Scott Nicholson: 99 cent ebooks

We hardcore horror fans think of Halloween as "Amateur Night," since we're 365/24/7, but there's no reason not to throw some extra monster love at the end of October.

While I prefer ghosts as my favorite supernatural entity, if you take it to the level of creatures, I have to give zombies the nod over their fang-bearing, red-eyed brethren in arms. The Night of the Living Dead ranks in my Top 10 pantheon, and last year I even participated in first zombie walk I just love the relentless nature of the living dead, their relatively calm persistence, their focus on the prize. As you may be able to tell, I am a fan of the Slow Zombie.

I remember watching Fulci's Zombie on back-to-back nights in a theater in Chapel Hill, NC when I was in college. It's the only movie I've ever seen twice in a theater, and I have no idea what I was thinking. I even went alone to that second showing, so I must have been seeking some private connection with the horrors that unfolded (or maybe I just dug the groovy synth soundtrack). I enjoyed 28 Days Later but I find most modern zombie movies are too jokey and self-referential and attention-deficit-disordered, as if zombies have now jumped the shark (cue that really cool scene in Zombie where...well, just watch it).

I guess it's hard to keep fresh, and NotLD definitely borrowed from the The Last Man on Earth with Vincent Price. Even the old-school, Haitian zombie movies like I Walked With a Zombie captured an atmosphere of dread., instead of the shock-horror that modern audiences expect. I hate to sound like a grumpy old geezer ("Quit playing on my lawn, you kids!") but I would love to see a revival of the slow zombie, where the experience was less that of a shoot-em-up video game and more like, "It doesn't matter what you do, we're gonna get ya."

But, heck, I guess I'd still take a bad zombie movie over a good romantic comedy any day. Got any suggestions for good Slow Zombie movies?

(Zombie Bits, my Z collection with bonus material from Jonathan Maberry, Joe McKinney, and Jack Konrath, is available at Amazon, BN, Apple, and Kobo. The Murdermouth comic is still in development as I seek ways to raise funds for it.)

Thanks for sharing your list!
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Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Simon Wood: Overnight Success 13 years later

I've been crossing internet paths with Simon Wood for years, since we both worked in the mystery and horror genres and occasionally showed up in the same publications. Simon was kind enough to grant me use of a story for my Curtains collection, and over the last few months his hard work built to critical mass--with some luck, timing, but most of all great storytelling. Simon is one of those writers who has you looking over your shoulder when you're reading, waiting for the next twist or betrayal)

Simon:

I remember when Marc Anthony exploded onto the music scene a few years ago. He described himself as a “ten-year overnight sensation.” I loved the remark when I heard it. He’d been cutting records for a decade before his first breakout hit, but everyone assumed that he’d just gotten into the business. The comment let the world know he’d been working his butt off for a long time before success found him, and it also gave you an idea of his dedication to his art.

Marc Anthony's dedication is something I understand very well. I’ve been working away in the publishing salt mines since 1998. Whereas success comes quick for some, it’s taken its time with me. I struggled to find an agent when I shopped my first novel, ACCIDENTS WAITING TO HAPPEN, and without an agent, editors wouldn’t read it. I found success in the small press arena where an agent wasn’t a necessity. ACCIDENTS was published in 2002 with a modest print run of 3,000. Sadly, the small press struggled with distribution, but I picked up some nice trade notices that helped my profile. The good word of mouth failed to land me an agent or a major publisher, although there were a few close calls.

However, the good notices enabled me to pick up deals with other small presses. I finally entered the world of New York publishing in 2007, but again not in the normal manner, which is common for me. Still without an agent, I took advantage of a pitch session at a conference. The editor liked what I had to say and three days later, I had a contract offer from Dorchester Publishing on a revised and updated version of ACCIDENTS WAITING TO HAPPEN. Finally, I had a mass paperback deal, but Dorchester was a small player in traditional publishing and the book never got the distribution I hoped.

Distribution is a harsh lesson I’ve learned over the years. Without it, a book’s success is hard to achieve. I went on to do four books with Dorchester, until their much-publicized financial problems last year. I found myself in the unenviable situation of trying to promote a book that became unavailable part way through a book tour.

