I've had a busy couple of months as I've tried to kick start my writing career. Since February I've managed to get 5 books published to Amazon, B&N and Smashwords and I'm on track to have at least 3 more this year. That will give me a total of 8. Hopefully at that point the books will start to sell each other. Who knows!
It's difficult to get sales when you first start as no one knows you from Adam. You're just one more name in the big virtual bookstore of the Internet. So you have to rely on friends to buy some of your books and also to help market them. Books sell more books. Friends sell books. Reviews sell books. All you can do is write the best stuff you can and then trust all the other factors come together.
I'm currently at a sort of a crossroads. I've sold as many books as I guess I hoped for. Of course I'd love to sell more, but I'm being realistic about it. At least I have sold more than a few! But to step up to the next level I need reviews - lots of them! And it takes time for people to read your books once they've bought them. So, I am patiently waiting for my readers to write more reviews for me. I'm also waiting for book bloggers to read a book of mine and review it. That will take several more weeks, maybe months. So, in the meantime I have to try some guerrilla marketing tactics. I'm starting with a book launch in the local Irish pub in two weeks. Then I want to get to some wineries. Different tactics; something different. I also need to get interviews and for that I need to get a publicist or at least someone that has some spare time and willingness to invest in me. I'll see where that goes in the next couple of weeks.
So anyway, there we have it. Life as a starving indie author!
And you can help me. How? By doing one of the following things:
1/ Buying one of my books (this is an easy one)
2/ Reviewing one of my books (please?)
3/ Helping me market my books by getting others to do 1/ and 2/ above
4/ Contacting me to help get interviews, reviewers and other public events
Any takers? Thanks...
My Books
Buy one of my books... Available above at Amazon. Also available at SmashWords, Barnes & Noble and iTunes
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Monday, April 4, 2011
Writing and deadlines
Deadlines are all self-imposed. That's my opinion anyway. And this week I have a deadline. I need to finish the draft manuscript of my third Xannu book by Saturday. And that's because we're moving on Saturday. It'll be chaos here for a couple of days and my computer and Internet service will definitely all be disrupted. So, this means I need to get my manuscript completed by Saturday. 30,000 words in about a week! That's a pretty tough order. Still, I can do it. I fell behind over the weekend as other stuff got in the way. But, I'm back at it this morning and I'm already 4,000 words into the day. Another 1,000 or so and I'll be done. Hooray!
Actually, I'm looking forward to finishing this book and putting it down to rest a little. Then I'll pick it back up in about 6 weeks or so and do a rewrite on it, ready for the readers who will be testing it out for me. It's tough writing a series. I've found you have to hold so many things in your head at once. And that's just the characters and the previous plotlines. Sprinkle in the new stuff and my head is about ready to explode. Still, I can do it. I keep telling myself. One more week...
Actually, I'm looking forward to finishing this book and putting it down to rest a little. Then I'll pick it back up in about 6 weeks or so and do a rewrite on it, ready for the readers who will be testing it out for me. It's tough writing a series. I've found you have to hold so many things in your head at once. And that's just the characters and the previous plotlines. Sprinkle in the new stuff and my head is about ready to explode. Still, I can do it. I keep telling myself. One more week...
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Ebook Promotion
Click one of the links below and check out a great ebook...
Undercover Agent; How One Honest Man Took on the Drug Mob...And Then the Mounties by Peter Rehak. $4.99 from Smashwords.com
It was North America’s biggest drug bust, worth $238 million. The man behind it was a small-town businessman who fooled the Miami drug barons who were setting up a pipeline into Canada. Leonard Mitchell worked undercover for the RCMP for 19 months because “it was the right thing to do.” He was successful but it earned him a lifetime run from the mob and he also had to take on the Mounties.
How to Get Any Man to Do Anything You Want! by Dusty White. $4.99 from Smashwords.com
How to Get ANY MAN to do ANYTHING You Want! is a humorous--and effective--look at dating and how to get the men you want in your life and quickly & easily shoo away creeps, stalkers, disasters, and jerks who will cost you time, money, and sanity.
Odd Road to Kabul by Patricia Keen-Diaz. $3.99 from Smashwords.com
This is the remarkable story of survival and a child’s unique ability to pull through a harrowing fourteen-year cycle of neglect and abuse.
