Time’s running out to nominate Foul Wind on KindleScout! If you haven’t time to read the post, just click, nominate and run on to your next project, reading this after my deadline! Thanks.
Since he died in 1832, I’ll forgive Mr. Cotton’s sexism. He makes a good point.
Right now I’m on a search for some sensible folks to read my first chapter and nominate me for publication on Kindle Scout. If my book is published, you’ll get a free pre-release copy. It’s fast and easy.
If you’re ready, here’s the link: https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/3VDS86RNJSQOE
Why did I decide to try Kindle Scout? My path to published author has been long and crooked. When I began writing fiction, I naively assumed that someone who’d been a successful marketing communicator would quickly whip out several bestsellers and soon be on the road, exhausted by smiling at and signing books for, my many fans.
Oops! Lesson 1: writing fiction is NOT like writing data sheets or product brochures.
My first novel was a finalist in the St. Martin’s Malice Domestic contest. Hoorah! Agents wanted to see the whole manuscript. I’d soon be a published author on that exhausting book tour.
Not so. Some liked it, but no one LOVED it enough to want to take it on.
Lesson 2: The good grammar that thrilled the weary eyes of a contest judge is not enough to sell fiction. I needed to learn a lot more about creating interesting characters and presenting them with nearly insurmountable challenges that cause said characters to change by surmounting them.
Times changed. The publishing industry changed. Some of my colleagues found success publishing independently, others with small presses.
Several books and countless query letters later, I submitted my novel, Mustard’s Last Stand to a small publisher, L&L Dreamspell. They loved it! They published it. But sadly, soon after publication of my novel, one of the partners died. The remaining partner chose to close the company.
Instead of seeking a new publisher, I decided to independently publish my novel, the first in a madcap series of books set in North Idaho. I did. I also produced an audio book of the novel, narrated by JoBe Cerny, the voice of the Pillsbury Doughboy. Really.
Ready to vote? Yes! I nominate Foul Wind!
Times changed. The publishing industry changed. Those authors who’d found great success publishing independently struggled with declining sales. My sales had no declining in their future, only an upward path. That has been a rugged one.
When I completed the second book in the series, Foul Wind, I decided to try Kindle Scout. That’s an Amazon program where readers can read about a book, read the first chapter, and nominate it for publishing. Success means a contract with a nice advance and some help marketing the book from Amazon. If I don’t get the contract, I’ll publish it myself.
I would greatly appreciate your going to my page on Kindle Scout and taking a look at Foul Wind. While you’re there, nominate two others. You’ll get a free pre-release copy of any of your nominations that are selected for publication.
Let me know what you think of Kindle Scout. I think it’s a win-win in this changing world, at least worth a 30 day wait for independent publication. It was very easy to post my book, with some marketing information that will always be useful.
Now. Go. Nominate. Tell your friends and family about my books. And look for Mustard’s Last Stand to be free sometime during this promotion. I’ll let you know when.
Have any of you tried Kindle Scout? What do you think?
