Writing Articles

Midweek Content Roundup #17

7/30/2014

This is the seventeenth post in an ongoing series of useful and interesting content that goes up each Wednesday.

Here you can find links to different SEO, content marketing, social media marketing, self-publishing, and other various articles from the past week that I think you might like.

This week there are 12 articles. Enjoy!

Post removed 03/26/15
Thanks for reading, and check out Stand Out to read all these old posts.

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Google Pigeon Takes Flight

7/28/2014

There’s a new bird flying around the internet, and it may or may not be good for your website.

Barry Schwartz first broke the news of Google Pigeon on Search Engine Land on July 24, as near enough as I can tell.

As with the Google algorithms of Penguin, Panda and Hummingbird before, Google Pigeon tries to make users’ experience on the internet better. They do this by:

Tying deeper into web search capabilities to really answer those difficult, and perhaps long, user queries;

Better consider ranking signals from a variety of sources when considering your search query;

Improvement to distance and location considerations when considering your search query.

Those ranking signals are interesting, as Google is again trying to get ahold of human synonyms, something that has confounded it before. Yes, the machine is getting smarter.

Anyone who lived through Google Hummingbird shouldn’t be surprised by the new emphasis on local and distance. This is a key component of mobile, and we know that more and more sites are going to increase their receptivity to mobile through better design as more and more people begin using this platform.

Additionally, we know that whole economies and populations are bypassing standard web practices entirely to get onto the internet for the first time with mobile. Could Google Pigeon be taking things like that into account?

I doubt it, and frankly I doubt a lot right now. Matt Cutts is on vacation and August is just around the corner. Congress is taking five weeks off for heaven’s sake! I’m not expecting a lot.

And that’s exactly when Google likes to hit us hard with these “updates.” And as usually, we’re left standing in the dark wondering what’ll happen next.

Obviously Search Engine Land is a good site to check in at, and I know Moz will have some stuff coming soon as well, and perhaps even Quicksprout.

Those are all good sites to keep abreast of developments, as well as the usual social media channels. I’m not worried, and if you’re writing good content and not doing silly linkbuilding things you shouldn’t be either.

That Google bird shan’t be shitting on this site!

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Ten Minute Tarot: Your Answers to the Universe…Fast

7/28/2014

Who were you? What happened in your past? Where are you going? What will happen tomorrow?

Those are deep questions that only the universe can answer, and with you offering guidance. Thankfully there’s a tool that makes answering them easier, and it’s the Tarot. Discover it like never before in my mesmerizing book, Ten Minute Tarot.

Ten Minute Tarot will help you learn what each of the 78 cards from the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot deck mean, and in new and insightful ways. You’ll be provided with 40 unique and detailed Tarot spreads, all of which will allow you to discover the answers to the pressing questions of your life in 10 minutes or less!

Maybe you’ve been intrigued with Tarot for awhile, but just haven’t known where to start. Perhaps you’ve picked up a few books but they just don’t make sense. Don’t worry – you won’t get any of those esoteric and hard-to-read interpretations here! Instead you’ll get clear and straightforward answers that help reveal the secrets of your life.

My first Tarot book had The Fool front and center, as do many Tarot books. I wanted to go with something different the second time around, and I even pondered putting one of the Minor Arcana cards in the center position.

I decided to go in a different direction, however, and chose The High Priestess. She’s more about logic, intellect, and reasoning…all the things you need to figure out what the Tarot holds for you. She has a lot of wisdom, and others seek her out for guidance and advice.

You should do the same, and with Ten Minute Tarot.

That pitch sounds pretty darn good to me. Unfortunately it didn’t really appeal to a whole lot of other people. Ten Minute Tarot has sold just 35 copies since I released it last September.

I really thought this one would be popular too. I think that’s kind of funny because similar books in the Amazon Kindle range in price from $3.99 and $11.99. By putting mine at $4.99 I thought it’d do alright. Boy was I wrong!

I guess it just wasn’t in the cards…yet. I know this book has good advice, and I know it’ll sell many copies over its life. Perhaps you’ll buy one, and I think this short excerpt on doing a few simple readings will convince you of that.

