Books Sold By Author

I had three book signing events last month. I have one scheduled for each of the next four months and will be looking for additional venues where I can sell books during that time as well.

After that, I will be traveling some. But, even while vacationing, I look for ways to peddle my books. For example, we will be in Hilton Head for a week in September so I'm looking for places there. Last year when we were there I learned the two bookstores had closed. This time, I will look for other retail stores.

  

Before they went out of business, I did several book signings at the local bookstore in Georgetown. The first time I was there, I bought a nice ad in the local paper to announce the event. I sold 18 books and the bookstore owner was thrilled. We had agreed on a 60/40 split. I provided the books. She sold the books for full price plus sales tax and I got 60 percent of the selling price for each book. The only problem was the ad cost was about $200 and my income for the books was $172.

After six years of experience, I've learned to use advertising carefully. However, I learned also that ads a provide may provide future sales. Only recently, I had a call from someone wanting me to talk to a group and sell books afterwards. I learned they called because they saw an ad I'd posted in the local paper announcing another book signing. I agreed to talk and sold 14 books.

There are many places to consider when scheduling book signings. In the past, and perhaps still for some known authors, the ideal place for such events was at bookstores. I've done that a few times. However, there are no bookstores where I live and I haven't considered those in nearby Austin, Texas recently. When my first book came out in 2010, I held a book signing in the largest independent bookstore in Austin, Bookpeople. Only once. At that time, the fee for a book signing was $200. It is probably more now. Even at that I had to wait until they had another author to share the time slot with me. It turned out our target readers were about as far apart as possible. Some of my friends who were there were shocked by what the other author was selling.

So, you can set up book signing events at book stores and personal appearances. Usually, at the personal appearance, you will be expected to give a talk first. Many want to know how to write a book and get it published. At my last two talks, I told how to convert personal experiences into novels.

Another venue for book signings is any retail business. I've been using a local market that is connected to a restaurant. I've also done book signings at pharmacies. These places usually charge a fee. The market, for example, charges $30 for a three-hour slot. They provide a table and that’s about all. What I've done is work with two friends and we each pay $10. This makes it easier to make a profit.

Sid Frost and D.A. Featherling

Choose people to share the table with you who have similar target readers. In my case, I team up with my two critique partners. I know their books because I've read them. If one person wants to take a break, the other two can sell the person's books.

We all help promote the event by inviting our friends on. I have put an ad in the local paper for some of these shared events, but not all.

The market is good because people come and go all the time we are there. It is located near the center of the town and we pick the one Saturday of the month when there are activities going on that will draw a larger audience. We alternate times, 10 to 1 or 12 to 3. The market closes at 3.

Selling in this way allows us to adjust the price of the books. My books sell for $12.95. For these events, I changed the price to $9.24. That may seem odd. However, I must collect sales tax which is 8.25 percent. In this case, the tax is 76 cents which makes the total exactly $10.00. This makes it easier to make change.

We use a common bank and accept cash, credit cards, and checks. Customers can select books from more than one of us and pay for all purchases together. They seem to enjoy that.

I have recently started selling Kindle edition claim codes. I must buy them first from Amazon, then prepare a printed claim certificate to sell. I have sold five, four at one event and one at another, so it is too early to see how well this will work. Watch for more about this approach to selling.

Indie Publishing -- Getting the Typos Out of Published Books

I ran across an article from John Doppler recently called No, Amazon Will Not Penalize Your Book for a Typo and it made me wonder how my books will weather the latest change from Amazon. 

Seems Amazon is planning to post warnings for books that have certain types of errors. Read Doppler's list for details.

I think I'm okay. I try to make corrections when I learn of them. Other writers I've talked to about this think it will be good for us. There is a lot of junk out there that makes indie publishers look bad.

My latest novel, Murder in Sun City, was launched with FIVE errors that I learned about after the launch. 

My wife found some, a writer friend found several, and a reader reported one. Based on Doppler's article, these errors probably would have been disregarded by Amazon. But they were embarrassing to me. Here are some examples:

• where for were
• by for my
• placed for place
• it for them
• an extraneous the

Why is it so difficult to proof my own work?

I'm not blaming my editor. I want her to concentrate on the big things which she does quite well. I should have caught these myself, and I suspect they all happened after she turned the book over to me. 

I read the book from start to finish twice before publishing it. My critique partners say I am good at proofreading and a publisher I worked for seems pleased with my work. 

The good news is that it is easier to update published books

In the past, it took forever for me to make changes to Kindle editions of my books. I'd have to find the chapter, open the chapter file in an XML editor, and make the change without messing up the HTML code.

Now, I have Scrivener. All you have to do is make the changes in the text and compile for mobi. Much faster and no chance of accidentally messing up something else.

Murder in Sun City -- Are all the errors out?

I correct the paperback and the Kindle edition. If you already have a copy, Amazon will replace your Kindle version for free. If you want a correct paperback, contact me.

However, if you find errors in the corrected version, let me know.

Now, if you see any typos in this article about getting the typos out, please let me know.

