Story Hour

It started with the parades and the marching bands before becoming a familiar and popular TV show. One that generated millions of viewers and followers. It was one that people watched during dinner; they streamed it at work, and spoke about it online.

It was as real as reality could be.

So why, then, was Gerry unhappy?

He was the number one celebrity in a celebrity driven society. He was ubiquitous, like air, and felt like he could float like lithium on water. Or more accurately, he felt that he could jump into a pool of water and explode on contact like caesium, that every thing he did had an oversized reaction by his fans.

 He had everything, and everybody, watching his every move, mimicking every tic and mannerism, they even recited his catch phrase "Domo Sorry-Gato" at every chance in solidarity to his inane characterisms.

So why, then, was Gerry so unhappy?

There were whole cottage industries dedicated to his celebrity. TMZ followed him around like mosquitos in Florida and even Facebook streamed his every public act for everyone to see.

He had all the money he could ever need; in fact, he had more money than anyone in history would ever need. He bought cars, planes, islands. With his wealth he "diversified" into other investments in his portfolio, being an angel investor in tech to investing heavily in startups specializing in advanced tech. He even bought, through legal and paralegal means his own countries. He didn't buy countries outright, he just spent enough money on elections that he was able to influence the outcomes to meet his particular tastes and desires.

To wit, Gerry, born Gerald P Wolt had everything, was everything. But he was unhappy.

At 5 years old Gerry began performing for friends and family, dancing The Charleston, quickly followed by a quick tip of the hat, and wiggle of an imaginary cigar. Quickly he learned that he could make those people around him happy, but more importantly, he learned that his dancing would get him anything he wanted. It was a quick lesson and one he understood even at such a young age.

As he got older, Gerry realized that if he smiled a certain way, he'd get the obvious cheers and accolades, but if he tweaked that smile just ever-so-slightly, he could elicit a kind of euphoria from his fans. It was as if the parts of their brain that held individuality, conscious thought, reason, and rationale all got lobotomized and all that was left was the limbic lobe, the part of the brain that controlled happiness. In other words, Gerry learned at a very delicate age that by making others laugh, he could control them. Like the fungi Ophiocordyceps that controls the carcass of the invaded ant, Gerry could invade his audience through his performance and make them servile to his wants and whims.

So why, then, was Gerry so unhappy?

The 3 Things I Learned Releasing 3 Short Stories In 3 Months

My Kindle Publishing Journey Updated

In 3 months I released 3 different short stories and focused all my attention on promoting just one title.  

Here's what I learned:

Lesson 1: Promote The Hell Out Of It

The first thing I learned was the need for promotion. 

In June 2015, I released The Ballad Of John Walker through Amazon's Kindle Publishing platform.

For those unfamiliar with Kindle Publishing, it's an eBook delivery service run by Amazon that offers millions, perhaps billions of titles.  The best part is you don't need to buy a Kindle to read their offerings. You can access their library by downloading a free Kindle Reader App for all devices, PC, Mac, Android, Windows and iOS.

And I promoted the HELL out of it.

Places I promoted the title were:

• Google Plus
• Facebook - private and in groups
• Facebook Ad
• Good Reads
• Daily Free ebooks
• Addicted To eBooks
• Just Kindle Books
• That's My eBook
• Book Praiser
• Free Discounted Books
• Reddit 

I promoted the story on these format as well as the programs that Amazon offers on their Kindle Publishing platform - KDP Select - an exclusivity program that allows for free and discounted pricing.

For two months I spent my entire time promoting the title to free and paid platforms and may have received a lot of virtual pat's on my back, but actual downloads of the book?  About 100 titles in all.

While 100 readers may seem like a lot, it's a small trickle in the bucket that is floating in the sea that is the Kindle Publishing platform (among others).

And Then...

Lesson 2: Nobody Gives A S#IT If You Don't Promote

Shortly after I published "The Ballad of John Walker", I quietly released a second collection, a three-story title, Mayonnaise and Other Stories and the downloads were about 1/10th of what I experienced previously.

The main difference? I hardly promoted the title compared to "The Ballad of John Walker".

Mayonnaise and Other Stories was enrolled in KDP Select. I made mention of it on G+ and Facebook.

That was about the extent of it.

