Advertising.

I talk with a lot of other writers. We always ask one another about advertising and various methods of promotion. Some of the authors I converse with over this topic claim that they do well with advertising on Amazon.com. It makes some amount of logic, as Amazon is very close to becoming a publishing monopoly. They do seem to control access to the marketplace in all other ways, so why not advertising, also?

However, after years of trying out various advertising campaigns at Amazon I have never encountered a situation wherein I profited from putting my money there. That is, no ad campaign returned to me even as much money as I put into it. The opposite was almost always true. If, say, I put $400 into an ad campaign I might get $150 or $200 in cumulative sales over the course of the campaign. Only once did I squeak out a tiny bit of profit from an Amazon ad push, and only by a few dollars.

So, for me, advertising on Amazon is a complete waste of my money, my effort, and my time. My last bit of money spent there advertising my work was, in fact, the last money I will ever spend there for that purpose.

That is all.

I'm not sure why, but my COALITION: Zombie Trilogy is the best selling of all of my books since I republished a number of my titles after regaining publishing rights from a former imprint. It has done well in ebook format, but dollar-wise is doing even better in audio book sales. WORKING CLASS HERO has the edge in total ebook numbers, but the audio of that book isn't nearly as high in sales.

Sales.

As I figure out the details of promoting books online I find that I have learned a few tricks that push my sales up a bit. One line of advice that I got from another writer was to use a service that adapts your books to audio without having to spend any money for production. All you do is audition voice talent, pick the person best suited for the job (there is an amazing amount of voice talent in the pools) and the production is out of your hands other than delivering the manuscript and approving the audio versions. After that, the audio is passed through another round of professional editors who clear it for audio publication.

I have been surprised at the sales of the audiobooks. All I have to do is promote my novels as I normally do, and the audiobooks tag along, sometimes outstripping the ebooks in dollar sales, if not actual numbers (since audiobooks are more expensive than ebooks).

It's part of the massive learning curve of having to promote my fiction rather than leaving it up to a traditional publisher who might be incompetent at the task, or who doesn't care (sometimes both). I may not be great at promotions at this point, but I'm better than I was at it, I'm still learning, and I definitely do care.

****

Here's a question and answer bit I did at a website concerning my superhero novel, WORKING CLASS HERO. I'll be adding the second book to that series very soon, and have plotted a third book. If sales and/or my desire to continue warrant, I'll be doing more in that series. I like the characters and I enjoy the act of creating new stories in that world.

Q&A for my novel WORKING CLASS HERO.

Yeah, baby.

STORY BUNDLE!

Best selling author and publisher Kevin J Anderson, and founder and tech writer Jason Chen have been putting together book bundles to sell as a way to create author promotions and charity donations. I was happy to have my first WORKING CLASS HERO: The Autobiography of a Superhuman as part of his Superhero book bundle. I get to be a part of an effort to aid a good educational charity, and to join with a group of other fine authors all spinning yarns about super-powered people.

So, if you want a way to land a whole lot of excellent reading, plus help out a good cause, all at a super-bargain price, grab one (or all) of these book bundles!

Explanation and link below.

THE UP, UP AND AWAY SUPERHEROES BUNDLE

The Up, Up and Away Superheroes Bundle - Curated by Kevin J. Anderson

If reading is your kryptonite, I've put together a superpoweredStoryBundle—thirteen books with marvelous heroes, supervillains, secret identities, mutant powers, and extraordinary gentlemen (and ladies).

In curating this batch, I included my novel Captain Nemo—one of my favorites—the life story of Jules Verne's fictional friend, who fights pirates at sea, is marooned on a mysterious island, finds a passage to the center of the Earth, crosses Africa in a balloon, and builds the extraordinary sub-marine boat, the Nautilus.

Dean Wesley Smith presents a brand new book featuring his popular and unnaturally talented character Poker Boy. Heroes comes in all shapes, sizes, and personas.What makes a hero super? Mark Leslie's collection Nobody's Hero contains seven stories that explore what makes a hero.

A power she doesn't want. But everyone else does.In Robin Brande's Dove Season Marnie has a secret she's been able to hide from the world for years. But now she's been exposed, and her worst fears are coming true.What does the government want from her? To use her as a spy? A weapon? A warrior? She's not made for any of those.But Marnie can't resist the forces who are after her, any more than she can resist using her power.

Matt Forbeck's Brave New World: Revolution: In a world in which supers either work for the government or are thrown into prison, the legend known as Patriot is finally caught and will soon be executed for his crimes — unless his friends in the rebellious Defiance can break him out!

In Jon Mollison's Overlook, nothing's more dangerous than an invisible man… Matt Ward's Cynetic Wolf: An immortal government, half-human oppressed masses, and a young hybrid whose existence threatens everything the cyborg overlords built since the world ended.

In Lucas Flint's The Superhero's Test, seventeen-year-old Kevin 'Bolt' Jason must learn how to control his newly discovered superpowers to protect his family from asupervillain who seeks to destroy him.

What happens when you find out that you suddenly have super-powers is that Uncle Sam makes you an offer you can't refuse. That's Working Class Hero by James Robert Smith. In Fid's Crusade by David Reiss, we see that in the end, it may take a villain to save the world from those entrusted with the world's protection.

