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Friday, March 29, 2013

Amazon + Goodreads = ????

The world's largest bookseller, Amazon, just signed an agreement to buy Goodreads.

Goodreads:  Over 14 million book lovers.

Amazon:  Multibillions of dollars in book sales worldwide. (Not counting the Kindle devices)

This is a merging of the two most influential forces in the world of books.


I snagged this image from DigitalBookWorld.com.

Antitrust litigators, where are you when you're needed most?  This is a new kind of monopoly unlike anything ever seen before.  

But what will it mean?

Well lets look at Amazon's attempt to cater to bibliophiles with reviews and recommendations:  Shelfari.  Goodreads has been kicking Shelfari's ass all along.  Will we see a merging of Shelfari and Goodreads systems?  Maybe some linking back and forth?  Maybe a few widgets here there and everywhere?

And what of Amazon's position to control content sales via the Kindle tablet line?  How will they integrate Goodreads into the book-buying experience on Kindle tablets?

And what about the reviews, the lifeblood of popularity and discovery?  What of Amazon's reviews vs. Goodreads reviews/ratings?  Will Amazon forgo reviews for Goodreads plugin widgets or vice-versa, will Goodreads now feature Amazon reviews on each book page?

And what about discovery for us unknown Indie authors? In Addition to publishing with Amazon, many Indies use multiple retailers, blogs, social media, and Goodreads to find avenues of discovery.  Mark Coker of Smashwords nailed it:
“Brilliant move by Amazon ... Amazon just locked up discovery for the next couple years.”
And now, via Goodreads, Amazon is able to dip their fingers into other retailer's sales figures and affiliate commissions.  Goodreads has a thriving affiliate business, and massive tracking systems for affiliate links leading out to book retailers (Amazon and all its competitors).  Amazon can now track who's buying what books from what retailer through Goodreads.

A monopoly of information and book buying habits.

These are just a few of the questions/thoughts in my mind.  This is HUGE.  This is the biggest thing to happen in the world of publishing since ebooks.

Authors & publishers beware.

Here's just a few links to articles on the merger:

http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2013/amazon-acquires-goodreads/

http://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/413-exciting-news-about-goodreads-we-re-joining-the-amazon-family

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/pageviews/2013/03/amazon-buys-goodreads

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbercovici/2013/03/28/amazon-buys-goodreads-take-that-bookish/

Leave some comments below.  I would love to hear thoughts and ideas on what this will mean for Indies and the world of publishing.





Friday, March 8, 2013

THE MONTH OF MANY BOOKS





CBL Reviews Invites You To Participate In
'The Month Of Many Books' Project #1

For the entire month of March CBL Reviews is hosting giveaways of extreme proportions as well as offering readers the chance to bid for a book bundle of their choice.
Monies raised through this project, will be donated to a local rural library in Port Elizabeth South Africa. This is to help fund reading education amongst, not only the youth, but illiterate adults in the community of Walmer Township.

Your help and support will go a long way.

How it all works:

• All the paperbacks, as listed below, are all signed copies, kindly donated by the respective authors.

• Paperbacks will be bundled up and placed into an ebay widget. You are then welcome to bid towards obtaining your favorite bundle.

But not to worry, it's not all about getting you to spend your money :D

• There will be ebook giveaways done all through the month of March. Each Ebook was kindly donated towards this cause by the wonderful author of each book.

Each bundle is only open for bidding for 7 days! Thereafter, I'll be adding the next two and so on.

Here's the first lot :D

Bid On Signed Paperback Copies Of Some Of Your Favorite Books:

• Bundle #1:
 CLICK HERE TO BID ══► BUNDLE #1





• Bundle #2:

 CLICK HERE TO BID ══► BUNDLE #2







★LAST BUT NOT LEAST★ 

★GIVEAWAYS ★


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Young Adult Fantasy 2 for 1 SALE!

Check out a new up and coming author DR RACEY

He currently has a PROMOTIONAL EBOOK SALE ~ 2 FOR 1.

Buy the 1st book in THE PHOENIX BLADE TRILOGY, 
"CONFLAGRATION" and get the 2nd book "LINEAGE" for FREE





For purchase verification, please forward the purchase verification email from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Smashwords for the purchase of "Conflagration" to 

drracey@gmail.com

All confirmed purchases will have a copy of "Lineage" gifted to them from the author within 24 hours of purchase verification.

Promo is valid from 01 March 2013 thru 31 March 2013.

