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Tag Archives: Paul Hurst

5am Flash: Indie Author Books – Non-fiction

09 Dec

Having seen one of my interviewees Rosanne Dingli say on a LinkedIn thread: “someone should write a blog soon about all the wonderful indie books available by very capable writers”, I challenged them to give me a <15-word synopsis for their book(s)… they are accepting the challenge and their books are appearing here. What I’m after is your name (listed within each section alphabetically by first name), your website / blog address, book title, book link (where we can buy it), genre and summary in no more than 15 words (a test of your editing skills :) ). You can email me these details for up to 5 of your books (please don’t paste them into this page’s comments section). My free and $0.99-$2.99 eBooks are detailed on the Books – mine page.

Non-Fiction (including auto/biographies)

Click here for Fiction – children’s / Y.A.

Click here for Fiction – novels & novellas

Click here for Fiction – poetry

Click here for Fiction – script

Click here for Fiction – short stories (includes flash fiction)

So what I’m after is your name (listed above alphabetically by first name), your website / blog address, book title, book link (where we can buy it), genre and summary in no more than 15 words (a test of your editing skills :) ). You can email me these details for up to 5 of your books (please don’t paste them into this page’s comments section). My books and free short stories are detailed on the Books – mine page. Please note: the chances are that I’ve not read the books listed on this page (much as I would like to have done) so these are therefore not personal recommendations but are, in the main, by authors who I have chatted to, interviewed or got to know… even just a little bit. :)  Kindle Fiction recommends a variety of eBooks and if you’ve read any eBooks you’d like to recommend then you can email suggestions to kindlesrp@gmail.com.

** NEW!! You can now subscribe to this blog on your Kindle / Kindle app!

See http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008E88JN0

or http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008E88JN0 for outside the UK **

You can sign up to receive these blog posts daily or weekly so you don’t miss anything. You can contact me and find me on the internet, view my Books (including my debut novel!) and I also have a blog creation / maintenance service especially for, but not limited to, writers. If you like this blog, you can help me keep it running by donating and choose an optional free eBook.

For writers / readers willing to give feedback and / or writers wanting feedback, take a look at this blog’s Feedback page.

As I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t unfortunately review books but I have a list of those who do, and a feature called ‘Short Story Saturdays’ where I review stories of up to 2,500 words. Alternatively if you have a short story or self-contained novel extract / short chapter (ideally up to 1000 words) that you’d like critiqued and don’t mind me posting it online in my new Red Pen Critique Sunday night posts, then do email me. I am now also looking for flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays and poetry for Post-weekend Poetry.

 
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Posted by on December 9, 2012 in autobiography, ebooks, non-fiction, scriptwriting, short stories, writing

 

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Podcast: Bailey’s Writing Tips ep.48 – John J Hohn guest blogs

19 Feb

Mixed episode 48 of the Bailey’s Writing Tips podcast went live today, Sunday 19th February. In episode 47 I’d read out a couple of guest blog posts on eBooks from Paul Hurst; this podcast featured two posts from John J Hohn on the topics of story editing and publishing.

Story editing – originally posted on 13th November 2011.

Writers Are the Market for the Publish on Demand Industry – originally posted on 15th January 2012.

A Midwesterner by birth, John J. Hohn claims Yankton, South Dakota as his hometown. He graduated from high school there in 1957. After four years earning a degree in English at St. John’s University (MN), he became a teacher. His first wife, Elaine Finfrock, also of Yankton, and he had five children; four sons and a daughter. They divorced in 1977.

In 1964, John joined The Travelers in Minneapolis, MN and began a 40-year career in the financial services industry. During that time, in addition to The Travelers, he held positions with Blue Cross / Blue Shield of Minnesota, Wilson Learning Corporation, and Wachovia Bank and Trust. Hohn retired at the end of 2007 after 17 years as a Financial Advisor with Merrill Lynch in Winston-Salem, NC.

In 1986, he married Melinda Folger McLeod and gained a stepson. Currently, the couple divides their time each year between a cabin near West Jefferson, NC and a cottage in Southport, NC. In addition to writing, Hohn enjoys golf, music, and reading history. He has already begun work on his second novel, a sequel to Deadly Portfolio: A Killing Hedge Funds. As yet no title has been announced for the new book.