The Enlivening by Ashlyn Frost—She's his Frankenstein and now it's time to pay. Tina Glasneck's Hellbent features a hammerless Thor, a devious plan, and a destiny to thwart. And in Jeremy Flagg's Morning Sun: Before joining the Nighthawks, thirteen outcasts fought alone. Their paths should never have crossed. As the Children of Nostradamus come into their own, they have to ask: does having superpowers make them heroes?

You'll read these faster than a speeding bullet. (Sorry, the groaners just write themselves!) – Kevin J. Anderson

* * *

For StoryBundle, you decide what price you want to pay. For $5 (or more, if you're feeling generous), you'll get the basic bundle of five books in any ebook format—WORLDWIDE.

•             Captain Nemo - The Fantastic Adventures of a Dark Genius by Kevin J. Anderson

•             Cynetic Wolf by Matt Ward

•             Working Class Hero by James Robert Smith

•             Dove Season by Robin Brande

•             The Superhero's Test by Lucas Flint

If you pay at least the bonus price of just $15, you get all five of the regular books, plus eight more more books, for a total of thirteen!

•             Playing a Hunch by Dean Wesley Smith

•             Fid's Crusade by David Reiss

•             The Enlivening by Ashlyn Frost

•             Nobody's Hero by Mark Leslie

•             Morning Sun by Jeremy Flagg

•             Overlook by Jon Mollison

•             Hellbent by Tina Glasneck

•             Brave New World Revolution by Matt Forbeck

This bundle is available only for a limited time via http://www.storybundle.com. It allows easy reading on computers, smartphones, and tablets as well as Kindle and other ereaders via file transfer, email, and other methods. You get multiple DRM-free formats (.epub, .mobi) for all books!

It's also super easy to give the gift of reading with StoryBundle, thanks to our gift cards – which allow you to send someone a code that they can redeem for any future StoryBundle bundle – and timed delivery, which allows you to control exactly when your recipient will get the gift of StoryBundle.

Why StoryBundle? Here are just a few benefits StoryBundle provides.

•             Get quality reads: We've chosen works from excellent authors to bundle together in one convenient package.

•             Pay what you want (minimum $5): You decide how much these fantastic books are worth. If you can only spare a little, that's fine! You'll still get access to a batch of exceptional titles.

•             Support authors who support DRM-free books: StoryBundle is a platform for authors to get exposure for their works, both for the titles featured in the bundle and for the rest of their catalog. Supporting authors who let you read their books on any device you want—restriction free—will show everyone there's nothing wrong with ditching DRM.

•             Give to worthy causes: Bundle buyers have a chance to donate a portion of their proceeds to the Challenger Center for Space Education!

•             Receive extra books: If you beat the bonus price, you'll get the bonus books!

StoryBundle was created to give a platform for independent authors to showcase their work, and a source of quality titles for thirsty readers. StoryBundle works with authors to create bundles of ebooks that can be purchased by readers at their desired price. Before starting StoryBundle, Founder Jason Chen covered technology and software as an editor for Gizmodo.com and Lifehacker.com.

For more information, visit our website at storybundle.com, tweet us at @storybundle and like us on Facebook.

Thirteen great superhero novels!

Promotions

Back in the day, promotions were easier. I had a much simpler job of promoting my work when--according to modern experts--the system was more disjointed and less well connected than it is now.

For instance, promoting my first novel, THE FLOCK, was a simple job for me. I sent out review copies, and I got in contact with various bookstores and libraries and magazines and got the word out. It worked well and I had a decent amount of success. It was more impersonal than things are now, but the results were good. (And, no, for those who ask, not even Tor Books did any advertising for the book. It's up to the writer to walk those miles.)

These days there is the Internet. And almost all publishing today is done electronically. Fewer and fewer people buy and read books. Bookstores are vanishing. Libraries seem to be simple hangouts and little more. The traditional publishers who remain don't advertise the books they buy--they expect the authors to spend their advance money publicizing their novels. (Admittedly, this was even the case when I sold my first traditionally published novel.)

Publishers have decided to let the writers do the leg work.

No publisher I have ever signed with has done any real advertising. Zero. Not one, thin dime.

So it's on the writer's head to get the word out and to try to push the sales figures in the right direction.

But it is a tedious job. For some, it's just overwhelming. Recently I was reading a blog from a moderately well-known author and he claims to spend up to sixty hours a week promoting his fiction. That's a week and a half of labor for a man with a normal job.

I hate to be blunt...but fuck that.

I suppose I will continue to write, and I will be forced to promote my own work since publishers have no budgets for that in these times of shrinking book sales. In their case, it's pretty much a self-fulfilling doom prophecy.

And even though I don't spend anywhere near sixty hours a week promoting my fiction (I have to have time to live and, yes, to write) I still feel that I expend far too much time in promotions. To paraphrase Bones McCoy, "I'm a writer, damn it! Not a salesman!"

And, now, having made that point--shameless promotion time. If you enjoyed my novel WORKING CLASS HERO, you will want to buy the short story "A Turn of Events" which is available in ebook format only. And if you haven't yet bought a copy of WORKING CLASS HERO, you can get an idea of what it's all about by reading this low-cost story of 5400 words.

"Turn of Events" a story of WORKING CLASS HERO, Billy B.