Three Card Spreads

If you’re looking for a simple Tarot spread, the Three Card Spread is it. You’ll get a quick answer to an uncomplicated question, and it’s great for beginners just learning the cards.

With these spreads you can simply lay out three cards at random; there’s no need to assign positions to certain cards. Or you can follow the detailed spreads below.

Simple questions do best, and you’ll be provided with a simple answer. But don’t be surprised if you get something a little more in-depth and insightful. The cards have a tendency to interact with one another and they could support or flow into the meanings of the cards next to them.

Past-Present-Future Spread

Traditionally the Three Card Spread deals with three aspects for the three cards:

Past: Events that have led up to your current situation. These could still be affecting you and either helping you to move forward or holding you back. Studying the past may give you advantages today.

Present: Where you’re at now as well as the different opportunities and obstacles that surround you.

Future: This is where you’ll end up if things continue on as they are. It could also be the possible outcome that you desire.

Mind-Body-Spirit Spread

There are many variations on the Three Card Spread, not just a simple past-present-future reading.

The Mind-Body-Spirit Spread will fill you in on your general well-being in the universe. Are your forces balanced or out-of-line? Are the three aspects being fulfilled, or are they lacking in your life? This spread will offer insight and suggestions on your situation, and what you can do about it.

Mind: The first card will show elements affecting your mind in regard to your problem or question.

Body: This card will show you how your body is being impacted by the current situation.

Spirit: This card shows the different elements that could be affecting you in a spiritual way in regard to your current problem or query.

Eight Card Spreads

More cards, more information, and more confusion. Hopefully that last isn’t what you’re getting when you choose to head up into the Eight Card Spreads.

You’ll have to start looking at the messages of the reading a little differently when using a higher number of cards. For instance, with the Mirror Spread you’ll be looking not just at a card in one position, but in the position opposite of it as well. This can tell you a lot about both cards and the role they play in your situation.

8-Card Mirror Spread

When it comes to either budding or existing relationships, the Mirror Spread is a great choice to do a reading with. You’ll usually see some inconsistencies in the viewpoints that are represented by the cards. When they contradict one another you’ll need to take into account those opposing points. Another thing to consider is how the obstacle cards can have a tendency to hide favorable information. If something looks bad on the surface, dig a little deeper to see if there’s a silver lining.

The Mirror Spread is ideal for relationship questions. You’ll get a complete rundown on how you view the other person in the relationship, and how they view you. This is an 8-card spread and all of the cards will be laid out in two columns so that each card has an opposite or opposing card.

1st Card: This represents you, the querent or questioner.

2nd Card: This second card shows how you see the other person in the relationship.

3rd Card: This card shows how the other person in the relationship sees themselves.

4th Card: Here you see what the other person in the relationship means to you.

5th Card: This fifth card shows how you are represented to the other person in the relationship.

6th Card: This card shows you obstacles that currently exist within the relationship.

7th Card: Here the strengths of the current relationship are represented.

8th Card: This final card shows you the likely result of the relationship.

What are you waiting for…get your copy of Ten Minute Tarot today!

The Monthly Mailbox #3

7/27/2014

I’ve been a little late getting to the monthly mailbox this month, and perhaps that’s because it’s been rather empty of late.

Am I not annoying enough people, tarnishing enough images, or generally getting enough attention? Obviously it’s time to ramp up my efforts so next month’s post will be a little more interesting.

So…this post is boring? Well, I wouldn’t say that, unless you think writing better and getting motivated to write is boring. Then you might want to turn away now. If not, read on.

Question from Crawford: How can I get motivated to write when I don’t want to?

I got this email from Crawford, someone I have no clue about. He told me that he often sits down in front of the TV when he knows he should be writing and then he feels guilty about it later. As the days go by the manuscript or whatever just sits there collecting electronic dust and as more time goes by the project is abandoned entirely.

This is a big problem that many people have, especially those trying to get going on their second book.

