Support authors. Buy a book (or three.)

Below is my incomplete list of ebooks by Friday Flash participants. The best part about Friday Flash is diversity, and the same is true for this list of books. There is something for everyone.

I have read several of these titles, and the rest are on my reading list. Sure, ebooks don’t impress people like print books sitting on a shelf, but you’re a reader! (You could always take a snap of your digital bookshelf like I did.) Even if you don’t have a fancy ebook reader, you can enjoy their books on your PC, phone or iPod (and some are available in print.) Smashwords supports many formats or read online.

If you’re creating an ebook for Smashwords, consider formatting working contents supporting PDF, epub, mobi, and iPad. See my post on formatting.

Books are cheap. Buy them all! (At least sample.)

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13 Horror Stories by John McDonell (McDonnellWrite.) Sample on Smashwords.

A Breath of Life and Other Stories by Eric J. Krause (ericjkrause) is a collection of shorts. Find it at Smashwords or Amazon.

A, B & E by Marc Nash (21stCscribe) is in paperback at Amazon.

Deadlands Hunt by G L Drummond (Scath) is part of a world of stories. Sample on Smashwords .

Don’t Fall Asleep by Laura Eno (lauraeno) begins the Dream Assassin series. Find it on Smashwords or Amazon.

A Fine Cast of Characters by J. Dane Tyler (DarcKnyt) is a collection. Sample at Smashwords.

The First Tale by Icy Sedgwick (icypop) takes place in her Vertigo City from her serial shared on Tuesday Serial available at Smashwords.

From Dark Places by Emma Newman (EmApocalyptic) is a collection available on Smashwords.

Must Love Dragons by Monica Marier (lil_monmon) is a novel available at Lulu.

Password Incorrect by Piotr Kowalczyk (namenick) is a collection. Sample on Smashwords.

Prophecy Moon by Laura Eno (lauraeno) is a fantasy novella about love, wizards, and worlds. Sample at Smashwords or Amazon.

RealmShift by Alan Baxter (AlanBaxter) is a novel. Available at Smashwords and Amazon.

Something’s Not Right by Trevor Mcpherson (3S_stories) is a collection of shorts. Your biggest disappointment might be how short this book is, but the stories pack a punch. Available at Smashwords.

Strange New Feet by Shannon Esposito (soesposito) is a science-politics novella available at Smashwords and Amazon.

You’ll also find some of your favorite Friday Flash authors in these collections:

• Best of Friday Flash – Volume One edited by J.M. Strother is available at Smashwords.
• The Yin and Yang Book edited by Jodi Cleghorn and Paul Anderson at chinesewhisperings.com

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Screen shot of iPad bookshelf

My business cards arrived. Wait. Why do I need business cards in this digital age? People email, store contact information on phones, look up everything on the web, follow RSS or Facebook pages. Well, not everyone. In Raven Memory, Steve Reynolds only uses paper, none of that techno-gadgetry. Sometimes it’s still easier to leave a card in person, or stacked somewhere curious eyes may stumble upon.

I printed my cards vertical so they double as bookmarks. Useful for printed books, but not for ebooks. Well, at least some people still read physical books. I went with a printing service, one with a convenient web page, that could take my graphic image to include it on the card.

Honestly, I don’t really need business cards. The cards are cheap, simple, and might actually come in handy. If caught in the woods after dark, they could always be used as kindling to start a fire. And if a creature of the night stumbles upon the campfire, I’ll have plenty of cards left over to hand the dark intruder. She may even want to buy a book!

The front contains the standard information including what sort of stories I write. On the back is a list of my books including two future stories, because there will still be plenty of cards left depending on how often I need kindling.

Front

Back

In a previous post, I argued that “Consumers Pay for Content.” Many publishers try to sell content, but this is not the best marketing strategy. Sell ideas. Sell souvenirs. Sell an escape from reality.

Watch the video of Seth Godin, “10 Bestsellers: Using New Media, New Marketing, and New Thinking to Create 10 Bestselling Books.”

Two important points by Godin:

1. Conversation sells.
2. Good books sell themselves.

The first point is a big one: word of mouth (WOM.) If people are talking, tweeting, posting about the book then other people will talk about the book. And some of them will buy the book. Getting the conversation started means giving content away.

The second point helps make the first point happen. Start by writing something worth talking about. Readers are hungry for good stories seeking out conversations to find new morsels. Good content sells itself.

Never sell the content. Sell passion.