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Showing posts from April, 2013

Word Up! - JUST RELEASED! 10 Questions with Writer's Writer Marcia Riefer Johnston (@MarciaRJohnston)

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Cover art by Brian Hull Cover design by Vinnie Kinsella The Kindle edition of Word Up! by literary luminary and writer's writer Marcia Riefer Johnston is  NOW AVAILABLE! When Marcia was 12, American Girl magazine printed her eight-paragraph story, “The Key,” and paid her $15. She has been writing ever since. She studied under Raymond Carver and Tobias Wolff in the Syracuse University creative-writing program. She taught technical writing in the Engineering School at Cornell University. She has done writing of all kinds for organizations of all kinds, from the Fortune 500 to the just plain fortunate. Photo by Wendy Hood Marcia has written for the scholarly journal  Shakespeare Quarterly , the professional journal  Technical Communication , and the weekly newspaper  Syracuse New Times . She used to write letters by the boxful. She has contributed posts to her daughter’s Peace Corps blog, texts to her son’s Droid, and answers to her husband’s cr

James Patterson, The New York Times, J.A. Konrath, E.L. James, and you and me. Oh, and ebooks.

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One of the few blogs I read regularly is the Newbie's Guide to Publishing, wholly owned and operated by indie publishing wunderkind Joe Konrath, aka J.A. Konrath. Joe is one of the hardest-working writers I know of. He's been traditionally published, traditionally screwed by the publishing industry, and now is a 100%-independent self-published (and sometimes controversial) writer. He pumps out new books regularly. He also earns upwards of six figures a month. $120 an hour, 24 hours a day , according to his figures. He's been busting his ass at this for 20 years. He's earned it. Joe recently blogged about an ad James Patterson posted in the New York Times , decrying the ongoing downfall of book stores et al: James is basically suggesting the goverment (ie the taxpayers: US!) bail out the bookstores, libraries, and publishers who are losing money because they are too stuck in the proverbial mud to adapt to the evolving business model that is indie publishing

Results for Ryan's Free THANK YOU eBook Sale

In order to celebrate the recent release of my new novel Eye Candy , I had a two-day sale last weekend. Saturday and Sunday, most of my titles were free for digital download through Amazon's KDP Select program. It was two days of advertising mayhem. And it was a blast! I must say, it was a roaring success. So THANK YOU to everyone who purchased a book or retweeted one of my tweets announcing the sale, both before and during the actual two-day event. I couldn't have done it with out you. I thought I would share some of the numbers with you. My fellow writers will no doubt find this intriguing, and hopefully readers do as well. The indie publishing phenomenon is ever changing, and it can be difficult to determine which advertising tactics are best (and which ones aren't so productive). The only advertising I did was on Twitter. I did a similar sale last year on Halloween and sold over 1000 books. So I thought I would try it again in order to share the news about Eye

Ryan's Thank-You FREE Ebook Sale Sat & Sun Only

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I am excited to let you all know that to celebrate the release of my new novel Eye Candy , I am having a two-day sale in which Eye Candy  and most of my other titles will be completely, totally, 100% FREE! (through Sunday night at midnight!) I began work on Eye Candy  in August 2011. I wrote the first few chapters while completing my research (I love doing research), and then really got rolling on the manuscript. I decided to write this story because of the two main characters (featured on the incredible cover). They called to me, they felt so alive and real, I simply had to write this book. So browse the books below and see what strikes your fancy. Or download each of them. They're free! And if you would be so kind as to share this with a few friends, I would be truly grateful. Word of mouth is what sells books; it's what allows me to continue doing what I do: creating fun, inspiring, and powerful stories for you to get lost in. If you really  enjoy a book, please tak

10 Questions with Action Thriller Writer Simon Jenner (@SimonRJenner)

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This Author Spotlight features action-thriller writer Simon Jenner, author of Ethan Justice: Origins. Simon is offering a complimentary copy of Ethan Justice: Origins  to a lucky few. Read on for more. Simon Jenner is a man whose goal in life is to discover his goal in life. He lives with his wife, who keeps his dream alive and his stomach tight against his trousers; his son, a dreamer just like his dad; and a dog who "receives fuss" like he’s the one doing the favor. 1. How did you get into writing? I have always enjoyed writing actually more than reading and started writing books (many books, with the emphasis on starting!) after leaving school. I’d never finished anything until Ethan Justice: Origins – other than a children’s rhyming picture book which was inspired by my son. I think I had to get to an age – in my case 48 – before I could hold my concentration long enough to finish writing one. 2. What do you like best (or least) about writing? Self

10 Questions with Novelist Ryan Schneider (@RyanLSchneider)

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This Author Spotlight is a bit different in that it features a book which I wrote. Hooray! You know that scene in "The Jerk" when Steve Martin runs around shouting "The new phone books are here! The new phone books are here!" "Stay Away From The Cans" by Rahzzah It's kinda like that, except that in stead of a phone book, it's my new novel Eye Candy. For this week I shall therefore be interviewing myself. At last I shall be answering the same 10 questions I force everyone else to answer. Shall we? 1. How did you get into writing? Writing is something I’ve always done. Every year in school growing up, I seemed to do well when it came to writing projects and assignments of a literary nature. This progressed in high school when I began doing more creative writing. When I got to college I dumped the pre-med thing and switched majors to English Lit. After graduation, I moved to Hollywood and attended UCLA, where I studied scre