I hate "selling"... I really do... I just can't get into twisting somebody's arm to buy something... but... if you've got something to sell... there ain't really much choice to selling... So ... you've got to make sure that what you're puttin' out there... has some use, has some true worth... does some good... and then... find a way to present your 'goods'... in a manner that don't look like some carny... squallin' at the county fair, to separate you from your nickels!
Either folks will see the value, and reward your work with their business... or... ya'll go back to the drawing board... and try again!
... and 'back to the drawing board' is where I've been... on my ambition of 'writing'...
Some time ago... I wrote a couple of small books. One a collection of short stories from my Cowboyin' days... and two other lil' works for RVing... I was sellin' 'em self printed, hand bound and shipped... sold a few... but, it's difficult, to put a decent price on 'em, what with all the costs an' such...
Well ... then somebody said; "You need to write a Western Brian!"... a few others chimed in... and I did just that... a Louis L'amour sort of story... a genuine, double rectified, western hero. :o)
But... I still had the problem of how to put 'em out there at some sort of a decent price... and considering all the obstacles of the "Publishing World"... Well... it kind of roadblocked me...
Then a Fella Name of Rex Kusler put me on to an outfit called Smashwords... an Ebook publisher...
As a result... I've been slowly... too slowly... working around all the other stuff goin' on... working at learning how to format my lil' books to fit their program...
A few other folks have been sending me articles 'bout the future of Ebooks... which seems to be building up a head of steam...
They've told me about a few previously, unpublished 'writers'... that went, pretty much, from rags to riches... thanks to Amazon and Ebook publishing of their fiction books. All that just serves to build up the hopes of a guy hoping to get published himself in some sort of a "real" way. :o)
Now... last night I heard where Amazon just cut the price of their Kindle machine to $189... down I think from over $300... and I guess Barnes and Noble are doin' the same thing...That, should be a real 'kick' to the market... and a good thing for aspiring 'Independent' publishers... the lil' guys like me! :o)
So... I'm workin' to speed up my "learning curve"... and master this formatting deal... and have my lil' books available for all those e-readers in the near future... maybe... even before me and that red headed Raider roll out for Alaska! ... and I'm planning on a pretty inexpensive price on 'em! :o)
That would be cool!
So a question... Kind of a Poll? How many, if any of you... use a Kindle? or one of the "Other" readers?... or are maybe thinkin' on it... and will, as soon as the price gets down enough? a quick "Comment" would be interesting to me!
Keep watchin' around here if you are... I'll be rebuilding my "Bookstore"... one more time... with all my 'wares'... set up to be available by way of Smashwords... and likely... if I do that gol darn Formatting right... Amazon... and some of the others...
Not twisting arms or nuthin'... but... once I get 'em back available again... the sales of those lil' books... and future projects I've got floatin' around my brain pan... will go a long ways toward keepin' things workin' round here! ... as long as I keep up my end of the bargain... and provide ya'll with somethin' worth reading!
Take Good Care
Brian
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6 comments:
I don't use a "Kindle", but read books constantly on my PDA. I read DOC, PDF, and Word format books. I don't like PDF. Been doin' this for almost fifteen years. Reading Louis L'Amore currently. Good luck and regards.
Hey Bri,
I don't have a Kindle ... yet. But I really, REALLY want one. Like you said, I'm waiting for the right price point. Sony's e-book reader looks pretty good, too. We've finally figured out how to make an e-book reader that doesn't look like a computer screen. And hey, some fresh western content sounds like a GREAT idea.
Hi Brian,
Both my husband and myself use Kindle for PC. We have both "work" laptops and netbooks.
My husband tends to get his out of print stuff this way, cause you know how it is, there are some books you read till they die, then buy another, rinse and repeat.
But we do buy new books frequently. I like that I pay no more than for a hard cover and it's mine forever on up to six devices. I got a digital copy of Alice in Wonderland and it even had all the original prints I remember from when I was a child..cost of this lovely...$1.00. Personally I think e-books are the greatest thing and will look forward to when you get you stuff together.
I started out with a Sony reader, because they sold them at Frys Electronics, and they were cheaper than the Kindle. I finally bought a Kindle, and donated my Sony reader to my girlfriend. I like the prices and availability of books in the Kindle store.
I've had both of my novels on Amazon and Smashwords for the last five months. I don't have a blog or anything directing traffic to either site. I've sold almost 5000 downloads of my mystery PUNCTURED on Amazon for $1 each (my cut is 35 cents). Yet I have not sold one copy on Smashwords.
PUNCTURED suddenly took off about two weeks ago (I have no idea why) and shot up into the top 100 Kindle books, and it's selling over 200 copies per day, for now.
There are a lot of self-published authors having tremendous success on Amazon. I look at the rankings, and see a thundering herd of them moving up the chart.
From reading your blog over the years, I'd say you have a good imagination, an entertaining writing style, and should be able to develop some good stuff to sell on Amazon and Smashwords.
I have a Kindle but before then I used Kindle for the PC and iPhone app. I promise that we'll be buying all your books once they are ebooks. ;-)
On the cruise to Alaska I saw at least 8 e-readers as well as a couple of iPads. I also had 3-4 folks come over and ask me about my Kindle and how I liked it.
I think it will continue to grow...
I got a kindle II, last year, nice to use on long business trips, don't have to tote that mass of paper around.
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