How to Publish Your Book on Amazon Kindle

How to Publish Your Book on Amazon Kindle

Does independent book marketing work?

This week I have the pleasure of welcoming Tim Ellis as the guest Blogger for Muse Shack.

Tim impressed me with his incisive questioning that we all do well to employ. I was convinced after reading Tim's article that his questions forced me to ask another question, 'How can independent book marketing be done well'? I found my answer, I wonder will you.

Here’s the thing! Now, it might be that my eleven ebooks are  total rubbish, and  although I’ve had a couple of harsh reviews about two of my  books because I  like sex, I have had some 4 and 5-star reviews of two of my   other books. Reviews, however, are not the subject of this blog – although  reviews do deserve a blog of their own, and I will put index finger to keyboard in the near future.

For my first blog I'd like to talk about the dilemma that is ebook marketing,  promotion, advertising, etc. There’s been a few people blogging about this black art as if they knew what they were talking about – do they? How did they find out? Where’s the objective evidence? I’ve got a PhD, so I know about research, objective evidence, statistical significance, etc., and I haven’t seen the figures – show me the damn figures to prove that any of it works.

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Social networking it’s called – Face book, Fan Pages, Twitter, Kindleboards, Amazon Forums, Bookbuzzr, Goodreads, but there are thousands (maybe millions) of sites out there, and new ones sprouting up every day. Here’s a link to get you started: http://traffikd.com/social-media-websites/ Also, there’s guest blogging, featured author, featured book, ebook giveaways, etc.

Call me a whore, but I ventured down this road into  purgatory. I joined Twitterhttp://twitter.com/ (timellis13) and started tweeting, retweeting, following and being followed, but did it result in any of my ebooks going viral (definition here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viral_phenomenon)? The answer – in case you were wondering – is NO!

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I’d joined Facebook http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/profile.php?id=1117655869 way back when, but hadn’t bothered with it. Then, when I Kindled all my books, I thought I’d have another stab. I joined Writing Kindle Books – a group of like-minded ebook authors who chatter, tag, like, tweet, moan, groan, love, share, and Digg each other like any extended family. I’ve made a lot of friends, but has the word got out about my books? Have just one of the wonderful titles on offer shot off into the stratosphere? The answer – in case you were wondering – is a down-to-earth NO!

I saw a FB friend with a widget, and I lusted after it. I joined the free  part of Bookbuzzr or fReado – there’s a premium (pay) membership as well - and I uploaded all my  books onto the site. I got those nifty widgets. Here – take a look – http://timellis.weebly.com/my-books.html – do they make you want to read, steal, download, or otherwise purloin my books? Have these widgets (and the automated tweets) resulted in a  conflagration of sales (a fire sale)? The answer – in case you were wondering – is NO!

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The Amazon Kindle/book forums were the place to be. Like Danny Gillan http://susannefromsweden.wordpress.com/  I ventured on there, hunted out the UK and USA forums for the  different genres I write in, made some acquaintances in the fantasy forum, advertised my books, but to a large extent the squatters in the threads made it quite clear that authors promoting their books are lower than a snake’s belly and viewed as the second coming of Bubonic Plague (definition and nice picture here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubonic_plague). Anyway, I persisted, until I got an email from the wonderful people  in Customer Services at Amazon saying my posts were not posts, but blatant self promotion and if I didn’t stop it my forum rights would be curtailed – told off good and proper. I tracked over a Baker’s dozen of threads and received notification by email of new posts – everybody was doing it, but they picked on me! I’m not tracking any threads now. I’m not posting on anymore threads either – I know when I’m not wanted. Did this embarrassing sortie into the Amazon jungle of forums result in me being compared to Steig Larsson, JRR Tolkien, Arthur C Clarke, or any of the other dead greats? The answer – if you were wondering – is a resounding NO!

