What are
/r/selfpublish's
favorite Products & Services?
From 3.5 billion Reddit comments
The most popular Products mentioned in /r/selfpublish:
The most popular Services mentioned in /r/selfpublish:
Reedsy
calibre
Wavemaker
WordPress
Goodreads
Barnes & Noble
Google Fonts
Payhip
Canva
Scribus
Mailchimp
ProWritingAid
LibreOffice
Kickstarter
Unsplash
The most popular Android Apps mentioned in /r/selfpublish:
Afterword
Loop - Habit Tracker
BinaryWatch
The most popular reviews in /r/selfpublish:
Thanks so much for sharing your data. I learned very early on that most advertising spend for non-fiction isn't as powerful as it is for my fiction. I have 7 non-fiction books out, and run an average of $10 in ads a day for each. Those ads operate at break even, or profit, or they're killed.
I sold about $50,000 in non-fiction in 2018, and almost all of that was pure profit since 6 of the books were already out, and the 7th had less than $1,000 in production costs.
The reason I'm selling so many books is platform. The reason why Seth Godin can trigger a rush on your books is platform. Anything you can do to increase yours from podcast interviews to content marketing will increase yours. Given your reviews you've written the top book in your space, but your cover isn't doing you any favors and is part of the reason why your conversion is so low.
If you changed that one element I bet your profit from ad spend would sky rocket. Take a peek at my covers. The most important element is how it appears as a thumbnail. Note that all seven of mine have legible titles, bright eye-drawing colors, and can be easily read in the thumbnail.
Take some of your 20% profit and get the best cover in the business. Or, if you're still confident in your design abilities, learn what makes a great digital book cover and re-do yours. The thumbnail is everything.
Note: I have a selection of my templates and case studies on a notion website. Just keep in mind that those are passive resources. I add resources and reading lists to get up to speed on self publishing, but I am NOT a writing coach or an editor or anything more than an organized scribbling introvert who is willing to share some stuff with the writing community. I don't shoot the shit 1:1 in DMs but I will answer questions in this post.
Take my musings with whatever grain of salt you want. https://www.notion.so/Author-Templates-Case-Studies-f2ec307f621343ca8f76569a3d3d1015
My big problem with Word for paperback formatting is that it will move things around for no reason.
So, for that reason, I use LibreOffice which works just like Word should. And it's free!
For page numbering, I put my front matter in its own file with no page numbers and then start a second file with page 1. I could use sections for this but, for some reason, my brain doesn't seem to be able to do so. Two files are easy and I join the PDFs together using a free online tool.
>If I see parentheses in your novel, it automatically gets denied. Fiction novels don't have or need parentheses and that isn't about to change. Believe it or not, I see them quite often.
This style requirement is really odd and arbitrary. Don't think other people share it either, or at least not to this extent.
For example, in a published short story in Clarkesworld just this week. Sure, this isn't a fiction...novel. It's a short story. But it is still narrative fiction. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland has one in the second paragraph. And the third. And the eighth. Styles change, I know, but this seems like a really weird thing to get hung up on.
If this isn't part of your written submission guidelines, you're being an asshole for no reason. On reading the site...I see it isn't, and this is used as an odd gotcha for some reason.
Also, "fiction novel"?
My initial reaction: yes, you need an editor.
> I am planning on publishing my first ebook in a genre that very few editors have much experience with, that also has unique stylistic choices.
You're still going to need a writer to pick out typos and poor grammar. No matter how good you are, and how meticulously you examine your drafts, they will slip through!
> I've been lucky enough to have a number of online readers go over what I consider my second draft online, helping me make developmental changes and pointing out a lot of continuity errors that a copy editor would likely have helped me with.
They're still not the same as a paid professional. The difference is enormous!
> I am willing to spend this time revising, editing and reading my novel 24/7, making sure there are no obvious mistakes. I will read it backwards, forwards and aloud. I will meticulously examine each page a dozen times, or at least that's what I tell myself.
Mistakes will still get through. Writers have certain blind spots for their own writing, especially when you've read it over and over.
> I have a strong grasp of grammar, and will be using books like The Elements of Style, The Elements of Grammar and Self-Editing for Fiction Writers.
Seriously, it's shocking how many typos/mistakes make it into the drafts that I send my editor. By then I've done 3 drafts myself, and had beta-readers go over my manuscript, and yet my editor still finds craploads of little things that make me smack my forehead.
> So, am I crazy, or can I do this without an editor?
You really, really, really need an editor. I know you think you have your bases covered, and can get by without, but your novel will absolutely suffer because of it. There's just no substitute for a hired professional going over your work!
You can't really go wrong with Wordpress. Just be aware that there are 2 types of Wordpress site i.e. those built at wordpress.com and those that are hosted on their own domain. The latter is my personal preference, but do your research before jumping in.
After two years, I've officially finally published my first book! Feels real good honestly. While I don't have a natural knack for marketing, figured I might as well share here to see what it's like.
Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0981FY3ZJ
The series name is "Kings of Reality", with the first book called "Awakened". It is a fantasy series that I plan on releasing a new book for every two months or so (the writing is mostly done just a matter of editing etc). If anyone has any further tips, let me know. Otherwise, check it out! Thank you!!
> Three thousand years ago, the world was divided into five separate planes of existence by the god known as Void, after a group of humans attempted to steal his power. As punishment, he set up the "Convergence". Every thousand years, a small group of "Awakened" would gain the ability to travel through the planes of existence on a journey to become more powerful. Those who make it through all five will be able to participate in the Convergence, where the power of god is the prize. This is the journey that 17-year-old Yin is thrust into, and the one he must survive.
The problem is that they look like fake reviews, even if they aren't. Let me explain why:
- they are all nearly identical in length, content, tone and punctuation
- three of them have user names that are single female first names - they look as though they have been plucked to create profiles
- all those three user names have never reviewed anything else, again this looks as though they signed up simply to review your book
- there are generally far more people who review on Goodreads, not just Amazon. To have zero reviews on Goodreads looks a little bit suspicious
If this is coincidental it's just very unfortunate. But the very fairest thing that one can say - and we've all been "guilty" of this, probably, in terms of sending copies of our work to good friends - is that they look like three mates of yours who are doing you a favour.
Look at this guy's book and the length and variety of both reviews and user names. I'm prepared to give you the benefit of the doubt that yours are real, but other readers are going to be suspicious, and I would also be wary of Amazon's fraud bots (though the Verified should help protect against that to some degree).
Just released on Amazon :) proud on my first book.
https://www.amazon.com/Shinbyeong-forgotten-futuristic-illegal-parties-ebook/dp/B07KPDNYV2/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1543736216&sr=1-1&keywords=Shinbyeong for 9.90 but I will give you a discount if you DM me. Free chapters on shinbyeong.com
​
plot:
In a future where South- and North Korea have unified, we follow the life of a young introvert geek. Living in the slums of Pyongyang. He works a day job as a network engineer. But at the weekend he indulges in futuristic drugs at underground parties.
