A Tail (ahem!) Tale of 5 Self-Published Books …

Author Susan M. Toy has won awards for her writing, being a sales representative, and being a publishers’ representative. Her novel Island in the Clouds is definitely a “Connie’s Pick” about which I will be writing, hopefully, in the near future. Suffice it to say, for the time being, that I found it to be an excellent read, in part because it’s so well-written. I found not a single error in the novel. (As a grammar Nazi, that’s a first for me!)

In this blog post, Susan shares her own experience reading five self-published books. What she has to say should be read by every author considering self-publishing. Indeed, you’ll find many great posts on her blog about self-publishing, marketing, good reads, etc. Just yesterday she was announced as a nominee for the “Services to Bloggers Award” in the 2nd Annual Bloggers Bash Awards.(Voting is now open until June 9, 2016!)

I hope you’ll find this piece as useful and informative as I did.

Recently I read 5 self-published eBooks—all good books in their own way—but 4 of these suffered from “problems” that in my estimation could have been easily rectified. As it was, these problems wer…

Source: A Tail (ahem!) Tale of 5 Self-Published Books …

SALE: Fantasy/SF Bundle by Nicholas C. Rossis

Nicholas C. Rossis is a best-selling Amazon author whose Fantasy/Sci-Fi short stories and novels are gems. I’ve read the Pearseus books twice!

Nicholas is offering his Ultimate Bundle of Fantasy Novels and Science Fiction Short Stories (Kindle Edition) for the very low price of 7.29 USD. (Check your country’s Amazon site for prices. In Canada, for example, the price is 9.99 CAD.)

This Ultimate Bundle includes four full-length fantasy novels (the Pearseus collection), plus 23 short science fiction stories. Click on the image or visit your country’s Amazon site to take advantage of this sale today!

To read an interview by me with Nicholas, click HERE.

The Care and Feeding (and Promotion!) of Authors …

I work in a bookstore because I enjoy recommending books to others. Since joining Goodreads, I write reviews of most of the books I read, but especially of those I truly enjoyed. More importantly, I also post reviews on the sites where these books are sold.

Recently I began to contact the authors of my favourite books on Goodreads to let them know why and how much I admire their work. Thus far, every single one has responded with appreciation. I’d been hesitant to contact them, fearing they were being inundated with “fan mail” and that I’d be bothering them. Sadly, this isn’t the case. Authors aren’t rock stars.

In this blog, author Susan Toy outlines simple ways you can promote authors whose work you value. Whether face-to-face with customers and friends, or on social media, word-of-mouth is still the best way to promote a book. Recommend, recommend, recommend!

Books: Publishing, Reading, Writing

Have you read and enjoyed a book lately that was written by an author who is still living? You should tell that author how much you enjoyed the book, because we all love to hear from readers who have not only read but have also appreciated our writing. Really! We do! After all, who doesn’t like flattery? (And this holds true for any creator, but I’m zeroing in on authors at the moment, because I am one.)

While we do love the flattery, you should also consider going one step further, and recommend what you’ve read to other readers – especially friends who may never have otherwise known about this book you’ve enjoyed. You can do this by “liking” and posting a review to Amazon, Indigo, Kobo, Goodreads or Independent Bookstore websites, or wherever the book is listed for sale. Also, by sending out an email to your contact list…

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