Friday, 5 April 2019

A Review of Indie Author Book Promotion Sites.

Somewhere late in 2016, I decided to be more proactive in selling my online books, as opposed to simply listing them and waiting for readers to come. I looked into paying for promotions of my self-published books that were listed/hosted on Smashwords. I quickly discovered that it was far easier to work with promotion sites if you had an Amazon listing, so I quickly jumped aboard.


The Law of Happiness and Divorce

What I found is that self-promotion requires organisation and is expensive. Promotion sites boast hundreds of thousands of eager buyers, but having a database of followers and being able to mobilise those people to download are two very different things.



I started keeping lists and recording how many downloads I received and at what price. I thought it would be of interest to publish these results for the benefit of any other Indie-authors looking to find a way to promote their books.

I decided on book promotions that made my book free across the promotional period. This was usually 3-5 days. Amazon allows 5 days of discount promotions in any 3 month period. The most effective of the promotional sites generated continuing downloads beyond the promotion period, giving me paid downloads for some time. The better promotions also lifted me up to the front pages of Amazon in my book’s categories and this helped create a snowball effect where the promotion gathered momentum.

 November 30 2017

Finally and most importantly – these stats and opinions are from my own experiences with these sites. I’m not saying the poorer performing promotional sites are less than others, on another day, with another book, they may be stellar, but for me, on these occasions, these were the results. I will list the ease and experience in contacting those running the promotions and of the results generated by the sites themselves, although with most promotions there was little more contact than booking and confirming dates.

I’m also going to list the sites that said no to me. Often, I have greater respect for sites who don’t blindly accept every promotion. These sites take care to evaluate a book before they put their name to the promotion of that book. In some ways, setting this standard gains them a reputation as a book-promoter that readers can trust. I will certainly be trying to lift my game with these sites with my next books and try again. I’m aware some of the sites that hosted my promotions evaluated my books, but I can’t say with any certainty which ones or how vigorous that vetting process. They helped promote my books and I’m pleased they accepted me.

December 29 2017

Indie publishing for me has revived my self-belief as a writer. My first novel was written in 1999 and sat in a drawer, after many rejections, for almost 10 years. In 2011 I put that first book online under my middle name – Scott Norton – I think on some sites you can still find this listing. I didn’t want anyone I knew to know it was my book. I wanted to avoid the platitudes of friends and family who have to say nice things. I wanted to know if all those rejections were warranted and genuine readers, who knew nothing of my story, would read and enjoy what I’d written, or turn me down. The book downloaded a few thousand times over an eighteen month period and then trailed off. I forgot about it for the next 2 years.

In 2013 I did a Google ego search and was shocked to find entries of reviews of my book. 


I knew nothing of the Goodreads site at the time, and to my dismay and delight, I had over 20 ratings and reviews. Most said good things. A few complained about my style, spelling and grammar, (a lifetime battle of mine), but even those griping about presentation said largely nice things about the story. Some readers gushed – enough to help me regain my confidence and re-engage with a career that had always been a dream to pursue, and had, by 2013, run dry.


You will never hear me dissing an Author. I know how tough writing can be – let alone completing a full, coherent and entertaining novel. It’s even harder if you’re out there alone and doing it without any support; the editing, copyediting, cover design and promotion is time consuming, stressful and expensive. Hopefully, these lists and results will help others – and make sure you head to Goodreads and Amazon and at very least click on the star reviews of books you’ve read – you never know when you may be saving a writer from giving up on a dream. 


I'm also very pleased to announce I've written two books over the past eighteen months. Both are on the send-out circuit at the moment, and if no one bites, they'll be joining my other books online sometime in 2019. Famously Lost is a Rom-com set in the Australian Outback, and Finding My Voice is a YA coming of age story inspired by a young teenage boy my former partner and I raised some years ago. The boy was my partner's cousin and had some serious education and addiction issues - but in this fictional telling, he overcomes all those issues when he finds love. 

I'm very proud of both books and can't wait to release them out into the world. Stay tuned.

The following promotions are for Inner City from 2017 – January 2018.

