C h a z z W r i t e s . c o m

See all my books at AllThatChazz.com.

06/01/2012 • 9:36 AM 1

Pubslush is Kickstarter for Authors

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Pubslush…

This is interesting as much for the concept and the charity aspect as it is for the commentary on the current state of traditional publishing. “No one cares what the Barnes & Noble buyer thinks.” Click the link and check out the article and video.

See on mashable.com

Filed under: publishing

05/31/2012 • 7:16 PM 2

Sell Your Books the Old-Fashioned Way

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I laughed with recognition when I read somewhere that free is the new ninety-nine cents. Now it seems free isn’t the key to readers’ locks, either.

Check out this post at Bert Blogging: Bert’s fed up with free and even raising the prices on his books, too. I have friends who swore free worked but that free is now over since Amazon’s algorithm changed. Read Bert Carson’s interesting take on why free is silly at the link below. It’s good data to consider as we all feel our way forward blindly, trying to figure out what the next marketing key will be.

What do you think is next? ~ Chazz

See on bertcarsonauthor.com

Filed under: publishing

05/31/2012 • 8:05 AM 1

Maxwell Cynn: Battle Rages On – #IndiesUnite4Joshua

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The Indies Unite for Joshua campaign is over…but not really. We did a great thing. We can continue to do great things. Thank you donors!

My best to Joshua, Max and family and my thanks to Eden Baylee for organizing the IndieGoGo campaign. Indie authors from around the world donated perks and I met a lot of nice people writing interesting stuff, too. See? The Internet can do something amazing. It’s not just for arguing uselessly with angry people who never change their minds. (That’s right. I’m saying I’m an angry person who will never change his mind.)

It’s a little less dark out there because of charitable works like Indies Unite for Joshua and the sweet people who made it succeed.

Next question: What’s the next campaign against darkness going to be?

See on maxwellcynn.blogspot.ca

Filed under: publishing

05/30/2012 • 4:26 PM 0

The Mask Awards: The Best Blogs for Writers

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Writing blog award nominations over at Masquerade Crew! This is a useful thing so we become aware of blogs we might otherwise miss. Follow the Scoopit! link to make your recommendations. What are we missing?

I hardly ever buy writing mags anymore, but FYI, the latest issue of Writers Digest has a list of 100 of the best blogs for writers in several categories. It’s not a comprehensive list (because I’m not on it, dammit!), but I was made aware of a few blogs that I’ll no doubt link to here in the future as awesome blog posts emerge.

See on masqueradecrew.blogspot.ca

Filed under: publishing

05/29/2012 • 11:00 PM 3

Writing in the Second Person, Present Tense (Like a Boss!)

A defiant update: I am 7,650 words into writing the second book in my crime series as I await fresh edits on the first book. It’s going well after a little convo with one of my weapons experts. It’s a love story, a suspense story, a funny story and a tragic story that’s all told in the second-person, present tense. Yes, yes, I know. That’s usually only reserved for experimental fiction.

Tonight as I went for my story-thinking walk and listened to my Kindle babble at me in that text-to-speech voice best used for listening to A Brief History of Time (geek joke), I just heard advice that, again, said, “DON’T DO THAT!” And so, of course I am compelled to do it. I do not wear a collar and I am on no one’s leash. What’s the point of freedom if you don’t air it out and let it run?

The one piece of writing advice that trumps all others is, “If it works, it works.” This works.

Filed under: publishing, indie, point of view, POV, present tense, second-person, writing

05/28/2012 • 7:54 AM 1

“Stand by Me” was sung (beautifully) at my wedding to She Who Must Be Obeyed. It has a lot of meaning for us. As the Indies Unite for Joshua campaign winds down, IndieGoGo organizer and author Eden Baylee shares some thoughts and that lovely song, too. We all need to stand together against evil, disease and mimes. Over the last four months, indie authors from around the world have taken a stand for Joshua, a young man who has leukaemia. We’re very close to meeting our goal to help this family in the fight. The fight belongs to all of us because cancer doesn’t discriminate. Fortunately, neither does empathy. If you can help, please do. If you can’t, please spread the word. Thanks ~ Chazz

UPDATE ~ ONLY hours left to donate at IndieGoGo
Please keep sharing Indies Unite for Joshua
Every amount counts ~ GREAT perks still available!

* * *

This is the last Monday leading up to the final days of Indies Unite for Joshua. We are SO CLOSE to our $10K goal at $9830.

“Stand by Me” is orchestrated by Playing for Change, an excellent foundation that uses multimedia to bring together musicians from around the world. It’s an emotional, beautiful, and inspiring video.

In the blog post by Max that precipitated this fundraiser, he asked his friends to stand by him. I can’t think of a better song that exemplifies the spirit of the amazing people who’ve stood by Joshua, Max, and their family for the past four months.

