Wednesday 26 March 2014

Volume 5 very, very nearly done!

I'm so close to the end now. It's been a long haul with this one. I think it gets harder with each book - more storylines, more character history to think about and I'm becoming ever more self-conscious about my writing style.

News to follow shortly about publication...

In other news, I'm sad to say that Sony eReader Store and Diesel are closing. As good as Amazon is, I don't think it should be the only online bookstore out there. Many of you have discovered my writings through smaller outlets, where I've had the good fortune of being more visible than I could ever be on Amazon. I'm sure there are other authors out there who have found their readership via B&N or iTunes for the same reason, or readers who have discovered new authors from amongst the (slightly calmer) melee.

Please continue to support B&N, Apple iBooks, Kobo, Smashwords and others if you can.

Oooh, and I was very pleased to see a whole raft of awesome reviews over the last few months. I'm so thrilled to see them all, and completely spoiled by the recent messages from fans! Thank you :D

7 comments:

  1. I just downloaded your book (saw it listed on the BookBub email as free today with B&N and Amazon). The reviews are great and I look forward to reading it!

    As a fellow indie author, I'm curious how you were able to get your book free on both Amazon and B&N. I was under the impression that you could only offer it for free on Amazon if you enrolled in their KDP Select service, which requires exclusivity. I'd love to be able to offer the first book in my series for free for a short time, but I agree with you that Amazon shouldn't be the only player out there, so I've never signed up for KDP Select.

    I'd love to know how you did it!

    Thanks, and congrats on your success. Your cover in particular was what sucked me in. It's a work of art!

    Cyndi Tefft

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  2. Hi Cyndi,
    Thank you for the kind comments about the cover!

    To get your book free on Amazon without the limitations that come with KDP Select, list it as free on Smashwords (or whatever other distributor you use), wait for the freeness to proliferate through the other online stores and then 'tell Amazon about a lower price' on your book's sale page.

    Pros - you can keep your book permanently free if you want to do that; you can still put the price up later; you can advertise it pretty much whenever you like.

    Cons - it's up to Amazon whether they'll price match, and they'll do it in their own time. Sometimes my book's price goes back up without warning, but it does usually go back down again. The more sites you have your book free on, the more likely Amazon are to price match. Sometimes I think other, savvy readers tell them about the lower price, and sometimes I think they've got a bot doing it for them. Other cons: the freeness doesn't end on a predictable day and can take weeks to undo; more free books means a flooded market, so Amazon might not want to do this forever.

    Hope that helps!

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  3. Thanks for your response! I tried that once upon a time, knowing that Amazon did an auto price match. But Amazon emailed me and said that I had my book posted elsewhere for cheaper and gave me a few days to fix it before they removed my book from their site. It was tough, since I distribute with Smashwords to other sites, some of which only update their listings once a week. In the end, my book was off Amazon for nine days so I have never tried it again. :(

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  4. Hmm, that sounds odd. Perhaps they only price match when a book is on Amazon for $0.99 and free everywhere else, but not when it's on there for $2.99 and $1.99 everywhere else? I've never heard of them threatening to take it down though - well, not when it's not in KDP Select.

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  5. Hi,

    Any idea when it's coming? I started only three weeks ago and flew through all 4...well I'm 90% finished with the 4th and can't bear to finish it without the 5th available!

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  6. Firstly, I just want to tell you that I love these books. I think they deserve to be made into movies or a mini series. Thanks for writing them. Any ETA on the next book? I'm just starting the 4th, and don't want the enjoyment to end!

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  7. Dear commenters/commentators/commenteers,

    Volume 5 is now available for pre-order at several outlets. Hooray! Please check out the "Where to Buy" links here:

    http://cityofblaze.blogspot.co.uk/p/buy.html

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