Why Barnes and Noble Should Hire Me and Can Jim Hilt

Now now, don't get all hot, I am joking... well, not really...but sort of. I mean really? Print is not dead? eBooks are a novelty? I was wondering why B&N is so behind the curve with eBooks and now I know why...they have this guy at the helm.

“The idea that the print book is going to die some slow long death is actually a fallacy,”

I agree with this, but not in the way he means...most if not all print will go the way of POD. As Amazon and other presses upgrade printers we will be able to get high quality books at a low cost, and all POD.

"...but once the novelty has worn off they’ll probably return to stores and do a mix of shopping on devices and in stores."

=) See that? That was me trying not to bust a gut. I know...so mean.

What does this mean?

For B&N, it means they will keep shoving sand over their heads and for bookstores, it will mean Amazon will keep playing chess...ALONE.

So what would I do? I would tell you but when they offer me a job, I would have nothing to offer them that they did not already see on this blog. lol... okay fine!

First: Make millions of Nook's. Oh...and hire me.
Second: Give them all away for FREE!
Third: Model the website after Amazon with Tagging, Bestseller lists, indie lists, blog posts, forums and other things normal people do with a website designed to sell a product.
Forth: Talk to authors.
Fifth: Open up printing houses and start buying up authors like Amazon.
Sixth: Do more author signings and events, you have a bookstore, you should cream Amazon not hand them your lunch money everyday!
Seventh: Once you have some of the market with all your new Nook users, start a Nook daily deal program. i.e. do what amazon is doing! Top 100 list, top 100 free list, emails of related titles, you know...promotion 101!
Eighth: Forget the tablet market and focus on coming out with the first color touch Nook with eink.
Ninth: Team up with the Big 6 and market and sell their books at a lower price and cut amazon out, make it exclusive. Big move but if you don't do it Amazon will!
Tenth: Have a cup of coffee, because we are just getting started.

This is just a sample of the HUGE changes they will need to make, or by the end of 2013 B&N will be bought out or go under just like borders.
Author Aaron Patterson: Blog: The Worst Book Ever.

StoneHouse University. What is a blog tour and why should I care?

I wanted to do a post and talk about this upcoming Blog Tour Class. It is Feb. 1st and is a Webinar. That means you can log in and join via your PC/Mac or call in and be on the phone. So, no matter where you are you can join.

There is a cost, $50-but that is not bad considering what you will learn.

But what is a blog tour, why do I need to know how to run one and what good will it do for me and my book?

All good questions. A blog tour is like a book signing tour but instead of going to bookstores and sitting there trying to sell 5 books, you are doing the interview or signing online on different blogs. Way cool and you can reach more people.

Bloggers and their honest reviews are huge! Did I say huge? If I had a choice to be reviewed by the New York times or by a well followed book blogger I would choose the blogger. They review a book and it gets readers. They say, yup, good book their peeps go and buy the book. A review in the NYT gets you a pat on the back.

So you DO want your book reviewed by book bloggers. But what is a tour you may ask? It is where you plan to have your book reviewed by 15-30 bloggers in a short time frame. Like a month or 60 days. So almost everyday you are reviewed and you are exposed to people. This review is posted on Amazon and goodreads and other sites so you get reviews as well. You see how this is good?

This class is to show you how to do this without pissing off the bloggers and how to do a good tour and sell a lot of books. You never know what a tour will do, it may just make your sales bump, but it may like Vincent Zandri take you to #3 on Amazon and sell over 100k books.

Here is a link to K.C. Neal's blog to give you an idea of what a tour looks like. She is also the one teaching the class. HERE

See all the stops and the different bloggers? They will all post their review on that date. It is a crazy building thing that every author should know how to do.

That is the blog tour. Now, here is a link to sign up, you just need to pick a time and pay. After that you will register and you are in. Please share this with others and take your writing seriously. If you don't no one else will...

TIME: 10am-noon and 5pm-7pm *Mountain Time Zone
DATE: Feb. 1st 2012
LOCATION: Online
AVAILABILITY: Limited
COST: $50.00

To register hit the Paypal button and pay, it should redirect you to the registration page after you have paid.

Blog Tour Online Class. Feb 1 2012

To register for the 10-Noon class click below:
*All times are MT (Mountain Time)

Blog tour Class (10am-Noon)

To register for the 5-7pm class, click below:
*All times are MT (Mountain Time)

Blog Tour Class (5pm-7pm)

Now that I have your attention lets touch on Amazon. The next class is all about how to Work the systems that run Amazon. Most if not all bestselling indie authors know how to tag and what all the rankings mean. I will show you how to do it, how to get noticed on amazon. This is key in selling well on Amazon.

If you follow J.A. Konrath he is very open about this. Go HERE to read about what he has to say about Amazon.

"Writers aren't buying my fiction. They aren't buying my non-fiction either--I have an ebook called "A Newbie's Guide to Publishing" and it is among my lowest-selling titles.