I went on the Kindleboards. I got told off because I had too many books – the  covers looked very nice all lined up next to each other – but apparently, I  wasn’t meant to advertise on any forum except the self-promotion forum. I  chatted, introduced myself, talked about esoteric things, made observations,  asked questions, jumped from thread to thread with casual abandon, exuded wonderfulness, but did any  of my books become bestsellers, a top-ten chartbuster, a mover or a shaker? The  answer – if you were wondering – is a Top Ten NO!

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I gave some books away:  http://indiebookblogger.blogspot.com/2011/04/free-ebooks-galore.html, and put myself about a bit: http://indieebooks.blogspot.com/2011/04/knowledge-of-time-second-civilization.html?spref=tw, and in a couple of other places that I can’t remember (note to self – must write things down!). Did these forays into the blogosphere turn any of my  books into blockbusters? Was my email clogged up with agent’s begging to represent me, or publishers offering me six-figure advances, or Steven Spielberg wanting the film rights to at least one of my books? The answer – if you were wondering – is a big fat NO!

I could talk about Amanda Hocking, but I’m not going to. She’s now signed for a traditional publisher so she doesn’t have to do any Social networking. Now there’s an idea!

This is my incursion into blogging. Will it result in sales, spikes in the Excel chart, emails from Amazon saying I'm now in their Top Ten all-time favourites and they'd like me to come back to the forums? The answer - if you were wondering is - let's wait and see!

Please feel free to tell me if I've missed something, or you've been offended by anything I've mentioned. And if you like it, feel free to Tweet and Share - you never know - I might get a sale!

The King Whisperers

The King Whisperers breaks upon our senses at exactly the right moment. Society is growing tired of rulers and politicians, yet is excited by a film about a stuttering King that swept up all the Oscars and the fast-approaching Royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton –The King Whisperers positions itself as a worthy contender for our attention.

To be honest, when the book arrived by courier, I thought to myself, this is going to be a dry read. How wrong I was. Once opened, I could not put it down and was soon recommending it to all my colleagues and friends. The King Whisperers turned out to be an engrossing insight into the lives of charismatic, shrewd, masterful, cruel and downright devious puppet-masters who have shaped the course of events in palaces, parliaments and nations throughout history. Never was history so interesting and exciting to read.

Chronicling the lives of some of the most powerful and devious individuals who would stop at nothing to ensure their own ends, Kerwin Swint shows us human-nature at its darkest and most selfish, yet sometimes at  its most altruistic. Here is shameless cruelty and sometimes sheer love; often devotion and commitment to a person, nation or cause and for which the reward is cruel and premature death. Could you have the person you had loved and shared half a lifetime with, murdered for uttering one word out-of-place? Such was the fate of Ibrahim Pashar, known as the ‘most beautiful man in the state’.

Watch The Trailer


The reader will be familiar with many of the characters throughout the book. However, preconceptions will be swept away as the author demonstrates that these puppet-masters were not simply motivated by personal ambition, the struggle for power or greed as we may assume, but also by altruism, ideology and devotion that transcended any sense of personal gain. In some cases, readers will discover a sympathy with elements in a character’s personality who before  may have been despised, such as the She-Wolf Isabella of France whose love and compassion for Mortimer at his end, (“Fair son, have pity on gentle Mortimer,”) softens the devious and scheming harshness that caused her to rise against her husband Edward II.

Kerwin Swint presents his characters in a lively and engaging format, making this book an exciting read. Unlike the turgid flow of many histories - The King Whisperers sparkles with the pace and interest of a CNN or BBC report. In spite of the one negative review on Amazon, this is a book that will appeal to everybody, from the biography tourist to the serious academic in search of new information and sources. The language is accessible to all and stimulates enquiry. By the end of your read-through, you will be heading to Amazon to purchase biographies of the favourites you have bookmarked through almost 300  pages of ruthless self-serving and compassionate demise.

The only disappointment for me was that I was left wanting to know more. Now!

I didn’t want to have to run off and order copies of the lives I had read about; I was engrossed in certain characters such as Bernard of Clairvaux and Francis Walsingham. I wanted to see them in action; to see the twists and turns as they played with their masters and the affections of followers and nations. I realise however, that with 47 distinct individuals to discuss, such in-depth treatment was not possible in a single book. One thing is certain, Kerwin Swint has ensured that there will be more biographies of some interesting, though often disturbing shakers and movers on my bookshelf.

