#301: Name recognition at work…and play?  If any author needs a demo of the power of name recognition, the latest J. K. Rowling gig provides it.  Ms. Rowling, saying she wanted unbiased opinions on her new venture into detective stories, published The Cuckoo’s Calling under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.  Until last week, sales of the book were underwhelming.  When it was announced who the real author is, sales took off, just in time to accompany the release of her last novel in paperback.  Now bookstores can’t keep up with the Cuckoo’s hard copies.

These events also show the power of ebooks and have Rowling’s publisher wringing his hands.  People are flooding to the ebook version.  While the Little, Brown people desperately try to catch up with demand for more hard copies, it’s likely that ebook buyers will exhaust the pool of thousands of wannabe readers, leaving the publisher with hundreds of unwanted hard copies.  If they’d been smart, they would have just released an ebook of the Cuckoo, at a more reasonable price, of course.  It will probably all work out for Ms. Rowling, of course, who is becoming more of a savvy businesswoman and less of a writer as time passes.

#302: WD ESP?  Readers will remember that I’ve been lamenting for a while (I updated my lament just last week) about the lack of a true Kindle edition for WD (Writer’s Digest).  Will apparently they now have one—$14.95 for the year’s subscription.  It’s almost like the WD people had ESP, though I have no idea why our minds might be in tune.

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#292: ISBNs, ASINs, and all that.  Amazon doesn’t make it a habit of listing ISBNs for ebooks.  In fact, they so dominate the market that many authors are foregoing ISBNs.  As far as I know, all my ebooks also have ISBNs, thanks to my wonderful formatter Donna Carrick (a great mystery writer in her own right—see The First Excellence).  I encourage all indie writers to get an ISBN for their ebook.  These are important for many reasons, but one big one: good stats on book sales provide useful info for marketing your present books and maybe for writing the next one.

In my last “News and Notices…,” I talked about the dearth of good stats.  While ISBNs aren’t a sufficient condition for good stats, they (or something like them) are a necessary one.  Imagine the FAA trying to keep track of airplanes in the sky without identifying tail numbers.  ISBNs are the universal identifying numbers of books.  We need some number recognized world-wide that identifies a book before we can make any sense out of sales figures.  (Of course, we also need the Big Five to release their sales figures too, but they’ve been reluctant to do that.  Surprise, surprise!  But that’s another gripe.)

#293: Book Series.  One question I often hear (or read) is when readers ask writers: did you start out to write the series “Bla-bla-bla” with that very first book in the series?  It’s a great question.  I suppose a writer could do that.  If you’re a writer and make the decision to do so, you should read “The Stuff Series Are Made Of” by Karen S. Wiesner in the WD (Writer’s Digest) September 2013 issue (what?  September already?  Christmas in August?).  Ms. Wiesner has 101 books, so it’s worth perusing what she has to write about the subject.

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#286: Free ebook.  Free download of my futuristic thriller, The Golden Years of Virginia Morgan, today, Friday, and through Tuesday, July 2, on Amazon.  What happens when paranoid U.S. government officials decide their elderly agents and top scientists are becoming security risks with the onset of dementia and Alzheimer’s?  The year is 2030.  Meet DHS agent Ashley Scott and Pulitzer prize-winning reporter Eduardo Ortega. They battle a government conspiracy that goes far beyond an attack on the elderly who possess classified information.  But is it really the government conspiring? A shadowy group led by a man called Raven lurks in the wings, manipulating events for his own benefit.  Download…and enjoy.  (As always, a review is appreciated—take a wee bit of time to let other people know how much you enjoyed the book.)

#287: A heartfelt thanks.  I want to thank all who participated in the promos of Teeter-Totter between Lust and Murder and Angels Need Not Apply.  If you downloaded both these freebies, don’t forget The Midas Bomb, the first ebook in the “Detectives Chen and Castilblanco Series.”  Think of it this way—you can have the entire series for the price of The Midas Bomb (FYI: it’s not easy for me to change prices on my Infinity books).  By the way, in the chronology of my wacko alternate universe, The Midas Bomb is the first book.  All my books so far are related through this chronology.  While I have many “what-ifs” in my e-coffers to work on in the future, and some of them won’t fit into this chronology, but so far that hasn’t been the case.  (Again, a review would be appreciated of any and all of these books—the wee bit of time it takes you lets other readers know about the books.)