John’s website is http://www.jjhohn.com. You can also read John’s guest blog re. poetry, interview and poem.

If you have any feedback or areas you’d like covered in the hints & tips podcasts, do email me at morgen@morgenbailey.com. In the meantime, thank you for downloading or clicking on this podcast and I look forward to bringing you the next episode next week which will be three Flash Fiction Fridays short stories.

The podcast is available via iTunes, Google’s Feedburner, Podbean (when it catches up), Podcasters (which takes even longer) or Podcast Alley (which doesn’t list the episodes but will let you subscribe).

 
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Posted by on February 19, 2012 in ebooks, podcast, tips, writing

 

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Bailey’s Writing Tips podcast episode no.47 – eBooks

05 Feb

The forty-seventh episode of the Bailey’s Writing Tips podcast was released today and featured two guest blog posts written by author Paul Hurst, on the topic of eBooks.

Back in September (Sunday 18th), I posted Paul’s blog entitled ‘Ebooks for writers: 101’ and the websites mentioned there were http://www.gutenberg.org, http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/52, http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/10166 and http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/47970.

Then in early January (3rd) this year Paul returned with ‘Free ebooks – friend or foe?’.

Both guests posts can be read in full from this blog’s guest blogs page.

Paul Hurst has run his own companies since the mid 1980s. Small, stable ‘niche’ affairs with the absolute minimum of overheads. Two of the companies cover his work as a musician and performer since the late 70s, and as band leader since the early 80s. Working through his business The Solutions Agency Ltd, Paul provides bookkeeping, accountancy, training and consultancy services to a wide range of small companies, drawing on his experience in banking, County Court, retail, management accounting, advertising, building, civil engineering, importing, engineering and now psychology as a student with the Open University.

I concluded the episode with some news: that I’ve almost escaped my day job to be a full-time writer and that I’d received a wonderful email yesterday from a young lady called Ashleigh who had enjoyed (and very enthusiastic about) my free eShort ‘April’s Fool’. It really made my day.

The podcast is available via iTunes, Google’s Feedburner, Podbean (when it catches up), Podcasters (which takes even longer) or Podcast Alley (which doesn’t list the episodes but will let you subscribe) and this episode lasted 17 minutes.

Thank you for listening to the podcasts. If you have any feedback or areas you’d like covered in the hints & tips podcasts, do email me.

To-date I have posted 270 author interviews. I do one a day and am always looking for more so if you write, regardless of genre or whether you’ve been published or not, do email me (morgen@morgenbailey.com) if you’re interested in taking part.

 
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Posted by on February 5, 2012 in ebooks, podcast, writing

 

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Guest post: ‘Free eBooks – friend or foe?’ by Paul Hurst

03 Jan

Tonight’s guest blog post, on the topic of free eBooks, is brought to you by Paul Hurst.

Free ebooks – friend or foe?
Let’s not get involved in the argument about the rights and wrongs of free ebooks. They are here, and here to stay. Try to stop them, and we’ll just end up looking like a silly Canute. Instead, here are some ways we can use them to our advantage.

Scratching an itch
Many people harbour the dream of writing a book. It’s something they feel they have to do, and the process itself can be both cathartic and rewarding. Rather than incurring the cost of self-publishing in print, a free ebook allows them to give away copies to friends, family and colleagues. Edits and re-writes are easy to undertake if their writing skills improve. And no trees are harmed in the process if the book turns out to be a bit of a minger.

Testing
Unlike printed books, length is not so obvious with an ebook. If a free short work is rewarded with more than an obligatory polite but lukewarm response, then an extended version can be tested at, say 99 cents. Following that, if downloads still remain promising, try a full length version at a higher price. I signed two book deals last year, one which had only been available via Smashwords. The sales and content to-date were enough to attract a publisher who wants an extended hard copy version.

As a teaser for a series
Similar to the above, but where the first book is a full length freebie that establishes the characters well enough that readers will be happy to follow them through later paid for books, or buy new stories by the same author. As an e-publisher, I’ve tried this approach with free books by two authors. The results so far have not been that promising, but the technique of loss leaders has been established well enough in the past not to give up trying. And if you can attract a loyal following, then the future looks a lot rosier.

