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The real questions authors need to ask when deciding between self-publishing and traditional publishing

April 2, 2011

With the news of sudden-star Amanda Hocking circumnavigating - and established-star Barry Eisler eschewing - traditional publishing in favor of self publishing, I thought it important to collect my thoughts on the topic from the perspective of aspiring authors. Getting a book published is easy. Anyone with $5 and a Lulu account can do it (or for a bit more can go through Createspace, direct to Lightning Source, or any other PoD route). So the discussion for authors must change from how to be published to how best to be published. Think about it this way, if you are offered a 20% royalty on books sold (which is actually high for most publishers), that means you are giving up on 80% of your potential profit. The truth is when signing a publishing contract you are paying the publisher to sell your book. Much of the information out there about self-publishing…

Stranger Will tour stop #8: Nik Korpon’s blog

March 30, 2011

Click here to read the guest post. Also, don’t forget that if you comment on all guest blog posts, you will get free stuff. About the Stranger Will Tour for Strange: My goal is to post at a different blog every few days beginning with the release of his novel Stranger Will in March 2011 to the release of my second novel, I Didn’t Mean to Be Kevin in November 2011. If you have connections to a lit blog of any type, professional journal or personal site, please contact me. I would love to compromise your integrity for a day. To be a groupie and follow this tour, subscribe to the Caleb J Ross blog RSS feed. Follow me on Twitter: @calebjross.com. Friend me on Facebook: Facebook.com/rosscaleb See all tour stops here

Stranger Will tour stop #7: Thunderdome (again!)

March 29, 2011

Click here to read the guest post. Also, don't forget that if you comment on all guest blog posts, you will get free stuff. About the Stranger Will Tour for Strange: My goal is to post at a different blog every few days beginning with the release of his novel Stranger Will in March 2011 to the release of my second novel, I Didn’t Mean to Be Kevin in November 2011. If you have connections to a lit blog of any type, professional journal or personal site, please contact me. I would love to compromise your integrity for a day. To be a groupie and follow this tour, subscribe to the Caleb J Ross blog RSS feed. Follow me on Twitter: @calebjross.com. Friend me on Facebook: Facebook.com/rosscaleb See all tour stops here

Stranger Will tour stop #6: HTMLGiant

March 26, 2011

Click here to read the guest post. Also, don’t forget that if you comment on all guest blog posts, you will get free stuff. About the Stranger Will Tour for Strange: My goal is to post at a different blog every few days beginning with the release of his novel Stranger Will in March 2011 to the release of my second novel, I Didn’t Mean to Be Kevin in November 2011. If you have connections to a lit blog of any type, professional journal or personal site, please contact me. I would love to compromise your integrity for a day. To be a groupie and follow this tour, subscribe to the Caleb J Ross blog RSS feed. Follow me on Twitter: @calebjross.com. Friend me on Facebook: Facebook.com/rosscaleb See all tour stops here

Stranger Will tour stop #5: The Velvet Podcast

March 24, 2011

Today's post is a special audio interview over at The Velvet Podcast. Click here to go to the guest post. Also, don’t forget that if you comment on all guest blog posts, you will get free stuff. About the Stranger Will Tour for Strange: My goal is to post at a different blog every few days beginning with the release of his novel Stranger Will in March 2011 to the release of my second novel, I Didn’t Mean to Be Kevin in November 2011. If you have connections to a lit blog of any type, professional journal or personal site, please contact me. I would love to compromise your integrity for a day. To be a groupie and follow this tour, subscribe to the Caleb J Ross blog RSS feed. Follow me on Twitter: @calebjross.com. Friend me on Facebook: Facebook.com/rosscaleb See all tour stops here

Social media is a natural fit for authors. Tip your readers!

January 15, 2011

When I’m not authoring mind explosions, I spend part of my time professionally involved with social media. One of the items my company stresses with our clients is that social media is not about pushing a message of product, product, product. It’s about engaging with customers and potential customers on a personal level. This means breaking the traditional advertising bullhorn approach of “BUY THIS NOW” with quips about the weather or TV shows, for example (though perhaps still tangentially related to the company’s product line). For most companies, dialog sans advertising is a foreign concept. For authors, this should be easy. Authors are their books Authors are inextricably linked to their products in a way that traditional companies are not. Denis Dutton in The Art Instinct: Beauty, Pleasure, & Human Evolution explores the idea that fiction always concerns and navigates three persons, one of whom is the author. “There is…

Ideas I’ve had (probably while drinking): bottle stories

December 22, 2010

The beer bottle label is grossly misappropriated real estate. When sold as a six- or twelve-pack, the bottle label is hidden by the outside packaging. And nobody buys a single bottle of beer. So why not use the label for something more than null-advertising? We drink for the morning after stories over greasy breakfast, so why not pull those stories back by a few hours and give them when drinking? The content of the stories could be anything from true life tales of drunken debauchery, to short fictions that somehow involve drinking, to short bios of famous authors (and their drunken exploits), to stories that incorporate the unique canvas (stories about glassblowers or, if drinking a red ale, vampires). For those advertising traditionalists, the label facade could be left intact, reserving a hidden underside for the story. Think the way cigarette cartoons often display coupons. Attention investors: money please!