Why not the first? Well, some people do that too, but they figured out how to overcome it. The thing I see most often of all, however, are authors with just one book that they push endlessly. I figure they somehow lost the ability to write.

So how do you get motivated? I don’t know. I think you need to be argumentative or you really have to have something to say. You have to want. For many “authors,” they just don’t want to have a lot of finished books. I mean, sitting on the couch and watching TV night after night proves that.

Authors like Crawford need to figure out their own motivation to get going. Maybe that’s money, perhaps it’s notoriety, or maybe it’s getting laid. Whatever it is, it’s got to be strong enough to create that want that attracts you to the computer and not the TV.

Question from Trenton: How do I make my book interesting to readers?

That’s a tough one. I’d recommend doing these things:

Go back and add hooks;
Describe characters;
Have punchy dialogue;
Hit them hard at first.

Let’s go through those four things now.

Adding Hooks: This is a good strategy to follow when you’ve finished your book. I do it when I go back and edit, as I often fill in the middle last. You can add hints and hooks to pull the reader into the story, or down blind alleys that fool them later, giving them ah-ha moments that they enjoy. You might not be able to do that when you’re first writing because you don’t know the whole story yet. That’s why going back is important.

Describe Characters: I’m terrible at this. I just let the reader figure out what the person talking looks like. Some people don’t like that, and when I write novels for other people they almost always tell me to go back in and add more detail about the characters, especially their looks. This might be something for you to think about, besides adding in backstory and other such stuff.

Have Punchy Dialogue: I like to have dialogue that is sharp and fast and cutting. I like to cut sentence off midway and hit characters with something, often something that hurts them physically or makes them move physically. This keeps things going at a brisk pace which ensures more pages are turned faster, allowing you to get your potential reader all the way through that “Look Inside” on Amazon so they have to buy the book.

Hit Them Hard At First: Just like the earlier example, try to hit them hard with action scenes or hard and fast dialogue right from the get-go. I do this a lot now with my shorter novels and also with Free Fiction Friday’s, which is a great practice ground. If you can really pull your reader into an action-packed scene right from the get-go then chances are good they’ll read the whole yarn.

Well, that’s all I’ve got for this edition of the Monthly Mailbox. I hope your “questions” were answered.

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New Google+ eBook for Authors and Bloggers (And It’s Free!)

7/26/2014

Are you ready for people to know who you are?

Good, because I’ve got a new eBook for authors and bloggers that will explain the ins-and-outs of Google+, how to get started with the social media network, and how to begin getting traffic and sales from it.

Oh, and did I mention that you can get this book for free?

Yep, all you’ve got to do is sign-up for my mailing list.

Whoa, pal…stop the presses! I don’t want your rubbish clogging my inbox.

Yeah, likewise, and that’s why I only send out 2 emails each month, or maybe 3 if I’ve got some great news...like a free Google+ eBook for authors and bloggers.

Not to mention the fact that you can just sign-up and then unsubscribe right away, like a lot of people do. Or you could just buy it on Amazon or Smashwords if you fancy.

But both of those options will of course put you at a disadvantage marketing-, writing-, and sales-wise compared to those that stay on the list and get links to all my sites’ articles in one easy to manage batch.

It’s really your choice, I’m just happy to help some people out and get some more eyes on my site and my books in the process. I’m also happy to be done with this book so I can move on to something else, as is my way.

Maybe that’s yours as well, just making something and moving on. How’s that going for you? Are you getting all those sales, how about the traffic to that site of yours? Or does it just feel like you’re sitting in the mud and spinning your wheels, getting nowhere fast?

It sucks, and that’s why sharing your content to Google+ is a good idea. You’ll get more eyes on your writing, products or services and you’ll also get more click-backs to your site.

But most of all, you’ll get one of the most engaged and educated audiences on the internet, right at your fingertips. The key is figuring out how to come in contact with them, and this book shows you how.

Not convinced? Take a look at how I was doing a few months ago:

Back in May I had just over 480 followers, up from about 160 the month before.

So how’d I get an extra 300 people to follow me in a month? And how did I get 1,600 more to follow me just a couple months later? Simple, I followed some fast and easy social media principles.