Merchandising
There’s more than one way to earn money from books – especially those for children. If free books are up to 46 times more popular than the charged sequel (based on one author I know), then why not use downloads (which a lot of readers have become used to getting for free) to build up a loyal fan base interested in buying the stuffed toys, stickers and other physical merchandising based on the characters which we do still expect to pay for. I’ve heard of bands making far more from the sales of clothing and other branded items at the back of the hall than from the actual concert. Some online games let you start for free, and then coax you to start paying for the extras once you are hooked. I don’t write for younglings myself, but this is probably the business model I’d go for if I did – get maximum coverage through free downloads first, then aim to follow up with printed books and products such as those above being sold straight off a web site. Then just hope for a film deal after that! Well, we can all dream.

Sharing information
Being an author tends to lend an aura of authority. By giving away free books on charity events, weddings, medieval banquets and barn dances I can hopefully position myself as someone who knows a bit about these functions, and who should therefore be a good person to book as a performer. Not only that, but I don’t have to stay glued to the ’phone or computer answering exactly the same questions over and over again.

It is then a short step to offer to write guides for magazines, venues and other trades / suppliers – all of course mentioning the more detailed free ebooks available. These will hopefully go a bit viral, and of course all contain links to the main web site. One wedding magazine gave me a free ‘advertorial’ space four times larger than the advert I placed (at a reduced rate), simply because I could help them with relevant copy for their publication. As writers, this should not be that hard for us to do!

When we eventually sell our current house, unless technology has moved on sufficiently by then, I’ll probably put all the details, plans and pictures in a free ebook. The time it takes should more than be repaid by the benefit of all the extra info I can get in about all the extras we’ve added and refined over the last 21 years, the local attractions, the best places to buy logs, meat, fruit & veg and so on. Even local history (Lord Nelson and Lady Hamilton had a secret assignation at the Grange, over the road, Sophie Rhys-Jones lived in the village and pulled pints down the local before becoming Countess of Wessex). It should be possible to make readers realise all the benefits of the property and location, to make them start thinking of the house as ‘theirs’. With the sort of prices houses go for now, it could well be possible to earn more than the average an author normally earns from a book, just by increasing interest and competition.

Getting brownie points
An extension of the above… following a St George’s Day banquet, I compiled the competition entries (a 50 word saga on George and the Dragon) into a short ebook, complete with the venue’s logo and contact details. They liked the kudos of having their own publication available and the punters were happy to see their names in ‘print’. A bonus for me was the chance to include our contact details at the end. The whole thing took about three hours to set up, and there have been a surprising number of downloads. Only problem now is sorting out a suitable competition for the 2012 repeat booking (any ideas please?). We’ve already done Limericks…

Gifts and presents
Being writers, we should have the ability to wrangle words but may well be short of a bob or two. How about writing and hosting a fully bespoke story for a young relative, writing up a wedding day (or partnership celebration) – including the speeches – for a couple, or putting together a retirement biography? Think about the options, and it should be win-win-win. The recipient gets a personalised and unique gift, the friends and relatives they share it with should enjoy reading it (especially where you can mention them), and of course your contact details are included as the author. If nothing else, you can hone your skills whilst saving the cost of the traditional toaster, toast rack or fish slice.

Thank you Paul. I shall keep this handy in case I get any wedding invitations! :)

Paul Hurst has run his own companies since the mid 1980s. Small, stable ‘niche’ affairs with the absolute minimum of overheads. Two of the companies cover his work as a musician and performer since the late 70s, and as band leader since the early 80s. Working through his business The Solutions Agency Ltd, Paul provides bookkeeping, accountancy, training and consultancy services to a wide range of small companies, drawing on his experience in banking, County Court, retail, management accounting, advertising, building, civil engineering, importing, engineering and now psychology as a student with the Open University.

If you would like to write a writing-related guest post for my blog then feel free to email me with an outline of what you would like to write about. If it’s writing-related then it’s highly likely I’d email back and say “yes please”.

The blog interviews return as normal tomorrow morning with the two hundred and eighth of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, bloggers, autobiographers and more. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found here. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate further. And I enjoy hearing from readers of my blog; do either leave a comment on the relevant interview (the interviewees love to hear from you too!) and / or email me. You can also read / download my eBooks and free eShorts at Smashwords.

