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Chris Stevenson's Blog (20)

Advance Money?

Certainly, your best advance deal would come from one of the imprints owned by the Big Five corps or houses. Although a great deal could come from a well-known independent like Kensington and others. (Disregard Publisher’s Market Place definitions for a moment) I would consider a substantial deal, or something I was very happy with, as an advance of five figures and over. I would not scoff at $2,000 to $5,000, provided they had reputable distribution for bookstore placement and library…
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Added by Chris Stevenson on March 23, 2016 at 6:30pm — No Comments

Samhain Tanking?

The recent news is that Samhain has sent out a letter informing their authors that they will be shutting its doors, but carrying on with the current production of books. The reasons seem to be financial. A decline in sales. This is not too far from the tail of Ellora's Cave, which is another tale of woe.

I've been wrestling with the poor sales topic on my blog for five years now. I do mean, primarily, small press and brand name independents. I've been in total denial and shock…

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Added by Chris Stevenson on March 22, 2016 at 8:24pm — No Comments

Writing a Series?

I swear and, as God is my witness, I had a terrible prejudice against anyone who wrote a series, or planned to write one before their first book was even picked up. I laughed at anyone who wrote a complete series and had no agent to push it. Back in the day, series books weren't as popular as they are now. Today, it's almost a given that large independents and big publishers like/love to sell a series. Two-book, trilogies and large series packages are more…

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Added by Chris Stevenson on March 22, 2016 at 8:22pm — No Comments

Email Marketing

Email marketing is not as complicated as you think. It's simply a means to advertise or inform potential customers over the Internet that you have something of interest to offer them. You can sell products, information or services by directly contacting persons who are looking for what you offer. Email marketing is cheap, fast and surprisingly interactive. An email marketing campaigns starts with some valuable tips.

Your Virtual Base of…
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Added by Chris Stevenson on March 22, 2016 at 8:21pm — No Comments

The New Planet Janitor; Custodian of the Stars



Just thought I would mention that my SF book, Planet Janitor, has been given new content, revised and re-covered. I'm very happy about the new face lift, and my publishers' dedication and love for this title. It's on Pre-order now at Amazon: 

  PRE-ORDER PLANET JANITOR…

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Added by Chris Stevenson on March 22, 2016 at 8:00pm — No Comments

Writer's Fruit Salad

The following questions popped up in a number of writer’s groups, particularly Absolute Write. They were interesting because they were more personal than the norm. Kind of a spill your guts in nature. I’m a truth-teller. I won’t shy or back off such questions because I’ve been in this too long to hide anything. Yet they are only my experiences. So, have at me, and I hope you learn something or take a trip down a writer’s memory lane.…
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Added by Chris Stevenson on March 22, 2016 at 8:00pm — No Comments

What is a Stealth Agent? What is an A-List Agent?

First, Stealth Agents:



My agent was/is a stealth agent. She was/is an A-lister in hiding. You will run across these in your search. Oh, God, you say. That's a whole new kettle of fish. Real short: in most cases, a stealth agent does not have a website, Twitter feed, FB account--NONE of it. No footprint. They might only be registered in a few online media listings, like Agent Query, and there you will find almost nothing…
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Added by Chris Stevenson on March 22, 2016 at 8:00pm — No Comments

FED UP WITH ZOMBIES?

Again, sorry for the delay. I was terminally ill for a very long time and am now just starting to recover. I knew the consequences of having a pulmonary embolism which produced multiple clots in both lungs. But, s***, nobody warned me about being crippled or nearly bed-ridden. I even have memory loss and have to re-learn the keyboard. I'm making godawful mistakes with words and key positions. So, I'm typing this real slow.…

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Added by Chris Stevenson on December 3, 2014 at 5:16am — No Comments

MAJOR RELEASE--THE GIRL THEY SOLD TO THE MOON

Well, It finally happened:



The Girl They Sold to the Moon is finally here in e-book format on Amazon for $2.99! Don’t miss this award-winner—it’s fast and furious—a dark and edgy Burlesque in space.

Amazon: …

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Added by Chris Stevenson on July 2, 2014 at 7:22am — No Comments

The Hottest Promo/Marketing Tips I Know (Part 1)

You’ve  probably heard of some of these. Some are obvious. Others might be hidden gems, ready for your experimentation.