The people who buy me are readers, and the vast majority have never heard of me. Readers find me on Amazon, because Amazon has made it easy for my books to be discovered."

You can do a million things but it is all about being SEEN. and Amazon is the big monkey.

"The majority of my sales come from Amazon and my ability to use the tools they provide. So far I've played my cards right. I write fun books with good covers and sell them cheap, I have a lot of virtual shelf space, and readers like my writing."

"5. Study Amazon and how it sells ebooks. Experiment. Take chances. If one of Amazon's imprints offers to publish you, accept. Right now they are the only publisher who can increase your sales."

Convinced yet? Amazon is where it is at, one day that may not be the case but right now it is...so, on Feb. 8th I will drop it all, show you the truth and not hold back on how to game the game. It is one big game people, and if you know how to play you WILL win.

Sign up for both classes as we only have 50 spots so first come first serve. Don't miss out on this if you care about selling your eBook or book on Amazon. Just to let you know, my sales are up every month, my book Sweet Dreams is 3 years old and sold more in December than it ever has...on a OLD book, this is like 45 in book years, but it is still moving. You can learn this stuff, it is easy, and fun...
That is all.

Here is the info:STONEHOUSE UNIVERSITY AMAZON CLASS

Learn how to use Amazon to increase sales and build a fan-base!

TIME: 10am-noon and 5pm-7pm *Mountain Time Zone
DATE: Feb. 8th 2012
LOCATION: Online
AVAILABILITY: Limited
COST: $50.00

Amazon is the biggest bookstore in the world. They move more product and reach more people than any other bookstore. By understanding how they work and their systems such as tagging, customer recommendations, book lists and the ranking system you can sell more books and be "seen." We will teach you how to use Amazon and their systems and get them to work for you instead of getting lost in the millions of books and eBooks listed on their site. Stand out and be sold!

To register just click the Paypal button of the time you want and after you pay it will redirect you to a registration page.

10am-Noon (MST)

5pm-7pm (MST)

Thanks for Tweeting and sharing this link and information. If you know of any other classes you would like to see in the future feel free to comment and let us know what you want to learn.

One last quote from J.A. Konrath, "And feel free to tweet this. It won't help me sell many eBooks, but it could help your peers."




Author Aaron Patterson: Blog: The Worst Book Ever.

Social Media 101 What NOT to do (Author Edition)

Social Media 101

Okay people, we all live in this online world and I know it can be hard to know what to do and as there are not really rules set up let's look at what to do and what NOT to do.

I am going to talk about what NOT to do first as it seems many of us are having a problem with this part of our online lives.

Comments on Facebook
You do not have to respond to every controversial comment or post. In fact you should avoid them if you can. We were not meant to know people this close and for some getting on FB or Twitter can be shocking. We go from knowing some things ab out our friends to knowing what they think about EVERY subject ever created. Our natural reaction is to comment and let them know what we think and thus the fights begin. Good rule of thumb, talk about nice things and if someone is just being a jerk do not follow or friend them, it is okay to unfriend people...even if you know them in person.

Marketing your book
Market yourself by being yourself. Not by pushing your book or health supplement on people. People buy from who they like, if I do not like you I will not buy your book. Get to know people, talk and post once every now and again, most people know you have a book as it is your profile picture.

Confrontation
So I pissed you off, now what? Well, you should not blast in public all about me and how I kill small kittens. You should send a email to me and deal with it that way before going off half cocked all over Twitter and Facebook. It just makes you look bad not me. If you do not like what someone is doing deal with it in private. There are people that I know online that are scamers and downright #lame. I want to scream from the TwitterTop and warn people about them or what they are doing with some publishing scam or whatever. But do I? No.

It is about control, try to control yourself. Send a email or make a call. Live above them, do right and all the others will work out by themselves. Most of us authors will not take the time to research what we are all mad about. Try stopping and looking at it all without your black glasses on. The only time I will name names and call out someone is if I am pushed into a corner and have to in order to defend myself. But that is the very last step and I do it with care as if i am going to name names I will do it with open guns and I am not messing around at that point. But like I said...last resort.

Twitter Auto Tweets
Come on peeps... be there... be here with us. Be present. I understand setting up auto tweets for time sake, but the same tweet over and over and over again? Really? And we read it? Nope...I gloss over and look for the real people having conversations.

Facebook Groups
Do not invite random people, it is rude. Follow the rules of the group. I can't count the times I delete posts from the same person over and over again because they will not follow the rules. If there is a no promotion rule, do not promote. Come one peeps...*note: if all you do is link to your book not one person will read it or follow the link.
Join the conversation.

Facebook Bleeding Heart's
I do not care about the poor sheep in Montana or the starving trees in Iceland. Most of it is just to get you all worked up and you re-post and share the sad picture that I have to gag over... again, conversation and what do you want me to do? Go over and feed some starving tree? I am not going to give money so what is the point? Oh...yeah, to put guilt on people for living in the US... got it... *small rant.

