Brand Yourself for Success in Self-Publishing

The June 7th edition of the Journal in Seattle features an interview with me. The link to the soft copy is HERE, and the link to The Journal article is here. Enjoy!

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Xannu - The Prophecy : The reviews keep coming!

Yesterday, Eva's Sanctuary reviewed a copy of my first YA Fantasy book, Xannu - The Prophecy. This is what she wrote:

Terry West is a twelve year old English boy who travels between alternate worlds using rune coins he found when digging for bottles. In his alternate world he is an eighteen year old soldier named Teern Truthbringer, who's task is to find the Xannu who will lead the people to deliverance. 

In both worlds, Terry is faced with tasks and challenges that force him to look deep inside himself. Terry has to learn to shift between his two worlds and is forced to face different obstacles in both. He must face a journey of discovery in his alternate world and attempt to remain an integral part with his friends in this world. Will he be able to balance both lives, solve the problems in both and learn the lessons that both provide? 

This is the first book in a five book series titled 'The Southern Lands.' This book is extremely well written and is an amazing story to say the least. The storyline flows very nicely considering the fact you are back and forth between the two worlds. I had absolutely no trouble following any of the story. If you are a fan of Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings, you will surely fall in love with this book. 

The more fantasy tales I read, the more I have come to love them. This is no exception. You have other world creatures, sorcery, giant men nine feet tall, warlocks, you name it. This book kept me glued and I could not put it down. I will anxiously await the next installment to see what adventures we are in for next. Check this book out for yourself. You will not be disappointed. 

I wish to thank Paul Dorset for providing me with a copy to read and review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I was not compensated in any way except for the privilege of reading and reviewing the book.

Go read the review yourself. Then head over to Amazon or Smashwords and pick up a copy. It's only $0.99!!!

Is Bill Gates Returning to Microsoft?

Great companies are created by visionaries. Furthermore, companies only stay great when they are controlled by those visionaries. Apple is a great example of this. When Steve Jobs left Apple, the company slipped into near obscurity and it was only when he returned that the company was reborn to what it now is today.

Ever since Steve Balmer has been in charge at Microsoft, its stock prices have languished at more or less the same price. Microsoft is also no longer the most capitalized technology company in the world. First Apple surpassed it and more recently IBM also surpassed it. Microsoft is on its way to its own obscurity. What can be done about it?

The simple answer is to bring Bill Gates back to Microsoft. Sounds crazy? Maybe not. Bill Gates is reliant on Microsoft doing well in order for The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to also succeed. Money begets money and Bill needs Microsoft’s money. So maybe it’s time for Bill to spend a little time back in charge of the mother company. Maybe it’s time for Bill to shake up the Microsoft world a little. The days of Windows are fast disappearing, and the days of Xbox (and its successor) are coming into prevalence. Microsoft needs the next big thing and Bill Gates is the man to deliver it.

Visionaries define a company’s success. Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerburg. These people are winners. Steve Balmer, not so much. So from someone who has spent his life in technology, I am asking please Mr. Gates, do the right thing and rescue the company you built from nothing and now needs your help. I know you have more to give this world and it’s not just the cure for Polio. Technology is the cornerstone of breakthroughs in many fields and perhaps the Gates Foundation can benefit from work you now need to do back at Microsoft.

How To Write & Self-Publish Your First Novel - Writing For Success

I've said it once and I'll say it again - now's the time to buy a copy of my latest book: How To Write & Self-Publish Your First Novel. Amazon readers in the UK have figured it out, but it's time all my US readers jumped on board too. This morning, the book was high in the sales rankings again:

There are some great articles in this book:

