First, the most obvious benefit of a $2.99 list price falls in the hands of the author. Kindle (KDP) allows you to earn a 70% royalty but the minimum price must be at least $2.99.

I decided to do a search on Amazon in the Kindle category for “99 cents” just to see what would come up first.  Surprisingly, it was a free book called Falling Star by Diana Dempsey, normally priced at 99 cents but currently free probably from a KDP promo. It has 146 reviews and was published in paperback and mass market by Onyx in 2002. The author is listed as the publisher of the Kindle version (2011). It currently ranks #7 in Contemporary fiction as of this post. But I also discovered “99 cents” and “99 cents kindle” in its tags on Amazon.

My search was followed by two more 99 cent books, a $2.99 book – also tagged with “99 cents,” two more 99 cents titles, and then a $3.99 priced book – surprisingly not tagged “99 cents.” An array of other 99 cents titles finished out the first two pages of the search, some tagged with 99 cents and some not.

When I searched “$2.99,” the first four books that came up in the search were priced accordingly. None of them were titles published this year.  The first three were not even on any best seller lists. The fourth was #35 in Contemporary Romance. The fifth was…you guess it…priced at 99 cents, but also not on any bestseller list, and not even tagged 99 cents.

You can probably chalk most of this up to the random beauty of Amazon.com’s highly stylized search function.  I could probably perform the same searches tomorrow and discover completely different books.  But this is also the beauty of Amazon searching anyway.  Each search is unique and different, catering to your preferences based on your previous searches, likes, reviews, and even your purchases.  Yep, Big Brother Amazon is watching, and collecting your information too.  But even a Google search for an image to use with this post retrieved several Ebook pics and posts as well.

So, should indie authors consider pricing their books at 99 cents to gain readership?  Based on my findings so far, I’d say probably not.  I got bored of viewing my 99 cent search after just about the first two or three pages because every cover looked like something that was either a mystery, a romance, or something put out through Publish America. Let’s just say clip art websites are really profiting from these titles, not the authors!  As a shopper, while I can appreciate how far a buck can go, I’m still willing to pay more for a good quality buck.  I paid $11.99 for a new release Ebook earlier this week – which was more than the discounted paperback, but I would have paid more than the Ebook price after shipping.

I say don’t sell yourself short. Don’t be afraid of pricing your Ebook at at least $2.99 so you can at least benefit from the 70% royalty. If you are exclusive to Amazon in order to meet their KDP lending guidelines, then don’t be afraid of a $3.99 or $4.99 price. Since Kindle allows you to change your price practically overnight, don’t be afraid to adjust your price to coincide with marketing specials.  Run a big campaign on your blog, Facebook, and Twitter announcing that your book will be available for 99 cents for just one day. Don’t forget to use appropriate hash tags on Twitter while doing so.  Record your sales before and during the campaign to see how well it worked.  And don’t forget to change your price back once the campaign is over.

If you are Kindle exclusive, don’t forget you have 5 days in which you can run a FREE promotion for your book every 90 days. I have had much success utilizing this feature by running 1 or 2 free promo days at a time.  My latest book maintains a Kindle price of $2.99 and I received 80+ firm sales after the promo wrapped up. At a 70% royalty for those sales, I ended up with a nice little bank by the end of the month that I was quite proud of.

My point here is you shouldn’t rely on bargain pricing to sell your book for you.  If pricing is a quality issue to readers out there, don’t be afraid of raising your Ebook price a few bucks.  Give yourself plenty of room to fluctuate if needed, and be proactive about it. Save the 99 cent option for special marketing days only which you should promote aggressively. And if you are KDP exclusive, don’t spend all of your 5 promo days at once. Break them up, record and study the results, and again, promote aggressively.

I’m not talking about authors writing to fulfill the need in a genre, or to satisfy the popularity of what’s driving the market in hopes of getting attention and gaining sales. Case in point: How many vampire or werewolf books have been self published ever since Twilight first came out?

Take into consideration Amazon’s KDP Select program that went into effect in December. Amazon dedicated $6 million dollars to the program for 2012, enticing authors to make their books available to Prime Members in the Lending Library which allows those members to check out books for free each month.  Obviously, authors gained no commission from the lending of their books prior to this, which meant authors probably weren’t making their books available.

But, with the Select program, money allotted to each month is divided up by how many ever books were lent that month.  December’s pot was $500,000 which equated to $1.70 in commission every time your book was lent.  Yep, do the math and that’s just over 294,000 books that were lent. The program was apparently so popular that Amazon increased January’s pot to $700,000. February was announced a few days ago as being $600,000.

So, readers enjoy the perks of their Prime membership by having a large array of free books to choose from, and authors benefit by still earning some amount of commission from those free downloads. Everybody’s happy!

Amazon also threw in another perk for authors by giving them the option to promote their book by making it available to everyone – not just Prime members - for free for up to 5 days.  Within a 90 day time period, you can divide up the days however you like or run all 5 days consecutively.

I decided to take advantage of the 5 day free promotion with my second book, Stealing Wishes, by making it free from January 29th to February 2nd. Regular visitors to LLBR might remember this is the book I chronicled in my POD Diary back in 2009. The book was a semi-finalist in the very first Amazon ABNA contest in 2008 and also a semi-finalist for a Lambda Literary award in 2009.

While the book has enjoyed very minor success, I still see a handful of sales each month at the current Kindle price of $2.99.  It had earned 14 reviews at Amazon, but with the last one being posted 14 months ago, prior to the promotion.  Since it was the one book of my three with the most reviews,  it was an easy choice for the 5 day promo.  It’s also been labeled a “light romantic comedy” so I thought kicking off February with the promotion would be a nice touch.

Last week, I decided to visit the Amazon Forums in hopes of doing some light promotion and to spark interest in the book.  I first started participating in the forums in 2008 because the ABNA contest was very forum driven (and it still is), and it’s a nice way to connect with authors and readers.  Over the years, as the forums grew in various subjects, self-promotion was quickly frowned upon and Amazon created a MOA (Meet Our Authors) forum that is more open to self-promotion.

