New column, new book

My column for  Indiereader.com talks about the Indie Gig and how publishers trained writers to be successful self-publishers.

Also, if you like movies, and who doesn't, why not give my screenplay for The Gorge a read? It's the adaptation of the 2007 novel They Hunger, only new and improved...leaner, meaner, and jucier. There's also an omnibus edition with three screenplays for $4.99!

 

###

Ghost College; Supernatural Selection #1

The launch of a new series by J.R. Rain and I, featuring paranormal investigators Ellen and Monty Drew. The Drews are hired to investigate a bible college where restless spirits are suspected. $2.99 for Kindle at Amazon

###

Transparent Lovers out

Good indie hero Brian Rathbone hosts me in an interview at Podiocaster (20 min)

Well, in all the madness I forgot to promote this here book. Private investigator Richard Steele must solve his most difficult case ever--his own murder--while torn between women on opposite sides of the grave.At Amazon and BN and Smashwords

 

Also check out my guest blog at indiereader.com

Don't Quit Your Day Job

Mark this on your calendar: Feb. 19, 2011.

It's the day I became (or am becoming) a full-time fiction writer. Well, also an editor, gardener, and occasional non-fiction writer. Plus maybe other things for money. But it's cool to say, very pompously, "A-hem, I am a full-time fiction writer." Back when I was a writer, I never told people I was a writer. Now I'm a writer and I feel pretty much the same, except I wear clothes with holes in them and don't have to comb my hair.

Anyway, when they unroll the crumbling scrolls in 2049 and look back at the myth that was Scott Nicholson, this will be the birth date. I expect to fail spectacularly, but it also feels so completely natural, as if all my life has pointed and led to this, that resistance is futile. Success, come and take me. I no longer fight you, and I'm no longer afraid one way or another.

Help me celebrate by spreading the word about my fantasy collection FLOWERS,  99 cents at Amazon and BN.com.

Well, coincidentally, I babble some at Midnyte Review. 

Never Listen To Me

I'm pretty clear in my occasional writing advice that "nobody knows nothing and the people you should avoid the most are those who claim they know something. Or everything." And you should change your mind frequently. I often hear people make absolutist statements, given as fixed, eternal truths, that are the exact opposite of what they said last week. Sure, politics is the most obvious example, but it's true in art as well.

Someone asked me about some advice I'd given on my Website in an article still up from four years ago (I REALLY need to clean that thing out). Basically, this person asked if I thought it was still a bad idea to participate in a print-on-demand anthology. Back then, the answer was "Yes, it's bad," because the books would cost $30 and not even the writers' mothers would buy a copy, and you'd make three cents while losing your first rights (assuming the publisher ever bothered paying you, that is).

Today, of course, the answer is "Maybe." If it's a reprint, and the publisher is doing an e-book version, it's silly to neglect yet another revenue stream, and the challenges of getting into bookstores are fast becoming moot, just as bookstores are becoming moot. My point here is not to warn you from POD or get you to try it. The point is I have no idea what I'm talking about.

I'm sure somewhere on my Website I say "Never self-publish." Yet today I'd ask why you'd even WANT to contribute to a POD project when you can do it yourself with a lot less hassle and more profit. Some people like community and partnerships. I mostly prefer to work alone, because it's peaceful and I can usually determine the outcome.

So don't take any of my advice. It's take me 15 years to realize I'm stupider than I was the day the started.
###

Too Many Witches

 

Because I love you, or you love me, or something, here's a sneak peek at the concoction now bubbling away in the labs of Mssrs. Nicholson and Davis. TOO MANY WITCHES tells the truth about jealous girls, stinky old bat wings, and  what happens when you eat too much candy. In the tradition of If I Were Your Monster, but for big little kids learning new words, coming soon to e-reading devices near you. And paper, if you are an old fuddy duddy who doesn't believe in magic.

###

Currencies of the Ego

The indie movement has launched a new measure of "success"--the number of downloads. It doesn't matter whether they are free, 99 cents, or $4.99, and it works like this:

"Gee, I had 1,700 downloads last month!" You don't see Stephen King going around bragging about his numbers. But it also doesn't mean much without context. If you gave away 1,700 copies, that has almost zero value right now, unless it's the Gateway Drug to other purchases. If you sell 10,000 downloads at 99 cents, you made less than the person who sold 1,700 downloads at $2.99. So who's "bigger and better"?

If it's a newer writer, I can understand the exuberance, because the ebook era seems like a miracle after years and years of carefully controlled distribution, when your sales numbers were set in stone the moment an agent said hello to an editor. But it's also easy to sound like you are either bragging or insecure. I shared some end-of-year numbers and I shared on Konrath blog once, more to support the point that people can make a living at this, and now I regret having done it, because it feeds the whole notion of "How much I earn is how good of a writer I am."

