# For Authors: A Suggestion To Ponder



## Michael R. Hicks (Oct 29, 2008)

As many of you know, there have been a number of threads recently discussing various issues related to authors posting here on KB, sort of a "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" kind of thing. I'm not going to claim I've got a solution for everything, but here's something I plan on doing myself, and I urge other authors to at least consider it. You may or may not agree, but it's at least something to think about.

So: I've decided that instead of having a separate thread to try and promote each of my books separately, I'm going to set up an author thread (called something like "Books by Author Michael R. Hicks" or something equally creative <cough, cough>) that is intended to help readers find my books and give them a bit of info to see if they'd like to know more without deluging the boards with a bunch of "ads."

The first post is going to contain all my books and anything I want people to know about them up front, and maybe a little bit about me if they care (or maybe something about our Siberian cats, just because people seem to be drawn to the furry critters and the thread will get more exposure that way - LOL!). Then I plan to have at least one link in my signature point back to this thread, and I'm going to ask the mods to lock all the other book-specific threads of mine except for the ones to the book klub (which I consider sort of a separate thing). The existing content will still be available for people to view, but they won't be able to post to those threads (and so can't bump them up). So my "promotional existence" on the board will mainly be contained in a single thread (I'd like to point out that this is pretty much what Boyd Morrison did, and his thread has gotten a lot of views).

While it technically gives less potential exposure (one thread total vs. one for each of however many books), I think something like this would go a long way toward reducing the annoyance factor that authors have been injecting into the KB community experience. And, as Greg Banks pointed out in another thread, managing the volume of promotional threads is an issue, and this would be an effective way to help deal with it. Consider: I think the KB community might appreciate having 100 authors = 100 threads, rather than 100 authors = 100 x however many books, with everybody watching the clock to bump their threads every 7 days (which I personally really hate doing).

Now, sure, if a reader wants to start a thread on a book and tell everybody that they thought it was the greatest thing (or, heaven forbid, the worst), that's different, because it's _reader-driven_. And the same goes for the revised rules for the bargain books and so on: we, as authors, shouldn't be in there plugging our stuff, anyway - those should be books that _readers_ are recommending to other. Of course, we, as authors, are also readers: if you want to plug a favorite bargain book, as long as it's not your own, you're more than welcome to. Most of us originally came here first as readers, not as authors. I think if we keep that distinction in mind, things will go a lot easier.

Anyway, that's what I plan to do. That will also make things easier in a way for me, because that means I'll only have one thread to keep track of for updating information on new or revised titles and so on (although I plan to minimize gratuitous bumps, regardless - I'm hoping that interested readers will help do that for me)...


----------



## intinst (Dec 23, 2008)

I am not an author, but it appears to be a very good idea to me.


----------



## Carolyn Kephart (Feb 23, 2009)

kreelanwarrior said:


> I've decided that instead of having a separate thread to try and promote each of my books separately, I'm going to set up an author thread (called something like "Books by Author Michael R. Hicks" or something equally creative <cough, cough>) that is intended to help readers find my books and give them a bit of info to see if they'd like to know more without deluging the boards with a bunch of "ads."


I've been doing that all along, out of simple courtesy to others here. The KB powers have been kind to authors in ways other forums seldom if ever are, and I'd like to ensure it continues.

As my own single thread notes, I'm running a sale that ends tomorrow, so I might bump it ONLY today if it gets pushed to the second page, and ONLY once, unless some kind fan saves me the trouble. 

CK


----------



## Thumper (Feb 26, 2009)

I think I only have one thread for all my books, other than ones someone else has started. I'm very uneasy about shoving my stuff down peoples' throats, but I don't have a problem with "Hey, I wrote these, please don't tell me they're horrible or I WILL CRY." I don't think I've even bumped it...perhaps I should? :::shrugs:::

The only problem I see with having only one thread per author is that there are some writes who have a huge personal catalog of their works, and some of their work might get lost or overlooked when it's all thrown together. 

It works for me, though. I have no desire to keep track of eight different threads for my books; I barely keep track of one.


----------



## jaspertyler (Feb 13, 2009)

I think it is a good idea.    And I am hoping you in particular have more books   I loved In Her Name!


----------



## Carol Hanrahan (Mar 31, 2009)

I think it's a good idea.  I would like to try it for my works, although I'm not sure how to start.  Do I take one thread and keep it, merging the others into it?  How would you do that?  Or do I start a whole new thread and discard the others?


----------



## Greg Banks (May 2, 2009)

I think it's an excellent idea! I would suggest a couple of things to get it started.

1. Each author with more than one Kindle book currently starts a new thread. For authors with only one book currently, I don't see the point in starting a new thread right now. They can do that later, if and when they publish a second book.

2. Each author's thread have a specific subject format, such as: "The Works of Author Greg Banks", or however people think it's best phrased.

3. Each author starts off the thread with the books they have published now, but they are free to post to the thread when they have updates or new books to offer, using the same guidelines already in place now. The author could edit the original post to add the new book to the list or make price changes, etc., but still allow authors to add a new post to the thread now and then.


----------



## Kilgore Trout (Dec 28, 2008)

In case you did not see it, Mike, I took your idea and ran with it soon after you mentioned it to me yesterday, although it looks as if I should have titled the post with my name instead of my tagline. I think it's one of the best ideas I have seen on this board!

http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,9245.0.html


----------



## Keith Blenman (May 31, 2009)

I wish I had read that about twenty minutes ago! I just signed up to promote one of my stories, and have four others to do the same with. I'll let my first promotion get lost in the boards after a day or two and then go with your system. Great plan!


----------



## Michael R. Hicks (Oct 29, 2008)

Hey, all -

Great ideas (and I was glad to contribute something useful -   ). Here are a couple others, spinning off of some that y'all  already came up with:

- If you only have one book/promo thread already, you can just rename the thread and revise the first post (maybe just add in your "bibliography" at the top of the original post or something). You don't have to, but it's an option. And if you just want to start completely fresh, I don't think anyone will complain!

- I agree with Greg that it would probably be nice to have a semi-standard format for the thread title. They don't have to be cookie cutter, but obviously include your name, specify that you're an author, and also I think it would be smart to mention the genre(s) that you specialize in. That will help readers browsing the boards focus on authors that write the sorts of books they enjoy most. 

- For existing threads, you can either just let them go stale or have the mods lock them. I think I'm going to do the latter, because I'd like to be able to point folks visiting my "author thread" to some of the existing content in the other threads, but don't want people to post to them and bump them anymore. 

- For the authors who have a lot of books, well, I think the trick there - like with the rest of us - is to be actively engaged in the KB community. Make sure to put a link in your signature back to your author thread so people can find your KB bibliography, and people will. And once they're there, the first post will have all your works listed, so everything will be at the readers' fingertips!

- I'm hoping that what we might see out of this is *more* reader interest, because we'll make it a lot easier for readers to find out more about us as authors, not just about our current book sale. And as readers find authors they like, they'll know how to find their threads to check for any updates and get involved in discussions of current projects, etc.


----------



## Michael R. Hicks (Oct 29, 2008)

jaspertyler said:


> I think it is a good idea.  And I am hoping you in particular have more books  I loved In Her Name!


I'm working on it! _In Her Name: First Contact!_

I'll post more in my author thread when I get it set up (hopefully this evening)...


----------



## Anju  (Nov 8, 2008)

Great ideas Mike - now get back to writing


----------



## Greg Banks (May 2, 2009)

Keith,

Since you just created your thread, you can probably just go in and alter the title and such to match this new format.


----------



## Kathy (Nov 5, 2008)

I know this is really for the writers on the board, but I just have to say you guys are great. Wonderful ideas and great suggestions. I for one will be watching the Book Bazaar much more and when looking for a new book it will be the first place I go.


----------



## Kevis Hendrickson (Feb 28, 2009)

As an author who, up until a month ago, only had one book for sale, I had been pondering exactly the best strategy to introduce my new books to other members on this site without having to create individual threads for every one of them. The solution I came up with was very similar to Kreelan's. I figured when my sale on The Legend of Witch Bane had ended, I would change the title of my thread and introduce my new books there. However, the thread has already shaped itself into one that does not necessarily favor this strategy. And so, I too, have decided that I would wait until the last day of my book promotion and then create a second thread that will feature all of my books. Not only is it easier to keep track of than multiple threads. It will also make it easier for readers to sort through The Book Bazaar without having to wonder how many threads feature my books.

However, there is one thing no one yet has mentioned. If all of the authors on KindleBoards decide to adopt this technique, the "one bump a week" posting rule will mostly become null and void. There is absolutely no way that an author who has more than one book available will be able to obey that rule when he/she will likely have multiple updates for their books each and every week. By consolidating every book onto one thread, it will force authors to post information on their threads more often than they would if they had separate threads.  With that said, I do believe that this is probably better than the alternative which will inundate this forum with too many threads, especially given the fact that many more authors are likely to swarm to the Boards in the next few months.

One last point, I am not sure it's necessarily a good idea to enforce the one thread rule on every author. In some ways, it could possibly backfire on certain authors especially the ones who have published many books. But even so, I think it is a good idea that many authors should consider for its simplicity, if not practicality.


----------



## Michael R. Hicks (Oct 29, 2008)

Kevis Hendrickson said:


> However, there is one thing no one yet has mentioned. If all of the authors on KindleBoards decide to adopt this technique, the "one bump a week" posting rule will mostly become null and void. There is absolutely no way that an author who has more than one book available will be able to obey that rule when he/she will likely have multiple updates for their books each and every week. By consolidating every book onto one thread, it will force authors to post information on their threads more often than they would if they had separate threads. With that said, I do believe that this is probably better than the alternative which will inundate this forum with too many threads, especially given the fact that many more authors are likely to swarm to the Boards in the next few months.


Kevis -

This is something I think - for now - we can play by ear a bit. I strongly suspect that the KB community at large will be much more tolerant of individual author threads (vice book promo threads) bumping up, particularly when there are reader-author exchanges going on in the thread (which is what we *really* want!). Again, however, we need to be careful not to abuse the privileges we are given here: saying there's "no way" that someone will be able to abide by a rule isn't a route we want to take. Harvey and the mods have consistently demonstrated their willingness to adjust the rules, so if we act responsibly I'm sure they'll be happy to consider changing things. The 7-day rule was put in place because abuses were made; if we prove that there's a good reason to remove it (or put something different in its place), I'm sure they'll be more than happy to do that.



> One last point, I am not sure it's necessarily a good idea to enforce the one thread rule on every author. In some ways, it could possibly backfire on certain authors especially the ones who have published many books. But even so, I think it is a good idea that many authors should consider for its simplicity, if not practicality.


Right now this isn't a "rule" - it's something that at least a number of us have decided to do to improve (hopefully!) the author-reader relationship here on KB and make it a richer experience for everyone. I believe that it may, if it works out, become a rule, but for now it's just us chickens trying a new way of doing things (well, some folks have already been doing it, but this is the first time I know of that we've collectively discussed it). I actually don't believe that this approach will hurt anybody, even those with a lot of books. In fact, I believe it will help at least some of them, because having lots of books and individual book threads, and bumping them up once a week, is contributing to the overall problem that's brought us to where we are today.

And here's another idea for Harvey and the mods: it would be a bit of a chore, but perhaps over time it might be possible to add links from the KB authors thread (where Leslie's been keeping a list of all the authors here) to their individual KB bibliography threads. So people browsing there could go direct to the author's biblio thread without hunting around...

Oh, and for what it may be worth, I just added my author thread thingy...


----------



## Kevis Hendrickson (Feb 28, 2009)

kreelanwarrior said:


> And here's another idea for Harvey and the mods: it would be a bit of a chore, but perhaps over time it might be possible to add links from the KB authors thread (where Leslie's been keeping a list of all the authors here) to their individual KB bibliography threads. So people browsing there could go direct to the author's biblio thread without hunting around...


That is a terrific idea. Simple, but effective. I like it!


----------



## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

A lot of good thoughts here that I like.  I only have one book at the moment, but when that changes, I will definitely follow the suggested format.  

Well done, Mike.


----------



## Carolyn Kephart (Feb 23, 2009)

I'm just hoping everyone gets the memo, or will want to.

CK


----------



## Michael R. Hicks (Oct 29, 2008)

Carolyn Kephart said:


> I'm just hoping everyone gets the memo, or will want to.


Well, I'm sure everyone won't, at least right away. All we can do is try to lead by example...