Though you have the option to opt out of following a discussion, anyone who has followed a thread in one of the forums knows that it can get pretty lively, and Amazon will email you every time someone replies.  So, unfortunately, your in-box can feel up quickly with LOL’s and smiley faces, leaving you searching for a needle in a haystack.  It often reminds me of the ole AOL chatrooms I use to troll back in the day.

While reacquainting myself with the forums and searching out the best places to plant a promo seed, I came across this forum about authors replying to one star reviews. It started from someone pointing out how author Ken Foster had replied to some of his negative reviews on his book, The Dogs Who Found Me. He apparently felt the need to defend himself against the reviewers who didn’t like the book, and he even points out some of their errors in the way they interpreted his book.

While I don’t condone Mr. Foster’s behavior, I chimed in and pointed out that I thought it was okay to comment on “good” reviews and mentioned that I had thanked reviewers for their reviews before.  A barrage of comments came in from forum followers, checking my facts by looking up my own books, who mostly disagreed with me and even said “authors should keep their mouths shut” and that “reviews were for readers.”  While I quickly stumbled to the old windmill to avoid the angry mob, I bowed out and immediately stopped following the forum.

Later this same day, I received an email from a fellow author who had just finished reading my 3rd book.  She asked if I was okay with her posting a review of it at Amazon.  She then pointed out that she only asked this because apparently “review swapping” amongst authors was frowned upon in the forums and would get you a lynching for sure! I told her I didn’t care what the forums said and if she wanted to post a review of my book at Amazon, I’d be happy to have it.  In the meantime, this just added more fuel to my fire which is the main reason I’m writing this post. But more about that later.

Two days later, Stealing Wishes goes Free on Kindle as planned. I sent out some Tweets and some Facebook posts.  I announced it on my author website,  and that was about it for day one. To my surprise, the book was downloaded over 400 times just the first day! Mostly thanks to a website called Kinlib.com that I had never heard of before. According to the forums, it’s a website that automatically highlights all the Kindle freebies each day.  I checked it, and indeed my book was there.  (Authors, no need to worry about getting your book on Kinlib if you do the free promotion – it should happen automatically.)

But I had not given up on those forums just yet.  With a quick search I found the MOA forums where self-promotion smoking was allowed. I put on my kids’ mittens and replied to a few, specifically this one about the KDP Free Promotion where other authors were sharing their success stories.  This led me to another forum devoted each day to FREE books that become available on that day.  After a bit of friendly post swapping with a few folks, I ended Monday with downloads almost doubled from the first day.

I decided to keep quiet on Day 3 (the day I’m actually writing most of this article.) but downloads still reached 957 in the U.S.  and I picked up almost another 79 downloads from the UK and Amazon’s other international sites. I started Day 4 by checking out the UK Forums, the only international site with forums available.  I posted in a couple of the MOA discussions there and then returned to the U.S. forums to hit a few of the MOA forums again to remind readers they still had two days left to get my book for free.  Let’s not forget Tweets and Facebook posts again.

I also greeted Day 4 with 2 new reviews.  Both were brief. One was a 5 star and the other was a 3 star.  I frowned at first at the 3 star review, but the more I thought about it, I was happy to even get it.  It meant that people were actually reading my book and not just being one of those free loaders filling up their Kindle device with freebies they will probably never get around to reading.

On Day 4, my author friend that I mentioned earlier also emailed to inform me she’d posted her review over at Amazon of my 3rd book. She mentioned that she too once liked to say thanks to reviewers, but the angry mobsters forced her to delete her thank you notes and choose never to do it again.  Another poster also didn’t approve of a self-promotion post she made about her first book, but chose to review it anyway and gave her a somewhat negative review.  The same poster went on to review her second book and made personal, somewhat attacking, comments about her and even questioned her expertise on the subject matter of her book (of which she had 20 years experience)!

I was honestly appalled by this!  Would a forum ogre really buy and read your book and purposely give you a negative review just because they disapproved of a comment you made in the forums to promote your book? Apparently there are such vindictive minds out there! And they stalk you, waiting on your next book, just so they can attack again.

But as Day 4 came to a close for me, I had only 1 dismal download in the UK despite a few last minute plees I posted in the (proper) forums.  I hit the forums again early on Day 5 announcing that it was the last day.  Tweeted it. Facebooked it. And quickly saw my downloads rise above 50 in the U.S. with only a handful in the UK.  And my 3 star review that I mentioned earlier mysteriously disappeared, but not before I noticed three people had “disliked” it and marked it as not helpful. I’m not pointing fingers here, but it wasn’t me.

Going back to the subject of authors keeping their mouths shut, I really thought that forum comment was a bit harsh. Would you not ogle at the chance to meet your favorite best selling author face to face?  Let’s say Stephen King, Stephenie Meyer, J.K. Rowling…just to name a few.  And what if, as you stood there getting a copy of their latest book signed while clamoring over yourself with slobber and admiration, they simply looked at you with a cold eye (two cold eyes even) and never said a word – all because they knew you were the one behind the forum comment that said authors should shut up?

Sure, if you don’t want us playing Big Brother by commenting on your reviews, that’s fine.  I can respect that. There are plenty of other opportunities for me to thank my readers and reviewers by tweeting about it or posting it on my own website.  I’m guilty of that and will continue to do it off in my own little authordom. But don’t expect me to “like” your comments over on Facebook when you post how much you liked the book.  Like, like, like…look at me and like what I’m doing, like what I’m reading, like me!  Oh, and don’t even think we are going to be friends on Facebook! N’uh! And if you comment on a post on my website, don’t be surprised if I don’t approve it.  How do you like them apples now you, you, you forum muggle!

As for Day 5 of my Free Promo, I tweeted.  I Facebooked.  I hit just a few forums on Amazon for a last call.  And it paid off.  I got 117 downloads in the U.S. on the last day, and 7 in the U.K.  And even though that 3 star review disappeared, another 4 star review was posted on the last day.  So, 2 new reviews during the 5 day promo! And that brings my grand total of downloads over the 5 free days to 1,074 in the U.S. and 86 in the U.K. and other international Amazon sites.  More than I would have ever imagined, so I would call this promotion a success!

