In a two day frenzy, over 10,000 people downloaded a copy of The Cause. That's pretty awesome if you ask me. All day, I was watching the numbers go up on Amazon. Even though I didn't make a cent, It makes me feel warm all over to know I have 10,000 more perspective readers.
Thanks to all who participated, especially Bookish Ardour for the awesome advertising.
I know I've been posting a lot recently because of the promotion, so don't be too let-down when this blog goes dormant over the next few days.
I'm going to crawl back into my writers cave for a while to work on All For Owen.
Showing posts with label Clint Stoker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Clint Stoker. Show all posts
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Thursday, December 15, 2011
One More Review!
Another review of The Cause. This time on A "Good Day To Read".
I'm really pleased with the response I've been getting for The Cause. I've had thoughts of writing a sequel, but I haven't decided anything yet.
For now, I'm going to be putting more time into "All For Owen". I'm planning on making some serious progress during the Christmas break.
Thank you for all your support. Again, check out the review and share it on Facebook and/or Twitter!
I'm really pleased with the response I've been getting for The Cause. I've had thoughts of writing a sequel, but I haven't decided anything yet.
For now, I'm going to be putting more time into "All For Owen". I'm planning on making some serious progress during the Christmas break.
Thank you for all your support. Again, check out the review and share it on Facebook and/or Twitter!
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Shout Out.
Feels like forever since I last posted. I guess the holidays and finals do that.
I've been thinking a lot about marketing my books lately. So far, I've had more success that I had actually expected, though I'm far from a best seller. I think a HUGE part of my success has been the book trailer that Jay Jensen did for me. Seriously, it's hard enough to write, publish and promote your own novel, but making everything look professional is another challenge altogether.
A big part of my marketing strategy has been to send free e-book copings to my friends and anybody else willing to blog or vlog about it. I believe this is where most of my success has come because my readers sell the books for me. Sweet deal huh? Well, nobody with a trusted opinion would read my book if it weren't for the trailer Jay did.
I like to troll the internet looking for book reviewers with big audiences. When I find them, I send them an email along with the book trailer. And that's when I have them. I always get a response that goes something like this.
"Wow! This book looks awesome! I can't wait to read it!"
I know they aren't getting that impression because I'm such a handsome guy. I don't send pictures after all. (Hmm... there's an idea) No, they are drooling over the novel because of the video trailer.
So here I go. I try not to do this took often, but here is my official endorsement for JJ Productions. I wouldn't have sold books without readers, I wouldn't have readers without reviewers, and I would have no reviewers if it hadn't been for the amazing book trailer.
If your thinking about going the ind-publishing rout, let me know! What are the best book trailers you've seen?
I've been thinking a lot about marketing my books lately. So far, I've had more success that I had actually expected, though I'm far from a best seller. I think a HUGE part of my success has been the book trailer that Jay Jensen did for me. Seriously, it's hard enough to write, publish and promote your own novel, but making everything look professional is another challenge altogether.
A big part of my marketing strategy has been to send free e-book copings to my friends and anybody else willing to blog or vlog about it. I believe this is where most of my success has come because my readers sell the books for me. Sweet deal huh? Well, nobody with a trusted opinion would read my book if it weren't for the trailer Jay did.
I like to troll the internet looking for book reviewers with big audiences. When I find them, I send them an email along with the book trailer. And that's when I have them. I always get a response that goes something like this.
"Wow! This book looks awesome! I can't wait to read it!"
I know they aren't getting that impression because I'm such a handsome guy. I don't send pictures after all. (Hmm... there's an idea) No, they are drooling over the novel because of the video trailer.
So here I go. I try not to do this took often, but here is my official endorsement for JJ Productions. I wouldn't have sold books without readers, I wouldn't have readers without reviewers, and I would have no reviewers if it hadn't been for the amazing book trailer.
If your thinking about going the ind-publishing rout, let me know! What are the best book trailers you've seen?
