Hi Everyone!
The Next Big Thing questions are ready to go (as promised), but I decided to toss up a links post today, instead. If I collect any more links, my inbox will explode, and I really want to get these out there.
First, there are rumors in publishing land that Penguin and Random House might be merging.
Then, Hugh Howey doesn't give a rip, because he Doesn't Need a Publisher, anyway.
If you don't know Hugh, he is the author of Wool, which is "a smashing success with more than 300,000 copies
sold in the U.S. alone and a film optioned by 20th Century Fox and
Ridley Scott."
Also: "In just a few short months, Wool has made appearances on the New York Times and USA Today
bestseller lists, and it's a No. 1 bestseller on Amazon, where it was
also named winner of Kindle Book Review's Best Indie Book of 2012."
Self pubs, FTW!
Love it when he says: "My realization has been that whatever kind of book you have ... you'll
earn more and be in a better position if you own the rights. This is
true for a book that will hardly sell, for a blockbuster, and for
everything in between."
Next, the fabulous David Gaughran talks Popularity, Visibility, and KDP Select.
If you have a newsletter or use the occasional email blast for promotion, you'll want to check out this data, which breaks down the time frame people are most likely to open/read your message.
Ed Robertson has a post up about the Amazing Disappearing Amazon Reviews. The deal is that Amazon is pulling reviews from books if there appears to be a connection to other reviews and/or the author. This is meant to cut down on the number of illegitimate reviews.
A valiant effort, but what I'd really like to see Amazon do is ban the people who go around bashing the reviews of others, or the people who can't give more than two stars to ANYTHING. I swear, if all of your reviews are two stars or less, then you need to either stop reading or find a new genre. It's so sad and spiteful. No one should be that miserable. And the personal attacks? Those have to stop, too. You do not really wish the author would die.
Let's be classy, okay? :)
Okay!
***end rant***
Finally, fellow Indelible Addison Moore has some great advice for self-pubbed writers on the fence re: blogging, so be sure to stop by Jody Hedlund's blog to check out what she has to say.
Whew!
That is all!
Enjoy your weekend!
~Katie~
