Category Archives: Publishing

IndieView: Timothy Frost, author of, The Abigail Affair

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The Abigail Affair by author Timothy FrostI’ve got a few thousand sea miles under my belt, all in and around the South China Sea, which is why a friend of mine recommended, ‘The Abigail Affair’. So I trundled off to Amazon, paid the ridiculous international wireless delivery charge, and got the book. About eight hours later I was finished. Yes, this is a, “Don’t interupt me I’m reading novel.”

You can read my review of The Abigail Affair here. After all that I had to get in touch with Tim, and invite him to spill the beans. Which he graciously agreed to do – herewith the beans.

“I thought, ‘What the hell?’ and uploaded it. I got some great reviews, and then it went from Smashwords on to Barnes and Noble and ended up in their Top 10 e-books with 14,000 downloads. I realized I should carry on writing, and that there was no need for an agent or a publisher any more.” – Timothy Frost 17 December 2010 Continue reading →

IndieView: From Ramen to Riches; The Amanda Hocking Story

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Cover for Switched, by author Amanda Hocking

There’s a post on Amanda’s blog called Pink Headphones. Go read it, then come back here. It’ll put everything in context for you. Suffice to say this woman has heart; a heart that pumps digital ink through her veins as she lives and breathes her stories.

“I’m an all or nothing person. So for me, writing is like bingeing and purging. I’m either obsessively working on something – anywhere from 8-14 hours a day – or I’m not writing at all. But I’m always thinking of ideas.”     Amanda Hocking 9 December 2010 Continue reading →

IndieView: Scott Nicholson, author of, The Skull Ring

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Cover for The Skull Ring, by author, Scott Nicholson

If you’re a reader, reviewer or writer, you should spend some time reading what Scott Nicholson has written. And that’s all I’ve got to say about that.

“Some writers say they only write for themselves, but I don’t believe in that, either. I think about the story. Tell a good story.” – Scott Nicholson 3 December 2010 Continue reading →

IndieView: Valmore Daniels, author of, Forbidden The Stars

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Cover for Forbidden The Stars, by author Valmore Daniels

As an indie author one of the things you’ve got to work hard at is making connections and marketing. Just about every forum I’ve joined, Valmore has been hanging out in the, “Introduce Yourself” thread and has always welcomed me to any new forum. If you head over to KindleBoards, you’ll also find, in the Writer’s Cafe, that Valmore shares things he learns with other indie authors. Lots of good karma points.

“For Forbidden The Stars I use an online editor program, and that came back to haunt me. From this point on, everything I write I will filter through a professional human editor.” – Valmore Daniels 2 December 2010 Continue reading →

IndieView: L.J. Sellers, author of, The Sex Club

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Cover for The Sex Club, by author L.J. Sellers

One of the things I notice as I trawl the web seeking to expand my knowledge of this business, and make no mistake you have to treat indie publishing like a business if you want to succeed, is that there are tons of people telling you to split your time between writing and marketing. And this is true. What they don’t say is you also have to split your time with learning. Learning is at least important as the other two, the three legs of a three legged stool. Without one of those legs you’re not going to have anything to sit on.

And that was my motivation for starting these Indieviews. An opportunity to learn and by posting them giving you that same opportunity. Some of these Indieviews will be from ‘newbies’, why not, we can learn from them too, even if it is just to not make the same mistakes. The majority, however, will be from people like L.J., people who are carefully plotting a new course in how authors interact with readers and sell books. Enjoy!

“I was doing all the work to sell my novels and my publisher was making the money. The only reason I thought I needed a publisher in the first place was for the stamp of legitimacy. I decided that making a living was more important than being traditionally published. Going indie was a great move for me. My books are selling really well, and I’m starting to make a living.” L.J. Sellers 27 November 2010 Continue reading →

IndieView: Vicki Tyley, author of, Thin Blood

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Cover for Thin Blood, by Author Vicki Tyley

Vicki is currently one of four Indie authors who are Amazon reader’s favorites for 2010. The book above has sold over 25,000 copies. By any standards that’s a successful book. Whether you’re just starting out on the Indie path or the soles of your shoes are worn thin, this interview will give you the inspiration and courage to keep going.

“I’m an Australian writer with an American agent. After a lot of effort, he’d been unable to sell Thin Blood, in large part because most of the publishers refused to even look at the book. “Americans don’t want to read Australian mysteries,” he was told… As of today, with sales in excess of 25,000 it’s an Amazon 2010 Customer Favorite.” – Vicki Tyley 24 November 2010 Continue reading →

IndieView: Steve Anderson, author of, The Losing Role

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Cover for The Losing Role, by author, Steve Anderson

In this interview Steve talks passionately about his book, his writing and the path he took to getting published. One of the nice things about posting these interviews is the really interesting and good people I’ve met along the way. What isn’t on display are the numerous emails and chats that go with putting a post up. Within those I get a sense of the passion of the authors – to date that has been an inspiration, none more so than in Steve’s case. Enjoy!

“I must have read an article about authors putting their books out for Kindle. That lead me to three or more articles and some googling, and by then I knew I had to do it because I had these manuscripts that had been vetted over the years but were sitting in a drawer.” – Steve Anderson 20 November 2010 Continue reading →

IndieView: Marian Allen, author of, Eel’s Reverence

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Cover for Eel's Reverence, by author, Marian Allen

I tell everyone I don’t read the books I put up here. I just quickly check them for typos, formatting and “production quality stuff”. The reason is I, like many indie authors, am hammered for time – not enough of it, never going to be enough of it. So then, page One of Marian’s book Eel’s Reverence, a genre I don’t often read (once in a green Moon), I’m sucked in. If you find a typo in here don’t blame me, I wasn’t looking I was reading. Good quality writing will do that to you – every time.

“Indie publishers seem willing to take a chance on odd books that don’t fit exactly into a stereotyped niche. It’s also easier to make personal contact with indie publishers and editors, online and at conferences.” – Marian Allen 18 Nov 2010

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