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Politics
A lot of my research lately has been looming around politics. It helps that I am taking a class right now that also wants me to stay caught up on all the latest in politics. I've been looking at it all from a very different perspective than I used to. For a lot of people, politics is about the issues and the parties. This makes sense because... well that's just how politics work now days. But, if you look at the politicians and how they talk about their issues, there are some interesting things to learn.
So what have I learned? Nothing, really. I can't put my finger on an exact problem or an exact solution, but by watching how politicians maneuver and coerce the public to agree. It's actually really fascinating. Some people (not just politicians) use scare tactics. They spell out these big hypothetical disasters that will inevitably occur if they don't get their way. It can be frightening because people put a lot of faith in these nay Sayers.
The thing that scares me, is the "boy who cries wolf" scenario. What if someone actually has a valid warning and the public doesn't pay heed because we are too used to it? This is all great stuff for my next book.
What do you think? What scare did you buy into? swine flu? Y2K? Anthrax?
So what have I learned? Nothing, really. I can't put my finger on an exact problem or an exact solution, but by watching how politicians maneuver and coerce the public to agree. It's actually really fascinating. Some people (not just politicians) use scare tactics. They spell out these big hypothetical disasters that will inevitably occur if they don't get their way. It can be frightening because people put a lot of faith in these nay Sayers.
The thing that scares me, is the "boy who cries wolf" scenario. What if someone actually has a valid warning and the public doesn't pay heed because we are too used to it? This is all great stuff for my next book.
What do you think? What scare did you buy into? swine flu? Y2K? Anthrax?
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Endings
Outlining my next great novel has been an absolute thrill up until I reached the ending.
The ending of a story is, in my opinion, the most important part of the story. Some people might say the beginning is the most important. Though I agree that the beginning is crucial to enticing an audience to read on, I don't think it's as important as the ending.
Have you ever watched a movie that really got you going right from the start only to have the ending pass you by? The credits start rolling and you think to yourself, "That was it?" Sometimes the ending is so disappointing that you actually sit through the credits hoping that the director pasted a clever little scene afterward that might clear everything up. Finally, when all other disappointing movie goers leave, and the lights are back on, and some zit-faced 15-year-old is sweeping up the carnage in the front row, you realize that you had indeed witnessed the ending. Now you feel like a sucker. The trailer and the acting and the mood, everything that once seemed purely awesome, is now one big joke.
I'll admit that I've read some stories that made me a little disappointed because the author took the story in a direction I wouldn't have gone, but the next day, after I've had time to contemplate the ending, I feel much better. Sometimes sad endings do that to me. But these endings can still be great. They leave you with a profound statement of some sort. The message is something you think about for quite a while.
Here are some examples of great ending:
"I Am Legend" (The book!) Yes, the main character dies in the end but I still feel satisfied with the ending because the twist. Robert Nevell realizes that he is the monster. He's the one killing the masses while they sleep, even though they happen to be vampires.
"Oceans 11" This was a great ending because you never see it coming. Not only do the protagonists pull-off the ultimate heist, but they do it in perfect style. This ending satisfies by giving the audience what they want plus some.
"The Village" I know I'm going to get some backlash for adding this to my list a great endings, but first let me defend my reasoning. The entire movie is based in a fantasy world, but in the end you find out that the village is really just a bunch of disenfranchised Americans trying to go back to the good old days when crime wasn't a problem. You also learn that nostalgia isn't really helpful. This is one of those endings that, at first, left me wanting more but after I thought about it, I felt better. The greatness of this ending is because of the message. I know many critics disagree, but they have different criteria for great endings than I do.
I don't have time to go through all the endings that I really enjoyed. I'm not saying these are the absolute best endings of all time, but they are endings I've admired.
What do you think? What movies or books have great endings?
The ending of a story is, in my opinion, the most important part of the story. Some people might say the beginning is the most important. Though I agree that the beginning is crucial to enticing an audience to read on, I don't think it's as important as the ending.