COTT: FREE Kindle! To Celebrate Five Years of COTT!

Happy Birthday, COTT! 

We're half a decade old!

To celebrate FIVE YEARS of Clash of the Titles, we're GIVING AWAY some fun gifts. 

You can win books by Gail Pallotta and Lisa Lickel, 

or even a KINDLE FIRE!!

Raffle opens right now!
Closes Monday, November 30.
There are several ways to enter the drawing outlined in the RaffleCopter below. Winners will be drawn and announced on December 2nd. 

Please note: All entries are optional, but

the more you rack up, the higher your odds of winning.

To boot, you're showing support of those who've donated prizes. Not to mention, some of the entries come with their very own freebies!

Thank you!

Check out all the ways to enter...!

*Our newsletters will not clog your inbox. We send updates VERY sparingly.*

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Finding Free Books Faster

I was on Goodreads yesterday looking at who had a copy of my books. I was surprised when I found one person who claimed to have more than 8,000 books on her Kindle. I'm not sure of the book limit for a Kindle, but I know you don't have to have all your books on the physical device.

When Amazon first came out with free books for the Kindle, I grabbed every book that even came close to something I may read one day. Before I knew it, I had more than a THOUSAND books. 

I now have so many books on my Kindle, I'll probably never read them all. 

To limit the number of books I get and to improve the possibility that I will actually read a book downloaded, I've come up with a method to find free books. Here's how it works.

Instead of subscribing to the electronic newsletters announcing free books, I periodically (weekly is probably best) look for books I like to read. My favorite fiction is Thriller/Mystery/Suspense. So, I select a book in that category, M.K. Gilroy's Cold As Ice, for example, and find it on Amazon.com. Next, click on Kindle Edition, scroll down to where it says "Look for Similar Items by Category" (near the bottom of the page). Look for the tag that matches your interest. In this example, it will look like this:

• Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Suspense

Click on Suspense. This will take you to a page showing a long list of books in the Christian Suspense category. Look on the far right side of the page where it says "Sort by" and select "Price Low to High" from the pull-down list. When you do you'll see the list sorted with the cheapest books on top. Naturally, the free ones are shown first. If you decide to "buy" one, make sure it is still free when you get to the page to buy it. If you already own it, Amazon will warn you before you buy it.

Oh darn, I just ordered ten more books while I was there researching this article. And, here's something else to watch out for, the last one I ordered was $.99 and I didn't notice. I can ask for a refund, but for a buck it's hardly worth the effort.

Have fun.

Another way to get free books is to check for GIVEAWAYS. These have deadlines so do it quickly.

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Celebrating the 60th Amazon Review for THE VENGEANCE SQUAD

In celebration of the 60th Amazon review for THE VENGEANCE SQUAD, I've lowered the price for the Kindle edition from $2.99 to $1.99.

This is temporary, so get your copy soon!

When Chris McCowan's fiancée, 24-year-old Sarah Eason, is killed during a bizarre robbery near Austin, Texas, an unlikely trio teams up to find those responsible for her death. The trio, Chris, a 31-year-old computer science professor, Percy "Tex" Thompson, a 40-year-old wheelchair bound ex-con student of Chris', and 65-year-old head librarian Liz Siedo, pool their talents to find the criminals after local law enforcement agencies have given up.

Chris wants an eye for an eye even if it means giving up God and the church where he and Sarah were to be married. He sets out to learn the tricks of the trade from his ex-con student, all while continuing to teach and coming to terms with his grief. Angela, who claims to be an FBI agent, joins the Vengeance Squad to help the three find the killers.

Sidney W. Frost is a former computer science professor, ex-marine, and author of Where Love Once Lived, a prize winning inspirational novel.

Kindle Countdown Deal Works for Reader and Writer

St.-Petersburg: Copyright: Bigstockphoto.com evasilieva

I just completed offering my books on Kindle's Countdown deal for the first time and was pleased with the results. Unlike giving away books on the Kindle Free Days, the books are sold at reduced prices that gradually increase until the price is back to the original. My books are only $2.99 to start with so I don't have many price increments. What I like about this deal is that the reader isn't just grabbing a book because it's free. He or she is making a decision to purchase and read the book.

I also like the Countdown Deal because it adds a sense of urgency to the buyer's decision-making process. The price is going to go up. That is made clear to the buyer who is trying to decide what to purchase. Another consideration is that the countdown deal can only be used once in each marketplace during a 90-day period. Currently, the only two marketplaces are Amazon.com and Amazon.uk. The buyer may not know this, so authors should stress this in promotional information.

Amazon helps readers find books offering countdown deals. See: http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-eBooks/b?ie=UTF8&node=7078878011. On the day I looked, there were nearly 1,500 books listed. It would take time to search such a large list. However, Amazon offers ways to reduce the size of the list by allowing you to drill down to the types of books you like.

First, you can select a specific category. Look at the menu on the left of the page and click on Kindle e-books under the heading Kindle Countdown Deals. This will open a long list of categories from Arts & Photography to Travel. If you are interested in Christian fiction, for example, click on Literature & Fiction, and then select Religious & Inspirational Fiction. At the time I did this, there were only 25 books in this category. From here there are more ways to zoom into what you are interested in, but with only 25 books, you could check on each one.

