Second Chance Released Today-Now Available for Purchase

It's true. Second Chance is now listed on Amazon.com and is available for purchase. Don't wait. Click here and buy your copy today. Hopefully, it will have a good first day, a good first week, and a good first month.

You don't have to be a football fan, After all, my publsiher, Dana, is a woman, and isn't a football fan. She told me as much. But she also told me she enjoyed the story, that she was caught up in the action of the games. And it must be true. Otherwise why did she offer me a contract to publish it?

Buy a copy, not just for yourself. The holidays are coming. It'll make a good gift for a husband or wife, a brother or sister, a cousin or friend, male or female. Women like to read, so here's a story they will enjoy. Men like football, so, of course it's a story they will enjoy.

Buy Second Chance; a Football Story. And I will thank you. Thank you.

American Authors Take Their Turn

Yes, good news. American authors are taking their turn to show they can match their British counterparts with great hearts. Two American authors have stepped up to the plate to help out a fellow author, (me) in their endorsements for my book, Second Chance - A Football Story.

Like the British, these two American authors don't know me from Adam. But they have demonstrated great kindness and willingness to take the time from their busy schedules to help me out with great endorsements for Second Chance.

As I mentioned in earlier posts, only a British author, (and a great one, btw,) and a British reviewer for British army magazines had taken the time from their busy schedules to provide endorsements for John Dunn - Heart of a Zulu.

But now, a couple of American authors have done the same for my football book, Second Chance. One of them, a successful sports book author who is currently touring Africa, took the time from his hectic schedule to read Second Chance and send me a great endorsement. His name is John Coy, and he has written several sports books for big time publishers. His latest is Crackback, a story about high school football, just like Second Chance.

The other is a fellow author from my publisher Penumbra, Walter Knight, the author of the successful sci fi series America's Galactic Foreign Legion. He also wrote Vampire in the Outfield and Zombie Missouri. Although his books are horror comedies, he just happens to be a former high school football player who played in the high school state championship game, just like the main character in Second Chance. So it was great that he took the time to provide an endorsement.

I thank all of them from the bottom of my heart. It's great to know that people you never met can be so kind and willing to help.

Knox Robinson Publishing - Full in Gear

By "full in gear" I mean Knox Robinson Publishing is going all out for their 2016 releases. Along with the publishing schedule they just sent me, they are stressing the procurement of endorsements from fellow authors in the field and/or reviewers in legitimate periodicals.

I am fortunate that I had already jumped on that when I signed the contract for John Dunn - Heart of a Zulu last summer. I was able to acquire an endorsement from a British reviewer, and I expect another one from the world's foremost authority on all things Zulu by tomorrow.

I must say I am very impressed with the British people in providing their help and offering their interest on this matter. I am forever in their debt. They owed me nothing, didn't know me from Adam, yet they are proceeding to help me out as if I were their brother. It's a lot more than I can say for people who had been my closest friends. Makes you think, doesn't it.

I'm only stuck on the Second Chance book. Since I didn't know about the 2016 release, and since I hadn't signed a contract yet, I hadn't jumped forward in soliciting endorsements. But I'm on it now. I've had contact in the past with a local sports columnist who might help me out. Time is of the essence, however, and I can only hope at this point that he does.

All in all, 2016 will be a big year for me with the release of two novels. That's not something I expected. But, hey, sometimes things you don't expect happen. Yep.

Reviews or No Reviews?

Well, I had said that I didn't think soliciting reviews was something I wanted to do. But I changed my mind. What made me change my mind was an article on someone's blog recently. It was on a blog by a writer who was saying the importance of reviews should not be underestimated, and she was specifically referring to negative reviews.

Her point was that even negative reviews get the word out about your books. And that is the most important thing when it comes to promotion. Spreading the word. And reviews do that. Yes, even negative reviews. One of her reasons was that there's no book out there that is loved by everyone. So negative reviews are normal. Inevitable. Of course, no writer looks forward to a negative review, but the plus side to a negative review is the fact that your book is being discussed. By someone. And that is to the author's benefit. Even negative reviews spread the word. And they prove that an author is not getting their reviews from just family and friends. They are getting their reviews from real reviewers who probably have no ties to that author.