He wakes up all alone in a dark basement after losing control of himself at a party. No memories, a bunch of unread messages on his phone, he has no clue what happened. But after this incident, strange visual glitches are popping up. He's afraid he might be going crazy.
Yet, his roommate, Chung-Hei, connects his experiences to old Korean shamanistic mythologies. This starts off an investigation and together they go up to Mount Paektu. All while following the thoughts of a man going insane.
Shinbyeong also contains a documentary to support the storyline. Telling you what happened to North-Korea before and after the unification. And explains real, ancient Korean mythologies to support the story.
I’d love it if you checked out my debut novel The Treehouse, available on Amazon.
The kindle version is $3.99.
Description:
In the woods that butt up against their quiet east Texas town, middle schoolers Lucas, Elijah and Tyler have spent the last three months building a secret treehouse. On the first night of spring break, they sneak out to finally spend the night in the finished project. Things quickly turn nightmarish when they witness a man bury a body just a few yards from their perch above the forest floor.
High school junior Allison Hanes isn't allowed to have a boyfriend, but she sneaks out at night to spend time with Brandon, a senior boy who plays on the varsity baseball team. On one of these occasions, their midnight rendezvous is interrupted when she and Brandon witness a man dump a body in the trunk of a car.
Unable to tell their parents what they've witnessed or where they were, the boys decide it's up to them to catch the killer, in fear that he may strike again. However, his next victim may be close to home and they quickly discover themselves, and their loved ones, in the killer's crosshairs.
The debut novel from author Andrew J. Brandt, THE TREEHOUSE offers a page-turning coming-of-age affair of murder and mystery in the quiet town of Henderson, TX. Fans of The Goonies and Stranger Things will both rejoice and tremor in fear as the characters are pursued by a killer whose motives remain an enigma.
I use Ingram for my hardcover (and paper on both Ingram and KDP) for my kid's picture books (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08MWTMT2F?binding=paperback&ref=dbs_dp_rwt_sb_tpbk). Amazon picks them up through Ingram and so do many other stores (Target, Barnes and Noble, Walmart, etc) for their order online and pick-up in-store options. I set a low discount amount (not the 55%) and that way the local stores that pick them up get some profit and there's enough profit that it gets wide distribution. I make about 3.50 a book for the hardcover this way, give or take, and don't have to do any of the ordering and shipping work. I could set the price higher to make more, but I'm not sure many people will pay 25.00 for a kid's book that's not super famous or a full set of stories in one cover.
Use Shirtaloon's He Who Fights With Monsters as your case study.
He spent 20 months writing his first volume offline (roughly 350k words) then started posting on RoyalRoad with a large backlog for patreon. After he'd written and posted roughly one million words of content for free he published to Amazon through Atheon.
Obviously, he put a ton of work in and nearly two years of his life before even putting the story up for free, but he's been very successful now.
Strunk and White's Elements of Style is what really got me to buckle down and be serious about craft. Something something learning rules before you break them.
Stephen King's On Writing was great for learning that he doesn't actually write every single day (he just said that because it'd sound better as an interview quote, lmao). That makes me feel better about only writing on weekdays, or on a "per project" basis.
As for self-publishing, everyone's probably read these by now but definitely the Chris Fox series (Write to Market and so on). And I'm a huge fan of Libbie Hawker's Take Off Your Pants!, which is the book that actually, finally pushed me to finish a novel.
I'm still working my way through Write, Publish, Repeat, and I'm liking it so far. And while I'm not the hugest fan of his tone, Derek Murphy has some useful advice in Guerrilla Publishing and Book Marketing is Dead. The latter is currently (might be perma?) free on Amazon.
Please, don't design your own book cover if you don't already have a solid foundation in graphic design, especially if you want people to pay money for your book. However, if this book is a hobby project or freebie, then Canva can put together a nice enough cover design.
The end begins "Starfall", my debut dark fantasy epic, is available on Kindle, Kindle Unlimited and in paperback, with a beautiful cover art by Claire Chivell.
Any fans of flawed, complex characters, political intrigue, bloody violence, medieval fantasy, apocalyptic stakes and dark, monstrous horror should check it out! "Starfall" ebook and paper out now on Amazon
My debut self published fantasy novel:
A fast paced fantasy tale with plenty of sword fights, battles, magic, and mysteries.
This tale follows the city of Maladras and the leaders of the city in a land gripped by a permanent winter.
The mysterious King Alric and his Reapers. The courageous Selanar and his force of Wardens, trained to fight the bear-like Doomclaws that roam the frosty wildlands.
Those orders along with other players must face threats from within, as well as old foes that threaten the lives of everyone in the kingdom.
Amazon link if you feel like taking a look. I also run a free ebook promotion fairly often too!
I've also passed the 40k word mark on my next project, Robin Hood vs King Arthur, so I am (kinda) halfway through the first draft of that!
Good luck on your own projects too!
This is very sweet of you! If you’re interested my novella is a detective mystery about a hit and run that occurs I Boston’s North End. Three suspects emerge: a pathological liar, a severe alcoholic with short term memory loss, and an H1B immigrant who speaks only a handful of English.
It's super easy to learn, honestly I would recommend anyone who self publishes to learn this part of the process because it is best to have fine control of it.
So learn up on some basic CSS, read this book but instead of doing all the stuff she says about formatting the text in word (search and replace), copy and paste your word document into this tool and let it do allll the work for you.
Otherwise, play with different CSS on your title pages (look at other authors for ideas), learn to embed custom fonts (fancy), and learn how to code a TOC from scratch (not hard! it's basic css).
I use Sigil personally because it gives me fine control of everything. You can use Calibre as she instructs, but Sigil is XHTML and will get pissed off if you screw anything up so it's a bit safer to me.
Why hand formatting instead of just grabbing Vellum and formatting for people? Vellum doesn't teach you shit, and you'll give people a better KENP by doing handformatting. You can do all that fancy Vellum shit with handformatting, and you can squeeze more pages out of it which is what everyone wants. How many more pages?
Some more schmuck uploaded this long ass story from a word document to Amazon and got 200 pages out of it. Using proper formatting, it went to 600+ pages. That is an uncommon example, but handformatting is nearly always better.
I am a supermarket cashier who had gotten very fed up with customers so in an effort to regain empathy for the masses I wrote a poetry book of vignettes about all my customers giving them a backstory. It’s on sale on amazon for $5.
Hello!
This week I published my first audiobook! While I'd written two novels prior, this was the first translated into this format. It's $24.95 on Audible, or free if you sign up for the service.
The book is a horror/comedy that starts off as slice-of-life with some geeky characters, and then swerves into elder god madness on the backend. It's a fun read, and a great listen!
Check out the link below, and I'd love to hear your thoughts!
If I wanted to get started at audiobook production, I'd start with the documentation that Librivox has for volunteers:
https://librivox.org/pages/volunteer-for-librivox/
They make some points I hadn't thought of.
You might want to look up what the fair use terms is on this, and for publications like books. I do a lot of graphic design work that spends time treading the line of fair use and use in marketing, so I maybe you might want to find the creative commons license page on the wallpaper site or where ever this image was originally posted. You know, for peace of mind.