The book itself is a whisper. Each vignette is like a secret whispered in our ear, stirring the imagination and our own devious need to inform as we discover something new about one of the players. 

I found myself meeting with a poet friend who had written a piece about the Battle of Towton; I had come across a little known snippet in the chapter on Kingmakers…did my friend know it, I wondered. He didn’t! I felt for a moment a little of what it was like to be a Richard Neville or a Francis Walsingham…I had passed the whisper on, and in so doing, became part of that history of shaping thought and controlling outcomes that is part of all of us.

The King Whisperers will entice, excite, educate, stimulate and motivate to further reading. I’ve already decided that Clairvaux, Walsingham and Isabella will be on my bookshelf. I am hoping that Kerwin Swint will be the author of one or more of these lives. I wonder whose schemings you will rush to read after observing The King Whisperers at work.

Tour Notes:

Please vote for my blog in the traffic-breaker poll for this tour. The blogger with the most votes wins a free promotional twitterview and a special winner’s badge. I want that to be me! You can vote in the poll by visiting the official King Whisperers blog tour page and scrolling all the way to the bottom.

The next word for the book give-away is (PUBLICITY). Learn more about the give-away and enter to win 1 of 3 copies on the official King Whisperers blog tour page. The other 2 copies are being given-away courtesy of the GoodReads author program, go here to enter. And don’t forget to stop by the Q&A with Kerwin Swint Group to discuss the King Whisperers (including questions from the official book club guide), the author, and his previous works.

10 Surefire ways to self-publishing success

In this post I am going to share with you 10 things you need to put in place to ensure your self-publishing success. These will help you to avoid the stigma that has been traditionally experienced by authors choosing this publishing route. I will be sharing links that you can follow to support you in your endeavours. I have not been offered an incentive to include any links, you will not be asked for money, nor does anyone pay me commissions. Self-published books have often deserved the stigma that is attached to them. So to ensure that your book stands out, is purchased and is read, follow these tips from the very start of your writing endeavours and you will achieve success:

1. Be aware of what you want to achieve as an author and for your book. If you know what you want to achieve, you are more likely to get there. Without a plan the delay in getting your book published may be just as long as if you had submitted it into the Publishing Lottery mentioned in my last post. Worse still, it may never be published.

2. Make sure you have a good book to offer. One of the most frequently asked questions of a reader is ‘is that book good’? That’s what we immediately want to know before anything else. If the answer is yes, we may go out and buy it ourselves. For a book to be good It will need to draw an emotional response from the reader; there will be an obvious level of suspense and the plot will leave the reader wanting to know more; believable characters are essential, your reader wants to identify with the good characters and loathe the bad ones; plenty of action is paramount, with conflict-resolution-conflict driving the reader to turn the page in hope of more. Simple matters are paramount such as spelling, grammar and layout. If it is not good, don’t publish until it is.

3. Gain the skills of self-publishing while you write. Self publishing is a process that can be learned alongside your writing. Be aware of the pros and cons and assess whether or not you have the time, skills and finances to self-publish; don’t be put off, thousands of authors are choosing this route for the cost-effective opportunity it provides. Don’t wait until the book is finished to find out what to do next. Be ahead of the game and prepared to publish when your book is done. If your book is already written then take time to research and implement the skills required for self- publishing. There is no need to invest in an expensive course since information abounds on-line and at Amazon.com.

4. Set a budget. Some writers have been so enthusiastic to get their work into print that they have spent thousands of dollars and even bankrupted themselves. Beware of sharks; there are plenty of people out there who are happy to separate the author from her money. The good news is that in today’s word of Digital Publishing, you can self publish on a budget. Even though self publishing can be inexpensive, the last thing you want is that you run out of finances halfway through the process. There are numerous books on the subject and If you link with other writers through social networking, you will be able to gain realistic forecasts of what you need to expend throughout the life of the publishing project.

