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Writing

Creative Writing

June 22, 2016 dean Leave a comment

Creativity in Writing

Everyone knows that Creativity is at the center of writing. I once read that every book that you read is just a different combination of the same 26 letters and some punctuation marks. Think about it! Everything comes down to how creatively you put it all together.

So here is a great boost to your creativity. A book about creativity that is geared towards authors. See for yourself:

Add the Creativity

Let your creativity soar!

“You’re Never Gonna Slow Me Down”

How to Remove Roadblocks to Creativity

Doubt, fear, and confusion are the anti-thesis to creativity. You must work to counter your own fears. Here is an activity that is a good way to remove fear and doubt, I call it “Counter Point.”

Crush Fear and Doubt with this counterpoint activity.

Write down every fear or doubt. Then write a counterpoint to it that answers every fear or issue.

For example:

Fear

I might as well not bring up my ideas, no one really listens to me any way.

Counter Point

I have great ideas. My ideas often make a difference. People will listen to me, and like my ideas.

Fear

This idea is so different that I’ll be laughed at if I suggest it.

Counter Point

Even if others reject my idea, they will respect those who try to show creativity and innovation. Others will see that I am trying to improve the situation. Sometimes the riskier the idea, the greater the reward when it works.

Fear

I’ll never be able to do it.

Counter Point

I’ll take it a little bit at a time. I’ll set up a schedule to do a little bit every day. When I see how much I have accomplished, I will be amazed.

Any time a doubt or fear raises up its ugly head, smash it flat with a counter point. You will be surprised at how quickly you will squelch those fears, and let your creativeness loose on your projects and problems.

I have read a number of books that promote one process or another for success in creativity. Most of these books have their own step-by-step process that leads someone to “creative” thinking. After trying many of them, and after watching how creativity works with me and with my teams, I now believe that creative processes are not linear. I believe that they have a tendency to bounce around and to take you on detours that zig-zag you from one activity to another.

To illustrate what I mean, my family and I have hiked many mountain paths. The paths that go straight up the mountain are exhausting, they are steep and very difficult to travel. When it rains, the water runs right down the path, usually digging out gullies and ridges that become obstacles in the path for future hikers.

This last year we were at Zion’s National Park, we hiked a path that lead to a destination called Angel’s Landing. One section of that path is a manmade section that is reinforced with brick and mortar. It is called “Walter’s Wiggles,” and it zig-zags back and forth 24 times from the bottom to the top of the hill-face that we scale at that point. While on that path, every corner seemed like a detour, it felt like such a burden sometimes to flow from one side to the other, but when you see it from a distance, you realized that each level is essential, and that each corner brings you closer to your goal.

Here is a page of resources that might help you:

https://www.facebook.com/Writersource

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https://www.facebook.com/Writersource

Writing

Is There a Little Writer in You Too?

March 11, 2016 dean Leave a comment

There is a saying that goes, “there is a story inside of everyone.” I see stories everywhere. People do and say interesting things everyday. I love going to work, going to the store, going to the park and interacting with people. What I find is that there is always a lot to listen to. Take the time to write down your interest, think about what knowledge you have that others might be interested in. You may be surprised that you have a book inside of you also.

Do yourself a favor. Let that little writer out once in a while.

How do you know if there is a writer lurking within you?

How Do You Know If You Could Write a Book?

First of all, do you have hobbies, crafts, skills, or life hacks that you are just dying to share with others? Is there something that you are good at, that you could teach other people? Writing is first and fore most about passion. What are you passionate about? What can you talk about all day? Those are great things to write about. If you have an interest in something it is likely that other people share that interest.

Chris Anderson, the author of “The Long Tail,” points out that there is a market for almost everything. Digital books make it possible for millions of books to exist on Amazon and be there for anyone interested.

You just have to get that story out. What life experiences have you gone through that other people could benefit from? If you have learned something from those experiences, there are others out there who need that information and the knowledge that they aren’t alone, that other people have had those same feelings and found the same problems.