 
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Posted by on January 3, 2012 in ebooks, non-fiction, novels, writing

 

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Guest post: ‘Do authors and musicians share similar genes?’ by Paul Hurst

20 Nov

Today’s guest blog post, on the topic of music vs writing, welcomes back author and musician (as you may have guessed) Paul Hurst.

Do authors and musicians share similar genes?

There has been much excellent descriptive writing about hunting predators. Jaws, Jurassic Park and the odd ‘zombie’ film for example. Even a very odd zombie film. Attending a local meeting of Society of Authors members, I realised where the writers had drawn their inspiration.

Experienced eyes followed the sandwiches as they were brought out, appraisals made and then a polite but rapid and efficient feeding frenzy reduced the grub down to a few shards of greenery left spinning on the serving trays. It was rather like watching one of those sped up time-lapse films of animals reduced down to a skeleton in seconds. I looked on with professional awe. Because, as a musician since the late 70’s, I’ve predated a fair amount of free scoff along the way and have noted the relish and enthusiasm with which my fellow musos latch on the interval largesse. It would be interesting to set up an eat-off between the two groups – perhaps a new Olympic sport. How about the 100-yard freestyle buffet?

And then of course the other comparisons came to mind. Remuneration, for one. Okay, so the elite few at the top of both professions get to wallow in splendour and luxury, whilst things are less rosy for those of us lower down the food chain. Swap the music reference for writing and see how apt these jokes are:

‘What do you call a musician without a girlfriend? Homeless’.

‘What do you call a musician in a suit? The defendant’.

‘How do you make a million pounds from folk music? Start with two million…’

Perhaps that is why both groups are eager to seize the opportunity for the free food. A conversation at a gig – ‘what’s the beer, Phil?’ Answer – ‘Free’.

So, for most of us then are chasing a passion, rather than the money – and we can use that to our advantage. There are cover bands who seek to be commercial, learning all the favourites and pumping them out to order, regardless of their own preference. But everything sounds the same, without the passion or the originality. Bands that work by constantly jumping on the current bandwagon rarely create an original sound. And if the performers lack passion, they won’t fool the audience. I’m happy watching amateurs perform Gilbert and Sullivan – even if it stretches them a bit too far – just so long as they are giving us their heart and soul in the performance.

Obviously it is vital to make sure you are delivering what the client wants. Although there are far better musicians than me, I do try and find out what the client actually wants and provide it. There are excellent musos who are so focused on the kind of music they want to play that they are impossible to use for most performances. Who pays the piper really does call the tune. Taking a folk gig because you can’t get the rock work you really want, and then giving it large on your electric guitar once on stage is not the best way to win friends and influence people. Turning up clean, tidy, sober and on time helps as well.

And, for me, that’s the trick. Find out what you want to do, then offer it to the people who really want it. In both music and writing, ability is no guide to reward (two words, Jeffery Archer) so don’t get hung up if your style does not currently mesh with a wide audience. Concentrating on reaching as many people as you can who like what you do, and don’t be tempted to sell out.

The problems come when we expect to automatically be able to do this 9 to 5, five days a week. It may be possible to achieve a full-time living at some point, but the chances of reaching this status will be greatly enhanced if we are lying to neither ourselves, nor our audience. So we’ll probably need an alternative source of income for now, to top up the shortfall. That, or a very understanding partner. Most of the regulars in our band regard the music as merely a paid hobby that keeps them in shiny new instruments, even paying for a recording studio in the garden.

Let me introduce you then to the option of Modular Economics, also sometimes called Portfolio Working. Musicians usually have no problem in admitting that they work as such only part time. They feel no shame in doing this, accepting the reality that the work they want is usually sporadic. Yes, I could earn more money by taking pub gigs, the heritage market stuff and all of the other low paid work, but I’d rather stick to the weddings, parties and corporates thank you very much. The free time can then be used for other specialised jobs that I also enjoy. Added together, it all makes sense – the different income streams not only add up to an acceptable income, but the work is all fun and there is a level of protection. If lose a hand, or am no longer able to drive for any reason, then there will still be enough money coming in.