Google's reverse image search function should help you find it.
Reviews are tough for me too. But reviews are part of getting a book seen. If you learn of a good way to get more reviews, let me know. I've been searching through Amazon's top reviewers to find people who will read my book and review it. But it's a tough slog to do that.
Recently, I read Book Marketing is Dead by Derek Murphy. It opened my eyes to the way marketing needs to work for independent authors. It's not about spamming on Twitter any more. It's about connecting with your readers on an individual level. I recommend that book a lot.
The licensing agreement will tell you if you need to.
For Shutterstock it’s at Shutterstock license. Section 3b:
If and where commercially reasonable, the use of Visual Content in Merchandise or an audio-visual production shall be accompanied by a credit to Shutterstock in substantially the following form:
"Image(s) or Footage (as applicable), used under license from Shutterstock.com”
Which means... umm. I don’t know. Are books merchandise? In this case I’d toss it in on the copyright page. It takes 5 seconds and doesn’t hurt you.
If I had to be honest, I'm not a fan. It reads a bit amateurish, and I'm not too convinced of the left-justified alignment on the front cover. And regarding the title itself - would you consider putting a few commas in there? I feel like it should be The Qori, The Illia, and Michael Sanders, depending on your opinion of Oxford commas.
The orange and black combination tends to be associated with Halloween. It looks like you're trying your hand at minimalism, but it's just falling a bit flat. The font choice isn't great - especially for the summary at the back.
If you're interested in trying to design your own covers, I would definitely recommend these two Skillshare courses. It's free for the first two weeks, I believe, unless someone refers you. Then you get a month.
Remember, the cover is what draws the attention of your potential reader. If you were browsing Amazon, would you click on this?
I purchase all my domains at Namecheap.com - the regular domains are $8.88/yr and I also have the Honey extension installed on my computer so it routinely finds coupons for like 20% - 50% off. I just purchased 5 sites 2 weeks ago and got them for just over $7 each.
I host mine on Bluehost and they offer a free SSL so I don't have to purchase one at Namecheap. Also Namecheap gives you free WhoIs protection so you could have it under a business name so no one knows your address.
If you are not doing separate hosting then check out Bluehost because you can just get the package and get a free website (as long as the domain is available).
If you are looking for the whole...easiest thing possible then go with Wix but it's a lot more expensive.
Hope this is helpful. Congrats on getting a website.
Hey all!
Last week I published my third book, Hazelhearth Hires Heroes, a stand-alone fantasy humor novel.
Welcome to Hazelhearth: our picturesque city is nestled in a tranquil corner of the empire. Fitness lovers enjoy vigorous nature walks in the surrounding forest (don’t forget your sword!) Foodies savor rich, robust walnut-based cuisine. Or visit the gnome quarter for a walk on the wild side! Local mines and orchards beckon with plentiful employment opportunities, while workers sleep safe knowing that stout city walls keep mythic monsters at bay. A select few may even be chosen for exciting quest opportunities.
The onslaught of subterranean hordes? Oh, that’s happening miles away. And the elves have it completely under control.
Inquire today at the Hazelhearth board of tourism, employment, and heroics!
I wrote a short story as a sort of promotional teaser whatnot for a novel I'll be self-publishing later this summer.
The story is titled "In Death He's Briefly Kevin" and is available on my website. Clocks in under 2,000 words.
I also wrote a book and self-published for the first time earlier this year. It's available through Kindle Unlimited here.
Today I celebrate the release of my first full-length whodunnit detective novel: Murder on Quizzbear Mountain
"Cult television game show Quizzmasters is no stranger to controversy, but when the leading contestant is mauled to death by a 700-pound grizzly bear, things may have finally gotten out of hand."
Thank you to Self Publish for helping make this a reality. It's been a great experience getting this far, and now I hope you can enjoy it, too.
My new book - Princess Reject
>Being rejected like every other 'Evil' princess in fairy tales, she is forced back to her own kingdom. To lose to a commoner - the utter humiliation. However, fate has something else in store for her.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0957TBV3P
East Asian based magical fantasy with a strong Heroine and a happy Wizard. It's got action, adventure, romance, magic and many more!
After lurking on this sub obsessively throughout my self publishing journey, I finally made it. I still have to continue fighting the marketing fight, but my book baby is published thanks to all your help!
Description: And I Close My Eyes is a collection of poetry about overcoming trauma and self doubt in order to heal. Divided into three parts, this collection is organized in such a way that its poems represent the different stages in the process of healing. Whether you feel you need a chance to sit with the pain, to connect with the feelings of your internal battles, or you need inspiration in order to fight on, each section offers a different set of raw emotions to discover.
here's the Amazon link! I'd love for you to check it out! I especially need reviews :)
As a novice cover artist here is my two cents:
Option 1 looks professionally done. It does read a bit generic but thats not bad. Its done really well. It immediately tells the reader what they're looking for. However, I was pretty sure I'd seen this image before or something like it. I did a quick google image search and found this Its been used before. Whether or not thebookcoverdesigner.com is aware or not, I'm not sure.
Option 2. I really like this style. Painterly covers are definite standard for fantasy and the style doesn't break away from your other covers. I understand the text placement is something you'd have to handle on your own but with a strong image like the one you've got it'll probably turn out great.
If you're wanting to go more mainstream, do it. I don't think you'll go wrong either way really. There was an interesting post over at r/Fantasy a few weeks ago comparing and contrasting photographic covers and painted covers and which were in the top 100 on Amazon. Photographic covers won so its definitely a viable route. I'd just search around for another premade.
I finally self published my first work on Amazon! It's a fantasy short story about an exiled sage who crosses the Great Barrier in the desert to hunt a demon. It's the first of three which I'm publishing for $0.99 each and will eventually (later this month) publish as a novella of three short stories linked together by a theme of dark magic.
I understand short stories don't sell well, but I've had the itch to do this for a long time and I wanted to get something out there sooner than I can have a book ready to go. (Also, I think it's a good practice to have some other titles up when I do put full-length book(s) out there, in case anyone's looking for more.)
EDIT: Check out the link! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KD15FFA
I'm also happy to send free copies in exchange for honest reviews. Let me know if you'd like a copy and what format you'd prefer.
Hello everyone! I wrote a historical fantasy book Republic of Stone which sold out in two editions in Croatia, so we translated it to English to share it with the world! It is free today on Amazon, so grab your copy and leave some feedback! :)
My directory helps authors find book reviewers for indie and self-published books, and provides trusted advice for contacting them. Updated for 2018, it will save you hours of research time.
The Book Reviewer Yellow Pages. A Directory of 200 Book Bloggers, 40 Blog Tour Organizers and 32 Book Review Businesses Specializing in Indie-Published Books.
It also includes a quick start guide, outreach checklists, sample email template, an explanation of Amazon's book review policy, and a guide to professional book design standards. Everything you need to immediately begin soliciting book reviews.
All 1,588 entries in the eBook index are hyperlinked to one or more of the 272 listings
LINKS
The Kindle is $4.99, or free when you buy the paperback ($15.95). Click here for Amazon.