Promotional Site
Web Address
Cost
Downloads
Freebooksy
$290
1579
Many Books
manybooks.net/author-services
$29
355
Books Butterfly
https://www.booksbutterfly.com/
$80
Was unable to find any downloads for the date of the promotion, but the book listing on Amazon went from 3millionth to 8000th (approx)
Shout My Book
https://shoutmybook.com/
$44.99
132.
Consisted mainly of tweets. Online readers increased, but I found the multiple same tweets that lasted 2 weeks more embarrassing than helpful.
Bookzio
https://www.bookzio.com/
$74
22
Read Cheaply
http://readcheaply.com/partners/
$25
165
Book Doggy
https://bookdoggy.com/
$8
 31
Choosey Bookworm
https://www.choosybookworm.com/
$149
491
Just Kindle Books
https://www.justkindlebooks.com/
$38
124
Free Kindle books & Tips
http://fkbt.com/
$33
109
Mega Book Deals
https://megabookdeals.com/
$5
33
Reading Deals

$29
168

Used bookmarketingtools.com - @ $25 – allowed application for 27 sites.
(Many sites were for free listing – usually 5-10 free listings from 300 submissions. But those sites offer upgrades to guaranteed listings at a price – tried two upgrades so far – Mega Book deals and Reading deals.)
Listings contacted through Bookmarketing tools lists free period as 20 Nov until 13 December.
Unable to determine downloads – nothing stood out on the Kindle reports page as significant increase.

Rejected.
Books bub – turned down.
Robin Reads – turned down

Personal Contact.
Jay from Choosey Bookworm took a little while to get back with details after payment, but when he did he explained how busy he is and was very pleasant to deal with.

The same goes with Michael Gallagher from Free Kindle Books and Tips.


List of Promotional sites taken from: https://www.indiesunlimited.com/book-promo-sites/

Book Barbarian – SciFi and Fantasy
https://www.facebook.com/groups/602196313230557/ – for Kindle Unlimited titles
CONVENIENT LISTS OF PROMOTIONAL SITES
http://www.ebookbooster.com/  (they have a list of sites on their home page)



Posted by at No comments:

Tuesday, 26 June 2018

Hannah Gadsby's Nanette on Netflix - A Timely Addition to the MeToo Movement.


Hannah Gadsby’s Nanette is a comedic masterpiece.

 As a one-woman show, it builds to be more than a piece of comedy, smashing through those narrow parameters to make a valuable contribution to the most prominent social discussions of our day.

Given an unassuming title, after a woman Hannah felt she could create a show from, only to discover that idea was more hope than substance, the hour special spins off into something that only Hannah Gadsby’s experience as a woman, and her history as a comedian, could deliver.

The show is like few others because, for Hannah Gadsby, timing is everything.

After ten years on the comedy circuit honing her craft, she is ready to deliver one of the most insightful, moving and emotionally disturbing contributions to the #metoo debate, and she does it in a most disarming manner until you can't help feeling unprepared for how deeply into your soul she manages to transfer her pain.

It’s heart-wrenching to see and hear this extraordinary woman bravely empty her mind on stage. She admits to being damaged from her life‘s experience and shows her courage in rebuilding herself from those low-points. As Hannah builds to her finale, it’s almost hard to take the next breath.

Hannah Gadsby‘s Nanette puts to rest any sense of shared experience by those not directly affected by the relentless micro aggressions faced by those seeking nothing more than equality, respect and safe passage.

If you’re a man publishing your opinion on a woman’s response to the #Metoo movement, you need to rethink what you're doing and listen to women, like Hannah, as she explains why we are in the midst of a social revolution that has waited too long. 

 I have listened in frustration to the many, loud, white male voices explain away every contentious issue in our society in recent years. I've heard these loud voices with their wide reach, declare racism non-existant; sexism a figment of the female mind, and that homophobia is so marginal it doesn't need to be addressed. The unifying belief of these men seems to be that their experience is universal. 

 It's important for debate to take place, but when a single demographic monopolise the debate, there is no debate, just a shared opinion by those unaffected by whatever inequality is under discussion.

