#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!)

#274: A candid report on a marketing failure.  If you missed my series “Targeting Specific Audiences” where I report on my ad campaigns associated with the Montclair Film Festival (a great success in spite of my dismal failure), you can catch Part Three on Karen Cioffi’s blog Writers on the Move—it’s the 5/30/13 post (there are links to the two previous parts).  My ad campaign sounded like a good idea at the time.  Read about the details before you leap to do marketing in your community like this.  It was a sad learning experience for me.

#275: Did you miss the free promo?  Through KDP Select, I offered my new mystery/thriller, Teeter-Totter between Lust and Murder, as a free promo over the Memorial Day weekend (May 24-28).  If you missed it, I’m sorry.  It’s now back at the original price of $4.99.  Things move fast in today’s publishing world!  The “official announcement” of this book’s release will appear on the website Indies Unlimited  on June 9.  If you didn’t miss the promo, here’s your chance to comment and ask questions on a website that has a lot more traffic than this one—I’ll be paying attention and will respond if needed.  If you didn’t participate in the promo and didn’t otherwise purchase the book, try it—you just might chuckle as the irascible Castilblanco attempts to prove his partner is innocent of murder.  And look for other promos.  They will be announced here and on many online sites that announce ebook freebies.

#276: Help!  Calling all reviewers!  The two new ebooks I just released, The Golden Years of Virginia Morgan and Teeter-Totter between Lust and Murder, still need reviewers.  If you downloaded your free copy of Teeter-Totter in the KDP Select promo, for example, finish it, and then take some time to write a little review—just a few lines that let me know if I’m entertaining you as a reader (my present mission in life).  And then pass that .mobi file on to a friend or relative—the more readers, the better.  (For the same reason, I donate free books to libraries.)  Or, just tell friends and relatives, “Hey, there’s this old duffer who can spin a yarn.”  I have fun writing, but I have more fun when somehow it gets back to me that people are out there who like my writing.  And don’t just do this for me—do it for any indie author whose book you’ve enjoyed.  Help us entertain you.

#277: Summer reading—load up your Kindle.  My promo of Teeter-Totter (see above) is just one of many you will see this summer.  Help indie authors by downloading free and bargain ebooks—twenty or thirty different titles even.  You say, “I’ll never read that many books.”  I say, “There’s no better way to beat the heat than sitting on a beach reading your Kindle (Paper-White version recommended for reading in the sun).  Alternatively, break out some brewskis, fire up the air conditioning, and slothfully enjoy some new stories from new authors.”  That’s my plan.  I’ll throw in some old novels from familiar authors—you know, those five- or six-year-old books one of the Big Five decides to re-release as an ebook—but never pay more than $10.  You want to enrich your life, not the Big Five’s coffers.

#278: A shout of “thanks!” to readers across the pond…  I’ve seen many comments  observing that those KDP Select free promos aren’t getting the number of downloads they used to.  Instead of tens of thousands of freebie downloads, you mostly see hundreds, even from a 5 day campaign.  This is primarily due to readers doing exactly what I recommend above for summer reading.  Case in point: my promo of Teeter-Totter didn’t have great results.

There was a significant positive about that campaign though: European readers participated, led by readers from the U.K.  I thank all of you.  I’ve always suspected my books could have an international appeal—some for the yankee color that fascinates many international readers (Teeter-Totter takes place almost entirely in the Big Apple, for example); others because the venues are international (Evil Agenda takes the reader on a European tour).  So, to my readers from across the pond, I say, “Jolly Good; Wunderbar; Tres Bien,” and send you a heartfelt thanks.

#279: …and “I’m sorry” to my LinkedIn connections.  Last week I checked my number of LinkedIn connections for the first time.  I have over 730 connections.  How did this happen?  I rarely send a request for a connection, but I receive maybe twenty requests per week.  For each one, I check the profile.  If the person seems nice, I accept, although lately I’ve been insisting that he or she has something to do with the writing business.  That’s why I’m apologizing.  I’m not very good at this social networking business.  I know most connections expect something from me—my endorsements, birthday cards, or business.  But I’m just a nerdy and introverted novelist.  How can my endorsement benefit anybody?  How can I endorse someone I don’t even know?

Moreover, I run my writing business on a shoestring—I can’t afford to hire anyone or buy anything.  Maybe I could if all those 700+ people bought all my books, but I know that’s not going to happen.  And I’m not James Patterson and his Fantastic Fiction Factory with millions to spend.  So, I’m sorry.  By accepting your offer to connect, I probably set expectations for you that I can’t satisfy.  I’m mostly a lurker in discussion groups at this site, so please forgive me if you expected more from me.  (I bet there are other writers in the same boat!)

In libris libertas….

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