And the downloads and reviews were stagnant.  Sitting online waiting to be stumbled upon, to be discovered, but was more like a lonely Pygmy Tarsier looking for a lover.  What's a Pygmy Tarsier?  Google it, they're a primate that was thought to be extinct until one was inadvertently killed in a trap.

It was a shock to the farmers who found the Pygmy Tarsier, and even more so for the scientists who had claimed it an extinct species.  But I wonder more about the possible remaining Pygmy Tarsier, waiting for her date to come and sweep her off her feet.

So the lonely Pygmy Tarsier can't just swipe right on Tinder or sign-up on Ashley Madison, but just has to sit around waiting.

She's without any loved one and probably, like most of us who've been stood-up before, crying into the night. Sad.

Much like the collection "Mayonnaise and Other Stories".

By not promoting it, the collection is sitting around waiting for a date that may never arrive.

Especially if it's considered extinct.

But Wait, There's More...

Lesson 3: Keep At It, But Don't Over Do It

In late July 2015, I uploaded another title, It's Not The Things We Say with the same little, to no, marketing and advertising.

Like all things in life, momentum is created by exerting energy.  I did nothing to create any momentum behind the titles, in part because I was concerned about "Promotion Fatigue" and "Banner Blindness" on the part of any readers here.

"Promotion Fatigue" is what I call the process when we're inundated by too much advertising and marketing.  We get tired of it and tune out the messenger.

"Banner Blindness" has been defined as the blurring of banners and ads online from the original content.  It's the visual representation of Promotion Fatigue.  We know that there is something like an ad being displayed but we have become so inundated by their constant placement, we tune them out.

So between my concern about Promotion Fatigue, Banner Blindness and looking at the ROI - Return On Investment - that slowed my marketing and promotional reach.

But with a few more titles on the near horizon that I'm working on right now, "A Fine Day For A Swim" and its sister accompaniment, "The Palm", as well as "Gunner", I'll have to rethink my promotional strategies.

Additionally the long-term plan is to comprise these published stories into a larger collection and place it on a few other platforms such as iBooks, Barnes and Noble and Kobo.

So, if you've been one of the few who have downloaded my short stories so far, a huge THANK YOU.

For those that haven't - I don't take it personally.  I'll just cry into my pillow until you do purchase one.


If you'd like to download a copy of any of my titles, click the titles below:

The Ballad Of John Walker

Mayonnaise And Other Stories

It's Not The Things We Say

What Does Joe Strummer, My Short Stories And Kindle Publishing Have In Common?

How To Position Your Self and Your Stories More Effectively

In this post, we'll be discussing the largest vacuum of a self-pubslihed writer's life - marketing.

We'll discuss the stories already released on Amazon, the promotions in place and what the strategy moving forward is.

It's one of the most difficult aspects that any creative or productive person has.  It's a challenge to produce the story, art, song or merchandise, but then getting it out into the world is an even bigger struggle.

In this post, we'll focus on a strategy that I've read about many times over from some well regarded brains in the self-publishing sphere.  Some of these ideas are directly from the guys at Self-Publishing Podcast and Joanna Penn of The Creative Penn.

Basically they claim that you need to build a larger and larger catalog to help your overall promotion strategy and later on in this post we'll discuss how that works in greater detail.

It's Not The Story That's Most Difficult

Obviously getting the story-draft written down presents a huge problem, even for the most accomplished writer, getting started can be overwhelming.

The Dangers Of The Blank Page

Staring at a blank page is just a daunting, scary task.  If it wasn't that scary, more people would write!

As I already said for any writer getting started is one large hurdle.  Like ten-feet high type of hurdle.

Then you have to find cover art, where to get the stories to readers and ways to promote them.

It's been said that for a self-pubslihed writer, it's 20% writing and 80% promotion.

My Short Story Updates

On Amazon I've a few stories available through Kindle Publishing in their store right now.

My strategy is and has been, to promote one for a month as I release more stories, then promote another one while working on new manuscripts.  Right now on Amazon there is two stand-alone stories, "The Ballad of John Walker" and "It's Not The Things We Say".  Also, there's a collection of more humorous, fun stories under the collection "Mayonnaise and Other Stories".

Some of you know about my short story "The Ballad of John Walker." Published mid-June 2015, the story has gained some traction in the last month and could stand to gain a little more in the coming months.



 The Ballad of John Walker - get your digital copy by clicking the picture!