I'm hooked up with some best-selling authors and they're giving up some tips and strategies. One, who is selling part of a dark fantasy series right now hit five top-ten spots on Amazon…
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Added by Chris Stevenson on April 10, 2014 at 11:22am — No Comments

A Bright Light in China--Xiauduo Media

One of our newer paying markets in our AbsoluteWrite forum, Xiaoduo Media, is open for submissions for capable freelance writers who wouldn’t mind writing for a worthy cause, in addition to some lucrative compensation. Xiaoduo Media is five years-old now. Conny, the main contact liaison and editor can explain it better than I…
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Added by Chris Stevenson on April 5, 2014 at 4:12am — No Comments

The Next Big Thing

Boy, I'll tell ya. We have a thread entitled The Next Big Thing over at the AbsoluteWriter forum and it's a interesting foray into the crystal ball skill of predicting what the reading world will latch onto in 2014. We've run the gamut of everything to horror to New Adult. It is/was like predicting the genre of J.K. Rowling new book that came out a while ago. Everybody was taking a stab at and, of course, it ended up being a mystery. …

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Added by Chris Stevenson on March 5, 2014 at 8:58pm — No Comments

Cover Reveal--The Girl They Sold to the Moon

Eighteen-year-old Tilly Breedlove…

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Added by Chris Stevenson on February 3, 2014 at 3:00am — 2 Comments

The Next Big Thing

Boy, I'll tell ya. We have a thread entitled The Next Big Thing over at the AbsoluteWriter forum and it's a interesting foray into the crystal ball skill of predicting what the reading world will latch onto in 2014. We've run the gamut of everything to horror to New Adult. It is/was like predicting the genre of J.K. Rowling new book that came out a while ago. Everybody was taking a stab at and, of course, it ended up being a mystery. …

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Added by Chris Stevenson on February 3, 2014 at 2:53am — No Comments

Driving Traffic to Your Website

 A lot of authors try to reach customers via their website. This is a rather generic article that might encompass other products, but it works well for books, poetry and short stories that you might have listed on retail sites. 
A website is a wonderful tool to reach the masses whether you are selling products and…
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Added by Chris Stevenson on December 10, 2013 at 5:19am — No Comments

Small Press Woes?

My views about small press and indie houses have drastically changed over the last seven years. I was trashed the first time out (2006, just returning to the Internet) with two books to the same publisher. They took 26 other authors down with me and closed their doors. The other four publishers (over the years to the present) resulted in lack-luster sales, no concerted promotion/marketing other than a few listings, editorial mishaps and what not. Granted,…

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Added by Chris Stevenson on October 27, 2013 at 5:40am — 2 Comments

New Adult? Wuss Up?

First I have to say that The War Gate is free on Amazon for the next three days--July 29th to the 31rst. You can find it here:…
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Added by Chris Stevenson on July 30, 2013 at 6:57am — No Comments

Self-Published E-Book Riches--How in the Hell?

 Take a look at this list of successful self-published e-book authors. Some of them have POD paperbacks too:





http://ebooktop100.blogspot.com/2012...han-50000.html





I'm damn frustrated. I'm agog, atwitter and absolutely dumbfounded by the number of successful self-published authors who are raking in sacks…

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Added by Chris Stevenson on July 5, 2012 at 12:47am — No Comments

Fifty Shades of Wuss Up?

This new breakout book by EL James, just acquired by Random House, has gone through a plethora of reactions from readers and writers alike. You can say it has drawn Good, Bad and Ugly comments and feelings from anyone who has been touched by it, or rather, clobbered over the head by it.



The Good:



Fifty Shades originated from a fan fiction site, and was more or less written as kind of a Twilight knockoff, with eventually, the character names and settings, changed to…

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Added by Chris Stevenson on July 5, 2012 at 12:46am — No Comments

Do You Think You Have a Breakout Novel?

When considering my interpretation of a breakout novel, for this topic I'm referring to a book that is pre-publication and pulling in a lot of interest from either agents or editors. That's why I phrased it, "Do You Think...?" A breakout novel can also be one that immediately takes off in sales, garners voluminous reviews and climbs the best-selling ranks in very short order. That's post-publication. We've seen some of the self-published e-books do this just recently. But what if you're in…

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Added by Chris Stevenson on July 5, 2012 at 12:44am — No Comments

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