tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321298337898508098.comments2023-07-18T04:02:04.188-07:00Real Writing For A Digital WorldBarbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16950289036813327685noreply@blogger.comBlogger113125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321298337898508098.post-10031414614388242412013-02-07T19:21:21.432-08:002013-02-07T19:21:21.432-08:00I didn't know vampires could swim ;)
great vi...I didn't know vampires could swim ;)<br /><br />great videoYaronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09157338631661254060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321298337898508098.post-87591468788163890852013-02-06T12:51:04.195-08:002013-02-06T12:51:04.195-08:00Knowing those Kentuckians, I have to say BWAH HA H...Knowing those Kentuckians, I have to say BWAH HA HA HA! Gooooood luck, especially after that TN comment.Jim Selfhttp://www.jaself.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321298337898508098.post-58326519929970572242013-02-05T18:27:14.346-08:002013-02-05T18:27:14.346-08:00That's what I get for 4 hours of sleep and try...That's what I get for 4 hours of sleep and trying to blog at 5 am.<br />Thanks. Fixed.Barbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16950289036813327685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321298337898508098.post-4264308445696222742013-02-05T06:44:49.467-08:002013-02-05T06:44:49.467-08:00You should mention she's an Emmy winner! :)
G...You should mention she's an Emmy winner! :)<br /><br />Great, now even the wheat is infested with vampires.Jim Selfhttp://www.jaself.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321298337898508098.post-85541987162165926692013-01-30T19:22:16.127-08:002013-01-30T19:22:16.127-08:00I have always thought there would be the rise of t...I have always thought there would be the rise of the niche market. This was predicted to me about fifteen years ago. The 2 million dollar windfall is rare enough now but it will be even more rare in the future as writers will develop their own smallish following. But when you're drawing from a worldwide audience even small can be quite large.<br /><br />What you do today will yield dividends in the future. Start now.Barbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16950289036813327685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321298337898508098.post-14471861633505186392013-01-28T19:19:06.925-08:002013-01-28T19:19:06.925-08:00The rules are changing quickly. I think the only w...The rules are changing quickly. I think the only way to guarantee stability is to build the means to contact people. Having a good website, email list, etc. doesn't get you any immediate results, but it does become powerful over time.<br /><br />The spirit of the freebie is "expose readers to my work by any means necessary," and it's the exposure part that works (or doesn't). On the one hand, I agree that a new, different set of gatekeepers will arise to filter the possibilities. On the other hand, I think there will be new ways to get exposure.<br /><br />I predict that fiction genres are going to subdivide even further, and sites dedicated to those narrowed subgenres will rise and serve niches. For example, if I write steampunk/epic fantasy hybrids, and I build a site to highlight only that kind of book, by any author, I've created a great way to gain exposure for myself. That kind of stuff serves the reader, the writer, and the middleman, so it's bound to happen.Jim Selfhttp://www.jaself.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321298337898508098.post-16019734055112525532013-01-28T12:14:46.702-08:002013-01-28T12:14:46.702-08:00It is very much attaining the feel of tradpub for ...It is very much attaining the feel of tradpub for me.Barbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16950289036813327685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321298337898508098.post-28132684447455363272013-01-27T12:05:47.721-08:002013-01-27T12:05:47.721-08:00It is kind of depressing, isn't it? Maybe espe...It <i>is</i> kind of depressing, isn't it? Maybe especially for those of us who went indie because we wanted to be free from all of the tradpub BS.<br /><br />I don't think there is a magic bullet. There used to be sure things in advertising, but they're all drying up. TV and newspaper ads, for example. Banner ads haven't been effective in a long time. People are being dumped on constantly, and getting them to pay attention is hard.<br /><br />I think personal connections are probably the best payoff. They take more time to form, but are also much more powerful.Jim Selfhttp://www.jaself.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321298337898508098.post-7250681747583958662013-01-15T15:35:46.824-08:002013-01-15T15:35:46.824-08:00I am pretty enthusiastic about what cameras can do...I am pretty enthusiastic about what cameras can do.Barbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16950289036813327685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321298337898508098.post-29159586306070574962013-01-14T22:09:01.817-08:002013-01-14T22:09:01.817-08:00It takes a very special love of cameras to write a...It takes a very special love of cameras to write a whole blog post about them. :)<br /><br />I think you're right about digital devices being semi-disposable. It's becoming less and less about the device, and more about the content the device produces or gives you access to. TV's, cell phones, laptops, etc. It's a lot more obvious than the planned obsoletion you see with stuff like cars.Jim Selfhttp://www.jaself.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321298337898508098.post-26169480293465497842013-01-08T09:44:10.448-08:002013-01-08T09:44:10.448-08:00I think that's true. Once the characters and ...I think that's true. Once the characters and the basic situation is familiar, it becomes like a soap opera or Beowulf or Odysseus, very comfortable and reassuring. Humans like long-format storytelling. They have an investment in the characters who become progressively more identifiable and relateable. I love series stories.Barbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16950289036813327685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321298337898508098.post-13883925101550342252013-01-06T09:01:47.103-08:002013-01-06T09:01:47.103-08:00Don't worry! Even though these ideas have fail...Don't worry! Even though these ideas have failed everywhere else, we won't fail. Why? Because we're inherently better than those people. Of course!Jim Selfhttp://www.jaself.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321298337898508098.post-42738606829211160762013-01-06T08:53:56.799-08:002013-01-06T08:53:56.799-08:00I think this is why series do so well. They offer ...I think this is why series do so well. They offer the niche appeal, the something new, and the comfort of the familiar.Jim Selfhttp://www.jaself.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321298337898508098.post-40571350627206983302013-01-02T08:57:48.344-08:002013-01-02T08:57:48.344-08:00Or they can go to a country with gun control laws ...Or they can go to a country with gun control laws that suit them. It's still a free country, they CAN leave, as they threaten to do continually.Barbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16950289036813327685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321298337898508098.post-65577965994992808952012-12-31T17:47:37.076-08:002012-12-31T17:47:37.076-08:00Ain't it the truth.
