Updated Sales Rank

Updated Sales Rank leaves A LOT of room for improvement.  #485204!  Can only go up from here.  So the question is:  HOW do I go up from here?  From the extensive reading I've done from dozens of indie published authors, I learned a handful of things.  I learned:

• Don't get discouraged.  Many, if not most, indie published authors do not experience success within the first year.  Keep writing and keep tinkering.  The book HAS an audience.  The trick is connecting the book with that audience.
• Look critically at the cover.  Is it possible that the cover does not attract the right kind of audience?  Can the cover be done better?
• Look critically at the blurb.  How well does the blurb describe the book?  Does it attract the right audience?  Does it turn anyone off of the book?
• Are formatting and editing mistakes being discovered?  Are they being fixed?
• Keep up with social media.  You never know exactly how or when you might be able to connect your book with one reader who could make an impact on sales with just one retweet or FB post.  Remain out there in the world, push the work, provide content and remain positive.

This is the part in the process that will ultimately show what I am made of.  I have dropped to the worst that I have ever been.  So what am I going to do?  Get upset?  Give up?

If you thought the answer was yes, then you don't know me very well.  If indie publishing was easy, then anyone could do it.  So I will look at the things I can change and make adjustments.  I will keep writing.  And I will continue to catalog my progress so that others can learn from my experiences, both positive and negative.

#178 Inevitable Change

The world of publishing is changing before our very eyes.  I am new to this world.  I entered less than 8 months ago when I devoted my full time to writing.  I published my first novel on May 25th.  All the while, Amazon and Hachette have undergone a stalemate in negotiations which could very likely set the tone for the immediate future of publishing.

Many writers have addressed this issue.  I follow two who share similar world views as I do and who are much more informed, researched and smarter than I am.  If you would like to spend time educating yourself, I suggest start with them.  They are: JA Konrath and Hugh Howey.

For those who want the dumbed down version:

Amazon - Largest retailer of books in the world.  Pioneered the sale and distribution of ebooks seamlessly to kindles of all shapes and sizes.  Has developed a platform for any writer to publish a work direct to consumers.  Writers meeting directly with readers, without the middleman.  The writer is responsible for when the novel is released, content, price, marketing, everything.

Hachette - A top 5 publishing firm that represents several big name writers, along with many mid-list writers.  For more than a century the top 5 publishers have been the only viable option for aspiring writers.  They possess superior knowledge and skill in printing, distributing and minimizing risk in an industry that can be awfully dangerous for those companies who consistently back less than worthy novels.  They've followed a successful business model that has dominated US and worldwide print culture.

Amazon put out in a statement this week that they desire to keep ebook prices low while offering more royalties for authors.  Readers get books cheaper and writers make more money.  It's a win-win.  Well, except for the publisher who would make less money with this new set up.  However, in the ebook world, publishers deserve to make less money.  They perform less work!  They no longer need to worry about printing, warehousing, shipping, reshipping, re-warehousing and they do not need to worry about a book potentially flopping, leaving them with thousands of unwanted books.  Less work.  Less risk.  It's only fair they receive less of the royalty rate.

Of course, the big 5 do not see it this way and have been fighting Amazon for awhile now.  Their tactics include using big name writers (like James Patterson) to condemn the retailer for their proposed desire to corner the market and take control of the industry, control the big 5 have enjoyed for more than a century.  If Amazon wishes to take control in order to get books to readers cheaper and pay authors more, then I am rooting for Amazon.

But I'm an indie writer.  I admit my bias.  If you are a writer or a reader, you should be rooting for Amazon.  You should be rooting for the inevitable change that connects readers directly to writers, the only two people who should be participating in this lovely dance we call reading!

#177 eBook Revolution

As an indie published writer, it is important to me that people buy and use ereaders like the Kindle or the Nook.  When I talk at social engagements about my writing and my upcoming novels, I often ask if the people I am speaking to have ereaders.  Most of the time I get “Yes!”  Sometimes I get “No.”

