Amazon Connect

[marliesb]

Hello to the round

I suppose after such a long time focusing on Europe with my research, I ought not forget my Zumaya ties ;-)

After six befuddled months, unable to interest a single soul at Amazon.com (or BookSurge.com for that matter) for the problem of: -- 'your books can't be verified, customer service is notified', -- the 'verifying' of my books at their 'new' Connect facility has finally, miraculously and inexplicably, been fixed and it works.
Now my question is: apart from looking pretty, listing all my books and being really complicated ... what does it do? I've tried all sorts of online 'reader contact' with the result of attracting things like "oh hello are you under 13? I am and would like to begin a meaningful friendship with you..." and so forth, I wonder what this is going to attract... (it certainly doesn't attract Amazon customer help when something goes pear-shaped.)
If anyone can give me a good starting point in what to do with the Amazon Connect 'thingie' I'd be really grateful :-)

[Elizabeth Burton]

Marlies,

The main thing to do is figure out how you can use the blog function to generate articles that will bring people back. Your Karl May project is certainly a good place to start.

[marliesb]

G'day Elizabeth

... yes, getting a start there is one of my early 2008 priorities. I'm swamped with translation work until Christmas/NewYear - but that's not far off either :-)

cheerio from downunder
Marlies

[Harley L. Sachs]

I just came back from the 2008 EPICon in Portland, ORegon where the best workshops were on marketing. We learned a great deal ans Liz summarized the marketing program in the EPIC biz newsletter. I suggest you check out "Red Hot Internet Publicity" by Penny C. Sensevieri. Her book has lots of tips on marketing. My own addition is for you to check out free classified ads in newspaper across the country that offer them. For instance, Seattle's "Stranger", Portland's "Willamette Week", and Traverse City, Michigan's "Northern Express." All have free online ads and you can upload photos, too. They also have links to other newspapers.
For free stuff and fun, visit my web site, www.hu.mtu.edu/~hlsachs.

[Harley Sachs]

After all the Amazon imbroglio about not selling POD books unless printed by their own Booksurge printer, I would be reluctant to give trhem an inch. Sometimes I tell people that my books are so exclusive we don't even allow bookstores to sell them. Of course, since bookstores demand big discounts and then want to return what they don't sell, leaving us no profit or royalty as authors, there's good reason to be "exclusive," except that one of my titles is from a niche conventional publisher, Far Horizons, which recently reissued (2nd edition) my 1991 book of nautical humor, "Irma Quarterdeck Reports." That one IS in bookstores and Googlealert turns up references to it around the world. Not that any royalties have tricked down to the mere author, of course. As for marketing, tfhere are so many opportunities to make yourself and your books known on the Internet that you can spend all your time marketing and none writing. I direct purchasers to the publishers. Eliminating the middlemen may reduce the total sales, but may improve the total royalties. If I only make one cent on a book marketed through vendors and subvendors and God knows who else, sale of a hundred copies makes me only a dollar. If I sell one book difrectly from the online printer lulu.com I keep the entire royalty which I name myself when setting the price above the print cost. It's better for me to sell one copy and make $5 than an unspecified and under reported multiple sale that gets me $1. Then, of course, my books are rare collectibles, not remaindered mass productions that end up in thrift shops for 25 cents. AH fame! Being rare also means I don't have to be pursued by paparrazi and stalked by groupies. Anonymity has its rewards..

[Elizabeth Burton]

Harley,

While your books aren't currently in bookstores, that's not the case with all our titles; and yours will be in full distribution after next year when we publish your new book, Conspiracy. I personally would rather everyone just use the actual explanation for our no-returns policy, which is that it has a horrendous impact on the environment because of all the shipping involved, even if you overlook the waste of actual printed books that are tossed because they're either too damaged to be sold or, like mass market paperbacks, are always dumped if they don't sell.

[Harley Sachs]

I can't help you-all with Amazon, but I do have a tip:
Many newspapers around the country, expecially free weeklies like WIllamette Week and Northern Express, offer free classified advertising. When an ad is due to expire they send a reminder for free renewal. You can have 35 words in print, space permitting, or a lot more and several pictures, e.g. cover art, on their web pages. I'm trying a media blitz with my titles. In the last two weeks sales have bettered my royalties at Zumaya over a six month period. I don't package, stock, or mail books myself but direct readers to the printers/publishers/bookstores, depending on the title. Check it out.

--Harley Sachs www.hu.mtu.edu/~hlsachs for free stuff, fun, catalog and reviews.

[Cindy Lynn Speer]

This is such a good tip, I'm trying it.

Thank you!