----------



## Steph H (Oct 28, 2008)

As a non-author, I very much like the one-thread-per-author idea. It's a lot easier to find all the info in one thread than to check a bunch of different threads, and quite frankly, if there are too many threads to follow that a particular conversation might have been in, I'm just as likely to give up and not follow it/them anymore if I can't find it again quickly (lazy perhaps, but it's the reality of too little time).

I'd have to think it'd be easier for the authors, too, to generally only have one promo thread to keep updated.


----------



## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

I have 12 books, running the gamut of genre and interests. I will probabaly have 20 books by year end. I will continue to adhere to the Kindleboard Guidelines - one book - one thread. I put certain books on sale and a single thread will not serve the reader well if lumped in a single thread. 

Edward C. Patterson


----------



## Andra (Nov 19, 2008)

I think I am more likely to browse an author's offering if all the books are listed at the top of a thread.
It just takes too much effort for me to weed through all the threads for an author's books if there are lots of them.  (I'm lazy too)
Thanks for putting so much thought into this process.


----------



## MAGreen (Jan 5, 2009)

Andra said:


> I think I am more likely to browse an author's offering if all the books are listed at the top of a thread.
> It just takes too much effort for me to weed through all the threads for an author's books if there are lots of them. (I'm lazy too)
> Thanks for putting so much thought into this process.


I agree! If links to all the books are at the top along with the description, and then leave a new comment whenever there is news about the books so it gets bumped and has the little "new" tag. You could even add *new book* to the title whenever you have a new offering to announce! Although, a new book is a huge deal, so maybe even allow a thread for the new book...to be merged with the author thread after a week or two.


----------



## Michael R. Hicks (Oct 29, 2008)

edwpat said:


> I have 12 books, running the gamut of genre and interests. I will probabaly have 20 books by year end. I will continue to adhere to the Kindleboard Guidelines - one book - one thread. I put certain books on sale and a single thread will not serve the reader well if lumped in a single thread.


One book - one thread, bumped weekly = the rule as currently written, but that may change. Looking at it from a community point of view, at least from my perspective, that approach serves the author (in theory) trying to promote his/her books far more than the KB reader who doesn't want to be spammed. Further, authors who have a larger number of books are able to leverage that into more frequent advertising (and let's all be perfectly honest: that's what the author-created book threads really are - free advertising). The case could be made that this gives unfair "advertising exposure" to some authors just because their bibliography is longer and they're "entitled" to more threads that they can bump. ::shrugs:: I suppose that could be argued either way, but in any case the type of free advertising we have here is banned or very tightly controlled on almost every other general discussion forum. But I think it's clear from the events that led to the creation of the book bazaar and the implementation of all the new rules that the bottom line is that the KB community doesn't want to be advertised to.

If we put the information on KB authors and their books in one place in an easy-to-browse form, I think the readers will be able to find what they like a lot better and more easily, which is all good for us as authors. So far the reader feedback - and that from the majority of the authors who have chimed in, as well - on this thread seems to bear that out, and is consistent with what readers have said (and complained about) in the various other threads that have carried this general topic.

So, yes, it's good that you (and hopefully everyone else) is following the rules. But I hope that the author presence on KB and the associated rules evolve into something more positive for the community as a whole.


----------



## intinst (Dec 23, 2008)

Thank you Mike for a very worthwhile idea. I am convinced that if this had been followed earlier, no changes by the moderators would have been necessary. The ones that don't want to follow it are the people who are here for the free advertising and the reason I keep asking Harvey for an "ignore" feature.


----------



## Carolyn Kephart (Feb 23, 2009)

kreelanwarrior said:


> The case could be made that this gives unfair "advertising exposure" to some authors just because their bibliography is longer and they're "entitled" to more threads that they can bump. ::shrugs:: I suppose that could be argued either way, but in any case the type of free advertising we have here is banned or very tightly controlled on almost every other general discussion forum. But I think it's clear from the events that led to the creation of the book bazaar and the implementation of all the new rules that the bottom line is that the KB community doesn't want to be advertised to.


Excellent post in all regards, Michael. We're all strugglers here, but respect is crucial.

The non-authors seem to be in agreement with you. My thanks to every one of them reading this thread. 

CK


----------



## Carolyn Kephart (Feb 23, 2009)

edwpat said:


> I have 12 books, running the gamut of genre and interests. I will probabaly have 20 books by year end. I will continue to adhere to the Kindleboard Guidelines - one book - one thread. I put certain books on sale and a single thread will not serve the reader well if lumped in a single thread.
> 
> Edward C. Patterson


I think the readers here are making it clear what serves them best, and I'm looking forward to more comments from them.

CK


----------



## Michael R. Hicks (Oct 29, 2008)

Oh, and while we're at it, one more spin on this concept to ponder: to make it REALLY easy for readers to find us KB authors, how 'bout if the individual author threads were organized into a sub-board (or whatever) in the book bazaar or wherever else might be appropriate? 

That way, if a reader wants to take a browse through what the KB authors have available, they can just pop into that thread list where the only things will be author threads: no clutter, no junk, no spam. And there won't be a bazillion threads to go through - how many active (by that I mean folks who post on KB enough to have at least minimal name recognition) authors do we have here? A couple/few dozen maybe?

I believe that readers will quickly find authors and books that they'd like to sample, and also know exactly where to go to get more...


----------



## CS (Nov 3, 2008)

edwpat said:


> I have 12 books, running the gamut of genre and interests. I will probabaly have 20 books by year end. I will continue to adhere to the Kindleboard Guidelines - one book - one thread. I put certain books on sale and a single thread will not serve the reader well if lumped in a single thread.
> 
> Edward C. Patterson


With all due respect, Edward, I sure as heck do not want to see 20 threads from you (or anyone, for that matter). I know those are the current rules, and while you are obviously doing nothing wrong by adhering to them, I like the idea of one thread per author.

A possible compromise (not sure if anyone has already suggested this): one thread per author + a second thread for the newest book, which would get locked once it's no longer the newest. That has its own issues as well though.

Maybe put the onus on the authors? If they really want to discuss their individual books, they can create book klubs for them?

Just thinking out loud here.


----------



## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Mike:

Change is fine and we had change for the better we hope. Continuous change is not always fine. Moderators certainly have done a great job here keeping the balance. The Bazaar was formed to move the promotion off the book corner. Now that the promotion has moved here, you want to further change it so that the promotion is non-promotional. I hold that the moderators have done an excellent job in not discriminating against the authors. I would hope the authors don't decide to discriminate amongst themselves. I have tried to be a model Kindleboard citizen, and will remain so. If the rules change again, so soon, I will still remain a kindleboard citizen, although a harassed one - and by a fellow author. How ironic?

Edward C. Patterson


----------



## Steph H (Oct 28, 2008)

kreelanwarrior said:


> But I think it's clear from the events that led to the creation of the book bazaar and the implementation of all the new rules that the bottom line is that the KB community doesn't want to be advertised to.


I think this may be overstating it a tad, although it of course depends on what one means by "advertising". I like finding out about books by indie authors here on KB by all of you posting about your books, and also by the authors participating in other threads too for the purpose of hanging out and letting us get to know them (and getting to know us). I've found a lot of good books that way, and a lot of neat people. Those authors are still advertising their books, but many have found the "right" way to do it. Others...not so much. It's the latter group that have caused the shift, I think, but they are also a small minority of the authors that are on KB. They just happen to sometimes *seem* like a large majority 'cause of the noise factor.

One thread per author rather than per book would make it much easier for all users -- authors and non-authors alike -- to get the most out of the Book Bazaar, IMO.


----------



## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

edwpat said:


> Mike:
> I have tried to be a model Kindleboard citizen, and will remain so. If the rules change again, so soon, I will still remain a kindleboard citizen, although a harassed one - and by a fellow author. How ironic?
> 
> Edward C. Patterson


Ed, I think it's a wonderful thing that you are such a prolific writer. You have an impressive body of work, and in a sadly neglected area (China).

But how about giving the rest of us poor struggling newbies a chance to be on the front page for more than a day or two? If you have 22 threads, and more as you promised by year's end, what happens to the rest of us? Several of the authors have more than one book but only one thread.

With 22 books, you will be able to legitimately bump up your thread quite frequently, as we are allowed (correct me if I'm wrong) to do so if something changes or if you have legitimate news about any of your books. Actually, I think this will work out better for you. You'll be able to keep your one thread at the top most of the time with breaking news without tripping over your own multiple threads.

I think this is making sense.


----------



## Kevis Hendrickson (Feb 28, 2009)

kreelanwarrior said:


> Kevis -
> 
> This is something I think - for now - we can play by ear a bit. I strongly suspect that the KB community at large will be much more tolerant of individual author threads (vice book promo threads) bumping up, particularly when there are reader-author exchanges going on in the thread (which is what we *really* want!). Again, however, we need to be careful not to abuse the privileges we are given here: saying there's "no way" that someone will be able to abide by a rule isn't a route we want to take. Harvey and the mods have consistently demonstrated their willingness to adjust the rules, so if we act responsibly I'm sure they'll be happy to consider changing things. The 7-day rule was put in place because abuses were made; if we prove that there's a good reason to remove it (or put something different in its place), I'm sure they'll be more than happy to do that.
> 
> Right now this isn't a "rule" - it's something that at least a number of us have decided to do to improve (hopefully!) the author-reader relationship here on KB and make it a richer experience for everyone. I believe that it may, if it works out, become a rule, but for now it's just us chickens trying a new way of doing things (well, some folks have already been doing it, but this is the first time I know of that we've collectively discussed it). I actually don't believe that this approach will hurt anybody, even those with a lot of books. In fact, I believe it will help at least some of them, because having lots of books and individual book threads, and bumping them up once a week, is contributing to the overall problem that's brought us to where we are today.[/url]...


Michael,

I am not convinced that the way you present your case about the "one author, one thread" idea is one I agree with. The reason why the "one bump a week" rule works in its current form is because of the current "one book, one thread" rule. It would be unfair to allow authors with a large bibliography to dominate the boards with limitless posts about their books.

However, I personally think it is doing a disservice to all KB authors to tell them "we want you to squeeze all 50 of your books on one thread and only bump your thread up once a week". The advantage the current system has is that it allows authors to talk about their different books within any given week. By using the "one author, one thread" rule, it will put a stranglehold on the author if he is limited to discussing only one of his books per week (which is what will happen if this rule is applied to the "one author, one thread" system).

The reason why we authors have created our book threads is not to sell anything, but to find readers. If we were here to sell, it wouldn't make sense to be offering our books for 99 cents, would it? Can't get rich that way. The "one author, one thread" concept has merit. But if the moderators do make this a rule, I, for one, would not want to see them continue the "one bump a week" rule. I personally don't think it will be fair to the authors who have more than one book to share with readers.

One other point, I have noticed that the majority of the posters on this thread keep saying that non-author KB members are for this idea. Funny, that most of these same posters seem to be ignoring the non-author KB members who are the dissenting voices on this thread. Although everyone has the right to argue their point of view, I am getting the impression that some of the people who have posted on this thread are acting like the judge, jury, and executioner. I hope everyone here considers all the voices being mentioned and not just siding with the OP's because it seems fashionable. Because, from what I've read so far, the "one author, one thread" idea is hardly consensus. And no matter how much anyone here tries to package the idea into a "it's the best thing for the boards" mantra, I'd like to see all points of view taken into consideration, not just the members with the greatest seniority or biggest podiums.


----------



## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Gertie:

I appreciate your honesty and not cloaking the issue behind some "better for readers" nonsense, because readers will find me in any case. When the Bazaar was split from the Book Corner, I had a fear that readers would get lost in the soup. As it turns out 160 readers found me in May, ten less than in April. I know this is an issue of the prolific authors vs. the newcomers or the "non-prolific. However, I agree with kevis in that "one author = one thread" is weighted against those who have multiple titles in multiple genres. I have already taken up this issue with the chief moderator, but told it like it is ---- like you put it, and I certainly appreciate your honesty. Now today I was able to bump 2 of my books because one had a response to a reader and one hadn't been touched since May 25th. My books are spread throughout the first 3 pages. I even removed my name from most of them to be fair within the rules. I have even donate my royalties to Kindleboards and will continue to do so. But I wonder what's next after this parity issue? Ducking stools for authors publishing more than 14 books? Dickens gets ducked then. 

Edward C. Patterson


----------



## Carolyn Kephart (Feb 23, 2009)

edwpat said:


> not cloaking the issue behind some "better for readers" nonsense, because readers will find me in any case.
> Edward C. Patterson


I wasn't 'cloaking the issue.' Reader opinion is crucial here, and the more input the better. Alienation isn't a Good Thing.