Or visit my shop page for a list of other stores including international; click here.
Admin Privilege, a Sci-Fi romance featuring a near-utopian feature ruled by AI robots that keep society's cogs running smoothly, is FREE on Amazon.
Currently, the Kindle edition is free only. You can click the link above and it will take you to the Amazon page for it.
Lav was on top of the world. Power, promotions, and promiscuity were hers to command. Every action leading her further into the heavens and into a new corner office with a view. She had taken full advantage of the utopian society ruled and guided by benevolent AI Gods. So...why is Death itself following her?
Hey all!
This is the blurb for my cyber-fantasy ‘The Elysian Knight’
‘In a future world of kingdoms and knights, where cyber and reality are fused, we meet a young man named Rion Wrathgaite.
Upon learning that he is not human at all and is gifted with a formidable and supernatural power, he is forced to serve as a knight in the Kingdom of Caelum, protecting it from its latest threat.
The threat? A menacing and sinister being dubbed 'The Crafter' who can conjure up twisted and disturbing creatures from his dark and depraved imagination. While battling The Crafter and learning to harness his nearly untameable ability, Rion must come to terms with who and what he is.
As the journey unfolds, Rion discovers more secrets concerning his past and tries to answer that age old question:
"What makes us human?"’
This is Part 2 of 4
Though this is Part 2, I might argue that starting here is better as Part 1 is more of a build up. I do a ‘previously in...’ at the start of this one as well as a glossary. Part 1 is available should you wish to purchase it.
Part 2 is free to download until the end of 2018/08/04 but is usually $0.99 but varies slightly depending on which Amazon store you purchase it from.
I just published a collection of poetry on Amazon, Poems from the Beach and Other Places. These are poems I have written over the past ten years or so. They cover various themes—death, love, existence in general. Nature figures prominently. Please have a look if you feel so inclined. Thank you! Here is the link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QCH4T5Q/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_REqQCbTN4AY1W
My debut novel is out on amazon!
It is a standalone novel, but it establishes a world where more stories will be set in future.
US Amazon link here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MLRKDHC
Available on Kindle Unlimited as well! 2.99 USD for the rest.
Please consider leaving a review if you do pick it up, it really really helps!
Credit for the artwork goes to Dane Low at ebooklaunch.com. The process was very easy and the turnaround time was great.
Blurb
A simple mission, a web of lies.
Infiltrate the keep, remain unseen, leave only a corpse.
For Gillis and Amelia, two of the Mordenari's most trusted assassins, it should have been a routine job. A little bloody, sure, but nothing they couldn't handle.
But Amelia has other plans, an old score to settle, and her deception--should her employers learn the truth--could mean a short trip on a rope for both of them.
With no one left to trust in a world consumed by murder and deceit, Gillis and Amelia know they're both only a single step ahead of the grave.
My personal belief is that by the time you're ready to use these tools, you'll be able to discern which ones will be worth your time and effort. Some are great and worth the money if you're ready for them. If the immediate benefit and worth isn't clear, then the course will probably be a waste of time and money.
To be clear, there are fantastic resources for the cost of an ebook.
The Self-Publishing Podcast (Also, Write, Publish, Repeat is a great book with much of the same advice in condensed form.)
The Rocking Self-Publishing Podcast (Currently MIA, but plenty of existing files to use.)
Chris Fox's (/u/Arkelias) books on the subject are wonderful.
/u/Gravlox15 has a great marketing course.
With so many free resources, I would start there.
Used to use Scrivener, and then GDocs.
After being disappointed with Atticus, I found Reedsy which does the same thing, only is free. Online writing, formatting, saves old versions, works on my phone.
Atticus may get better, but for now I'm really happy with Reedsy.
I found my cover designer on Reedsy. And if I can throw out a referral, her name is Sarah Beaudin. She's currently living in S. Korea, so we had to deal with the time difference. However, she's extremely knowledgeable about the publishing industry and taught me a lot on the side, as well as designing a great cover. Reedsy has a number of great professionals and you can query up to 5 at a time for quotes.
​
Do NOT go to Fiverr. It's a real mixed bag over there.
Hello!
My novel, Encrypted, is available on Amazon in paperback and ebook. It is a different take on superpowers. My protagonist hates heroes and wants to be a villain instead.
Back of the book:
It happened on the day called Nevernoon, when darkness spread chaos and fear across the earth for thirty-six seconds. The day they began to Manifest their powers.
These people, known as Primes, grow ever more numerous...and more dangerous. During their first Manifestation, things can go horribly wrong...resulting in twisted monsters, lethal explosions, and fates stranger than death.
Some of those who survive call themselves Villains. They choose to fight for their place in an unforgiving world, staking out prestige, power, and territory. Heroes stand against them, protecting civilization as we know it from any Prime who would abuse their powers. A third group call themselves the 95’s. They would rather work a regular 9 to 5 job and live a normal life. Last are the Nulls. Regular people trying to make sense of a world tipping towards an unknown future..
Samantha Gray doesn’t care about most of that crap. Heroes are bullies and 95’s are suckers. She always thought she’d end up someday as an unpowered Minion serving Villains, or maybe even a Villain herself. It turns out that day is today.
If that sounds exciting, check out Encrypted at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08W9KQPDK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_5AH7ABRJXWH477NT3T0K
I spent literally fifteen (!) years getting my first book done. It's so great to see it out there getting reviewed!!
https://www.amazon.com/POPES-BUTCHER-Serial-Medieval-Vatican-ebook/dp/B095SZJSPY
I am now working on my third!
My debut novel came out two weeks and ago. I’ve sold almost 250 copies! I also just found out it was submitted for the 2021 Pulitzer award.
It’s called Lucky: A Novel and explores interwoven and parallel stories of two powerful woman who are connected by the transcendental nature of time and space. Join Rhea Harmonia, America’s Favorite Pop-star, as she tumbles down the rabbit hole— on a journey through the story of a Standard Oil heiress, history, philosophy, mythology, math, music, and time. One house and a secret code (Φ) connects the woman for eternity.
How strange life becomes when you have everything you’ve ever wanted.
You can read it for free on Kindle Unlimited or buy it on AmazonAmazon link!
My latest romance, Hell Prevails, is going live soon!
I'm still quite a new author, so I appreciate all the support I can get!
Here's the description:
Witness to a murder. Kidnapped by a motorcycle gang.
Christina’s life was already going downhill, but now things are even worse. Forced to flee her hometown and leave everything behind, her only refuge isn’t as safe as she would like. Hell Prevails Motorcycle Club has her entire life in their clutches—but there’s still one thing they didn’t plan on.
Her ex-boyfriend is a member.
Reunited under the wildest circumstances, Christina finds herself surrounded by rough, attractive men. Maybe being kidnapped wasn’t such a bad thing after all…
My mm sci-fi romance novel RESCUE has a 4.7/5 star rating on Amazon! If you haven't grabbed it yet, what are you waiting for?