What you don't know is I owe you all a full-hearted thank you for helping get it moving on up in Kindle Short Reads for Suspense and Thrillers. That's awesome and helps a ton!

For those of you that don't know about it, it's a short read that examines the dangers of living in a society ruled by surveillance and paranoia.


Another title that's out takes a more fun approach. A more humorous take, "Mayonnaise and Other Stories" is a mostly made up  account of living in the world today.  From the eyes of a ambitious child hell-bent on getting a pack of gum; to the power of OCD and the irony of judgement; to the follies of a delusional teen athlete.


And just released there is the short story, "It's Not The Things We Say".  An intense look at the power that miscommunication can take within a relationship. Whether its a child and parent, a boyfriend and girlfriend or any schism between loved ones, often it's not what we say as much as how we listen to each other.


So to wrap up, that's three short stories on Amazon that've been published to date.  The promotional efforts so far have been dedicated to the first short story, The Ballad of John Walker and it's been pretty labor intensive thus far.

Places it's been promoted so far:

• This blog
• Amazon's Kindle Publishing marketplace 
• Facebook, including Facebook ads (not a great R.O.I. and Facebook Groups)
• Google Plus Communities
• Daily Free Ebooks (yes, even though it's $0.99, it can still be listed on directories such as DFE)
• Good Reads
• Just Kindle Books (A small price to publish and promote)
• KUFADS - a British based ebook promotion service (a small price for a week's promotion)

So far the results have been a trickle but with a first book, a short fiction piece no-less, it's not to be a huge seller, but a starting point for a broader platform.

Moving forward, there will be lighter promotions on this story and more attention pushed to the "Mayonnaise" collection and "It's Not The Things We Say".

Gaining Momentum Is Hard, Maintaining Momentum Can Be Just As Hard

Why Newton Got It Wrong

Newton claimed that an object in motion tended to stay in motion unless some external force was applied to stop it.  Well that may be true for objects, but for most writers, once you get going, you reach a point where stopping is dangerously seductive - and the restart is almost impossible. 

After writing a story, the last thing I want to do is sit down and begin the editing process, much less begin a new story.

I'm fairly certain that's true for any artist or producer.  Build something, spend all that energy and emotion to create something and you're spent.  There's limits to the process.

Athletes are the same way.  There's only so much energy they have to spend.  That's why the build up their stamina over time and train in specific, detailed tasks to increase their endurance and improve stamina.

One technique to do this is called the Pomodoro Technique and I've written about how to utilize it to increase your productivity in a former post you can read HERE.

How does that work with marketing you wonder?  Well there's plenty of evidence that the more titles you publish, the easier it is for people, and fans, to find you.

What that means is that while it's no fun to turn around and work on the next story, or the next idea, it's critical for you to help build an audience.

Think about you favorite band.

Chances are, if they've been around for a while they have a number of songs and records out there.  They may be official releases, bootlegs, any thing that keeps you engaged and interested.  If they don't have material to release, they tour, play live shows to keep them in your minds.

With that in mind, I have three, potentially four more stories to release between here and September.

There's a working title that I'm working on through Wattpad, an online forum for authors and hope to garner some keen insights about the story while it's on that platform.

It's still an early draft, but you can see it on Wattpad under the working title "A Fine Day For A Swim".



 
Get the early draft "A Fine Day For A Swim" on Wattpad by clicking the link above.

The Goal Is To Get To The Finish Line In One Piece

This whole process is about writing a number of short stories to build a platform for something I'm working on next.  It will be a departure from the short story line I've been working on right now and one that still needs to be more fully developed, but this whole process has been to build a platform to move forward from.

I'll be releasing "A Fine Day For A Swim" in mid-August.  With its release there's an accompanying story "The Palm" that will be included with either another story in production or as a potential stand-alone story as well.

Finally there's two other stories that are being fleshed out right now.  One is under the working title "Shooter" and the other is without a title but would be the longest story included in the summer release calendar.

The Future Is Unwritten

So the final tally is two stand-alone short stories and 1 collection of stories already released with promotion being focused on just the first one so far. That first story being "The Ballad of john Walker", with "It's Not The Things We Say" being the other stand-alone.  "Mayonnaise and Other Stories" being the collection, with all three of them being available on the Amazon platform for the next 90 days in exclusivity, after which they'll be placed on a couple other ebook platforms and promoted in different ways.

