Very Short, Very Powerful Review of My Book on #Wattpad . . .

It was only 12 days ago that I published the post, Two Women Writers Convince Me to Experiment on Wattpad . . . 

I referenced an article on the Alliance of Independent Authors site that led to a video that’s at the end of that post ( a conversation between Orna Ross and Elizabeth S. Craig ); and, I indicated the two reasons I was going to do my WattpadExperiment:

“Authors don’t have to write serially, they just need to publish serially.”

“If you already have a free book, it makes sense to leverage it on Wattpad. Use it as a funnel to your other books.”

Naturally, you can (and many folks do) write serially and you don’t have to already have a free book laying around…

So, I’ve posted the prologue and two chapters of Notes from An Alien and I have 70 “Reads” and 8 “Votes”—will post a new chapter every Wednesday (17 more chapters…)…

I’m putting a note after every posting with a link back here—to the blog and the full book (and, of course, my other free stuff…).

So, the “experiment” was going fairly well and then………

I get this message from PAHughes:

“Picked this up and could not put it down. Astoundingly gripping , your words just dance on the page and every little bit comes to life. 

“I have downloaded a full copy of the book and will read it to the end. A brilliant book, well done sir.”

Whew!

Sure didn’t see that one coming…

So, I asked them if I could blog something about them and received this:

Name: Peter A Hughes

Location: Scotland, United Kingdom

Age: 20's

And, I’m Scottish on my mom’s side :-)

So, folks, check out Wattpad and go read some of Peter A Hughes stories…

More updates on the WattpadExperiment soon………
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Oh, I also, just the other day, started posting the poems from my book Is Your Soul In Here?—one each Friday :-) {that book is downloadable, free Here…}
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Read Some Strange Fantasies
Grab A Free Novel…
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To Leave A Comment, Use The Link At The Top-Right of The Post :-)
For Private Comments or Questions, Email: amzolt {at} gmail {dot} com

Is It Really Worth Being a Self-Published Author ?

I need to make my use of the term “Self-Published” clear—mostly because of another term—“Indie Author”… 

Image Courtesy of Chris Greene ~ http://www.freeimages.com/photographer/christgr-50319

Back in 2013, in the post, “What IS An Indie Author?”, I quoted a question I’d asked The Alliance of Independent Authors concerning something said on their site about membership:

“I notice the first ‘definitive’ statement is:
‘You have self-published at least one book.’
What is ALLi’s definition of ‘self-published’?”

Orna Ross, the Founder of ALLi, made this reply:

“Essentially, that the author paid and was the creative director of the book.”

I thanked her, then received another reply:

“You’ve actually sparked an entire debate in the office, Alexander…”

So, I gave this post I’m writing the title, Is It Really Worth Being a Self-Published Author ?

And, I’m going to give a partial answer to that question by sharing excerpts from an article by Joanna Penn—Pros And Cons Of Being An Indie Author—I feel “Self-Published” and “Indie” are interchangeable—other folks don’t think they are and, perhaps within another decade or so, opinions will achieve some coherence…

Whew!

So, here are Joanna’s Pros and Cons for Being an Indie a Self-Published author:

PROS

Total creative control over content and design

Empowerment

Faster time to market

Higher royalties

Sell by any means in any global market, as you retain the rights

Niche books can reach an audience

Use it to get into the game

{ Joanna, by the way, in her discussion of that last Pro, actually uses “Indie” and “Self-Publish” somewhat interchangeably…}

CONS

You need to do it all yourself or find suitable professionals to help

There’s no prestige, kudos or validation by the industry

You need a budget upfront if you want a professional result

It’s difficult to get print distribution in bookstores

Most literary prizes don’t accept indie books and most literary critics for mainstream media

Even with a bit of confusion over what to call authors who don’t do it traditionally, Joanna’s article is worth a full read—she goes on to talk about being a “Hybrid” author and shares other publishing options…

One thing is certain—there are more options for authors now then ever before in Human History.
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Read Some Strange Fantasies
Grab A Free Novel…
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To Leave A Comment, Use The Link At The Top-Right of The Post :-)
For Private Comments or Questions, Email: amzolt {at} gmail {dot} com

Two Women Writers Convince Me to Experiment on Wattpad . . .

I’ve known about Wattpad for quite awhile but let it linger in the hinterlands of my interest, with all the other wonderful, fabulous, must-engage-on spaces that writers are nearly shamed into using… 

However, Orna Ross, founder of the Alliance of Independent Authors, and Elizabeth S. Craig, bestselling author of the Southern Quilting mysteries and Memphis Barbeque mysteries and link-curator for the Writer’s Knowledge Base, have convinced me to use Wattpad in a very specific way.

My experiment got its first nudge when I saw an article on the ALLi site about Wattpad Insights for Indie Authors.