Now, I wasn't against soliciting reviews because I was afraid of negative reviews. I just thought it was a little on the phony side. Like asking people to do something that they normally wouldn't do. I was thinking that people should just buy your book on their own, and only write a review if they were so inclined.

But if people want to write reviews, because they like doing that, then that means they are so inclined. And if they don't know about your book, then how can they write a review about your book? So you have to tell them about your book. As for exchanging a free copy for the review, well, for any product out there, it's not unusual for free samples to be distributed as a means of promotion. And that is the bottom line about my change of heart regarding the soliciting of reviews. Promotion. Marketing. Getting the word out. You have to start somewhere.

Buy the Books!

Stats page info again. It indicates that yesterday, a lot of people from the U.S., Russia, and Germany were reading this blog. But countries other readers of the blog live in are China, Canada, Ukraine, Netherlands, India, South Korea, and even Indonesia and Malaysia. Counting just yesterday, the numbers totaled over 100 visitors to the blog.

Now if all those people actually READ the blog, who's to say? Because most of those countries don't speak or read English. That doesn't mean the people who come to this blog don't read English, They probably do, otherwise why are they going to blogs that are in English?

So that's great, but I hope they are buying my two available books, too. That's the purpose behind the blog. To promote my books. And that means prompting sales. Killer of Killers and The Vase are very entertaining stories. They are a lot of fun to read. Easy to read. Thrilling, even. Killer of Killers is action packed, but it's not just about action. It has philosophy and intrigue, romance and tragedy. The Vase has suspense and intrigue, romance and tragedy, too, and is set in Israel. It deals with Shin Bet and Hamas, both of whom are conspiring against each other in the story.

There is a religious element in The Vase, but it's not a religious book. Not at all. That religious element I referred to is only there because some of the characters in the story are religious. But the book doesn't promote religion. I wouldn't want to read a book like that, and The Vase is NOT like that. But it does have a great premise, meaning the vase in the story is an ancient one and has ancient images recorded in its grooves that get projected when the potter spins it and puts a metal tool into the grooves, thinking he is cleaning it. But the tool acts like a stylus and the grooves in the vase are like grooves in a vinyl record, thus images and sounds are projected.

Now that's the premise behind The Vase. But it's got a lot more going on than that. In fact all of my books do. And my upcoming ones, Killer Eyes and John Dunn, which I've begun revising last night have a lot going for them.

But I suggest you start with Killer of Killers and The Vase. By the time you've finished reading them, Killer Eyes may be ready. It's a great follow up to KOK. Then John Dunn. And Second Chance, my fifth novel should be completed by next year. And then, The Killers Guild, which will be my sixth book, but it will be the third and possibly the final entry of the Killer series.

But it all starts with Killer of Killers and The Vase. Buy them today!

Get the Word Out--Promoting Your Book

Promotion is the subject today. Promoting your books, that is. Big Publishers get their books into bookstores. Even some independent publishers can do that. But not small publishers. Particularly not small POD publishers. Or even big POD publishers. That's because bookstores don't want to pay upfront for the books they stock on their shelves. And that's just what you have to do for a POD book. Pay first, that is.

Bookstores also want to be able to send back any books that don't sell after a particular amount of time. You can't do that with POD books. So if you are published with a POD publisher, (like I am,) then you won't have your books in any bookstores.

So what can you do then? Here's what. Get the Word Out. You have to tell people about your book. But then those people have to read it. And after they read it, they have to tell other people about it. Then those people have to read it, and so on and so forth.

You see, if you tell people about your book, but then they don't read it, that's the same as if you never told them in the first place. It's as if you said, Hey I wrote this book, check it out. But then that person said, Oh that's great, but never checks it out. It was all for nothing. No progress, no promotion, and no word getting out.

It only works if the people you tell about your book actually buy and then READ your book. Of course it will help a lot if they then LIKED the book. I mean REALLY liked it. Not just say they liked it. It's like they might say, Oh, yeah, I read the book, it was great, but they really didn't give a darn about it at all, and they won't tell anyone else anything. Again, no progress is made, and no promotion is ongoing.

They really do have to 1-BUY your book, 2-READ your book, 3-LIKE your book, and 4-TELL OTHER PEOPLE ABOUT your book, which is a very good reason your book better be a story that people will like and want to tell other people about.