What do I hope to gain from it now?  Well, here’s hoping all the free loaders might read and review the book.  I’d love to gain just even another 3 reviews, maybe even a new review in the U.K. But most of all, I’d love for sales of my other 2 books to pick up.  But if not, I’m still already contemplating another free promo later in the year for one of them.

As for the forum fodder and angry authors and no thank you notes on reviews… Readers, you need authors to write more books!  Authors, we need readers to buy them! Can’t we all just get along?

This information was collected from Amazon’s website, and is offered to help review the new Kindle Fire.

Connectivity: Wi-Fi Supports public and private Wi-Fi networks or hotspots that use 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, or enterprise networks with support for WEP, WPA and WPA2 security using password authentication; does not support connecting to ad-hoc (or peer-to-peer) Wi-Fi networks.

Content: 18 million movies, TV shows, apps, games, songs, books, newspapers, audiobooks, magazines, and docs.

System Requirements: None, because it’s wireless and doesn’t require a computer.

Content Formats Supported: Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively, Audible (Audible Enhanced (AA, AAX)), DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, non-DRM AAC, MP3, MIDI, OGG, WAV, MP4, VP8.

Web: Amazon Silk cloud-accelerated browser

Display: 7″ multi-touch display with IPS (in-plane switching) technology and anti-reflective treatment, 1024 x 600 pixel resolution at 169 ppi, 16 million colors.

Battery Life: 8 hours continuous reading or 7.5 hours video playback

Charge Time: Fully charges in approximately 4 hours via included U.S. power adapter. Also supports charging from your computer via USB.

Storage: 8GB on device for 80 apps plus either 10 movies or 800 songs or 6000 books. Plus free cloud storage for all Amazon content so you never have to worry about running out of space.

Dimensions: 7” x 4.7” x 0.45”

Weight: 14.6 ounces

Interface: multi-touch

USB Port: USB 2.0 (micro-B connector)

Audio: 3.5 mm stereo audio jack, top-mounted stereo speakers.

Amazon Prime: Amazon Prime is an annual membership program that offers customers unlimited Free Two-Day Shipping on millions of items, instant streaming of more than 10,000 movies and TV shows and access to borrow a Kindle book every month, including New York Times Bestsellers, with no due dates — all for just $79 a year. Eligible customers who purchase a Kindle Fire will be given a free month of Amazon Prime.

I received the Kindle Fire in the mail a couple of days ago and have been playing with it ever since. This is the first tablet that I’ve ever owned; my previous Ereader was the second edition Kindle. There was nothing wrong with current Ereader, but there were some features that the Fire owned that I could greatly benefit from. So I took the leap in technology and decided to upgrade. I’ll go through each aspect of the Fire in order from the list above that was provided from amazon.

Connectivity: The Fire fell a little short in this areaL. Amazon has dropped the 3G capability on the Fire, and only allows Wi-Fi connectivity. I understand why they did this. Wi-Fi is faster than 3G, and with their new Cloud storage, it gives you the ability to stream items from their internet-based storage. By eliminating the 3G, they also eliminated any problems of TV and movies that were streamed having poor quality, choppy reception, or frozen vids. I think that they have room for improvement here. Mainly, I believe that they could bring back the 3G, but make the items that they are worried about unavailable on the 3G network. This would enable the customer to continue to shop, browse the internet, and access apps while away from home or hotspots.

Content: There is more than enough content to keep anyone entertained and busy for hours on endJ. I will mainly use the Fire to read Ebooks, and that feature works great. I have downloaded one movie and the quality is awesome. Also I have fiddled with a few of the apps, which just like everything else, the apps are endless. I already used the Cloud for my music downloads before I purchased the Fire, so all of my music was already accessible as soon as the Fire was set up with my account information. Then there is the ability to read all kinds of docs, but I’ll get to that in a minute.

System Requirements: Amazon claims that the Fire does not require a computer. I’m sure that would be true if you didn’t need to transfer documents over to it. There is a small catch with this. Make sure that the Fire is powered on before plugging it into your computer, or your computer will not think that it exists. Also, you’re going to have to purchase the cord that connects it to your computer (not includedL).

Content Formats Supported: It speaks for itselfJ: Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively, Audible (Audible Enhanced (AA, AAX)), DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, non-DRM AAC, MP3, MIDI, OGG, WAV, MP4, VP8. This is just awesome, and it is the #1 reason that I decided to upgrade. The ability for the Fire to read all of these documents is phenomenal for me. I write reviews, and sometimes an author doesn’t have their book available for sell yet, but they have it as a PDF or DOC. I want to read their book, but now I’m forced to sit in front of my computer to read it, and that is only when I have time. Being able to read these documents on the go now makes me give the Fire a huge thumbs up. I transferred two books that I received as PDFs, and I was really impressed. They opened and interacted no differently than any of my purchased Kindle Ebooks. This is something that I am very happy with, and also something that some of the other tablets need to work on from what I hear.

Web: Amazon invented their own web browser call the Amazon Silk cloud-accelerated browser. Although they say that it is accelerated, I really didn’t see much difference between it, and Google Chrome, which is what I use on my home computer. There is nothing wrong with it, but it is a slight disappointment after being told that it’s accelerated. It works… it’s a web browser… I’m happy with itJ.

Display: Amazon had to let go of their claim being able to read their products in the sun. The consumer wanted a touch screen LCD, and that is what they gotJ. I read some online complaints that the reaction time is slow, but personally I have not had any problems. I did buy an antiglare screen protector for it though.

Battery Life and Charge Time: My previous Ereader had a very long battery life, the Fire is only 8 hours. That is mainly due to all the features and the LCD screen. I’ve charged it since I’ve gotten it, and have been playing with it off and on, and I still have more than 50% of the battery left. I’ve never messed with any other tablets so I can’t really compare how much juice it sucks, but I’m impressed. I thought I would have to charge it every day. Apparently I don’t mess with it as much as I thought it would, or my perceptions of batteries are offJ.

