Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
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.
"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.
Friday, July 9, 2010
E-readers are coming down in price
On Monday, Amazon cut the price of their Kindle e-reader. Barnes & Noble had lowered the price of their Nook e-reader and Amazon is competing with that. On Wednesday, Sony slashed the price of its e-reader. What’s going on?
The impetus for all the price cutting is Apple’s new iPad. Besides being a computer, it is an e-reader. The tablet is a good size, weight and shape to be an e-reader, and users are really getting into it. Apple sold over two million units in the first 60 days it was on the market. That is serious competition.
This could be good news for self-publishers.
http://www.selfpublishing.ca/
The impetus for all the price cutting is Apple’s new iPad. Besides being a computer, it is an e-reader. The tablet is a good size, weight and shape to be an e-reader, and users are really getting into it. Apple sold over two million units in the first 60 days it was on the market. That is serious competition.
This could be good news for self-publishers.
http://www.selfpublishing.ca/
Monday, June 28, 2010
Authors Den
At the suggestion of my distributor, Red Tuque Books, I posted my books and bio at Authors Den (www.authorsden.com). It took a little time, but was surprisingly easy. This is a user friendly website. They receive over one million hits per month, so it's worth a self-publisher's while to set it up. And it's FREE!
Make sure you have information handy such as both your 10-digit (if you have one) and 13-digit ISBN, number of pages, and a 20 word blurb about your book. You get a chance to write up more fully what your book is about, but you need the short blurb too.
You can upload your photo into the author bio section and your book cover(s) into the books section. Each section has a very clear form to fill out. In the book section, you can even post reviews you have received. That will help readers decide if they want to purchase your book. You can also set up book purchase through Amazon.com. I didn't do that because I have a distributor. Instead I posted his website and noted that he distributes my books.
You can post articles and blogs to your page. Something like this should drive more people to your website and Google likes that. It will help move you up the Google search listings.
And, like I said, it's FREE. How often do we find that?
http://www.selfpublishing.ca/
Make sure you have information handy such as both your 10-digit (if you have one) and 13-digit ISBN, number of pages, and a 20 word blurb about your book. You get a chance to write up more fully what your book is about, but you need the short blurb too.
You can upload your photo into the author bio section and your book cover(s) into the books section. Each section has a very clear form to fill out. In the book section, you can even post reviews you have received. That will help readers decide if they want to purchase your book. You can also set up book purchase through Amazon.com. I didn't do that because I have a distributor. Instead I posted his website and noted that he distributes my books.
You can post articles and blogs to your page. Something like this should drive more people to your website and Google likes that. It will help move you up the Google search listings.
And, like I said, it's FREE. How often do we find that?
http://www.selfpublishing.ca/
Friday, June 18, 2010
Publisher Beware!
Email has been landing in my Inbox from a Yahoo Group called Canadian Writers. They bill themselves as a discussion group for Canadian Writers and Publishers. I looked at the posts and they are all ads for one of those get rich quick schemes. They are posting three times a day trying to suck people in.
Unless you are interested in network marketing, I would advise you to stay away from this group. It has nothing to do with writing or publishing.
http://www.selfpublishing.ca/
Unless you are interested in network marketing, I would advise you to stay away from this group. It has nothing to do with writing or publishing.
http://www.selfpublishing.ca/
Sunday, May 9, 2010
FREE Self-Publishers Online Conference
Happy Mother's Day to all my reader's who have children, whether young or grown. Today my hubby, son-in-law and grandson are making breakfast for the Moms. What a nice treat on a warm, sunny BC day.
A reader sent me information about a FREE Self-Publishers Online Conference that I would like to share:
May 12, 13 and 14
The Self-Publishers Online Conference connects entrepreneurial authors and independent publishers with book publishing resources. The three-day virtual event features expert speakers and an online exhibit hall with book industry vendors. Fifteen publishing experts share tips and advice for both aspiring and veteran self-publishers. Basic attendance is FREE.
http://www.SelfPublishersOnlineConference.com
I checked the site out and two speakers are Dan Poynter and John Kremer. They are two people who would be worth listening to.
http://www.selfpublishing.ca
A reader sent me information about a FREE Self-Publishers Online Conference that I would like to share:
May 12, 13 and 14
The Self-Publishers Online Conference connects entrepreneurial authors and independent publishers with book publishing resources. The three-day virtual event features expert speakers and an online exhibit hall with book industry vendors. Fifteen publishing experts share tips and advice for both aspiring and veteran self-publishers. Basic attendance is FREE.
http://www.SelfPublishersOnlineConference.com
I checked the site out and two speakers are Dan Poynter and John Kremer. They are two people who would be worth listening to.
http://www.selfpublishing.ca
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Write an E-book also..
For a number of years I have subscribed to Quill & Quire, Canada's magazine of book news and reviews. The publication helps me stay current on what is going on in the Canadian publishing industry so I can pass this on to my readers and students.
Lately articles about e-books have been showing up regularly. Self-published authors know that an e-book version of your print book is a great addition to what you have to offer. An e-book can be used to test the market for your book. You can develop a fan base while you save up the funds to have a paper copy printed. You can make money selling e-books on your website along with print copies.
Now the trade publishers are "discovering" how valuable this format can be. They are using it to keep their back titles in print. HarperCollins announced they plan to convert them to e-books and add special features like you find on DVDs. Penguin Canada recently released e-book editions of four Canadian classics. They have "enriched" them with web links.
In order to compete with the trades, you need to think like they do. I'll be talking about e-books over the next few posts. If you have any questions, please leave a comment or email me directly through my website.
www.selfpublishing.ca
Lately articles about e-books have been showing up regularly. Self-published authors know that an e-book version of your print book is a great addition to what you have to offer. An e-book can be used to test the market for your book. You can develop a fan base while you save up the funds to have a paper copy printed. You can make money selling e-books on your website along with print copies.
Now the trade publishers are "discovering" how valuable this format can be. They are using it to keep their back titles in print. HarperCollins announced they plan to convert them to e-books and add special features like you find on DVDs. Penguin Canada recently released e-book editions of four Canadian classics. They have "enriched" them with web links.
In order to compete with the trades, you need to think like they do. I'll be talking about e-books over the next few posts. If you have any questions, please leave a comment or email me directly through my website.
www.selfpublishing.ca
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