Customers who received a copy of Conflagration for free through another promotion are not eligible to receive a free copy of Lineage during the Buy One Get One Free Promo.

CONFLAGRATION

Conflagration is a family friendly fantasy novel for readers of all ages. Conflagration is the first book in The Phoenix Blade Trilogy.

Join Valus as he searches for the magical sword.

LINEAGE

Lineage begins twenty years after Conflagration ends and follows the elf Kayne as he searches for a magical talisman to enter the netherworld and battle the demon Mar' Del.

CONFLAGRATION Purchase Links:
Author Email: drracey@gmail.com
Official Website: http://www.drracey-books.webs.com




Friday, February 22, 2013

Amazon puts FREE ebook promotion sites out of business?

Drinking my coffee, going through a ton of email & social media crap, I happened upon an email from Amazon.  The Associates Operating Agreement has changed.

Now normally, this would bore me to tears, and I would probably ignore it for the moment. I don't really make any money as an Associate.  I'm in the business of selling my books as a publisher (Indie).

So I clicked on it anyway, and it had some seemingly innocuous stuff about counting up items sold and the kinds of items.  As you may know, the number and type of items sold affects your Associate's commission.

Then I noticed a section about FREE ebook promotions:




Associates Program Advertising Fee Schedule – Limitations on Advertising Fee Rates for Certain Products


March 1, 2013 version
The following is added at the end of the sub-section:
“In addition, notwithstanding the advertising fee rates described on this page or anything to the contrary contained in this Operating Agreement, if we determine you are primarily promoting free Kindle eBooks (i.e., eBooks for which the customer purchase price is $0.00), YOU WILL NOT BE ELIGIBLE TO EARN ANY ADVERTISING FEES DURING ANY MONTH IN WHICH YOU MEET THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS:
(a) 20,000 or more free Kindle eBooks are ordered and downloaded during Sessions attributed to your Special Links; and
(b) At least 80% of all Kindle eBooks ordered and downloaded during Sessions attributed to your Special Links are free Kindle eBooks.”
Again, this doesn't really affect me.  I don't worry about selling other stuff through Amazon.  But then it occurred to me who it might affect, all those wonderful websites that promote FREE kindles.  I use those websites weekly to promote my FREE novel The Nightlife New York, the first in the Nightlife Series.

These freebie sites don't make money from free books.  They sell ads. But they do make a fair amount of Amazon Associates commissions from people entering Amazon to catch a free ebook, who then shop for something else. If all these free kindle sites can no longer collect Associates commissions because they are disqualified by virtue of promoting free kindles, can they afford to stay in business based on their ad sales alone?

Maybe.

Maybe not.

I have a strong suspicion the promotion of free kindles is about to see a severe drop off.  It kinda looks like maybe Amazon is shooting themselves in the foot.  Many people who enter their system via a freebie site, who pick up a freebie, go on to shop for something else.  It's a logical procession that less freebie promotional sites = less downloads of freebies = less impact of free promos = less sales boost to novels, and less sales of other items through impulse shopping.

I suppose I can understand Amazon might think its unfair that guys promoting free stuff can make a commission from other stuff just by virtue of a simple link.  But then I realized this is the fundamental basis of Amazon's Associate Program, when someone enters via your link, you get commissions for anything they buy.

Not really making sense anymore.  Not to me.  I'm sure there's a department of bean counters somewhere in Amazon who thought it made sense.

Now we could do the conspiracy theory thing: It's a conspiracy to smack down all those upstart Indie authors who were making huge leaps and gains competing against traditionally published novels via free promos.  I'm not going there.  Not yet anyway.  But it kinda begs the question....

It will be interesting to see how this affects free kindle promotion.  It most certainly will be negative for us Indie authors, indirectly.

Until next time,

Travis

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

The Nightlife Paris needs your vote on cover art!

I have a wonderful cover artist:

http://amygdaladesign.net/

She's highly talented and very fast, efficient, and professional. She did all three of these covers in two days!  If she wasn't all the way over in Europe, I would track her down and kiss her!

My problem?   I can't decide which of the three covers is the best one.  They are all so damn awesome.