So what are these principles, and how can you make them work for you?

Well, that’s why you need to sign-up for my mailing list so you can read this book.

Download your free Google+ guide today. Learn just how critical Google+ is to finding an audience that doesn’t just like, but buys.

Free Fiction Friday #20: Payback’s a Bitch

7/25/2014

Note: This is the twentieth post in Free Fiction Fridays. These are short stories put up each Friday that you can read for free.

By the next Friday the post will be taken down and a new one will go up. Enjoy!

THE END

Room 223: My Kurt Vonnegut Fan Fiction Book

7/25/2014

Cocky, cocksure and caustic. Brave, bellicose and belligerent. Artistic, attitude-adjusting and ahead of his time. CBA^3 is what we’re talking about here, and…

Alright, we’re talking about Kurt Vonnegut, one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century and one I’m thrilled and honored to write with.

Whoa there…I’m not writing with him, I’m just writing in his world. Yep, I’m talking about Room 223, my Amazon Kindle Worlds fan fiction book that follows the events from the book The Sirens of Titan.

In case you don’t know, Kindle Worlds is an Amazon program that allows writers to write in worlds that have been created by other authors. So in a way it’s like fan-fiction.

Room 223 follows Sirens side-character Noel Constant as he figures out his winning stock market formula that will make him rich, and the action of the original novel possible. We follow him as he leaves the East Coast in the early years of the Great Depression and makes his way west toward California.

Along the way he has a series of mindless jobs, but each one somehow related to what he’ll do once he gets to Room 223. Of course he has no idea he’s heading there, but someone does. And that someone just happens to be travelling through time in the chrono-synclastic infundibulum.

Yeah, you may have guessed it already if you’ve read the original novel, but that person is Winston Niles Roomford. And that means that Noel Constant is Malachi Constant’s father.

Confused yet? Well, it’s a book I expect to sell very few copies of, and have in fact only sold 5 copies of since publishing it in December of last year.

I won’t make much money from it either. The book is priced at $1.99, meaning royalties on each book are just $0.70. I never expected it to sell well, and it is a bit of an odd-ball, much like many of Vonnegut’s own works. I mean, look at the table of contents:

Again, if you’ve read the original Vonnegut novel that TOC will make sense to you right away. See, Noel Constant discovered the secret to the stock market on the first pages of the Bible and…well, I think you’ll just have to read the book.

Room 223 is a chance to get my work out in front of a new audience, and another title up on the shelf. And why not? I write all kinds of crazy shit, might as well just put it out there.

So if you’re interested in Kurt Vonnegut check out Room 223 before the next chrono-synclastic infundibulum comes around...and hopefully sooner...or later...or, well, you get the idea!

Excerpt

Noel spent the next hours thinking about T.H. as he walked out of town and on down the road, chuckling to himself all the while. He was still walking, and now out in the middle of nowhere, when it began to grow dark. The road he was walking on had few cars, and none of them willing to take a chance on a hitchhiker. His stomach growling and his earlier humor fading fast, Noel moved off the road and past the tree line. He was just starting to gather together wood for a fire when he felt a tingling sensation, first in his hair and fingertips, and then all throughout his body. It became more and more pronounced, and then increasingly uncomfortable, before fading away entirely. That’s when Noel heard the howl of the wolf.

It was more of a braying sound than a howl really, but it still caused the hackles on the back of his neck to rise. Fear filled him, and he was just about to drop the few pieces of wood from his hands and rush back up to the road.

“Don’t mind Kazak,” a voice suddenly said behind him, and Noel spun around.

“What the…” he trailed-off, looking at the strange man in front of him. He’d never seen anyone dressed in such a fashion and something just didn’t seem right about the man for some reason. Noel couldn’t put his finger on it, but he just knew that something wasn’t as it should be. The huge grin on the man’s face wasn’t helping matters any.

That’s it! Noel thought as he started to dash away. I’m out of here!

“I wouldn’t do that,” the man said, and Noel stopped quickly.