Just as my Dorchester problems were coming to a head, I’d been experimenting with eBooks by publishing my backlist. I must admit I wasn’t sure what I was doing at the beginning. I think it took me a while to understand that the digital book market doesn’t work the same way as the print book market. In February, I relaunched my Dorchester titles. Between February and June, I promoted one of the titles. I learned that success in the eBook market is through recommendations from trusted sources. I sent out review copies and press releases to websites and bloggers with strong followers and their thumbs up worked.

ACCIDENTS WAITING TO HAPPEN struck a chord with people and momentum took over. Eventually, someone, somewhere was mentioning ACCIDENTS daily. The sales spiked in April and kept spiking. By June, it was in the top 100 books at Amazon. Then Amazon featured the book at the end of June and sales truly exploded and the book reached the #2 spot. I’m quite frightened and staggered by the number of sales this titles has had in the last three months. The nice knock-on effect from all this is that a rising tide raises all boats. Over the last four months, all my titles have seen a boost. THE FALL GUY has followed ACCIDENTS’ example by reaching the top 100. ASKING FOR TROUBLE has done really well for a short story collection and I think WE ALL FALL DOWN will be the next to break. It has been quietly selling over the last couple of months and I think it will be my next bestseller.

So, from an outsider’s perspective, my success has been recent. To my wife and I, it’s been thirteen years in the making. While my fortunes have rarely run to script, one thing hasn’t changed and that’s my dedication to my writing. My single focus for over a decade has been to have a career as a writer. I’ve worked hard at my craft, learned the ins and outs of the industry, hustled when I’ve needed to, sweet-talked and strategized to get the one thing any writer desires—readers. Finally, that’s happening for me. Success is sometimes an accident waiting to happen, but it never happen without hard work and determination.

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www.simonwood.net

www.facebook.com/simonwoodwrites

http://twitter.com/simonwoodwrites

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Thursday, April 28, 2011

"Like" The Skull Ring For $

(WINNERS!!!! Mildred dot Cady, WilsonWriter, and Kristie D have each won $10 gift cards. Thanks for entering, and you're welcome to subscribe to my monthly newsletter where there are more great prizes and contests and freebies--just email scottsinner-circle-subscribe AT yahoogroups.com)

So here's the deal. Go to The Skull Ring's page at Amazon and hit "Like," then hit the F in the bubble to share it on Facebook (or Twitter if you don't use FB)--it's important to hit the F so you share it on Facebook, which is the goal:

http://www.amazon.com/Skull-Ring-Suspense-Thriller-ebook/dp/B003980ELA

Come back here and put your contact info below (such as "hauntedcomputer AT yahoo dot com"). On May 6, I randomly select three $10 gift card winners. Simple enough?

No purchase necessary, though of course you are welcome to buy the book! This is a kooky experiment to see if Facebook can sell books. Anyone having trouble commenting here can ding me on Facebook or Twitter and I'll add your entry. Thank you!
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Wednesday, April 13, 2011

The Top 100 Ego Trip

Thanks to everyone who helped Liquid Fear break the Kindle Top 100! We're in the 70s tonight as I write this. For some reason, this time around seems a lot simpler--I did a launch but it actually made its rebound run while I was in the wilds of Kentucky and away from the Internet for three days. That means YOU did it, not me.

I was sitting in the parking lot in my rusty old truck, picking up wifi from a coffee shop when I saw it had cracked Top 100. I high-fived my daughter, but she hasn't really been impressed since she saw me at #1 in Christian Science Fiction & Fantasy last year, ahead of Stephen King and--even bigger to her--CS Lewis. Now it's just that thing Dad does. I look out the truck and the world goes on--no one really cares! They're on their own trips.

Since this was so painless, my wife and I agreed to picture the Number 27. It's a square root of three and has cool multiplication factors, so it's more fun to shoot for than 29. Disintegration hit #30 at the end of last year. It slid since then, so I know these things are ephemeral, but I also know to just enjoy it, know it will end, and know it will come back. So #27 is the goal, since I like having goals.

I was thinking today that the Amazon real-time rankings have been one of the worst things ever for writerly ego--we can tell whether people love us or hate us at any moment of the day, but worst of all, we can tell HOW MANY OTHER WRITERS YOU LIKE BETTER! No number is ever good enough. If you're #1, you know somebody's gunning up behind you. If you're 300,000 (I have a book or two way done there) you think you are crud, even if the books are awesome (and IF I WERE YOUR MONSTER is a neocult classic).

