Publishing News Roundup Series: Are Amazon Ads Worth It?
by Maureen Crisp • September 26, 2018 • Follow
Published in News • No comments
Indie authors can market any way they want, but is the cost always worth it?
As an indie author, one gets a lot of freedom to market their message in the exact way they want. The downside being that everything is paid directly out of pocket. Companies like Amazon have lured indie authors in with the promise of publishing freedom, but as ad pricing continues to increase, will indie perks become indie burdens?
Surviving Career Custard Pies
Pic; Atlas Obscura- The Perils 1947 Custard Pies
In the publishing blogosphere this week….
K-boards is a well known chat forum for authors who publish on Amazon. This week the news that K -boards was sold from the deceased estate of its founder to a tech company caused hardly a ripple in the smooth working of the forum until participants noticed changes in the terms of service that were unusual and upsetting. It could get very messy. The Passive Guy brought his lawyer eye to figure out what was what.
Apple has quietly changed its bookstore. No more iBooks… Apple books are here to stay. Apple have some nifty new revamps to the bookstore.
The rising cost of Amazon ads has caught authors on the hop. The suggested price to start bidding has risen by 25%. The Alliance of Independent Authors great blog highlights and examines this situation. This has been a big topic of conversation around the indie publishing blogosphere.
It’s Book Launch week for me. Do you know any quirky confident beginning readers? I have a great book series launching now based in a traveling circus… add in some codes… and you get custard pies thrown… Um No. Ricardo Fayet of Reedsy has a list of unconventional book launch ideas…
Agent Janet Reid has an interesting answer to a reader question on what happens when you have fired your agent but they still have an interest in the books that they submitted on your behalf. How long do they have their claws in me?
Kris Rusch comments of the hits an authors career takes when a publisher makes a stupid decision… The latest stupid decision – Tor stopping libraries from accessing their new releases.
Chuck Wendig has an interesting post on his blog today about writing careers being a series of cliff mitigation exercises. This is a super read. It is thought provoking especially when joined with Kris Rusch’s blog.
I flicked this link on Book Covers to my fabulous Cover Designer Adele Jackson. This is a fascinating roundup of the cover designers on Instagram. If Typography and pretty colours are your thing – take a look!
3 writing techniques adapted from the visual arts– This is a great post by Tess Callahan on Writers Digest.
In The Craft Section,
Mythcreants have two great posts that you should Bookmark- 5 Reasons not to write a persecution flip story and How do I avoid endorsing my protagonists actions
How to write exceptional endings– September Fawkes- Bookmark
How to find and capture your novel ideas– Joanna Penn
How to deal with rejection as a writer– Meg Latorre
What’s at stake– Michael Hauge- Bookmark
Sweeter than tea– Writing tips
In The Marketing Section,
Biggest Bookbub ad mistakes– Bookbub- Bookmark!!
Misconceptions about literary agents– Writers Digest
The Ins and Outs of Contests– Writers on the move
Embed video in your Amazon book listing. – The Digital Reader
Creating an Author Persona for live events– Joanna Penn
How to set up and run an author exhibition stand– Alli -Bookmark
David Gaughran has a fascinating guest post from Nicholas Erik. This is a MUST READ if you are advertising on FB or Amazon.
To Finish,
Anne R Allen has put together a handy list of books to help writers when they feel discouraged, blocked or feeling like they are not a real writer. This is EVERYONE. We all feel like this at times. Her list has been extensively added to in the comments so make sure you read them.
Maureen
@craicer
About Maureen Crisp
Maureen Crisp has been writing her weekly publishing roundups for over seven years. She is a traditionally published children's author as well as indie-published. She lives in New Zealand and is heading the team organising the 4th National Conference of Children's Writers and Illustrators. She is currently trying her hand at writing a children’s book series if she can drag herself away from forever tweaking her Mars novel or obsessing over space.