We have a winner!

The winner of the Thankful Hop has been notified via e-mail. Congrats. See ya tomorrow for some indie news.


I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving.

Indie Publishing Secrets Revealed - News!

Before I reveal the secret, I'm going to remind you to enter the thankful giveaway here. Over 300 amazing prizes up for grabs.Easy entry.


Now, drumroll please,
the secret is...
I am not working on my 3rd novel in the Watched Series for Nano, I am working on something totally different that I am also completely passionate about-
.

A nuts and bolts book about indie publishing.

This will not be your ordinary, run of the mill, how-to book. This will get down to the nitty-gritty.
Every last tidbit I can possibly share with you to make it as easy as possible
to launch your book successfully will be included.

Nothing will be held back.

I'm about 2/3 of the way through. I'll be done before the end of the month and I will win Nano. Then, I will finish the edits on "Protected', the 2nd book in the Watched Series and keep chugging along with #3.

Come back next week to help me pick the name of the book. I hope to tell you I'm done with the 1st draft.

Happy Nanoing!

Giving Back

Welcome to the Gratitude Giveaway Hop where we thank all our followers with the simplest entry EVER.

Just follow this blog and leave a comment where you can be contacted if you win. That's it! Good Luck.

What can you win on this site? A 

$10 Amazon Gift card.

Now go enter all the other blogs' giveaways.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Big Indie Publishing News

Go check out these amazing indie authors' giveaway first, and then read this post.

  OK! This is 

The other day, while signing books in a Costco, I was talking to a manager about getting ebook scanners into stores. He told me that they are actually looking into a machine that prints dvds and bluerays while you wait. He says they lose so much money on theft of dvds and especially bluerays that it is a plausible option for them.

Well, it's also in the works for BOOKS. No kidding. Read this article. It is amazing.
POD in stores ?

It's a reality already. So cool! I love this idea. It costs a bit more, but is reasonable, don't you think. Sure the emphasis is on backlist right now, but just think what it could do for indie-authors.

Yeah! I thought you'd like that!

MY SECRET? Next week....I promise.

Halloween fun in the spirit of "Watched"

Sorry to make you wait for the secret for another week, but in the spirit of Watched and becoming someone other than you are...perhaps someone you've always wanted to be...here are some Halloween Pics of me, my family and my friends. Go enter a bunch of giveaways here.(These are the easiest ever)

Halloween 2006

 The witch and the ghoul?



Experiments anyone?

Is there a doctor in the house?

I want to suck your blood...AhAhAh

Peace brothers

Ye good for nothing pirates

Be careful of an old man's smells

Discover yourself

Dave Farland's in the House!

If this looks familiar...sorry, Dave's launch was pushed back to today. He'll answer all your questions

Audiobooks

I've been looking into turning my book into an audiobook because so many people have approached me at signings and asked when it will be in audiobook form. (I also listen to my fair share of audio-books) They assure me that they will galdly buy it because they just don't have time to read anymore. 

Have you looked into getting an audiobook made? Wow! Those services are expensive and you're not even guaranteed a great reader.  They can run you around 20 grand. Yep! Take that deep breath.

So, when Dave asked for volunteers to host him this month I was so excited to have him address this very issue.

Here's what he had to say..oh, and if you leave him a question today, he will answer you, so be sure to click the box that will send you his response when you ask a question in the comment form.

Breaking into Audio Books by Dave Farland

As an indie author, how do you break into audiobooks?    

Ah, that’s an easy one!  Most indie authors are afraid of what it might cost to hire a celebrity actor to read a book.  Really, folks, there are other ways.  A few years ago, I had some readers ask if I would ever be willing to podcast my own novel.  I’d never thought of it.  I’m not an actor.  But I did a little informal survey over the next few weeks, and found that 55% of the people who asked about audiobooks said that they would prefer to hear the author read it in his or her own voice.

Of course they would!  I’d love to hear Tolkien read Lord of the Rings to me.  I’d much rather hear it from him than from the finest actor.  In fact, I’d love to listen to both, one after another. 

The point here is that you can do it yourself.  You can either get your own recording equipment or find someone to do it for you.  If you have a local college nearby, find someone who is already working in sound for films.  You can probably hire them to use their own equipment and even mix it for you, taking out your “um’s” and “ah’s.”

Don’t be afraid.  Take an acting class or two if you feel that you must.  As you record, just make sure that you read it the way that you wrote it—with the names spoken the way you want, the stresses put in the sentences the way that you imagined it, and so on.  If you don’t get it right the first time, you can do multiple takes of the same line.  It’s really not that hard, or that scary.

If you really feel that it would be better with a professional actor, just look around.  I have a friend whose voice would be wonderful for broadcast work.  I knew an actor years ago, a fellow in a motorcycle gang, whose “look” would only let him play crazed villains in movies.  He was a big old monster of a fellow, with an enormous beard, and biceps the size of beer kegs.  But he was a sweet guy, and his voice was amazing.  Many times, great voice actors just don’t have the face needed to be popular stars.  So you can often get them to work for you inexpensively or even free, so that they can boost their own resumes as they go seeking other voice-over work.

Your audiobook doesn’t have to be expensive to produce.  You can edit in sound effects if you like.  With my latest book, we had a professional composer create a full soundtrack for it, which is a first for me, but you don’t need all of that.

Once you’ve made your recording, you can post it to the internet from your own website, and even sell it on places like iTunes.  You might even submit it to professional audiobook publishers like Audible.com. (Please see the various vendors for their own rules on how to submit.)

If you haven't read any of Dave's books, now's the time! His new book has arrived! Get it now. Oh, and go like his facebook page.

 www.facebook.com/Nightingale.Novel

David Farland’s latest novel, Nightingale, tells the story of a young man who is abandoned at birth, and raised in foster care.  At the age of sixteen he is thrown out of his house, and meets an extraordinary teacher, a woman who recognizes that he is a “Nightingale,” a creature not quite human.  The novel is available in audio format, enhanced novel, e-book, and hardcover.  Check it out, along with the soundtrack, at http://www.nightingalenovel.com/

Do you have any questions for Dave? You have his undivided attention. Just leave your question in the comments and he'll answer you.

I wouldn't dare do my own audiobook, but I sure know a lot of high school drama whizzes and college production majors....how about you? Would you be the voice of your book?

Want more of Dave? Hop over to my friend, C.K. Bryant's site-she's hosting him today too.

Indie Publishing Secret #?

Okay, so I'm doing Nano this month and I'm cruising along. I'm almost to 3,000 words today and I signed books at the Salt Lake Costco from 11-6.

One especially fun thing that happened today was a cute teen coming to buy 11 books for Christmas presents for all her friends. So cool.

I'm sorry I don't have a big secret to share today. I'm letting Nano take over. Next week I'll have a big announcement to share...I think you'll all love it. Maybe you'll even forgive me for missing today.