What Makes for a Good Book?

I was approached by a friend that said something to the effect that he didn’t want to put out the effort to write a book if it was just going to be lame.

The truth of the matter is, you have been reading books all of your life. You know what you like in a book and what you don’t like. If you start with the end in mind, starting with the what you want your book to stand for, then work backwards, you have a great chance of putting your story together. What do I mean by working backwards. Well, you know what you want the ending to be like. You are definitely going to hit the nail on the head. Now, what characters will you need to get to that ending? What characteristics will those characters need? What flaws will they need to overcome. The story has to have some friction and some struggle to make it interesting to anyone that might read it. What life experiences will push the characters to that final grand outcome? Now who are the supporting cast? Who will be there for the main character when he or she has to make the hard decisions. Who will be the antagonist? Who wants the same thing as the main character but for evil reasons?

Finally, what setting will put the protagonist in a position to need something that he or she just cannot have? It has to be something related to that incredible ending that you have already come up with. Why can’t he or she have what they want right now? Who or what is standing in the way.

Mapping

Now you can start to map out the main beats of the story. Match characters with events and with motivations. Create a flow chart for what needs to happen before the great ending can actually take place.

Think hard about the setting. Where and when you place the story will have so much to do with what the protagonist can and can’t do.

Now write the back stories to your characters. What are they like? What do they look like? What do you know about them or their behavior that will push them towards that final scene.

You have the makings of a great book. Dont let it set on the shelf for too long. start right away working on your book.

Here is a page of resources that might help you:

Other Articles

Engaging Reading, Dragons and Magic

http://writingprompts.tumblr.com/

Book, Uncategorized

Engaging Reading, Dragons and Magic

January 7, 2016 dean Leave a comment

New title from Dean R. Giles

The Allure of the Trap

“Daddy, what are they doing?” asked Junior as he peered intently at the figures in the viewer.
“They are trying to make fire, little one”
“They don’t know how!” exclaimed Junior.
“They are primitive, son. Now be quiet, it is almost time.” Devon moved his head closer to the viewer and stared more intently at the center of the activity. He could see that the fuels had been separated and were neatly contained. The entire atmosphere felt completely austere.

“The humans have out done themselves.” he snarled. “The fuels are so well separated and contained that there is no hope of a sustained fire. But, perhaps, if they are treated to a little spark, they may add more fuels and we could have a little blaze after all.” Devon struggled in front of the viewer, focusing his thoughts. “No, no, NO! It is hopeless. The fuels are so devoid of impurities, I can’t seem to align even a few atoms. Ooooh! It is so frustrating!”
“Daddy. Why can’t they just use their thoughts to make the fire?” asked Junior.
“They have puny little brains, they can’t project their thoughts at all. They are very inferior. Now go play, I am tired of all of the questions”
Devon jumped as a deep voice echoed through the room, “Observing the humans again, Devon?” Devon spun towards the sound of the voice.
“Oh, Galaru, I didn’t hear you come in. Yes, I am…observing them.”
“So, Devon, if these humans are inferior as you just mentioned, why do you keep watching them as if they might solve all of our world’s problems?”
“They just might, Galaru.” Devon lifted his eyebrows to emphasize his point.
“Bah! What could the humans possibly teach us?” questioned Galaru.
“You know that there was once a fire-bridge that connected our world to the human world.”

“So I hear.” responded Galaru, “But I don’t know it for a fact.”
“It is not fiction. I have spent some years combing the records. It existed.”
“So you have found references to the fire-bridge in the historical accounts?” asked Galaru.
Devon answered carefully, “Yes, I have, although it is obvious that most of the references have been removed or destroyed.”
“What! Removed or destroyed!” exclaimed Galaru.
“Contain your surprise, my friend. It was done by the Elders long ago to hide their complicity in the war that resulted.” Devon contemplated on the role of the Elders, who destroyed the bridge because it threatened their control. “You know there is only one viewer that shows any other world other than our own. That is because, when the bridge existed, one of our forefathers placed the transmitter to the viewer there. How else could it have gotten there?”
Galaru thought in silence pondering the meaning of Devon’s revelation. “Yes, I suppose that is the best explanation, but for all of these years, why hasn’t the bridge been rebuilt?”
Devon smiled condescendingly. “Because the humans can’t make the type of fire needed on the other side of the bridge. Oh, they have combustion fire that they use everywhere, but the kind of fire that fuels our fire-bridges is foreign to them. They are very close to producing it, they call it ‘cold fusion’”.

