This has been making the internet rounds but in case it slipped by you…
Such a brief talk to contain so much inspiration!
I aspire to this level of compassion.
Confessions of an Ignorant Book Marketer – Advice Sought!
Am I making this harder than it should be?
Leave it free or stop the freebie? That is the question.
A detailed recap of the situation so far: a couple days ago, I was surprised to discover that Amazon was offering my ebook, WAS IT A RAT I SAW, for free. It turns out this happened because Amazon will not be undersold, and Sony-US (also unbeknownst to me) was offering the book for free … That, in turn, happened because Sony-US did not update its price after a free promotion ended on Smashwords (which distributes to Sony-US). Sony-US has now updated its price, so Amazon has no reason to continue the free promotion.
If that recap is confusing and doesn’t seem worth the time to sort out, here is the bottom line: it is now up to me. Do I continue the free promotion on Amazon? Answer: I dunno. So: anyone with experience or opinion, please weigh in!
Here are my conflicting facts and questions:
- In a couple days, there have been more than 1000 free downloads (to me that seems like a lot)!
- Are these downloaders readers? reviewers? Or simply hoarders of free stuff?
- My first priority as a writer is to have people actually read my novels.
- My second priority is to get reviews on line.
- Third priority (yet still a priority!) is to have people purchase my novels.
- My “sales” ranking among the free ebooks has moved from infinity to measurable.
- The “sales” rankings seem quite sensitive to minor variations in totals. Mine now fluctuates between #200 and #400.
- How long might it take to break the Top 100 Free Ebooks list?
- Is there value in doing so?
What do you think about maintaining the freebie? I’m inclined to let it ride for a few more days and see what evolves. Is there a downside I’m not seeing?
P.S. To download your own free copy of WAS IT A RAT I SAW, start here.
P.P.S. Photo from michaelfruchter.com.
Creatures of Erosion – A Beach Rorschach
A very low tide at Santa Barbara, California’s East Beach reveals a sea wall whose barnacles, mussels, and erosion combine to suggest some magical creatures. Anyway, that is what I see. How about you?
A fantastical quadruped with another grazing behind?
The creatures look even more mysterious in shadow:
Here are some close-ups of the creature’s hide:
Note the anemones nestled at the creature’s feet:
Book Promotion – News to Me!
Cover art by Lars Huston.
The author is sometimes the last to know. Amazon currently offers my novel WAS IT A RAT I SAW for free. I don’t know how long the promotion will last. I don’t know how Amazon customers are even made aware of it, yet there are many downloads, so somebody is in this loop!
I have chosen to avoid snarky reactions about wanting to retain control. I am instead opting for This is an interesting turn of events. Wonder where it will all lead.
Anyway – if you had meant to get an e-copy during my recent Smashwords promotion, you might as well pop over to Amazon and get a copy there.
WAS IT A RAT I SAW is a psychological thriller involving split brain research, animal rights, and a love quadrangle. If you do read it, please post a review! (Let me know if you need guidance about how or where to post reviews.)
How Long Is That In Dog Years?
Today is a milestone: Required Writing is one year old. So. Is my blog a toddler? An adolescent? A septuagenarian?
How does a blog lifetime compare to a human’s? We don’t yet know what the maximum lifespan of a blog is, do we? Clearly, many of them die young, after scant months or a handful of years. But how long might a blog keep going? Should it? Can we look to some other realm of pop culture for a comparison?
The Tonight Show?
Days of Our Lives?
The Fast and the Furious?
The New Yorker?
Mad Magazine?
Rolling Stone?
The Rolling Stones?
The Sex Pistols?
Dear Abby?
James Dean?
Betty White?
What do you think the right comparison should be? I confess I have no clue. Should I want my blog to live fast, die young, and make a good looking corpse?* And I hope I immediately know when it is time to go. Like the song** says, it’s better to burn out than it is to rust. Although I would prefer to do neither. My goal is to keep writing until it is time to stop.
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* What movie is this from? Anybody?
**The song being “Hey hey my my”, which Neil Young wrote about the advent of punk (with some lyrics derived from Devo’s days as copy writers, and the ad campaign Rust never sleeps). Or was that “My my hey hey.” For obvious reasons, I always mix those two up.
Eerie Erosion
The WP Weekly Photo Challenge wants to see eerie in black and white.
An unusually low tide exposed this heavily eroded metal sea wall at East Beach in Santa Barbara, CA. I wondered if it was possible to strip the beauty from an ocean photo. To convert beauty to eerie, I changed the image to black and white and then tinted using Photoshop. This was as eerie as I could get. I believe the answer is no. Even post-apocalypse, sun on ocean remains beautiful.
Photoshopped. I like the way the sun bleeds into the water.
The original image.
Seven Reasons Women Live Longer Than Men: #1
Even if you’ve seen these photos before – they are always good for a laugh. I inherited my copies fourth hand; if you can help me assign photo credits, please do so!
Number 1: Because Changing Lightbulbs Requires No Special Training
What’s scariest is the sense he’s done this before.
Seven Reasons Women Live Longer Than Men: #2
Even if you’ve seen these photos before – they are always good for a laugh. I inherited my copies fourth hand; if you can help me assign photo credits, please do so!
Number 2: Because Goggles Are Required For Safety
Barefoot does give better traction. Wouldn’t want to fall.
Would You Live Here?
The WP Weekly Photo Challenge wants to see eerie in black and white.
This apartment entry on Sunset Boulevard in the Echo Park district of Los Angeles qualifies!
Being an obedient Photo Challenge participant, I converted the photo to Black&White in Photoshop. But I think the original color photo is even eerier.
What do you think?
Seven Reasons Women Live Longer Than Men: #3
Even if you’ve seen these photos before – they are always good for a laugh. I inherited my copies fourth hand; if you can help me assign photo credits, please do so!
Number 3: Because Pink Is His Best Color
No worries.
Required Writing 