For all you people out there without a significant other Valentine’s Day must bite. All around the US and most of Europe, sweets, cards and hearts mark this day. So I officially ask that all of you, my followers, subscribers, and Facebook friends forced to acknowledge this day because it is smacked over your head–please be my Valentine. I send love, virtual sweets, and a heart full of hope for all of us that we as a people will not be fool hearty and destroy this planet. Kiss yourselves for me.
Amazon did away with its contest this year and I’m glad because I knew I wasn’t going to finish my book in time. It replaced the contest with a crowdsourcing publishing program. Basically, you upload your work and your cover art. Then the site makes an excerpt available to the public who read and rate it. The more readers and high ratings the more that Amazon is interested in making an offer. The editors at Amazon read the “trending” works before any offers are made, so it’s not just a popularity contest. An advance of $1500 plus possible marketing (no guarantee) accompanies this contract. Author has ways to break the contract and so does Amazon–basically if there are no significant sales. Editors also will make editorial suggestions to the author. At first I thought, author provides the cover art? That’s not so great. But now that I have a cover, I’m thinking okay. Maybe I’ll try this scheme. This is only for Kindle version. Author can still self-publish print version anywhere.
The hardest part of being an indie author is being discovered by readers. I get sales when I advertise, but when the promo stops so do sales. So for my next work, it would be great if I can get a push from Amazon. They are exclusive, but most of my sales are on Amazon anyway. So when my third novel is ready, I will ask all my readers out there to HELP me get an offer. So stay tuned.