“Cold fusion?” gasped Galaru.

Devon laughed, “Why, even the very name of it is another testament of their inferior thinking. Imagine, a fire that burns as hot as a sun, and they call it ‘cold’. Oh, I will never understand them.”

Galaru wondered aloud, “If the humans can’t make fire—then how did the bridge get there in the first place?”

Devon shrugged, “The speculation is that the original occurred naturally, perhaps as the result of a meteor striking the face of the planet and beginning a self-sustaining reaction.”

“Why do the humans struggle so much to make such a simple thing as fire?” asked Galaru.
“The puny-brained humans cannot see the structure of the atoms, they can’t align them with their minds and bring them together naturally to create the spark needed to begin the process. Once the reaction is started, it would be self-sustaining, provided sufficient fuel were present.”

Devon focused on the viewer again and explained to Galaru, “When they are close enough, through the viewer, I can help them out a little. I can align a precious few atoms for them, but the heat of the fire destroys their setup most every time. They also keep the deuterium and the other resources contained so that the reaction has no chance of becoming self-sustaining. So the burst of fire is so short lived that I can do no more than watch and curse.”
Galaru smiled a devilish smile, “So you ‘tempt’ them with success, however small it may be?”
Devon nodded. “Exactly. At every opportunity. There are many groups working on this cold-fusion scattered around their world.”
“How do you know where to look with the viewer to observe it at the critical times?”
“That is a gift from the viewer’s makers. It must have been tuned to the original fire-bridge so that whenever the combination of atoms begins to make the precursors to fire, the viewer is pulled there immediately. I’m able to save the coordinates to look again at a future date. When there is nothing eminent to observe, the viewer is passive and I can will it to view whatever I want.”
“So,” mused Galaru, “they continue their search because of what you promise them in these fleeting moments of success?”

Devon chuckled. “So it seems.”

“Tell me, Devon, have they any chance of creating the fire?”
Devon nodded as he spoke, “They are clever, Galaru, I hold out hope for them in their quest.”

“Well, I wish you luck in your quest as well, old friend.” After a bit of a pause, Galaru continued. “I came over today with a bit more on my mind than just to reflect on your research, Devon.”

“I assumed as much,” responded Devon.

Galaru stood up straight and assumed an official air. “Since you are a Chancellor to the Council of Elders, I have come to request that you sponsor my project to ‘grow’ our own herds and flocks in an attempt to make the animal populations larger on our world.” Galaru also added, “This would not detract from what you are doing at all, Devon.”

Devon looked troubled, “I haven’t decided if I am in favor of that plan yet. How could I agree to sponsor it?”

“But Devon, my plan is practical, it has a chance of stemming the growing need.”

Devon snarled, “So you are saying that my plan is impractical?”

“No, no. It’s just full of variables that we can’t control. Human variables, Devon. I know that without your support I can’t even get to present to the Elders. Come with me so I can present to the Elders.” In a smooth and rehearsed voice Galaru persuaded, “At least come outside now, you haven’t been out in weeks.”

Devon sighed, “Very well, I’ll come outside with you Galaru, but I still haven’t made up my mind to support you in this.”

Outside in the glaring sun, Devon sighed again as he looked over his world, it seemed so barren compared to what he had been looking at in the viewer. They walked for a time in silence. Devon stopped suddenly in his tracks. “I can’t do this Galaru, our people are hunters, not farmers or herdsmen! If we stoop to tending flocks we will be no better than those humans.”