"Units moved" has become the new currency of ego that used to be "I GOT AN AGENT!" And money is another currency of ego. I'm guilty of it myself. When I see somebody's raw numbers, I instinctively compare mine, even though consciously all I care about is how I'm doing, not how well I'm doing in relation to other people. In fact, the less I pay attention to other writers' performance, the generally happier I am, because all that matters are my readers and the work in progress.

Maybe that's human nature, and this "Currency of the ego" is an idea I'm exploring in my spiritual philosophy, so hopefully I'll revisit the topic. In the meantime, feed my ego and buy my books. And, by the way, the 3/15 Tweet for gift certificate is for The Skull Ring. All you have to do is RT the book link and you will be entered for a $10 gift certificate:
#mystery The Skull Ring by Scott Nicholson for #kindle http://amzn.to/9Ii8kC and #nook http://bit.ly/hzGa5Y $2.99 #books
###

Indiereader.com

My first post in my regular blogging gig at Indiereader.com is now live. I will be doing most of my "indie commentary" there, much of it geared toward the opportunities of the new era in connecting readers and writers. The "make fun of New York" phase is pretty much over for everyone, and already things are settling out so that everyone goes on with their lives as best they can. Smart writers will adapt and smart publishers will adapt. Many, if not most, will fail. Every evolutionary phase is met with waves of extinction.

Since wiser bloggers are talking about indie writing and indie publishing, I will not be providing much nuts-and-bolts information or industry analysis. You already know the drill if you're a writer: Be as professional as possible in every single phase of your cottage industry. And if you signed with a publisher, hold it to that standard, or else get your rights back as soon as you can, and then do it right.

I'll also be doing some teasers for my April 1 launch (note: see that subtle teaser alert!) in the weeks ahead, as I frantically race toward deadline. It's going to the wire. Luckily, the book is about fear, so I should well be in the mood.
###

Tweet Scott & Win

If you follow me much, you know I like to share the wealth (such as it is) and reward the people who help spread the word. This month, I am launching a sustained advertising campaign in various venues and each day an ad runs, I'd like you to boost it with your tweets. Every day of the campaign, I will be giving away a $10 gift certificate to Amazon or BN.com. All you have to do to enter is tweet the book that specific day. I will select a winner at random the next afternoon (in case you're running late, you can tweet that morning), and you may tweet up to five times a day, but please spread them out at least an hour so you don't annoy your followers.

If you want me to DM you a reminder the day of each contest, email me at hauntedcomputer AT yahoo.com, DM me in advance at hauntedcomputer on Twitter, or post your twitter handle below. (I don't automatically follow everyone on Twitter, but if you enter, I follow). That's it. No more, no less.

Tuesday, Feb. 15: The Skull Ring

#mystery The Skull Ring by Scott Nicholson for #kindle http://amzn.to/9Ii8kC and #nook http://bit.ly/hzGa5Y $2.99 #books

Thursday, Feb. 17: Crime Beat

#mystery Crime Beat by Scott Nicholson for #kindle http://amzn.to/e5tGqB and #nook http://bit.ly/f3w9Pj 99 cents #books

Sunday, Feb. 20: Flowers

Flowers by Scott Nicholson:#fantasy, magic, and ghost stories #kindle http://amzn.to/eX05dM #nook http://bit.ly/huQGD0 99 cents

Tuesday, Feb. 22: Transparent Lovers

#paranormal #mystery #romance Transparent Lovers by Scott Nicholson #kindle http://amzn.to/frO8WB #ipad #nook

And, if any book breaks the Top 100 during the month, I throw in a bonus $100 gift certificate!

###

Mystery Dance by Scott Nicholson

If you've read Crime Beat, The Skull Ring, and Disintegration (and if you haven't, you're running out of excuses), I hope you'll consider writing a review for Mystery Dance. I have a Goodreads ad campaign running on mysterious mechanisms of clicks and my Visa card, meaning I'll probably spend a thousand bucks and sell three books. So a review is most appreciated: http://www.amazon.com/Mystery-Dance-Omnibus-ebook/dp/B004I8WNEQ

And, yes, a nod to Elvis Costello...


Jim McLeod gives treat as host of Ginger Nuts of Horror

Leisha is gracious enough to feature me as her first-ever interview at A Tale of Many Reviews. Thanks, Leisha!
###

Disintegration signed copies with FREE e-book!

Disintegration is now available in paper, and you can get your signed copy for $8.95 (plus $3 shipping) at Haunted Computer PLUS you get a free e-book version in the format of your choice. The free e-book offer is good for any of my available paper books, and I sell them cheaper than anyone. Also still running the Big Buy Three, Get One Free offer on my paper books.

E-book of the Day is The Red Church: 
If you care to tweet: The Red Church. A boy, a sheriff, a haunted church. #kindle http://amzn.to/d0Lsa6 #nook http://bit.ly/gaVlOW

Thanks! 
###