Direct email contact is the most sure way to get in front of potential readers. But how do you achieve it? One way is to build your own list of interested opt-in subscribers that you administer through an online application like Mailchimp or Constant Contact, through your friends and contacts, through your website and blog, […]
Category: Strategy
WTF: Amazon, ABNA, & PW Passing the Buck?
Normally, I write posts sharing our experiences to help YOU. Today we are asking for your help. Read from the bottom up this series of contacts to Amazon Author Support, Publishers Weekly, and ABNA (Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award) “Admin”/Support. We are totally getting the runaround. Someone, anyone: how do you get your author support issues […]
Yes! Kindle Pre-Orders on Amazon (Finally)!
Papa Amazon finally came through for the indie authors and let us participate in ebook pre-orders with Big Pub. Nevermind that Nook, Apple, Kobo, Smashwords, and Google Play beat them to it–Amazon got there eventually. One wonders: might this have something to do with the FACT that indies dominate 50% of the top 7000 genre books […]
The Down Low on Kobo
I’m a big believer in Kobo, of late. I’m not getting rich with them–in fact, they’re a distant tie for fourth in my sales, but I believe. [My sales are 64% Kindle, 24% Nook, 10% iBooks, and only 1% each Kobo and Google Play. (Smashwords isn’t even in the running, with 1 sale for every […]
Kindle Unlimited: The Key Questions | ReBlog of David Gaughran
A must read: http://davidgaughran.wordpress.com/2014/07/20/kindle-unlimited-the-key-questions/. My thoughts: I’m going to have to stand down and wait to see what shakes out after the first month. I am concerned on the impact this will have on the perma-free strategy that has of late been so successful for me and Bookbub as the one truly effective means of promotion, […]
So Is Google Play Worth Your Effort?
If you’ve ever tried to load books for sale on Google Play, you know it ain’t easy. In fact, it’s by far the hardest venue to upload onto, and I don’t think Apple iBooks is a walk in the park. I tried it once about a year ago, and I booted. Then Molly Greene posted […]
Launch Your Book Right
Six Month Launch Promotion Timeline for Print and eBook[1] Traditional Pub: You’ve got from launch through six months for your book to take off, otherwise your books will be pulped and you’re done. You can do most of the items in this timeline, but the ones that require price changes you will have to do […]
IBPA Magazine Quotes SkipJack Publishing on POD
Congratulations to Eric of SkipJack Publishing for this shoutout in IBPA Magazine, June 2014: To read more on Eric’s stance on print-on-demand books, check out Print Books: Eric Makes His Case.
What’s Smashing About Smashwords, And What’s Not
It’s no secret I’m not the world’s biggest fan of aggregation. I totally get that some people aren’t gifted with large quantities of time or tech know-how, but I don’t like sharing my royalties (Smashwords takes 15%). I figure the benefit of indie-dom is sole claim to that percentage, and I’m not giving it up […]
Pre-Order Going for Kona
Well, it’s official. Like we told you we would in our crowdfunding post last Spring, SkipJack is launching the Kickstarter campaign for Pamela Fagan Hutchin’s fourth novel, Going for Kona. But we don’t want anyone giving us money unless they get more than their money’s worth back from the project. That’s why the awards at each […]