“We can still hunt the raised animals, we can release them into the wild, it will be no different—except there will be a larger supply of animals”

Devon motioned with his hands, “That’s not all, though, the Elders will have their hands in this you know. They will tell us when we can eat and what we can eat. We will be slaves on our own world.”

“But we will still be able to live here, on our world, and raise our families, Devon! It won’t be as bad as all that.” Galaru had raised his voice and was yelling.

“I won’t do it!” Devon yelled in response and began to turn around. “I won’t lower our people to become mere farmers.”

Galaru stopped Devon, “Well, if you won’t support me, perhaps, the next Chancellor that I find will also be interested in your attempts to rebuild the fire bridge into the human world. Understanding the elder’s hand in destroying it long ago, it may not go so well for you if they were to find out.”

Devon’s face clouded, “Are you threatening me?” he asked.

“Whatever it takes to get to the Council of Elders,” replied Galaru.

“You don’t have the stomach for this confrontation, Galaru.” chortled Devon.

Galaru roared, and swung a short, but muscular, and taloned hand at Devon. It connected, ripping open a line of scaled skin on Devon’s cheek. Devon jerked to one side and flipped his massive tail, attempting to take the legs out from under Galaru. Devon’s quick response showed that he was not entirely caught off guard by Galaru’s sudden attack. Galaru shifted his weight and took the brunt of the attack to the side of his body. Devon turned and extended his giant wings, he began to crouch for launching into the air. Galaru was waiting for this opportunity. He launched himself at Devon, but not directly at his body, Galaru landed squarely on one of Devon’s outstretched wings.

Devon opened his gaping jaws and spewed scorching fire at Galaru, who had his wing pinned to the ground. The fire enveloped Galaru, but his tough scaled exterior protected him sufficiently, and he walked up Devon’s wing, moving behind Galaru’s head to avoid a direct fire attack to his own head and face. Devon roared, cranking up the intensity of the fire billowing out of his mouth, but he found himself at a great disadvantage. Galaru clamped his massive jaws onto the base of Devon’s narrowing neck and began to apply pressure. Devon stopped struggling and in a hoarse whisper blurted out, “just get it over with!”

Galaru released his hold and disengaged, with his head bowed, he humbly begged. “Forgive me, Devon, I just lost my temper, that’s all. I had hoped to blackmail you into supporting me, and I was wrong.”

Devon’s wrinkled face twisted into a smile. “So you are a Dragon after all, Galaru, hot tempered, rash, and devious, all of the Dragon traits that I admire most. For my part in this, I only wanted to start a quarrel, because I hoped that you might disable me in the scuffle and take my place as Chancellor to the Council of Elders, then I could devote my time to this fire-bridge. However, I underestimated you. Why didn’t you end my life and take my place as Chancellor when you had the chance?”

“Of course, it crossed my mind. That course of action would have gotten me what I wanted, a chance to present to the Council of Elders—but my life would have been short and miserable afterwards, being the smallest and youngest Chancellor, I would have had to contend with every Dragon wanting the honor of a Chancellorship.”

Devon nodded his head, “you are wise, Galaru, you think things through better than most of us. I will be proud to represent you to the Elders.”

Galaru beamed. “Thank you.” he replied with sudden relief. Then Galaru looked at Devon questioningly.

“If you don’t mind me asking, Devon, what will you do if you can help the humans recreate the fire-bridge?”

Well, first we will send enough Dragons through the bridge to secure it from the humans and from any meddling by the Elders, and then we will test the accuracy of the history books.”

“What do you mean?” asked Galaru.

“Well, we will find out if the humans are as tasty as they are clever.” responded Devon.

The sound of raucous laughter rang through the streets as the two walked towards the fire-bridge that would bring them to the Council of Elders.

This is one of the short stories in the book Continue reading here:

Authors, Writing

Writing Prompts for Writer’s Block

July 9, 2015 dean Leave a comment

Writer’s Block UUUhhhggggg!

