Will Amazon destroy the Indy-Publishing Industry?

Mar 30, 2008 12:00 AM

If you are like most people in America, you’ve probably never heard of two of the companies I’m about to write about: Ingram and Lightning Source.  But, somehow, I’m sure you’ve heard of Amazon (least not from me tirelessly pitching book sales over there).  If that’s the case, you might be a little puzzled by my statement that Amazon has now decided to go to war against the small and micro-publishing industry. If they succeed in what they’re pushing, then it might well spell the death of indy-publishing in this country.

Words still make one hell of a difference

Jan 22, 2008 09:15 AM

In the category of books that are making a difference comes Kancha Ilaiah, whose children's book Turning the Pot, Tilling the Land takes aim at India's thousands of years old caste system.

Speaking of changes in publishing....

Jan 19, 2008 01:56 PM

Every once in a while I'll write here about changes in the publishing industry. I haven't really gone in depth about my thoughts on print-on-demand, new media, podcsting, etc., probably because my own thoughts are still somewhat fuzzy on this topic. However, the rise of the "cell-phone" novel in Japan definitely provides some serious food for thought.

Children of Rhatlan

Jan 03, 2008 04:14 PM

Fellow Podiobooks author Jonathan Fesmire just sent an email that he is now also offering a free PDF of his novel, Children of Rhatlan.

Will number of downloads translate into books sold?

Jan 02, 2008 11:24 AM

Yesterday morning I posted that starting with the first of the year, I’m giving away the ebook of Republic for free. The million dollar question is, will books downloaded translate into a ratio with books sold?

How Life Sometimes Gets in the Way of Itself

Nov 05, 2007 05:13 AM

It's probably not hard to miss the fact that since July I've hardly been blogging at all, nor have I posted many updates to the podcast. Such has been the way of things, and you only know the half of it.

How podcasting and free content is changing the publishing landscape

Jul 04, 2007 10:08 AM

There's a great piece in this morning's Broward-Palm Beach New Times about J.C. Hutchins, who has been podcasting his 7th Son series over at Podiobooks.com. The most important quote: sleep is for pussies.

Amazon forums

Jun 29, 2007 03:59 PM

I started to post a comment in reply to a post over at Steve Weber's blog, about promoting books on Amazon's customer forums page. But the comment got longer, and decided to go ahead and post it as an entry.

Featured Author Interview

May 16, 2007 02:31 PM

After the review of Prayer at Rumayla last week on the Podler Book Review, they asked me to do an interview as their featured author. I was quite honored. Here is the interview:

Amazon Reviews are back

May 12, 2007 09:03 AM

About a week ago, for the second time this year, all of the customer reviews of Prayer at Rumayla disappeared from Amazon.com. This is actually pretty crippling -- the book had very good customer reviews, and when they vanished, my sales rank plummeted. So, the good news is, they're back.

Thinking Blogger

Apr 27, 2007 10:37 AM

To my surprise, Jen over at Did You Ever Get the Feeling has awarded me the Thinking Blogger Award. This came as a bit of a surprise, and may be a surprise to you as well considering that it was a month ago and I'm just now getting around to realizing what it's about...

Republic: Chapter Two (Part Two)

Apr 20, 2007 09:22 AM

They said their goodbyes, and Murphy made his way out into the rain as the couple entered the unemployment office. In the car, he turned on the radio and heard the news: there had been a bombing in Arlington, Virginia, outside the Pentagon. Without a second thought, he dialed Valerie’s number in Washington.

Republic: Chapter Two (1)

Apr 17, 2007 07:44 PM

She hung up the phone without replying. A dozen steps took her to Ambrose. “What is it?” He pointed at the television playing in the reception area. The words at the bottom of the screen told her all she needed to know: “Explosions at the Pentagon.”

Republic: Chapter One (continued)

Apr 16, 2007 08:11 AM

He looked around the crowded diner, and said, “This sure is going to hit Highview hard. Eight hundred families… I guess more than half the town worked at that plant.”

He didn’t finish the thought aloud. Desperate people tended to do desperate things.

Prayer at Rumayla Podcast: Chapter Five Part 3

Apr 15, 2007 10:08 AM

Thanks for stopping by, this is the final installment in chapter five.

In this episode, Chet Brown wakes up in jail and is confronted with a Vietnam veteran jailer who tries to talk him out of his despondency. In this chapter we also get the first real view of combat during the Gulf War.

Be A Character in My Next Book (or, my Shameless Promotion

Apr 10, 2007 12:23 PM

Did you ever want to be the villain in a suspense novel? A tank crewman charging into battle? A Senator or Representative? Now’s your chance. Sort of.

Chapter Five, Part Two now online

Apr 08, 2007 11:26 AM

Thanks for stopping by, this is the second installment in chapter five.

In this episode, Chet Brown arrives in a small town in West Virginia.