5. Consider what form of self-publishing you will opt for. Traditional routes will prove time consuming and expensive. If you decide on Print-On-Demand (POD) then consider using the services of a POD printer that has inside connections with Amazon such as createspace.com. Digital publishing is now a respected enterprise and publishing an e-book is the most cost effective route of all to reach the widest market. Kindle reaches a vast market offering Authors up to 70% royalties. It costs nothing to have your book published in Kindle format. The self- publishing route you choose will depend on the goals you have as an author.

6. Source the help you will need to self-publish without a great deal of expense. In the process of self-publishing you will become, or need, a copy editor, proof-reader, cover artist and marketing director. It is possible for you to be all of these, but do not overlook social networking and all the assistance that is out there. There is no need in today’s writing world to feel isolation and lack of support as you make those final steps toward your writing goals. You will be surprised how much help is available when you offer to give something back.

7. Become competent at Social Networking. It is easy, fun, supportive, energizing and cost-free. I met a woman last week at a lecture with author Jack Mapanje. She informed me that she was going to write her life story and had bought a computer and booked on to courses for word processing and networking skills -she was 81 years old. There are four things that you need to succeed on-line, A Website, a Blog, a Twitter account and a Facebook account. There are many others to choose from, but a trawl of a few blogs and websites will soon reveal that the successful independent publishers are using these. Also consider joining Author Networks, these assist networking and give that wonderful sense of being part of something dynamic – great for curing feelings of isolation.

8. Ensure that you have a striking cover. This is essential even if you are publishing electronically. I refuse to buy an e-book that does not have a cover; to do so is like having photocopied sheets stuffed amongst books on a regular bookshelf. My e-reader bookshelf is as important to me as my bookshelf in my home. A great cover sells a book (all my life I have bought books on their covers). Networking on Twitter has allowed me to find and to communicate with good artists who can provide professional artwork for books, blogs and websites at affordable prices.



9. Make sure your book is for sale through several on-line providers. Your goal may be to solely sell through Amazon.com, but since Amazon will compete with other online booksellers, it pays to have your book listed with booksellers such as Barnes and Noble and others. Make sure you are on Smashwords who distribute e-books to retailers such as iBooks, Sony, Diesel and other retailers. Listing your book is free and they will convert your book to e-reader format for no charge, though they do take a percentage of sales.

10. Book reviews, book reviews, book reviews. Use every opportunity open to you to get book reviews that are well written, preferably by readers and writers of your genre. Sign up to goodreads.com and become familiar with fellow authors. You will find that there is a great deal of goodwill and reciprocity between writers online and a polished review that ends up shared through Social Networking, is priceless publicity. I buy the majority of my e-books as a result of reviews and I am seldom disappointed. Use as many review opportunities as you can find time to manage and be sure that you use Amazon for free reviews.

Finally, (yes, this makes 11 tips) and I use it to reinforce my insistence that you - keep writing. Your fan base want to see more work…they really do! So capitalize on your next books success by following all these tips from today. I’ll be watching for your work and if you have followed these ideas, I’ll most likely be buying some of it too!

Publishing Lottery

So, you've checked your manuscript, the numbers are right, all the boxes are ticked, your contact details are included, you've met the deadline (if there is one) and you have sent your work to the right publisher. The problem is, there is no cut off point, no TV announcement of winners and if you are unlucky enough, not even an announcement of non-winning via the dreaded Rejection Slip! Welcome to the publishing lottery.

The debate about whether to self-publish or go the traditional route rages on. And there remains that persistent mind-set that being published by one of the 'Big Name Houses' is the only reputable way to go. One of the stigmas that surround self-publishing is that of independents not making a living from their work. How many times have you been asked "Do you make a living from it." It may be helpful to know that even an average Author with one of the Big Houses may struggle to make $10,000. Here in the UK, the majority sell less than 300 copies. Overcoming stigma then is about challenging the perceived wisdom and proceeding with confidence.

