Murmurs: Gathered Stories Vol. One Archives

The Second Conducting: What is the Value of a Goodreads.com book giveaway? 84% had never heard of me. 34% plan on reading my books.

April 16, 2012

Does giving away your books lead to more readers, and in turn, more fans? A few weeks ago I conducted a pretty in-depth study regarding the effectiveness of a Goodreads.com book giveaway in which I found that 93% of entrants had never heard of me and 88% planned on reading my books. Couple that with 51% of entrants signing up for my email newsletter, and the giveaway was well worth the two books I sacrificed. Science must be repeatable, right? A couple of weeks ago I ended yet another giveaway. The Setup I listed a 2 copy giveaway for I Didn’t Mean to be Kevin to take place between 3/14/2012 and 3/31/2012. During this time the giveaway received a total of 378 entries. After the giveaway was closed for entries, I sent a 9 yes/no question questionnaire to 222 entrants. 156 entrants could not be sent the questionnaire, either because I know…

New review of Murmurs: “If another writer tells stories quite like this, I do know know of him”

March 28, 2012

A beautiful few words from reader Frank Edler: "These are fairly short bursts of that unique domestic fiction that Ross not only has a penchant for writing but also executes to a level that could earn him the moniker of 'Father of Domestic Fiction'. If another writer tells stories quite like this, I do know know of him or her...Once again I walk away from another of Caleb J. Ross' work with an uneasy feeling. ..The author is brilliant at looking at a tender moment and peeling away the layers to reveal the disturbing grotesque. We connect with it because under all our facades lies a bit of that same ugliness to some degree or another. I must now venture forth into his longer works, STRANGER WILL and I DIDN'T MEAN TO BE KEVIN....I can not wait to have my emotions unsettled a little bit more." Read the full review…

What is the value of a Goodreads.com book Giveaway? 93% of entrants had never heard of me. 88% plan on reading my books.

February 25, 2012

Does giving away your books lead to more readers, and in turn, more fans? I’ve long read of the marketing effectiveness of giving away books using the Giveaways option at Goodreads.com. And though I’ve conducted one giveaway in the past (for Stranger Will) I’ve not yet been able to confidently attribute any gains in readership or sales due to that giveaway. With this attribution gap in mind, I set out to conduct a giveaway for As a Machine and Parts, that would allow me to more precisely measure the value of a Goodreads.com user. My conclusion: a Goodreads.com user stands a great chance of becoming a reader. The setup I listed a 2 copy giveaway for As a Machine and Parts to take place between 2/3/2012 and 2/15/2012. During this time the giveaway received a total of 398 entries. After the giveaway was closed for entries, I followed up with…

99 cents, now through January 17th, Charactered Pieces and Murmurs.

January 9, 2012

All eBook versions of either Charactered Pieces or Murmurs: Gathered Stories Vol. One are only $0.99 from now through January 17th. Why January 17th? Because that is the official release date for my newest novel, I Didn't Mean to be Kevin. Just click a link below to go either directly to the Amazon Kindle store or to the Smashwords pages where other formats can be purchased (including NOOK, Sony, Kobo, iBooks, etc.) Please, spread the word if you are willing and able. This is a damn fine deal, I must say, and is a great opportunity to whet your appetite for the upcoming I Didn't Mean to be Kevin.

I lost $ 75.48 on a Facebook ad campaign, and you can too! -OR- Can Facebook ads sell books? Quick answer: no. Long answer: noooooooooooooooo.

December 14, 2011

(part of my ongoing Search Engine Optimization for Authors series[ref]I understand that paid search ads aren’t traditionally umbrellaed under search engine optimization. However, because tracking and optimization is involved, I’m including it in the series[/ref]) Part of being a great author-marketer is knowing how to filter promotion time wastes from time worthwhiles. Some options are simple to filter. “Should I do a Goodreads.com giveaway to attract potential readers?” Yes (all it costs is the price of a few copies of a book to receive interest from hundreds of readers). “Should I rent a billboard for a month?” No (billboards offer either 1) travel-oriented products/services or 2) products with a high profit margin). Some options aren’t so simple. And in the case of the Facebook ad, prominence adds to the should I or shouldn’t I debate. Well, I’m here to help.

A selection of my strangest gifts ever given

November 29, 2011

I write domestic grotesque fiction, which is a term I think I made up, but is quite suiting to the themes and content of my stories and books. The most famous short story that I think would fit into the domestic grotesque genre is “Good Country People” by Flannery O’Conner (visualized quite creepily in this short film from the 1960s and quite cheesily in this student clip). Take a family situation—usually some sort of broken family dynamic—mix in something grotesque—possibly morbid but not necessarily—and you’ve probably got domestic grotesque. As you can imagine, Christmas is a fun time for my family. I’ve given quite a few quirky gifts. Though none could be tagged as grotesque, they are representative of the type of mind that would write a domestic grotesque story, I think. Tis the season and all that, so I figured I would share a few that I’ve so graciously…

Preorders are now being accepted for As a Machine and Parts. Preorders will be SIGNED.

November 25, 2011

I am so incredibly thrilled to announce that my newest book, As a Machine and Parts, is now available for preorder. Simply click over to the Aqueous Books website to order. ALL PREORDERS WILL BE SIGNED. Unfortunately, they will be signed by me. I tried to reanimate Christopher Reeves or get Stephen Hawking here to do the signing--as that would not only be incredible, but would play nicely into the man/machine hybrid themes of the book--but for some reason I couldn't get their people to connect with my people. Maybe their people are dead and/or paralyzed, too. There are a few amazing deals going on that make preordering even more worth your time and money. If you preorder As a Machine and Parts (or buy any of my books, actually) you will get a copy of my newest short story collection, Murmurs: Gathered Stories Vol. One for FREE! Click here…