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  1. ChickenHawk

    Vigilante's "Mind Your Business" Radio Show

    EXECUTION 
    I just listened to the show on college and overcoming setbacks. WOW, this was my favorite one yet! About the second part, where you discuss your personal story, that was some powerful, moving stuff, and as a listener, I'm glad you shared that. I think it will really resonate with just about...
  2. ChickenHawk

    Kindle Unlimited... Authors in trouble?

    PUBLISHING 
    http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M37MRZE/?tag=tff-amazonparser-20 The above KU book is a perfect example of why Amazon will need to make some changes. This book is ranked super-low, but how many such books are out there? To quote this book's only review..."One page! I repeat One page! This one page...
  3. ChickenHawk

    Kindle Unlimited... Authors in trouble?

    PUBLISHING 
    Yup! The writer must do everything they can to seize control of their audience. For example, anyone who publishes an ebook without including a mailing list sign-up is doing themselves a terrible disservice. Full Disclaimer: I DID put my newest book in KU, and here's why.... I'm still building...
  4. ChickenHawk

    Editors And Proofreaders

    PUBLISHING 
    I'd be interested in this too. I've never hired an editor or proof-reader, but every once in a while, I still debate it (especially the proof-reader, because most of my mistakes tend to be typos). It would be interesting to hear if fellow Fastlaners are using editors these days, and if so, how...
  5. ChickenHawk

    Kindle Unlimited... Authors in trouble?

    PUBLISHING 
    I agree that pushing out lots of ultra-short books is risky due to the ever-changing landscape. This might not be true for all books though. For example, there are some really popular romance serials written by top authors. These might do well under any scenario. But as far as super-short books...
  6. ChickenHawk

    Kindle Unlimited... Authors in trouble?

    PUBLISHING 
    Ding, ding, ding!!! We have a winner! That's exactly what some writers are doing. Even take it a step further. You can write a 5,000 "book," and get paid once someone reaches 500 words, which is basically two pages. I just don't see how this system can sustain itself. As it is, the payouts...
  7. ChickenHawk

    Kindle Unlimited... Authors in trouble?

    PUBLISHING 
    I can see where writers would bail. I agree with @COSenior that KU is more beneficial to authors who are still establishing a fan base. It's also more beneficial to authors who write inexpensive, shorter books. Personally, I think Amazon will need to make some changes if they want this to work...
  8. ChickenHawk

    Old people, don't despair!

    HOT! MINDSET 
    Eh?! Could you speak up, Sonny?
  9. ChickenHawk

    Old people, don't despair!

    HOT! MINDSET 
    Me too! I published my first book just a year ago in my mid-forties. Great article, BTW.
  10. ChickenHawk

    Is Using Amazon FBA Risking Too Much Control?

    EXECUTION 
    Just chiming in as a buyer, not a seller. I buy a ton of stuff from Amazon, and I almost never buy anything that's not FBA. If there are two nearly identical products, I'll even pay a little more for the FBA product, because I can take advantage of my Amazon Prime membership. Plus, just being...
  11. ChickenHawk

    [PROGRESS THREAD] ChickenHawk's Self-Published Fiction EBooks

    GOLD! 
    Thanks for following this! I'll definitely be providing year-end update sometime within the next month or so. It's been an interesting year, that's for sure. My latest book is doing well. Currently, it's ranked in the #200 - #300 range in the Kindle Store. I'm not sure how it will do...
  12. ChickenHawk

    [PROGRESS THREAD] ChickenHawk's Self-Published Fiction EBooks

    GOLD! 
    I agree with what @MarshallDigamma said above. You don't need to be exclusive, but odds are the majority of your sales will come from Amazon anyway. You could always publish there first, see what kind of results you get, and go from there. Good luck!
  13. ChickenHawk

    Self-Publishing Resources and Websites

    GOLD! 
    Hmmm...I think I'd put it lower, maybe not a lot lower, but still, maybe somewhere in the 70% range. Here are some things that happened within the last year. More Price Competition from Traditional Publishers: In the early stages, indies had a huge advantage because traditionally published...
  14. ChickenHawk

    Hello from Denver - self publishing success

    GOLD! 
    Hi! Since Held for Ransom hasn't been on this thread in a while, and you ask some good questions, maybe I can answer some of these instead. Taxes: I don't know how HFR does it, but I pay taxes as a self-employed individual, not a corporation. Aside from the regular April tax filing thing, I...
  15. ChickenHawk

    ACX - Turning Your Book Into an Audio Book

    PUBLISHING 
    Thanks! I don't have a lot more experience. Mostly, I've just put my books on Amazon/ITunes through ACX, which means that the producer handles most of the logistics. My audiobooks are about eight hours long, resulting from about 80K words per book. As far as linking them, if you pull up one of...
  16. ChickenHawk

    Choose a design for a book cover!

    PUBLISHING 
    My vote would be for #17. It looks Game-of-Thronesey, with a hint of potential romance with the red fabric. Wishing your wife good luck with the book!
  17. ChickenHawk

    Convert to Audio Book

    PUBLISHING 
    If you're looking to sell it on Amazon and ITunes, the easiest way might be to go through ACX. It's really easy, but there's a downside in that Amazon retains a lot (too much) control. They determining pricing, for example, which is a real bummer. That being said, I've used ACX for three books...
  18. ChickenHawk

    Jumping on the bandwagon

    PUBLISHING 
    WOW!!!! Congrats!!!!! You are amazing, seriously! Interesting about Scrivener. I've heard great things about it. I just dread the thought of learning a new system. Hmmmm...Definitely something to consider though...
  19. ChickenHawk

    Romance Writers: Heat level by sub-genre?

    PUBLISHING 
    ...Oh, another note. In most of my books, I've used fairly tame words to describe body parts. (Meaning I will generally use the word "length" or "erection" rather than the word "cock," for example. Well, now I'm all embarrassed, but you get the idea.) I think this helps give the illusion of...
  20. ChickenHawk

    Romance Writers: Heat level by sub-genre?

    PUBLISHING 
    I write romance, and I'd actually prefer to write books without non-explicit sex in them. But it does seem that there's a certain expectation, maybe due to the popularity 50 Shades of Gray, that romance books (especially those geared toward college-aged women) will have some fairly explicit...

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