Amazon dramatically drops price of Kindle reader

When Amazon unveiled the new Kindle Fire, a tablet style computer, they dramatically lowered the price of the Kindle readers. Readers can now purchase a basic Kindle reader for as low as $79 (US). What does this mean for self-publishers?

It means that more people are going to be reading e-books - and especially Amazon.com e-books. It is easy and inexpensive for a self-publisher to make their book into an e-book and post it on Amazon.com. There is no printing or formatting cost. Amazon has clear instructions on how to turn your document into an e-book. It just doesn't get easier than that.

TWUC’s “bill of rights” offers guidance to writers in the digital age | Quill & Quire

TWUC’s “bill of rights” offers guidance to writers in the digital age Quill & Quire

Crime Fiction becoming more popular

Crime Fiction is becoming more popular in Canada and that opens doors for writers of this genre. All the large and medium size publishers have crime fiction in their line up. House of Anansi even launched a new crime fiction imprint, Spiderline. Many U.S. publishers are happy to grab Canadian crime novels. In fact the foreign market for Canadian crime fiction is strong right now.

"Readers are avid," says Sarah MacLachlan, president of House of Anansi. She states that if a writer can produce a book every 12-18 months, they can build up a following. Even self-published authors such as Laura Hesse are seeing success with the crime novel genre. As long as the writing is good, it can sell.

And, of course a writer who is also blogging can develop their own fan following. Use Facebook to gather fans and send them to your blog. Then use your blog to get their attention.