You may want to view the list of books on special after sorting it in various ways. On the right side of the page, look for a pull-down list called Sort by. You have the following options: New and Popular, Price: Low to High, Price: High to Low, Avg. Customer Review, and Publication Date. And, of course, you can use these sort criteria at any point while you are viewing the list of books.

Sometimes I feel like I'm going around circles while watching for the next best way to reach readers. The Kindle Countdown Deal is a winner for both reader and writer.

Check my specials here: http://www.sidneywfrost.com/specials.html. 

Love Lives On is FREE Giveaway

FREE KINDLE EDITION

July 5, 2013 – July 9, 2013

Get your free copy of the Kindle edition of LOVE LIVES ON and tell your friends about it – all while entering the drawing for a chance to win your choice of a $25 Amazon.com gift card, a $25 Barnes & Noble gift card, or $25 sent to you by PayPal.

Use the Rafflecopter below to enter. If you already have a copy of Love Lives On, answer the question. If not, get your free copy and then answer the question. Use the tweet button to let your friends know about this offer and you will be given extra entries for the drawing, thereby improving your odds of winning.

When you order the book, be sure the Kindle price still says it is free.

Note: this is the first and last time the Kindle edition of Love Lives On will be free.

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Taking Time to Smell the Oats

After our recent 10-day vacation in the Netherlands and Belgium on a Viking River Cruise (http://www.vikingrivercruises.com/), I've been craving the steel-cut oatmeal they served on the ship. I enjoy the five-minute type oatmeal at least once a week at home, but it doesn't compare to the Irish style of oatmeal.

I tried to cook it once before (after a trip to Scotland) and decided it was too much trouble to cook. When I mentioned this to an Irish friend here in Georgetown, Texas last week, she said she prepares a large batch and stores the leftovers in the refrigerator. When you're ready for more, all you have to do is warm it up. That made it sound feasible, but I stayed with my five-minute style.

Then, the April 15, 2013 issue of Bottom Line/Personal (http://www.bottomlinepublications.com/), a newsletter I read regularly talked about cooking steel-cut oatmeal in a rice cooker. In the article the author mentioned soaking the oatmeal overnight to speed up the cooking time. My desire for the oatmeal I had enjoyed every day on the ship grew.

Yesterday, while shopping for groceries, I picked up a box of McCann's Irish Oatmeal (http://www.mccanns.ie/) and checked the cooking instructions. It mentioned a short-cut method. By boiling for a minute and storing overnight in the refrigerator, the cooking time is reduced from 30 minutes to 9-12 minutes. I bought the box and tried it.

Wow! It was even better than what I had on the ship. I brought the water to a boil and added the oatmeal last night, let it simmer for two minutes (one minute seemed to pass too quickly), and then put it in the refrigerator until this morning. I took it out while having coffee and didn't start cooking it until an hour later. After bringing the oatmeal to a boil, I turned the burner down to until the oats simmered.

It seemed to stick to the bottom of the pan more than my regular oatmeal, so I ended up lowering the heat several times and stirring more frequently. By the end of the time, I was stirring constantly. When the consistency seemed right (about 12 minutes), I turned off the burner, added a little butter, covered the pot and let it set for five minutes.

On the ship they had walnuts, half and half, fruit, etc. I added only sugar.

The McCann recipe:

Boil 4 cups of water, add 1 cup of oats, stir well. When the porridge is smooth and beginning to thicken, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

This supposedly makes four servings with 150 calories each. I like a little more so I divided it into three servings at 200 calories each and stored away two of the servings for another day.

What's this got to do with writing? I've been so busy preparing the Kindle edition for my new novel, Love Lives On, I didn't have time to watch TV and get weather reports. Something happened here and the temperatures dropped from the 80s and 90s to the 40s. Perfect oatmeal weather.

Now, back to work.

Use Your Kindle to Help Edit a New Book

I've spent the day listening to my latest book, Love Lives On. No, it's not an audible edition. I'm using Kindle's text to speech option. Here's how it works.

First, I edited the book in the traditional fashion by working with a professional editor and making the changes she suggested. After that I used Microsoft Word's Find capability to search for overused and miss-used words. That took about a week. The word "was", for example, appeared more than two thousand times in the 66,000 word novel. I checked each instance to see if I could rewrite the sentence using the active voice instead of the passive. I probably changed half of them. I have a list of about twenty words and phrases I check. I'll provide the list if anyone is interested, but today, I wanted to tell you about how the Kindle helped me find missing words and wrong words.

I saved the Word document as a TXT file and sent it to my Kindle. There are instructions in your Kindle User's Manual telling you how. It only took a few minutes to get it done. There is a fee, but it is small. I'll be glad to send details to anyone who needs it.

Next, I listened to the book, stopping to highlight changes needed and leaving notes about the corrections. Missing words popped out so easily I couldn't believe it. I think when we read our own work, our eyes and brains fill in the missing word for us. When you hear the Kindle read a sentence with a missing word, the word is still missing and you can tell immediately.