 Hannah Gadsby is another of the many thousands of women desperately trying to tell us how threatened women feel on an almost daily basis. It's easy for men to feel helpless, or protest the sentiments are exaggerated, but how much effort does it take to change our behaviour to ease another person's mind? Cross the street, drop back, or take any other precaution to make sure it's not you sending a chill through someone walking or jogging on their own at night or existing in an area hidden from view. 

 If this makes you think, "Why should I change my behaviour?" or even the more commonplace protest of - “Not all men,” then you're not listening to the voices shouting loud.

 Not abusing women is the very least criteria of manhood. It's not something worthy of praise. Every one of us needs to do whatever we can, no matter how small, to improve the situation.

Hannah Gadsby made me empathise with what she’s been through, but it left me feeling that I can never fully understand her experience.

As a gay man who came out thirty years ago, I related to some of what Hannah had to say. I have been attacked for being gay, and I too feel shame over my sexuality. That’s something ingrained in me from years and years of relentless ridicule and abuse towards any gay person as I came of age. That small part of Hannah's story I share and understand, but it reinforces in me a belief that I can't possibly understand the full extent of another person's experience with an issue when I don't face that particular issue from within. 

 That's why listening should be the first response, not protest, or denial. 

Hannah Gadsby’s Nanette is important because it comes from someone with first-hand experience into being abused for being a woman; for her sexual identity; even for her appearance. 

Hannah doesn’t assume or comment on other people's experiences, she speaks only from her own.

If you haven’t watched Hannah Gadsby's Nanette - go to Netflix and prepare to be awed. Nanette will soon be viral, as it should be, and it should also be part of the ongoing debate.

Posted by at 4 comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , ,

Friday, 30 March 2018

Easter Bunny shot, and kids say enough!


It’s Easter, and that means there are smiling men on television telling young children about Jesus. The story of Jesus is in newspapers, online, and even in movies that are shown every year – proving, in some small way, that Jesus is, indeed, immortal, if only in reruns.

This year it makes an interesting juxtaposition against the backdrop of the Stoneman Douglas Highschool students who are changing the world by demanding action. 


They refuse to settle for thoughts and prayers of past generations to quell their grief and shock at such an outrage. It has taken the naivety of children to scream long and loud that the emperor has no clothes because thoughts and prayers have failed to make any difference.


It also divides religious followers into those who rely on an interventionist God to actively remodel the world and those who think we have a right and responsibility to govern ourselves. 


This second group still follows whatever teaching they wish, they can look to religion to guide their choices, their morals, to school them on behaviour – but they accept, without some effort, commitment and involvement from them to change the world, the world will not change. It’s time to put up or shut up, and no kid ever reacts well when told to shut up.  


70% of Americans want gun control, and it seems the posse of kids who have finally said enough is enough are making a difference. These kids, led by Emma González, David Hogg, Jacyln Corin, Cameron Kasky and Alex Wind, can’t be silenced. The usual tactic of calling for respect for the victims by not discussing the atrocity is not working this time because these kids are the victims, and they’re the ones doing all the talking – and maybe that’s how it has to be. It’s hard to tell a child who faced a gun while at school that they're disrespectful for asking for such violence to stop, and finally, American parents and grandparents have stopped long enough to realise how crazy it is to have AR15’s in the suburbs.


I’ve rarely been more inspired than by these kids standing up and speaking their experiences. I had chills when I heard Naomi Wadler, during the March for Our Lives say, “I am here today to acknowledge and represent the African American girls whose stories don’t make the front page of every national newspaper, whose stories don’t lead the evening news.” 


Suddenly the Stoneman Douglas kids have opened a can of worms in America. The violence from guns that has touched so many is ironically the issue too big to ignore, and that fact may bring the country together. Gun violence knows no race, no age, no privilege and no political party.


In Australia, a ban on assault weapons has stood since 1998. That same year, the government bought back one million guns and brought in new regulations for every gun owner to require a licence and to have guns registered. There was an immediate reduction of gun deaths by 47%.
This causal effect is repeated all over the world.


I’m an Americaphile. It’s hard not to be these days with so many growing up on American media, celebrities, and the influence of their computer industry. 