CK


----------



## Kevis Hendrickson (Feb 28, 2009)

kreelanwarrior said:


> Oh, and while we're at it, one more spin on this concept to ponder: to make it REALLY easy for readers to find us KB authors, how 'bout if the individual author threads were organized into a sub-board (or whatever) in the book bazaar or wherever else might be appropriate?
> 
> That way, if a reader wants to take a browse through what the KB authors have available, they can just pop into that thread list where the only things will be author threads: no clutter, no junk, no spam. And there won't be a bazillion threads to go through - how many active (by that I mean folks who post on KB enough to have at least minimal name recognition) authors do we have here? A couple/few dozen maybe?
> 
> I believe that readers will quickly find authors and books that they'd like to sample, and also know exactly where to go to get more...


Michael,

Yet another point I need to make...

I am uncomfortable with this supposed sudden push for the boards to evolve under the guise of "let's do what's best for Kindle Boards". Is that really what's going on?

It's interesting how only days ago, you mentioned in another post that before the new authors showed up on this site, you felt as though you were a normal member of the Kindle Boards community. But increasingly I sense that these new ideas that are being put forth by you are further ghettoizing the authors who frequent this site. Every time I look around, it's "let's sticky this group of authors books here" and "let's create another subboard for these authors". If we keep creating subsections for ourselves, don't you think we'll eventually be subboarded right off of this site altogether?

I am not understanding where all of this hostility is coming from. I frequent this site and visit both The Book Corner and The Book Bazaar. Are the vast majority of Kindle Board members really so ticked off with the authors here? I have found the people here on Kindle Boards to be nothing but gracious and kind. Where are you getting your information that the Kindle Board members are unhappy with us? Please let me know so that I can learn what you are learning.

So far, the only Kindle Board members I have seen crying out for change with pitchfork in hand are the authors who don't like competing against the authors who are a little more vocal about their works. I am all for change if change is good. But I am still curious to learn where the rallying cry for this supposed change is coming from outside of the author community. I am quite certain that there are some non-author KB members who don't like any kind of promotion on the boards. But the moderators have done an excellent job balancing the needs of all its members. Ultimately, we (authors) cannot please all of the people all of the time. But somehow I get the impression that the situation in The Book Bazaar isn't nearly as serious as some of the authors here are making it out to be.

In fact, this discussion might hold a little more weight if we start calling it what it really is ("I hate such and such author because of xyz") and stop trying to hide behind the banner of "it's all about the readers". If that were really the case, we might not necessarily be having this conversation in the first place.


----------



## intinst (Dec 23, 2008)

Kevis Hendrickson said:


> So far, the only KB members I have seen crying out for change are the authors who don't like competing against the authors who are a little more vocal about their works.


If you really think that the only KB members upset with all the author posts are other authors, you need to read more threads.


----------



## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I'm going to stick my nose in here just to be sure that "bump" is clearly defined. Bumping is where no one has posted to your thread so you do it to make it current. If you have a reader post in your book thread, you are certainly allowed to respond. This is not a bump. If the NY Times reviews your book and you want to let people know, this is not a bump. If Spielberg is making your book into a movie, this is not a bump (although we would certainly like to talk revenue sharing in that case, LOL!) Clearly these are extreme examples, it doesn't have to be Spielberg or the NY Times, it could be the Hibbing Tribune . Mentioning your book in your own blog doesn't warrant a press release, however.  If no one has posted to your thread within a week, you may certainly bump it.

This has been a great discussion, there's nothing wrong with bouncing ideas off of each other. I, for one, have been enjoying the back and forth of ideas.

Betsy








_milking my birthday cake hat for all it's worth._


----------



## CS (Nov 3, 2008)

Kevis, no one is p*ssed off at anyone else. You are taking all of this way too personally. The only thing anyone wants is a cleaner, easier, more streamlined KB experience that's beneficial to both readers and authors. That's a learning process with some growing pains along the way. If I had to guess (and this is purely a guess), there will probably be more changes in how things are structured. Authors shouldn't look at that negatively. No one is trying to push anyone aside. 

We're all readers here. We want to read. And if your book sounds interesting enough, we'll read it. No matter what other changes are made to the board, that fundamental fact will never change.


----------



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Betsy, you forgot:  If Hugh is reading your book, you can tell us and it's not a bump.


----------



## Kevis Hendrickson (Feb 28, 2009)

intinst said:


> If you really think that the only KB members upset with all the author posts are other authors, you need to read more threads.


I am far from oblivious to the fact that there are members of this site who are not happy with the author presence. In fact, if some of these members had their way, there would be no author presence on this site at all. Still, I am dumbfounded that a handful of authors are trying to dictate the goings on here in The Book Bazaar as if they owned this site simply because they were here first. For the record, I am all for change. But as that change comes, I do hope the overenthusiastic authors who are clamoring for this change know exactly what they're doing.


----------



## Kevis Hendrickson (Feb 28, 2009)

CS said:


> Kevis, no one is p*ssed off at anyone else. You are taking all of this way too personally. The only thing anyone wants is a cleaner, easier, more streamlined KB experience that's beneficial to both readers and authors. That's a learning process with some growing pains along the way. If I had to guess (and this is purely a guess), there will probably be more changes in how things are structured. Authors shouldn't look at that negatively. No one is trying to push anyone aside.
> 
> We're all readers here. We want to read. And if your book sounds interesting enough, we'll read it. No matter what other changes are made to the board, that fundamental fact will never change.


I agree we are all readers here. And no, I am not taking this too personally. My only concern, my real concern, is that I don't feel that enough voices have been heard on this subject. I keep seeing the same one or two KB members beating the drums and I am afraid that they will be the ones to determine the fate of the authors here on KB instead of "the readers" and moderators. That's my only concern.

But to allay your fears. I'm not really angry. Just a concerned KB member and hopefully model citizen.


----------



## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

At this point, I'd recommend that we all step away from the computers and have the soothing beverage of our choice.  Or work out, which I'm going to do.  There are some good discussion points here.  I want to assure all of you that the authors are VERY much wanted here, by ALL of our active membership, as far as I know, and that we're not planning on mandating any change in the near future until we see how things work out with the recent restructuring.  

We appreciate members working to continue to make KindleBoards the fun, close community it always has been.  These kinds of civil discussions are essential to continuing the sense of community.

A message from your friendly moderator.
Betsy (see previous message for my hat).


----------



## CS (Nov 3, 2008)

Kevis, I can't speak for other people, but I definitely want the authors here. If anyone doesn't want them, they're in the minority, believe me. As you can see from my sig, most of my "recently read" books have been from authors here.


----------



## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Betsy, you forgot: If Hugh is reading your book, you can tell us and it's not a bump.


Now I don't know about Hugh, but Elijah Wood (sigh) signed my broadsheet (he can sign anything of mine he wants). Does that consititute a single bump or a triple bump. I'd say double bump, but that might be too . . . misconstrued.

Edward C. Patterson
considering starting a "comedy thread called" What Kind of Bump did you Have today?


----------



## Shizu (Oct 27, 2008)

When all the book promotions were in the Book Corner, maybe some of the member might had bad thought about authors being in KB since the promotions were affecting the other discussions. But now with The Book Bazaar, I feel not that many feel negative about the authors here. I for one, like CS, like the authors being here. (I'm member of my favorite authors' forum/group so I like being around author.  )


----------



## geoffthomas (Feb 27, 2009)

Hmmm.
This very useful thread seems to need some new "blood".

Thus far there are only about 6 or so authors expounding.

And a handful of non-author members.

So I will add my 42 cents worth.

I would like to say that when I joined - late Feb. there were fewer authors.  And several of them were so low key that most of us thought that they were non-author members. Participated in all kinds of discussions, just like the rest of us.  I'll even bet that their writing talents improved the average content of posts.
We have even had a non-author member (Gertie) become an author (Yay! loved AP).
Today several of the author-members continue to participate in lots of threads, Jeff, Sig, Ed, Mike, and Gertie just to name a few.  Doing so makes them seem to be here for more than just to sell their books. Although just trying to sell books is ok by me. And guess what, the approved book avatar and signature line entry kinda does advertise the "current book" or whatever.  I like Jeff's changing avatar and I like some others who have a permanent book avatar and the "current" one in the signature.  Smart marketing.  Especially if they are "petite" and don't scream at me (the avatars that is, not the authors).
So the mods have been trying to keep everyone happy and keep the boards organized.  Not easy.
For a while there was a lot of multiple posts by authors in all kinds of threads about their marvelous books.  Add to that noise was the fact that the number of authors had increased.....a lot.
So, not surprisingly, there came a lot of screaming from non-author members about the "abusive" authors.  And I think all authors perhaps had their feelings hurt.  So the current change to "banish" (can't come up with a better word on short notice) the authors promotional posts to the Book Bazaar came about.  Nice work.
And I like Mike's suggestions here.  A highly published author acquaintance of mine (not on this forum) has said that it is real hard to balance writing with self-promotion of the work. That is what "established" authors expect publishing houses and/or agents to do.  But Mike has suggested some restraint here.  And I feel for authors like Ed who have a body of work.  Yet I don't really want to see 20 or 30 Ed promos willy-nilly on the forum.  But notice that Ed has also acted with restraint.

I would also point out that the mods allow the Book Klubs to give a lot of exposure to an author (note both Mike and Boyd's ongoing ones).  And the system allows interested non-authors to create threads to explore all kinds of discussion of works that they care about.  I have started two myself for works that I like that have not gone into Book Klub but that I wanted to discuss and that the author was kind enough to participate in.  If this gives the work more exposure....good.  I am not, nor are others who are doing similar threads, in league with the author.  I am not related to the author.  And I intend to open other threads for other works in the future...with the mods blessing - to my knowledge.

So my point is.....mainly to Kevis.....that there is much welcome to authors here.  We would of course welcome a Tom Clancy or a Nora Roberts a little bit more. But we welcome the Indie because you all have brought us your works and they are neat.  But we want some peace here too.
And I think that the Mods have given us some and I think that the voluntary recommendations of Mike and Ed and others here will bring more.

So now you have heard from one more non-author.

Just sayin......


----------



## Mom of 4 (Oct 27, 2008)

Kevis Hendrickson said:


> Are the vast majority of Kindle Board members really so ticked off with the authors here? I have found the people here on Kindle Boards to be nothing but gracious and kind. Where are you getting your information that the Kindle Board members are unhappy with us? Please let me know so that I can learn what you are learning.


As a reader, "ticked off" isn't the right expression, but, (prior to the book bazaar) annoyed, exasperated and overwhelmed was. I am not much of a poster, but have logged on practically everyday since joining last October. I have to admit that for awhile, I would log on, see the "author spam" (as I thought of it) and get so annoyed, I would log off almost immediately. The Book Bazaar has been a good start, but I have to admit I still don't frequent it often. I am much more likely to click on a link to a book when it is mixed up with an actual discussion as opposed to it's own book thread. (An example is the "Who is your favorite character" thread. I liked one author's description of their protagonist and sampled, then bought, the book.) I have also bought books from authors here simply because I enjoy their posts in the "not quite kindle forum." I had not however, bought even one book from what I called the "spam threads."

Just my 2 cents. (Not worth Geoff's 42  )


----------



## Shizu (Oct 27, 2008)

When I like a book, I like to know more about that author and other books by that author and read them all. So I like the idea of "one author, one thread". I think the Book Bazaar will look more neat and easier to navigate too. All I have to look for is the Author thread, see what that particular author work. I can look for author by author for the books.


----------



## Shizu (Oct 27, 2008)

Mom of 4 said:


> I had not however, bought even one book from what I called the "spam threads."


same


----------



## Michael R. Hicks (Oct 29, 2008)

Kevis Hendrickson said:


> I keep seeing the same one or two KB members beating the drums and I am afraid that they will be the ones to determine the fate of the authors here on KB instead of "the readers" and moderators. That's my only concern.


Kevis - I'd like to hear from more authors, as well. That's why I started this thread, and also why I labeled it "For Authors: A Suggestion To Ponder." By my count, we've heard from a total of ten authors (including myself) in this thread so far (sorry, Geoff, but I think you missed a couple!  ). If I read the posts correctly, eight believe the idea is worth some consideration, one clearly is against it, and one thinks it's a good idea that might be worth consideration but about which there are some serious concerns.