I've only listened to half the book so far. Here are a few of the sentences I found with missing words or letters which are shown in parentheses:

1. Karen('s) stomach knotted up.

2. Karen had grown up on (a) farm in Iowa and, after moving to Austin, …

3. He moved through those trees at (a) fast pace.

4. …may have come into the room while we (were) gone.

5. The(y) joined the boat tour…

6. Probably because he (looked) like most of the college-aged …

7. Before Brian had a chase (chance) to agree…

8. She managed to say (it) with love in her voice.

9. What are (you) talking about?

Another benefit of the Kindle speech capability was to catch misused words. I found these:

1. litter instead of little

2. slide instead of slid

3. wild instead of wide

4. diner instead of dinner

It was also easier to catch words and phrases used repeatedly. I marked them for change.

Being More Selective When Choosing Free Kindle Books

I was on Goodreads yesterday looking at who had a copy of my books. You know, a sort of vanity search. I was surprised when I found one person who claims to have more than 8,000 books on her Kindle. I'm not sure of the book limit for a Kindle, but I know you don't have to have all your books on the physical device.

For months now I've grabbed every free Kindle book that even came close to something I may read one day. As of today, I have 945 books. That's counting short stories, research books, fiction, and nonfiction. I read three books at a time (two fiction and one nonfiction), and it takes me about a week to finish them. Many of the ones I read are sent to me by publishers and aren't counted in the total. They are automatically deleted after a certain time.

In addition to the free books, I occasionally buy books for several reasons. One, the book is on my book club's reading list or two, it is a book I want to read.

The bottom line is that I don't need any more free Kindle books. To limit the number of books I get and to improve the possibility that I will actually read a book downloaded, I've come up with a method to find free books. Here's how it works.

Instead of subscribing to the electronic newsletters announcing free books, I periodically (weekly is probably best) look for books I like to read. My favorite fiction is Christian Thriller/Mystery/Suspense. So, I select a book in that category, M.K. Gilroy's Cuts Like a Knife, for example, and find it on Amazon.com. Next, click on Kindle Edition, scroll down to where it says "Look for Similar Items by Category" (near the bottom of the page). Look for the tag that matches your interest. In this example, it will look like this:

Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Christian Fiction > Suspense

Each item separated by > is a link. If you want to see all Christian Fiction, click on it. But, in my example, I would click on Suspense. This will take you to a page showing a long list of books in the Christian Suspense category. Look on the far right side of the page where it says "Sort by" and select "Price Low to High" from the pull-down list. When you do you'll see the list sorted with the cheapest books on top. Naturally, the free ones are shown first. If you decide to "buy" one, make sure it is still free when you get to the page to buy it. If you already own it, Amazon will warn you before you buy it.

Oh darn, I just ordered ten more books while I was there researching this article. And, here's something else to watch out for, the last one I ordered was $.99 and I didn't notice. I can ask for a refund, but for a buck it's hardly worth the effort.

Have fun.

BOOK REVIEW: The Haunting of Alligator Lake by B.J. Robinson

One of the things I love about Kindles and other e-book readers is that we now have more short stories to read. Authors don't have to tailor the length of their stories to fit the publisher's print process. They can write short stories, novellas, and novels of various sizes and find a market for them.

The Haunting of Alligator Lake is such a story. I'm not sure how long it would be in pages, but it is just the right length for a quick read on your Kindle. Often a short story is limited in the number of characters and number of situations the characters get involved in. This book was much fuller than most short stories I read.

It is about tales and fairy tales of white alligators and mermaid on Alligator Lake in St. Cloud, Florida. The story comes alive with likable characters who meet up with the alligators and mermaid in interesting ways. Allan and his wife Jan used to spend time together on the lake. Since her death, he goes alone. The stories about white alligators rescuing people meant nothing to him, since they didn't save Jan. Other characters may not have as strong a connection to the lake, but they probably form one by the end of the story.

BOOK REVIEW: Self-Publishing Simplified: How to Publish a Book on Kindle by Deborah H. Bateman

This is a great introductory book for anyone wanting to publish a book. It is short, 46 pages, so it doesn't have all the details, but it can be easily read in one sitting to help you get started. I wish I'd had this book before I started my publishing venture. And, there's more to it than the subtitle implies. You'll read about building a platform, marketing, using the KDP free days, and publishing paperback books.

BOOK REVIEW: Common English Bible with Apocrypha

I bought a Kindle when it first came out and I'm on my third one now. The first book I bought for my Kindle was a Bible. I remember at the time I ordered it how nice it would be to have a digital edition of the Bible, one that would allow me to search and quickly find readings to follow along with my pastor. But, as it turned out, I couldn't use it. Why? Because it was organized like a book, not a Bible. It worked fine for those who read books from start to end. We don't normally read Bibles that way. I looked around for another, but finally gave up. Soon after, I found a Bible app that worked fine on my smart phone.

