What Makes People Buy Self-Published Books?

Who knew sampling would overtake covers, genre and anything else to consider for readers? Ebooks are now on an even par with print books for readers who access both, for sure!

Tara Sparling writes

In this post, I discussed the findings of a scientifically incontrovertible study (of myself) on the factors which influenced me when buying a self-published book.

The findings surprised me (which surprised me, because I was surveying myself). I found that I knew what made me buy a self-published book when it was in front of me, but not what put that book in front of me, unless I was browsing by genre (e.g. today I feel like reading a romance set in Ulaanbaatar: therefore I will now search specifically for such a story).

It was still hard to know what put those books in front of my eyes in order to buy them; to quote one of the commenters on that post – this is the thorny issue of “discoverability”. How will we find these books in the first place?

So I did the unthinkable, and asked some other people…

View original post 640 more words

Nebula Nights A Science Fiction Romance Boxed Set

From my POV, ALL “romance” books are speculative/science fiction! LOL Check these out!

Veronica Scott

NN_squareOver at the USA Today HEA blog, I’m interviewing ten science fiction romance authors (and myself) today on what we love about SFR and which SF hero is our favorite. I’ve been spending  lot of time with these ladies lately, not just because we all love to read and write SFR, but also because we’ve put together a boxed set of eleven stories. I have my award-winning, best seller Escape From Zulaire, as my contribution. The boxed set contains quite a mix of elements from cyborgs to aliens, space opera to adventure on alien planets.

Best of all, the set is priced at $.99! For over 800,000 words of  exciting SFR….

Here’s a quick synopsis for the included stories:

Her Cyborg Awakes by Melisse Aires
Her gentle cyborg servant helped her escape violence–but now he’s changed into a warrior! Is he safe?

Removed (The Nogiku Series, #1) by SJ…

View original post 370 more words

*CHANGES* Episode 1 on Youtube Google+ HOA with Sally Ember and Shay West

Did you miss it? We had a blast! Catch the recorded version of my LIVE conversation on CHANGES with Dr. Shay West here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrjdj0S8AQo

or here: http://youtu.be/lrjdj0S8AQo

Shay West photo

Dr. Shay West http://shay-west.com

We talked about writing, biology, teaching, optimism, gratitude, epigenetics, horror, real-life medical horrors and community support as motivations for writing, writers’ groups, Google + Hangouts on Air, and more!

Next week, August 13, CHANGES welcomes Connie Dunn. 7 – 8 AM Pacific USA Time.

Tune in and get involved with your comments and questions, LIVE, or watch CHANGES Episodes later on YouTube.

If you are an author, philosopher, creative sort who likes free-wheeling conversations and wants to be on CHANGES, watch a show or two, then contact the host, Sally Ember: sallyember@yahoo.com and request a slot in October or beyond.

CHANGES occurs on most Wednesdays, but not all. Watch this space for schedule!

Are YOU ready for the CHANGES?

*CHANGES* Episode 1 on Youtube Google+ HOA with Sally Ember and Shay West

Did you miss it? We had a blast! Catch the recorded version of my LIVE conversation on CHANGES with Dr. Shay West here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrjdj0S8AQo

or here: http://youtu.be/lrjdj0S8AQo

Shay West photo

Dr. Shay West http://shay-west.com

We talked about writing, biology, teaching, optimism, gratitude, epigenetics, horror, real-life medical horrors and community support as motivations for writing, writers’ groups, Google + Hangouts on Air, and more!

Next week, August 13, CHANGES welcomes Connie Dunn. 7 – 8 AM Pacific USA Time.

Tune in and get involved with your comments and questions, LIVE, or watch CHANGES Episodes later on YouTube.

If you are an author, philosopher, creative sort who likes free-wheeling conversations and wants to be on CHANGES, watch a show or two, then contact the host, Sally Ember: sallyember@yahoo.com and request a slot in October or beyond.

CHANGES occurs on most Wednesdays, but not all. Watch this space for schedule!

Are YOU ready for the CHANGES?