Interesting Marketing by Amazon

Business of Writing, Promo Tips, Publishing Changes

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

AmazonAmazon has been in the news recently because of growing pains (shipping issues regarding timely delivery) and other problems it’s experiencing…most notably their possible plans to spike the price for Amazon Prime in response to low 4th quarter profits.

But I’ve been noticing other things—marketing related—that I’ve found very interesting.  And it’s made me wonder if it’s possible to adapt some of our own promo activities.  Continue reading

Self-Publishing Mistakes

Business of Writing, Uncategorized

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraigBody in the Backyard--smaller

Tax time is making me a bit reflective this year.  Maybe I didn’t have the time to reflect on Dec. 31st/Jan. 1 since I had a January 1 deadline…at any rate, I’m doing it now.

Tax time also always makes me think of ways I could improve.  It’s great that I’m selling books—but I’ve missed opportunities along the way.

I thought I’d share my mistakes here in case you might find yourself in the same boat with some of these things.  And mistakes are just opportunities to learn, after all.Continue reading

Resources for the Do-It-Yourselfer

Tools for Writers, Uncategorized
by Julie Musil, @JulieMusilBoy Who Loved Fire
My hubby and I are die-hard do-it-yourselfers. The home we live in now sits on what used to be nothing but acres of wide open dirt and scrub oak. We brought utilities here. We built the house ourselves. Heck, I even helped paint the exterior of our house while carrying my 9-month-old son in a baby backpack. Yes, we’re crazy like that.
Call me psychotic, but I have a hard time paying someone to do what I can do myself.
When I decided to indie publish my novel, I took the same approach. Aside from hiring a freelance editor (A Little Red, Inc.) and cover designer (J. Allen Fielder), I did the whole project myself. In my opinion, editing and cover design are tasks for the pros. Some would say the same about painting the exterior of a house, but we won’t worry about that now :)Continue reading

Twitterific Writing Links

Twitterific, Writing Tips

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraigBlog

Twitterific links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine(developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 23,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.

Have a great week!

Using Amazon KDP’s New Cover Creator http://t.co/wqrhRrB0xN @nickdaws

7 Essential Questions of Plot— Do You Ask Them?  http://t.co/MauI0e3OXf @JennyHansenCA

Getting Physical: Ways to Make Your Characters Come Alive:  http://t.co/6qkI5L9NoX @RMFWriters

7 Lessons Learned from Half a Year of Writing Every Day:  http://t.co/grXieJRZwJ @jamietr

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Super Bowl Recipe for a Crowd! http://t.co/pBTaQ30I8M @CleoCoyle

Writer of a Certain Age:  http://t.co/ENbgBQUySV @fay_weldon @NYTimes       Continue reading

Tax Time Revelations and…Is Writing is the Career We Can’t Retire From?

Business of Writing, Publishing Changes

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraigfile2081241837401

I had my appointment with my CPA on Wednesday.  The appointment was in the middle of the Southern snowstorm aftermath, actually—there’s nothing like adding to the misery of taxes with a minor natural disaster, you know.  I hired a CPA last year when I continued waking up in cold sweats in the middle of the night, worrying that I was doing my taxes wrong.  I didn’t think I’d fit in well in tax jail.  I decided I didn’t mind paying for peace of mind.

She had me painstakingly pick through my bank account and pull out every deposit from all sources…self-publishing and traditional publishing…for 2013.  This was nightmarish and took the better part of an hour.  But I didn’t have the 1099 from Amazon yet and she wanted to double-check all my income sources anyway, so I combed through the statements.  The entries I was looking for were direct deposits and checks from Penguin (via my agent), Llewellyn (my agent doesn’t represent me with this publisher), Amazon, ACX, Smashwords, Apple, CreateSpace, and Barnes & Noble.Continue reading

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