Noel cocked his head at the man without saying a thing, and the man nodded at the wood in his arms.

“It’ll be cold tonight, that fire will come in mighty handy!”

“Who are you?” Noel asked, still holding the wood in his arms.

“My name’s Winston Niles Roomford,” the man said, offering his hand to Noel, “and your son and I are going to get along marvelously.”

Noel narrowed his eyes at the man and took a step back. “My son?”

Winston smiled. “I know it seems a little far-fetched, but why don’t you take a seat here and let me explain.”

Noel shrugged. There really was nothing else to do so he sat down on the forest floor, the wood still in his hands.

“You see,” Winston started, “in the future you’ll have a son, just one mind you, and that man will become critical to my own future.”

“I’m not sure I understand,” Noel said slowly, looking up into the man’s eyes. “How could you know all this? Have you been drinking, mister?”

“Let’s just say that I have some interesting and unusual circumstances,” Winston said.

“I’d love to hear about them if you want to help me get this fire started.”

“I know, but I haven’t the time,” Winston said, throwing his arms up. “In seventeen minutes I’ll be whisked out of here and you won’t see me again for 472 days.”

“How do you figure that?” Noel asked skeptically.

“It’s the nature of the chrono-synclastic infundibulum,” Winston casually answered, “although it wasn’t and won’t always be that way.”

Noel narrowed his eyes at him.

“I’m a time-traveler, Noel, have been since the dawn of time and will be to the very end. It all started several decades from now when I bought a space craft and flew into the chrono-synclastic infundibulum. The phenomenon is like a giant funnel in space, one that disrupts the course of ordinary space and time. It’s within these strange entities that something truly remarkable happens – all of Earth’s opposing truths suddenly fit together quite nicely, like a puzzle that’s finally been put together! You see, Noel, everything that ever has been always will be, and everything that ever will be always has been! Of course, heading into a chrono-synclastic infundibulum is quite dangerous for humans, not to mention dogs, and my choice to fly straight into one, in hindsight of course, may not have been the best.”

Noel nodded.

“And as a result,” Winston sighed, “Kazak and I are now scattered far and wide, not just through space, but through time as well.”

“You see,” Winston continued, “I used to show up on Earth every fifty-nine days, and will begin to do so again after you reach Room 223 and discover the secret there. At that point my alternate-self, my past-self if you will, will once again be put onto the course of buying the fifty-eight million dollar spacecraft I need to leave Earth, chart a course for Mars, and fly right into the middle of the chrono-synclastic infundibulum, justifying humanity’s whole reason and excuse for existence!”

He took a deep breath as he finished.

“Why is it 472 days now and not fifty-nine?” Noel asked. Of all the crazy things that Winston had just told him that was the one he couldn’t quite put his finger on.

“I’m not sure, but it surely had something to do with the sun spots striking me in the future, once your son and I are finally on Titan and with Solon. As far as I can tell it seems that those fifty-nine days have been multiplied by eight, something my wife will surely wish would happen to her and not you.” He scratched at the stubble forming on his chin for a moment, a faraway look in his eyes. “Of course it could be that the acoustic-resonances of the Caves of Mercury and Boaz’s taming of the harmoniums has something to do with it. And it is possible that the wavelength spiral I’m travelling on simultaneously right now is fading, perhaps because the star Betelgeuse is also having some energy fluctuations at the moment.”

“I think you should leave, Mister,” Noel said.

Winston smiled. “That’s exactly what your son said.”

“Hey, what the…”

Noel trailed-off as the man before him, the man he’d just been talking to, suddenly began to fade away before his very eyes.

“Head west, m’boy,” Winston called out as his form began to fade, “and look for two letters!”

Noel jumped back, that strange tingling sensation covering his body once again. The last thing he saw was the man’s face break out in that large grin again before he faded into nothingness entirely.

Find out there rest of the story on Amazon today!

Book Basset eBook Promo Today

7/23/2014

I’m doing an eBook marketing promotion on Book Basset today. (updates below)

In case you don’t know, this is a great site that lets authors promote 5 books for the low price of just $22. I’ve promoted with them twice before, and you can read about one of those promos here.