It goes without saying that the author likes it, Otherwise that author wouldn't have written it. But there's another factor involved. It might actually be a good story, but not written well or not written well enough to tell the story in a way that will make other people like it. That's up to the writer, the talent that writer has in his or her ability to write well. But that comes with experience, too.

It's like I've said about everything. The more you do it the better you get. That goes for writing, and I suppose for promotion, too. I just need to get better at promotion now. Hopefully I can. But HOW? Keep telling people about the books. Use FACEBOOK, and don't be like I was before, meaning very picky about who I friended on Facebook. The more friends the better. Even people I've never met before. Even complete strangers. You never know. That one person who you never knew before might just be the person who was the catalyst at getting the word out about your book!

Promotion the Weak Link

For authors, there are so many tasks to undertake, and most of them, I think, are relatively easy. You can come up with an idea or premise for a story, you can create characters, devise a plot, fill it with events as the plot unfolds, you take care of the prose, you improve it, you make sure all of the punctuation is correct, the meanings of your words, you make sure you use your verbs properly, you don't confuse transitive verbs with intransitive verbs, and you make sure you don't misuse your dialogue tags. Then you find a publisher, and then you get an editor and you get your cover design.

But the one thing that mostly seems to be beyond the author's control is promotion. And that's because promotion/marketing just isn't in the equation for most authors. At least not authors who have a limited budget. Big publishers can advertise on TV, in magazines, in newspapers, etc. I've heard of books that are already on the NY Times bestseller's list BEFORE they've even been published!

Just how that works is beyond me. Do people buy books or order them before they are published? How do they even know about them? That must be some awfully good marketing then. To have sold enough  copies of your book to make the bestseller's list before it's even been released!

I have heard of hiring a publicist, and I suppose a lot of authors do that. But there's that budget thing again. I've heard of making reader's lists, email lists, and blogs, and all of that sounds nice, but does any of that work? I know of one thing that works. TV commercials. Because I think most people do watch TV at least sometimes. Others a lot of the time. And those pesky commercials are always there. You can't help but to see them, even if, like me, you hate them. But there's that budget problem again.

The best way for someone like me to promote a book is to get that book into a bookstore. But that brings up another problem. Small publishers don't do that. So it would behoove an author to be published by a big publisher. How? Keep writing books. Small publishers are a great way to begin your publishing career. But you don't just stop there. You keep writing new books, and you keep finding new publishers. Then, and only then will you get a big publisher, who will then get your book into a bookstore.

So the journey continues. Forever forward!

Promotion-Keep At It

So I got an interview in a small newspaper. Don't know when it will come out, but that doesn't matter, because you don't just stop there. You have to keep at it. I should find other small newspapers, contact them, see what they say.

I did try Christian/Catholic newspapers a while back, because of the appearance of (spoiler alert!) Jesus Christ in The Vase, which I think would appeal to anyone who believes in Jesus Christ. But even for people who don't, that doesn't mean they won't enjoy the book. You see, when Jesus appears, it's not like it's in a preaching type of context. No, it's just a recorded image in the grooves of an ancient vase, that's all. The story line does not preach any religion.

Sure there are religious people in it. There's a religious Israeli who's a Jewish man, who observes his faith, and there are Muslim fanatics in there, too. There are agnostic Israeli Jews, too, and even an Israeli who's an atheist. There are agnostic Muslims, as well.

And, actually, that is the crux of the story. Agnostic/atheist Jews and Muslims at odds, not with each other, but with those of their own religion who are fundamentalists or fanatics about their faiths.

Is there a common ground for them? Or do they clash as any other enemy might? Or do they come together and resolve their differences? Here in America there is a similar kind of conflict. I mean the fundamentalist Christians seemingly at odds with the secular population, or should I say vice versa?

But there are no Christian characters in The Vase. Yeah, Jesus Christ appears in the climax of the story, but the characters who make up the story are as I explained above. Still, the story would probably appeal to Christians/Catholics for Jesus' appearance and the fact that the Pope also has a small role.