And the numbers really don't validate anything, except other numbers. They don't mean a message is valuable, or good, or helpful, or in any way instructs us or redeems the human race. The rankings have totally removed quality from the conversation. Now it's "units sold" and "rank" and "income" and I'm probably as fixated as anyone, because I run my business like a conductor, keeping every product humming in tune to fill its role in the symphony. When a lesser-known book hits a sour note, the music seems off, and it's hard to enjoy the many other wonderful harmonies. Just like when you finish writing a book--you're more likely to obsess over the thing you didn't quite nail than the hundred things that tied up nicely.

I don't know. Today I am in the Top 100. I nailed it. For a day, at least, it's in tune. Life is good. Thanks for listening.

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Saturday, April 9, 2011

Back from the dead

Just back from three days without wireless--I am surprised to find the Internet is still here. You may find me at October Country if you're looking for interviews, though I am getting kind of tired of talking about myself. In summary: e-books are cool, writing is fun, and it's great to be alive...

Stephen James Price over at Generation Next Publications is working up print files for the children's book Duncan the Punkin, which we hope to have online for print in a few weeks. The print edition of Liquid Fear is also wending its way through the pipeline. If you participated in the April 1 Fool's Gold Rush, those blogs should be announcing winners in the next day or two. I hope you got one of those groovy gift certificates, and I appreciate everyone who made the tour a big success!

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Saturday, April 2, 2011

Where I've Been This Week

Thanks everyone for your Liquid Fear love--we hit #130-something on Amazon US, around 2,700 on Amazon UK, around 36,000 on BN com, and now it's hanging around in that weird land of #150 at Amazon, teetering on the edge. It could go one of two ways, but I doubt it will hang right there, because it's a volatile territory for rankings and algorithms. I will be raising the price to $2.99 as soon as it finds its plateau, so if you know any mystery/thriller lovers, please encourage them to jump in. And the Fool's Gold Rush is going on all week, so you still have time to enter at the participating blogs for the $10 gift cards and hopefully the $100 bonus booty!

Here are some blogs I've been at recently, apart from the Fool's Gold Rush blogs:
Indie Good Cop/Bad Cop at Joe Konrath's Newbie's Guide
One For the Money, Two for the Show at Indiereader
Liquid Fear and bioethics at Seduced By Books
Writing talk at Character Happens

Thanks for all your support! Currently working on a secret dark fantasy project, of which nothing will be revealed...and a few options for the next "Scott Nicholson" book...

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Sunday, March 20, 2011

These Things Happened

Most of what follows is true, even the fiction. It contains cigarette smoking, drinking, and, yes, some sex, because I know you like that sort of thing. This has been a strange life. My life.

Features stories, poems, and essays of relationships, romance, joy, and pain. Some of this will make you laugh, some of it may make you cry. You might hate me later, but that's okay. You won't be the first.

Features "Our Future Together," "City of Dreams," "So You Want to be a Writer?," "Dead Cats and Rain," and more.

99 cents for a limited time.
For Kindle at http://www.amazon.com/These-Things-Happened-ebook/dp/B004SQQWIQ
Other formats at Smashwords http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/48233
Apple, Kobo, and BN Nook coming soon
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Monday, March 7, 2011

Indie talking

There's been a lot of lofty talk on some blogs about how writers need to price their books at a certain level to make a living. And bizarre predictions of expanding income forever for all writers. Sorry. It doesn't work that way. This e-book market is determined by readers and nothing but readers.

Sure, there's a hangover as people adjust to new buying habits, which is why they kept on paying $15 for their favorite name-brand authors, but it won't last.I don't think 99 cents is the universal standard yet, but it could come as soon as next year, 2013 at the latest. But I suspect the market won't even resemble the current set-up by then. If you want to know my thoughts, follow my blogs at Indie Reader.

Transparent Lovers has been marked down for sale by Amazon for kindle, now only 99 cents (I have no idea how long).At Amazon and BN and Smashwords
A ghost, a dead ex, and a living lover. What could be more fun?
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Sunday, October 25, 2015

Friday, July 6, 2012

Wednesday, October 26, 2011