#288: Something to look for.  No Amber Waves of Grain, the sequel to Full Medical and Evil Agenda, is nearing completion.  This will make the “Clones and Mutant Series” into a trilogy.  In order to avoid spoilers, let me just say that it will involve many of your same favorite characters from the first two books, plus some new ones.  Also on the immediate event horizon is Paso Dobles in a Quantum Stringscape, an anthology of speculative fiction short stories that will include a newly revised version of my novella, From the Mother World, which appeared in serialization in this blog.  (I use the term “speculative fiction,” as championed by Margaret Atwood, because some of these stories are about horror and paranormal, not just sci-fi.)  I’m hoping for an early fall release of both these ebooks.

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[Note from Steve: A long newsletter today.  I thank you for your patience.  Maybe you’ll want to read only a few sections each day today and over the weekend, especially if you’re a Papa or you’re a family taking Papa out to some special event.]

#280: Free ebook…for all reading fathers and summer readers everywhere!  Angels Need Not Apply, where Detectives Chen and Castilblanco play dangerous games with al Qaeda terrorists, a Mexican cartel, and a neo-Nazi militia, will be available as a free download from Amazon, June 14 through 18—that is, starting today!  Don’t miss out on some free, exciting, and entertaining summer reading.  This is the second book in the “Detectives Chen and Castilblanco Series.”  If you liked The Midas Bomb and/or Teeter-Totter between Lust and Murder, you’ll enjoy this one.  And, if you haven’t read any of my books, what a nice opportunity to try one of them.

#281: Who are the avid readers?  I hold all readers in esteem because I believe that reading is a truly uplifting, intellectual, and entertaining pursuit.  Last week, though, I signaled out readers overseas.  If one believes the stats, readers across the pond are more evenly divided in gender than here in the States.  At the risk of sounding like a cheerleader for machismo, let me say: C’mon, guys.  Reading is better than TV or golf any day.

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#272: Time to celebrate?  This is installment #50 of my sometimes cynical and acerbic newsletter about the writing business as seen through the eyes of this indie writer.  Although it’s targeted more towards writers, I also hope readers enjoy it too, because I think it helps everyone understand the idiosyncrasies of those people like me who strive to bring some enjoyment to your lives beyond the droll drivel found on TV these days.  Or, maybe everyone just has fun laughing and crying with me about the ins and outs of this wacky business.  Whatever the reason, keep on reading, and I’ll keep on writing.

#273: Showdown at the iPad corral?  Last Monday, David, the tiny Justice Department, went up against Goliath, multinational, tax evading Apple Inc.  While I expect this trial to go on forever, the smart money in Las Vegas is probably on Apple because Apple has been smart about making money.  It’s a bit like the last election: the Koch brothers and other billionaires were standing behind their man Romney—all bets were on him.  What the Apple lawyers should remember, though: even with all that power and money behind Romney, Obama won.  Sometimes, all it takes is that little stone from David’s sling to hit right between Goliath’s eyes.

In this case, the stone is an incriminating email from Jobs to Murdock.  There was clearly an attempt at price-fixing (consumers still aren’t seeing fair ebook pricing—how can an ebook cost more than a paperback?).  How does a man (Steve Jobs) get caught with his pants down even after death?  It’s all about those emails.  Just ask Mr. Wiener.  (Oops, he might be the next mayor of NYC—strange world!)

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#268: Free ebook!  Over the U.S. Memorial Day weekend (May 24-28, 2013), I am offering my new release Teeter-Totter between Lust and Murder FOR FREE on Amazon.  Don’t miss this chance for some great summer reading.  It’s also a way to introduce yourself to my writing.  You only need a Kindle or the free Kindle app for your electronic device.  Download now before you forget.  The book will return to its released price of $4.99 come May 29.  Don’t miss out!

#269: Guest posts.  The second part of my “Targeting Specific Audiences” appeared in Writers on the Move on 5/17.  The third part, discussing metrics, will appear on 5/30.  “Between Writer and Reader” appeared on Karen Cioffi Writing and Marketing last week (5/15).  Although all these posts are more for writers, readers might find them entertaining if only to understand those strange people, the writers.

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#264: Welcome!  I know there are some new readers visiting this blog.  If you’re one of them, welcome!  This post (it appears on most Fridays) is for writers and readers of books, but many come here more for the op-ed.  To the old-timers (I’ve probably never said it, but better late than never), welcome to you too!  There are many blogs on the internet, so I feel privileged that you have added mine to your reading list.  (If you have access to an RSS feed, you can RSS this blog.  I was surprised—it was the one thing that was easy to do on Goodreads.)

