeteer and filmmaker Jim Henson and the British artist Brian Froud. Expect more books in the Will Bradshaw series, as all attempts to stop Arthur from writing have failed. …

Six Question Saturday with Arthur DaigleRead More »