So, I'd certainly like to hear from more authors and readers out there who have ideas, opinions, or pictures of super-kool hats. 

Also, I guess I have to reiterate that - aside from those of us authors who may decide to do this on our own - this "one-author/one-thread" concept is not a rule. It's just an idea for discussion. So if you wanna do it, power to ya! If you don't, power to ya!

Finally, Kevis, you can choose to think of me what you will, but I have absolutely no more clout here than you or anybody else does: The Power is with Harvey and the mod squad where it belongs. I just had an idea that I thought might be interesting and potentially beneficial to the community and peacefully expressed my opinion. If people choose to agree - great! If people choose to disagree - great! If the mods kick it around and decide to do something with it later - great! If they think it's a horrible idea and want to take away the Kool Atomic Hat that Gertie gave me - great! Well, except for taking the hat - they're gonna have to catch me first! It's all good as far as I'm concerned...

Oh, for those who missed it earlier (I think it's been a while since it's appeared), here is the Kool Atomic Hat (the latest in style!):










Oh, I lied. This is "finally" - it's time for me to get offa here and get back to writing - there's a space battle going on and I'm missing it!!


----------



## Kathy (Nov 5, 2008)

I also love having the authors here. I think that this was a suggestion to help organize the Book Bazaar a little better. Ed, I realize you have a lot of books, but it gets a little overwhelming trying to keep up with all of your posts. If your books are part of a series, maybe you could lump those together to cut down on the number of threads. I visit the Book Bazaar daily and try to read all of the threads, but it would be so nice if I could go to one author's thread and look at all of their books at once.



kreelanwarrior said:


> Oh, and while we're at it, one more spin on this concept to ponder: to make it REALLY easy for readers to find us KB authors, how 'bout if the individual author threads were organized into a sub-board (or whatever) in the book bazaar or wherever else might be appropriate?
> 
> That way, if a reader wants to take a browse through what the KB authors have available, they can just pop into that thread list where the only things will be author threads: no clutter, no junk, no spam. And there won't be a bazillion threads to go through - how many active (by that I mean folks who post on KB enough to have at least minimal name recognition) authors do we have here? A couple/few dozen maybe?
> 
> I believe that readers will quickly find authors and books that they'd like to sample, and also know exactly where to go to get more...


I really liked the idea of having the sub-boards. That would be perfect. You could go to the author and find all of the books at once.


----------



## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

In another thread, Ed Patterson predicted many, many more authors joining KindleBoards very soon. If Ed's prophesy proves to be true, and if the authors join at a faster rate than regular members, the proportion of author promotions will get too high and the readers will flee. Do we want to discuss that now or wait until it reaches critical mass?

Just for the record: As one of the first authors to join KindleBoards, I believe that Mike's only reason for starting this thread was sincere concern for the future of KindleBoards.


----------



## Carol Hanrahan (Mar 31, 2009)

Been reading and pondering this thread a lot, and can tell you I cannot yet make up my mind what to do.  So, so far am doing nothing.  That could change, of course.
Kevis and Michael, you have started your single threads, brave of you to swim into new waters.  How are your sales going?  Too early to say for sure, probably.  We authors want to be a part of the community, but also sell our work.  No one wants to hinder their sales.  I notice Kevis and Michael have views in their threads, but so far no replies.  I continue to watch and wonder.
I think I might give it a while, and see how it goes for these brave authors.   If readers speak up enough, probably many authors will hear their wishes and abide by them.  Of course not everyone will, and we should respect those authors' decisions as well.  We aren't cookie-cutter writers and each has their own reason for making their own decisions.  It's what makes us a great group!

I'll be quiet now..........


----------



## Kathy (Nov 5, 2008)

Carol Hanrahan said:


> Been reading and pondering this thread a lot, and can tell you I cannot yet make up my mind what to do. So, so far am doing nothing. That could change, of course.
> Kevis and Michael, you have started your single threads, brave of you to swim into new waters. How are your sales going? Too early to say for sure, probably. We authors want to be a part of the community, but also sell our work. No one wants to hinder their sales. I notice Kevis and Michael have views in their threads, but so far no replies. I continue to watch and wonder.
> I think I might give it a while, and see how it goes for these brave authors. If readers speak up enough, probably many authors will hear their wishes and abide by them. Of course not everyone will, and we should respect those authors' decisions as well. We aren't cookie-cutter writers and each has their own reason for making their own decisions. It's what makes us a great group!
> 
> I'll be quiet now..........


You removed your links. Carol, you are never a problem. I like being able to click on your books.  I bought them for my vacation with my grandsons. I have one that will love to read them.


----------



## jesspark (Jan 12, 2009)

Another non-author chiming in here!

I think Mike's idea sounds pretty great -- it allows for a more streamlined Book Bazaar, and it'd be really convenient to have a "one-stop shop" for all things [insert author's name here]. Linking to that thread in one's signature is a perfect, non-intrusive way to give your readers access to your full list of titles, your bio, and whatever else you think is appropriate for your book thread.

It's not the best comparison (especially since I haven't updated the thread in ages), but I use the same approach with my Kindle screensavers: in order to avoid spamming everyone with a new thread every time I post a screensaver, I keep them all -- regardless of genre or theme -- in their own thread, "Screensavers by jesspark: take two!" (the first attempt was hijacked when I took a break from KindleBoards). That way, the most you're going to see is that single thread moving up when I have new screensavers to add or when someone replies to the ones already posted. Beats every other thread in the Photo Gallery being by jesspark, you know? =)

I think doing something similar for books would be good for both authors _and_ readers. As it is now, the Book Bazaar is a wonderful alternative to the formerly-cluttered Book Corner, but I think adopting Mike's suggestion will make for an even _more_ user-friendly experience here on the boards. If you, as an author, want to continue having twenty different threads for your twenty different books, that's cool -- and it's certainly playing by the current KindleBoards rules -- but I know that I, personally, will be more likely to pay attention to the authors who choose to consolidate their threads because I won't have to wade through a dozen different topics to find out if they offer something that strikes my fancy.

Overall, some variation of "one author, one thread" just seems like an easier, better-organized system to navigate than what we have right now.


----------



## Carolyn Kephart (Feb 23, 2009)

Jeff said:


> In another thread, Ed Patterson predicted many, many more authors joining KindleBoards very soon. If Ed's prophesy proves to be true, and if the authors join at a faster rate than regular members, the proportion of author promotions will get too high and the readers will flee. Do we want to discuss that now or wait until it reaches critical mass?


More authors joining seems inevitable, given Kindle popularity and 'regular' publishing houses doing the belly-up.

Discussion is a necessity now, since critical mass invites detonations.

Writerly regards,

CK


----------



## Greg Banks (May 2, 2009)

>>But I think it's clear from the events that led to the creation of the book bazaar and the implementation of all the new rules that the bottom line is that the KB community doesn't want to be advertised to. <<

Couple of last comments I'd like to make here.

First of all, this is supposed to be a reasonable discussion, and until recently it has been. Over-generalized garbage statements like the one above (sorry, no personal offense meant, but that's how I see that statement), does nothing but hurt the case of us authors who are supposed to be trying to fit in here. Divisiveness and hostility toward each other solves nothing, and I thought all of us here were reasonable, intelligent human beings all with the same goal, and thus could avoid such silliness. Was I wrong? That also goes for authors pointing fingers at other authors. If I start a thread expecting a certain group of people to respond, and only a portion of that group does respond, that is not a conspiracy nor my fault. The very same thing has applied to this thread. If only a handful of authors have posted here, that is no one's fault but the authors who have not posted. Making accusations that anyone is trying to take over is highly unfair.

Now are we going to behave like authors with common sense or are we going to keep pointing fingers at each other and prove those few who maybe want us gone that we should be kicked out? After seeing how fast this thread deteriorated for no reason whatsoever, I feel like kicking myself out of KB for just associating myself as an author.


----------



## Carolyn Kephart (Feb 23, 2009)

Greg Banks said:


> After seeing how fast this thread deteriorated for no reason whatsoever, I feel like kicking myself out of KB for just associating myself as an author.


Huh? 

I thought it was going great. Definitely a learning experience.

CK


----------



## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Greg

Yikes. You're here. If I had known, I would have never joined. lololol  

This thread is spending itself out. I took my opinion to the moderators and promised not to be nothing more than be a model Kindleboarder. I was refreshed by Gertie's honesty, but trust me other authors will be here. I have had many, many inquiries from authors as to how I've achieved success as an Indie author, and on my list of To Dos is to join Kindleboards and participate as a member.  Whether we have one thread per author, one thread per book, a page with our names spelled out in anagrams, an thread in invisible ink or a half a thread for half a book (or better still, one thread for a book over 400 pages and a 1/4 of a thread and half your name for book less than 127 pages) - whatever it is, I'll live with it. However, nothing will be happening in the near future.

Ed Patterson
BTW: Greg, dear friend - I went to the doctor today for a checkup and he told me that . . . I won't be donating my body to science. Oh well. They're stuck with mice and skinks.


----------



## Carol Hanrahan (Mar 31, 2009)

(guess I wasn't as quiet as I promised!)

You have one line to try to capture someone's attention - your subject line.  My fear is that I will have a new subject line that will go something like this:

Bargain book and short stories by Carol Hanrahan - 0.80 each.  

Is that catchy enough to attract the attention of someone who would like to read a young adult novel, a horsey short story, a werewolf story, and/or a children's bedtime story?  If all my work were along the same lines as many authors are, say sci fi, it would be easier to come up with that one line which could catch the readers attention.  You want to come up with something to set yourself a little bit apart,to generate interest.  I think that is more difficult for authors who have written in different genres to do than authors who stay with the same genre, if you only have a single thread.

Ohhh, and Thanks, Kathy!


----------



## jesspark (Jan 12, 2009)

Carol Hanrahan said:


> (guess I wasn't as quiet as I promised!)
> 
> You have one line to try to capture someone's attention - your subject line. My fear is that I will have a new subject line that will go something like this:
> 
> ...


Don't forget, Carol, you also have the opportunity to briefly describe your work in your signature -- and your signature gets as much mileage as your participation in the boards! =)

With your description in your signature letting people know that you've written an eclectic mix -- everything from young adult to horsey to werewolf to a children's bedtime story -- and then providing a convenient link to click on to access your author thread, I think that's a pretty decent way to get the word out beyond the subject line of your thread itself.

I love signatures as a means of spreading information; I don't want to see them become huge and obnoxious, but I trust most KindleBoards authors to know what's appropriate and what's over-the-top. From what I've seen of you, Carol, you're in no danger of stepping over the line.


----------



## Greg Banks (May 2, 2009)

It has been going great Carolyn but both Mike and Kevis made some statements that I don't feel added anything more than unnecessary strife here, and I chose to express my displeasure with that.

Ed,

Who wants to be stuck in a freezer an re-animated in a hundred years anyway?


----------



## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

I'm taking Susan of Virginia's advice when I went over the 1,000 books sold mark two days ago. She told me that now I need 1,000 posts. I'm only 337 posts to go. I think I'll look for my tights and balloon pants now, so I can be William Shakespeare.  

Edward C. Patterson
aka Blanche the Fair and Miss Chatty and soon, Mr. Willy Shakespeare.


----------



## Kevis Hendrickson (Feb 28, 2009)

kreelanwarrior said:


> Finally, Kevis, you can choose to think of me what you will, but I have absolutely no more clout here than you or anybody else does: The Power is with Harvey and the mod squad where it belongs. I just had an idea that I thought might be interesting and potentially beneficial to the community and peacefully expressed my opinion. If people choose to agree - great! If people choose to disagree - great! If the mods kick it around and decide to do something with it later - great! If they think it's a horrible idea and want to take away the Kool Atomic Hat that Gertie gave me - great! Well, except for taking the hat - they're gonna have to catch me first! It's all good as far as I'm concerned...


Mike,

For the record, I have no problems with you or anyone else here. In fact, I've had your book "In Her Name" in my Amazon cart for quite some time now (I featured it in about 10 different Amazon Listmania lists!) and look forward to reading it. Here's where the real problem lies. Emoticons! Or lack thereof of being used! 

It's very hard to communicate via cyberspace with all our emotional content removed from our posts. I am not angry, nor have I objected to the ideas you have proposed. In fact, as I mentioned before, I had been planning to consolidate all of my books onto one thread long before anyone here on this site mentioned it (however, it is kind of difficult to do so if you only have one book in publication). 