Many blogs are for-profit in the sense that you will see multitudes of ads floating on your screen cajoling you to be a good consumer.  That’s their choice, of course.  In my blog, I try to keep things non-commercial.  If it is commercial, and I mention it, it’s because they offer services to readers and writers I applaud—especially to indie authors and publishers.

That said, I do need your support.  My costs are minimal (generated by maintaining this website plus paying for ebook formatting and cover art), but I can’t operate at a loss.  So, please help!  Tell your friends about the website.  Read, buy, and review some of my books if you can spare a café latte or two and a wee bit o’ time.  Tell your friends to do the same.  And I’m just one indie author.  Try to help the others too—if you resonate with their writing.

#265: Prices for my ebooks.  Steve Jobs in an email to Harper Collins’ James Murdoch: “Throw in with Apple and see if we can all make a go of this to create a real mainstream e-books market at $12.99 and $14.99.”  Recall that the Big Five joined forces with Jobs in their attempt to fix ebook prices.  This was an attack on Amazon but the Justice Department brought a lawsuit against Apple et al, which they lost—an implicit win for Amazon.

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#258: New book release!  You’ve already seen the excerpt (last Monday).  Watch for the release—real soon now.  With Teeter-Totter between Lust and Murder, I continue the “Detectives Chen and Castilblanco Series.”  The sleuths of The Midas Bomb and Angels Need Not Apply will embroil you in action and suspense yet again.  As a mystery novel (my first), it is a dark probing into the nexus the crime underworld sometimes enjoys with the rich and powerful.

Chen is arrested for the murder of a senator in circumstances that seem to leave no doubt of her guilt, but Castilblanco helps prove her innocence.  With this new crime novel, I continue the saga of your two favorite detectives as they and their companions fight the corrupting influence of the illegal weapons trade.  You can read this book for free (and its companion book, The Golden Years of Virginia Morgan, also a 2013 release) by offering to write an honest review of the book for Amazon (or anywhere else, for that matter—see the note on reviewers’ responsibilities below)—query through my contact form at this website.

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#254:  Guest post on “Writers on the Move.”  Thanks to the encouragement of Karen Cioffi, one of “the writers on the move,” I’m writing up my experiences with targeted ads directed at the local audience of attendees of the Montclair Film Festival (April 25-May 5).  I will be candid with this series of articles, no matter the results.  Whether positive or negative, it’s a learning experience for me I’m willing to pass on.  The series is titled “Targeting Specific Readers” and the first part, which appeared Wednesday (April 17), is subtitled “The Marketing Conundrum.”  I would be pleased if you follow the series.  (Note: it will NOT reappear here.)

#255:  Major writer goes indie.  Wednesday’s (April 17) NY Times reported that Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and author David Mamet is going indie for his next book.  When he released his last one, The Secret Knowledge: On the Dismantling of American Culture, it sold well enough to make the Times’ best-seller list.  This year, when the author set out to publish his next book, a novella and two short stories about war, he decided to take a very different path: self- or indie publishing.  His reasons should be familiar—he wants more control.  (Note: One other so far, Hugh Howey, author of the Wool SF series, has managed to do both, and keep digital rights separate from paper rights.)

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#248: New ebooks for your enjoyment.  Let’s start with my most recent release, The Golden Years of Virginia Morgan.  Thriller and conspiracy lovers, take note.  Women tired of vampire romances, take note.  Baby boomers tired of watching ups and downs of their retirement funds, take note.  This book is fast-paced entertainment that’s gripping and thought-provoking.  What would you do if the U.S. government sponsored a retirement plan designed just for agents and other employees with early onset dementia and Alzheimer’s and too many secrets?

Detectives Chen and Castilblanco, my favorite NYPD homicide detectives from The Midas Bomb, Angels Need Not Apply, Pop Two Antacids and Have Some Java, and Virginia above will be featured in my very first true mystery titled Teeter-Totter Between Lust and Murder.  Besides the title themes, they will take on arms smugglers and militia members in their new adventure.  I’m in the final editing stages on this one—look for it.  Coming soon!

#249: Review of Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James.  I write reviews; this is not my review.  Mandi M. Lynch, author and reviewer writing for the Book in the Bag book review blog, tells it like it is.  She made the effort to read the book and try to find some redeeming qualities.  I never had the courage (Prurient interest? Misogynist sociopathy?  Puerile curiosity?  Pornographic sadism?) to even consider reading this book.  I do want to see a sociology or psychology thesis on why this book is so popular with suburban soccer moms and their desperate husbands trying to find out where the closest S&M-hardware shops are located.  The review confirmed my opinion (well developed, even though I didn’t read the book) that this book is just trash.  What’s your opinion?

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