There’s a video at the end of this post that was the clincher for my experimental use of Wattpad; but, first, here are some takeaways the ALLi article has from that video:

1. Wattpad users are very mobile savvy and skew towards a younger demographic.
2. Authors don’t have to write serially, they just need to publish serially.
3. The Wattpad mobile app is free, and a Wattpad account is also free.
4. Set a consistent publishing schedule for your chapter releases.
5. If you already have a free book, it makes sense to leverage it on Wattpad. Use it as a funnel to your other books.
6. At the end of each Wattpad chapter you can add an author call to action (e.g. sign up to the author’s mailing list, or letting your readers know where to buy the book if they can’t wait for the next installment).
7. A demographics tab gives you insights into the age demographics of your readers and their geographic location.
8. Authors can add images or a video to each chapter to increase engagement.
9. It’ll take about 4-6 chapters to get some audience traction.
10. Wattpad increases your opportunity of reaching your share of the 40 Million global readers.

#2 & #5 were the prime reasons I got interested in using Wattpad.

And, in case you’re new around here or you just never noticed, I give away my novel (even though it’s also for sale) over in the left side-bar; so, I decided I’d add a new chapter to Wattpad every Wednesday for the next 20 weeks and append a comment there to draw folks back here…

So, if you’d rather read just a bit of my book each week (instead of downloading it for free and reading the whole thing in about two days {it’s rather short but quite deep…}) Take This Link (you’ll have to register with Wattpad if you aren’t already a member…)

I’ll be periodically reporting results…

And, now, here’s the video with Orna and Elizabeth that convinced me to do the WattpadExperiment:

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Read Some Strange Fantasies
Grab A Free Novel…
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To Leave A Comment, Use The Link At The Top-Right of The Post :-)
For Private Comments or Questions, Email: amzolt {at} gmail {dot} com

Are You An Aspiring Writer?

Naturally, folks who’ve already been published could consider themselves aspiring writers.

Image Courtesy of Rae Grimm ~ http://www.freeimages.com/profile/bloodylery

Looking at the word origins of “aspire” in my Oxford English Dictionary, I find “to breathe before”…

So, even though a person writing their first book is usually considered an aspiring writer, I certainly need to breathe (a lot) before I write my seventh book :-)

And, to make even more sense of this aspiration, the root of “spira”—breathe—can also mean “fill with spirit”…

So, all you aspiring writers out there, even the ones who haven’t yet sat down and tried their hand at this thing called writing-on-purpose—“being” a “writer”—gather ’round and consider:

Some Questions for The Serious Writer . . .

The Successful Writer

And, How Writers Handle Criticism

Just a few past posts on this blog that those who want to arrange words with a bit of spirit might find valuable…

You could also check out the Subject Index Links, over there in the Side-Bar, for other topics…

And, I’ll also share a video with four aspiring writers—Orna Ross, Jessica Bell, Roz Morris, and Kevin Booth—talking about How To Write A Book…

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Today’s The Last Day to Vote In Our Latest Poll…
Read Some Strange Fantasies
Grab A Free Novel…
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To Leave A Comment, Use The Link At The Top-Right of The Post :-)
For Private Comments or Questions, Email: amzolt {at} gmail {dot} com

A Professional Association for Authors Who Self-Publish

Self-publishing is not necessarily one writer who does everything themselves; though, there are such amazing people.

Image from the ALLI Site

A self-published author probably has an editor and may engage a cover designer and other freelance talent.

Then, there’s the label Indie Author…

Is Indie different from Self-Published?

I explored that question in a post back in October of 2013—“What IS An Indie Author?”

I also explored a relatively new organization for Indie authors in the post, Why Would An Author Want To Be Independent?, which has two informational videos with Mark Coker of Smashwords and Orna Ross from the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi).

In a recent e-mail I received from Orna, these benefits of ALLi membership were shared:

• A “How To Self-Publish Well” education pack, with free ebooks and seminal articles from our advisors and friends, including Mark Coker, Joel Friedlander, Jane Friedman, David Gaughran, Joanna Penn, Mark McGuinness and more
• Multiple ways to connect with, and learn from, other members
• Great discounts and deals
• Monthly online events, including our “Sell More Books” monthly meetup
• Watchdog and Rating of Author Services globally
• Rights & Contracts Advice service
• Foreign and subsidiary rights services, including a massive discount on Pubmatch and IPR Licence, an agent who’ll assess your books for foreign rights potential
• Through these benefits, we’ve given hundreds of indie authors the information and skills to publish better and sell more books

Here’s what they say about their Service Directory:

“ALLi’s Self-Publishing Service Directory, which launches January 2015, is the first of its kind: a showcase of vetted services for self-publishers, combined with advice and tips on assembling the perfect team to produce books and literary projects that adhere to ALLi standards of ethics and excellence.”

You can read a preview of ALLi’s Service Directory.

I’d love to have some of you answer these questions in the Comments:

Have you Self-Published?

Are you an Indie Author?

Do you want to Self-Publish?

Are you working toward being an Indie Author?
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Check Out Our Latest Poll…
Read Some Strange Fantasies
Grab A Free Novel…
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To Leave A Comment, Use The Link At The Top-Right of The Post :-)
For Private Comments or Questions, Email: amzolt {at} gmail {dot} com