Waiting For Spring by RJ Keller. $2.99 from Smashwords.com
Angst, sex, love, and redemption in the boonies of Maine. Waiting For Spring takes readers beyond the Maine tourists know, beyond lighthouses and lobster and rocky beaches, and drops them instead into a rural town whose citizens struggle with poverty and loss, yet push onward with stubbornness and humor.
Lilith by Maximus Romulus. $2.99 from Smashwords.com
I am she, the natural mother of all things, the mistress and governess of all the elements. The initial progeny of worlds, chief of the powers divine. The principle of them that dwell in heaven, manifested alone and under one form, of all the gods and goddesses; at whose will the planets of the sky the wholesome winds of the seas, and the lamentable silences of hell are dispersed. I am, that I am.
The Switch and the Soul by R. Chaffee. $2.99 from Smashwords.com
After discovering the head of a teenage girl, Jenny must decide who to trust, the angelic voice of a complete stranger, or the painful revelations given to her by a violent intruder. She doesn’t want to choose at all, she buried the answers long ago in the backyard of her mind, but if she doesn't, the decision will be made for her. Time is running out.
The Voyage of the Minotaur by Wesley Allison. $2.99 from Smashwords.com
In a world of steam power and rifles, where magic has not yet been forgotten, an expedition sets out to found a colony in a lost world. The Voyage of the Minotaur is a story of adventure and magic, religion and prejudice, steam engines and dinosaurs, angels and lizardmen, machine guns and wizards, sorceresses, bustles and corsets, steam-powered computers, hot air balloons, and dragons.
Fergus Fedderfeeny's Food Factory by Paul Dorset. $2.99 from Smashwords.com
Xannu - The Prophecy by Paul Dorset. $0.99 from Smashwords.com
Xannu - The Healing by Paul Dorset. $3.99 from Smashwords.com
Undercover Agent; How One Honest Man Took on the Drug Mob...And Then the Mounties by Peter Rehak. $4.99 from Smashwords.comIt was North America’s biggest drug bust, worth $238 million. The man behind it was a small-town businessman who fooled the Miami drug barons who were setting up a pipeline into Canada. Leonard Mitchell worked undercover for the RCMP for 19 months because “it was the right thing to do.” He was successful but it earned him a lifetime run from the mob and he also had to take on the Mounties.
How to Get Any Man to Do Anything You Want! by Dusty White. $4.99 from Smashwords.comHow to Get ANY MAN to do ANYTHING You Want! is a humorous--and effective--look at dating and how to get the men you want in your life and quickly & easily shoo away creeps, stalkers, disasters, and jerks who will cost you time, money, and sanity.
Odd Road to Kabul by Patricia Keen-Diaz. $3.99 from Smashwords.comThis is the remarkable story of survival and a child’s unique ability to pull through a harrowing fourteen-year cycle of neglect and abuse.
Waiting For Spring by RJ Keller. $2.99 from Smashwords.comAngst, sex, love, and redemption in the boonies of Maine. Waiting For Spring takes readers beyond the Maine tourists know, beyond lighthouses and lobster and rocky beaches, and drops them instead into a rural town whose citizens struggle with poverty and loss, yet push onward with stubbornness and humor.
Lilith by Maximus Romulus. $2.99 from Smashwords.comI am she, the natural mother of all things, the mistress and governess of all the elements. The initial progeny of worlds, chief of the powers divine. The principle of them that dwell in heaven, manifested alone and under one form, of all the gods and goddesses; at whose will the planets of the sky the wholesome winds of the seas, and the lamentable silences of hell are dispersed. I am, that I am.
The Switch and the Soul by R. Chaffee. $2.99 from Smashwords.comAfter discovering the head of a teenage girl, Jenny must decide who to trust, the angelic voice of a complete stranger, or the painful revelations given to her by a violent intruder. She doesn’t want to choose at all, she buried the answers long ago in the backyard of her mind, but if she doesn't, the decision will be made for her. Time is running out.
The Voyage of the Minotaur by Wesley Allison. $2.99 from Smashwords.comIn a world of steam power and rifles, where magic has not yet been forgotten, an expedition sets out to found a colony in a lost world. The Voyage of the Minotaur is a story of adventure and magic, religion and prejudice, steam engines and dinosaurs, angels and lizardmen, machine guns and wizards, sorceresses, bustles and corsets, steam-powered computers, hot air balloons, and dragons.