Meet Kipexo, a battle-wounded Commander haunted by the tragedy that killed his entire squad. He adopts Ethan, a human servant rescued from the dying planet Earth, to help during his recovery. Despite the language barriers and cultural differences, these two men find a whole lot more in their partnership than they ever expected. Little do they know, a deadly secret waits in the shadows, and Kipexo is forced to choose between his loyalty to his people or his devotion to the man he loves.
RESCUE is available for free on Kindle Unlimited or $2.99 without KU. Paperback is also available for $9.99.
Amazon took away my 2 positive reviews, which breaks my heart. This short story collections has a little bit of everything, but leans toward the dark and twisted.
Free on Kindle Unlimited. Give it a look!
Your question is a little confusing, but I think I know what you mean. You'll have two versions of your book. KDP will handle the Kindle version, which will be a mobi file. If you stick with all Amazon, the print book will be through CreateSpace. This should be a PDF. There are plenty of tutorials online for publishing through KDP and CreateSpace. Both books will be the same product page. Here's mine as an example: Monsters All the Way Down https://www.amazon.com/dp/0990460770/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_u8aZvbG4DY93T
Hope this helps!
They always cost a tonne more because of print-on-demand prices, so the lowest I can usually sell for (printing via Lulu) is about $16/17. Which is high, and my print sales are minimal.
However I more recently started using Ingram Spark which is a much more professional way to go, with a lower base unit price. It also has many more links with bookshops and distributors etc and I think it cuts its own deals with them on wholesale unit price.
Amazon claims to have the paperback of one of my Ingram-printed novels for $5.81 (it may look different when you view it because I suspect these prices are algorithmically generated):
Whereas my paperbacks (printed via Lulu) are currently listed on Amazon at $19.99, and $17.99 on Lulu (the base unit cost if I buy them myself is about $14).
Ultimately if you're serious about selling print copies, go with Ingram Spark. Always upload directly to Amazon/KDP, and use a general distributor for other sites. I currently use Smashwords which is super quick at getting books on iBooks these days. I have used Lulu in the past, some people use Draft2Digital. Ingram also does eBooks but I haven't got around to trying their distribution as I think there's a set-up charge (which there is for print books - USD$49 - but there are constantly free promo vouchers around so just google).
Have someone you trust edit it
Spring for a some really good cover art (because let's face it, saying people don't judge books by their covers is like saying "size doesn't matter"). Google "hire an illustrator." There are tons of platforms out there for you to find an illustrator that you want.
Self publish using Amazon. Get both the kindle and the print-on-demand versions. This can be tricky doing it oneself, but there are a lot of people on fivrr and upwork who have experience with the formatting.
Once you're published, promote using AMS. $0.25 a click on average.
I did this and I get about 8-10 sales per day, which ain't bad at all.
Have you seen the stuff on Amazon? Are you worse than this?
Free from me for Kindle this weekend is a sweet little story of hopeless nerds finding love, "The Girl from Ventnor Avenue".
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OAC62I8/
I'm glad I looked it up to make this post because that's how I discovered that a not-very-positive Amazon review it used to have has disappeared. I have absolutely no idea why.
I finally dared to do it after months of not doing it because my brain decided long ago that I’m not good enough to do this. Brains are fun.
Anyway. It’s a novella because I’m terrible at writing longer works, and anything I do write ends up a short story or a novella.
There will be five. They’re between 30-35K long.
Stolen Visions - The End We Saw - Volume One
"We were living on borrowed time, and it didn’t look like I had a lot of it left."
What would you do if you emerged from a London underground station to discover everyone around you had died?
When a group of survivors band together following the Pulse, an apocalyptic event that killed everyone who wasn’t underground, they’re forced to co-exist and fight for their survival.
It isn’t long before the nosebleeds start, and even eight-year-old Daniel isn’t immune.
But his nosebleeds don’t result in death—they result in visions of the future.
A future where Virginia and her brother, Rick, are captured by a survivalist cult.
Amazon US link https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TCQH4YN
Amazon U.K. link https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07TCQH4YN
£1.99 / $2.99
As mgallowglas is saying, stories have evolved in the last 40k years. Nowadays, you can't deliver reams of exposition and expect the reader to stay with you. For better or worse, audiences now want three-part, identifiable, action-oriented stories wherein they can place themselves to live vicariously.
If you want to write something "concept-y" do it by all means, but if you want to write something people will read, you'll need to roll with the critique.
If this is finished, collect some reviews and advice (give it to a couple of like-talented friends, go to some writer's groups, read On Writing, by Stephen King), and move the fuck on. Start writing the next thing and make it better. Then revisit this in a few years and see how much you've grown.
Read "On Writing Well" by William Zinsser. He does a fantastic job explaining how memoir writing (the telling of true events using the elements of fiction) functions ans explains it in a clear way that someone without much experience can understand.
Your sales don't look very good. There's no way to guarantee sales, but I have a few recommendations that might help.
Your books are only in one kindle category, and that's Fantasy. That means your books are competing against nearly 90,000 titles for a spot in the top 100, where sales are decent. That's a losing battle at best. You simply don't have the name recognition to grab and hold that spot. However, Amazon has sixteen subcategories of Fantasy. Make sure you're in the two allocated Kindle categories and that you're in as niche a category as possible. This will greatly improve your visibility.
Your books are between 150-200 pages. Why is it that you only have two lines worth of description for each? Your description hints at a hook, but we don't actually get to see it. We need something more to draw us in. You need to spice up your description a bit to draw in readers.
Your covers aren't bad, and I doubt they're what's holding you back. That said, they don't quite fit in with most of the other fantasy books, do they? A professional makeover could be a boon. If you make a change, this is the change I would make last.
You're producing multiple books, which is great, but when I look at the descriptions, how do I know which comes first? Make sure that the difference is clear not only in title (The volume name is cut when I look only at kindle editions. I have no idea why.), but also in the description.
If you haven't done so already, I'd recommend picking up Write, Publish, Repeat. They've already done what you're trying to do, and their advice is spot on.
Best of luck to you. I hope my unsolicited advice helps more than it irritates.
First questions...
- Who hosts your site? (e.g. GoDaddy, Wix, etc)
- Do you have a Wordpress.com or Wordpress.org account for your blog?
Most hosting services allow a Wordpress blog to be plugged in to your site. I'm most familiar with GoDaddy's set up but imagine it's similar for other hosts.
Then you'd just need a main page to tie it all up in a pretty bow (which is where the bulk of the work happens).
Once you have a host and a blog, someone on Fiverr could likely crank out the front page for you. I come from a web design and graphics background and could give you tips & pointers I learned from setting up my own author site. Setting up the initial site can be an exercise in frustration.
I would look at this previous project. I'm not sure if you're talking about putting out an ebook or a physical book, but this was one that did pretty well:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jackcheng/these-days-a-novel
This isn't exactly what you're looking for, but my friend did a Kickstarter for a poetry chapbook. It might give you a few ideas if you are going for a low goal.
Personally I like rewards I can use, a bookmark with part of your cover on it, maybe a pen with the book title on it, something I can find a reason to keep around, not some trinket that seems cool for a month and then just gathers dust and takes up space.