Have you ever watched a movie that really got you going right from the start only to have the ending pass you by? The credits start rolling and you think to yourself, "That was it?" Sometimes the ending is so disappointing that you actually sit through the credits hoping that the director pasted a clever little scene afterward that might clear everything up. Finally, when all other disappointing movie goers leave, and the lights are back on, and some zit-faced 15-year-old is sweeping up the carnage in the front row, you realize that you had indeed witnessed the ending. Now you feel like a sucker. The trailer and the acting and the mood, everything that once seemed purely awesome, is now one big joke.
I'll admit that I've read some stories that made me a little disappointed because the author took the story in a direction I wouldn't have gone, but the next day, after I've had time to contemplate the ending, I feel much better. Sometimes sad endings do that to me. But these endings can still be great. They leave you with a profound statement of some sort. The message is something you think about for quite a while.
Here are some examples of great ending:
"I Am Legend" (The book!) Yes, the main character dies in the end but I still feel satisfied with the ending because the twist. Robert Nevell realizes that he is the monster. He's the one killing the masses while they sleep, even though they happen to be vampires.
"Oceans 11" This was a great ending because you never see it coming. Not only do the protagonists pull-off the ultimate heist, but they do it in perfect style. This ending satisfies by giving the audience what they want plus some.
"The Village" I know I'm going to get some backlash for adding this to my list a great endings, but first let me defend my reasoning. The entire movie is based in a fantasy world, but in the end you find out that the village is really just a bunch of disenfranchised Americans trying to go back to the good old days when crime wasn't a problem. You also learn that nostalgia isn't really helpful. This is one of those endings that, at first, left me wanting more but after I thought about it, I felt better. The greatness of this ending is because of the message. I know many critics disagree, but they have different criteria for great endings than I do.
I don't have time to go through all the endings that I really enjoyed. I'm not saying these are the absolute best endings of all time, but they are endings I've admired.
What do you think? What movies or books have great endings?
Thursday, September 15, 2011
A Break From Stories
I haven't been very good at writing new short stories, but it's not a bad thing. I've been spending time outlining and researching my next novel. I'm really excited about this one.
Lately I've been looking into the amazing success stories of Amanda Hocking and John Locke. They've been all over the internet for the past several months. Both are authors, and both are self-publishing millionaires. I would love to reach that kind of success for several reasons. First being the fact that I would love to make a living from writing books. But chances are it's not going to happen -- and I'm okay with that.
Hocking and Locke have a lot of things in common. They both write short novels, they both write fast, they both write series, and they both got lucky. I use the word luck only because there is no other word to describe that magic element that draws readers to one author over another of equal talent. I'm not saying their success was all luck. No. They both worked hard and made marketing plans and fought hard for attention just like every other serious author.
Why do I bring this up? Well I've been thinking about how I define success. For me, creating has always been something I need to do. I don't know why, but I always feel compelled to write another song, learn how to paint, or write another novel. I can't help it. Most of the time my creations are enjoyed only by me, but occasionally someone I don't even know finds my creations and falls in love. That is how I define success.
My goal for this next novel, is to write somebody's favorite book. Just one person. If I can achieve that, I'll count myself successful.
I'm having trouble coming up with a name for my main character. I need a strong male name that is not overused. Any ideas?
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Lately I've been looking into the amazing success stories of Amanda Hocking and John Locke. They've been all over the internet for the past several months. Both are authors, and both are self-publishing millionaires. I would love to reach that kind of success for several reasons. First being the fact that I would love to make a living from writing books. But chances are it's not going to happen -- and I'm okay with that.
Hocking and Locke have a lot of things in common. They both write short novels, they both write fast, they both write series, and they both got lucky. I use the word luck only because there is no other word to describe that magic element that draws readers to one author over another of equal talent. I'm not saying their success was all luck. No. They both worked hard and made marketing plans and fought hard for attention just like every other serious author.
Why do I bring this up? Well I've been thinking about how I define success. For me, creating has always been something I need to do. I don't know why, but I always feel compelled to write another song, learn how to paint, or write another novel. I can't help it. Most of the time my creations are enjoyed only by me, but occasionally someone I don't even know finds my creations and falls in love. That is how I define success.
My goal for this next novel, is to write somebody's favorite book. Just one person. If I can achieve that, I'll count myself successful.
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