So of the dozen or so Christian and Catholic newspapers I contacted, only one responded. They requested a free book, and said that maybe they would give a review on it. We'll see how that goes. And even if they do, I"ll still have to keep at it. Promotion is a never ending process if you want to sell books.

Interview Went Well

It was my first ever interview. By a reporter, that is, and it was a good experience. She was very professional, and very interested in learning about my two published books, Killer of Killers and The Vase. A photographer came with her, and he was taking photos in what seemed like a rapid fire mode. At least that's what it seemed like, because every time he snapped a shot, it was like hundreds of shots were happening.

But then we sat down in my classroom, and she asked me to tell her about the books, so I started with my first one, Killer of Killers, and explained what it was about, and then I told her about The Vase, and  then she asked how I came to write them, what inspired me, what was the most challenging thing about writing a book, and where did I get the ideas for them.

The interview also covered my residence in the city where I live, how long I've lived there, and also about my family, and little of my history, and my job as a teacher.

Sure there's more, but I can't remember everything. I wonder if I will be able to post a link to the story when it comes out. If I can, I will. Then you can read the article for yourself, and hopefully buy a copy of one or both of my books. Because that's the only reason I wanted to do the interview. It was an effort to get the word out about my books, so people who might want to read them will know about them. It's called promotion and marketing. And it's something all authors need. Especially new authors, like me.

And if you are reading this, and you haven't bought your copy of Killer of Killers yet, or The Vase yet, buy one today. Thanks.

Promotion Opportunity

I posted yesterday about how difficult it is for a new author like myself to get the word out about his or her books. I was saying that sales will be slow if buyers don't know about them. And I don't have any real access to real buyers.

Fortunately, a reporter from the local newspaper where I live has advised me that I will be interviewed about my two published books, Killer of Killers and The Vase. It's something that I had hoped would happen ever since Killer of Killers got published over a year ago. But I could never figure out how to make that happen. I tried to find phone numbers to call or email addresses, but there was no phone number on the paper to call, or on any website through which I could make contact.

Finally, I tried again last week, and this time there were phone numbers and even email addresses, so I contacted the main one, and they got back to me the next day. A reporter from the paper has set up an appointment with me today after school, right here at the school where I teach, and a photographer will be coming, also. I didn't really want my picture in the paper, but if this is going to help get the word out, then I think I should make the most of it.

Tomorrow, I'll post about how all of that went. Fingers crossed.

Marketing/Promotion Must be a Priority

Talking about the competition that involves publishers and books these days, really brings home the importance of marketing and/or promotion. There are hundreds of publishers nowadays. Maybe thousands. And there are literally millions of books. The strange thing is, and I've heard this talked about, and joked about, and it seems to be true that there are more writers than there are readers!

From  my experience, I think that all these writers do not read. At least, they are not interested in reading anyone else's book. I'm guilty of that, so I'm not complaining. But the point is that the majority of people who are writers are competing with each other for the minority of people who are readers. That is to say that the writers are in a competition to have their books read by the fewer people out there who actually buy and read the books.

And that is why promotion or marketing your book is a number one priority. You might think that just writing the book is the priority. Writing a good book. A great book. And it's arguable, at least, that it is, but what good is a book, even a great book, that no one reads? And how can anyone read it if they don't know about it.

The best way to promote your book is to have it in bookstores. That's what the people at Absolute Write will say. And I don't doubt that it's true. But POD publishers can't do that, for the reasons I've already posted in earlier posts on this blog. Word of mouth is a way for it to happen, but if no one knows about your book, then no mouths will be spreading any words.

Some self published authors, those people who didn't even get a small POD publisher to publish their books, have found success through word of mouth. But from what I've read, they didn't just sit back and wait for that to happen. They got out there and made it  happen. Kudos to them. I'm trying to do that. It's not easy. Just have to keep trying. You don't sit back and wait. That's what I'm sure of. Nothing will happen if that's your plan.

Book Trailer?

Promotion, marketing, whatever you want to call it, advertising, is very important for any product, even books. Movies have 'trailers' which are shown on TV commercials, or at the theaters, and on websites on computers, and many authors have made 'trailers' for their books, too.