Storage: 8GB would be puny in the way of storage for a tablet, if the Fire didn’t also come with the Cloud storage. The Cloud – for some of you that don’t know – is an unlimited online storage data base for all of your content. The Fire enables you to stream your downloads from the Cloud, and never even download it to your device, in return saving you that space for other items. You can also download your items from the Cloud to your Fire’s memory, so that you can view those items when you are not connected to a Wi-Fi network, delete them at any time to save internal storage, and download it again later if you want. The Cloud is a secure backup for all of your contentJ.

Dimensions, Weight, and Interface: The fire is actually smaller than my second generation Kindle. The screen is larger and it does weigh more, bit it fairly compact compared to some of the other tablets that I have seen. I guess it’s a matter of personal preference on screen size for the customer. I like it. Even with it in a case, it’s about the same size as a small bookJ.

USB Port: This was almost a show stopper at my houseL. If you buy a Fire, you will open the box and find the tablet, and the power cord… that’s it. My previous Kindle came with the adaptor cord and a nifty little attachment that plugged into the USB to convert it into a wall charger. People that own an iPhone (or other electronics) will know what I’m talking about. The Fire does not have this. If you plan on transferring docs to your Fire, you need to buy this cord; it is not included with it. Luckily my previous adapter worked. Also remember, that the Fire has to be powered on in order for your computer to recognize it when you plug it in.

Audio: I set up the Fire to play my favorite movie that I downloaded (Fight Club) in my kitchen, and then went about fixing supper. Here is another area that I think could use improvements. I found that over the noise that I was making, that I had to turn the volume all the way up. So in a noisy area, headphones might be recommended. Also, there are not external buttons to turn the volume up or down, you have to use the touch screen panel to adjust the volumeL.

Amazon Prime: Amazon gives you one month of Amazon Prime free for purchasing the Fire. At first glance, I want to jump all over this. The free 2-day shipping for one year on products purchased from them alone is enough to make me squeal, but on looking at it further, I’m not so sure if it would be worth it for me. For some people this may be a dream come true. With the Amazon Prime yearly package – which cost $79 year – you’re able to stream 10,000 TV shows and movies, and borrow one book a month for free. It sounded pretty tempting until I investigated further. The TV shows and movies that they offer for free are much older, and they only offer the free books from about 5,000 titles. That seems like a lot of books, but if you consider that Amazon boosts that they house millions of books, it’s really just a drop in the bucket. Free books, movies, and TV shows do nothing for me if they aren’t something that I want to watch and read. I’m sure that this is something that each person would have to investigate on their own to decide whether it is right for them. I personally would have to still have to pay for: Fight Club (movie), American Horror Story (TV episodes), and Frostbite by David Wellington (Ebook). And after looking at my purchase history, I would be cheaper paying the shipping charges on items that I purchased. Remember, the free shipping is for items purchased through Amazon, not the 3^rd party merchants that supply a lot of items that are sold on Amazon.

With all of these cool features, Amazon almost forgets to mention their Whispersync technology. This is the ability to drop what you are reading on one device, and pick up in the same spot on another. For someone like me – that has the Kindle app on my phone – this is great. I can read a book at home and take off for an appointment, find out that I’ll be sitting in a waiting room a while, pull out my phone and pick up exactly where I left off. Then when I get back home to my tablet, it is synced up to spot where I stopped on my phone.

Overall I’m impressed with the Fire, and the pros more than outweighed the cons for me. My main purpose was to use it as an Ereader, and with its ability to read all kinds of docs, it has surpassed my expectations. On the tablet side of the device, there are areas that could use some improvement. In another words – I don’t regret spending the money on it, and I hope that it serves its purpose well over the years, just as my old second generation Kindle has.

• 12 voters (55%) said they post reviews at Amazon, B&N, GoodReads, and other blogs.
• 5 voters (23%) said they post at Amazon.com only.
• 2 voters (9%) said they post at book blogs and their own personal site only.
• 2 voters (9%) said they post at GoodReads.com only.
• 1 voter said they do not post reviews at all.

Since this is a review site that supports indie authors, I can pretty much guess that the 11 voters who join me in cross posting reviews across the board are more than likely authors themselves.  I certainly wasn’t shocked to find “Amazon only” in second place.  I used to be one of those Amazon only reviewers myself.  Now, I post to Amazon, LLBR, GoodReads, and often my own personal site depending on the book. I do not post to B&N.

Why the reason for this poll anyway, you ask?

I was recently reviewing my book reviews over at Amazon.com for all three of my books, balancing out how many came from people I know vs. people I don’t know vs. reviews I solicited vs. blind reviews I didn’t expect at all.  Sounds fun, doesn’t it? Eh, it’s what indie authors do sometimes. Here’s a breakdown by book for those interested:

My 2nd book Stealing Wishes has the most reviews at 14.  Nine of those came from people I know (mostly fellow authors or from online), only one of which I’ve actually met in person. The latest review was posted November 2010.

My latest book, Are You Sitting Down?, has 7 reviews.  Six of those came from people I know, and again, only one of which I’ve actually met in person. Its latest review was posted October 7th, 2011. Before that, July 21st was the latest review.

My first book, The Other Side of What, also has 7 reviews. Five of those are people I know, and out of that two are reviewers I’ve actually met in person. Its latest review was posted October 11, 2011. Before that, July 2010 was the latest.

Going back to Stealing Wishes which has not had one review posted for it this year, I’ve sold 55 ebook copies of it via Kindle this year.  The most were in January with 12 sold and then 10 sold in May. But not one review posted! And that’s the main purpose for writing this article.  I have pretty much come to the conclusion that Kindle users don’t post reviews.

And it completely makes sense.  Have you ever used the key pad on a Kindle? Typing out a review wouldn’t be very easy, and would be very time consuming.  While I myself use the Kindle app on an iPad, I still return to the keyboard and desktop to write my reviews.  I think its safe to assume that most other ebook readers do not.

With 5% of our poll voters posting at Amazon only, you’d think that a sale of 55 ebooks over the course of 10 months would earn at least 3 reviews perhaps?  But nope.  Not a one. I am taking into consideration that maybe some of those buyers haven’t read my book yet, but I’d like to think that the majority have read it.  Or maybe all 55 buyers read the book, hated it, and are just sparing me the humiliation of a bad review?  I hope not!  Although I do tend not to post reviews of books which I’d rate two stars or less.