Recently, my church introduced its members to the Common English Bible and my Sunday School class began to use it, too. I took a chance and checked for a Kindle edition. I was pleased to see that this one contains easy-to-use navigation. The table of contents allows you to link to any book. At the beginning of each book, there is a link to each chapter in the book. With the Apocrypha, the table of contents is pretty long, but it is fairly easy to navigate. You can also use the next chapter and previous chapter toggle when needed. Overall, I'm quite pleased with this Kindle edition of the Bible.

Reviews and Comments – The Good and the Bad

Is Free Bad?

While researching how to get the most out of Amazon's Free Kindle promotion, I ran across a warning that offering free books increases the possibility for negative reviews. Why? Apparently people take the freebie only to learn it is not the type of book they like. Ergo, the book is bad.

Nearly 20,000 copies of Where Love Once Lived were downloaded during the three-day promotion so I was geared up for a few negative reviews. It still hurt when the first one came in.

My First 2-Star Rating

The day after the free period, this 2-star review was published on Amazon.

Honest Feelings but read like a bad Harlequin without the sex. I understand that the book is a Christian fiction. That said, this book was super-sweet Christian romance with a little bit of all hardships thrown in. Although all the previous reviews really like the book, they also want to save you from reading it by telling you the entire plot, lol, so I will just say this is a book that you will know how you feel by the end of the first chapter. I quite honestly put it down after that first chapter and only finished it because the reviews were so good. I should have saved myself an hour.

The 2-star rating was probably not fair, but I actually liked what the reviewer had to say. Since I had 15 5-star ratings and one 4-star rating, the 2-star one didn't change the average. But with 20,000 possible new readers, I began to worry what could happen.

Another 5-Star Rating

But it was eight days later before the second review came in from lbmollie11, who lives in Pittsburg, and it was a 5-star!

GREAT! I simply loved this book and couldn't put it down. Just when you thought you knew what was going to happen next, something else happened instead!

This brought my average back up to 4.8 for Amazon reviews.

Other Feedback From Readers

Then, yesterday I got this email from a woman in Iowa who had bought both books:

I finished your books. I read the first one earlier in the winter. It was the kind of story I like and hard to put down.

A week or so ago I started the second one, I cried through the first part, of course, then I could hardly put it down. It was exciting, but scary to read before going to bed. I finished it this morning. Great!!

Will be waiting for more books.

Isn't that nice.

You can read all the reviews here: http://www.amazon.com/Where-Love-Once-Lived-ebook/dp/B003ZHVE1O/

You can read my notes about Amazon's Free Kindle Promotions here: http://christianbookmobile.blogspot.com/2012/04/giving-away-books-making-amazons-free.html

Giving Away Books -- Making Amazon's Free Kindle Days Successful

I finished my first Amazon Free Kindle event Saturday, March 31, 2012, at midnight. I'm not sure how to evaluate the results, but if the goal is to give away as many books as possible, I think it was a sensational success. Here's the final tally:

Amazon.com gave away 19,248 copies of Where Love Once Lived. Buyers in the United Kingdom picked up 75 copies while buyers in Germany grabbed three and buyers in France took two. The grand total was 19,328 copies.

What to Do Prior to the Start of Your Free Days

Some of what you do to maximize the number of books you give away must be done ahead of time. Other activities can be done beforehand to give you more time for what must be done after the free days period begins.

Here's what you should do early.

If you haven't already, pick an Amazon category for your book. This can take several days, so do it now. If you don't know how to do this, buy this How to Launch a Christian Best-Seller Book, The John 316 Marketing Network Manual by Lorilyn Roberts: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007MDPWIS. It contains additional information about book marketing as well.

I advertised in ACFW Journal and the Wordsmith Journal. This may or may not have helped. I like to think it did. Sales were up some prior to the free days.

Arrange to be a guest on other blogs.

I sent an email to AnthonyWessel@digitalbooktoday.com/join-our-team to be included in http://www.squidoo.com/the-best-of-amazon-daily-free-ebooks-kindle-ipad. Also, I sent an email to catherine@frugal-freebies.com to be included in http://www.frugal-freebies.com.

This is what I wrote in the body of the emails:

Where Love Once Lived will be free 3/29, 3/30, 3/31

http://www.amazon.com/Where-Love-Once-Lived-ebook/dp/B003ZHVE1O/

The Vengeance Squad will be free 4/13, 4/14, 4/15

http://www.amazon.com/The-Vengeance-Squad-ebook/dp/B005F6NBPU/

Sidney W. Frost

http://sidneywfrost.com/

You can also use an input form for Frugal Freebies: http://www.frugal-freebies.com/p/submit-freebie.html.

Another page that allows for you to enter your free day information online is: http://www.ereaderiq.com/contact/. This is a great site. You can sign up to receive information about free Kindles by email. It is a very professional looking site, but keep in mind there are non-Christian books included as well. In fact, many of the resources noted in this report are not restricted to Christian. In addition, the categories they use many not fit the categories we are used to. Many of them do have ways to limit what you see and get in email to Christian only. However, some include some racy book covers in places.