I think I will look into this. I can probably make a better 'trailer' for my books than someone else who never even read them, so I will make that a goal for the new year. But where will I show these trailers? Well, certainly on this blog, and I suppose posting them on YouTube will be another option. I don't know anyone else who might post them on their blogs, so maybe it will be a waste of time, because who will know about them besides the people who read this blog? I would think anyone who's read this blog already knows about my books. The purpose of trailers is to get the word out to people who DON'T know about them.

But that's what I'll do. If nothing else, it will be fun like any of the things I do. Stay tuned.

Sales Remain Steady

I posted a week ago that sales seemed to be pretty good for Killer of Killers, but I wonder who's buying it. Who's reading it? Well, someone must be reading it, because the Lulu Sales Ranking is higher than your average Lulu paperback. It shot up from a five figure number to a four digit number the first month after release, and it has remained pretty steady since then.

Aside from a coworker or two, I have no clue who is buying it or reading it. No one is reviewing it, or at least, no one is leaving any reviews anywhere that I have seen. And no one is commenting on it, either, or at least nowhere that I have seen. I did see one review on Goodreads about a month ago, but it disappeared. It was a good review, too.

It would be great to see some good reviews that don't disappear, but I suppose it doesn't matter. The sales ranking is pretty good, and that doesn't even include Amazon, because I don't think Amazon even has it yet. I hope that will change soon. The delay might be because I insisted on reloading the "template" which kept it from being put on Amazon. But now that the final reload has taken place, I think it will go on Amazon any time now. I should ask my publisher about that.

And when it does, maybe the sales will increase even more. It's time, also, to check out my local bookstores. Barnes and Nobles told me a couple weeks ago that they would stock it. I'll go see if they did. And if they did, I'll visit a few more bookstores. That will be fun. Nothing like promoting and marketing your own book. But I'd rather be writing. Have to get on with that sequel and the further adventures of Trent Smith. Killer Eyes is up next. Stay tuned.

Publisher Interested in The Vase

Well, that publisher has expressed interest in The Vase over the weekend, and has been very forthcoming in communication with me. I haven't signed a contract yet, but it could be happening very soon. I have some decisions to make.

Meanwhile, Killer of Killers seems to be doing pretty well, as the Lulu sales rank for it has crept ever upward. I'm not in the top hundred yet, not even the top thousand, but I did go from 13,000 something to 6,000 something in one week.

I really don't know exactly what that means. Did it sell a lot to make a climb like that, or just a few? I couldn't say. But here's to hoping it was a lot. Meanwhile, I'll keep spreading the word to whomever likes to read books.

I did make it to Barnes and Nobles, and they, again, were very receptive and told me that they will indeed stock in on their shelves. But they didn't take the books that I brought. They said they had to order the book through their warehouse, and stock their shelves from there. They said if I check back in a couple weeks, I should see it in their store. I'm glad I bought books from them now.

I suppose I'll have to visit some more bookstores. If it means getting my book stocked on their shelves, then it will be worth it.

So that's what I'll be doing when I have the time to do it. That and making the decision to sign on with the other publisher for The Vase, who I will mention and talk about once the contract is signed, just like I did with Melange, and Virtual Tales, and Cogito. Let's see how this one goes. Stay tuned.

The Rock and the Hard Place?

I'm not sure that saying is applicable to my situation. I'm a Middle School teacher. And the kind of books for Middle School kids are MG books. I mean not even YA books are really appropriate. And I don't teach Literature over here, so I'm not all that familiar with too many MG books. I know of some. The Rats of Nimh is one, and I actually liked it. I taught sixth grade core for a while before I got my full  assignment of Exploratory classes, and that was the book we read for Literature class.

The YA books I know are the ones that were made into movies. And the thing is, I am stumped as to how they became popular. Take the super hit Harry Potter, for example. A boy wizard in wizard school? Where is the appeal? And Twilight? A vampire forever attending high school classes? I don't get it. And then there's Hunger Games. A teenage killing game? That one's over my head, too.

Regardless, they all became hits, and kudos to the authors. They achieved the ultimate in having their books made into movies. What could be better than that?

But I can't even really promote my book, Killer of Killers. Not where I work. Because it's not for kids. The few people I've told about it, I had to be sure to tell them it's not for kids. They can't believe it. They act surprised. It's like they're thinking that I'm out of line being a teacher writing books that are not for kids. So should I promote it or not? Well, I guess I should, just not here. That's all.

