07 Wednesday Dec 2016
Posted in Advertising, Self-Publishing, Steam Empire Chronicles, Thoughts
Salve Facebook Romans! (Err, I mean real Romans!) As I’m recovering from the release of Steel Praetorian, I’ve been thinking about some things in my writing world I’d like to change.
Today we have a great article written by yours truly about Facebook and Advertising. Facebook (and to a lesser extent, Twitter and other social media sites) seems to occupy more and more off our lives, and everyone seems to be on it all the time. But does this popularity translate into more sales?
21 Monday Nov 2016
Good Morning Everyone!
Steel Praetorian is now available for Pre-Order on Amazon! I expect to have it up for pre-order on Barnes and Noble too by the end of the week. I am so excited to share this novel with you all. The official release date is December 1st!
You can also read more in an interview I’ve done on fellow writer Phoebe Darqueling’s blog – I highly encourage you to go there as well! It describes some of what’s going on in my head, as well as in this book and future books.
Steel Praetorian takes us deeper into the story and the political intrigue in Rome than ever before. Order shatters, resistance endures. Our loyalist friends face new challenges, while our traitorous friends uncover plot-twisting secrets. Cities will fall, Royal Houses will rise, and new technology will come to the forefront – but for better or worse? (SPOILERS FROM EARLIER BOOKS IN THE BACK BLURB). See more for the blurb!
09 Wednesday Nov 2016
Posted in Advertising, Laurel Emperor, NaNoWriMo, NaNoWriMo2016, Self-Publishing
Hi everyone!
Today’s just a quick update to tell you that we’ve reached the 15,000 word mark! Hurray! Also, the illustrations for Steel Praetorian are nearing completion, and I expect the formatting and cover art to be done shortly as well. I’m thinking the release date will be around the 1st of December, giving me a break between the Thanksgiving holidays (When no one is paying attention) and the Christmas holidays (when no one is paying attention).
If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s not to try and compete with huge multinationals that can throw bazillions on advertising!
Anyways, enjoy the day!
Ciao!
23 Saturday Jul 2016
Posted in Advertising, Self-Publishing, SteamLit
Hi all,
Another blogger is on the lookout for good steampunk websites, blogs, writers, etc, as she is looking to compile a big list about them! Hop on over and check out her site For Whom the Gear Turns – I also recently backed her kickstarter to send her to several steampunk conventions (since I don’t have the time to go and it’s always fun to get another writer’s point of view on a convention before I commit the time or money to go to one!
(Full Disclosure – Iron Tribune has an ad up on her site (Part of the reward for the kickstarter pledge) – But then again you already own Iron Tribune, don’t you?)
Here’s a preview below. Enjoy!
14 Friday Nov 2014
Posted in Advertising, Copper Centurion, Giveaways
Tags
I Mean seriously, really, truly, 99 cents on sale!
Are you looking for your next read? Why not try a steampunk adventure, thriller, mystery or romance? We have them all here and all on sale today only. Buy one or buy them all for months worth of reading material! Throughout the day you can drop by and chat with the authors about everything from your most pressing steampunk questions to author influences and tips on writing.
Featured Writers and Novels –
>>S.C. Barrus – “Discovering Aberration” and “The Gin Thief: Episode 1”
>>Jonathon Burgess – “Chasing the Lantern”
>>Wendy Calahan – Aetheric Artifacts bundle (which includes “The Gilded Gun”, “The Chronos Clock”, “The Daemon Device“, and “The Enigma Engine”)
>>James Calbraith – “The Year of the Dragon, 1-4”
>>Pauline Creeden – “Chronicles of Steele: Raven”
>>Ren Cummins – “Steel & Sky”
>>Rebecca Diem – “The Stowaway Debutante (Tales of the Captain Duke #1)”
>>Karen Kincy – “Shadows of Asphodel” and “Storms of Lazarus”
>>Mark Lingane – “Tesla Evolution” series including “Tesla”, “Decay”, and “Faraday”
>>Ava Morgan – “The Armored Doctor”
>>Daniel Ottalini – “Copper Centurion”
>>Travis Sivart – “Aetheric Elements: The Rise of a Steampunk Reality”
>>Ichabod Temperance – 5 books including “A Matter of Temperance”, “A World of InTemperance”, “For the Love of Temperance”, “A Study in Temperance”, “In a Latitude of Temperance”
>>Steve Turnbull – “Murder Out of the Blue”
>>Jack Wallen – “Klockwerk Kabaret”
We’re also having a day long author chat, featuring authors from a wide variety of steampunk genres. There’s something for everyone. Click here to join and chat away!