Farnsworth is worried. Bags of the Food Factory’s vegetables are definitely missing! What will his boss, Fergus Fedderfeeny, say when he finds out? Then there’s the wonderful tasting pies. He doesn’t know how the recipes got changed or if it’s because of the missing vegetables. Armed with a toolbox of hammers & staying well away from The Mangler, Farnsworth is going to solve the mystery.*** READ 25% FOR FREE ***
For fans of Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter & The Narnia Chronicles, the 1st in a thrilling epic fantasy series. Would you wake up in a hot sweat if you lived your night’s dreams as a soldier battling un-earthly creatures, witnessing powerful magic and fighting to save your own life on a daily basis? English schoolboy Terry West does. Frequently. And someone wants him dead... *** READ 20% FOR FREE ***
Continuing on from The Prophecy, this book follows the journeys of two groups of travelers who are both trying to heal their charges. Back in England, Terry West is distraught after the loss of his best friend. But as Teern Truthbringer the soldier, Terry is busy battling un-earthly creatures & witnessing powerful magic on a daily basis. But is he prepared for the perilous journey he has to take to heal his charge; the Xannu. *** READ 20% FOR FREE ***
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Xannu - The Prophecy - revised marketing and description
For fans of Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and The Narnia Chronicles, the first installment in a thrilling epic fantasy series…
Would you wake up in a hot sweat if you lived your night’s dreams as a soldier battling un-earthly creatures, witnessing powerful magic and fighting to save your own life on a daily basis?
English schoolboy Terry West does. Frequently. After digging up some rune coins near a roman road, he has been living in another world inhabited by warlocks, seductresses, priests and prophecy. There Terry is a soldier, Teern Truthbringer, who has been tasked with finding the Xannu - 'he who will lead the people into deliverance.'
If only it wasn’t real; but it is. Very real. When it all began it was even enjoyable, but now Terry’s life is getting very complicated. Somehow he involved his best friend Joe and although it had seemed a good idea at the time, the consequences had been dire. Then there is Susan, the leggy sister of klutzy school-friend Brian. Why does she keep sending him messages?
Terry is struggling to balance the two lives he leads and every day he is losing his grip on reality just a little bit more. He’s been forced to kill enemies; his companion, the magical woman Maria, is scaring him half to death with her abilities; and his parents are on his back about his school work.
How will he balance the two lives he leads, solve two sets of problems, and understand the lessons he receives from both? Only time will tell. But time is something Terry doesn't have too much of, as everything is unfolding in ways he could never have imagined!
->-> Only $0.99 from Amazon <-<- BUY IT TODAY!!!
Book 1 of 'The Southern Lands' saga
“Listen to the teachings of a wise man. You may not understand all he says but you will surely have nourishment for the future. Be positive and plan for success. Failure to plan is to plan for failure. Worry not at what came before but only prepare yourselves for that which is ahead.” (Pika’Al 10:1-5, The Scriptures of Al’Zaneed)
Published Again: Guide to Publishing an Ebook on Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble
I got published again today...
Head over to Ezine @rticles where they have published another of my blog posts.
And...
Head over to Ask John Kremer Blog for another repost of my article. The loving feels good!
Day by day....
And while you're at it, show Farnsworth a little love today. You can read 25% of the book for FREE at SmashWords - that's about 45 pages! Then buy the comical adventure book for kids at Amazon - only $2.99! Have a great Saturday.
Head over to Ezine @rticles where they have published another of my blog posts.
And...
Head over to Ask John Kremer Blog for another repost of my article. The loving feels good!
Day by day....
And while you're at it, show Farnsworth a little love today. You can read 25% of the book for FREE at SmashWords - that's about 45 pages! Then buy the comical adventure book for kids at Amazon - only $2.99! Have a great Saturday.
Farnsworth is worried. He’s counted them over again and again, but bags of the Food Factory’s vegetables are definitely missing! What will his boss, the ever so exact Fergus Fedderfeeny, say when he finds out? And then there’s the matter of the new wonderful tasting pies that Farnsworth is making. Farnsworth doesn’t exactly know how the recipes got changed or if the missing vegetables played a part in it. Armed with his toolbox of hammers and staying well away from The Mangler, he’s determined to get to the bottom of it all.