Everyone has those moments when the ideas just aren’t flowing. Those moments can last for a few minutes or stretch on to a few years. Those times when creativity doesn’t seem to click in and focus seems impossible has been called writer’s block

What to do about Writer’s Block

I find that there are a number of ways to fight writer’s block. My favorites include getting up and changing the scenery. Picking up something to read that catches my attention. Physical activity. Visiting Amazon and looking at book titles that I might want to read. I like to read biographies and inspirational quotes.

Writing

Sometimes writing that doesn’t involve what I am currently stuck on helps to oil the wheels and get the juices flowing.

I like to write in my journal, write a blog post, or write a letter that I have been putting off.

Writing Prompts

There is some controversy over using writing prompts. Some people see it as a waste of time, others praise them for the benefit. I am a middle-of-the-road kind of guy when it comes to writing prompts. I find them useful when the writing isn’t flowing, now days I tend to come up with my own prompts. I am usually working on a few books or works at a time. I try to imagine some off-the-wall scenarios that could relate to a back-story or situation that could occur in something else that I might be working on. I imagine dialogues from different points of view, or scenarios that could be possible if I changed a character’s roll or demeanor. I have often found that I like the new point of view, and found that the writing prompt helped me produce something that could be used later in another story.

That wasn’t always the case with me. Writing prompts were good exercises, and I used them often in my earlier writing. Here are some of my favorite resources for writing prompts:

http://awesomewritingprompts.tumblr.com/

http://www.pw.org/writing-prompts-exercises

Here a a couple of books about writing prompts:

http://www.amazon.com/1-000-Awesome-Writing-Prompts-ebook/dp/B00JOVSYC2

http://www.amazon.com/000-Creative-Writing-Prompts-Scripts-ebook/dp/B0044DEL7C

Find what works for you. Write down what you try and how you feel afterwords. Improve your writing by reading and writing every day.

May your writing shine and light the world,

Dean R. Giles, Author

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Why is My Book Taking So Long?

July 8, 2015 dean Leave a comment

This Book is Taking Too Long to Write!

It has been said that there is a book (or many book) inside of everyone. That is a fact. Everyone has unique experiences, knowledge, skills, and interesting facts that they could enhance the lives of others by sharing. However, getting that into a book is often harder that it seems, and definitely harder than it should be:

Among the hardest part of writing your book is understanding your target audience. What do your readers really need? What do they really want? Getting into their mind is an exercise worth doing.

There are great places one can look to discover what the problems or needs of any group of people is. If you are thinking about writing a book, one of the best places to start is Amazon.

Discovering Needs on Amazon.com

How do you know if anyone wants a book on your topic? Simple, see if some are selling well on Amazon. The Amazon Best Seller Rank tells you where a book stands in relationship to the other 10 million or so books on Amazon. An Amazon Best Seller Rank of 1 is the best. As it gets out to 800,000 or so, the book is only selling a few copies a year.

Using this graph from the Kindlepreneur (http://kindlepreneur.com/how-to-convert-kindle-sales-rank-into-sales-per-day/)

The Best Seller Rank shows how popular a topic is by showing you roughly how many daily sales a book gets. So you want books on your topic to have a Best Seller Rank of 50,000 or less.

Getting Needs From Other Places

Other places to look are on blog and news sites. What seems to be mentioned often today? Why is it a problem? How long ago did you hear about these problems?

Use a Google search to find the questions that are being posted on popular blogs and news sites.

Use Forums to search for the questions that come up again and again.

Check tutorial sites to see what classes exist.

Know the Needs, Then Write The Book

Now that you know what people need, start organizing what you want to teach them. Research the answers, and be able to explain what the problems are, why they are a problem, and why your solution will solve the problem.

Give Them The Best Solution in The Best Way

Don’t just state a solution, present the solution. Break it down and present it in a way that anyone can implement the solution. Be direct. Tell them exactly what they need to do and what the results will be.