Pixel of Ink – Free and Bargain Kindle Books: Go to http://www.pixelofink.com/sfkb/  and fill out the form.

Ereader News Today -- Tips, Tricks, And Free Ebooks For Your Kindle. Go to  http://ereadernewstoday.com/ent-free-book-submissions/ and fill out the form.

Books on the Knob: http://blog.booksontheknob.org/. I didn't see a way to get listed, but this one looks like a possible resource. If you can figure it out let me know.

For independent publishers, go to Indie Book List: http://www.indiebookslist.com/kdp-select-submission-form/.

Author Marketing Club. Here is another one I like. Very professional with many ways to reach people. Go to http://authormarketingclub.com/members/announce-your-free-book/ to enter your information. As implied, you'll need to sign up for a membership. It's free.

Inspired Reads – Christian Kindle Books On A Budget: http://www.inspiredreads.com/contact/ to submit your book. You may want to subscribe to this one, too.

Family Fiction: http://www.familyfiction.com/contact-us/. This is a slick site, and I don't know if they did anything with the information I submitted. I suspect you may have to pay for advertising.

Here's an interesting site that may not help get the word out about your free Kindle days, but it can be used anytime to help track your Amazon bestseller status. http://tracker.kindlenationdaily.com/. It requires a free membership and they offer other services, some for payment. The tracker service is free. I used it for Where Love Once Lived and found my best standing was #8 in the Free Kindle Bestseller list. It shows the high and low by day and the price of the book. However, it does not show standings by category. Where Love Once Lived hit #1 for Christian Romance on the second day of my three-day free period and stayed there until sometime the next day.  One thing nice about this tracker is that it keeps up with your ranking when you can't.

Prepare Tweets

Before your free period begins you should have all your tweets written and posted for a particular date and time. I use TweetDeck (http://www.tweetdeck.com/ ) for this, but there are other ways to accomplish this. My tweets are set to automatically go to my Facebook page so I can take care of both at the same time. My fear is that I send too many tweets, but I know as a receiver, I don't always get to see every tweet and Facebook posting my friends do. So, hopefully, no one will get bombarded. For the Where Love Once Lived Kindle Free days, I posted seven tweets the first day (every two hours between 6:00 am and 6:00 pm), seven tweets on the second day (every three hours between 6:00 am and 11:00 pm), and 17 times on the third day (every hour from 6:00 am to 8:00 pm plus an extra).

Since my friend base is limited and I wanted to reach as many people as possible, I included #FreeKindleBook #freebook #free with each tweet as long as I have could fit it into the 140 character limit. TweetDeck automatically compresses links so that gave me more space to work with. I prepared my tweets in Word using a two-column table. The first column was for date and time and the second for the tweet. As I copied each one into TweetDeck, I marked it with a yellow highlight. Here are some examples of tweets I used:

Where Love Once Lived Tell your friends to get a copy FREE today. http://www.amazon.com/Where-Love-Once-Lived-ebook/dp/B003ZHVE1O/  #FreeKindleBook #freebook #free

Where Love Once Lived FREE! http://www.amazon.com/Where-Love-Once-Lived-ebook/dp/B003ZHVE1O/ Much of the action takes place on a bookmobile. #FreeKindleBook #freebook #free

Where Love Once Lived http://www.amazon.com/Where-Love-Once-Lived-ebook/dp/B003ZHVE1O/  " I especially liked the way you handled the racial relationships." FREE KINDLE ED. TODAY. #FreeKindleBook #freebook #free

Where Love Once Lived LAST DAY FREE KINDLE: http://www.amazon.com/Where-Love-Once-Lived-ebook/dp/B003ZHVE1O/  " Woven throughout the story is God's grace and mercy." #FreeKindleBook

Where Love Once Lived FREE!!! http://www.amazon.com/Where-Love-Once-Lived-ebook/dp/B003ZHVE1O/  "I commend your sensitivity to a woman's feelings and perspective. -- a quality rare in men!"

The parts in quotes were taken from reviews and other comments I received from readers.

What to Do On Free Days

Go to your Amazon page and add tags: Free ebook, Kindle Freebie, and Kindle Free. Make a note on your calendar to delete these tags after your free days.

Visit these Facebook pages and leave messages about your free Kindle book:

Free Kindle Books and Tips -- www.facebook.com/fkbooksandtips.

Frugal Freebies -- https://www.facebook.com/FrugalFreebies?sk=wall.

Coupon Divas -- https://www.facebook.com/CouponDivas?sk=wall.

Coupon Clipinista -- https://www.facebook.com/CouponClipinista?sk=wall.

Christian Books by Indie Authors: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Christian-Books-By-Indie-Authors/188636394517963.

Look for other Facebook pages where people would enjoy reading your book.

Send tweets to @kindlenews and any others you may find with followers who are potential readers of your book.

Success

The benefits of giving away nearly 20,000 books eludes me at this time. However, if that's what you want to do it, I hope you will find this information useful. Please let me know.

