Activity Update
It's been a while since my last update, so there is much to report. In my last blog update, I was begging for reviews and well ... I still am. But progress has been made and I have been extremely fortunate and thankful to have received some very kind reviews on the book at Amazon. They're not even from fictional people I created - although I will confess and admit I thought about it. ;)
Word is getting out, with many thanks to my publisher's marketing efforts. Google 'Pinesport Divide' and you can see his efforts are really starting to show results. In addition, I've been cruising all the forums/chat boards I can find to get the word out. If that sounds creepy to you, trust me -- it really is. From trying to convince complete strangers that my book needs to be on their summer reading list to suggesting to teenagers they would relate to my characters, anyone who knows me would tell you marketing (specifically, selling) is not my game ... and I'm sure it shows. But I will continue to explore and, hopefully, learn more about these marketing tools. After all ... I'm going to need some funny and humiliating stories to write about in my autobiography one day. Right?
Metal Lunchbox Publishing (my publisher) has come through in a huge way and managed to line up an interview with Hagerstown Magazine. They are reviewing the book now, and the actual article should be published later this year. More to follow. FYI - his book, Karate Dottie, will also be featured. Be sure to check it out!
Disaster Strikes
No doubt, you have all feared losing your wallet, or maybe purse, so I don't have to explain the devastating results that would follow. Luckily, I will not be sitting in the DMV this week with the rest of the scary people you typically find there because I still have my wallet. I did, however, lose something almost as important. For the last year and a half now, I've been carrying around a little black flash drive that might as well have been surgically attached to my hand, because it NEVER left my side, but the inevitable finally happened last week. It went missing! It had everything on it: budgets, past years tax returns, work files, plans, bills, and my writing. EVERYTHING! Before you start calling me an idiot for not backing up the drive, I do have backups, so all is not lost. However, it's been three months since my last backup, and that was right around the time I started the next book in the Pinesport series. I've spent the past week searching every nook and cranny, every place I visited in and outside my home, looking for this thing like it was the ring from Lord of the Rings and I was Golum. I think my wife even overheard me mumbling "my precious" as I lurked around. It's gone, and I have accepted it. That's alright, because it has actually turned into a positive thing and I have started the new book from a different angle which works much better. Still - it's hard flushing three months of work down the drain. Live and learn - I now have a flash drive connected to my key chain. Hopefully it's like lighting, and this will not happen again.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Weeks 8 - 11 : Desperately Seeking Susan('s Reviews)
... Susan, Madonna, George, Frank, etc.
It doesn't matter - if you have read the book, I would love to see your thoughts in the Amazon review section under Pinesport Divide.
A FREE ebook copy is available for anyone willing to provide a review. If your intested, please email me at charlesmatthews6@gmail.com.
Why am I so hung up on reviews, you ask? There's no doubt the publishing industry has been completely turned upside down over the past ten years. As a result, the marketing and publishing industry is struggling to gain their footing. One of the best things the internet offers (IMHO) is the ability to see real people's thoughts and opinions of products you are considering purchasing. I can't remember the last item I bought on the internet that I didn't instantly research the user reviews on. This is because it offers real words from real customers, and not some advertising campaign drummed up by a corporate marketing team. Word of mouth has always been an effective means of getting word out to the public, and the ability to see these reviews is an immense aid to that process.
What I've Been Up To:
My Author Page is finally viewable here. I've also started using Google Adwords which is a rather ingenious service that allows your ads to be shown on Google Searches but only charges you if your ad is clicked on. I just need to keep a close eye on it because the charges can skyrocket if your not paying attention.
Now that the book has been available for 2 months, intitial reviews are coming back and they are all promisingly positive which has giving me encouragement and motivation to start the next book. I've had people say they would like to offer suggestions which I loved hearing because that tells me they are into the story. And while I can't promise I can incorporate your ideas, I would love to hear your thoughts!! Just - if you post on this blog, be mindful about spoilers from the first book for those who would still like to read it.
Fellow writers - I want to hear about your experiences.
It doesn't matter - if you have read the book, I would love to see your thoughts in the Amazon review section under Pinesport Divide.
A FREE ebook copy is available for anyone willing to provide a review. If your intested, please email me at charlesmatthews6@gmail.com.