But still the question of “Why no reviews?” goes unanswered.

I decided to explore other “review avenues” to see if the voters hold true, mainly B&N.com and GoodReads.com. At GoodReads my first book, The Other Side of What, has only one review which was cross posted to Amazon. Stealing Wishes has three reviews, and all three were cross posted to Amazon. And lastly, Are You Sitting Down? has 9 reviews (2 more than at Amazon) and of those, six of them are cross posted to Amazon.  I’d like to point out that 3 of the reviews on GoodReads came from winners of a giveaway I held on the site in which I gave away 10 copies of the book. 900 people entered the give away, and of that, 158 people added the book to their to-read list. Of the 10 I gave away, I earned just the 3 reviews and not one of those is cross posted to Amazon.

Over at B&N.com, my first book has no reviews. Stealing Wishes has three reviews – and of those three all of them are also cross posted to Amazon and GoodReads. Are You Sitting Down? has only one review and that one is cross posted to Amazon only.  I have never really cared much about the number of reviews I have at B&N.com.  I don’t shop there, and the reviews I do have there were posted out of the kindness of the readers.

Now, I know what you are thinking.  People probably just don’t review indie books or lesser known titles, right?  That could be true.  And at 55 ebook copies sold on Kindle alone to date in 2011, I should be content with the number of reviews I do have and just move along.

Well, let’s have some fun by taking a look at the Number 1 best selling English language novel of the 21st century just to put this into some perspective.  That book being The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. According to Wikipedia, it sold 80 million copies as of 2009. Not taking into consideration that I’m sure it has sold a few more million in the past two years, as of me writing this article The Da Vinci Code has 4,009 reviews on Amazon and 3,336 on B&N.  Yep. Quite a bit.

Again, not considering any number of sales from the past two years, given its 80 million copy status as of 2009 and the current number of reviews on both sites, that means 1 review was posted for every 19,955 in sales at Amazon and 1 review for every 23,980 in sales at B&N. Since we know that it has definitely sold more since 2009, those averages are realistically quite bigger.

Now, going back to my 2nd book, Stealing Wishes, with its 14 reviews at Amazon, if we do the same math (although I have not gotten any reviews this year) with the 55 ebook sales, I’ve averaged 1 review per almost every 4 sales.

So, what have I learned from this? I need to write a book more like Dan Brown.  Sure, more sales = more reviews. That’s obvious. And while reviews might help sales, they aren’t always a direct indicator of how well a book is selling.

Reviews are also somewhat of a privilege and authors indeed have to work for them.  Thanks to the Ereader popularity, like Kindle, we might be able to earn more readers but that doesn’t always mean we can get them to review us.  And while Amazon is the industry standard of places we’d like to see reviews posted, we shouldn’t forget about all the other places (B&N, GoodReads, LLBR, etc.) where reviews can be found too.

A follow up to this argument may be, “Are reviews helpful to readers or do they even read them?”  I know I do, but I don’t always let them persuade my decision on whether or not I want to read a book, although I usually go straight to the one and two star reviews and read those first if there are any.

Earlier this year when LLBR reached its 3 year anniversary, I told our readers that we would be posting more reviews going forward, and we’ve done just that!  We also cross post our reviews to Amazon and other sites because we know how important they are to authors, because we are authors and we enjoy getting reviews just as much as the next guy.  I think we’ve even become a review site for authors, more so than for readers themselves. So, I close by asking for your opinion.  What’s an author gotta do to get a review around here?

And what does this mean for authors, particularly those who have self-published their work only on Kindle?  Well…new readers, new exposure, and new sales we hope. But what about new reviews?

To date, my own three books have a total of 26 reviews combined.  The latest was posted 2 months ago. I’ve sold 25 books via Kindle this month, and sold a total of 78 last month. In other words, sales via Kindle have been steady so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that they’ll stay that way with the release of these new models. 

However, despite the steady flow of sales via Kindle, I’m not getting any reviews.  I’ve come to accept that I just don’t think Kindle owners review books!  I wanted to write a post about this, but thought I’d do a bit of research first – starting with a poll to find out if people review books in general. 

Just check out the poll over on the right side of the site and cast your vote today!  All I want to know is if you review books you read, and if so, where do you post those reviews.  Thanks for voting!

I’d say I’ve probably only had a cell phone for a year or two.  They still don’t interest me, and I certainly don’t feel the need to trade up to a newer model every time one with more bells and whistles hits the market.  My roommate, however, changes cell phones and plans about every other week.  He likes cells.  He knows cells.  And that’s fine.

Me, however?  I know books. I read them. I write them. I review them. I got a Kindle for Christmas last year and traded up shortly after for an iPad.  And while its been a few months since I’ve read a book on my iPad (May actually), I’d still say I’m pretty tuned into the market and its a topic that holds my attention.

Recently, while riding in the car, I don’t know why but I took out my phone and downloaded the free Amazon Kindle App. I’m surprised I even had the phone with me.  Most of the time I forget to even carry it. Within minutes, I was reading one of my books which I’m going to review later this month, and I was thinking to myself, “Wow!  This is neat!  I’ll now have my ebooks with me wherever I go even when I don’t have my iPad!”  And then I thought, “Oh shit!  What have I become?”  I’m one of those people now who read books on their phone.

Sure, I still like physical books.  I LOVE physical books, especially the used Stephen King hardcovers I’ve been collecting lately and getting for free from Bookmooch.com.  That’s my stack of them in the background of the photo, behind my phone with an ebook on it, the phone that contradicts that stack of paper and cardboard behind it.  The little digital thingy that the books are cursing like they were dinosaurs raising their fist at a comet.  The neat little convenient piece of technology that I actually took into the gym with me so I could read a book while on the stationary bike.

I’m looking at those books now as I type this and yeah, I owe them an apology.  I’m sorry babies.  I still love you.  I will read you.  Some day. They are probably wondering the same thing…what have I become?

Sure, the e-generation is fun.  It’s fast.  It’s exciting.  It’s fast forward to the future.  It’s making self-published authors rich.  It’s cutting out the middle man.  It’s giving readers cheap books, and giving it to them fast and efficiently.  On the go. And yet I wonder, is this good for my eyes?  I feel like I’m reading fast, but heck, I’m only reading a fifth of a full paperback page, right?  It’ll take forever to read a book on this thing!  But at least now I can do it!