HELP ME DECIDE!  Please vote for one of these three covers on my Goodreads poll:

http://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/78998








Monday, January 7, 2013

A Spanking Good Time with Erotica Authors, PART I: Penelope Jones & Max



This is the first of a BDSM interview series for Erotica Authors.  Be warned, there is very explicit content herein:

TL:  “I’m here today at my home in sunny San Antonio with a fellow author of erotic romance, Penelope Jones, a.k.a. Bad Penny, for an interview I promised her some time ago.  We’re enjoying the 70+ degree weather while the rest of the country freezes their asses off.  It’s a fine day for some cocktails and an interview.”  (BP winks and slurps her cocktail)

“Before we get into all the fun, tell us about your nickname on twitter, Bad Penny.  I imagine there’s an interesting tale behind that.  Oh and I thought Max was joining us?”

BP:  “When I first got onto twitter I hadn’t planned on having a nickname, but many started calling me Pen.  It’s not a bad name, just not a fitting name for me. Too plain.  My buddy and yours, Caster Rowe started called me Bad Penny and it stuck.  Besides... it seems to be a fitting name. I am a very, very Bad Penny. (BP winks)  Max is buried elbow deep in pus... I mean business.  He might show up later.”  (cheeky grin from BP)

TL:  “You don’t mind if I call you Bad Penny as we continue our little experiment?  I wouldn’t want to offend.”

BP:  “I don’t mind at all stud.”  (BP giggles)  “Say, what did you put in this drink?  It has a really … weird … after … taste…”  (BP falls to the floor with her tongue lolling sideways out her mouth)

TL:  “Well, that would be the ketamine.  It’s not just for horses you know.”

(A brief interlude while TL reconfigures BP)

TL:  “We are back with Bad Penny to finish our little interview.  I just need to bring her up from la-la land first.”  (TL waves smelling salts under BP’s nose. Her eyes open then widen with alarm)

BP:  “Huh?  What’s this?  Why am I strapped up?  Why can’t I move my head?  Where are my clothes?  Max is gonna be pissed he missed this.”  (BP chuckles nervously)

TL:  “All good questions that deserve an answer.  I just wondered how much practical experience you’ve had with a fucking machine.  I mean your writings suggest you’re intimately familiar with gadgets like this.  A neat little feature of this one is the ergonomic clamping system holding your head in place.  And I removed your clothes to make you feel more at home… I want you to be relaxed, to feel you can be completely open and honest with me.  After all, we’re here to do an interview.  You remember how many times you bugged me to have this interview, don’t you?”

BP:  “You didn’t think I’d be honest with you?”  (She wriggles her cute little hiney, testing her restraints)

TL:  “Shush now.  I’m the one asking the questions.  You wouldn’t want me to put on the ball gag now would you?  Makes for a much more difficult Q & A session.  Nodding yes and no can be so tiresome.”  (BP goes very still)

BP:  “I won’t ask any questions.  Just don’t gag me!  Plus... how can I scream your name if I’m gagged?”  (BP laughs nervously again.  TL reaches for the ball gag.  BP’s eyes widen and she wiggles her head slightly in the restraint)  “I promise!  I’ll answer all your questions!”

TL:  “I know you will.”  (TL picks up a power tool)

BP:  “What’s that?”


TL:  “You are a Bad Penny aren’t you?  I told you not to ask questions.  This is a Milwaukee brand Sawzall, which literally does exactly that, saws all…”

BP:  “Why are you putting that dildo on the end of it?  Did you and Max cook this up?”

TL:  “This interview is not working out so well Penny.”

BP:  “But you haven’t asked me any questions yet.”

TL:  “I’m not going to ask.  I’m going to make you tell me everything.”  (TL kicks BP’s legs apart and fits a spreader bar between her knees)

BP:  “I’ll tell you anything you want to know, I promise.  You don’t have to do this.”

TL:  “I know you will.”  (TL tests Sawzall and watches the dildo bouncing vigorously on the end of the machine)

BP:  “Ok.. just give me a moment to think.”  (pregnant pause, then BP begins spitting facts out quickly)  “This will be my first real publication.  I’ve published a few short stories on different pay websites such as forthegirls.com and Oysters andChocolate.  I’ve finished my novel back in September, and I’m still editing The Beautiful Catastrophe.  In the spring I plan to publish my First in a trilogy: Diary of a Broken Me. But the reason we are here today is my poetry book I wrote with Max.  It’s called Iniquitous Solace: Rhythmic Words of Lust and Love. It’s about strangers that cross paths, and their lives together, written in notes and letters back and forth from --- Wait --- (BP pauses mid sentence, and begins again.)  Hold up... Hey - That thing is huge… I’m not sure I can handle that.”

TL:  “Ten inches, to be precise.”