Time to Visit Book Stores

I'm going to be visiting the local Barnes and Nobles this week. I have about ten of my books on the way, I hope, and when they arrive, I'm going to take  some of them with me. I've already talked to people over there about stocking Killer of Killers, and they were agreeable to that. They even suggested hosting a "Signing" or "Book Release" party for me, but parties aren't for me.

Still, it was a nice gesture to offer that. I'm no party animal, so I won't take them up on it. But I would very much like for them to stock my book. I'm not sure to what extent Melange Books gets their books into bookstores, but I don't think it's a hassle to visit Barnes and Nobles again and this time with books in hand. And there's a few other book stores around here, too. If they're anywhere near as obliging as my local Barnes and Nobles was, I should have my book stocked in them, too. And, btw, there's more than just one Barnes and Nobles close by. There's three or four of them in the area.

So I'll let you know how that goes.

Joined Goodreads and Going to Disneyland

I just joined Goodreads. I've head about it. And I know a bunch of authors are on there. I was waiting until I actually had my first book in print before I was going to join, but a publisher to whom I had submitted advised that I join.

KILLER OF KILLERS is coming out real soon, so I figured it's about time. May as well not wait until the gun to start promoting there. Thought that getting the buzz going early could be a good idea. And the more places I promote this book, the better. I even have this blog plugged in over there. Maybe I'll get more followers. That would be cool, as long as they buy the book. And why woudn't they? If anyone likes a great adventure story, an action-packed thriller, about the world's greatest martial artist, then they won't regret buying this book.

And that's that. For now. Because today I'm going to take my family to Disneyland. We'll be in L.A. by this evening and in Disneyland by tomorrow. So this will be the only post for this entire week. I've been very consistent, posting every day, Mon - Fri, anyway. But every summer there will be a week or so I'll be on vacation, and this is the week.

So until next Monday, everyone have a great time reading!

Different Mode

Now that THE VASE is on track for publication, I will be in a different mode. Something I'm not really used to, but all writers will have to get used to it if they want to sell any of their books. I'm talking about marketing and promotion. I've never been a good salesman. I still remember when I was a kid I was asked to assist a friend in going door to door trying to sell newspaper subscriptions. Didn't sell a single one.

But with this media revolution of the computer and the internet, at least I won't be going door to door. It's the main reason I started this blog. For promotion. It's why I changed the name of the blog to THE VASE. I had a teacher's website already, and I'm promoting the book there, too. I have an author's website now on the Author's Den website, and I joined a Writer's Group.

It's kind of fun, come to think of it. That's about all I can do until the book is actually published and available for purchase. Then I'll link the purchasing sites, like Amazon or even the Virtual Tales site to the websites. I've already got Virtual Tales linked to my blog. I'll do what everyone else does and link it through the cover of the book.

Now there's another thought. What should the cover look like? I'm thinking I like the photo right here on my blog. I think that it would be a good cover, just by itself. Just a black and white photo of the vase with that same all black background - with a caption like the one I have there, or something similar. It works for me...

Marketing

These indie publishers want you to contribute in the marketing of your novel. Some expect you to carry the load completely. I don't mind doing some things, but being 100% responsible for marketing? That's a big deal I'm not sure I can handle.

Here's what I believe an author should be willing to do:

1-Mail/email friends, acquaintances, and get the word out about your new book. Why wouldn't anyone do that? You're excited about your first book being published, right? Ride that wave of excitement and let people know about it.
2-Increase your online presence and connect with others though the internet. Blogging, websites, forums, stuff like that. It's why I write this blog.
3-Make yourself available for book signing events at bookstores and readings at libraries which will promote sales.
4-Call your local newspapers, even your former schools, high school and colleges, so that they have something to talk about in regards to one of their own becoming a published novelist.

Agents call this a platform, I think. But I do expect the publishing company to do their part, too. I expect them to get my book into as many bookstores as possible. People browse at bookstores. If they don't see your book on a shelf in there, it will be unlikely they'll buy it. I don't believe it's up to authors to go into a bookstore and tell them to stock their books. I wouldn't feel good about that. But maybe that's what I should do. We'll see.