I jumped on the Kindle bandwagon right at day one.  My books are on the Nook.  They’re on Smashwords.  I’m even putting the ebooks on GoodReads if you read my post from a few days ago.  And eventually I’ll research all that Google ereader stuff too, or wait for some other author to do the homework for me.  But today? I’m reading ebooks on my cell phone.  That’s right.  Me!  The most old style, land-line, non-texting, non-cellular person there probably is at my age in this day and age.  OMG! That’s right!  I’m reading books on my phone, baby.

Where are you reading ebooks these days?  Besides the Kindle, the Nook, the Kobo, or any other tablet….tell us what you have become.

• Research your choices.  There are lots of self-publishing companies out there these days.  CreateSpace, Lulu,  iUniverse, BookLocker, Xlibris, and Authorhouse are just a few.  Some are totally free, and some aren’t.  For those that aren’t, check out their contracts or packages that they offer.  Know what you are getting for your dollar up front.
• Know your budget.  If you use a POD company that charges for a package, which package can you afford?  You should also plan on purchasing review copies.  How much money are you willing to invest on other marketing?  Don’t forget postage and shipping supplies!  Are you paying for editing services or for book cover design? Things always change along the way, but you should plan out a rough budget up front and know your limits.
• Be prepared to invest in review copies!  I hate when authors contact us for a review and we ask for a hard copy, and they either can’t send one because they don’t have any and don’t know when they will get more, or they say they have to consult with their publisher first and will get back to me.  You are your publisher and you aren’t fooling anyone!  If you contact any book blog or book reviewer asking for a review, you should have physical review copies lined up ready to go.  Most reviewers these days will accept a PDF or Epub file, but you should know what that reviewer expects and be prepared to meet their requests.
• Invest in a decent book cover.  I hate book covers with grainy photos and red letters typed over them in bold fonts. I also hate monotone book covers that are all one color with the title at the top and the author’s name at the bottom.  These are definite signs of novices!  Most POD companies have some sort of automated book cover design program with stock images.  Don’t use their stock images!  If you do, just know there will be other books out there that have the same cover as yours. I budgeted for and invested in book cover software for my second book and it paid for itself in six months after the book was released.  I also used it for my third and fourth books and lent my help to other authors for a small fee.  Research your options or hire a graphic designer for assistance.
• Edit!  Most POD companies offer some sort of editing service, but it can be quite pricey.  If you can’t afford to hire an editor, at least have a smart friend or two read over the manuscript and look for mistakes and misspelled words.  Don’t think that your own eyes will catch everything, no matter how many times you read your own book. I’m guilty of doing that myself, and readers were quick to point out my mistakes. Sure, traditional books even have mistakes in them and some are always going to slip through, but if your book is full of mistakes and errors it can be a big turn off to the reader, and to reviewers!
• Format your book properly and follow the rules!  I have never, never, NEVER seen a traditionally published book that lacked right margin justification and I’m tired of self-published authors telling me that they did it that way because it’s easier to read.  No, you didn’t follow the rules because you didn’t do your homework, or you don’t know how. I know that’s harsh, but it’s the truth and it’s one reason I will turn down a book for review right away. I’ve said it before and I will say it again, go into a bookstore or go to your bookshelf and select 10 traditionally published books from the genre you plan to write in – horror, mystery, thriller, romance, whatever.  Study the layout and format of each.  What do they have in common?  What makes them different?  Chances are their front matter contains a title page, dedication page, copyright page, etc. Where are the page numbers?  Do the pages have headers? Where does the body of text start and end on each page? Whatever all ten books have in common, chances are your book should have that in common too.  Learn the benefits of the software you are using to create your book and learn how to format, or get someone to help!
• Don’t be a POD snob! That means don’t assume that just because your book is available on Amazon now, that you are any more special than any other author.  Unless you are Amanda Hocking and making millions from your self-published book then you are in the same boat with the rest of us and being a snob will get you pushed into the water. Be able to accept criticism and never NEVER attack reviewers just because you don’t agree with what they said about your book.  Self-published authors standing on soap boxes are generally full of hot air. If you are visiting forums or book blogs, you should be prepared to participate in more ways than just self promotion.  Don’t just stop in and say “Read my book!” and then leave.  Don’t believe me?  Check out the Amazon.com self-promotion forums in the POD community and decide for yourself how many of those authors actually get read.  Be professional, and know that sometimes you should be quiet. You should also be willing to give back, which leads to…
• Before considering self-publishing, read a few self published books.  Particularly ones published through the same company you are going to publish with. Get to know the product! Also, read reference books about self publishing.  There are lots of helpful books out there!  As Stephen King points out in his book On Writing, when you aren’t writing you should be reading.
• Learn the Ebook market!  That’s right!  Sure, go ahead and publish in paperback or hardcover but Ebooks are where you are going to make your money these days.  And there’s a whole new set of rules to follow when E-publishing.  Kindle, Nook, Smashwords… there’s lots of options out there and each has its own publishing format and interface.  Be prepared to invest the time to do it right!  And again, study the market and the genre your book belongs in.  See what’s selling and what isn’t.  And pay attention to pricing.  Readers love the 99 cent Ebook!  And you’ll probably make more money from Ebooks at that price than you will with your overpriced paperback anyway.
• Understand that physical bookstores are not your friends.  In fact, most of them hate authors, especially self-published authors who come into the store with a chip on their shoulder and expect the store to let them do a signing there.  Unless your name is James Patterson or Dean Koontz or J.K. Rowling, booksellers don’t want to talk to you.  And never, NEVER call a bookstore and try to promote yourself over the phone!  They don’t have time to talk to you. Almost all bookstores expect a discount so that they can sell a book and make a profit.  With almost all self-published books, companies charge all customers list price so there is no discount for bookstores.  Or there’s no distribution of your book through wholesale channels for chain bookstores to be able to get your book anyway.  And if there is, the book is usually sold non-returnable so a chain bookstore will require pre-payment.  Sure, there are other options out there, but that goes back to a whole new way of self-publishing so that your book is available through these channels, and that would mean a whole other top ten list, right?  So for now, just know….bookstores aren’t always your friend. Sure, there are exceptions here.  Maybe your local indie store loves you and you know the lady behind the counter because she goes to church with your grandmother and she told you she’d love to have you in for a signing.  That’s great!  Let us know when you sell a thousand copies at that venue.