I understand one benefit is to advertise your book and your name. However, what if everyone who would have bought the book now already has a copy? Friends have said they sold more of their other books while one was being offered for free. I noticed that with my other book, The Vengeance Squad, but not to the level where I would say it made a huge difference. I went from selling one book a day to selling an average of three books a day. If this continues, it will become more important. Also, if people decide to buy Where Love Once Lived after hearing about it even though it is no longer free, then I'll see some benefit. One writer friend lowered the price to ninety-nine cents after the free period and then gradually got it back to the regular price going up one dollar at a time. That could work, too. Especially for those buyers who got to Amazon late. I had 32 refunds on the day after the last free day. I suspect these are people who clicked the buy button before they realized the book was no longer free. There could be more of those. I hope not.

How Many Free Days Are Best?

This article assumes you know how to set up your book in KDP Select for your free days. However, if you're like me you will want to know how many of your five free days to use. One of my friends said to use more than one day at a time because you need to allow time for the word to get out. I didn't record "sales" around the clock, but I can say there were about 8,000 the first day, 6,000 the second day, and the remaining 6,000 the third day. Even though the most "sales" were on the first day, it took the Amazon engines time to digest it all. I didn't hit No. 1 bestselling status until late afternoon the second day. An old Dee Henderson book was second then, but her book overcame mine the next day. It's not bad getting knocked out of first place by one of your favorite authors.

Which Days of the Week Are Best?

After I selected three days, I wanted to know if the day of week would matter. No one had experience in that area, but I heard there is a lot of activity on weekends. For Where Love Once Lived, I decided on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday and for The Vengeance Squad, I picked Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

I have offered you the results of my experience, but much of the how-to was given to me by others. Especially, Shelley Hitz, Bob Saffrin, Martin Roth, Lorilyn Roberts, the John 3:16 Marketing Network, and squidoo.com. My special thanks to you all.

The information outlined in this article is not static. More than a few of the resources I learned from my friends were no longer available when I did my preparation.  If you run into one like that then go to the next one.

The Vengeance Squad Kindle edition will be free April 13, 14, and 15. Grab you a copy.

TMI! TMI! TMI!

Have you ever thought what the Internet is doing to us by providing too much information too frequently?

My iPhone beeped yesterday and I started to read it, "Fox News Breaking News…"

"I don't want to hear it," Celeste said before I could get to the good part.

I was taken aback, as you might imagine. How could anyone resist hearing what follows the words "breaking news?" When I asked, she said she'd hear it sooner or later. Right now she wanted to enjoy what she was doing.

Actually, she was sitting with Scotch, the cat, on the swing on the screened-in porch reading a book so I could understand why she didn't want to hear some news that turned out to be so unimportant I can't remember what it was now.

Her reaction made me think about how the instant availability of information is negatively affecting us daily. One example is the way I used my iPhone to look up information during discussions at social gatherings. Rather than help, it tends to be a downer to always be right. Instead of an interesting discussion about who was or wasn't in a particular movie, I can access the cast list with a few clicks. But, as I said, it wasn't as helpful as you might think. So, at the last two parties I went to, I left my phone in the car and had some better conversations because of it.

Another example. I've found myself going to the computer more than once a day to check book sales. I check CreateSpace for print edition sales, Amazon for Kindle sales, and lulu.com for other eBook sales. I have to admit it is fun to see the numbers rise, but it is equally discouraging when they don't.

When my first book came out in 1983, I had to wait three months for a royalty report before learning how sales were going. Now, I'm lucky to wait three hours.

So, one of my resolutions for next year is to relax, enjoy free time, and check the news less.

How about you? Have you had problems adjusting to ease of access to information?

Kindle Prices Up!

Has anyone else noticed that the price of Kindle books is higher than before? I love to read on my Kindle. I can get books instantly wherever I am. It is easy to make notes and highlight phrases without destroying the book with marks. I can up the size of the font when I need to because of the lack of lighting or because of propping the reader up at a distance. And, best of all, I'm saving a few trees while saving money.

Lately, however, I'm not sure about that advantage of saving money.  I've started to see a change in the difference between printed editions and digital editions. When I bought Jan Karon's latest book, I ordered the hardcover because, at the time, it was cheaper than the Kindle edition even after taking into consideration the cost of shipping. Today (October 23, 2011) the Amazon.com cost for In the Company of Others is:

$14.40 Hardcover

$10.88 Paperback

$12.99 Kindle

Which one would you buy?

When Davis Bunn's latest book, The Book of Dreams, came out I had my review ready on the day the book was released because the publisher had sent me an advance uncorrected proof. Thinking I would have the first review posted on Amazon.com, I was surprised to see a one-star review already there. The one-star review was because the Kindle edition was $14.99 while the paperback was $10.19.

I went ahead and posted my review. See: http://www.amazon.com/review/R367FR2V2LEA5V/. While there I added a comment to the one-star review saying I didn't think it was fair for someone to use a review to complain about the price of the book, especially since the reviewer said he hadn't read the book. I went back a few days later and noticed the one-star review was no longer there.