One last point. I recently heard a call for writers to be given more protection, more help, more grants. For us poor musos, there is far less council-funded work about, even the corporate gigs quietened down for a bit. It’s all very much down to market forces now. I won’t go into the rights and wrongs of this, just note the reality. Whether we are dealing with stave or words on our manuscript, we all need to start from each end of the process and connect the two. How can we really express our passion, who will pay for that – and how much – and what kind of a plan B do we need to make this all a valid reality? And yes, free grub may well be part of the overall plan. Race you to the buffet.

Thank you Paul, I loved that, especially as I’m a big fan of buffets! Oh and the last audiobook I listened to by Jeffrey Archer (Cat o nine tales)… not great. :(

Paul Hurst has run his own companies since the mid 1980s. Small, stable ‘niche’ affairs with the absolute minimum of overheads. Two of the companies cover his work as a musician and performer since the late 70s, and as band leader since the early 80s. Working through his business The Solutions Agency Ltd, Paul provides bookkeeping, accountancy, training and consultancy services to a wide range of small companies, drawing on his experience in banking, County Court, retail, management accounting, advertising, building, civil engineering, importing, engineering and now psychology as a student with the Open University.

If you would like to write a writing-related guest post for my blog then feel free to email me with an outline of what you would like to write about. If it’s writing-related then it’s highly likely I’d email back and say “yes please”.

The blog interviews will return as normal tomorrow with sci-fi fantasy writer Sarah Baethge – the one hundred and ninety-fourth of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, biographers, agents, publishers and more. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found here. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate further. And I enjoy hearing from readers of my blog; do either leave a comment on the relevant interview (the interviewees love to hear from you too!) and / or email me. You can read / download my eBooks from Smashwords (Amazon to follow).

 
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Posted by on November 20, 2011 in tips, writing

 

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Guest post: ‘Writing as a business’ by Paul Hurst

20 Oct

I’m delighted to bring you this guest blog post, today on the topic of the business side of writing, and welcome back author and musician Paul Hurst.

Writing as a business

So, what is your job? How do you describe your profession?

If you said a writer (or author, or similar) and you expect to earn a reasonable sum for your work, then I would humbly suggest that you reconsider.

The fortunate few may have a large enough income to cover everything else apart from the actual creative bit, but for the rest of us that just ain’t the case. You may be blessed with an active and efficient agent, your publisher may be a shining example of the breed, but you’ll still be expected to get involved with publicity and marketing, sort out your accounts, keep an accurate diary and stay up to date and connected with your readers. If you don’t take on most (if not all) of this on yourself then you must sub it out to others. Either way, whether running about like a blue-arsed fly, or managing staff (and possibly doing both), you are a business person. Your writing is your product, and it has to be targeted, advertised, distributed and supported by after-sales service just as much as any other product or service. And even if you do have your very own devoted and dedicated posse who’ll wait on you catering to your every whim, please remember that delegation is fine, abdication is not. Many a creative has been royally turned over by the ‘suits’ when their back was turned.

Of course, you can decide that the money isn’t important, that the whole point of your creative output is simply to bring pleasure and/or illumination to others. Or just because you enjoy it so much (or enjoy the status). That’s fine, no harm in it at all and you are quite entitled to do that. Just scrub the ‘earn a reasonable sum’ bit from the job description because you are now indulging in a hobby. However, by accepting that this is the case, by embracing the realities of market needs, competition and everyday logistics you can now gain a huge advantage over rivals who fail to do this.

Back in the late 90’s I decided to turn a paying hobby into a business. Problem was, you were not expected to be able to make a profit from folk music. There were many ‘hobby’ bands happy to turn up for little more than fuel and beer costs. I wanted to tempt the really good players by paying a proper fee as well as making a decent income for myself.

As it happened, this all turned out to be rather a good thing. There was no option but to investigate every single possible method that I could use to out-manoeuvre rivals. A lot of reading and experimenting followed. Fortunately that path turned out to be rather a lonely one – none of the others seemed particularly interested in making any kind of an effort. They were musicians and were not going to ‘prostitute their art’ by getting involved in publicity, or by pandering to any weird thing the customer may want. If clients wanted to book them, on their terms, then fair enough. Hoo-bleeding-ray! A very happy period has followed ever since. Here are a few of the ideas that have worked, and which should translate into the field of writing as well.