I'm not a big gun con...Ain't it the truth.<br /><br />I'm not a big gun control advocate, but when I see people, people who get paid millions every time they act a role that glorifies the use of a gun in vigilante justice, saying that we need to ban gun ownership, I want to politely ask them to exit the conversation. Except not politely.Jim Selfhttp://www.jaself.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321298337898508098.post-9493345101456998622012-12-31T17:36:26.838-08:002012-12-31T17:36:26.838-08:00I'm hoping the big ebookstores are going to ar...I'm hoping the big ebookstores are going to articulate their subcategories a bit more. As it is, if you want to read steampunk, you have to wade through a bunch of non-steampunk to find it. Or dark fantasy, or others. These are very different from other "epic fantasy" stories, just like paranormal romance is different from Anne Rice. The new world of business is all about serving a niche, and the current search systems at ebook retailers aren't catering to that.Jim Selfhttp://www.jaself.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321298337898508098.post-52714369661502336942012-12-25T03:42:31.312-08:002012-12-25T03:42:31.312-08:00I so rarely agree completely but I did with your c...I so rarely agree completely but I did with your comment, Jim. <br /><br />This is much more difficult now than two years ago and it will get more difficult because of numbers.<br /><br />I had Amazon algorithms work for me 2 years ago and it was like being touched by the Magic Wand. The moment the wand was pulled back, my sales plummeted and never returned.<br /><br />I like the analogy of the town. There's the main street and there's the part of town people think of as riff-raff. <br /><br />Search engines will do just so much for you, but still they're sorted. So if you have a novel with a medical bent, how many thousand are going to come up? How does the customer sort thru them? They'll look at the ones on top who already have the best sales, chose one and move on.Barbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16950289036813327685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321298337898508098.post-29831606543701725132012-12-24T18:13:50.219-08:002012-12-24T18:13:50.219-08:00A lot of writer "self-promotion" is very...A lot of writer "self-promotion" is very inbred. Why that's useful, I don't know.<br /><br />I agree that the advice to just write, write, write sounds fishy. Like you say, some people get a breakout book with very little promotion, and people take that to mean it isn't necessary or even useful.<br /><br />It is pretty clear that breaking into self-pub today is much harder than it was two years ago. Back then you just had to be decent and promo at .99 once in a while. Konrath got in the game with a bunch of good titles early, and now the Amazon algorithms do the promo for him.<br /><br />What people don't seem to get is that the internet is like a bookstore the size of my hometown. Some parts get a ton of traffic and sales. Some are so far from notice that no one ever, ever goes there. Their quality really doesn't matter if they're never seen.<br /><br />I think the best bet is what Lindsay Buroker did. Work your butt off to sell the first 1k copies, and offer a freebie. Then you can profit from cranking out books.Jim Selfhttp://www.jaself.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321298337898508098.post-27224324961441621312012-08-13T10:11:52.008-07:002012-08-13T10:11:52.008-07:00If you really want to be free and speak the truth,...If you really want to be free and speak the truth, use your own name. Don't hide behind anonymous. If you want to take someone on, put your big girl panties on and go for it. <br />Barbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16950289036813327685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321298337898508098.post-34290640592135299702012-08-05T08:09:06.372-07:002012-08-05T08:09:06.372-07:00Thanks! I appreciate that, and will keep it in mi...Thanks! I appreciate that, and will keep it in mind.<br /><br />I like your 'handle', hostess with the mostest. Nice. ;)Mirahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558405035294107657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321298337898508098.post-48748477473780211902012-08-05T04:48:03.135-07:002012-08-05T04:48:03.135-07:00Life is short enough. You can die when you least ...Life is short enough. You can die when you least expect it. Don't pay attention to the pressure to conform. They do not know what's right for you.Barbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16950289036813327685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321298337898508098.post-72515436179608510532012-08-04T20:48:48.331-07:002012-08-04T20:48:48.331-07:00Yes! As a writer I struggle with this. There is ...Yes! As a writer I struggle with this. There is so much pressure to be careful and quiet. But I believe the writer must speak their truth, or the power of their writing is lost! <br /><br />Great topic! :)Mirahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558405035294107657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321298337898508098.post-76423961360319268762012-07-28T16:07:42.718-07:002012-07-28T16:07:42.718-07:00Thank you. Maybe it's a lesson we can learn.Thank you. Maybe it's a lesson we can learn.Barbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16950289036813327685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321298337898508098.post-349766346372419512012-07-28T15:46:45.406-07:002012-07-28T15:46:45.406-07:00You're so right. One tightly muscled torso loo...You're so right. One tightly muscled torso looks pretty much like another. Something clean, simple, and legible does a lot more to get attention than stock art of entwined bodies.<br /><br />It makes the actual words used more important, too. Your title does that, I think.Jim Selfhttp://www.jaself.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5321298337898508098.post-36736471675334306252012-07-10T15:36:58.433-07:002012-07-10T15:36:58.433-07:00It would be yours for the asking. Remember to wea...It would be yours for the asking. Remember to wear your retrofit seatbelts and no texting while motoring.Barbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16950289036813327685noreply@blogger.com