Monthly Archives: November 2011

Bestselling Self-Published Novel Inexplicably Disappears From Amazon UK Causing Huge Lost Sales

Posted on November 28, 2011 by davidgaughran

A bestselling self-published novel – Sugar & Spice by writing duo Saffina Desforges – disappeared from Amazon UK 18 days ago, with no reason given to the authors. Repeated requests to KDP UK have failed to elicit an explanation, let alone a solution, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged amazon, amazon fail, amazon uk, book disappearing, book removed, kdp, KDP UK, mark williams, Saffina Desforges, sugar and spice | 63 Comments

World-Building in Historical Fiction

Posted on November 25, 2011 by davidgaughran

I’m up against a very tight deadline to get A Storm Hits Valparaíso off to the editor so posting will be minimal over the next week or so – apologies. By way of introduction to the last excerpt I posted, I … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged a storm hits valparaiso, cerro rico, info dumping, info dumps, multiple narratives, potosi, pov, research, third-person omniscient, world-building | 34 Comments

Transparent Publishing & Community-Driven Narratives – Guest Post by Brett Henley

Posted on November 21, 2011 by davidgaughran

I have a guest post today from a writer who is trying something very different indeed. Most authors are loathe to share their work while it is in progress for the simple reason that the first draft is often quite … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged american prison system, Andy Dixon, Brett Henley, community publishing, community-driven narrative, guest post, i am convicted, transparent publishing | 57 Comments

Penguin Launches Rip-Off Self-Publishing “Service” Targeting Inexperienced Writers

Posted on November 18, 2011 by davidgaughran

Penguin has unveiled a self-publishing service – which will operate under the aegis of its online writing community Book Country – but questions are being asked about the huge fees they are charging, and the massive royalty cut that they … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged book country, gouging writers, overpriced, penguin, penguin self-publishing, rip off, royalty grab, self-publishing services | 143 Comments

7 Lessons In Self-Publishing I Learnt In The 7th Grade – Guest Post by Mainak Dhar

Posted on November 15, 2011 by davidgaughran

I have a guest post today from a writer you are going to be hearing a lot more about in the future: Mainak Dhar. He first self-published (for the Kindle, full story below) in March of this year. He had … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged branding, covers, heroes r us, mainak dhar, marketing tips, self-publishing lessons, self-publishing tips, vimana, zombiestan | 149 Comments

Incorporating Historical Figures Into A Narrative

Posted on November 13, 2011 by davidgaughran

Blogging has been a little less frequent of late. I’m working hard on A Storm Hits Valparaíso and that’s taking up most of my free time. If you are after the usual programming, I have a guest post up on Joe … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged a storm hits valparaiso, authenticity, captain cochrane, historical fiction, historical figures, lord cochrane, prize court, thomas cochrane | 36 Comments

Amazon Faces Serious International Competition, From Japan

Posted on November 9, 2011 by davidgaughran

A major deal was announced yesterday which should propel Kobo into the top tier. The Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten purchased Kobo - outright – in a straight cash deal for $315m. It sounds like Kobo will continue to be run as … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged amazon, argentina, asia, brazil, developing world, google, international market, kobo, rakuten | 89 Comments

October Sales Report: A Holding Pattern & A Milestone

Posted on November 4, 2011 by davidgaughran

After last month’s big drop, October provided some welcome relief in the shape of a slight uptick. Hey, at least it’s going the right direction. It was marginal, though. Essentially, I’m in a holding pattern until my next release in … Continue reading →