Theory of mind

Sorry, spot the O.U. psychology student. It’s the old chestnut about ‘walking a mile in some else’s shoes’ so you understand their viewpoint. It also means that you get their shoes as well, and by the time they realise that you are at least a mile away – but that’s by the by.

In other words, understand who your audience are and what they want. You don’t have to sell out and head for the popular genre of the moment, stick with the style for which you have a genuine passion, but look for ways you can target that to keep your readers happy. Do they want illustrations, shorter/longer books, different formats? No experienced market trader will set up their stall without knowing first what is likely to sell that day. With all the social media options, and other joys of the interweb there is no excuse for failing to engage with your readers. Concentrate on customer service – the aim is to convert readers into raving fans by finding out what they want and then delivering it in abundance.

Risk reversal

Someone has to blink first. We’re the ones wanting the hard cash that readers have, so by the normal rules of the game it’s up to us to get things rolling. If selling paperbacks, offer a full and absolute money-back guarantee. If selling ebooks, let them download a fair chunk of the book first, as a taster. Better yet, give away a complete book first – just make sure you have links to your follow up books or services. Don’t get all anal about the DRM (Digital Rights Management) to stop readers passing on copies to friends – you won’t stop anyone who knows what they are doing. You will however wind up genuine customers who want to read ‘their’ book in more than one format. Keep giving, be open and generous and long term the reciprocity effect which is hard wired into almost all of us will kick in. Always consider the potential lifetime value of a fan.

Add-ons

When you are making a sale, that’s the best time to make another. If you sell your own books on line, find out how to use a pop up screen. These can let you offer something extra at a reduced price in a bundled deal – after all, you’ve made your main profit and are now going to send out a package anyway, so why not use the opportunity to increase the margin a bit? It could be a mouse mat, T-shirt, coffee mug or key ring – whatever. It could even be another book, but at a reduced price.

That’s great, thank you Paul!

Paul Hurst has run his own companies since the mid 1980′s. Small, stable ‘niche’ affairs with the absolute minimum of overheads. Two of the companies cover his work as a musician and performer since the late 70′s, and as band leader since the early 80′s. Working through his business The Solutions Agency Ltd, Paul provides book keeping, accountancy, training and consultancy services to a wide range of small companies, drawing on his experience in banking, County Court, retail, management accounting, advertising, building, civil engineering, importing, engineering and now psychology as a student with the Open University.

If you would like to write a writing-related guest post for my blog then feel free to email me at morgen@morgenbailey.com with an outline of what you would like to write about. If it’s writing-related then it’s highly likely I’d email back and say “yes please” (while quietly bouncing up and down in my seat with joy!).

 
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Posted by on October 20, 2011 in articles, ebooks, non-fiction, recommendations, tips, Twitter, writing

 

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Guest post: ‘Ebooks for writers: 101’ by Paul Hurst

18 Sep

I’m delighted to bring you this guest blog post, today on the topic of ebooks, by author, musician and business guru Paul Hurst.

Ebooks for writers: 101

Firstly, it does not have to be an either / or choice. There is no need to discard all your ‘dead tree’ products and embrace these little electric fondle slabs as a True Believer. Neither should you regard them as manifestations of all things corrupt, decadent and / or unholy. They are different, that’s all. The most hostile reactions usually come from those who can’t use them, with antipathy often fading as soon as they try one out and realise the benefits.

Secondly, please don’t subscribe to the idea that the only place to buy or sell ebooks is Amazon. That’s like saying that you love reading, but will only ever buy books from a single supplier. There are many sites that have interesting content – much of it free. Start with http://www.gutenberg.org and http://www.smashwords.com, and have a general rummage round the interweb. Kindles are not the only fruit. Some gentle research will show you how to download the ebooks to your ereader via a cable and your home computer.

Thirdly, if you don’t understand where your page numbers have gone to, I’m afraid you haven’t quite got the hang of the format yet. The person reading gets to choose the screen and font size, as well as the font itself. All these variables affect how many words will fit onto the screen. Lovingly crafted typesetting will go out of the window as soon as the font size is changed. Asking how many pages an ebook has is rather like asking how high a gallon of water is.