The main thing to remember is to be nice and do not do something that you would not want someone else to do. You know...like we learned when we were 6.

If you have a beef with someone don't go off on them, be an adult and hold your little Twitter fingers. Authors, I know we are all excited about books and reading, but be careful about who you hook up with. There are a ton of scams that look all good but all the scamer wants is to sell you their book. Ask yourself, do they push their book on you? Do they push you to follow rules that they made up? Do they blast others, cuz if they will kill another author if you cross them they will kill you as well. BE SMART...oh and be NICE!

That is all...

for now

Author Aaron Patterson: Blog: The Worst Book Ever.

YA Giveaway Blog Hop (Win A Paperback Copy of Pyxis by K.C. Neal)

Young Adult Faeries & Fantasy Giveaway Hop
January 6th to 12th

Reviews for Pyxis
“This is a story with depth and history, and the characters just come to life straight off the pages.”
-Once Upon A Time review

“An amazing cast of characters I can’t wait to meet up with again in book two, Alight!”
-YA-aholic.com review

“Pyxis is a phenomenal debut that blew me away.”
-K-Books review

“A completely fresh and original concept in the world of YA paranormal.”
-BelleBooks review


About Pyxis
Corinne lives an average teenage life working at her dad’s cafe, hanging out with her best friend, and trying to forget a falling-out with her almost-boyfriend Mason. Things take a strange turn when she uses her late grandmother’s food dyes for a bake sale, and her customers suddenly find her irresistibly alluring. Then she discovers she and Mason are haunted by the same dreams of a dark force that consumes everything in its path. Pursued by shadowy figures and a crazy woman with secrets from the past, Corinne must find out who her grandmother really was. In her quest to unravel her family’s history, she learns she is destined to protect this world--and the dark world of her dreams. She races to find the answers she seeks before her nightmares break free.

About the Author
K.C. Neal lives in Idaho with her husband and their maltipoo, Oscar. She holds degrees in Chemistry and Health Sciences, and works as a medical writer. She s a competitive vegetable gardener, occasional surfer, avid reader, and enthusiastic cupcake eater.

Enter the hop to win a copy of Pyxis!

STONEHOUSE UNIVERSITY ONLINE BLOG TOUR CLASS! FEB 1st!

STONEHOUSE UNIVERSITY PRESENTS

Book Blog Tours, Part 1: 10 Steps to a Successful Tour

TIME: 10am-noon and 5pm-7pm *Mountain Time Zone
DATE: Feb. 1st 2012
LOCATION: Online
AVAILABILITY: Limited
COST: $50.00

Description:
A book blog tour is one of the most powerful and least costly ways to spread the word about your book. In a well-planned tour, you'll reach hundreds to thousands of readers in your target audience in a manner that is many times more efficient than doing live book signings. You can do your own tour for minimal or zero cost, making it one of the most affordable methods of marketing your book. Blog tours can be effective for all types of books, all genres, upcoming releases, and already-published books. In this course, you'll learn the essential steps to planning and executing your own successful blog tour, plus tips for building relationships with book bloggers and creating a tour that stands out from the rest.

To register hit the Paypal button and pay, it should redirect you to the registration page after you have paid.

Blog Tour Online Class. Feb 1 2012

To register for the 10-Noon class click below:
*All times are MT (Mountain Time)

Blog tour Class (10am-Noon)

To register for the 5-7pm class, click below:
*All times are MT (Mountain Time)

Blog Tour Class (5pm-7pm)

StoneHouse University
SHU was created by Aaron Patterson and K.C. Neal. Many authors are trying things on their own and the publishing world is changing so fast that it can be hard to keep up. SHU is here to teach writers and authors the skills they will need to write, publish and market their books. Classes and webinar's on writing a hook, to working with Amazon. Online classes will be held once a month, or more as the demand grows. We hope that SHU will be a help and a resource to anyone who wants to make a living writing.


Aaron Patterson
Aaron is an Amazon bestselling author and has four books published. He writes thrillers and YA Paranormal. He is also the CEO of StoneHouse/StoneGate Ink. SH is a next generation publisher that publishes eBooks first with limited print distribution and on to regular distribution. SH has around 40 authors and over 50 titles. Aaron is a marketing crazy person and can be found in Twitter or Facebook or blogging.

K.C. Neal
K.C. Neal, author of the YA fantasy Pyxis Series, enjoys the social and promotional sides of publishing as much as the creative side. In the span of just a few months, she’s gained thousands of Twitter followers and hundreds of Facebook friends and fans, and coordinated several successful book blog tours. Her philosophies about social media interaction have led to excellent relationships with book bloggers, and she’s eager to share her expertise about book blog tours and online social networking.


Author Aaron Patterson: Blog: The Worst Book Ever.