The image itself is what's protected under copyright in this instance.
When the console is protected is when say, you release a GameStation 4 with Sony design specs.
You can take a photo of the console, but you'd be far better off getting rights to stock photos if you can, unless you have a good lighting setup. This site, while not comprehensive or exhaustive in any way, is royalty free, no-license.
If you can't get good photos that fit your needs and budget from stock, do yourself a favour and at least invest in at least two LED ring lights and dSLR. Your phone can probably take decent photos, but phones don't tend to have good lenses and settings for anything more complicated than wide shots. I love my iPhone, but I use my Canon Rebel for anything more important than my Instagram.
I am using it and I'm a science fiction novelist.
I don't promise anything on a scheduled basis, so I use monthly donations instead. I have several levels, but the basics rewards: (a) are getting early access to each novel about a month before it's published, and occasional bonus scenes. and (b) getting a signed print copy of each book as it's published, and (c) a limited edition special variation of a print book, which I will only produce if I get a certain number of backers at each level.
On the one hand, I'm blown away by the generosity of people who are essentially giving me money. On the other hand, the total sum of money, while nice, is not a game-changer.
You can check out my campaign here: https://www.patreon.com/hertling
For the design, I'd get on major reading/publishing websites and look at what the big players are doing in the banner ad designs that are delivered to you personally. What are the big publishers including in banner ads for their books? What aren't they including? More or less imitate their practices. They have design teams. Presumably—hopefully—they're doing what they're doing because it works.
That said, advertising through SA may not be as targeted as you're hoping. Many people use ad blockers or are just plain ad blind. Also, a whole lot of the "users" who "see" ads are probably bots. In other words, there are numerous variables in online advertising that you won't be able to control for, no matter the ad network, no matter the banner design. Tossing $30.00 at a small ad plan might still be worth a shot, but I wouldn't expect too much from it.
So, online ads can be really hit or miss, but there are still things you can do to drive traffic to your site/book. I took a peek at your website(s) and have a couple of thoughts that may help:
1) A stronger site design that makes use of good SEO practices will deliver better traffic from search engines (in time). I would also use your root domain, never-ends.net, instead of the subdomain redirect (though it's cute!), as this makes your site's URL more accessible/memorable.
2) You seem relatively active on Twitter, but perhaps not in the circles where there are lots of authors, editors, agents, readers, and so on? There's a good list of writer-related hashtags here; consider making use of them. If I were in your shoes, I'd look for sci-fi readers—particularly those who review books!—and try to get to know them. No need to spam them. Just build real relationships. They always work better than ads.
Hope this helps!
Payhip.com has a pay what you want option and allows you to upload any format. It is completely free and simple, the only downside is that there isn't any sort of search platform like Amazon or BnN (you have to promote it yourself). It is kind of like having your own book's mini website. It allows you to set up the Google Analytic stuff, as well as track your own sales on-site, add custom CSS, and offer coupons and discounts too. I love it.
While you're definitely not going to find an agent, there is value to having some help/ coaching in getting your query letter in order. You can get a lot of tips from free sources. If you make friends with a traditionally published author, they might be willing to check out your query letter and give feedback. I'd go to reedsy.com or search for a legit writing workshop to get help on a query, though.
Regarding #3, I recommend using Reedsy's book editor. It'll take some work to copy and paste everything from your word processor to the editor, but once you do, it will export a professional-looking file you can upload to Amazon for your ebook. And if you decide to add a print-on-demand print version later on, Reedsy can export a PDF for that as well.
Here's a link to the editor: https://reedsy.com/write-a-book
Developmental editing is going to find the places you need rewrites.
Copyediting is going to find errors like if you said a character's eyes were blue in chapter one and called them brown in chapter 13.
Proofreading is last. That's checking for spelling, comma usage etc.
If you decide to hell with converting your word processor files and dealing with all the crap that comes with that, there's a very good tutorial for the Sigil program on how to get started turning your book into an ebook. I actually just went into it yesterday and finished it today, having learned a ton of stuff in the process.
You don't need to spend money on giveaways! You can do it pretty much for free! You can do "RT this for a chance to WIN #giveaway" and then randomly select someone who RT'd and send them a copy via email. I do monthly giveaways (sometimes of my stuff, sometimes of recent releases in the genre by friends or people I'm doing a newsletter swap with) on my newsletter, just select someone at random that was subscribed (free newsletter software: https://buttondown.email). When I'm giving away other people's books in physical Rafflecopter will let you run free giveaways with multiple ways to enter for free (you can pay for more bells and whistles but they aren't necessary).
I'm not the best blurb writer out there, but I think you are writing space fantasy? I'd go maybe with something closer to this:
"Mark is pretty content in his life. He has a great job [doing x / his childhood dream ], a [girlfriend / a great group of friends / people he cares about], and maybe a chance at [ greater aspiration ]. But he's always wondered if there was something more.
He was not expecting that something more to be an undercover mission to take out the leader of a galactic empire, one he is supposedly descended from and who he had no clue existed until he was conscripted into this task. Now he must [ leave behind X / sacrifice Y ] or risk [ thing he holds dear ]. It does not help that the fate of the universe also rests in his hands. Will he be able to pull off a mission that requires [ skills ], or will everything he holds dear [cliche / metaphor a la: crumble to dust / turn to ash / cease to exist]?
I use MailerLite rather than Mailchimp but there should be an option to create a sign-up form on Mailchimp that you then embed in your website. People can then fill in their details using this form, which adds them to your mailing list. If Mailchimp is anything like MailerLite (and other similar tools) you will then have an option to automatically send out a confirmation/greetings email.
I'd do this on a dedicated page on your website, rather than the contact page (which I would guess is for general enquiries). I'd also be wary of asking people for anything more than an email address; you want to make it as quick and easy as possible for them to sign up.
I'd take a look at this article: https://mailchimp.com/help/add-a-signup-form-to-your-website/ .
Hope that helps!
Thanks! :) All of the information about the open source tools that I used to create the gamebook can be found on the Quest website.
And the game itself has some interesting examples of what the engine can do.
Your question on ownership of the image is a good one, so I had to look into it more
The Creative Commons website says "...a work of original authorship [is] a question that varies by jurisdiction. As a general matter, your [work] must involve some creative choices, such as background setting, lighting, angle, or other mark of creativity."
Another section of the site says "In order for an adaptation to be protected by copyright, most national laws require the creator of the adaptation to add original expression to the pre-existing work. However, there is no international standard for originality, and the definition differs depending on the jurisdiction. Civil law jurisdictions (such as Germany and France) tend to require that the work contain an imprint of the adapter's personality. Common law jurisdictions (such as the U.S. or Canada), on the other hand, tend to have a lower threshold for originality, requiring only a minimal level of creativity and 'independent conception.'"
I'm not a copyright lawyer so I can't say for sure if your new image (which looks nice, by the way) would be considered "original work." I would guess yes, that's probably enough of a change compared to the source material. But either way it doesn't need attribution and you can say "Cover by Anne Bohannon."