While I agree with most of the points they make, I don’t feel like some of them are that important.  And while this isn’t labeled a TOP 10 Things You Should Know, some of these points aren’t even the first 10 I’d think of right off the top of my head if I were creating my own list. But that’s just my opinion.

Sure, you need to #1 Pick a niche.  But I don’t think you really have to #2 Study your competition.  If only for the sake of avoiding plagiarism or copying an idea that’s already out there (vampires?), if you are studying the genre you want to concentrate on, then you already know what’s out there and you know which readers you want to target.  However, do any traditional authors study their competition?  For the most part, probably not.  Just go study the teen section in your local chain bookstore and count how many covers have hot shirtless men on them that are either vampires or angels. Without reading the blurbs, I already can guess what all of those books have in common.

I agree with #3 all the way.  You are often your own editor unless you have the money up front to invest in a professional.  Buyer beware.  I’ve reviewed books that claim to have been meticulously edited by professionals and I still find mistakes.  You should definitely at least have a good friend or colleague read your book and look for mistakes.  A second opinion helps.

#4 Make your title memorable is dear to my heart.  If you’ve read my books, you know I love me some metaphors and hidden meanings.  So, I’m all about a catchy title.

#5 Self-Publishing includes self-promotion. Ummm, yep.  Search the web and whore yourself out.  Its what the competition is doing.  Just don’t be a snob.  Everyone has written a book these days so if you are attacking forums with “Read my book!”  you are probably going to get ignored.  You need to get reviews, plain and simple. Contact book bloggers.  Start a twitter account. Start a Facebook page or blog for your book. Make your book available on Kindle and Nook first.  Give your book away on GoodReads.  First and foremost, get people to read your book and help you spread the word on the web. If you do this, #6 on the list will indeed happen naturally.

#7 A literally agent isn’t necessary.  I thought this was a bit Self-Publishing 101.  That’s why it’s called self-publishing, and its kind of a given.  Am I wrong?

#8 is important.  Yes, you can win awards.  Just know a lot of self-publishing awards go to more than one book at a time.  So, know the fine lines before you start bragging that your book was THE winner. Also, don’t be afraid to change your book cover and put a badge on the cover showing what award you won.

#9 Know your audience comes hand in hand with #1 and #2 which I’ve already discussed.  If you pick a niche and know your competition, then you will certainly get to know your audience. And by doing #10, if you do it right then you will get to know your audience as well.  Go one step further though and get to know them personally.  Create an e-mailing list and send out email blasts.  Know your fans on Facebook.  Friend them on GoodReads.  In other words, get to know what they are reading when they aren’t reading you.  This will show you your competition and may help you develop new marketing leads.

Overall, this is a great list for beginners!  Lots of information that kind of goes hand-in-hand though but some important bullet points that even seasoned self-publishers could use a refresher course in.  Thanks to Web Design Schools for compiling this list and giving some attention to self-publishing.

10 Biggest Predictions for the Future of Book Publishing

1. Vanity presses and self-publishing will swell in popularity.: Self-publishing carries with it a rather interesting dual reputation. Some view it as an excellent means to get great stories out there without having to worry about editorial intervention begging for less personal, more commercial properties. Others chide the publishing houses that charge the authors themselves an exorbitant fee to print — hence the term “vanity press” — and sell their services based more on ego-stroking than actual talent. The reality likely lay somewhere in between, as the superb Self-Publishing Review showcases. Regardless of one’s political leanings, a visit to Daniel McCarthy’s Tory Anarchist at The American Conservative provides an intriguing, yet logical, prediction for the future of these divisive businesses. He argues in favor of an increased relevance and de-stigmatization of self-publishing, especially with the surge in blogging’s popularity, and details possible (but obviously not definitive) economics behind such measures.

2. More writers and artists will experiment with motion comics.: Major, independent and self-publishers alike have been exploring the outer fringes of the motion comics medium to varying degrees of success over the past couple of years. The fact that it remains in a largely nascent stage provides an excellent challenge to creative individuals, begging them to take it as far as it can possibly go. Domenic Defina at Septagon Studios praises Amo Tarzi’s Superare as a particularly striking example of what sort of quality creations the motion comics medium inspires. Anyone can watch it on Vimeo, yet the layout particularly pops on gadgets such as the iPad. It stands to reason that many innovators will turn their attention towards customizing their works to suit the features of new technologies rather than going retro.

3. There will be little need for gargantuan publishers.: Off in the far-flung future of 2020 (which hopefully sees those personal jetpacks that science has been holding out on), Richard Eoin Nash believes that many of today’s publishing giants will instead resemble their far smaller, more independent counterparts. He thinks the overemphasis on churning out bestsellers and profits will lead to executives slicing back on personnel and resources until their businesses have streamlined to produce around one hundred or so titles a year — all of them perfectly crafted to stir up mainstream hype and sell thousands of units. A “lack of entrepreneurial capitalism,” Nash argues, leads him to believe that the industry will structure itself as such within the next ten years.

4. More people will be authors: Perhaps unsurprisingly, Mark Coker believes that more authors will begin emerging onto the literary scene at an ever-climbing rate. Considering the amount of opportunities available in self-publishing and vanity presses these days, anybody rejected by mainstream outlets or desiring to forego editorial involvement has little to fear. With manuscript in hand and a story to tell, the masses may very well flood the very market that ten years ago would have never given them a voice. This leaves the literary world ripe for new ideas and innovations that many publishers turn down for fear of losing profit and bestseller status. Anyone who feels as if the current literary climate takes few risks and putters about in a sea of mediocrity and repetition should find this prediction particularly tantalizing.

