I independently published my first book in 2004, and since then, I've tried all sorts of services and gimmicks to turn them into best sellers. BookBub, email lists, Facebook ads, Twitter ads, Goodreads ads (when they were still a thing), and after sixteen years, I can tell you that the only ad channel that ever produced meaningful results was Amazon Advertising. And that's why, for the launch of...
Write, publish, and market books long enough, and you'll find yourself doing all sorts of crazy stuff to show people how much you appreciate their support. That's how I found myself in the backyard one day recording yet another video in a failed web series I called Daniel Says Thanks. I remember...
Today’s 3F3 is of Jon shooting promotional photos for Veneer. This kind of thing can now be done programmatically for free on the web, but in those prehistoric days, this was how you got things done. I chose this photo not for the shoot itself, but because Jon was doing this out of the goodness of his heart. I remember...
So I ask you, fellow authors: If you were trying to market standalone novels that shared the same universe, would you use the series tag? Why / why not?
I've never paid much attention to the financial profit/loss aspect of independent publishing. I just don't see the point. I know, generally, how much the royalty checks will be each month, and I know it doesn't compare to the marketing and materials spend. One of the supposed advantages of indie publishing and print-on-demand was that it required very little in terms of upfront money. But what...
It’s generally not a good idea to use real people in your stories. As awesome as it would be to have Natalie Portman fighting cybernetic dinosaurs on a dinghy in the South Pacific, she probably wouldn’t be too thrilled to find out about it when your cross-genre erotic fanfic blows up like you just know it will. Profiting from a real person’s likeness (whether they’re an actor or a model or a...