Why am I so hung up on reviews, you ask? There's no doubt the publishing industry has been completely turned upside down over the past ten years. As a result, the marketing and publishing industry is struggling to gain their footing. One of the best things the internet offers (IMHO) is the ability to see real people's thoughts and opinions of products you are considering purchasing. I can't remember the last item I bought on the internet that I didn't instantly research the user reviews on. This is because it offers real words from real customers, and not some advertising campaign drummed up by a corporate marketing team. Word of mouth has always been an effective means of getting word out to the public, and the ability to see these reviews is an immense aid to that process.
What I've Been Up To:
My Author Page is finally viewable here. I've also started using Google Adwords which is a rather ingenious service that allows your ads to be shown on Google Searches but only charges you if your ad is clicked on. I just need to keep a close eye on it because the charges can skyrocket if your not paying attention.
Now that the book has been available for 2 months, intitial reviews are coming back and they are all promisingly positive which has giving me encouragement and motivation to start the next book. I've had people say they would like to offer suggestions which I loved hearing because that tells me they are into the story. And while I can't promise I can incorporate your ideas, I would love to hear your thoughts!! Just - if you post on this blog, be mindful about spoilers from the first book for those who would still like to read it.
Fellow writers - I want to hear about your experiences.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Weeks 6 & 7 : Houston - We Are Live!
Weekly Statistics
Week 6 = 72 Visits to www.Charles-Matthews.com (trend down), daily average = 10.3 visits
Week 7 = 70 Visits to www.Charles-Matthews.com (trend down), daily average = 2.8 visits
Yes - there has been a downward trend of traffic to the website, but it was to be expected. With all my time occupied on getting the proof completed, there wasn't a whole lot of time (on my part) trying to get the word out. I like to think of it as the quiet before the storm.
THE BOOK IS LIVE! I don't know whether to scream it from a roof top or hide in the corner. Maybe I'll scream from a corner of my roof. It was officially available on Amazon this past Wednesday, March 24th.
What I've Been Up To
As I write this, I'm gazing at some flowering trees starting to bloom just outside my window. I know that in a week's time the trees will accent the scenery like no other time of the year. The sad part is, it will only last 3 or 4 weeks tops, so in order to fully enjoy them I have to pay attention to the moment. OK. OK. I promise to stay away from writing poetry. But I am (trying to) draw an analogy here. Any new book to hit the shelves has a peak time as far as sales are concerned and that time is in the first year. So I need to get busy - fast.
This week I completed an interview with my publisher which can be viewed at SF Varney's Blog or SF Varney's Amazon Page.
Also, I managed to create an Author page established at Amazon Author Central. This will provide additional information about the author or Pinesport Divide (me) for anyone who looks up the book. There are some other advantages, but I'm still learning about the process. It will take another week for Amazon to get the page up and running.
If you are out there, please feel free to join me at my newly created Facebook Page.
As Always
If you are a fellow writer, or even a reader, please feel free to leave comments/suggestions here on the topic of Becoming An Author.
Week 6 = 72 Visits to www.Charles-Matthews.com (trend down), daily average = 10.3 visits
Week 7 = 70 Visits to www.Charles-Matthews.com (trend down), daily average = 2.8 visits
Yes - there has been a downward trend of traffic to the website, but it was to be expected. With all my time occupied on getting the proof completed, there wasn't a whole lot of time (on my part) trying to get the word out. I like to think of it as the quiet before the storm.
THE BOOK IS LIVE! I don't know whether to scream it from a roof top or hide in the corner. Maybe I'll scream from a corner of my roof. It was officially available on Amazon this past Wednesday, March 24th.
What I've Been Up To
As I write this, I'm gazing at some flowering trees starting to bloom just outside my window. I know that in a week's time the trees will accent the scenery like no other time of the year. The sad part is, it will only last 3 or 4 weeks tops, so in order to fully enjoy them I have to pay attention to the moment. OK. OK. I promise to stay away from writing poetry. But I am (trying to) draw an analogy here. Any new book to hit the shelves has a peak time as far as sales are concerned and that time is in the first year. So I need to get busy - fast.
This week I completed an interview with my publisher which can be viewed at SF Varney's Blog or SF Varney's Amazon Page.
