Janet Evanovich & Kathryn Stockett: The newest writers to sell a million Kindle Books

On August 16th Amazon announced that Janet Evanovich (Stephanie Plum books) and Kathryn Stockett (The Help) are the newest authors to sell over a million ebooks on Amazon.

Current members of the Kindle Million Club are:
- Stieg Larsson
- James Patterson
- Nora Roberts
- Charlaine Harris
- Lee Child
- Suzanne Collins
- Michael Connelly
- John Locke

“Kathryn Stockett is the first debut novelist to join the Million Club, and Kindle customers were highly engaged with her book right from its publication,” said Russ Grandinetti, Vice President of Kindle Content. “It’s as exciting to see Kindle readers propel a new author’s career as it is to see them add to the success of a long-time Amazon best-selling author like Janet Evanovich.”

"Wow! I'm thrilled to join such a talented group of writers who've also reached this million-copy milestone,” said Janet Evanovich. “I'm so grateful to my readers and look forward to reaching more milestones with them and with Amazon in the years to come."

Janet Evanovich is the #1 best-selling author of the Stephanie Plum novels as well as 12 romance novels, the Alexandra Barnaby novels and graphic novels, “Wicked Appetite” (the first book in the Lizzy and Diesel series,) and “How I Write: Secrets of a Bestselling Author.” Her latest novel, “Smokin’ Seventeen,” has spent over 100 days on the Kindle Best Seller list.

Kathryn Stockett is the author of the #1 New York Times Best Seller “The Help.” After graduating from the University of Alabama with a degree in English and Creative Writing, she moved to New York City where she worked in magazine publishing and marketing for nine years. “The Help” is her debut novel, and on August 10, 2011, the movie adaptation hit theaters across the U.S.

Read the rest of the article here: Janet Evanovich and Kathryn Stockett Join the Kindle Million Club

The Key To Selling Books: Word of Mouth

David Gaughran writes that, "Word-of-mouth is the only thing that ever really sells books."

While a glowing review in the New York Times will undoubtedly shift some copies, if the limited amount of people that actually read the reviews (and then purchase the book), don’t then spread the word, the sales bump will be temporary.

The 21st century world-weary reader is a hard person to reach. Our environment has become so saturated with advertisements that we tend to tune them out. Broadcasters need to resort to tricks like raising the volume levels of the ads to force us to pay attention.

We ignore ads because we don’t trust them. Exaggerated claims of the merits of one brand over another have been with us for so long that our automatic disposition seems to be skeptical towards the alleged virtues of any advertised product.

However, we still trust each other. If your neighbor tells you about a new detergent that actually does get wine stains out of a white shirt, or an insurance company that really will be there for you when things go wrong, that carries more weight than anything the cleverest advertising company can come up with.

Read the rest here: Word-of-Mouth in Action

Amazon could sell tablet for as low as $249

Lance Whitney, writing for Digital Media:

Amazon could sell its upcoming tablet for less than it costs to make but still take home a profit in the long run, according to tech industry analyst Tim Bajarin.

Discussing Amazon's expected tablet in a column for PC Magazine last week, Bajarin derived an estimated cost for the device of $300 based on information from various sources. Assuming Amazon then discounts the retail price, consumers could pay as little as $249, projects the analyst.

Read more: Analyst: Amazon could sell tablet for as low as $249

Amazon signs self-help author Timothy Ferriss

The guardian.co.uk writes:

The online retailer's aggressive move into publishing has continued with its signing of bestselling self-help author Timothy Ferriss
...
Ferriss is author of the New York Times bestsellers The 4-Hour Body and The 4-Hour Workweek, which promise, respectively, to help guide readers "to rapid fat-loss, incredible sex and becoming superhuman" and to "escape the 9-5, live anywhere and join the new rich". The 4-Hour Chef will, said Amazon, build upon the "4-hour" philosophy "by transforming the way we cook and eat". It will publish the book in print, digital and audio formats next April.

Ferriss, whose previous books were published by Random House imprint Crown, said that his decision to move to Amazon Publishing "wasn't just a question of which publisher to work with. It was a question of what future of publishing I want to embrace.

"My readers are migrating irreversibly into digital, and it made perfect sense to work with Amazon to try and redefine what is possible," said the author in a statement. "This is a chance to really show what the future of books looks like, and to deliver a beautiful experience to my readers, who always come first. I could not be more excited about what we're doing."