Chapter Five of Prayer at Rumayla Podcast now online

Apr 02, 2007 07:05 PM

Thanks for stopping by to check out chapter five. This is a long chapter and is split into three parts, with the first arriving this week.

At the beginning of chapter five, we find Chet Brown fleeing Atlanta after his disastrous meeting with his ex-fiance Amy and her new boyfriend Paul. We also begin to learn more about Chet's experience during the war.

Prayer at Rumayla eBook Now Available for Free Download

Apr 02, 2007 02:58 PM

Hello friends. I've mentioned here before that one of my projects for this year is a complete re-write and edit of my first novel, Prayer at Rumayla: A Novel of the Gulf War. As I work through it, it's become a very different work -- very different.

Editing

Mar 24, 2007 11:17 PM

For the past couple months I've been working closely with an editor who has been ripping my new novel to shreds. Tentatively titled Republic (it was called Murphy's War, but I've dispensed with that title), the book asks the question -- what would happen if, through fear of terrorism -- our country walked away from its heritage of freedom.

Prayer at Rumayla: Chapter Four now online

Mar 24, 2007 12:34 PM

Thanks for stopping by to check out chapter four. This chapter is 32 minutes, and follows Chet Brown as he struggles with his new platoon sergeant, then goes on leave and encounters his ex-fiance. That encounter is a major turning point in the book, but I won't get into how it turns out.

Chapter Three (part two) finished

Mar 18, 2007 08:36 PM

Thanks again for stopping by to check out chapter three.

So far there have been several hundred downloads of the first two chapters, so I'd love to get some feedback from listeners. As I mentioned last time, I broke chapter three into two parts, because it came out to almost an hour. Part two is 24 minutes, and follows the arrival of a new platoon sergeant who shakes up Chet's platoon on his arrival.

Video trailer for Prayer at Rumayla

Mar 15, 2007 03:50 PM

So, lately a lot of publishers have been promoting their books with video trailers. Looking for your feedback here. Take a look, and please leave a comment! I may go through several iterations of this until it's right.

Chapter Three (part one) of Prayer at Rumayla now online

Mar 13, 2007 09:51 AM

Thanks for stopping by to check out chapter three.

So far there have been several hundred downloads of the first two chapters, so I'd love to get some feedback from listeners. I've broken up chapter three into two parts, because it came out to almost an hour. Part one is 32 minutes, and follows Chet Brown as he returns to Fort Stewart and has to deal with the reality of a rapidly changing peacetime military.

Listen. Leave a comment. Tell a friend. That's all I ask. And I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter Two of Prayer at Rumayla Podcast now online

Mar 05, 2007 11:07 AM

Thanks for stopping by to check out chapter two. Please note -- this chapter is not safe for children. It may not be safe for adults. It's been a couple years (more like five) since I've read it, and clearly I was, well.... Let's just say it's very explicit.

Audio Podcast: Prayer At Rumayla; A Novel of the Gulf War

Mar 01, 2007 09:29 PM

Over the next few weeks, I'll be reading Prayer at Rumayla: A Novel of the Gulf War in (most likely) nine episodes, one for each chapter plus the epilogue. It's a pretty short book, all in all, I'd anticipate about 4 hours (we'll see).

Title Woes

Mar 01, 2007 07:43 AM

One thing I've been putting off for more than three years is a decision about the title for "Murphy's War." I mean, obviously it has a title. But that's not the title I'm going to use for the final published form, because somebody beat me to it. Two somebodies, actually. The first, which I couldn't reasonably be expected to know about, is a 1971 book and movie starring Peter O'Toole. Given that I was born the same year it came out, well, who cares? More recently, a 2006 novel from Publish America used the same title.

Podiobooks -- authors distributing novels in podcasts

Mar 01, 2007 06:28 AM

This morning a post by M.J. Rose caught my eye -- a nice writeup in the New York Times about the growing phenomena of authors distributing their work in free podcasts.

Self-publishing primer in 12 steps

Feb 27, 2007 08:18 AM

If you are into that sort of thing (and, of course, I obviously am), Lillie Ammann has posted a self-publishing primer over at A Writer's Words. If you are thinking about self-publishing, it is worth a read -- she breaks down both the options and the drawbacks in considerable detail over the course of about twelve posts.

Cover draft number 5

Feb 25, 2007 01:04 PM

This is another draft cover .... the photo is public domain, from Army public affairs. The theme is obvious.

And another one

Feb 24, 2007 06:53 PM

This is another variation on the same theme.

Cover art feedback

Feb 24, 2007 06:31 PM

Hello friends. Looking for some feedback on potential cover art for Murphy's War. Here's one of the possible covers. Please send some comments!

XLibris, POD and more publishing headaches

Feb 21, 2007 11:36 PM

I haven't mentioned it yet, but I'm sure you are all jumping up and down with excitement to learn that I'm launching my own publishing venture, Cincinnatus Press.