Finally, after so many tragedies, there is a genuine hope that the one giant anachronism of American culture, the acceptance of gun violence in amongst so much world-leading science and social culture, may finally be addressed.


This great leap forward may well occur under Trump’s presidency – who would have thunk it?


Happy Easter.





Posted by at No comments:

Friday, 29 December 2017

Inner City - Free until 31st

Inner City is free until December 31st!

Get it here for the US!

Here for Oz.

Here for UK.
Posted by at No comments:

Saturday, 9 September 2017

Inner City - Free Ebook

I'm really trying to push my first book, Inner City. It's featured at the moment on Many Books - Manybooks.net


I'm trying various promotional sites. Many Books cost me $29 to list it to their mailing list for a week. On the first day, September 9, I had 20 downloads. It doesn't sound like a lot, but getting anyone to download a book these days is hard work. I also like my Author listing on their site - I hate photos of myself, but a cute puppy on your lap always helps.

Many Books

Books Butterfly was my previous promotion and they charged $80 for a guaranteed 1000 downloads. During their promotion and now some weeks later, I had 2 downloads, although one I am pretty sure came before their promotional period.

The people at Books Butterfly were very nice and responded to emails promptly, they said many free books have a long lag when recording books and claimed KOBO was notoriously bad in reporting their downloads of free e-books. I can imagine updating free book downloads isn't high on their priorities, but it feels like an excuse.

Inner City has downloaded 4200 times since I listed it - although this latest draft is a year's work to improve and proof the manuscript as best as I can.

The other really clear issue is the book is listed and published at Smashwords and not Kindle. Almost all the promotional sites work with Kindle and it's hard to find those who list Smashwords links. Inner City is listed at Kindle, but at the price of 89 cents - in Australia $1.03 - I think. This is because Kindle doesn't seem to allow a free book. It allows you to promote a book for free across a promotional period - and this only if you are enrolled in the KDP select program that makes it Kindle exclusive.

I am still debating whether to do this or not, as both Smashwords and Kindle are easy to use and publish, but there are reports of the exclusivity of Kindle drastically reducing any author percentage and once you sign, you sign to be exclusive, so I want to exhaust my experiment with Smashwords first.

The plan is to keep Inner City free until October 31st. The Kindle or Smashwords conundrum will be answered by how many downloads it gets once it's at a price.

Of course, you can also download the book at:
Barnes & Noble Nooks Books 
Kobo
iTunes Books

Here are the links to reviews so far:
Goodreads
Barnes and Noble
Amazon
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , ,

Sunday, 13 August 2017

Australia's Same Sex Marriage Plebiscite - The Straw Man Cometh


Australia is about to have a postal plebiscite to vote on same sex marriage. Woo-hoo! With opinion polls continually returning approval of the change in the 70% range - it sounds like it's going to be a huge gay party. (Everyone knows they're the best type.)


But not so fast. The plebiscite will cost over one hundred million dollars - money the government could save by simply passing a law. The vote would be nonbinding, not compulsory and would allow the conservative government to vote it down even if the vote from the plebiscite overwhelmingly supported changing the marriage act.


The opposition to the vote warns such a vote gives conservative groups the opportunity to legitimise, promote and publicise damaging, hateful and erroneous views towards the LGBTQ community in the name of campaigning for a no vote.

And this fear is now being realised.


It's ironic that those who are clearly no friend of Dorothy, rely on all her friends to argue against things they don't like or understand.

They clearly don't have a heart, given they want to stop people in love from declaring their relationship in a formal way, equal to all others.


They don't have a brain, given they keep confusing marriage between a loving couple with polygamy, bestiality and the ability to have and raise children.


And they don't have the courage to stand up and declare they have an issue with anyone under the LGBTQ banner having equal rights, and those reasons are, largely, that they don't like, understand or consider them equal.


We should all become more aware of the straw man arguments continually rolled out for debate on emotive issues and call these arguments out for what they are. Cut the debate short by declaring an argument is not on topic.

The definition of the straw man argument is to give the impression of refuting an opponent's argument while refuting an argument that was not presented by that opponent.

For instance - Gay marriage has nothing to do with having or raising children. They are two separate issues. Gay people can already have children in Australia. This is a legal right and can be achieved by many different means. Whether they are married or not has no bearing.