As for the text on your cover, depending on where it's from, it might require licensing. I usually get my fonts from https://fonts.google.com because most have a verifiable license equivalent to Creative Commons Zero. (OFL)
This is why many authors hire designers rather than create covers themselves: aside from the actual design process, there's a lot of stuff to keep track of with copyrights!
Take an assessment of what you find exhausting. For instance, I find book preparation exhausting. So, I took notes on the process and follow those notes to make it easier.
When it comes to marketing, make sure you're using hashtags on social media. Some say they don't work, but I notice an increase in shares using them. If you have Twitter, check out https://tweetdeck.twitter.com/ Twitter made it to analyze one's social media posts. It's good for getting a quick glance.
I just published my first picture book. I wrote and illustrated it, and it's on KU. I'd love it if you guys would take a look!
The Moose Who Loved Noodles
"Just as Boomer discovers the wonderful world of noodles, his terrible table manners get him removed from the party! He tries everything get his beloved noodles, but when all his clever plans fail, Boomer worries he’s doomed to a noodle-less existence. Join Boomer on his hilarious mission in pursuit of a life of pasta." https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0993YB6SL/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_RY04HCZDP5X8DYP9CB3F?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
I Have Finished My Novella Trilogy
A Link and Description to Book 1 Can Be Found Here
The Immortal War
What if in war, nobody stayed dead? What if all those who died in a particular battle, were able to get back up, dust themselves off, and carry on as if nothing had happened? For the people of the Horack and Nairabian nations, this wasn’t just some thought experiment. For them, this was a reality. The Horack and Nairabian armies had been fighting the same war for nearly two hundred years; with neither side making much headway. This was because both nations had the equal ability to bring back all casualties they sustained in battle. Therefore, the question was: How do you win a war where no one ever stays dead? By this notion, you would, in turn, have a war that would never die either. A war that was… Immortal.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B087484N63
I’ve Also Started a Kindle Vella Series
The Legend of Syracks The Strange
His own kinsmen often questioned whether he truly belonged with them, or not. At six and a half feet tall and over 250 pounds, he didn't look like any elf that had ever existed before him. Except for his pale-grey skin and pointed, elven ears, he looked more like a member of one of the barbaric tribes that roamed the foothills just outside his home, than he did a mountain elf.
This is the story of Syracks, the first elven barbarian to come out of the Kingdom of Gra.
Hi everyone,
I've just published my first book ever - The Matrix Illuminated: Exploring the Ideas and Philosophies Behind the Movies.
I wrote this book fueled by my admiration for the Wachowski sisters and for these movies. I explore the influences, the lore of the world and dive into different readings of the movies and possible meanings that can be derived. I analyse the motivations of the main characters and their roles in the story, all in the hope of enriching your experience when next watching the movies, and in preparation for the 4th one.
Link: https://www.amazon.com/Matrix-Illuminated-Exploring-Philosophies-Behind-ebook/dp/B09BMHS3TX
This is my first time finishing a book and self-publishing! Hoping to release a science fiction novel next.
My new YA gothic horror is out, available on KU! In a nutshell, four famous gothic monsters are reimagined as superpowered teenagers in a steampunk universe. (In the words of one reviewer, "An insane concept that totally works.")
Had a cold the past week or so, which has meant writing output is down that what I would be able to do normally.But it seems like I am past it, so now I can hopefully crack on with it.
I am up to the climax part of 'King Arthur vs Robin Hood', so it is time to tie up this story and set up the sequel, which includes a showdown between the title characters, straight after a big magical battle through the city, which was a blast to write. So hopefully the rest of the first draft goes well and then on to e d i t i n g.
May all your writing goes well!
​
Obligatory self promo: Walls of Winter (Fantasy)
My best book is a little something called <em>Buying Illegal Bugs with Bitcoin</em>. (The working title was The Hideous Name of an Insect, but I've been a web content writer for a decade and I'm cynical about keywords.) It's about a small-time drug dealer who buys a mysterious bug off the Internet, and all the horrible things that happen as a result of it. It's got elements of crime, horror and sci-fi, and is well received by fans of these genres.
Yes! You are the people I've been looking for! I recently published a comedic trippy stoner sci-fi road novel. My girlfriend said its like "Philip K Dick meets The Big Lebowski". Hit me up and I'll email you a copy of the ebook free(Or its available on Amazon $10 paperback $5 ebook) Here's the blurb:
The Fact of the Moon Is Stranger Than Most Dreams
In a near future, slowly collapsing America, three bumbling stoner artists fall into a universe of murder and high strangeness.
Abram, a frustrated artist, and his girlfriend Edie, a successful artist and successful stoner, live in a nearly abandoned San Francisco along with Abram's best friend Kenner, a transient, philosophy-spouting psychonaut. Days run together in this post-work, climate-ravaged metropolis, until a stranger slips Abram a memory card loaded with cryptic government documents, flinging the trio into a bizarre world of hired assassins, aliens, bio-terrorists, and virtual reality deities. On the run, pursued by an evil they can't imagine, are they actually in danger, or are they unwitting pawns in a plot to put the dying Earth out of its misery? A psychedelic road story, it’s an intoxicating, absurd, conspiracy-laden ride into a not so distant future.
Book 8 of my paranormal space opera series is up for pre-order. Before I started self-publishing, I wrote all nine books of the series, and writing saved me from my depression. The stories have evolved significantly through the editing process. It's kind of stunning to be at the penultimate book.
I published my first (nonfiction) book on June 1 and have sold close to 200 copies! (This includes ebook and paperback pre-orders.)
Check it out here: https://www.amazon.com/Working-Twice-Hard-Reality-Entrepreneurship/dp/057886116X
I got another 5 star review for my book The Loss from someone I don’t know! I don’t know how they heard of it or what (if it’s one of you redditors I thank you!)
My debut novel The Loss is now available on Amazon
It’s a psychological suspense that will keep you guessing until the very end.
When a mysterious family moves in across the street, mother-to-be Jan Rooney's life begins to unravel. A mischievous child begins sneaking into her home to taunt and torment her. Then, she loses her baby and is thrown into despair. But things only grow worse when she experiences a series of events that she cannot explain. Jan suspects her new neighbors may be conspiring with her husband, Nick, to destroy her life. As more strange and frightening occurrences develop, Jan wonders if she’s a victim of her own paranoia, or if something more sinister is afoot.
My non-fiction book: Ahoy-hoy. Notes on the history of human communications Has just gone live. There is a free Kindle version for 5 days from tomorrow.
From prehistoric rock-art, the alphabet, strange military experiments, and the internet, this book tells some of the most interesting stories of how human communications have developed. Find out how communications tools have been used for nefarious means, and the future implications of using these tools.
Been working on this for some time. Excited to be finished.
Just a word to the wise: offering to help people with no benefit to yourself or reference to your own work is still banned as self promotion on this sub.
But I appreciate that you're doing this. I know my own cover isn't great. It's based on some wonderful black and white art, but I was worried that it wouldn't be eye-catching enough in monochrome. My hope was that the cover gives off creepy, lonely vibes.