So what books am I doing today?

Bring Back Our Girls
Florida Sinkholes
Room 223
Ale Quest
G.I. Joe: The Dreadnoks

Typically the site recommends you discount your book, and they say that prices below $2.99 work best. That’s kind of a bummer if you’re an author as you’ll get lower royalties, at least on Amazon. For me it doesn’t matter at all, however.

See, all of those books have permanently low prices. The lowest is Florida Sinkholes at $0.99 and then Bring Back Our Girls at $1 even. Next are Room 223 and G.I. Joe, both at $1.99. After that is Ale Quest, coming in at $2.99.

So you can see I’ve got low prices, and that’s why I think I’ll make 10 sales with this promo today. Yeah, I’m not hoping for a whole lot and I’m not expecting this ad to pay for itself. I am hoping I get some people genuinely interested in my books, and ones that might just leave a review as well.

I’ll update this post as the day progresses and when the sale ends. That way you can get an idea of what my results are and if you want to pursue this unique eBook marketing option.

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Updates: This add was originally supposed to run on July 22 but the site messed up and I got a slot that was less visible. That still allowed me to sell quite a few copies of Bring Back Our Girls, which shot up the rankings. Here's a shot from the night of the promo and then another two the next day showing my Amazon Author Rank and the book's rank with just 15 sales.

Update: Just 5 sales on Bring Back Our Girls boosted its ranking way up and got it some good visibility in the Kindle Short Reads categories

Update #2: Here is after 15 sales, now I'm ranking in the main Triller->Mystery category.

The promo shot my Amazon Author Rank up quite a bit

I got into some pretty good company on the Kindle Short Reads mystery/thriller charts

Midweek Content Roundup #16

7/23/2014

This is the sixteenth post in an ongoing series of useful and interesting content that goes up each Wednesday.

Here you can find links to different SEO, content marketing, social media marketing, self-publishing, and other various articles from the past week that I think you might like.

This week there are 14 articles. Enjoy!

Post removed 03/26/15

Sell Your Book with 75 Websites That Promote Your eBook

7/21/2014

How do you sell eBooks?

It’s not an easy question to answer, and it’s the reason why I wrote Sell Your Book: 75 eBook Promotion Sites That Increase Amazon Sales.

The book is targeted directly to eBook authors, and this is good because it helps you. I’ve gotten 143 sales on it since I first put it out last October and the book has 29 reviews.

Since then I’ve gone through and updated the book. I’ve added 30 new Facebook author groups that will help you on your free days and I’ve also made sure the sites are still good. Also since the book was released I’ve used many of the sites in it, and you can read about those promotions here:

My Freebooksy Promo Results;

My BookBlast (Now Booksends) Promo Results;

My Kindle Fire Department Promo Results;

My Bargainbooksy Promo Results;

My Book Basset Promo Results;

My 16 BookBub Rejections;

Sell Your Book will teach you the sites you should concentrate on when your book is free and which will deliver some real firepower when your book is discounted.

When I first released the book I put it as free for five days, which allowed me to get so many reviews so quickly. I also targeted it at the Amazon KDP forum authors, which may have led to my eventual banning from the place.

Oh well, I think helping those authors was worth it. And hey, I’m not going to complain about the pretty penny I made in the process. I mean, doesn’t Amazon want me to sell books and make them money?

Anyways, the reason I gave the book away for free was to:

Increase visibility;

Increase my chance for reviews;

Increase the chance the book would be lent more;

Increase the chance that people would see my other titles;

Help authors.

I exceeded my expectations on all counts with this book. I only wish it was selling as well as it once did, and that’s why I went through and updated it, updated the blurb on Amazon, and am now writing this updated post.

It’s called product management, and when you get up to as many eBooks as I have then you’ve got to engage in it quite a bit, or pay others to do it for you.

I’m not in that league yet, but someday I might. Perhaps you’ll get there before me, and I can’t help but think it’ll be because of the tips you learned from Sell Your Book.

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