Indefinite Timelines

Four years into my journey through independent publishing, I’ve learned some valuable lessons.  Among them: 1) selling books is really hard; 2) a diversified platform consisting of webpages, blogs, twitter, blogging, Facebook, and more blogging might help some; 3) it’s always a good idea to use sunscreen; and 4) seriously, selling books is really hard.

Having worked with small and smaller publishers, and having published my own books, I’m a huge fan of independent publishing.  But I won’t lie - if one of the biggies waves a sack of euros in my face, I’ll sell out fast.  Until that happens, however, I’m going to extol the virtues of going it alone.  

Here’s why: I’m the boss.  I can publish when I want to publish.  No more waiting - I can design covers or pay someone to do that.  I can do my own layouts on InDesign, and I can upload my projects to LightingSource or CreateSpace myself.  And as long as I’m willing to ignore my children, I can do this pretty quickly.

But the biggest advantage to going it alone is that it allows for an infinite timeline.  My books are never going to go out of print, and I’m never going to stop talking about them.  I published my first mystery novel Grave Passage five years ago.  And I’m still pushing it and still getting reviews.

Furthermore, I control the promos.  The promos generate reviews and the reviews generate sales.  Without question, the single most effective marketing strategy I have come across is the Kindle KDP select promotional option that allows you to give away your book free for five days every few months.  I’ve had a lot of success with this, so I’m going to give it another try today.

One year ago this month I published my archaeological mystery - The Mummies of Blogspace9.  It’s one of my favorite things that I’ve done.  So I’m giving away free copies today.  So if you haven’t picked up a copy yet, please consider downloading copies for the whole family.  Don’t delay; supplies are limited!  Click this BUTTON.  Go ahead, click it.  You can click on any letter.  Just click.  You can even click on this word.

“None of us knew what was at stake. And that’s the thing about archaeology - you never know what you’ll find when you start digging into an ancient pyramid. Maybe some burials, mummies even. But surely not a five hundred year-old secret worth killing for. 

Had I known at the onset that seven weeks later most of my friends would be dead, I would have left Peru in a heartbeat. But of course I didn’t know that. 

I didn’t know that a demonically-possessed Spanish Grand Inquisitor would haunt the crap out of us, or that a pair of undead conquistador knights would help us find the secret to putting down walking mummies. 

And surely, I wouldn’t have just sat around had I known that something was watching from inside that pyramid, some malevolent force that could animate the dead. 

But it’s all true, as you’ll come to realize.

My name is Leon Samples.  I am twenty-eight years old, and I am damned.” 

The Mummies of Blogspace9 is a taut, high-stakes thriller about a team of archaeologists who inadvertently dig up more than they bargained for. Demons of antiquity are not easily amused, nor are those who’ve sold their souls to protect them.