Category Publishing

SampleSunday – The Docks Chapter 1

May 29, 2011 SampleSunday, Smashwords, The Docks

This Sunday, my sample is Chapter One of "The Docks". After all the changes -a new cover, new layout and new price - I'm also adding a Coupon code valid this weekend to download the whole ebook for free.

Get the full book on Smashwords HereCoupon Code: AB96D (Free - 100% discount, Valid until 30th May)

(Also available on Amazon, but Amazon does not offer the coupon discount)

Chapter 1 of the Docks

Bob had told me we were going to sink the ship, but what he hadn't mentioned was that it wouldn't be empty when we did it. My jaw dropped in horror as I saw the arm, smashing out the cabin window, black against the flames behind it as it fumbled for the door handle on the outside to escape the inferno. Fumbled at the door that Bob had blocked.

"Good night's

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“Reader sets price” – pros and cons

May 23, 2011 Smashwords, The Docks

I was using "Reader sets price" for "The Docks". On review, I don't think this is working and will be switching to 99c fairly shortly. The "Reader sets price option" seems to restrict your audience without providing many advantages. The first issue is that most offers on Smashwords rely on coupons, which can't be generated for books using "Reader sets Price". At the same time, you can't link "Reader sets price" books to the free ebook directories and users still need a Smashwords account to download it while free books can be accessed by anyone. Some Smashwords readers I spoke to skip over books with this payment type because trying to work out how much to pay is an extra step between them and the book.If there was a tip jar option on the author page, I'd just make the book free and link

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Amazon rankings

April 27, 2011 Amazon

The Amazon rank for the paperback, and the ebook have fluctuated quite a bit, but I think yesterday was its highest yet. Fire Season has fallen back down the rankings now but this, last night, made my day:That's two positions on Amazon Top 100 lists: #72 in Men's Adventure and #97 in Lad's Lit.And now I should go back to my current work-in-progress. I have too many things intruding on my time right now, and trying to get time to write is tricky. It doesn't help when the planned 1,500 word short story is now 4,000 and still going.

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Fire Season out on Kindle

March 30, 2011 Amazon

Fire Season is now out on Kindle. It is £2.97 from Amazon UK (view Amazon.co.uk).It is also available from Amazon.com for international buyers. A press release is to follow from the publisher. Meanwhile, I am very glad to see it is up, and hope it is well received. I am also extremely happy with the price - while not the minimum of 99p, it seems a reasonable and affordable level. After the stories of ebooks that cost more than paperbacks, I was somewhat nervous. Fire Season on Amazon.co.ukFire Season on Amazon.com

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Fire Season e-book announced

March 26, 2011 e-book

Well, with one week to go I can announce that Fire Season will be available on Kindle from the 2nd April. It is being released through Amazon, and will be available directly from their website. I'll put a link up the moment I have one.Hopefully, this will also mean it will be available on the 16th for the launch.More details will be available soon, and I will add them as I find out more.

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A Smashwords milestone

February 28, 2011 Smashwords

This isn't a long post, but I think this is a milestone I'd like to acknowledge. This morning Arrival hit 2,000 downloads on Smashwords. I'd just like to say thanks to all the people who downloaded Arrival, or read it through Smashwords, Goodreads, Feedbooks or elsewhere online - or even followed the first Twitter feed. I sincerely hope you enjoyed the book. Because of Arrival's success, and the readers who downloaded it, Fire Season will be coming to Kindle in the next couple of months.So, thanks for making that possible.

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Arriving in second place

January 23, 2011 Arrival, Smashwords

I suppose I should be upset Arrival is currently at position #2 on a Smashwords anthology search.On the other hand, looking at number one......what chance do I stand against Justin Bieber?Arrival homepage - free e-book on Smashwords

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Using Smashwords for promotion

January 8, 2011 Smashwords

Since I put Arrival up, I've had a few questions about Smashwords, most asking about how easy it is to use. As I only have one story up, there are better people to ask, but this is just my opinion.It's pretty easy to use, taking a standard .doc Word file. No real technical knowledge is required. As long as you make sure that you follow the style guide, paying attention to things like paragraph formatting and breaks the results are pretty good. It took a couple of hours to get Arrival into shape, but if you aren't aiming for the Premium catalog, you can be less precise. However there are a few snags that came up which it didn't cover.Some characters don't go through the conversion process e.g. I lost my en-dash character. Also, smart quotes and apostrophes appear OK on most formats but

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Kindle and Smashwords

December 28, 2010 Arrival, Smashwords

I did not intend to blog over Christmas. After all, with all the shops closed, the snow falling and everyone at home what could possibly happen?Well, Arrival could hit 800 downloads and a brief appearance on the Smashwords most downloaded anthologies list. It was at #8 when I checked so you'd need to scroll down to see it, but that is a nice Christmas present. This is completely unexpected, and a very pleasant surprise. It is getting to the point where I am tempted to do a trailer for my free ebook.ArrivalOn the other hand this does give me some grounds to approach my publisher about moving the release of the Kindle edition of Fire Season up. I have no idea whether or not a commercial product will be as successful, but the ebook does seem to have moved rather fast. I hope you had a Merry

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A quick update on Arrival.

December 24, 2010 Arrival, Smashwords

Going by what other bloggers had said, I was expecting maybe ten downloads a day. Short stories from unknown authors with little promotion apparently go unnoticed. Instead Arrival (uploaded on 14th December, went into directories on 19th) reached 500 downloads last night and is still going. That's not including anyone who read it on Goodreads or viewed it online. My round-up for the year will go live later today, but that news makes a very nice early Christmas present.Arrival by VH Folland

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