THANK YOU ALLfor uniting to raise funds for Joshua’s medical treatment and give him a chance at life. It’s been wondrous…

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Filed under: publishing

05/27/2012 • 5:24 PM 0

I Have A Chip On My Shoulder. I Named It Dale

See on Scoop.it – Writing and reading fiction

There’s a minor hoorah going around the blogosphere this week. People complaining about self-publishers with chips on their shoulders and big mouths. There is a call for civility. When it fir…

[Sometimes I notice themes emerge on this blog as a week progresses. Recently I linked to a post about civility and comportment among indie authors. In this link to JW Manus’s blog, you’ll find more fallout. It’s interesting and there are some great points in the comments thread, too. With this link, I’m going to give the debate a rest. It spurs some thought so I’m linking to point you that way. However, look for some more positive stuff about both sides of the trad and indie industry in the coming week. I’m assuming I can find some positive stuff, anyway. 🙂

Key points for me are (A) nobody died so no one should write someone off just because they criticize a business model, (B) don’t tell me what to do as if you’re my boss or my parent, (C) free speech doesn’t necessarily equal incivility, especially if it’s to be effective, and (D) if you don’t like me, you don’t have to listen to me, read my stuff or dance to the music in my head (and vice versa). Click the Scoopit link to form opinions that are entirely your own. ~ Chazz]

See on jwmanus.wordpress.com

Filed under: publishing

05/27/2012 • 10:53 AM 3

Hey Indie and Self-Published Authors — You Stink. | The Indie Times

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Unbelievable! I have always said that it is sad that the stigma in the publishing world, propagated and promoted by the upper echelon of the industry, filters down to store owners and managers, who seem to want to elevate themselves to that lofty…

(And now, from the Last Laugh Department… Click the link for the full story. And congratulations to Mr. Wooten. ~ Chazz0

See on www.theindietimes.com

Filed under: publishing

05/27/2012 • 10:46 AM 1

Non-US Self-Publisher? Tax Issues Don’t Need to be Taxing

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OH FOR THE LOVE OF FUDGE. That’s what this whole tax-withholding-for-non-US-residents makes me want to scream. Out loud, and repeatedly. But as I’ve said before, self-publishing your e-…

See on catherineryanhoward.com

Filed under: publishing

05/25/2012 • 8:57 AM 7

Why Authors Should ALWAYS Respond To Negative Reviews | Digital Book World

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At Digital Book World, Elle Lothlorien lays the foundation for her argument that authors should respond to bad reviews as other businesses do, in an attempt to rectify a bad customer experience. This is a very interesting blog post for a number of reasons, and you may find the comment thread even more compelling. You may even find it disturbing. The post appeals to my affinity for the contrarian viewpoint, but it was the comment thread that had me thinking, “Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Slow down! Save this level of vitriol and nuclear response for really serious problems, like family reunions!”

This is just Part 1 of her argument and that’s where the disturbing subtext emerges in the comment thread. Some commenters rise up, prematurely, I think, to condemn Lothlorien’s advice before she’s given a chance to lay out her strategy. They attribute motivations and actions to the author and reviewers before she’s had a chance to show what steps she takes and recommends. Condemnation before full presentation sounds like a trait you don’t want in a book reviewer.

Since the reaction in some cases (in the comment thread) is very defensive so far, I’ll be very interested to see how Lothlorien defuses her critics, one of whom goes so far as to threaten her with a bad review now that the author has dared to express an opinion. Wow. It’s ironic that Lothlorien is accused of intimidating reviewers to bump up the stars in her reviews in the same thread. Are we so cynical we can’t imagine that a listening ear and being nice might actually change a reviewer’s perspective? Are all opinions set in granite? Some objectors to the article assume their initial reaction is the best and purest one. Maybe not.

I don’t respond to negative reviews because I have accepted dogma (yes, I’m saying I haven’t really thought about it past “Don’t do it!”) and I’ve seen where it goes awry. As soon as I read the headline, I thought of The Greek Seaman debacle, which Lothlorien even mentions as an example of how not to do what she’s recommending. I have to concede that Lothlorien makes some good points.

“Anecdotal evidence!” someone cried. Well, what other evidence might there be? No one is studying this problem wearing a lab coat and clicking on a calculator. That said, I’m not (yet?) convinced responding to bad reviews is ever a good idea. I am willing to hear her out and in the meantime, I’ll reserve judgment until the follow-up installments.

Even if by some miracle of business pschology she manages to convince me otherwise, I’m sure it’s something I’ll never want to do. No one wants to be on the wrong end of the 1-800 line dealing with complaints, though as Lothlorien would point out, that is what businesses do.

There’s a fundamental question about ourselves that bubbles up through the cracks in the subtext: Do we have to get so angry about this stuff? We can change, can’t we? Flexibility in mind doesn’t necessarily equate to flip flopping. Mental agility means intelligence. I’m scared Lothlorien might be right and I hope she’s not. If I end up thinking she’s right, though, I won’t be mad at her. Click the link below for the article and read on.

See on www.digitalbookworld.com

UPDATE:

Today’s podcast, The Unintended Consequences Edition, covers this issue, as well, in case your prefer your commentary in audio.