CONTENTS
1. Don't Start the Story at the Beginning
2. Become a Successful Writer in 2,000 Hours
3. Poems and Short Stories
4. Creating a Good Plot
5. How Long Should a First Novel Be?
6. Writing in the First Person
7. Writing in the Third Person
8. Dialog Versus Narrative – Show Versus Tell
9. Writing Your First Novel: Words & Routine
10. Conflict and Its Importance
11. Plot Pace
12. Creating Believable and Well Rounded Characters
13. Writing Dialog – Or ‘He Said, She Said’
14. Creating a Page Turner
15. Letting the Book 'Cook'
16. Self-Editing Your Novel
17. The Process of Pre-Reads
18. Creating a World of Fantasy
19. How to Write & Self-Publish a Novel: The End-To-End Process Checklist
20. Creating a Writing Environment without Interruptions
21. Reading to Write
22. Encouraging All Would Be Authors
23. The Self-Publishing Process - The COMPLETE A-Z Instructions
24. Marketing Your Novel - The Relevance of Social Media, ARCs and Book Bloggers

So, jump on over to Amazon  and pick up a Kindle copy. It's only $0.99 and could be just what you need to help you turn your novel into an all-time bestseller!

Busy Saturday - Chili, Pork Tenderloin, Curry and Sounders

Thankfully not necessarily all at once!

Lots to do today. Pork tenderloin already cooked. Beans were soaked overnight. Bacon sizzling in the pan. I think the freezer needs more chili. And probably a curry of some description. Oh - and then it's a Seattle Sounders soccer game later. Busy, busy, busy!

Tomorrow I need to get back to doing some writing. Have a great weekend!

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Xannu - The Prophecy (Only $0.99)


Xannu - The Healing (Only $3.99)

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Picture of the Week (#3) - Anthony Weiner's Chest

This Friday I am continuing my weekly series that shows my picture of the week. It's just something that struck a chord with me for whatever reason. This week it's a picture of Democratic Congressman Anthony Weiner baring his chest.

Now I'm not against chest-baring in general, but there is a time and a place for it. I read an article yesterday that advocates sexting your partner, but for goodness sake don't go doing it to anyone else. What is the world coming to? Don't people realize that technology is everywhere and whatever you do electronically could end up somewhere totally unexpected? Let this be a lesson learned for all of you out there: Keep your chest exposures limited to those people that you're related to... Have a great weekend!

(Click picture for original size)

Picture from CelebBuzz Pics

Author Interview - Paul Dorset (Journal Newspapers Seattle)

Brand yourself for success in self-publishing

By Theresa Poalucci

Published: Monday, June 6, 2011 10:10 PM PDT

Globe trotting for the past 30 years as a consultant wasn’t enough for Paul Dorset. In his fine English accent he explained, “We all have passions and they eat away at us, and finally you give in to them.”

His passion was writing and it took the form of a fantasy/adventure novel titled Xannu — The Prophecy, which Dorset shopped around to myriad publishers in 2003, before indie publishing (self-publishing) was trendy.

Dorset took the rejection letters in stride, found some more test readers to iron out some kinks, and then resent his freshly edited book out again — only to receive a fresh round of rejection letters.

Not willing to take no for an answer, the frustrated author found a “vanity printer” to print Xannu and get it distributed. He retained the rights and “knew the joy of having the physical book” in his hands, he said.

“I lost money on the book as I sold less than 100 copies,” said Dorset. “I had started a series [with Xannu] and those who liked it asked, ‘Where is the next book?’ So you think, ‘I guess I had better write the second book.’”

He did, taking about 18 months because he was also working on Xannu — The Healing, which sold even fewer copies.

“If you don’t sell the first one, you aren’t going to sell the second,” he said. However, he admits he did not put a lot of thought into marketing the books because he did it for his own satisfaction.

Xannu is based in the real world. The main character is a 12-year-old English boy who has dreams (which turn out not to be dreams) in which he is living the life of an 18-year-old soldier in a fantasy land. “The first book seems to have a Christian-based moral to the story,” explained Dorset. “The second book just blows all that away.”

 You would think that the number of books sold would put an end to any self-publishing dreams for Dorset, but two rather random events took place that put him back on the rails. The first was befriending a master ventriloquist puppet maker who told him some great stories. Dorset felt compelled to turn these tales into a book for middle-graders. This project got him back to writing. The second was the growing popularity of e-books.

“With the way e-books are going, I decided ‘Hey, I have as much chance as anybody out there,’ so I came off a contract job and decided to write a book on project management,” he said.

