Empowering Authors with Amazon Independent Publishing Novelists, Inc. Conference Day 2, St. Pete Beach Oct. 2014 Several representatives from Amazon Independent Publishing spoke at the Novelists, Inc. Conference. They said they’ve seen consistent growth in print and Kindle books over the past few years. The Kindle growth curve exceeds print. This is a global trend … Read more
Hugh Howey: The Publishing World is Changing. How Can You Keep Up? Novelists, Inc. Conference Day 2, St. Pete Beach Oct. 2014 Hugh Howey began his presentation by showing slides on “A history of storytelling.” The order goes this way: Oral tradition Written tradition The first cubicle workers, i.e. monks transcribing by hand Movable type … Read more
Session Two: Yo! Here I am! Buy Me! Novelists, Inc. Conference St. Pete Beach Oct. 2014 The general reader mindset changed with the advent of lower-priced, self-published books. One speaker encouraged higher prices than $.99. For that low price, he feels readers aren’t as vested and are more likely to give a lower rating. Also, … Read more
Novelists, Inc. Conference St. Pete Beach Oct. 2014 The Novelists, Inc. (Ninc) conference is the only writers’ conference focused solely on the business of writing. To become a member, you must show proof of two published novels. This is not the place to promote your work, pitch to agents or pick up new fans. It’s … Read more
Amazon provides opportunities for authors to have input on their book pages through Amazon Author Central. Watch out that this opportunity doesn’t bite you. Recently, a reader emailed to say that when she went to order one of my earlier mysteries, two author names showed on the page. I should notify Amazon that the other … Read more
Do Your Due Diligence My husband and I have been investigating local contractors prior to doing an update on our three bathrooms. Here are the results of our search. Stay with me, and I’ll relate this process to your writing career. Contractor #1 has a modest showroom that offers a variety of product choices and … Read more
What is Malice Domestic? As it says on the Website, Malice is an annual fan conference that focuses on the traditional mystery or “books best typified by the works of Agatha Christie.” Although I’ve been attending Malice Domestic for a number of years off and on, this was the first time I participated in Malice-Go-Round. … Read more
Marketing and Selling Your Books with Sophia Knightly At a recent meeting of the Florida Romance Writers, Inc., USA Today and New York Times bestselling author Sophia Knightly shared her promotional strategies. A two-time Maggie award finalist and a P&E Readers’ Poll finalist, she is traditionally published by St. Martin’s Press, Kensington, and Samhain Publishing. … Read more
How long does it take to prepare for a conference? Soon I’ll be heading to SleuthFest in February, Lake County BookFest in March, Malice Domestic in April, the Florida Library Association Convention in May, and Mystery Writers Key West Fest in June. It can take me several weeks to get ready for each event and … Read more
Barbara Vey was the guest speaker at the February 2014 meeting of Florida Romance Writers. As Contributing Editor for Publishers Weekly, Barbara Vey brings readers and writers together with her popular Beyond Her Book blog. An avid reader as well as a blogger, Barbara spoke about how authors can build and retain their readership. “Think … Read more