(I’ll be on this evening from about 7 to 9, but I’ll try to drop by earlier to a
sk and answer any really cool questions! I’m even willing to answer questions about Iron Tribunei, ncluding questions about the release date and possible Kickstarter)
Copper Centurion is only on sale on Amazon for Kindle and on Nook from Barnes and Noble (It takes too long to percolate through Smashwords to change up the iStores’ cost for a one day sale). Grab my EPIC eBook 2014 Finalist Novel today!
PLUS EVERYONE WHO COMMENTS ON THIS POST, OR ON FACEBOOK, IS ENTERED INTO A DRAWING FOR ONE OF TWO LIMITED EDITION POSTERS FROM MY SERIES.
So, what are you waiting for!? Get up and get going, this sale won’t last forever!
04 Tuesday Nov 2014
Posted in Advertising, Giveaways, Self-Publishing, Steam Empire Chronicles
Quick, easy question:
Do you like steampunk novels of all types? Yes? Well then why haven’t you entered the SteamLit Giveaway?!
Win 16 books valued at over $50 in total value! Three winners will get all the loot, the prizes, the… err… ebooks! Woo!
Go here!
Wait, did you go there? Did you sign up? You should! 🙂 Because….
…in the next few days there will be a spat of blog posts about awesome events connected to our second Steam Lit Extravaganza! I’m super pumped and this is getting me back into the writing mood! Yippee!
26 Tuesday Mar 2013
Posted in Advertising, Copper Centurion, Giveaways, Self-Publishing
Greetings to all my readers and fans!
I am extremely excited to announce that Copper Centurion will be released on May 1, 2013. This full-length novel has roughly 80,000 and will be on sale for $3.99 on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, the iStore, Kobo, and all other platforms through Smashwords. There will also be a print version available on the same day.
I am currently looking for the following…
If you’d like to do any of these (or just want to know more) email me at daniel(dot)ottalini(at)gmail.com.
If you’re nice enough to help me make this book release a blast, you’ll get some awesomely exciting prizes.
This will be done on a first come, first serve basis, so sign up for your slot today!
10 Sunday Feb 2013
Posted in Advertising, Author Interviews, Self-Publishing
Tags
Hi all,
As promised, here is the link to the Radio Interview that I just did. Since then, I’ve read a lot about how people think they are a scam and what not, but the way I see it, I’ve gained some confidence in myself, gained some practice at how to effectively talk about your story, and can now use this audio file to help expand my readership. I’m also going to turn it into a youtube video to provide another way for people to find me.
kickstarter logo (Photo credit: AslanMedia)
Also, the Kickstarter project for Copper Centurion is almost done! This is the LAST day for anyone to contribute to the cause! There are some awesome rewards available, such as a digital copy of all the artwork from books one and two, as well as getting a handwritten thank you note. Of course, my favorite is the one where you get to name your own character, but that is just me :-).
Ciao!
– Daniel
02 Saturday Feb 2013
Posted in Advertising, Self-Publishing
Tags
authors, interview, minute radio, Radio, self-publishing, writing
Hi All,
I recently did a radio interview with Kevin from Global Talk Radio after they had a promo for five minute radio interviews. What can I say, these guys were super nice and considerate. Because I live on the East Coast, it was sort of a challenge to match my schedule with theirs (west coast), but they made it happen. I’ve posted the questions and my answers below, and hope to be posting the actual radio episode later this week!
How did you get started being a writer?
I actually started as a writer in college, when I decided to write a story that used all of my friends as characters. I got about 7 or 8 chapters in, but then lost interest. For me, one of the hardest things about writing is being self-disciplined enough to actually finish the novel. When I wrote Brass Legionnaire, it helped that I actually wrote down the entire story in a journal I had lying around, rather than sit at the computer and start from scratch. The words seemed to flow more easily for me.
Why did you go the self-publishing route?
I’m impatient and like to be in control! Actually, I had been doing a lot of reading about self-publishing and it seemed to me like it was something that was more practical and doable then trying to get an agent and get my book published by a company. Brass Legionnaire is a good book, and I’ve found great people to back me up on it through my own research. That’s another important part. Instead of having my team picked for me, I could pick my team for the editing, cover art, illustrations, etc. I liked that level of control.
Why Roman Steampunk?
It was actually an inside joke that took off. I’ve always loved Roman history, and studied aboard in Rome and Naples during college. I’m also a big fan of alternative history, and noticed that very few authors had examined how the world would have changed if the Roman Empire was still around, even though it very likely could have. Plus, I enjoyed novels with steampunk elements that are more realistic, so I used my own knowledge to try and create steampunk creations that would actually make sense in a Roman world. This isn’t Victorian steampunk, no canes and zombies or giant guns, but instead a focus more on animal-like machines and gunpowder loaded weaponry that could realistically evolve from the Romans of old. You’ll see the world really expand in Copper Centurion, my next novel.
What advice would you tell new authors?
Plan, save up, and write a lot! