First amazon review
The years have mellowed me. At one time, receiving a review of my novel such as this would have cause me to retreat and give up. Now I’m more determined than ever.
“Obviously written in another language with bad translation. Amazon should be embarrassed.”
Out and about on a hot day
The bank thermometer reads 98. Outside the library there are kids playing in the shade. When we worry about how much time our kids–and we ourselves–spend inside, behind a computer screen, it’s nice to see a few people undeterred by the weather (saying “heat”, for me, is too much of a downer to say on such a nice day.
Maybe we will find a happy medium between our tech toys and the real world around us.
Online ebook pricing conundrum
I’ve been experimenting with a novel I wrote. I have it published on Amazon as an ebook (see below). I really am more interested in people reading it than I am in abeing paid.
The conundrum is what price to ask? It’s currently listed at $2.99. If I price it at $.99, I think that the people who are most likely to enjoy it, will dismiss it. I spent several years, off and on, working on it. I’ve been through several drafts and polished it as much as I’m able. When I compare the prose against books that cost $2.99 (my current price) and others that are more, they often seem more like drafts than finished novels….
A few people are actually purchasing it–to my surprise–, I don’t think they are friends and family. The complexities in such a simple endeavor have been quite a bit more then I expected. My expectation was that no one would purchase it, and I’d soon give up in frustration.
So. I may lower the price, temporarily, too see what impact it has. Then, who knows, I might make it $4.99
Good online (science) fiction?
I recently signed up for the trial of Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited. For $9.99 I have access to many thousands of books. Having recently written a novel, I’m looking for ways to learn the ropes of online publishing, promote my novel (at least a little), and compare it against what is out there.
What I’ve found is that pretty much everything….well… sucks. The premises are silly, or really bizarre. The prose is, at best, a little awkward with most being written first person. My tastes run towards realistic or speculative fiction, but anything that is well written would likely appeal to me. There is good work out there, the best authors can still write, although I’m surprised at the quality of some work that makes the NY Times bestseller list.
Is this only true for Sci Fi? I see a huge number of romance novels–on the rare occasion I look at all genres. I’ve looked at them even less, but I suspect there is a wide variety in the quality of these works, too.
Are there any really good Sci Fi novels on Amazon Kindle Unlimited? Or Wattpad or any other source for new authors to publish their work?
Lost in space, or Kansas…
If persistence is a virtue, then I have at least one. One interesting quandary I’ve discovered is that the ability to create–for the sake of argument, assume I am in that group–does not correlate with a skill in promotion.
However it is fun to try and see what happens.
And I found this week that publish a book on Amazon is not that difficult. That may, however, be unfortunate. Not only am I in the midst of the rabble, I think I’m near the bottom. 🙂
It takes a lot to impress me
But these are simple, fascinating, elegant. Bringing the promise of what computer controlled fabrication can do.
http://futurism.com/videos/ugears-are-the-wooden-alternative-to-legos-and-theyre-awesome/
No revelations
Sometimes you just sit on a bench in the park and enjoy the grass, the trees, and the sky.