Kirshbaum, vice president and publisher of Amazon Publishing in New York, said The 4-Hour Chef was "a watershed work, and an ideal way to launch our new publishing imprint in New York". But although Kirshbaum told the New York Times that "[Amazon's] success will only help the rest of publishing", mainstream publishers are nonetheless likely to be troubled by the latest show of dominance from the online player.

"Amazon's foray into book publishing ... is obviously a concern. They have very deep pockets and they are now a very, very powerful global competitor of ours," HarperCollins UK's chief executive Victoria Barnsley told Radio 4's The World at One yesterday. "They're this weird thing. We call them frenemies ... They are very, very powerful now – in fact they are getting close to being in a sort of a monopolistic situation. They control over 90% of physical online market in UK and over 70% of the ebook market so that's a very, very powerful position to be in. So yes, it is a concern."

Read the rest of the story here: Amazon strikes first 'major' publishing deal

Why Your Site Needs An About Page

I didn't have an about page until I read Joel Friedlander's article, Why Your Blog’s “About” Page Matters.

He writes:

A look at Google Analytics tells the story of why we need to pay attention to the “About” Page. On this blog, over the last 30 days there were 370 visits to my main “About” page. When I was working through a course in blogging I put a fair amount of work into getting this page to work.

I have a secondary “About” page, my “Hire Me” page that performs a similar function. It got 523 visits over the same period.

Multiplied out for the year, it looks like this:

“About Joel” page = 370 x 12 = 4,440 visits
“Hire Me” page = 523 x 12 = 6,276 visits

That’s over 10,000 people who will click over to my “About” pages in the next year. I want to use that opportunity to my advantage, and that’s something you can do, too.

Check your “About” page to see if it:

- Communicates in a personal way to readers
- Contains information readers of your site would fine relevant or interesting
- Shows more sides of you than you usually show in your articles
- Uses photographs or videos to make the information more personal
- Links to other assets of yours or to contact information.

Read the rest of Joel Friedlander's article here.

10 tips to improve your about page
It never rains, it pours. I just found another helpful article on making an "About" page, so I thought I would include it.

Almost as important as your website’s home page is the about page. This is your opportunity to build rapport with your guests — a chance to introduce yourself and to explain the aim of your website. Here are 10 tips that’ll have your own page in excellent shape.

1. Offer your name. It’s a blatantly obvious addition, yet so many about pages don’t get personal.
2. Include a photo. People like to see who they’re dealing with. A smile can work wonders, too. If there’s a team behind the website, include them all (even the cleaner plays an important role).
3. If it’s just you, write in the first-person. If someone asks what I do for a living, I don’t say, “David’s a graphic designer.” Use “I,” not “he/she.” It’ll help make you seem more personable.
4. Think about your visitor’s needs. Sure, you’re talking about yourself, but imagine you’re a potential client reading about you. What does the client get from contacting you?
5. Keep it current. Check the content every few weeks or every month to ensure it’s up-to-date. Perhaps you’ve moved home/office, or perhaps you offer a new product or service.
6. Show your location. By including a photo of your office, your town or city, you let people get that little bit closer, helping build rapport.
7. Short and sweet beats long and sour. Ask someone to have a look at your page. It shouldn’t take any longer than a minute to read, and the reader should learn something new about you.
8. Keep it professional. Smiley faces won’t help you clinch that £10,000 deal.
9. Experiment with video. Letting your visitors see and hear you can have a hugely beneficial effect when it comes to building trust online. (If you’re too self-conscious, why not start with an audio podcast?)
10. Add a call to action. Where should visitors go after they’ve read about you? Your design portfolio? Your contact page? Make it easy — include a link within the text.

One more thing, don’t take yourself too seriously.

Read the entire article here: 10 tips to improve your about page

Terry Gilliam: Talent is less important than patience

I was reading a post on Kindle Boards and came across a reply by Bob Mayer where he quotes Terry Gilliam of Monty Python fame. I loved it and thought I'd pass it on.

Talent is less important in film-making than patience. If you really want your films to say something that you hope is unique, then patience and stamina, thick skin and a kind of stupidity, a mule-like stupidity, is what you really need.
-- Terry Gilliam.

Mule-like stupidity ... I can do that! ;)

Amazon Launches Kindle Indie Store

Kindle recently opened up a store, Kindle Indie Books, for books that have been submitted by independent authors.