Also, I managed to create an Author page established at Amazon Author Central. This will provide additional information about the author or Pinesport Divide (me) for anyone who looks up the book. There are some other advantages, but I'm still learning about the process. It will take another week for Amazon to get the page up and running.
If you are out there, please feel free to join me at my newly created Facebook Page.
As Always
If you are a fellow writer, or even a reader, please feel free to leave comments/suggestions here on the topic of Becoming An Author.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Week 5 : The Proof is in the Publishing
Weekly Statistics
Week 5 = 110 Visits to www.Charles-Matthews.com (14% decline), daily average = 15 visits
Not bad considering the book is not out yet, and I really didn't have much time to devote to website activity this week.
2nd Proof is On Its Way!
This is the behind-scene-process involved in getting a perfect looking product (at least that is the goal). There are a lot of little aspects and decisions to be made for the publishing of the book that you may not have considered. Fonts, margins, paper quality, size of book, and layout are all things for you and your publisher to consider, and they aren't necessarily easy decisions. Consider the size, for example. The book should be big enough so that your cover is marketable both in a bookstore and online. But you don't want it to be so big that it is clunky to hold. Then, there is the cost factor to consider; a smaller book equals more pages equals higher cost. For my book, we went with a compromising size of 5.25" x 8" so that the book will look nice displayed in a bookcase, but the cost will not break the bank.
My first proof looked surprisingly great; although I suppose I had nothing to base it against. Nonetheless, I am extrememly excited by the look of the book.
After buying two proof copies, I read through the book (for what felt like the zillienth time) to see if I could catch all those little grammer mistakes that have yet to expose their sneakly little selves. My mother received the privililedge of reading through the other one. Between the two of us, we managed to clean up the last of those buggers for what I hope to be a squeeky clean novel.
The book will not be turned on (i.e. released for sale) until I receive a clean looking proof, so we have ordered our second set of proofs with high expectations of going live in the next week. Very exciting!!
Lessons Learned
I found it to be an extremely huge difference editing my work on paper. I don't know exactly why this was so, but it was much easier finding problem spots. Perhaps the temptation to edit on the spot was taken away from me. Whatever the reason, it is definitly a practice I will continue in the future. In doing so, I promise to plant a couple of trees for each novel I write. ;)
Week 5 = 110 Visits to www.Charles-Matthews.com (14% decline), daily average = 15 visits
Not bad considering the book is not out yet, and I really didn't have much time to devote to website activity this week.
2nd Proof is On Its Way!
This is the behind-scene-process involved in getting a perfect looking product (at least that is the goal). There are a lot of little aspects and decisions to be made for the publishing of the book that you may not have considered. Fonts, margins, paper quality, size of book, and layout are all things for you and your publisher to consider, and they aren't necessarily easy decisions. Consider the size, for example. The book should be big enough so that your cover is marketable both in a bookstore and online. But you don't want it to be so big that it is clunky to hold. Then, there is the cost factor to consider; a smaller book equals more pages equals higher cost. For my book, we went with a compromising size of 5.25" x 8" so that the book will look nice displayed in a bookcase, but the cost will not break the bank.
My first proof looked surprisingly great; although I suppose I had nothing to base it against. Nonetheless, I am extrememly excited by the look of the book.
After buying two proof copies, I read through the book (for what felt like the zillienth time) to see if I could catch all those little grammer mistakes that have yet to expose their sneakly little selves. My mother received the privililedge of reading through the other one. Between the two of us, we managed to clean up the last of those buggers for what I hope to be a squeeky clean novel.
The book will not be turned on (i.e. released for sale) until I receive a clean looking proof, so we have ordered our second set of proofs with high expectations of going live in the next week. Very exciting!!
Lessons Learned
I found it to be an extremely huge difference editing my work on paper. I don't know exactly why this was so, but it was much easier finding problem spots. Perhaps the temptation to edit on the spot was taken away from me. Whatever the reason, it is definitly a practice I will continue in the future. In doing so, I promise to plant a couple of trees for each novel I write. ;)
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Week 4 : Time to Let Go!
Weekly Statistics:
Week 4 = 129 Visits to www.Charles-Matthews.com (unchanged), daily average = 18 visits
Like the housing market, I think I may have plateaued (there's a spelling bee killer for you). Let's hope this trend holds, and in fact begins to rise once the book is published.