The reason gay parenting has been raised by the pro same sex marriage advocates is that these kids shouldn't be told by the anti lobby groups their parents are less able to raise children, or less worthy or that the children themselves are at a disadvantage.

The Australian Christian Lobby argues this case hard - but never once wraps that argument around the millions of single parents who are in the same exact situation as not having both a male and female parent present. Again, be honest if you are going to argue a case. This argument, by the inclusion of single parents, is quickly reduced to a nasty, emotive, manipulative straw man argument that is not on the topic of should same sex marriage be legalised.


If it wasn't a straw man argument and therefore null and void, you could argue that marriage between a gay couple provides the child or children with a better level of stability, security and legal surety, making it harder for a parent to leave the relationship. You could - but that would also be an adjunct to a straw man argument - so I won't.

Similarly, arguments like the wonderful, inclusive, loving Christian Arch Bishop who is up in arms because a change to the law may force him to teach same sex marriage in schools or other religious based organisations. Straw man argument - go away. This is a curriculum issue. If you want to teach your students about a world that doesn't exist, go ahead. The hard right conservatives are always looking for new members and the bright kids will see what's going on through things called windows. Christian schools do have windows, right?

Similarly, as I've argued in a blog post before, Here, if you feel your religious freedoms are being usurped by people next door doing things you don't like, don't include them/us. Just make sure you have the courage of your convictions and make this known. I would suggest a door sign that reads: "We do not support or welcome GLBTQ marriage in this church congregation."

I'd be far more assured about religion if all religious based programs were happy to lead by example instead of asking people to follow their words and not their deeds. Just like a plebiscite - the people of this ever changing, and I'm optimistic enough to believe, forward thinking nation, will vote with their feet on knowing your views.

Tradition is another good argument. Except that traditionally women weren't seen as equal, and are, as a result, still catching up in terms of representation at executive levels, equal pay and in Parliament. Also, Aboriginals were classed as part of Australia's flora and fauna until 1967 - so who isn't proud of tradition? Why should we ever change anything?

Come on - it's a pro gay blog - it must include a musical!

Tony Abbott, Australia's former Prime Minister and Alt-Right poster boy, has raised the idea that a 'No' vote is a vote against political correctness. That argument certainly is.

This is another classic straw man argument wheeled out by a man who is very smart, (A Rhodes Scholar no less), but not at all clever. This is a Trump supporter's view of the world. Abbott is one of the down trodden, privileged white citizens being oppressed by the world forcing him to accept others as equal. Equality for others is not oppression. Equality for others often does mean the privileged get less of the pie - but not less than an equal share. It's hard to argue in any way against equality. Those who do don't seem to understand what the word means.


It lessens the sanctity of marriage is another argument. Maybe some people do feel this. That's so sad. That you would love your wife or husband less because Tony and Guy from next door got married. Or you feel your marriage is less binding because Penny and Jude tied the knot. That feels a little like an excuse to get out of your own marriage to me - maybe you and your significant other should talk and not try to argue that your marriage is suddenly less binding because of what's going on with your neighbours.

Gay marriage is a form of gay privilege, is another argument getting a good work out. Ricky? Any thoughts?


As the arguments flow they get increasingly more desperate and disparate. More straw man and not the type of straw man who was a friend of Dorothy, a man looking to change and better himself.

This vote - if it turns out to be a legitimate vote - is about letting all couples in love marry. Period. (Thank you for that Spicey)


Let's call out the emotional rhetoric, the straw man arguments and any other arguments that are not based solely on that single question.

And once again I call out homophobia for what it is. It's fine not to like us - and I get not to like what you don't understand. It's hard to empathise with something that you have no connection to or understanding of. I genuinely don't have an issue with that or with you for feeling that way. What I do have an issue with is you dressing your lack of empathy and understanding up in different clothes and arguing on a range of emotive issues, designed to shield you from being honest about how you feel towards the GLBTQ community. If you don't like us and don't see us as equals - own it.

Don't use straw man arguments to hide your true motives - to stop people you don't consider equal from gaining equality.









Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)