I both admire and respect all the authors here and their opinions. But I cannot state it enough. We need to have more voices heard on this subject. Thankfully, KB members (authors and non-authors alike) are chiming in to let us know their thoughts. I would also hope that everyone isn't getting so caught up with the language of my posts, that they fail to realize exactly what I am saying. I am in favor of the "one author, one thread" system! The Book Bazaar could become quite unnavigatable if it is inundated with too many individual threads by too many authors. And this is likely to be the case when Kindle Boards becomes popular with more authors. Unfortunately, I am not sure the system will work for every single author. I have only 2 books now that are both comparable in nature (fantasy and sci-fi). What happens when I decide to write a biography about George Washington or a book of sonnets? Will the "one author, one thread" rule still make sense?

My only warning is to make certain that we take into consideration all that such a system would entail. Betsy has done a fine job of explaining the posting situation. But up until her post, I was confused about how the one bump a week rule would affect our ability to communicate with our readers if we adopt this one author, one thread system. I don't like the idea of blindly jumping into things and carefully weighed out my actions before I created my author thread. I am not entirely sure that there will be no downside to using this new system. It will be interesting to see how it plays out for the few of us who decide to become pioneers in this unexplored territory.


----------



## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Greg Banks said:


> Who wants to be stuck in a freezer an re-animated in a hundred years anyway?


But Greg, I can come back and check on my posthumous sales, and read what the critics are saying about my "middle period" books, and then there's listening to all those complaining teenagers that are forced to read No Irish Need Apply as required reading(yuke). (I WISH). Hey this thread is turning out to be fun. 

Edward C. Patterson


----------



## Carolyn Kephart (Feb 23, 2009)

Carol Hanrahan said:


> You have one line to try to capture someone's attention - your subject line.


The beauty part is that you can change that one line again and again, with no objectionable bumpage. 

CK


----------



## CS (Nov 3, 2008)

I thought the thread was going great too, and I still think that.

However, overreactionary comments aren't going to help matters any.

Yes, I am referring to Greg's post. Nothing against Greg personally. I think it's great that he's here and sharing his work with us. My reading list (see sig) confirms that I am a huge fan of our authors here. And I've read more than what's listed in my sig (I had to chop it down because of the board's word count limitation on sigs).

But calling someone else's post "garbage" or going off the deep end with statements like "I feel like kicking myself out of KB for just associating myself as an author" are hardly healthy or constructive ways to add to the debate.

NOTE TO AUTHORS: *Nobody wants you to leave. Nobody wants to drive you off. Nobody thinks you guys are diminishing the board in any way with your contributions.

In fact, I think we're all happy to have you here and we appreciate that you're sharing your work with us.*

With that said, creating a false "us vs. them" scenario that *simply does not exist, except in your own mind*, is not the best way to handle any changes that are being suggested. Come on now! (Obviously, this does not apply to every author - but it seems a couple of authors here feel like they are unwanted or somehow "at odds" with the general membership. That simply isn't the case from where I sit.)


----------



## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Kevis Hendrickson said:


> I am not entirely sure that there will be no downside to using this new system. It will be interesting to see how it plays out for the few of us who decide to become pioneers in this unexplored territory.


Kevis:

There is no "new system," and the pioneers are not pioneers, but are choosing for one reason or another to do what they do,not by any system. The moderator(s) have said, there will be no change in the immediate future.

Now Kevis, you and I (and others here) went through a real trial by fire with The First Chapter Project, if you recall. There was a place where rules were screwy, and guess what . . . The First Chapter Project is gone . . . no where to be found.

Ed P


----------



## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Carolyn Kephart said:


> The beauty part is that you can change that one line again and again, with no objectionable bumpage.
> 
> CK


Carolyn:

I didn't think about that. All that and bumpage too. Yoohoo!

Drawed C. Nosrettap


----------



## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

CS said:


> NOTE TO AUTHORS: *Nobody wants you to leave. Nobody wants to drive you off. Nobody thinks you guys are diminishing the board in any way with your contributions.
> 
> In fact, I think we're all happy to have you here and we appreciate that you're sharing your work with us.*


I think I'll stay

Generally loved, Ed


----------



## Kathy (Nov 5, 2008)

Carol Hanrahan said:


> (guess I wasn't as quiet as I promised!)
> 
> You have one line to try to capture someone's attention - your subject line. My fear is that I will have a new subject line that will go something like this:
> 
> ...


As a grandmother to 8 little boys and 1 little girl that I love to read to, I would suggest that you put something in that says that a young audience would enjoy your books. 2 of my older grandsons love to read and they have the Ipod Touch, which I bought, that they read on. I enjoy buying books that I know they will read. Short stories are great because they they can read them quickly and will sit and read the whole book on a rainy afternoon.


----------



## Kevis Hendrickson (Feb 28, 2009)

Greg Banks said:


> It has been going great Carolyn but both Mike and Kevis made some statements that I don't feel added anything more than unnecessary strife here, and I chose to express my displeasure with that.


Greg,

I'm not going to keep repeating myself. But if you and everyone else pay close attention to what I am saying, you'll see that my posts are not derisive or inflammatory. I have not yet stooped so low as to call anyone names or to belittle their comments. I'm smarter than that. Mike created this thread with the best of intentions and he has been a source of wonderful ideas. I applaud him for trying to suggest new ways to improve this site. But this is not a dictatorship and somewhere along the line my point of calling for more voices to be heard on this subject have been missed.

We have many authors here on KB and that number will continue to grow as word gets out. It makes total sense to prepare for the new wave of authors that will soon arrive. But at the same time, I would like for everyone who is suggesting changes to consider all viewpoints, not just those that affect themselves. I only have 2 book published, so ultimately it doesn't hurt me whichever way things go. But if, and I mean IF, the proposed idea of having one author thread were to become a rule, I cannot say in full confidence that it will work out for everyone.

But I agree with Ed. I strive to be a model citizen on this forum. So whatever rules are enacted, I will be happy to play by them.


----------



## Kevis Hendrickson (Feb 28, 2009)

edwpat said:


> Kevis:
> 
> There is no "new system," and the pioneers are not pioneers, but are choosing for one reason or another to do what they do,not by any system. The moderator(s) have said, there will be no change in the immediate future.
> 
> ...


I hear ya, Ed. Just stating my case that whatever system everyone is for (and it is a system even if only in theory) that everyone consider all options.


----------



## Greg Banks (May 2, 2009)

>>With that said, creating a false "us vs. them" scenario that simply does not exist, except in your own mind, is not the best way to handle any changes that are being suggested. Come on now! (Obviously, this does not apply to every author - but it seems a couple of authors here feel like they are unwanted or somehow "at odds" with the general membership. That simply isn't the case from where I sit.)<<

Actually, that was part of what I was reacting to. I thought Mike's comment was unfair, since I have felt extremely welcomed since the moment I joined. He keeps suggesting that we're being pushed aside, when in fact I've found the exact opposite to be true. Making that accusation does nothing but create strife where none exists.

Kevis,

Perhaps I misread something, but my understanding was that you were suggesting that perhaps this thread was about a few imposing their ideas on the others, and I objected to that. Did I misunderstand you?

I'm sorry if I reacted too strongly, but as Ed and others who know me can tell you all, when I express myself, I do so passionately.


----------



## Michael R. Hicks (Oct 29, 2008)

Carol Hanrahan said:


> (guess I wasn't as quiet as I promised!)


Good! 



> You have one line to try to capture someone's attention - your subject line.


One thing to keep in mind is that in a concept like this, ideally (in my mind, for what that's worth) the only threads in a given section would be the author threads. Which means that there wouldn't be a bazillion of them. So, _in theory_, your thread wouldn't have an inordinate amount of competition. If we had 100 active authors who maintained threads, there would be that many in the thread list. Sounds like a lot, but in a list format it would be a couple/few pages. And as authors and readers add new posts, those threads are going to circulate up and down, which will help get up on the front page periodically. And I suspect that many KB readers are going to go through all those threads at least once, and again periodically if a new author comes in.

And, as someone else noted, you can always change your subject line and your signature to reflect the latest goings-on with your work.


----------



## Dori (Oct 28, 2008)

Great ideas Mike.  Hope you can get enough of the authors to try this approach to make it a Kindleboards rule.  There are certain authors (at least one in partricular) that has caused the problems in the first place and probably no one really expected that they would follow along.


----------



## Greg Banks (May 2, 2009)

I think any author who indeed always has many updates to add should just use common sense and post judiciously. Nothing wrong with posting news updates in a blog-like fashion, where maybe you do a summary once or twice or week. Because to be quite honest, if I had long or detailed information to post, I'd be more inclined to put it in one of my blogs and just post a link to it here. I really think the one consolidated thread idea will make things a whole lot easier for everyone.


----------



## Kevis Hendrickson (Feb 28, 2009)

Greg Banks said:


> >>With that said, creating a false "us vs. them" scenario that simply does not exist, except in your own mind, is not the best way to handle any changes that are being suggested. Come on now! (Obviously, this does not apply to every author - but it seems a couple of authors here feel like they are unwanted or somehow "at odds" with the general membership. That simply isn't the case from where I sit.)<<
> 
> Actually, that was part of what I was reacting to. I thought Mike's comment was unfair, since I have felt extremely welcomed since the moment I joined. He keeps suggesting that we're being pushed aside, when in fact I've found the exact opposite to be true. Making that accusation does nothing but create strife where none exists.
> 
> ...


I think this thread is a great idea and has allowed us to voice our concerns about something that affects every person who frequents this site. I am just as passionate about my beliefs as you are Greg and perhaps a little too quick to leap into the fray of an little intellectual debate (ahem!) discussion.

I think what troubles me is that in the last couple of weeks we had a couple of authors who bowed out (and not gracefully) out of being members on Kindle Boards. Both authors left this site due to a feeling of estrangement. They felt they were being unfairly attacked (true or not) by non-author Kindle Board members.

My problem is that I don't like the idea of anyone trying to make one group of KB members feel different than any other because of some false classification, even if it isn't that person's intentions. We should be careful of some of our rhetoric. Because it can lead to suggestions that could be misconstrued as being anti-author or anti-reader and ghettoizes certain segments of this community. That's what I objected to.

But now that I've explained myself and cleared the air on exactly what I was opining about, I just want to give everyone a big fat bear hug!


----------



## Kathy (Nov 5, 2008)

Thanks Kevis.


----------



## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

Jeff said:


> In another thread, Ed Patterson predicted many, many more authors joining KindleBoards very soon. If Ed's prophesy proves to be true, and if the authors join at a faster rate than regular members, the proportion of author promotions will get too high and the readers will flee. Do we want to discuss that now or wait until it reaches critical mass?


Exactly, and we need to be fair to them as well as to those who are here now.



Carolyn Kephart said:


> The beauty part is that you can change that one line again and again, with no objectionable bumpage.
> 
> CK


Again, exactly. That's the beauty of it. I can change any time to

J. Worthington Foxworthy presents
Grampa Jones' Home Brew Remedies
A guaranteed cure in every bottle
(sorry, no samples, Grampa drank them all)

besides posting text links in my sig (images for now)



Greg Banks said:


> I think any author who indeed always has many updates to add should just use common sense and post judiciously. Nothing wrong with posting news updates in a blog-like fashion, where maybe you do a summary once or twice or week. Because to be quite honest, if I had long or detailed information to post, I'd be more inclined to put it in one of my blogs and just post a link to it here. I really think the one consolidated thread idea will make things a whole lot easier for everyone.


Glad to hear that, Greg. I really like your idea of linking to your blog.

I intend to adopt this suggestion. If I make a second thread for my next book, the first one will die off completely. If I keep them both together in one thread, I think I have a better chance of keeping them both updated.


----------



## Greg Banks (May 2, 2009)

Unfortunately, I don't know anything about the authors who left or why (I tend to be out of the loop sometimes), but one thing I know from 14 years experience in online community settings is that sometimes a community can be of the type that turns certain people away, but it's equally as possible for someone, based on their own actions or just the way they see the community in their own minds, can push themselves away. But based upon my experience here, you'd have to be really bad to be pushed away by the people here. I'm inclined to think the authors who left did so because they could not or would not adapt to the evolving rules. Everything evolves and changes over time, and it's impossible for any of us to be wary of causing harm to the relationship with others when some choose to see such things where they don't exist, know what I mean?

I completely understand and appreciate your concerns, Kevis, but I think those authors left due to their own issues, and not based on actions taking place here. As long as we all have the same ultimate agenda, those two authors are of little concern, at least to me, because I've certainly experienced no anti-author sentiments here whatsoever. No one can please everyone, and if the things being done here were truly causing reasons for concern, it'd be obvious by a widespread outcry.