I got “No” this weekend when I went home to visit my family.  My dad does not have an ereader and still doesn’t understand how come he cannot read my book.  He almost didn’t believe that I actually published my first novel.  So I went to the store and bought him the Kindle Paperwhite (which is the best ereader in my opinion).

I took it home, charged it, synced it with his Amazon account and bought his first digital book.  Of course it was Exchange Day!  He was so excited to see my book on his new Kindle that he started reading it right there in front of me.  After a few minutes he said, “You know, it is actually easier to read on this thing than holding an actual book!”

Another convert.  Another member of the eBook Revolution.  I am happy to support the cause one person at a time.  So to wrap this up, if you do not have an ereader, go to the internets and buy one!  ASAP!  And then buy Exchange Day.  It is REALLY good! 

#176 Wurtzburg To Dresden

A flat tire left us stranded on the autobahn.  The rental car had no spare.  We used a gas station phone to call the rental car company.  It was a game of charades and bad English.  To our shame, there was no bad German.  Spirits remained high despite the fact our day's itinerary had been ruined.  We waited for the tow truck.  It was a flatbed behemoth driven by a man who was sweet on my wife.  In his defense, she did wear her hair in braids, and German men have no defense against a braided wench.

We rode down the autobahn in the back of the tow truck.  We rolled the windows down because there was no air conditioning.  Some slept.  Some watched the beautiful German landscape go by in luscious shades of yellows and greens.  Every few minutes we passed a small town nestled in the German valleys.  Each town had one church steeple rising among the quaint wooden rooftops.

The flat tire caused us to miss out on Nuremburg.  And we had to cut our Dresden visit short.  However, our adventure was something we could never have planned and has proven to be a funny story from our trip.  One of the more memorable stories.

Writing can be like this for me.  I go into a project with one thing in mind.  One plan.  And then a flat tire takes the story in a different and unexpected direction.  Instead of getting frustrated, it is important to embrace these obstacles because you just might be making your story more memorable!

#175 Germany!

The wife and I went to Germany for a couple of weeks with her sister and brother-in-law.  We landed in Munich, rented a car and drove the autobahn through the countryside until we reached Berlin.  Following are snippets from our vacation:

• We watched 2 Germany World Cup games at local bars, including the 7-1 semi-final defeat over Brazil.  In Rothenburg, the entire town retired to their individual living rooms to watch the game.  We walked through the medieval town hearing the game blaring from each window as we passed through the ghost town-like atmosphere.  And when Germany won, the town woke up and stormed the streets with waving flags and honking horns!
• We visited several bier gartens.  One of them could seat more than 6000 patrons.  They were always packed and everyone drank beers out of gigantic glass mugs.  
• The bicycle tour through Munich.  The weather was perfect and town was beautiful.  The tour guide kept calling me the "Butt Babe" because I was the last in line and was responsible for everyone in front of me.  I received a frisbee for my troubles.
• We visited the German underground, a series of bunkers built during WWII to protect a small percentage of Germans during allied bombing raids.  I got reprimanded for taking a picture three seconds after he implored us NOT to take pictures.  
• Our car got a flat tire somewhere between Rothenburg and Heidelburg.  There was no spare.  We had to get towed to the nearest town with a Buch Binder, which was Wurtzburg.  It was not a glorious way to enter the town responsible for Dirk Nowitzki.  But it was an experience none-the-less.  The tow truck driver was sweet on my wife because she had her hair in braids.
• We visited the Memorial To The Murdered Jews.  It was a complete city block of pillars within which you could lose yourself.  It was a somber and meaningful experience.
• Glockenspiels:  Before leaving, my grandmother explained to me how great the clocks were in Germany.  So I made it my personal mission to take pictures of every clock we came upon.  The task proved to be too much for me to handle.  There are a hundreds of glockenspiels in Germany, all of them beautiful and worthy of being photographed.
• The Andechs: We traveled to a monastery where we drank monk beer and ate pig knuckles.  The beer was among the best I had in Germany.  And the pig knuckles were actually delicious. The town in the valley below was beautiful to witness from the monastery located at the top of the hill.
• The last pastry I will ever eat was in Berlin.  The pastry was good, but for some reason I vowed it to be my last.