5. eBooks will only get more popular.: Plenty has already been written about the Kindle, Nook and iPad and how they’ve revolutionized the way people read. And experts across the board repeatedly posit that it will only expand from there, with many experts postulating that 95% of books will go straight to a digital state in the future. Considering the hubbub swirling about the iPad, the prospect of more interactive, dynamic literature increases in likelihood as well. But even factoring out that element, readers flock to these devices for their ease of use, durability, portability and the fact that they clear up plenty of space on those shelves in the living room.

6. Authors will grow even more media-savvy.: By this point, many fans have made note of the ever-closing gap between themselves and their favorite authors. Through Facebook, Twitter, message boards and blogs, they can completely bypass the agents and managers and publishers and go straight to the writers themselves. Authors themselves feel as if the trend will continue, with those hoping to “make it” in the industry feeling intense pressure to maintain an active, viable internet life. Failure to do so, they fear, compromises their chances of getting picked up for publication and/or capturing the interest of readers — and their money. Therefore, it makes sense that the industry will probably experience an upswing of writers eagerly embracing social media and blogging in order to promote their work.

7. Memoirs expand as a genre.: Autobiography and memoirs have always been around, but over the past few years have enjoyed an upswing in popularity — even blending with other genres such as diet, self-help, business guides, comics and plenty more. Matilda Butler and Kendra Bonnett at Women’s Memoirs believe that a combination of heightened demand and a plethora of self-publishing opportunities means even more will be available for perusal. It also opens the floodgates for even more experimentation. Graphic memoirs such as Maus and Persepolis have been around for a while, but never received the widespread, mainstream attention it so richly deserved. This could very easily push both literature and art in some interesting directions, especially when it comes to publishing autobiographies.

8. Books will no longer have a minimum length: Mike Shatzkin notes that the burgeoning popularity of eBooks, along with its myriad other noted advantages, will also offer up more opportunities for novellas and other “lighter” fare. With so many publishers requiring a minimum length for the manuscripts they accept, writers now have a platform to release the works they want people to read on their own terms. No need to stuff filler into smaller pieces to meet demands. No need to worry about returns on printing costs. He also points out that magazines, newspapers and other periodicals could very easily adapt to an exclusively digital format as well. As could pamphlets, one-shot comics single short stories and poems, small collections and any other literary bits smaller than the average novel.

9. eBook readers will move even further away from E Ink.: Some of the devices themselves certainly have, anyways. And chances are, the next generations will rather quickly phase this technology out. E Ink helped solidify eBook readers’ place in society, accurately reproducing the look of print on paper for a smooth, satisfying experience. But LCD and OLED displays make for a far cheaper, just as readable alternative — definitely an advantage for producers hoping to keep up with escalating consumer demand.

10. More young adult books will hit the shelves.: Or, more likely, the eBook readers. Both young adult books and graphic novels have undergone something of a Renaissance lately, with the former enjoying a 14% increase in sales this past October. With Harry Potter and the truly abysmal ode to emotional abuse Twilight carving out niches for themselves far beyond the bookcases, plenty of other publishers are also looking to capture the proverbial lucrative lightning in a bottle. From a far less cynical perspective, the glut of YA novels currently entering the market provides middle and high schoolers a much broader selection of genres to explore. Those who do not enjoy the fantasy and horror elements of the two current media juggernauts have plenty more options available than previous generations — and things only look more promising from there.

Photo taken by Noelle V. at yelp.com

This past weekend while out of town visiting family in Tennessee, I learned about the death of an old friend.  Bookstar, a landmark where my publishing roots started and where I first started working in books, is closing its doors December 31st of this year.  Bookstar was bought out by B&N in the early 90s.  It may not look like a B&N on the outside based on the picture, but you definitely knew it when you stepped inside.

But with its neon lights (inside and outside), leopard print carpet, black patent leather seating in the men’s room, and hip roomy cafe, Bookstar was all about the ambiance.  It’s also housed in an old movie theater – the old concession stand is where you check out now and the movie screen is still on the wall above the magazine rack.  It also holds a special part in Memphis history for those who know that Elvis used to love to watch movies here – renting out a private room upstairs that now serves as an office, and which you can still see from the sales floor if you look up.  The projection booth was our breakroom, complete with those little windows where the projector played the movie.

I made some great friends there and met local authors.  James Patterson once knocked on the door before we were open, or his publicist did, wanting to know if we wanted him to come in and sign his books. I poked gentle fun at him because he was wearing a yellow sweater, the same sweater he wore in the author photo on the back of the book he was promoting at the time. It’s where I started a local book club, and hosted a signing for a local author that turned me on to self-publishing. It’s where I first participated in an open mic night and read my poetry to others. It’s where I later signed copies of my own first book, which was featured on a local authors endcap and sold quite well.

And now it’s closing.

I’m not sure why.  The news segment didn’t say.  But I’m pretty sure it’s because of a decline in sales.  A Facebook friend who still worked there told me the clientele had definitely changed and it just wasn’t fun anymore. He’s even left since. The store sits in a prime location, near the University of Memphis, on one of the busiest streets in the area.  While the old shopping center it sits in was even decaying at the time with empty storefronts, I can’t imagine the rent has gone up.  So it has to be a decline in sales.  I guess even the Nook can’t save B&N’s own brick and mortar stores.

So, while I haven’t even stepped foot in the place since 2003, it will always hold a special place in my heart and mind, amongst all the other “bookish” events and locales that have made me the author and reader I am today.  That, and I wish Steve Vargo a happy retirement if he isn’t gone already.  He shelved fiction when I was there, and was still there two years ago when I called up to promote my second book.  Steve had even worked there when it was still a movie theater, and is practically a Memphis landmark himself with his loud brash voice, warm laughter, and always pleasant demeanor.

I’m just as guilty I guess.  Even here, I talk about how wonderful the bookstore was despite not having patronized it in years.  I blame the fact that I now live 300 miles away, and even when I visit family in Tennessee I’m still 80 miles from the store. But like those who live closer to it, and could have bought books there on a regular basis, instead I bought discount online and had it delivered to my house. Blame Amazon!  Blame the internet!  Blame the Ereader!  Heck, blame a decline in reading alone!

We all killed the local Bookstar!

Click here to read more about Bookstar and to view more photos.