BIG NEWS!!
I sold an eBook this week! Let's see, to date, that makes one. At least I won't have to hire an accountant any time soon. No worries - I'm still expecting to see some activity on the Kindle once the book is out. But I don't want to belittle this news. This is a HUGE turning point in my life, as I believe this would make me a professional. Time to update the old tax return - one can never have too many deductions!
Weekly Activity:
With most of my time focused on reviewing the Proof I received last week, I haven't had a whole lot of time to fiddle with the website, but I did make a couple of adjustments. I could tell you what they are, but then you won't have a reason to check it out. I need my visits people!!
I posted a new short story here.
My challenge now is being able to let go. To give you an example of my personality, the last TV I purchased for my home, it took me about 2 weeks, 20 store visits, and about 200 websites to make my final purchase. And that was just a TV people. This book practically screams 'JUDGE ME NOW WORLD', which is why I am now probably on my twentieth review of it. My worst fear is that I'm one of those people that auditions for American Idol who has absolutely no clue that they should not be there. But I will hand it back over to my publisher this weekend and wait for my Simon Cowell review.
Week 4 = 129 Visits to www.Charles-Matthews.com (unchanged), daily average = 18 visits
Like the housing market, I think I may have plateaued (there's a spelling bee killer for you). Let's hope this trend holds, and in fact begins to rise once the book is published.
BIG NEWS!!
I sold an eBook this week! Let's see, to date, that makes one. At least I won't have to hire an accountant any time soon. No worries - I'm still expecting to see some activity on the Kindle once the book is out. But I don't want to belittle this news. This is a HUGE turning point in my life, as I believe this would make me a professional. Time to update the old tax return - one can never have too many deductions!
Weekly Activity:
With most of my time focused on reviewing the Proof I received last week, I haven't had a whole lot of time to fiddle with the website, but I did make a couple of adjustments. I could tell you what they are, but then you won't have a reason to check it out. I need my visits people!!
I posted a new short story here.
My challenge now is being able to let go. To give you an example of my personality, the last TV I purchased for my home, it took me about 2 weeks, 20 store visits, and about 200 websites to make my final purchase. And that was just a TV people. This book practically screams 'JUDGE ME NOW WORLD', which is why I am now probably on my twentieth review of it. My worst fear is that I'm one of those people that auditions for American Idol who has absolutely no clue that they should not be there. But I will hand it back over to my publisher this weekend and wait for my Simon Cowell review.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Week 3 : Progress, Book Proof, and Blog Update
Weekly Statistics:
Week 2 = 130 Visits to www.Charles-Matthews.com (down 41% from last week), daily average = 18 visits
Just as expected, stats are down, but I am OK with that. They seem to have leveled off the last couple of days, so hopefully I won't have to report another decline next week.
Weekly Activity:
Just received my proof copy of Pinesport Divide this week. This was truly an exiting event!! Although I think my wife was even more excited than me. My target release has moved back a couple of weeks to mid March. No sales on Kindle yet, however publisher claims once the book is available the Kindle ebook should see some activity from it.
I made a couple tweaks to the website. The main change you will see is that I moved this blog to another site. Originally it was posted on www.Charles-Matthews.com, but my webspace is limited there, so I chose just to place a link from my website to here (which is actually a nicer blogging tool and it's free as well.)
I also set up a 'Lost' Blog since that is one of my favorite shows and I'm hoping fans of it would also be interested in checking out my book which is in the same genre. Right now I'm just toying with things to post there like fun survey questions. The idea is to try and generate traffic to my site, while having some fun.
Week 2 = 130 Visits to www.Charles-Matthews.com (down 41% from last week), daily average = 18 visits
Just as expected, stats are down, but I am OK with that. They seem to have leveled off the last couple of days, so hopefully I won't have to report another decline next week.
Weekly Activity:
Just received my proof copy of Pinesport Divide this week. This was truly an exiting event!! Although I think my wife was even more excited than me. My target release has moved back a couple of weeks to mid March. No sales on Kindle yet, however publisher claims once the book is available the Kindle ebook should see some activity from it.