"A Fine Day For A Swim" is next in the pipeline for release, and will be available in about a month, after some tweaks and edits.

It's sister story, "The Palm" will be released at the same time and will be either a stand-alone story, or included with "Shooter", depending on how things are shaping up at that time.

The last two stories in the plan will will out a couple weeks to a month after "A Fine Day For A Swim", placing the overall short story count at 6 to 7 stories.

Once that's over with, the gears are switching to a new program, and I'll be discussing that down the road after it's more fleshed out with a more clear strategy and timeline.

In conclusion, the heading to this section of the post is about the marketing strategy, or any strategy you set in to motion.

One of my favorite song writers was Joe Strummer, lead singer and writer for the seminal British Punk band - The Clash.

Along with songs that dealt with changing the political spectrum for the betterment of the working class, he wrote anthemic lines like "Let Fury Have The Hour, Anger Can Be Power, If You Know How To Use It".

But one of his greatest sayings was "The Future Is Unwritten".

Just the promise and hope in that line is enough for me to believe in the optimism in tomorrow.  And while 80% of my time is devoted to marketing short stories that, in and of themselves, are difficult to promote and sell, this line reminds me that tomorrow is a new day.

And that philosophy goes toward your marketing campaign as well.  Get your stuff out there and don't be afraid to make changes.

If something is working, go all in.  If something isn't working, then change tactics and direction.  And keep building up your catalog.  The more you do, the greater chance it can catch on with your audience.

You never know about tomorrow, the future is unwritten.

Kindle Publishing Tip: How To Conquer Overthinking And Become More Productive

Ready, Set, Wait...?

You've developed an idea and created a plan.

It's not perfect, and not airtight but a plan none-the-less.

There's a definite beginning, somewhat of a middle, and a hoped for, predicted end.

But you can't sit down and get the first word written. Or make the first pitch or sale's call.

You're frozen.  But why?

We're innately born to avoid risk.  It's a survival instinct and one that we are ingrained to abide.

Whether you're trying to build a clientele, promote your services or use a platform like kindle publishing for your self-publishing goals, the most important step to take is the first one.

Let me say that again.


The most important step to take is the first one. 

Without taking the first step, action is impossible and you won't be able to meet your productivity or kindle publishing goals.

Analysis by Paralysis

Too often we're risk adverse and try to wait until we have all the answers and every solution figured out before we proceed.

You can spend hours, days, weeks, months and even years waiting to know it all.  And guess what?

You never will.

There's always something to learn, to tweak, to optimize.

The more you analyze all the factors and wait to act, the further you are from achieving your goals.

The guys at Self-Publishing Podcast are great at being distracting, but also offers tons of advice that can apply not just to writing, but productivity as well.

Sean Platt partners with David Wright and Johnny B. Truant, and on the podcast Sean likes to say that when it comes to writing "perfect is the enemy of done".

If you think about it, that's perfect advice for everyone. You don't need to make something perfect before you launch it, design it or promote it.

To get started, make a plan and take that first step.  You can change course once you begin.

See where the path takes you.  Evaluate where you are and then decide if you're on the right path.

But you'll never get where you want to go without that first step.

Kindle Publishing: How You Can Get Started

Kindle Publishing For Self-Starters

In this post, I'm going to discuss some of the process that you need to getting your own stuff out into the world with Kindle Publishing.

There's a NY Times article I read recently quotes a small Michigan Publisher that claims over 81% of Americans say they have a book in them.  

Most of us will never write one, much less publish it.

But don't let the doubts or "experts" get you down.

Do You Have A Book In You?  

You probably do.

If you've ever thought to yourself, "If only so and so knew this, it'd be..." or maybe you have a special knowledge and experience in something unique, or perhaps you have tips on how to improve something, than you DO have a book in you.

Even if you've just daydreamed what it'd be like to be a princess or king in some faraway fantasy (except, of course, if you really are a king or princess) than yes you do have a book to write.

With Kindle Publishing, fulfilling your dream of writing a book and seeing it published is a lot easier than you think.

You just need to get started.

With ebooks, getting your stuff out into the world is no longer isolated to just a chosen few.

But there are a few things you need to know before you try use Amazon's Kindle Publishing to self-publish.

Do You Leap, Or Do You Look Before You Leap?