As an aside, I sold almost as many ebooks in May as I had sold in the previous 13 months combined, and that's directly attributable to the wonderful people here. The Book Bazaar hasn't hurt my visibility, and I haven't had to artificially bump my threads. I also don't even have threads for all my Kindle books here. I think this new idea will only help things all the more. Those authors who left made a mistake, in my opinion, because there isn't a more author-friendly website anywhere on the Net.


----------



## Kevis Hendrickson (Feb 28, 2009)

Greg Banks said:


> Those authors who left made a mistake, in my opinion, because there isn't a more author-friendly website anywhere on the Net.


I could not agree more.


----------



## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

Over the last seven or eight months, many members (readers and writers) have left over real or imagined slights and insults. That's the nature of a forum and of this one in particular. We're like an extended family in some ways. We butt heads occasionally, usually get over it, but sometimes we don't.

If it was up to me I'd create a sticky ("Talk to the author: John/Jane Doe") topic for every author and enforce the "bumpage" rules that Betsy mentioned. With his 20 books Ed would always be near the top of the thread and I'd be near the bottom but anyone interested could find my books easily enough.


----------



## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Greg Banks said:


> Those authors who left made a mistake, in my opinion, because there isn't a more author-friendly website anywhere on the Net.


Awww, y'all are making me tear up! Thanks for the bear hug, Kevis!

Seriously, folks, love the discussion! Y'all are doing a good job.

Did I mention that all author subjects have to be anagrams starting next week? <ducking and running>

Betsy


----------



## geoffthomas (Feb 27, 2009)

See now I really like where this is going.
There probably is something that we ALL need that will make things better.
Some way of streamlining Book Advertising here at KB.

I would love to have a place where I could go and look over the goods, so to speak, read reviews by KBers.  It would be neat to be able to tell which reviews were written by other authors even.  I know that I take slightly more seriously the recommendation of an author whose work I like than someone that I don't really know.  Just as I take the views of some of our more esteemed non-authors whose opinions I value.

Unfortuneately I can't describe the exact form even I think it should take.

Perhaps like a goodreads enclosed in KB?


----------



## Kevis Hendrickson (Feb 28, 2009)

I love that idea! Reading reviews by KB members would be too much fun. Someone should really look into making this a reality!


----------



## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

*Oh, Polo Grade Nets* by Edward C. Patterson

Betsy, that's Hard. We should run a contest also, free copy of the book if a reader can decipher the anagram and make the purchase. I still like the invisible ink option. Lemon juice, I believe. 

Warden C. Trapesote
aka Miss Hatcyt


----------



## MAGreen (Jan 5, 2009)

The Dragon's Pool


----------



## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

And the winner is MA Green. And you win a full set of The Jade Owl Legacy Series (The Jade Owl, The Third Peregrination and The Dragon's Pool), your choice of format. send me an email to [email protected]  If you have any one of these (or all), go to my new Amazon's Author's Page http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B002BMI6X8  and pick any three books from my catalog (you know from this thread there are 12), and they are yours. I have a stock of non-DRM Kindle books. If you want DTB, include a shippig address.

Edward C. Patterson


----------



## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

Another non-author's $ 0.02 worth --

The recent changes, far from ghetto-izing the authors as some feared, have caused me to read_ more_ of their posts, not fewer. Not in the advertising threads. But because with the Bazaar the authors now have their own "den", their private library, their smoke-filed room, they've started various threads on the technical details of writing, and I'm finding those fascinating. As a result, I've read a bunch of posts by authors I didn't know at all previously, and guess what? if I like what they have to say, and like the way they write, I go sample and/or buy their books. I think that some of those authors were lying low pre-Bazaar because they didn't want to be seen as advertising too much. Now that they feel more free to voice their opinions, I'd be surprised if there weren't a positive effect on book sales as well, just because of the increased visibility of the _authors_, not of their books.

As for the one-thread-per-author idea, it seems to me that it would work just fine. Even, nay _especially_, for authors with many books. I'm currently reading the first book in a series and I would much prefer to go to the first post in that author's Main Thread to find the book list which will tell me what order the next four books are supposed to be in, rather than browsing through a dozen or more threads to find the right ones.

But since there are different opinions on this, can't those authors who think it's a good idea simply try it out, as a couple of you have already done? Then after a few weeks or months you'll know what the effect (if any) is on sales, and non-author readers will also have more realistic feedback to offer. And those who don't like the idea, well, just stick with the current rules!

And to all the authors here: Personally I think it's great that you're here, and actively participating. A friendly, chatty, funny, or insightful post does more to sell your books than ten posts just telling me that you've written one. I'd wager that the majority of non-authors feels that way. So lighten up, y'all, we don't want to see a sales pitch at every corner but we do want you here!!


----------



## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

edwpat said:


> Edward C. Patterson
> considering starting a "comedy thread called" What Kind of Bump did you Have today?


Now there's a thread we need. Perhaps with a slightly different title....


----------



## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

I know I should do it, but there was a request for my China picture thread and I am thinking of the Author Biogrphy thread. I'm brimming with ideas to clutter Kindleboards with nonsense that everyone reads.  

Edward C. Patterson


----------



## Brenda Carroll (May 21, 2009)

Susan in VA said:


> And to all the authors here: Personally I think it's great that you're here, and actively participating. A friendly, chatty, funny, or insightful post does more to sell your books than ten posts just telling me that you've written one. I'd wager that the majority of non-authors feels that way. So lighten up, y'all, we don't want to see a sales pitch at every corner but we do want you here!!


Thanks, Susan, and I really mean that little reader girl... lady... err... whatever you like insert here:_____.
This is a wonderful airing out thread and though I have a hard time understanding most of it because I tend to be witty, wise and wonderful all the time , I'm gratified to hear from someone who appreciates a little humor and self-deprecation now and then. LOL!! Gotta love it!


----------



## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

edwpat said:


> I know I should do it, but there was a request for my China picture thread and I am thinking of the Author Biogrphy thread. I'm brimming with ideas to clutter Kindleboards with nonsense that everyone reads.
> 
> Edward C. Patterson


Well I just did it for you.

It might have a slightly different theme than you intended, though. 

(If it's the *same* theme, I'll amend the post to point out that it was your idea!)


----------



## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

Brendan Carroll said:


> Thanks, Susan, and I really mean that little reader girl... lady... err... whatever you like insert here:_____.


Whatever I like?? Hmmm.... I suppose "Your Majesty" is already taken.... 

-- The Little Reader Girl


----------



## Carol Hanrahan (Mar 31, 2009)

Susan, you're a gem


----------



## Keith Blenman (May 31, 2009)

I'm starting to wonder how effective this format is. It's still a little too early to tell, but before when I was discussing one, individual story and occasionally bumping the thread, I'd sell a few. Since I've let those threads slip (on amazon.com, I'm still new here!) and instead went with one that discusses all of my work, I haven't sold one story. I'll give it a few more days, but I'm starting to wonder if people are less inclined to read it because there's so much in one posting?


----------



## Carol Hanrahan (Mar 31, 2009)

Keith,
We will all be interested to hear how your sales are going.  Please keep us posted.


----------



## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

I believe that the Amazon DTP is not function today (and perhaps yesterday). Updates are all stuck, and I haven't had a sale in 2 days. I may have had one this morning, but the sales report doesn;t reflect it and the ranking indicate sales activity. So Keith, be aware that your tracking may be off.

Edward C. Patterson

PS: Has anyone had a sale in their DTP report for today? Yesterday? I'm hearing that it's askew on othr forums, but it would be nice if we could confirm it here.


----------



## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

edwpat said:


> I believe that the Amazon DTP is not function today (and perhaps yesterday). Updates are all stuck, and I haven't had a sale in 2 days. I may have had one this morning, but the sales report doesn;t reflect it and the ranking indicate sales activity. So Keith, be aware that your tracking may be off.
> 
> Edward C. Patterson
> 
> PS: Has anyone had a sale in their DTP report for today? Yesterday? I'm hearing that it's askew on othr forums, but it would be nice if we could confirm it here.


Just to confirm your suspicions: I bought three of your books this morning, so if those aren't showing up, then the sales tracking is definitely off.


----------



## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

Keith Blenman said:


> I'm starting to wonder how effective this format is. It's still a little too early to tell, but before when I was discussing one, individual story and occasionally bumping the thread, I'd sell a few. Since I've let those threads slip (on amazon.com, I'm still new here!) and instead went with one that discusses all of my work, I haven't sold one story. I'll give it a few more days, but I'm starting to wonder if people are less inclined to read it because there's so much in one posting?


Amazon appears to be having a problem with their sales reports. Check your previous months sales. They all disappeared as of yesterday, and I'm assuming that no new sales are showing for June, either.


----------



## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Susan, Thank you. I just checked again and still nothing for June - but The Third Peregrination and The Dragon's Pool both have rankings in the 10,000 (which indicates sales) and Surviving an Americal Gulag's rnk ranks at 2,000 (which is ranking heaven and indicate multiple sale). That comes as no surprise as a Kindleboarder left a review of the book in a post there.

Thanks for you continued support, and confirming that Amazon's DTP (the system that controls Kindle Publication and reporting must be down).

Ed P

Gertie: May sales are generally not available until the 4th day of the month.


----------



## Michael R. Hicks (Oct 29, 2008)

Keith -

I haven't had any Kindle sales yet this month, either, but I'm not so sure if that's an issue with threads or just people not having happened to buy any (although Mobipocket sales are doing fine); sometimes a few days will go by with nothing, then a bunch will hit at once. And my second book - Publish Your Book On The Amazon Kindle: A Practical Guide - I've never really promoted on here at all, and it does fine.

Statistically, it may be likely that those who have lots of books and lots of threads may have more sales than those who don't simply because of the extra exposure. Of course, if the takeaway there is to write lots of books and have lots of threads... ::shrugs::

Anyway, I went back through the thread to pull out some ideas and concerns in general that might be worth consideration as we putter along, just to sort of summarize things. I also tossed in a couple of other things that weren't in this particular thread, but that have cropped up elsewhere and seemed germane here. I may have missed something, so please shout out if so - I got zero sleep last night and can't sleep today, so I'm a bit punchy! 

- Links from KB author thread to individual author threads
- Main author thread, plus "latest book thread"
- KB Member reviews
- Author Anagram (contest/giveaway - sure, why not?)
- Monthly (?) KB author reader's choice award
- Reader nominations for KB author-led book klubs

Potential concerns with 1-author/1-thread idea:

- Current 7-day bump rule
- Authors with large bibliographies
- Authors with multiple genres


----------



## Michael R. Hicks (Oct 29, 2008)

edwpat said:


> I believe that the Amazon DTP is not function today (and perhaps yesterday). Updates are all stuck, and I haven't had a sale in 2 days. I may have had one this morning, but the sales report doesn;t reflect it and the ranking indicate sales activity. So Keith, be aware that your tracking may be off.
> 
> Edward C. Patterson
> 
> PS: Has anyone had a sale in their DTP report for today? Yesterday? I'm hearing that it's askew on othr forums, but it would be nice if we could confirm it here.


Ed, Keith - thanks for corroborating that. Your posts just came in as I hit the send button. I'd noticed the same thing. DTP strikes again?!


----------



## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Adding to the concerns - my Kindleboard review this morning would havebeen lost somewhere in the soup, instead of with the appropriate book thread.

Ed P


----------



## Carolyn Kephart (Feb 23, 2009)

kreelanwarrior said:


> Statistically, it may be likely that those who have lots of books and lots of threads may have more sales than those who don't simply because of the extra exposure.


Quite, under current sanctions.



> Anyway, I went back through the thread to pull out some ideas and concerns...
> 
> - Links from KB author thread to individual author threads
> - Main author thread, plus "latest book thread"
> ...


Leaner is better, to me. I'm very wary of the KB member reviews proposal, having learned some hard lessons about human nature in the 2008 ABNA competition. Out of the list, I'd keep 1, 2, and 6. Just my views.



> Potential concerns with 1-author/1-thread idea:
> 
> - Current 7-day bump rule
> - Authors with large bibliographies
> - Authors with multiple genres


The 7-day bump rule is routinely violated here, and I'll admit that having to wait when I'm running a .99 cent sale is trying.

CK


----------



## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

I don't see anything wrong with the DTP reporting.