I made a couple tweaks to the website. The main change you will see is that I moved this blog to another site. Originally it was posted on www.Charles-Matthews.com, but my webspace is limited there, so I chose just to place a link from my website to here (which is actually a nicer blogging tool and it's free as well.)
I also set up a 'Lost' Blog since that is one of my favorite shows and I'm hoping fans of it would also be interested in checking out my book which is in the same genre. Right now I'm just toying with things to post there like fun survey questions. The idea is to try and generate traffic to my site, while having some fun.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Week 2: Progress and Blogs
Weekly Statistics: Week 1 = 209 Visits to www.Charles-Matthews.com, daily average = 30 visits
Weekly Activity: Pinesport Divide is not available in book form yet, although I expect to receive a proof copy this week. Then, once the proof copy has received my blessing, it is full speed ahead. I am targeting the beginning of March. The book is available for the Kindle now, however sales are slow (which is another way to say I haven't sold any yet). Not to despair though; ebooks are still an emerging market and I didn't expect to see much business there anyway. I'm pessimisticly optimistic.
Even with the 48 inches of snow the Northeast was pummeled with this past week, I managed to tweak my Home Page and Bio page a few hundred times. I also found and posted the first Short Story I ever wrote.
This Week's Lesson Learned: Blogs
What exactly is a Blog? Sounds like a creature from a bad 1970's Science Fiction flick, right? In a sense, they do resemble an alien force by the way they have crawled all over the internet over the past decade. But what makes them so popular, and why are they particularly important for writers?
Blogs first emerged somewhere in the late 1990's, but didn't really explode until just the past few years. Basically, a Blog is a routine way to disseminate information. It is information put on the internet which can be entertaining, fact filled, informational, personal, or business related. Think of it as a journal online. Speaking of Science Fiction, one example of a blog would have been Captain Kirk's log. He routinely recorded reports into his recorder to capture information. Today (or 2 Centuries from now if you are still on the Enterprise), this would be considered a Blog.
Blogs are an essential tool for writers, as it is a way to get your name and work out to the public. If you've been following me (for the whole nine days my site has been up now), then you know this is a new thing for me. I'll be honest with you; at first I winced at the thought of sitting down at least once a week to write a blog - just another chore to take care of. But then I thought about it again - it's a chance for me to sit down on a regular basis to dedicate to writing and to share my experiences. I imagine it's going to be a difficult challenge drumming up new things to discuss every week, but if I'm not struggling, then I'm not growing.
Weekly Activity: Pinesport Divide is not available in book form yet, although I expect to receive a proof copy this week. Then, once the proof copy has received my blessing, it is full speed ahead. I am targeting the beginning of March. The book is available for the Kindle now, however sales are slow (which is another way to say I haven't sold any yet). Not to despair though; ebooks are still an emerging market and I didn't expect to see much business there anyway. I'm pessimisticly optimistic.
Even with the 48 inches of snow the Northeast was pummeled with this past week, I managed to tweak my Home Page and Bio page a few hundred times. I also found and posted the first Short Story I ever wrote.
This Week's Lesson Learned: Blogs
What exactly is a Blog? Sounds like a creature from a bad 1970's Science Fiction flick, right? In a sense, they do resemble an alien force by the way they have crawled all over the internet over the past decade. But what makes them so popular, and why are they particularly important for writers?
Blogs first emerged somewhere in the late 1990's, but didn't really explode until just the past few years. Basically, a Blog is a routine way to disseminate information. It is information put on the internet which can be entertaining, fact filled, informational, personal, or business related. Think of it as a journal online. Speaking of Science Fiction, one example of a blog would have been Captain Kirk's log. He routinely recorded reports into his recorder to capture information. Today (or 2 Centuries from now if you are still on the Enterprise), this would be considered a Blog.
Blogs are an essential tool for writers, as it is a way to get your name and work out to the public. If you've been following me (for the whole nine days my site has been up now), then you know this is a new thing for me. I'll be honest with you; at first I winced at the thought of sitting down at least once a week to write a blog - just another chore to take care of. But then I thought about it again - it's a chance for me to sit down on a regular basis to dedicate to writing and to share my experiences. I imagine it's going to be a difficult challenge drumming up new things to discuss every week, but if I'm not struggling, then I'm not growing.
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