Monthly Archives: March 2012

How I Failed My Way Into A Book Deal – Guest Post by Matt Ellis

Posted on March 29, 2012 by davidgaughran

I first met author and editor Matt Ellis last summer through Twitter. We exchanged a few emails, after which Matt posted a thoughtful review of one of my short stories, If You Go Into The Woods. In that some post, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged book deal, failure, guest post, lumpen, matt ellis, new europe books, small press, unpublishing | 61 Comments

Selling Ebooks Direct: How To Set Up A Simple E-Bookstore

Posted on March 27, 2012 by davidgaughran

Selling e-books direct to your readers has just got a little easier, thanks to a new company called Gumroad. I heard about them through indie author Sarah Billington on Friday, had my store up and running on Saturday, and fully pimped … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged bundles, custom store, direct sales, e junkie, gumroad, paypal, selling direct, shopping cart, tax, translations | 90 Comments

St. Patrick’s Day Blowout: Results

Posted on March 21, 2012 by davidgaughran

If you were on Twitter over the weekend, you probably heard something about the St. Patrick’s Day Blowout Sale that I ran here on the blog. A few of you asked how it was all put together, and plenty are … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged blowout, limited time sale, price pulsing, pricing, promo, promotion, results, sale, St. Patrick's Day, visibility | 41 Comments

Can You Self-Publish Your Way to a Big Deal? Guest Post from Lindsay Buroker

Posted on March 19, 2012 by davidgaughran

Self-published author Lindsay Buroker was approached recently by 47North, Amazon’s SF/F/H imprint. Today Lindsay is here to explain how you can best position yourself to attract an offer. And, despite what you may think, it’s not all about sales. Self-publishing offers a … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged branding, Emperor's Edge, Flash Gold, leveraging success, lindsay buroker, platform, self-publishing, self-publishing advice, traditional deal, traditional publishing | 54 Comments

St. Patrick’s Day Blowout! 30 Great Books by 26 Authors, All Reduced to 99c!

Posted on March 16, 2012 by davidgaughran

NOTE: THIS SALE IS NOW OVER AND THE COMPETITION IS CLOSED. The winner of the 30 book giveaway is Loreto Weir. Congratulations! I’ve left up the sale page in case anyone still wants to peruse this fine list of books. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 99c, 99c e-books, bargain, blowout, discount, e-books, indie authors, sale, St. Patrick's Day, St. Patrick's Weekend | 106 Comments

Profiting Outside Amazon: Guest Post From Sarah Woodbury

Posted on March 14, 2012 by davidgaughran

The first wave of self-publishers who signed up to KDP Select have either come to the end of their 90-day exclusivity period or that day is fast approaching, and many are wondering whether to re-enroll in the program or to … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged barnes & noble, daughter of time, free, free as a sales tool, historical fiction, kdp select, medieval, sarah woodbury, the good knight, time travel | 26 Comments

The End of Limits: Guest Post by Matthew Iden

Posted on March 12, 2012 by davidgaughran

There has been a lot of talk recently about the changes that have taken place over the last two years in the business side of publishing. Today, I have a fascinating guest post from indie author Matthew Iden who examines … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged china, future, matthew iden, one bad twelve, serial fiction, serialization, story limits, wattpad, web serials, word count | 51 Comments

Scott Turow: Wrong About Everything

Posted on March 10, 2012 by davidgaughran

On Thursday it was reported that the U.S. Justice Department was preparing to sue five of the largest publishers, and Apple, for (allegedly) colluding to fix e-book prices. Despite the shock expressed in some quarters, this is hardly a bolt … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged amazon, apple, authors guild, big six, collusion, hagens berman, price fixing, scott turow, self-publishing | 142 Comments

February Sales Report: Amazon Up, Everywhere Else Down

Posted on March 8, 2012 by davidgaughran

It has been a couple of months since I did a sales report, so I thought it might be a good time to share what kind of value I’m getting out of my pimp suit. For anyone looking for numbers … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged amazon, apple, barnes & noble, kdp select, sales numbers, sales report, smashwords | 49 Comments

Amazon & The Importance of Popularity

Posted on March 1, 2012 by davidgaughran

A few days ago, I tweeted a link to a survey which purported to show that self-publishers had captured 77% of the spots on the Kindle Top 200 Science Fiction Bestseller List. As it turns out, the list the survey … Continue reading →