All Amazon!

On January 22, 2012   /   Amazon, Uncategorized   /   11 Comments
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I finally did it. I pulled all my books from B&N and enrolled the rest of the Detective Jackson novels in Amazon’s Select program. My apologies to Nook owners! But the royalties from Kindle Owners Lending Library (KOLL) are too good to pass up.

In December, Amazon paid $1.70 per “borrow.” I made more money in one month from KOLL, with only half my books enrolled, than I’ve made from B&N in the last year. Sorry again to Nook owners, but I just can’t sell books there. Which has always been puzzle to me…because I sell so well on Amazon.

So it’s done. I’m exclusive. The move is not necessarily permanent, but I have a feeling my Amazon KOLL royalties will continue grow along with sales. And as I mentioned in a previous blog: Amazon already owns me. I might as well profit as much as I can from it.

The hardest part will be not giving away ebooks from my blog…or through LibraryThing or Goodreads. The exclusivity clause prevents it, and I’ll miss that interaction with readers. I love giving books away! But I can still give away my print books, and more important, I can give away ebooks through Amazon. And I have to remind everyone that Kindle apps are available on almost every device, and you can read Kindle books online, directly from Amazon now in the “cloud.”

So my ebooks are still available to nearly anyone with a computer, mobile phone, or tablet. And I’m sleeping better at night, knowing that as long as Amazon is doing well, so am I.

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Character Name Favorites

On January 16, 2012   /   character names, contest, winners   /   2 Comments

It’s always so much fun seeing the contest names! Readers submit such a wide variety of names, and they’re so much more creative and adventurous than what I would have come up with on my own. Skia Mulvaney, Heidi Lapeer, Hubie Spikes, Joy Worldly, and Saburo were some of the most original. Others were just plain fun—Ray Sweets, Dottie Crocker, Bonnie Bleacher, Jim Zucker, and M.O. Perkins to name a few.

Without these naming contests, I would likely stick to the Eugene yellow pages as a source and end up with all “safe” names. Although my hometown is very accepting of all kinds of cultures and lifestyles, it’s not much of a melting pot. So it’s great to get a variety of names/characters and plug them into the story.

Thanks, everyone, for participating. I’ll use as many of your suggestions as I can! Overall, though, my favorite name was Daniel Talbot, submitted by Alexandra Lundgren, whose last name I’ll also use in the story. A second favorite name was Jordan Rivers.

I’m sill undecided about the female FBI agent, but some of my favorite suggestions were Nadia Hart, Grace Kizina, and Jordan Rivers. I may mix, match, and modify. Do you like Jordan Kinzia? Or Nadia Lundgren?

I’ll try to contact everyone about their free ebook, but if you don’t hear from me it’s because I couldn’t find you, so email me.

Thanks again for participating.

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New Story, Names Needed

On January 13, 2012   /   character names, contest, Detective Jackson   /   16 Comments
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Believe or not, I’m already writing a new Jackson story, and I’m very excited about this one. I even have a working title, but it’s is too early too share. I have an interview set up with an FBI agent, and I’m considering add a new character…who my spin off into her own series someday. (We’ll see how I feel in May.)

But what I need right now from my faithful readers is your participation again. I need names and lots of them. In my past two novels, I included dozens of the names you suggested, so I hope you’ve had a chance to pick up the books and see your contributions. One reader contacted me with so much excitement (!!!!) about her name being in Liars, Cheaters & Thieves, I could hear her squealing across the county.

Many of the names I need will be witnesses, neighbors, and victim’s family members, so they don’t need any special connotations. Just reader friendly.

But one suspect in particular is a white, upperclass male who lost a lot of money in the recession and is very angry about it. Another suspect is a young Hispanic gang member with a lot to prove to his peers.

And of course, I need a name for my female FBI agent…who may be with me for a while. (So this is important, and I reserve the right to change at the last minute.)

Everyone who participates gets a free ebook of their choice, and I’ll also pick one or two favorites, who will receive a print book of their choice, or of my latest Jackson book: Liars, Cheaters & Thieves.

It’s fun for everyone if you leave your suggestions in the comments, but please also email me with your choice of ebook and file type (mobi or epub).

Thanks again for you help in the past, now let’s see what you’ve got!

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The Importance of a Title

On January 12, 2012   /   book titles, promotion, the writer's life, Uncategorized   /   5 Comments
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The numbers don’t lie. When my thriller was called The Arranger: A Futuristic Thriller, I couldn’t give the book away. After three days on Amazon’s free list (through the Select program), The Arranger managed a mere 1535 downloads, despite a 4.5-start rating and rave reviews. I’d already given away two books that racked up 55,000 downloads between them ,so I understood just how pathetic that number was, and I instinctively knew the problem was the title.

I originally came up with the title because it fit the antagonist, Paul. When I bounced it off my husband, he loved it and pushed for it. I keep thinking about The Gauntlet and he kept saying, “No, it’s been done.” So I put the book out as The Arranger, and that was clearly a mistake, especially when you consider I spent more on promotion for that book than any I’d ever done. <Sigh>

But the giveaway taught me that I needed a new name. And with your help, we came up with one: The Gauntlet Assassin. I made the changes, waited for the ebook to be reformatted with the new cover, and reloaded it to Amazon. Fortunately, I’d saved two days of the five-day giveaway, so I was able to list The Gauntlet Assassin for free for two days. In that time, it had nearly 15,000 downloads, and is now selling well.

Same cover, same description, same great reviews. But clearly the new name appealed to people in a way the original had not. I purposely took “A Futuristic Thriller” out of the title. I think the word future turned a lot of people off and made them think sci-fi or dystopian novel. The book is neither and set only 13 years from now.

The lesson here is that being independent allows me to makes changes and correct my mistakes.

In other news, an established production company saw a review of The Arranger and contacted me about film/TV rights. They’re reading the manuscript now. Wouldn’t it be amazing if this strange little story were made into a blockbuster film? My husband is  counting on it. 🙂

Writers: Have you changed a story’s title or cover to make it marketable?
Readers: How do you feel when writers make such changes?

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