So, ebooks and writers, how do we benefit? Well, they are an excellent way to start out, and to test your market. Rather than starting off down the well worn path of chasing agents and publishers, offer up your work directly to the public. Become an overnight success, and the industry will be chasing you. It’s much more likely that the axis of the World will not shift upon publication of your masterpiece however, but by sending out copies for review you can collect feedback on your style and content. All without the cost of a print run, and the embarrassment of a garage full of unsold books.

Compared to their printed cousins ebooks are so much easier to bring to term from conception to birth, and so much easier to correct. No tingly feeling at the back of the neck when you open the first box of books fresh from the printers and start spotting the odd typo you had missed. But do please take the time to learn how to get the formatting right. Garbage in, garbage out as they say.

Read the relevant manual for the system you’ll be using (I use Smashwords, their guide is at http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/52) and make sure you understand the rules. In general, use an early version of Word (.doc, NOT .docx), set up your display to show all the formatting marks, use styles and keep everything as simple as possible. Errors can still creep in if you are publishing in multiple formats. If in doubt, hire a tame nerdling to do it for you, but do take care, I ended up converting my own book after a poor attempt by someone else. How I got started, really.

The usual rules apply. Write from the heart, have a clear idea of who your market is and what they want. Listen to feedback. Don’t have wild expectations about your sales; the market is awash with rivals and your book will disappear into the virtual depths of an electronic warehouse. You’ll need an effective plan to drive potential readers to it. Hitting the social media trail can work, but it is becoming so common that author fatigue is setting in. Here are three other ideas:

Start low, build up

If you have a series of stories, offer the first free, and have some kind of discount voucher for the second if the reader signs up to a mailing list. Okay, so you are giving away potential income, but don’t underestimate the value of a contact list of your readers. You’ll be able to send out a bulk mailing to tell them about new books. Keep the pricing fair for the length of your work, and if you can, start with shorter / cheaper ebooks before moving up to longer / more expensive ones. Don’t get hung up by the word count, either. Use as many or as few words as you need. Ebooks are different; the whole set up is more relaxed.

Give books away

So long as they contain links, that is. Remember, an ebook equates to a pop-up book, not a 2D paperback. Always include a link to your own website, you can also add hyperlinks to take readers straight through to another book (or product). Do it gently though. Use oh so gentle links wafted in front of your reader, rather than trying to stuff them down their throats, or coming across as all needy. This one does it rather well (no, its NOT one of mine!) http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/10166.

Keep giving

As a card-carrying geek I was one of the first of the beta testers to get onto the Pottermore site and have a shufti. It will be free to join, and is very impressive. The sales part isn’t live yet, but soon Jo Rowling will be selling her ebooks directly to the public. Cynics will say it’s all about the money, but they’ll be wrong. It would not have been a cheap site to build and it won’t be cheap to run. There are some really fun interactive bits on it (you even get sorted into a house, based on your psychological profile) and it contains a lot of extra background information. She didn’t need to do all that, sales would still have been eye watering. It’s a genuine way to give back to the fans. Whilst we can’t all match that level of spending power, any author can probably set up a website with some extra free content. And for those in the know, Ravenclaw, yay!

If you would like more details, download a free copy of ‘Creating Ebooks’ from:

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/47970

Thank you Paul!

Paul Hurst has run his own companies since the mid 1980′s. Small, stable ‘niche’ affairs with the absolute minimum of overheads. Two of the companies cover his work as a musician and performer since the late 70′s, and as band leader since the early 80′s. Working through his business The Solutions Agency Ltd, Paul provides book keeping, accountancy, training and consultancy services to a wide range of small companies, drawing on his experience in banking, County Court, retail, management accounting, advertising, building, civil engineering, importing, engineering and now psychology as a student with the Open University.

If you would like to write a writing-related guest post for my blog then feel free to email me at morgen@morgenbailey.com with an outline of what you would like to write about. If it’s writing-related then it’s highly likely I’d email back and say “yes please” (while quietly bouncing up and down in my seat with joy!).

 
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Posted by on September 18, 2011 in ebooks, ideas, non-fiction, recommendations, tips, Twitter, writing

 

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