Are you using Kindle Unlimited? It's sorta free, like clicking a movie on Netflix. I mean, you pay for access, but everything in there is free past that point.
My point being, I would never pay $0.99 or $2.99 for a short story, but if it was available in my KU account and looked interesting, yeah I'd go for it.
I am sure it does if you've got the right product and you can reach your market.
>the book's authority/credibility is mostly born on the book jacket/author bio.
That depends on the subject, I think. If people buy the book, like it, and put positive reviews on Amazon, then it can generate credibility for the author. That's probably easier if the subject matter is more factual-scientific, and less subjective than "self-improvement".
And in fact, if there's a big enough gap in the market, and you can reach your target audience, you might sell quite a few copies even if your product is absolutely shit:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Edible-Medicinal-Plants-Britain-Ireland/dp/1670727696/
Check out the reviews. And yet it has sold about 4000 copies already (my estimate). It is currently 892 in UK Amazon's overall book rankings. People just see the title and buy it. Now, imagine if you actually did a decent job of producing a book for that niche...
This was a short story I felt inspired to write in the middle of attempting to write a full length novel. It's science fiction/horror about space exploration. I hope you find it interesting and enjoy it if you do read it!
Well I sure wouldn't spit on an honest opinion of my book. That's really nice of you to make this offer. The genre is fantasy with a hint of romance. It is a full length novel and standalone too even if it's a first volume. I don't know exactly what I could tell you that amazon wouldn't so feel free to ask me anything. Here is the link :
Rocketshipping is a handbook for aspiring entrepreneurs and product designers to go from market-lack to product-market-fit.
This concise read is based on over a year of research integrated with personal experience to deliver to you the simplest and most straightforward path to go from validating an idea for a startup (be it software or other sort of product) all the way to product-market-fit where users are effectively tugging it out of your hands and grip faster than you can provide it.
$4.99 Kindle / $6.99 Paperback
https://www.amazon.com/Rocketshipping-accelerated-thinking-Successful-Startup/dp/B08QBGZWBH
Rocketshipping: An Accelerated Guide to Thinking Just Like a Successful Startup
"cool read"
My first novel Hunger was just published last week! Its free with kindle unlimited or 12.99 in paperback. It's a suburban splatterpunk inspired horror novel. Definitely nsfw but it isn't an erotic novel.
Heres the blurb: Jakoby is a sex addict who's urges manifest themselves a a second 'voice' which he cannot control. Grady is a suicidal Vietnam vet who thinks that there isn't anything left in the world for him. Hadly and Isabella are a lesbian couple new to the neighborhood and looking to start a family. All four of them are thrown into hell as Jakoby's other voice takes control and orders a cannibal on the interned thinking it was a sex slave. At the same time, the neighborhood around them erupts into flames and almost everyone disappears. Now Grady, Hadly, Isabella, and Jakoby must try to survive as it becomes apparent that there is a lot more going on than just a hungry cannibal.
Thanks to anyone who checks it out! Have a great week everyone.
Edit: formatting bc I'm currently on mobile
I'm about to try to go full time. I just finished my last semester of college and am hoping that this is a career that's viable for me. My recent web serial turned novel was a hit on amazon and I hope I can write a good deal more doing it full time. I have noticed however that I've already started slacking off a bit which is bad :(.
I doubt that writing will pay better than say a coding job (my degree is in CS/math) but seeing as I have no obligations other than a few student loans I'm going to try it out ^.^
Well, my first book is finally out! The Shooter Act is on Amazon for 2.99/Kindle Unlimited. So far, 7 reviews with average of 4.8/5 stars.
This is a near-future techno-thriller in which a gunman goes into LAX and takes over the airport. He's trying to tell the world about a corporate-political conspiracy he thinks he's uncovered, but he needs the millions of strangers watching to help him prove it before they can stop him. The entire book takes place across 10 hours of non-stop action.
Read chapter 1 here if you want to try it out.
That Day, Great and Terrible on Amazon - $2.95 for the Kindle. $9.95 for the paperback.
Angela is on a never-ending road trip she can’t escape. Kat is the mother of a son whose bizarre behavior fills her with horror. Milton is a teen with nothing to say. And Gabe is a college student searching for glory. These four lives twist together in a small Minnesota town. As the world begins to fall apart, they must face their darkest sins and brace themselves for the coming of that great and terrible day.
One reviewer said, “I truly loved it. It had a bit of Stephen King (sans gore) and even a bit of Hitchcock. I didn't want to go to bed last night because I was so close to finishing it but couldn't keep my eyes open. It was such a good read and had a great ending.”
Rich "Dick" Hardin is a private-eye and a cucumber in this hard-boiled detective novel. (Literally: a cucumber, a Marketmore 76, a Cucumis sativust.) In a city that is just as broken down and old as he is, Dick has to find the will and the desire to find who killed the onion, who stole his table, and most baffling of all: why.
With a cast of characters running from banana to broccoli, cabbage to carrot, this vegetable treatment of the pulp noir genre is as humorous as it is gritty.
$3.95 on Amazon for your Kindle; free if you use Kindle Unlimited
Something to keep in mind, the amount of "blood" used on this cover made it invalid for the marketing on Amazon. So keep that in mind for your own covers.
Here's the link to it: https://www.amazon.com/Crappy-Shorts-Make-Crap-Your-ebook/dp/B00GXY5NCM
Dreams in Digital is my first work, a lesbian cyberpunk novella, and it just released today!
Post-collapse Seattle, 2068: Jill is a Dreamrunner, an elite hacker who uses the speed and intuition of her subconscious mind to pull off devastating Runs on corporate servers. But while other Runners tie their code and dreams together with scenes of battle or abstract puzzles, Jill’s dreams are of seduction. With deft touches and a few choice whispers, she turns megacorp systems into willing lovers, plying them for secrets.
But when she stumbles onto a mysterious data package, she suddenly finds herself embroiled in a cat and mouse game that threatens her very life. On the run from a conspiracy that grows darker at every turn, can she dream her way out?
Equal parts lesbian fantasy and sci-fi suspense, Dreams in Digital is a fast-paced erotic thriller, a glimpse into a future where the lines between dreams and reality blur.
Anybody interested in providing an honest review on Amazon/Goodreads, PM me and ask about a free copy!
I put a book out recently. One dollar on amazon. The hustle:
In ancient Greece, the nine year breeding cycle of a 200 foot tall sea monster regularly dismantles a small island, rich in silver ore. After repeated failures to thwart the beast, a new plan is hatched, the construction of a great stone statue meant to frighten it away.
Linus is one who works the statue; stubborn and ambitious; prizing his own contributions above those of his peers and convinced that his vision for their work is the right one. As the beast draws near, Linus will strive for control of the statue, watch his only friend try and instigate a violent revolution, and confront the soldier with whose wife he's been having an affair.
Trundling in the footsteps of King Kong and Godzilla, Anaxagoras is a story about obsession, art, and the inevitable, delivered by way of giant monster.