A look at the figures may help you to break free from the 'if only' thinking of all lottery players.There are 86,300 Publishers world-wide; of that number 300-400 are mid size publishers and only 6 are large well-known publishers - the rest, all 86,000 of them are self publishers. Those who submit their manuscripts to the 'Big Houses' in the hope of fame and fortune might be helped by knowing that out of the tens of thousands of manuscripts submitted every year, about a dozen are selected by each. Welcome to the Lottery!

I am fully aware of the old arguments about self publishing and I acknowledge the validity of some of them - such as the risk of the market being flooded with poor writing. However, for those who know that their work is good and who have taken the time to have it reviewed, self publishing is the way to go.

With enhanced technology offering a Global readership, economical marketing and promotion opportunities  and Social Networking, the world is open to what you have to offer. I am an avid reader of self published books and, of the 100 authors I have in my Kindle, how could any of them ever have attracted me to read them if they hadn't used the internet to market their books. We all know the old stories of the vanity publishers, but let's not confuse that with Self Publishing enterprise that remains firmly under the control of the author and his or her collaborators.

My argument is not that people should shy away from the 'Big Publishers', but rather, that self publishing is seen as a viable and reputable alternative where the lottery has failed to pay off. I have numerous friends, who,  suffering numerous rejections have concluded that their work is trash and canned it. The publishing world is a business and structured on a firm set of business protocols, so their rejection of your manuscript isn't about it being trash, it is about straight forward business decisions that may not favor you at the time.

My plea therefore is, if you have given up on the lottery, don't can the manuscript - self publish. Click this text to see who have succeeded at self publishing and why?

Look out for my next post: '10 Surefire Ways to Self Publishing Success'.

Read Everything

I went to an interview with Kate Atkinson last Saturday in my local library. I was amazed at the turnout...it was the biggest Author event I have ever attended. Kate read from one of her books...her delivery was spell-binding and the characters came to life on every word...I just wanted to get hold of all her stuff (for Kindle) of course.

I was impressed by something that Kate said in reply to her interviewer's question about reading to be a writer; "to write well you must read absolutely everything there is." It seemed like a sweeping statement and some might say 'over the top' to me. However, when I review how my best ideas come to the fore, it is after a reading session of a broad range of genres and media. That is not to say that in reading we find ideas in other writing that we can lift out and rework, rather, it is that reading opens up the buried material in our own memory banks...material waiting to be exploited.

I downloaded Travellers Rest by James Enge last week. Not only was I thrilled by the story which takes place in a sort of  futuristic/mythological lodging house, but my interest in Fantasy was reawakened after half a lifetime. Having written fantasy as a youth I now have a couple of stories outlined.

My encouragement then is for you to exploit yourself through the creativity of others...you'll be surprised how many stories, novles, articles and more are waiting for the awakening.

Full Time Writer

This morning I read a Tweet from a young man wishing to know how to become a full-time writer. I clicked through to the blog that provided a range of answers to the young man's query from a range of those who are already writers. Some were encouraging in their replies, others poured cold water on the inquirer's efforts to break into writing full time...even I was left with the notion that it is all just an endless slog with no real gain...so why not just become a slave to the alarm clock and some other master? I thought.

I would not attempt to pretend that breaking into writing as a full-time career is easy and most of the advice offered by respondents was sound. However, if one wishes to write and make money while writing and getting their first works accepted, there is always the option of launching a website and sell affiliate writing programs off your site. Now I am not suggesting that anyone quits a secure job straight away, but with as little as an hour a day you could soon make that a realistic goal. Like writing itself, it is down to time, effort and skill.

If you have a modest knowledge of the Internet, know how to set up and maintain a website, then this might be a way for you to make that extra income that allows you to reach for your dreams.

If you have a website then Gary McLaren, Editor, Worldwide Freelance Writer, has prepared an ebook of the best Writing Affiliate Programs. OK, it will cost about $9, but what other business has lower start-up costs than writing, or has such certain work-from-home possibilities?

Here is a link for you to take a look at what Gary has to offer