I have two Christian Fiction books published through CreateSpace. One book is a little longer than the other. For the longer book, Where Love Once Lived, I charge $15.95 for the paperback and $5.99 for the Kindle edition. The Vengeance Squad paperback is $12.95 and the Kindle edition is $4.99. My royalties are about the same for paperback and Kindle.

Here are some more examples of recently released books:

John Grisham, The Litigators, $14.99 Kindle, $15.22 Hardcover (no paperback yet)

Nicholas Sparks, The Best of Me, $12.99 Kindle, $12.98 Hardcover (no paperback yet)

John Sandford, Shock Wave, $12.99 Kindle, $15.33 Hardcover (no paperback yet)

Sandra Brown, Lethal, $12.99 Kindle, $14.67 Hardcover, $10.19 Paperback

Stuart Woods, Son of Stone, $12.99 Kindle, $14.39 Hardcover, $10.87 Paperback

J.D. Robb, New York to Dallas, $12.99 Kindle, $16.25 Hardcover, $7.99 Paperback

This information was collected from a search of new releases on Amazon.com and are not books I have bought or even books I plan to read.

Like I said, I love my Kindle. However, I will continue to look for the best price even if that means buying a hardcover or paperback instead of a Kindle edition. I usually wait until I have enough books to get shipping free so that is not a concern.

Are you seeing a blurring of difference in the cost of paperback versus digital books? Are you, as an author, getting paid more for e-book sales? Will the increase in cost hurt the sale of e-books? How will you respond to the price increase of e-books?

Staci Stallings Interview

A stay-at-home mom with a husband, three kids and a writing addiction on the side, Staci Stallings has numerous titles for readers to choose from.  Not content to stay in one genre and write it to death, Staci’s stories run the gamut from young adult to adult, from motivational and inspirational to full-out Christian and back again.  Every title is a new adventure!  That’s what keeps Staci writing and you reading.  Although she lives in Amarillo, Texas and her main career right now is her family, Staci touches the lives of people across the globe every week with her various Internet endeavors.

Please make Staci feel at home on The Christian Bookmobile today by reading her responses to the questions below and sending in your comments and questions. Be sure and tell your friends to join us today for this interesting and uplifting interview.

When did you first know you wanted to be a writer?

In second grade, I wrote a story about Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and my teacher, who I adored, wrote, "You're a great writer!" at the top.  Well, that was all there was to it.  After all, she said it, and she knew everything!

Do you have formal education in writing? If so, please describe. If not, how did you learn?

Yes. In high school I was in Journalism contests in the Texas U.I.L.  I worked literally countless hours one-on-one with my writing teacher who had been a journalist herself before teaching.  I would write the story.  She would bleed on it and then go over it word-for-word with me.  Then I'd go write another, and the process would repeat.  I won the State Feature-writing contest my senior year.

In college, I majored in Journalism but quickly decided that life wasn't for me.  So I taught English three years before quitting to have my family.  That's when I went back to my first real love--writing stories. 

Please tell the readers about your latest book.

Coming Undone is the story of Ben Warren, a guy who has the "life every guy dreams of living."  Fast cars, plenty of money, a great apartment, and any woman he wants.  Then his father suffers a stroke, and Ben has to come to terms with the meaninglessness of how he's been living.  When Ben has to make the decision of whether or not to transfer his father to hospice, Ben's world falls apart until he meets Kathryn Walker, the hospice social worker. As she helps him through the life-and-death transition of his father, Ben comes to see in her that a fast life of no meaning is a very empty way to live.

What was your inspiration for writing this book?

I have had several very close relatives go through hospice, and the workers there are simply amazing.  The idea of facing death on a daily basis with such grace and kindness fascinated me.  It is how I wish we all chose to live each day--rather than waiting until someone is dying to think about what's really important in this life.

What do you want the reader to feel/learn/experience while reading this book?

Everybody is hurting.  Everybody has pain that we don't see from the outside looking in.  Learn to be compassionate and kind.  Learn to bring God with you into every situation. That much would go a long way to changing our whole world!

Please summarize other books you have published.

I just went into the Kindle and Nook markets.  Right now I have 9 books to choose from on each. You can see all of them at:  http://stacistallings.wordpress.com.

What would you tell someone who wants to write a novel?

Write.  Write as much as you can--whatever it is.  The more you write, the more you will learn to write.  Poems, songs, short stories, journals, blogs, novels.  Listen to what God's putting on your heart and write that!  Every time you do, it will be a piece you will need later on.  Trust me.  Get it down.  You can always revise it later.

What would you tell a new author about marketing his or her book?

It will make you crazy to chase sales.  So have fun with it.  Concentrate on connecting with readers not on making sales.

Please describe your hobbies and interests other than writing.

I love to read.  I play the guitar, the piano, and a little drums (very little and off-beat!)

What's the best way to reach you and buy your books?

Staci's Bookshelf: http://stacistallings.wordpress.com

Blogs:

Spirit Light Books http://spiritlightbooks.wordpress.com

Spirit Light Moments:  http://spiritlightmoments.com

On Facebook:  Spirit Light Author Staci Stallings

On Twitter:  @StaciStallings