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. 

English English vs. American English

I read A Song in the Night by Julie Maria Peace not too long ago. It was published in the UK and, being an American and Texan to boot, I had a bit of trouble with some of the words and phrases. At my age and because of the number of books I've read over the years, I thought I knew English fairly well. Turns out, not so much.

I could figure out some of the words by the way they were used. Others, I found in dictionaries. Still, there were a few I haven't yet found. I should mention that part of the book took place during World War I, and I believe the author used terms from that time period to be more authentic. However, most of the ones I stumbled on were from the contemporary time.

I was reading the book because the author had asked me to review it. I am glad she did because I loved it. You can read my review here: http://christianbookmobile.blogspot.com/2013/11/book-review-song-in-night-by-julie.html, an interview of the author here: http://christianbookmobile.blogspot.com/2013/11/q-with-julie-maria-peace-author-of-song.html, and sample chapters here: http://christianbookmobile.blogspot.com/2013/11/book-review-song-in-night-by-julie_27.html.  As I read and noticed the many differences in our English languages, it hit me that a book I was just finishing up may not make sense to English readers in the same way I was struggling with Julie's book. One thing led to another until at some point she agreed to read The Vengeance Squad Goes to England and look for words and phrases the English characters wouldn't say. We let the Americans visiting England use their version of English, except for the main character, Chris. He is slightly OCD and has an eidetic memory, so he picks up on the differences in English and began to speak the way his girlfriend Angela does. Julie did a marvelous job, and I know the changes made because of her greatly improved the book.

Now, back to my concern for the words and phrases in A Song in the Night I don't understand. I put my guess in parentheses in the list below. Would you look over the list and either tell me if I was right, or let me know what some of these mean? Use the comment section below so everyone can see what still needs to be done. Oh, by the way, I didn't think about it at first, but at page 55 I started adding the page numbers.

Thank you.

Fusty

The place was a tip (mess?)

Cuppa (cup of?)

Fortnight (two weeks?)

Iced finger (some kind of cookie?)

Bleeping (phone ring?)

Mobile (cell phone?)

Bit (as in phase)

Niggle

Clapped eyes on

Windscreen

Caravan (RV?)

Mind (mind you?)

Plucker up the courage

Gone ten (after 10:00?)

Ribbons (blasted to bits or smithereens?)

Bullet has your number on it (name on it?)

Violin taster (55)

Broody (55)

Nappies (diapers?)

Stick (57)

Blanking (58)

Sussed (61-suspected?)

Lernt (69-learned?)

Sharpish (69-soon?)

Kitch (69-70 may be a reference to character Ciaran)

Barium meal

It was just gone nine (78-a little after nine?)

She came off the phone (79-hung up?)

Arrived bang on three o'clock (79-exactly at three?)

Cheered off (79)

Knickers (84)

Dab hand (84)

Flicked though the mail (84)

Smalls (84-undies?)

You lot (86-male or female?)

Clued up (96-in the know?)

Mucking in together (89)

While February (95)

Fancy (95-meaning to like)

Horlick (97-malted milk?)

Ciggie (97)

Kith and kin (98)

Respirators (101-gas masks?)

Dunno

Had a bad do at him (119)

While ever (120)

Dowdy (122)

Spot of bother (127)

Wheeze (127)

Bairns (129)

Fingers on the clock (134)

Filled up (134-tears?)

Funk wallahs (141)

Rota (145-schedule?)

Stroppy teenagers (148)

Mooched (149)

Feeding me up (151)

Gooseberry (152)

Natterer (161)

Twigged (183)

Cropper (204)

Coming to meet (205-going to meet?)

Good job you're ill (207-good thing you're ill?)

Chuffed (212, 391)

Snigger (243-snicker?)

Coming back to mine (275-coming back to my place)

Gutted (437-pained?)

Twigging (490)