BP:  “Sounds like a lovely time.”  (BP visibly gulps)  “But I think maybe we should finish the interview first.”

TL:  “Would you prefer we start with something else?”  (TL points to the wall of goodies and is rewarded with a seductive gleam in BP’s eyes)



BP:  “Please? … Umm... How about that riding crop?”




TL:  “This one? I suppose we could try that for now.”  (TL strokes the riding crop across BP’s left ass cheek and again across the right until BP’s juices are trickling down her inner thigh)  “If I recall, you do enjoy a good spanking …”  (TL flicks his wrist and lands a resounding crack on bare skin)


BP:  (Shudders and gasps)  “Oh.. right, my writing... You’re making it hard to concentrate. (BP sighs heavily) My writing revolves around dominating relationships with rather submissive women, and they have tons of spanking and discipline sprinkled in. Our poetry book, Iniquitous Solace, is no different.”

TL:  “I think you’re enjoying this too much.  Those nipples look way too pert.  It’s not really punishment for you is it?”  (TL gently tweaks a nipple.  BP holds her breath in anticipation, she wants more)  “Answer the question, Penny.”  (TL twists harder until BP cries out)

BP:  “I … do … like it … but that really hurts!”  (TL turns his attention to her other breast)  “Oooww!  Stop.  Stop.”

TL:  “Then keep talking, or I start using the sawzall.”  (TL smacks both ass cheeks with the riding crop, back and forth, before stopping to rub her reddened cheeks.)  “You’ve got five minutes before I start again.  Don’t make me punish you for real.”

(Max shows up late to the interview... sees Bad Penny in her usual precarious position... compliments her only article of clothing, striped socks, and sits down well out of riding crop reach)




BP: “Hey Max... lovely of you to join us.”  (BP Laughs)  “You should like the socks, you bought them.”

Max:  “I see Bad Penny is yet again to blame.  She does tend to live her writings, it’s not all fiction you know.  IniquitousSolace - our co-authored novella - it’s poetry for bad girls and boys who desperately want to be good.  Or get it good.  It's all about shredding the heart to sink your claws into your own soul.  In a sexy way of course.  What else would you like to know?”

TL:  “I want to know everything. Like how much this is turning her on.”  (TL reaches between her legs to test her wetness)  “My, my, she’s a very naughty girl, she’s soaking wet!”

Max:  “This should come as no surprise.  She runs her very own naughty couch. I think she uses the poems as a lure to draw in unsuspecting cupcakes and lollipops. 'Iniquitous Solace' is a honey trap. A naughty, sensual, makes-you-feel-good-like-rope-bondage trap...”

BP:  “It’s not a trap... well it caught you.”  (cue another cheeky grin first towards Max and then TL)

TL:  “Well, I’m not the one strapped down with my legs open wide.  We will see who’s feeling caught by the time I finish with you.  I’m not convinced we’ve learned everything there is to know.  And she likes this way too much.  So…”  (TL picks up the Sawzall and tests it again, but this time he rubs the bobbing dildo between BP’s legs)

BP:  “Oh shit!  Wait!  I already told you everything!”

TL:  “Really?”  (TL pushes the Sawzall a little harder)

BP:  “YES!  YES!”  (TL stops)

TL:  “You like this too, don’t you?”

BP:  (Breathing heavily)  “Yeah … but can I get a pillow and a drink of water?” (BP Gives Max a wink) “Yes even bound and tied I’m demanding and needy.”

Max:  "I've got a larger attachment if you need it.  Bad Penny enjoys being pushed to her limits.  That's the real challenge with our poetry.  How much can you uncover, how naked can you be, and then how do you shape that into words and weave it together to convey meaning.  We're all looking for that."  (Nods toward the buzzing Sawzall.)

"Well, looking for other stuff too, but this is about two people defining their own meaning.  Or maybe more than two people.  Maybe all of us.  The readers will have to let us know."  (Max shrugs and leans back.)  "Now are you putting on a show here?  Bad Penny looks ready, and there's no sense in wasting some nice tight bondage... I hear she's a fan of orgasm denial for starters."  (Max grins with the glitter of sadism in his eyes.)

* * * * *

Penelope Jones can be found at all her various social media outlets:

Twitter: @Penelope_Prose

Facebook: Penelope Jones

GooglePlus: LittleMissNotoriety


Goodreads: Penelope Jones

Pinterest: PenelopeProse


Iniquitous Solace is currently under revision, COMING SOON to Amazon Kindle:



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