How many books have you read where the answers were ambiguous, and the solution impossible to implement. If you want to help a lot of people, then you need to present the solution in a step-by-step manner that anyone can follow.

When I have a book that uses a step-by-step methodology, I usually keep the book around for a reference, to make sure that I haven’t missed anything. I can usually make a checklist to follow.

Step By Step

Make your books useful and impactful. The point of your book is the solution, it is how to solve the vexing problems of your readers. The best way to do this is in an easy to follow format.

Want to know how to make that exciting and educational at the same time? Want to know how to write it fast and to the point. I explain it step by step in the How to Write a Step by Step book.

You will understand your readers better, learn how to answer their questions, and put that into a book faster and in a way that has more impact than anything you have written before.

Go ahead. Make your book writing easier and faster with Write a Step-by-Step Book.

Its all up to you. You can make writing faster, easier, and really more enjoyable.

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Here We Go Again, Amazon Change

July 2, 2015 dean 2 Comments

Kindle Unlimited Pages Read

Just about the time that you think that you have things figured out, they change right before your eyes. The month of July has seen a big change for authors of Kindle books. The Kindle Unlimited program is paying by the page read now. Here are the details of the program as Amazon reports it. (Taken from: https://kdp.amazon.com/help?topicId=A156OS90J7RDN)

Kindle Unlimited Pages Read

Beginning July 1, 2015, we switched from paying Kindle Unlimited (KU) and Kindle Owners’ Lending Library (KOLL) royalties based on qualified borrows, to paying based on the number of pages read. We made this switch in response to great feedback we received from authors who asked us to better align payout with the length of books and how much customers read. Under the new payment method, you’ll be paid for each page individual customers read of your book, the first time they read it.Royalty payments under the new program

As with our current approach, we’ll continue to set a KDP Select Global Fund each month. Under the new payment method, the amount an author earns will be determined by their share of total pages read instead of their share of total qualified borrows.

Here are some examples of how it would work if the fund was $10M and 100,000,000 total pages were read in the month:

The author of a 100 page book that was borrowed and read completely 100 times would earn $1,000 ($10 million multiplied by 10,000 pages for this author divided by 100,000,000 total pages).
The author of a 200 page book that was borrowed and read completely 100 times would earn $2,000 ($10 million multiplied by 20,000 pages for this author divided by 100,000,000 total pages).
The author of a 200 page book that was borrowed 100 times but only read halfway through on average would earn $1,000 ($10 million multiplied by 10,000 pages for this author divided by 100,000,000 total pages).

We will similarly change the way we pay KDP Select All-Star bonuses which will be awarded to authors and titles based on total KU and KOLL pages read.

You can enroll in KDP Select at any time by visiting your Bookshelf. If you no longer want your book(s) to be included in KDP Select you may unenroll from the program by contacting us with the ASIN of the book you would like to remove.

Kindle Edition Normalized Page Count (KENPC v1.0)

To determine a book’s page count in a way that works across genres and devices, we’ve developed the Kindle Edition Normalized Page Count (KENPC). We calculate KENPC based on standard settings (e.g. font, line height, line spacing, etc.), and we use KENPC to measure the number of pages customers read in your book, starting with the Start Reading Location (SRL) to the end of your book. Amazon typically sets SRL at chapter 1 so readers can start reading the core content of your book as soon as they open it.

This standardized approach allows us to identify pages in a way that works across genres and devices. Non-text elements within books including images, charts and graphs will count toward a book’s KENPC.

You can see your book’s KENPC listed on the “Promote and Advertise” page in your Bookshelf, and you can also see total pages read on your Sales Dashboard report. Because it’s based on default settings, KENPC may vary from page counts listed on your Amazon detail page, which are derived from other sources.

Reporting

You can view your Kindle Unlimited (KU) and Kindle Owners’ Lending Library (KOLL) Pages Read in your Sales Dashboard report by marketplace and title.