Authorlink writes:

AUTHORLINK NEWS/August 16, 2011—Amazon.com today announced the launch of the Kindle Indie Bookstore (www.amazon.com/kindleindiebooks). This page will provide readers a way to explore and browse some of the indie selection available on Kindle from KDP authors and publishers.

"We hope the Kindle Indie Bookstore will showcase top selling, popular and high quality books from independent authors and publishers. We are excited to highlight our growing selection of indie books to Kindle readers through the launch of the Kindle Indie Bookstore and provide this new avenue of exposure to KDP authors and publishers,” said Atif Rafiq, General Manager, Kindle Direct Publishing.

Those interested can find answers to frequently asked questions (FAQ) in the Kindle Indie Bookstore.

Read the original here: Amazon Launches Kindle Indie Store

IP Lawyer Restarts His Law Practise

For those of you who have followed The Passive Voice blog over the years, you know that Passive Guy has flirted with the idea of restarting his law practice. Well, he's done it!

This is a good thing for the writing community. I've followed PG's blog for the past year or so and have learnt a lot about the nasty surprises that contracts can contain. If I were ever going to hire an IP lawyer, PG would be that person.

You can read his post here: PG is Hanging Out His Shingle

What's An Author Brand?

What is an author brand? I've been asking myself this but haven't had much of a chance to research the question. One of my Google Alters sent me a link to Laurel Marshfield's article, What's an Author Brand?

She writes:

Brands are those vague but persuasive associations we conjure up whenever we think of any well-known product. Mac computers. TIDE laundry detergent. Nike running shoes.

Brands are also the far more complex associations that come to mind whenever we think of well-known authors. Often, they’re a flash of images mixed with a dominant feeling, or a scene from a particular book montaged with memory fragments.

Here’s a small demonstration. Does the name Stephen King conjure something different for you than the name J.K. Rowling? What about Dan Brown, Elizabeth Gilbert, Jodi Picoult? Or Malcolm Gladwell, Joan Didion, Seth Godin? What association appears for a second or so when you first see each name?

People Aren’t Products

Whatever that instant of recognition is composed of, it’s there because that author’s brand put it there. Each association is complex and meaningful — unlike the association you’d experience for a brand of laundry detergent.

In fact, it’s that much-ado-about-nothingness which characterizes many product brands that makes it easy to imagine authors rejecting the B word as too schlocky, too commercial, too huckster-esque. So let’s substitute the word “story,” instead.

Your Brand Is Your Author Story

The author story (aka brand) refers to the complex messages authors put out into the world about themselves and their books — which we then absorb and retain in a highly individual way.

Suppose that you, like author Michael Cunningham, were interviewed by Terry Gross on NPR’s “Fresh Air.” You talked about your struggles with writing, as well as your then-recent book, The Hours (later made into a movie starring Meryl Streep). You were articulate, charming, fascinating — someone any listener would want to know more about, because what you had to say was vivid and substantive.

So, you think, is that Cunningham’s brand?

Read the rest of What's an Author Brand?

10 Must-Read Fantasy Novels

I had someone (@AEMarling) ask me on Twitter yesterday, "What about fantasy most speaks to you?" Of course I took that as an invitation to reveal my inner cave man -- or cave woman in this case -- and replied, "All the cool stuff you can do!"

In fairness to me, I've been re-reading Jim Butcher's excellent Dresden Files series and what I like the most about Harry is his smart-aleck kick-butt ways combined with his, at times, irrational refusal to be bullied even if it means certain death. I then asked Marling how he would answer the question. He came back with:

Fantasy unhinges confining reality, manifesting age-old human dreams and desires. The early Homo sapiens might have paused in crushing each other’s skulls (30% of adults died of homicide back then OUCH!) and seen birds flying and imagined taking wing themselves, and this desire to fantasize, to daydream impossibilities may be written in our DNA. I suggest this tendency to entertain the absurd is our greatest adaptation. Without it, I do not for a moment believe we would have achieved air flight, learned how to restart a stopped heart, or cooked the Oreo pizza. (The last one proves fantasy can be used for evil…delicious, delicious evil.)
[Read the rest of the article here.]

I'd been owned. I had to laugh. That's a way better answer. Here's another one:

Fantasy of any kind tells us that the world we know is not the only one, nor the most enduring — and that truth can be anything but an escape or comfort.

That quotation was from David Orr. In that spirit, Lev Grossman has given us 10 fantasy novels that he says everyone should read. The first one is The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, one of my personal favorites. Click here for the others.