Are you someone who is the first to try something?  The first one to try out a new restaurant?

Perhaps you wake up every day, energetic and need to burn off some energy.

Or are you someone who likes to plan out every activity, every task in meticulous detail.  Perhaps you like to watch others, make mental notes about what works and what doesn't for them.

Well, I'm a little of both.  I like to take risks, but I also like to learn something in great detail before I jump.  I wouldn't go skydiving without first learning how to pack my parachute, and then personally pack it.

Actually, I probably wouldn't go skydiving.  Anyone that knows me also knows how much I "like" flying.

Whether you're someone who likes the challenge of learning on the go, or someone interested in all the details and enjoys watching sausage be made, then let me share with you some of the finer points of my process with writing and publishing my short stories through Amazon's KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing).

5 Basic Strategies For Getting Your Words Published Through Amazon's KDP Program

Straight from the horse's mouth of Amazon themselves, here some basic tips for kindle publishing that I'll be following (and wanted to share with you here):

1. Create Compelling Content:  Obviously writing something that readers would be interested in is a priority.  For non-fiction do some research (more on that type of research later) and find a problem that hasn't been addressed yet.  Or if it's something really competitive, find a way to spin information in your own way and make it interesting.  Tell a story that offers the problem for the audience and show them some tools to help solve that hurdle. 
2. Editing Means Reducing - Wash, Rinse and Repeat: Stephen King wrote in his book "On Writing" that the edit process should reduce the overall length of your writing by 10%.  So cut out an unnecessary section or passive terms. 
3. Create An Awesome Cover: Don't settle for trying to create a book cover for yourself.  People DO judge a book by its cover, so make it sleek, professional and polished. 
4. Tease Your Potential Reader And Describe Your Book To Improve Its Desirability: Book details offer an insight, a "sneak-peek" into your book, helps the reader get an idea of what its all about, and why they may want it. Do this well and advertising becomes much, much easier.
5. Promote Your Book:  Use ads, promote on social media including Facebook and Twitter to get the message out about your book launch. 

These are some of the finer points that will be the editing and marketing side of the process.  

These other suggestions I'll be exploring soon, and share how I develop my strategy as I get closer to launch.

If you ever have had a dream of writing your own book and worried that getting it published was one thing holding you back, it's much easier to launch your book than you think.  Especially with how popular the format of ebooks has become, it's simple.  

The traditional barriers that would have kept you from getting your thoughts, your words, your ideas out to the world are no longer that powerful of blocks.

There's a lot more that goes into the process and I'll be writing on that shortly, but don't let that discourage you.

You DO have a book in you and self-publishing through Kindle Publishing makes getting your words out into the world. 

You just need to get started writing.

Kindle Publishing And My Future Plans

Why I Took My eBook Down From Amazon Kindle Publishing 

Yesterday launched the first post about my efforts to write and publish a series of eBooks on Amazon's Kindle platform.

Yesterday also marked the day I took my collection of short stories OFF the Kindle Publishing marketplace.

Why?

When I uploaded the eBook, it was akin to me being drunk in a bar, blindfolded and spun around, then given a dart to throw at the board.  Maybe I hit something other than the huge biker that was sitting between me and the target.  Maybe I hit my friend.  Maybe if I'm really, really fortunate I hit the target - doubtful - but hey, people have to win the Powerball Lottery sometimes.

I surreptitiously uploaded a file that had a standard cover from Amazon and waited.  And waited.  In the month and a half since, it saw ZERO traction.  If not for me checking my reports, I'm not sure anyone even looked at the collection.

I didn't promote it.

I didn't advertise or have a website to drive traffic toward it.

It was uploaded to Kindle, sat there, and that was that.

So I took it down.

Now I have a plan.

What I'm Focusing My Energy On Right Now

Currently I'm working on two new short stories and a couple edits of previous stories that were stillborn, hoping to breathe new life into them.

Soon the first eBook will be uploaded again, with a couple tweaks, edits and additional content.

And then I'll upload another collection of short stories.

I'll promote them both.  Maybe buy some ads.  That part hasn't been decided yet.

The key, the absolute foundation, is for me to move forward with the stories intelligently.  To make a plan and stick to it.

And then wash, rinse, repeat the process. This is a great strategy that Johnny B. Truant, Sean Platt and David Wright talk about in Write, Publish and Repeat.