We always support our authors’ efforts to promote their books all over the world, but at the same time we work to prevent any manipulation of the Kindle platform. Because we’re always looking to improve our authors’ experience, we’ll have systems in place to monitor for potential manipulation.

What I like about the changes

The changes reflect that users have to remain interested in the book and the topic long enough to finish. I have always felt that I deliver enough value that readers stay on to the end of the book. However, I have picked up books that have lost my interest within the first 20 pages. Those books get less of the divided up profits.

What I don’t like about the changes

The pages read are lumped together in one statistic. I can’t see which books are being borrowed the most, and which subjects I should write more about due to the lending.

What to do about it

I think the most important thing to do about the changes is to write more books that are more compelling. I think that the aim of the program is to reward authors that have more than just an attractive cover and good keywords in the title, they are rewarding authors that grab a readers attention and don’t let it go until they get to the end of the book.

What do you think about the changes? Please leave a comment and let us know.

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How to Sell eBooks

June 12, 2015 dean 4 Comments

I ran into a popular article on EHow by Robert Egar. Robert had 5 surefire tips that would help Indie Authors sell their eBooks. I really liked his tips and have re-printed a portion of his article below.

You can read the entire article here: http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2013/how-to-sell-ebooks-5-proven-tip/

(image courtesy of http://news.softpedia.com/news/Amazon-Launches-Kindle-in-Italy-and-Spain-237775.shtml)

The ability to sell ebooks as an independent author is easier than ever before. In some ways, a cult-like following has developed for self-published ebooks among cost-conscious readers and techno-geeks. Many people feel cool downloading books at cheap prices and helping drive the e-reading revolution. If you want to join the fray and sell ebooks to a wider audience, use these five tips to market like a pro.

Sell Ebooks Tip #1 – Give it away for free

One of the best ways to assess if you can make it as a new author is by giving away your ebook for free for a limited time, such as 30 or 90 days. Free is the quickest way to generate word of mouth, which is essential to success. If you’re writing isn’t good enough to get friends and family to share your book with others, you probably won’t get the general public to follow suit. By giving away your ebook for free, you can generate enough short-term momentum to carry you through to the real sales process.

E-book innovator, Seth Godin, encourages aspiring authors to give away their first book for free. “You should give your book away for free and send it to your twenty closest friends,” he says. “And, if that’s the end of it, then you’re not a good writer. On the other hand, if those twenty people send it to twenty more people, then you have four hundred readers, and then eight thousand readers, and so on. If you can get up to twenty thousand readers of your first book for free, there will be a line out the door of people wanting to help you with your next book.”

Using a free approach with your ebook allows you to test your material with readers without losing your shirt financially if you fail. The opportunity to build a new audience has never been this quick and easy.

Sell Ebooks Tip #2 – The price is right

A large percentage of people who read e-books are extremely price sensitive. Amazon started this process by setting prices for most e-books at $9.99. A continual battle rages throughout the publishing industry on the right price structure. But, Amazon created a trend in the minds of many readers. Thus, many independent authors picked up on this trend and now use low pricing as a way to get readers to take a chance on their new book.

For example, Darcie Chan, ebook author of The New York Times best-selling novel, The Mill River Recluse, used low prices to gain her initial audience. “The goal of my ‘e-book experiment’ has never been to make money,” she says. “I only wanted to get my work out there over time and gauge people’s responses to it. For that reason, I lowered the price to $0.99. I think it is true that readers are more willing to take a chance on a completely unknown author at that price point, and I definitely wanted to encourage people to take a chance on me.”

Not only did people take a chance on Darcie’s novel, they gave rave reviews and spread an electronic wildfire. Within four months, she was selling several thousand copies a day. You could argue that Darcie didn’t make much money from this low-price strategy, but with an established fan base, she’s now in a position to get a big advance from a major publisher or sell her next book at a much higher price.

