Archive for the ‘Be Profitable’ Category
Posted on July 29, 2010 - by Monica Valentinelli
Are You Overestimating Your Value as a Writer?
If you’re a writer and you want to get published, you often have to deal with with other people’s expectations about your work. There’s another layer of expectations, too, because you probably have personal assumptions about how you value yourself and your work. The two spheres, while similar, are very distinct. You see, when you [...]
Posted on July 27, 2010 - by Monica Valentinelli
Providing a Service Versus Offering an Asset
For any creative professional who is providing a service, the difference between making money now and making money over the long-term can be pretty frightening. On the one hand, we all have the tendency to make decisions based on the power of a dollar. How many jobs have we taken that we were over-qualified for? [...]
Posted on July 19, 2010 - by Monica Valentinelli
Ask Yourself the Tough Questions
Years ago, when I first started writing, I was more worried about seeing my name in print than I was about getting paid for my work. So, like many other “new” authors, I threw just about everything against the wall while I fulfilled my real life obligations. Would a part-time job pay my rent while [...]
Posted on June 15, 2010 - by Monica Valentinelli
E-Books Are Not Liquid Gold
In a fit of…well…angst, last week I had made a retort to “yet another” discussion about e-books about how they weren’t liquid gold. Well, you know the part about how sarcasm doesn’t translate well online? Yeah, the end result of a snarky comment is this rant. Which, no doubt, may either cause you to weep, [...]
Posted on May 6, 2010 - by Monica Valentinelli
Guest Post: Three Reasons To Self Publish (And A Big One Not To!)
Today’s guest post about self-publishing is brought to you by author and game designer Jess Hartley. Jess is a professional writer who is experimenting with different options to expand her readership and engage existing fans.
Due to recent trends in technology and on-line marketing options, it is easier for a writer to self-publish today than ever [...]
Posted on May 4, 2010 - by Monica Valentinelli
Why Piracy Might Just Be “Black-and-White”
The subject of “piracy” seems to pop up on my radar every now and then. Since this is an issue I deal with directly, I thought I’d chime in with some of my thoughts on the subject.
I feel that the topic is fairly complex, because many of the arguments I’ve been reading online don’t address piracy directly. Rather, the articles seem to talk “around” the issue by trying to determine either “why” piracy is occurring or justify “why” content should be freely shared and distributed. So, for starters, I’d like to pose the question, “Why is piracy so confusing to define?”
Posted on March 24, 2010 - by Monica Valentinelli
Do Not Be Afraid To Make a Mistake
Every day, I read headline after headline about all the things writers “should” be doing. From things you shouldn’t do or say in a query letter to the various mistakes you can make when you’re trying to sell your books, I can certainly see how anyone might feel overwhelmed.
Here’s the thing: most people online [...]
Posted on March 23, 2010 - by Monica Valentinelli
On Dealing with Bloggers and the Press
Today, I’m going to put on my project manager hat and share with you some of my frustrations working for FlamesRising.com. Because I work as a professional marketer for my day job, I’ve been able to translate a lot of my knowledge and test the things I’ve learned through this website. FlamesRising.com is a horror, [...]
Posted on March 19, 2010 - by Monica Valentinelli
VIDEO: The End of Publishing
This viral video put out by the UK branch of Dorling Kindersley books has been making the rounds this week on Twitter, Facebook and several blogs. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s worth your time.
I agree with the message, here, and have seen how popular culture can actually “increase” someone’s desire to read [...]
Posted on February 1, 2010 - by Monica Valentinelli
This Is Not Another Amazon Post
If you haven’t heard, there was a bit of an awkward business kerfluffle between Amazon and MacMillan this past weekend. No, I am not talking extensively about it other than to say that I believe we are seeing the result of what happens when people are anxious and start to panic. E-Books are a hot [...]
Posted on January 25, 2010 - by Monica Valentinelli
Calculating the Cost of an E-Book
I’ve had a lot of positive feedback from my previous post entitled Weighing in on E-Books, so I wanted to talk about ways to calculate the cost of an e-book.
First, let’s pull some arbitrary numbers. (And by arbitrary, I mean that these are not precise figures.) Let’s say that we paid our author $3,000 for [...]
Posted on January 13, 2010 - by Monica Valentinelli
Weighing in on E-Books
It’s been really interesting for me to watch the complex discussions about e-books online, because I work for a digital publisher. My company provides digital sheet music files to our customers and there are a lot of similarities between our industry and the publishing industry. However, books have a broader market than sheet music does, [...]
Posted on November 29, 2009 - by Monica Valentinelli
Puking Content, Plagiarism and Too Much Free
I’m sure many of you have thought something along the lines of, “My gosh, there’s a lot of misinformation on the internet.” And you would be right.
I don’t know about you, but I feel like it’s too easy to get sucked into providing editorial on bad information to set the record straight. Of course, [...]
My Recent Releases
The Queen of Crows
Download THE QUEEN OF CROWS e-book at DriveThruHorror.com
Watch the Promo Video
Family Games: The 100 Best
Order through Amazon.comThe Bones
Available at Gameplaywright.netRecommended Writing Music
Violet War
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