Amazon

Publishing in 2016: It Isn’t All Roses For Anyone

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There’s a lot of talk about the death of traditional publishers, but things aren’t exactly coming up roses on the indie publishing side either. Authors find themselves between a rock and a hard place, at the mercy of a fast-changing market, none of whose players seem to know which way to turn or which direction … Read more

CH-CH-CH-CHANGES: Amazon Reviews and Verified Purchases

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When you buy books online, do you read reviews? Of course you do. I look at the general star ranking, read a couple of 5-stars, then 1-stars, then 3- stars, for an overall assessment. Unfortunately, people have tried to game the system over the years, and controversies have flared about authors paying for reviews, deliberately … Read more

A New Look… Same Mystery/Suspense

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I decided it was time to update the Ellie Foreman series (especially since the 5th Ellie mystery, JUMP CUT, will be released next March), so here’s what I came up with. Yes, there’s a new cover for each novel, but it’s the same award-winning mystery and suspense you expect from the Chicago video producer and single mother. … Read more

Amazon Ebook Royalty Estimator

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Spreading the word about a handy-dandy new tool that helps you estimate your Amazon royalties. It’s very simple and you can embed it on your website, blog, or just about anywhere. It was developed by Will Bontrager and you can find out more about here, including how to embed it on your pages.   Thanks, Will!   … Read more

Lions and Tigers and Bears… and Amazon

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If you’re a traditionally published author, a self-published author, a hybrid author, an aspiring author, a publisher, or anything else connected to the business, this blogpost by Hugh Howey is a must-read. Particularly if you’ve jumped aboard the “Bash Amazon” wagon without really understanding what’s at stake or what the issues are (You know who … Read more

An Open Letter to Barnes & Noble (Redux)

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With all the buzz about B&N’s plight these days, I decided to resurrect an open letter that four of us wrote to Microsoft last May right after they announced they would be B&N’s white knight. Every suggestion we made has been ignored. Not that they should listen to us, of course. Then again, our recommendations … Read more

DEAR MICROSOFT (An Open Letter):

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Dear Microsoft, Now that you’ve come to the rescue of Barnes and Noble (and it clearly needs rescuing), I asked a few friends to help me write this letter with our suggestions going forward. We’ve all been thinking about these issues for a while, so we hope you’ll take them in the spirit with which … Read more