Sell Ebooks Tip #3 – Partner with e-book blogs

E-book junkies are a tight-knit tribe who possess a powerful communication network. Everyone knows where to go for information, and they check-in regularly. There are numerous blogs, websites, newsletters, and social media pages that specifically review and promote e-books. The influence of these reviewers affects a lot of ebook buyers. Below is a list of several well-known blogs and websites with large traffic:

Ereader News Today: http://www.ereadernewstoday.com/
Kindle Nation: http://kindlenationdaily.com/
Pixel of Ink: http://www.pixelofink.com
Inspired Reads: http://www.inspiredreads.com
Kindle Reader: http://kindlereader.blogspot.com/
GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com
IndieReader: http://indiereader.com/author-promotional-opportunities/

Getting your e-book mentioned on these websites can help generate a lot of downloads. You can write to the administrators of these e-book blogs and request a feature of your book. Some sites give free listings while others will feature your book for a fee. For instance, Kindle Nation offers author sponsorship opportunities to promote your book for $99 to $400. In addition, you can arrange for web-based ads to run on ebook-related sites, such as GoodReads and IndieReader.

Sell Ebooks Tip #4 – Pursue paid book reviews

Besides book mentions and paid advertising, independent authors can pursue literary reviews of their work for a fee. These review sites can help provide a level of legitimacy to an unknown author. Consider the following organizations if you’d like to pursue a paid review:

Kirkus Reviews: http://www.kirkusreviews.com/indie/about/ Review fees cost from $425 to $575.
BookRooster: http://www.bookrooster.com/for-authors/ Review fees start at $67.

Sell Ebooks Tip #5 – Subsidize your writing costs with a sponsor

Taking the time to write a book can work against your ability to make a living. If that is the case, consider getting a sponsor for your ebook. This process is similar to getting an advance from a traditional publisher, because someone pays you up front to create your book. In return, you agree to give the sponsor some free advertising space or perform promotional activities on their behalf. Popular services in this arena include Kickstarter and PubSlush.

For example, e-book author, Al Pittampalli, landed Citrix Systems as a sponsor for his new ebook called, Read This Before Our Next Meeting. Citrix invented the popular GoToMeeting videoconferencing service (www.GoToMeeting.com), which is used by companies around the world. As a sponsor of Al’s book, Citrix got exposure to thousands of potential new customers. Likewise Al got funding through Citrix, legitimacy from their brand, and exposure to a much wider audience.

The key to landing a sponsor is to identify people, companies, or nonprofit organizations that want to reach the same audience you want to reach with your book. In essence, you offer yourself as a spokesperson or product placement opportunity for that organization. The company receives the benefit of marketing their product or service in a non-threatening manner to potential customers or donors. Sponsorship will work only if the company believes your book’s audience fits their target market and that you have the ability to sell a lot of books.

There has never been a more interesting time to be an independent author. The opportunities to publish and sell ebooks are unprecedented. However, the fundamentals remain the same. You must write a great book that provides tangible value to the reader. Ebooks allow you to accomplish this task faster than ever before. Start small, use a low-cost pricing approach to gain new readers, connect with the ebook community to grow your platform, find a sponsor if needed, and watch as the world downloads your message like wildfire.

Richards tips are great. I find some of them quite expensive, however. I have done pretty well with a couple of low to no-cost options of my own.

Tip # 1, Get Great Exposure for the Best Price

I use a Gig on Fiver that helps me get a lot of downloads on my free days, and it only costs $5. A whole lot less than ones mentioned above. The Gig is: https://www.fiverr.com/bknights/submit-your-free-kindle-book-to-the-15-best-kindle-promotion-sites?from_buyers_hp_rv=1

Tip # 2, Join Social Media Groups that will share or tweet your free day for FREE!

Here are some Free groups that you can join on FaceBook. Some groups on Facebook also do twitter.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/AnnounceBragShowoff/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/2204546223/?ref=browser
https://www.facebook.com/groups/booksgoneviral/?ref=browser
https://www.facebook.com/groups/320356974732142/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/241846582600572/?ref=browser
https://www.facebook.com/groups/69073710111/?ref=browser

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