Dorset wrote The 10 Hour Project Manager. It sold well, but there was a market already in place for this type of information and there was Dorset’s professional reputation to back it up. In the book’s first few weeks on the Amazon list it was in the top 100, which Dorset found quite amazing.

“Could I retire off of this success? Absolutely not,” he said. What he could do, however, was utilize the name he was making for himself with The 10 Hour Project Manager and use it to sell his other books.

“So I put all my other books on as e-copies and started cross-marketing them against each other because publishers are looking for someone who isn’t just a one hit wonder,” said Dorset. “It is slowly starting to pick up now and I have sold more of all my books in the last couple of months than I ever sold previously.”

He also made a personal commitment to put all his energy into “being out there” and now he is promoting his latest book, How to Write & Self-Publish Your First Novel. Just out, the book takes his experiences and funnels them into the do’s and don’ts for success. It also includes advice on how to create a plot, write dialogue, and whether to write in the first or third person.

“Everything today is about building a brand,” explained Dorset. “I am a big believer in social media and social marketing so I try to make everything part of my brand. I push everything through my blog and ultimately everything sells everything else. Publicity, good or bad, ends up being just publicity in the end.”

Dorset cites fellow self-publishing author Amanda Hocking as a good example of how to create a brand. Hocking made international headlines as the biggest e-book seller in the world. Since April 2010, she has sold more than 900,000 copies of her nine books about trolls, vampires and zombies. Now she has a $2 million contract with St. Martin’s press for a four-book series entitled Water-song, with the first installment scheduled for a fall 2012 release.

“You build the train up and keep pushing it out of the station. You cross reference everything and eventually things take off,” said Dorset. “Hocking has her own blog and she worked hard just getting the word out: encouraging people to read her books, giving free books away so they will be read and the readers will post reviews, and so on. Ultimately it is reviews that sell books.”

“I have been very fortunate because traveling has been a great boon to my writing,” Dorset said of his life experiences. “What you know ends up in your books, and the rest is what you make up.” 

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You can read the original article HERE

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Is There a Correct Way to End a Novel?

Judging by the plethora of movie endings on TV you’d think there was a formula. But there isn’t. How many times have you been disappointed by the ending of a movie, or a book? I’m sure it’s a lot of times. Authors end novels in the way they want to, and oftentimes not in the way that the reader wants. So, is that a good thing?

I guess it depends on many factors. It also depends on whether the book is part of a series or not. The most important thing in an ending is to tie up the main theme and plots. If there are a couple of minor points not quite resolved, that may not be important; but there will always be some readers who will notice and be unhappy. You can’t please all of the people all of the time.

When you come to write your ending, ask yourself what message you are trying to leave the reader with. Ask yourself if you are really happy with the ending, or whether it feels a bit of a cheat. Inside you will know the answer to these questions. Don’t pretend the reader won’t know either, so write an honest ending that you are happy with. In your hurry to finish your book, don’t skimp on the ending.

Also, try and finish your novel in the style in which it is written. What I mean by this is, if it’s been a really tense book, whodunit style, with lots of action, then let the book end in much the same fashion. If it is a romantic epic, then end it that way too. Readers really do notice when a book ending seems forced and it will spoil their experience of the book and ultimately how they will feel about reading another novel you write.

Finally I want to write a little about series endings and generally leaving the door open. In a mid-series book you cannot close everything off, or else the reader will never need to buy the next book! But, you also can’t leave everything open or they will be really frustrated. You have to strike a balance. The way to do this is to set up a premise or goal for the book and make sure that is fulfilled. Along the way you can introduce the next big thing and that can be the subject of the next book. Just make sure you close off what you implied you would. And what about the topic of leaving the door open? Well, sometimes you may want to finish a book or a series with a closure that is not 100% final. What I mean by this is you deliberately don’t close a particular plot line and the reader understands there may be another story to tell at some point. But, and this is important, everything else they really cared about must be closed out properly.

So there you have it. Don’t cheat the reader. Give them closure, but keep a couple of little things up your sleeve for next time. Which reminds me…