Indie-Horror sensation Scott Nicholson talks about how Amazon has "already helped me fulfill my dream of writing full time as a career, and this relationship will open up plenty more opportunities and freedom in the years ahead."
Congratulations, Scott! All the best to you!
http://hauntedcomputer.blogspot.com/2011/08/nicholson-signs-book-deal-with-amazon.html
Edited by Coral Russell and published by Alchemy of Scrawl, the anthology Playing With Fire is now available as a $0.99 e-book on Amazon and Smashwords. It features multiple short stories by such authors as Chryse Wymer, Nomar Knight, CAV Laster, Robynn Gabel, Susan Evelyn, and myself along with the editor, Coral Russell.
Here's the product description for Playing With Fire -
Scare easily? Are you often frightened out of your sleep? Does the mere mention of ghosts prickle your skin? These seven authors imaginations are fired up by the scariness of the unknown. Find a comfy spot, sit back and enjoy nine tales to tickle your taste for terror.
Grab it on Amazon here...
http://www.amazon.com/Playing-Fire-Anthology-Horror-ebook/dp/B005CDD4IK/
Grab it on Smashwords here...
Recently I've read a number of articles about Kindle Singles. Using a tongue-in-cheek throwback term to the days of physical media music, these are items smaller than your average download. "Kindle singles will typically run to between 5,000 and 30,000 words, the no-man’s land between a magazine article and a short book," reports Cahrlie Sorrel at Wired.com. http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/01/amazon-launches-kindle-singles-saves-long-form-journalism/
There have been slight price shifts for authors, but many are jumping on this. Nobodies (like myself) are just as involved as J.A. Konrath and Jodi Picoult. More and more are using Kindle Direct and by-passing traditional publishers all together. David Carnoy and Cnet even offers readers a breakdown on pricing. http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20029658-1.html
Purists will complain that their precious status quo is threatened and that too many "bad" writers are flooding the market, making it more difficult for them to sell their own books. Some even bemoan the e-publishing industry, claiming they have lost sales due to internet piracy. This argument holds little weight, since the few author who might be having their works pirated (like King, Rowling, Cussler, Meyer and Patterson) are so insanely rich and huge-selling they don't even notice. No, sales are down because too many people would rather watch Reality TV for free.
Which is why really, really CHEAP e-books are a good idea!
That said, my three e-novellas have now been changed to a whopping $0.99 and the full e-books to $2.99. Sure, I make less money - but that's never why I started writing in the first place. And if the traditionalists out there are writing fiction to make money, well... perhaps they should consider a career change. Now go blow your pocket change on one of my crap stories.
http://www.amazon.com/Brian-Fatah-Steele/e/B002V7OJR0/
BRIAN FATAH STEELE, a member of the indie author co-op Dark Red Press, describes the majority of his work as "Epic Horror with lots of Explosions." His articles and stories have appeared in various e-magazines and online journals. Steele lives in Ohio with a few cats that are probably plotting his doom. Surviving on a diet primarily of coffee and cigarettes, he occasionally dabbles in Visual Arts and Music Production. He still hopes to one day become a Super Villain.