----------



## Michael R. Hicks (Oct 29, 2008)

Jeff said:


> I don't see anything wrong with the DTP reporting.


Okay, just no sales yet, then. But I see the May report is up - I think that must be a new record!


----------



## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Jeff:

I have confirmed Kindle sales today, and nothing showing up on DTP. Reports for May are in, and they're correct (and in a new format).

Ed Patterson
Who waits 7 days before bumping (I have them on a scheduler)  In fact, I accientally bumps (hit quote instead of modify) and as Betsy will attest (attest, Betsy, please sttest) I backed it out (after inquiring how to do it).


----------



## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

edwpat said:


> I have confirmed Kindle sales today, and nothing showing up on DTP.


I'll bet they show up before day's end.


----------



## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

I hope so, because when DTP is broken . . . need I say more.

Ed P


----------



## Greg Banks (May 2, 2009)

Gertie Kindle 'Turn to Page 390' said:


> Amazon appears to be having a problem with their sales reports. Check your previous months sales. They all disappeared as of yesterday, and I'm assuming that no new sales are showing for June, either.


Doesn't this happen at the beginning of every month? It usually takes two to three days into the new month for things to sort themselves out.


----------



## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Greg, the problem seems to be with June sales showing up. They're not.

Ed P


----------



## Greg Banks (May 2, 2009)

Yeah, I was just thinking that those took a few days to show up at the start of the month, but I think you're right. The sales rankings show the sales (I've had some in June also), so clearly they are being recorded. Why we can't view them, I don't know.


----------



## jonfmerz (Mar 30, 2009)

Glad to see I'm not the only one with the sales problem on DTP.  Usually by this point in the new month they start showing up.  Frustrating when we can't keep track of such things!


----------



## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Yeah, it's frustrating. Surviving an American Gulag jus moved into 1st place on the GLBT catagory and is doing strong in 2 other catagories, and the DTP tally shows nothing. Well I'm gonna assume that behind the scenes someone is working on it. 

Edward C. Patterson
Thank God for the one thread = one book system


----------



## Carol Hanrahan (Mar 31, 2009)

I learn so much from you guys!  I was just glum, thinking no sales, but there is a glimmer of hope if it's DTP problem!  Well, it could still be no sales....
But to learn you guys track your rankings is great.  I have looked at my rankings, but never thought to correlate it with immediate book sales.  
Also, a wonderful Kindleboarder helped me tons with my new signature.  How do you guys like it?  I'm gonna post everywhere, just so I can see it!


----------



## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

geoffthomas said:


> See now I really like where this is going.
> There probably is something that we ALL need that will make things better.
> Some way of streamlining Book Advertising here at KB.
> 
> ...


Geoff, there is a Goodreads KindleBoards group. Perhaps we could get more active there. Members of the group can post to the group's bookshelf. It would be a good one stop shopping....

Betsy


----------



## Kathy (Nov 5, 2008)

Carol Hanrahan said:


> I learn so much from you guys! I was just glum, thinking no sales, but there is a glimmer of hope if it's DTP problem! Well, it could still be no sales....
> But to learn you guys track your rankings is great. I have looked at my rankings, but never thought to correlate it with immediate book sales.
> Also, a wonderful Kindleboarder helped me tons with my new signature. How do you guys like it? I'm gonna post everywhere, just so I can see it!


It looks great. Thanks for adding all the links.


----------



## geoffthomas (Feb 27, 2009)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> Geoff, there is a Goodreads KindleBoards group. Perhaps we could get more active there. Members of the group can post to the group's bookshelf. It would be a good one stop shopping....
> 
> Betsy


Yeah Betsy, I joined it too. And it *would* provide a place for reviews and stuff. But then people would be going back and forth and some folks would not like to do that. If there were an automatic mechanism it might do.
And some of our old friends like Robin Goodfellow still posts over there.
Just sayin......


----------



## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Although the problems on DTP continue, after a lengthy phone call to mazon, I got an email address. (The DTP Forum is a wasteland). I sent my inquity there and might get a response. Here's the email address to use:

[email protected]

Edward C. Patterson


----------



## sigrosenblum (Dec 22, 2008)

I am mulling over this new--and very interesting--idea. And I suspect that it may not serve readers as well as some think. Under the present set-up, readers are insulated from writers and their mad enthusiasms very nicely: They can simply steer clear of The Book Bazaar.

And, if readers are looking for a certain kind of book, a quick scan of the "headlines" tells them where to click: "A new adult romance," A biography of Harry Truman," etc. 

But what are they to do with a line such as, "The twenty books of Harry Scribble" ? Here, they are forced to click and scan each of Harry's titles. Most likely they will pass up the doubtful privilege.

What's wrong with having lots of authors and lots of books and lots of listings? Just as long as these are coralled someplace and don't spread like molasses. We all know that self-policing is not possible in a social network or a larger society. 

We now have what has turned out to be a win-win arrangement. (Footnote: I didn't grasp this when it was first instituted!) Authors can bump some of their books more often than others. Reader comments will be arranged by books, not by author. It is simple. Sensible. It works.

I am sure that there are many other consequences, both intended and unintended when it comes to the proposed method But--for the moment--and my mind is still open--I lean toward the status quo. However, I am sure that we would like to hear more from the mods and the very many insightful KB readers who are so welcoming to us all.


----------



## Forster (Mar 9, 2009)

sigrosenblum said:


> I am mulling over this new--and very interesting--idea. And I suspect that it may not serve readers as well as some think. Under the present set-up, readers are insulated from writers and their mad enthusiasms very nicely: They can simply steer clear of The Book Bazaar.
> 
> And, if readers are looking for a certain kind of book, a quick scan of the "headlines" tells them where to click: "A new adult romance," A biography of Harry Truman," etc.
> 
> ...


I don't see why authors can't do both.

I've got no problem with the book bazaar as it is. But for those of us who generally want to bypass the used car salesman type threads we can then still easily find out a little bit more about an author and his/her book(s) from their sig link. I see the sig link being a big benefit to those authors who don't want to aggressively market their books but still would like a readily available reference point for the readers to follow to find out more. If said author is active on the boards their link will show up all the more.


----------



## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

Carolyn Kephart said:


> The 7-day bump rule is routinely violated here, and I'll admit that having to wait when I'm running a .99 cent sale is trying.
> 
> CK


I thought we could bump prior to the seven days if we have something going on like a 99 cent sale or a review or blog to link. Am I wrong about that?


----------



## Greg Banks (May 2, 2009)

Here's an idea off the top of my head, which at the moment I'm not even sure I know if it's good or bad. Need time to mull it over, and hear feedback.

What if we left the Book Bazaar as is, and added one other forum. We have a thread here where the authors are asked to let themselves be known so that they can be added to the growing list of KindleBoards authors. What if instead of that, we had one additional forum where each author (in particular those with multiple titles) could list all of their books in one thread or post? Sort of an Author's Directory or Bibliography? Obviously that would be more of a service to those with multiple books, but for those authors, it would serve as a substitute for an authors profile page, which we don't have here. Meanwhile, the Bazaar would remain the same, thus no one would lose any of the benefits we have now. A central place to find all of an author's books seems useful, but I think sigrosenblum has a point also.

Could be a bad idea, but I figured I just throw it out there and let everyone else ponder it.


----------



## Kathy (Nov 5, 2008)

Gertie Kindle 'Turn to Page 390' said:


> I thought we could bump prior to the seven days if we have something going on like a 99 cent sale or a review or blog to link. Am I wrong about that?


According to Betsy, the following applies:

"I'm going to stick my nose in here just to be sure that "bump" is clearly defined. Bumping is where no one has posted to your thread so you do it to make it current. If you have a reader post in your book thread, you are certainly allowed to respond. This is not a bump. If the NY Times reviews your book and you want to let people know, this is not a bump. If Spielberg is making your book into a movie, this is not a bump (although we would certainly like to talk revenue sharing in that case, LOL!) Clearly these are extreme examples, it doesn't have to be Spielberg or the NY Times, it could be the Hibbing Tribune . Mentioning your book in your own blog doesn't warrant a press release, however. If no one has posted to your thread within a week, you may certainly bump it."


----------



## sigrosenblum (Dec 22, 2008)

Edward C. Patterson said:


> I have 12 books, running the gamut of genre and interests. I will probabaly have 20 books by year end. I will continue to adhere to the Kindleboard Guidelines - one book - one thread. I put certain books on sale and a single thread will not serve the reader well if lumped in a single thread.
> 
> Edward C. Patterson


I thought that I posted on this before. But apparently not. And I haven't read all these imaginative permutations. But I must agree wholeheartedly with Ed. From the reader's perspective alone, a grab-bag of titles on one thread (if I understand the suggestion) would be confusing to say the least.

Consider this: A reader, devoted to the mystery, sees a thread headed "The books of Harrison Q. Writerly." What does that signal to her? Absolutely nothing. Does this thread contain a treasure trove of mysteries or the pulsing poems of an adolescent? No clue. But under the present sensible system of one thread per book, she gets a clue--if the headline writer is skilled. She turns to another thread and knows at once and with certainty that "A new edition of Robert Frost" is not for her.

It is true that many authors insist on disguising their wares--which is unfortunate. Many of us seem to believe that bending the headline to every conceivable interest is the way to go. Yet direct marketers have long known that you sell to your market with targeted copy--and forget the others.

Long ago, a prospective client insisted that I use the headline, "Do you like things which are good for you, like excellent health?" He was selling vitamins. You may be able to guess why he never became an actual client.

Yet some authors with a great horror story, announce it as "At last my book is here. You will love it." No doubt this kind of thing will persist--and continue to frustrate readers in search of their beloved specialty.

The single author thread--in my opinion--will do the same.


----------



## Brenda Carroll (May 21, 2009)

Since I have more than two books published on Kindle, I try to keep my thread inventions as low as possible to avoid the 'used car salesman' category.  I have, I think 3 threads to support thirteen books and another one to support 1 book that is totally different from the other thirteen.  I also have a thread somewhere that kind of petered out from lack of new posts that was intended to get everyone involved.  It was good for awhile, but when everyone moves on, its best to let it go. So far this is working well for me.  My one concern is not to appear too overbearing, but if someone posts on my thread, I answer because this forum was set up on the premise of allowing authors and authors and authors and readers to interact.  If people (authors or readers) post in my threads, it would be rude to ignore them, wouldn't it?  I mean, the readers are the people we want to reach and hear from and our fellow authors are the ones we want to share experiences with, right?  So where is this going?


----------



## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

I find the best way to expose your title is to use a Topic line (that changes) encapsulating some aspect of the book. Many times a short quote from a reader's review will do it. The secret of marketing is repetition, but repating the same thing over and over again is usually ignored. However, changing the topic line will get the attention of a propsective reader who has seen your title there ten times and didn't really see it, or didn;t much care. I noticed when I changed my military title from a blurb about Being Gay in the Army to "How I lost 120 lbs in 6 weeks," there was a lot more interest and a spike in new readership. Ans by the way, I'm glad I'm not selling Used cars. Not much future in that.  

Edward C. Patterson


----------



## Guest (Aug 26, 2009)

sigrosenblum said:


> The single author thread--in my opinion--will do the same.


I agree completely.

A thread that says "The works of ***** Ann *****" means nothing if people don't know who I am. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but nobody here is a unique little snowflake. Each one of us needs to accept the reality that we are individual voices screaming into a hurricane. We're investing a lot of energy, but not actually making any noise.

Once we get over our own egos long enough to realize nobody really cares, we can focus our energies on coming up with ways to MAKE them care.

I have my own little theory about "bumping." My opinion is that if after seven days nobody has commented on a thread, either the thread has run its course (which is fine and normal) or I bored the reader and nobody cares (which is my problem that I need to address). Random "bumping" of the thread, therefore, is sort of useless. Unless I have something significantly new to add that is relevant to the original thread, I don't bump. I'll let a thread die. I don't see the point in expending energy to force-feed a thread on readers that didn't show a lot of interest in it the first time around.


----------



## Lynn McNamee (Jan 8, 2009)

@ bards and sages

I agree with most of what you posted, with the exception of the 'bumping'. 

I am quite certain that this forum gets new members all the time. 

When I first joined the forum, I checked maybe the first 3 pages of threads, if that. There were new ones popping up all the time, so the first page kept me too busy to go back and look at very old threads.

Bumping a thread can be very helpful to a new forum member who was not here to read the original post.


