28 June 2017
Expertise and self-publishing
Several years ago, a friend who lectures about how to deal with problem teenagers was telling us about her specialty. Alex asked her if she was ever asked for more information. She said 'always' and that she gives the parents a typed handout. He advised her to self-publish her notes in a book and sell it instead. She did just that and now sells enough books to have quit her day job and do what she loves full time.
24 June 2017
Survey of Indie Authors by Smashwords Yields Interesting Insights
Smashwords does an annual survey of indie publishers results and this year's has some interesting revelations. You can read their blog here: http://blog.smashwords.com/2017/06/smashwords-survey-2017.html
And view the results of the survey in a slideshare here:
https://www.slideshare.net/Smashwords/2017-smashwords-survey-of-ebook-trends-and-data
Significantly, they found signs that many indies who are selling ebooks well at $2.99 should probably experiment with higher prices. In previous surveys, $2.99 and $3.99 were the sweets spots. It looks like it's time to add $4.99 to that mix.
And view the results of the survey in a slideshare here:
https://www.slideshare.net/Smashwords/2017-smashwords-survey-of-ebook-trends-and-data
Significantly, they found signs that many indies who are selling ebooks well at $2.99 should probably experiment with higher prices. In previous surveys, $2.99 and $3.99 were the sweets spots. It looks like it's time to add $4.99 to that mix.
21 May 2017
What's in a dream?
I have been unable to write much in the last few weeks. I've experienced a series of events that blocked me up.
- We went skiing to Livigno, Italy for a week and for the first time I admitted that skiing was getting to be excessive work (Am I getting old?). The conditions were great, and we had fun skiing with cousins from Germany until Celine tore her knee up like I did so many years ago. Perhaps the memory of that did me in.
03 May 2017
Promoting my book
It's hard work promoting a novel. We were travelling for much of the time since we released the book so I never had a chance to really launch it. We're also concentrating on Alex's new release Self Publishing for Success. He launched it at Books@One in Louisburgh to a small but interested audience in a very nice session. Next week he does a seminar at the Castlebar Library. But me, I'm not really doing much.
My book was on the table as an offering from White Seahorse Press at Books@One. I did post it on Goodreads and amazon.com. I did a book reading to post on our website and blogs. I have signed up to Reader's Gazette and they tweet my stuff out regularly. I did post when I had a chance on Women who sail Facebook group. I do occasionally post something on different sites but I'm not really working at it. Why? because I think this is a trivial book that helped me learn how to write a book. I am aiming for the next one to be the literary novel or memoir that I have to get out.
My book was on the table as an offering from White Seahorse Press at Books@One. I did post it on Goodreads and amazon.com. I did a book reading to post on our website and blogs. I have signed up to Reader's Gazette and they tweet my stuff out regularly. I did post when I had a chance on Women who sail Facebook group. I do occasionally post something on different sites but I'm not really working at it. Why? because I think this is a trivial book that helped me learn how to write a book. I am aiming for the next one to be the literary novel or memoir that I have to get out.
28 February 2017
27 February 2017
The Naked Truth Press Release
Contact: Alex Blackwell
President
White Seahorse
Division of Knowledge Clinic Ltd.
Port Aleria, Rosnakilly, Kilmeena
Westport, County Mayo, Ireland
+353 87 624 3907
ablackwell@knowledgeclinic.com
www.coastalboating.net
President
White Seahorse
Division of Knowledge Clinic Ltd.
Port Aleria, Rosnakilly, Kilmeena
Westport, County Mayo, Ireland
+353 87 624 3907
www.coastalboating.net
For Immediate Release
Announcing
the New Release:
The Naked Truth
A nautical murder mystery
by Daria Blackwell
14 February 2017, Westport, Ireland: White Seahorse is pleased
to announce the release of The Naked
Truth - A nautical murder mystery. It is Daria Blackwell’s first
novel. She is the co-author of several previous non-fiction works.
Alex Blackwell, White Seahorse President, independent
publisher and author said, “This novel complements our existing line of
self-published works, each of which takes on a degree of a nautical theme, but
weaves an intriguing story around adventures on the high seas. It’s not the
typical diary of an Atlantic circuit. It has multiple twists of plot that are
unexpected but highly plausible. It’s a story that anyone who has ever thought
about sailing away will find amusing and intriguing. They may even glean
several valuable lessons from the narrative.”
When asked how she developed her story, Daria Blackwell explained,
“When we sailed across the Atlantic and through the Caribbean, I kept
meticulous notes and wrote missives to our friends and family throughout the
trip. But I knew I didn’t want to just tell our story as a travelogue. I wanted
to use our real experience as the backdrop to a fictional story, one that would
be full of twists and turns. So I just started writing, and one day the idea of
stringing together a series of disparate yet potentially connected events came
to me, and The Naked Truth was born.”
The story begins with Xander and Jessica anchored in the
Canary Islands. They had sailed off in search of adventure. Sailing across
oceans on their own boat was exactly the kind of restorative voyage the Lynches
craved. They quit their high powered jobs, sold their house, and cast off the
lines. When Jessica witnesses a series of murders in exotic settings, their
adventure sets her on the course of a murder trail. On finding no evidence – no
bodies, no signs of struggles – their quest to answer unasked questions
begins. Tormented by helplessness,
Jessica experiences bizarre dreams within which lay the clues that evaded the
professionals. They embark on a convoluted course to uncover the naked truth.
The Naked Truth is set in the Atlantic Islands and the
Caribbean. The description of crossing oceans as a lifestyle is based on the
author’s experience. Everything else is fiction.
Paperback: 418 pages
Publisher: White Seahorse/CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Launch date: February 10, 2017
ISBN10: 1540793745
ISBN13: 978-1540793744
SRP: $15.00
About the Author
Daria Blackwell is the co-author of two critically acclaimed
non-fiction books Happy Hooking - The Art
of Anchoring, Cruising the Wild
Atlantic Way and Onyx, The Cruising
Kitty. The Naked Truth is her
debut novel, a murder mystery set in the midst of sailing adventures. She has written
numerous articles for sailing magazines and websites on both sides of the
Atlantic. Daria is a USCG-licensed captain with three Atlantic crossings and a
year’s sabbatical sailing in the Caribbean to her credit. In a former life she
was a scientist, a science writer, a creative copywriter, a strategic planner, and
a top level executive in marketing and communications firms. She is the author
of several publications on cultural competence. A dual citizen of the US and
Ireland, Daria has taken on a mid-Atlantic mind set. Follow her blogs at http://dariablackwell.blogspot.ie/
and http://aleriasadventures.blogspot.com/.
About White Seahorse
White Seahorse (www.whiteseahorse.com) is a division of
Knowledge Clinic Limited based in Westport ,
County Mayo , Ireland (www.knowledgeclinic.com). White
Seahorse is dedicated to providing info rmation,
products, and consulting, marketing and communications services to the marine
leisure industry. White Seahorse’s publishing arm provides support for
independent authors who self-publish.
- High resolution art is available
from ablackwell@knowledgeclinic.com
.
- Booksellers interested in carrying
any of the White Seahorse titles should contact ablackwell@knowledgeclinic.com.
They may also order directly from CreateSpace.com.
- For more titles, visit http://www.whiteseahorse.ie.
Soon to be released: Self-Publishing for Success, Every book deserves to be published.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)