But things get complicated when unknown to Farnsworth, Fergus’ evil brother, Hamish wants to get in on the action and steal the recipe for the famous pies. What ensues is a comical adventure the likes of which Farnsworth has never had before. Can he save the day and also win the love of the beautiful policewoman Daisy Driftwood? Or will time and The Mangler catch up with him and lead to his ruin?
Fergus Fedderfeeny’s Food Factory is a comical adventure story set in the dummy town of Gwillville; a small coastal harbor town with a Fire Station, a Police Station, a school, restaurants and stores. There are houses too, where the dummies live and work and carry on their ageless day to day life. Yet not everything in Gwillville is exactly as it seems. Some of the laws of nature, which as humans we take for granted, work in slightly different ways.
Gwillville is populated with colorful characters that every reader will soon take to their hearts. With the bumbling hero Farnsworth, the precise and exact Fergus Fedderfeeny, the self-professed police action hero Sergeant Romeo, and the mafia dummy mastermind Sofia, there are a wealth of citizens to get to know. And you will as you follow the crazy everyday antics in Gwillville. After all, ventriloquist dummies get to have a life too!
Help a starving author weekend!
I've declared this 'help a starving author weekend' and so I am going to promote my books shamelessly. Please check them out and buy a copy or two. They are actually great books and I know you'll enjoy them!
Friday, April 1, 2011
10 Hr PM - continues to WoW at Amazon!
My latest book - "The 10 Hour Project Manager" continues to hit the Amazon bookstore with a bang. As the screenshot below shows, after two days I've still managed to break into the top 100 books in not one, but TWO categories. Even better than yesterday... WoW!!
# 20 in Management & Leadership -> Systems & Planning
# 48 in Management & Leadership -> Project Management
Please show me some more love and head over to Amazon. $4.99 will buy you so much more than a beer...
Take a look: http://pauldorset.blogspot.com/p/10hr-pm.html
# 20 in Management & Leadership -> Systems & Planning
# 48 in Management & Leadership -> Project Management
Please show me some more love and head over to Amazon. $4.99 will buy you so much more than a beer...
Take a look: http://pauldorset.blogspot.com/p/10hr-pm.html
Paul Dorset - Author interview by Sellingbooks.com
Today Sellingbooks.com published an author interview with me. You can read the original article ->-> HERE. <-<- Following are a few excerpts:
What is your most recent book? Tell us a bit about it.
So, I’ve just released two of my epic fantasy books for Young Adults into the Kindle and ebook market. I started work on the series several years ago (released initially as paperbacks) and between then and now have been working on other projects. But the market has been changing recently and so...
What inspired you to write this book?
I wanted to write a novel from a time when I was quite young. Then finally I had some free time after finishing a contract abroad and returned to America. I took the opportunity and just jumped in and wrote the first draft of the first book in the series in just three months. The second book took another eighteen months!...
Do you have any writing rituals?
Oh yes! I need to be in my space to write successfully. That means sitting at my desk with my headphones on, listening to the special playlist of writing music that I have. My playlist only contains music without lyrics (words distract me when I’m writing) and mostly it is classical interpretations. Now this is weird in itself...
They also published a copy of one of my blog articles, the popular: Dummies guide to publishing on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and SmashWords.
Jump over to SmashWords and try one of my books today:
What is your most recent book? Tell us a bit about it.
So, I’ve just released two of my epic fantasy books for Young Adults into the Kindle and ebook market. I started work on the series several years ago (released initially as paperbacks) and between then and now have been working on other projects. But the market has been changing recently and so...
What inspired you to write this book?
I wanted to write a novel from a time when I was quite young. Then finally I had some free time after finishing a contract abroad and returned to America. I took the opportunity and just jumped in and wrote the first draft of the first book in the series in just three months. The second book took another eighteen months!...
Do you have any writing rituals?
Oh yes! I need to be in my space to write successfully. That means sitting at my desk with my headphones on, listening to the special playlist of writing music that I have. My playlist only contains music without lyrics (words distract me when I’m writing) and mostly it is classical interpretations. Now this is weird in itself...
They also published a copy of one of my blog articles, the popular: Dummies guide to publishing on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and SmashWords.
Jump over to SmashWords and try one of my books today:
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