----------



## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Bards and Sages:

Without fail, after I bump a thread I get 2 new sales minimum (and I follow the kindleboard bumping rules). I am on a streak (as some of my readers and fellow authors can tell you) and might jinx it by telling about it again, but there was a time that 1 new reader acqusition (my word for sale) in a day was cause for celebration (the proverbial naked conga dance - as unique with me as any snowflake that I know). Since March 5th of this year, I have has at least 1 reader acquisition per day, and have been averaging 5. If I have a day when it looks like the streak might end, I bump a thread. 2  sales. 

Edward C. Patterson


----------



## sigrosenblum (Dec 22, 2008)

bardsandsages said:


> I agree completely.
> 
> A thread that says "The works of Julie Ann Dawson" means nothing if people don't know who I am. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but nobody here is a unique little snowflake. Each one of us needs to accept the reality that we are individual voices screaming into a hurricane. We're investing a lot of energy, but not actually making any noise.
> 
> ...


Julie:

Good sense here in your agreement with me! And your comments could be made into a mantra for struggling indies: "No one cares."

But Red is right in her view of bumping. And you, Julie, are missing a lot of sales with your current practice. Red gives the reason. And I will expand on it.

Just check the growth rate of KB--astonishing. The mods can probably tell you the average daily rate. But do your own little record-keeping study and you will see that new members are flooding in.

So, setting aside the present members, there are new ones every single day. Your underlying assumption, Julie, is that KB is static. But it is much like any mailing list. And the old statistics used to tell us that most lists change about one-third a year. So in three years it is an entirely different list! New people come aboard. People die or lose interest. A list--and KB, as well--is a dynamic ever-changing group of people.

I bump my four threads (one for each book) religiously every seven to ten days from the last bump, however that occurred. If someone makes a comment or asks a question, that restarts the clock back to day one.

My strongest underlying premise is that every day brings in new members. And to them, all those wonderful books by KB authors, are entirely and delightfully new.

So, Julie, and all those authors who may feel the same way, try what Red and I suggest. It really will help. And our KB readers will thank you and click the Kindle sample much more often--even though they don't always post to let us know


----------



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Lynn, Ed, and Sig are right:  the board is extremely dynamic.

At the bottom of the main index page is a section called Info Center. . . .you may need to expand it by clicking the "+".  If you scroll down to "Forum Stats" and click on "more stats" you'll see, right at the top, that we are getting about 8 new members registering a day.  Scroll down a little and you'll see that since last November we've consistently had over 400 new members a month. . .sometimes well over.  That's a lot of new eyeballs and doesn't even count the guests who pop in and never register. (Hey, you guests. . .go ahead and register. . .we don't bite!   )

This is why we allow bumping once a week for authors.  It's a compromise:  more often than that and it gets annoying to continuing members, but if we didn't allow it at all, some threads featuring good books might never get seen by new members.  Now, we frown on just saying "bump", but you all are authors:  get creative!    Some folks bump by putting a short snippet in.  Or bump if there's news:  an award won or a good review that you can link to.


----------



## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

I also find that cleaning out old information from the thread keeps it easier to navigate. These threads are different than the long running threads that go to 30 pages. Keeping to them to one or two pages makes it easier for guest and new members to navigate the information. I you take a look at "who is on the board" at any given time, there are always more guests than members. Now some guests are members that do not sign in, however that is less so (in my opinion - which might be an assumption) in that members have infinite login as an option and are already signed in upon access. The only time I come in as a guest is when I am perusing activity on my blackberry, which I can't sign in.

BTW, having the authors in the new Book Bazaar is so less intrusive to the members who have found that book promotion a nuisance. Now, if there are still complaints, they are not public, but if so, our moderators have done a wonderful job at letting us know when we've crossed the line.    A good rule, if you feel that some promotional practice may not fit the rules is to send a PM to Betsy or Ann and ASK. Another practice that I suggest and follow is not to promote your books outside the Bazaar (of course we run that risk with our Avatars and book covers in signature blocks (one reason I use text links there). Sometimes a discussion needs a reference to your writing craft and perhaps a reference to one of the books. I try to avoid the title, and I use the spoiler block for direct references. ALSO (I know, I know) even in the Bazaar in someone elses thread, references to your own titles should use a spoiler block, not that any one of us would object to helping one another, but we risk hijacking the thread with an OT discussion. Of course, there are threads that ask us for such reference (Vive those members) like tell about your fantasy books or books under $2 bucks etc. Then there the support threads and snippets thread, where we get other promotional opportunities. So as to the dynamism of Kindleboards and specifically the success of the decision of the moderators in creating the Book Bazaar is underscored. I can truly say, there is no place like this on the Internet.

Ed Patterson


----------



## geoffthomas (Feb 27, 2009)

As a reader/fan I would like to say that I believe that the comments already made are correct - bumping is good.
I often bump an author's thread so that it stays in the view of new and old readers.
Often someone who has been around for a while has either not been on recently - hence missing the thread, or has just not been aggressive in looking around.
So the bumping is actually a service - for good work.
And I for one would rather see an author keep one thread for a work and keep it bumped rather than have to start a new one after several weeks of no activity.  Several threads just clutters up the forum eventually.

Just sayin.....


----------



## BP Myers (Jun 7, 2009)

Regardless of whether it breaks any "rules," having a single author dominate the front page of Kindleboards . . . day after day after day . . . with all of the same books . . . isn't good for anybody (except that author, of course.)

It's certainly resulted in me coming around less, and spending less time here when I do. I suspect I'm not alone.


----------



## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

That's why the Book Bazaar was created.

E C P


----------



## geoffthomas (Feb 27, 2009)

BP Myers said:


> Regardless of whether it breaks any "rules," having a single author dominate the front page of Kindleboards . . . day after day after day . . . with all of the same books . . . isn't good for anybody (except that author, of course.)
> 
> It's certainly resulted in me coming around less, and spending less time here when I do. I suspect I'm not alone.


I believe that your opinion is important. And if you feel that exposure is limited for you then you should dialogue with Harvey and the mods to try to find a satisfactory solution. As a reader, I probably notice this less. I bump some of my favorite authors for just that reason. They have, in some cases, only one book. And even though I have already read it, I want to see other people get the message that it is worth reading.
So not only do I bump it in the Bazaar, but I mention it in the what books are you reading thread and I mention it in the books recommended thread and I mention it in the book reviews thread (that authors are not supposed to use for their own works). I also sometimes have started discussion threads. So you see, if a member who is a reader likes your work (that is essential) then the readers can gain you a lot of exposure. And if readers comment in the book bazaar in your thread frequently because they ask questions, etc. then your one thread keeps going to the front of the folder.
Now yes some authors who have several books bump their threads as often as is allowed and that causes other threads to be moved to the second or third or fourth page. And if noone, even the author bumps, eventually they wiind up on page 23 or 24 of the thread.
But I'll bet many of us spend very little time in the bazaar. But I read every entry in the recommended thread and in the what are you reading now thread and the bargain books for the month thread, etc. And that is where I wind up deciding to purchase and read an author that I know nothing about.

Just sayin.....
And hoping that this helps some.


----------



## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

GeoffThomas:

What you say is true. My books (I know there are 13 of them, and growing) are better served by readers than by my own efforts. When I get a recommendation in the other threads, I get spikes. I am also constantly trying to create interesting threads for both reader and author (that is members). We discussed that with the creation of the Literary challenge thread. The snippet thread provides exposure to more than just a title, and that is a successful feature of the Bazaar. I have another idea peculating which I think will excite interest (it's with the moderators for approval - I do everything within the rules). As for bumping etc. 2/3rds of the traffic here are "guests," and what they see is new to them. I also remember when the Book Bazaar was created, because of complaints by those who wanted an uncluttered Book Corner. I remember the number of members (particularly authors) who said that it wouldn't work. Well, it is my opinion, that it has worked, has enhanced Kindleboards immensely, has uncluttered the Book Corner, has given members and guests value (the choice to look or not look) and has made Kindleboards a unique haven on the Internet for Indie authors, perhaps the only place that I know where Indie authors are welcome with open arms and reasonable rules. Now for us that have 13 books, it is contingent upon us to support our fellow authors in every way possible, by creating new and interesting threads, by helping out behind the scenes with questions and problems, by posting in the Author support thread and to donate liberally to the wealth and health of this establishment.  

Edward C. Patterson


----------



## Christopher Meeks (Aug 2, 2009)

Michael Hicks's creation of this thread certainly created a number of suggestions. I read Michael's note and thought to myself, "Yes, maybe this is a problem. His ideas are sound." As I was driving, I thought about my own plans for the Kindle. I've been so impressed with what Boyd Morrison did and what Red Adept may be doing for the marketing-shy Eric Christopherson by pointing out his book "Crack-Up" that I'm mulling introducing my next book on Kindle first. It's been in the works for four years, and before I bring it out to the whole world, I would mind getting a sense of it via Kindleboards. Would I want to plop the book's introduction on page 7 of the thread I started for my two short story collections? No. When threads get long (as this one is), I don't read every entry. I'd want a fresh page. 

I have two questions based on a few mentions by Ed Patterson:

1) Is there a way to see how many sales one made? Ed, you said that bumping up results often in two sales. How can you tell? I only ask because Red Adept gave "The Middle-Aged Man and the Sea" a five-star review last night, and the ranking shot up. I couldn't tell if moving from 38,000 to 4,007 was two sales or twenty. Is there a way to tell, or is it just a sense you have?

2) Ed, you also mentioned "cleaning up" a thread, making it briefer. What do you mean exactly? You can cut whole pages out? How?

I like Greg Bank's notion of having a central area for a profile of an author's books. 

--Christopher Meeks


----------



## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Chris:

Funny, this is an ancient thread which has been dormant until the other day and now look at it. 

Tracking sales to marketing methods is dicey and not a science. A good review and increased sales does not always equate unless the review has been promoted. RedAdept's reviews are promoted on Amazon, her blog, here in Kindleboards and in her Amazon subscription. So you can attribute a spike in sales directly to that review. In my case, I usually can tell what causes a spike. If I bump one of 13 books and get two sales on that book, it's an educated guess that the bump helped promote the sale. (Except for one of my books,


Spoiler



No Irish Need Apply


, which seems to need little promotion to sell). I also promote a book or so daily out on Amazon, and a similar thing occurs (not a guaranteed sale, but I can correlate title promotion to sale). The same thing with a price reduction. Reviews, when I get them, I promote in reposts on Amazon, on blogs in the network groups (IAG and GLWR) and here, although we do not report reviews here (one of the rules). So most spikes from reviews (other than Kindleboards) come from network threads. I also have Faithful Readers (those that always buy my latest book) and also those who will never, ever read my books because they are pissed off that my books are promoted. (Never misspell the word recieve/receive- I had a poster on Amazon tell me that since I didn't spell it correctly, I am unworthy of being read).  So, it's not a science and the correlation actually doesn't really concern me, and I guess this is the first time I'm expressing it, because you are asking. Exposure at Author's Den is important also.

As for publishing for Kindle only, I don't do that. I publish for Kindle and Print simultaneously (sometimes one gets out before the other). I do Press Releases, have a mailing list, post on several book shelf, twitter and there's an Ed Patterson Reading Group on Facebook. I write blogs and guest blog and also promote on The Deepening (for print books mostly). am also developing an Amazon subscription blog on Indie Publishing. So, Chris, sometimes my head spins and I'm surprised that I can have time to write, since I have also a full time day job and I'm not a young guy (an old Baby boomer - but I get a discount at the movies).

As for the single thread per author, it doesn't work for me here, and I have expressed that a hundred posts ago. But the rule is one thread for one book. If the rule changes (the rules here are reviewed periodically by the fine moderating staff), I'll adjust. No big deal. We only compete with ourselves in this business, not each other. (It's called cannibalization).

Hope that helps,

Edward C. Patterson aka Miss Chatty


----------



## geoffthomas (Feb 27, 2009)

If you want another perspective on this issue, let me suggest that you go checkout the blob of C.J. Cherryh.  She has over 50 published books and 2 Hugos and some other stuff.  But just like all the rest of us she has to work to keep up with the bills.  She and Jane Fancher and Lynn Abbey are trying to setup a coop called the closed circle.  They will sell their own work as ebooks and self-publish.  As their previous contracts end and the publishing rights come back to them, they will republish through Closed Circle.  Her web site:
Cherryh.com leads to the blog: wave without a shore.  You will have to wade through a bunch of personal stuff but she freely shares her opinions.
And you can register and ask all the probing questions you want to.
I do.

Just sayin......


----------

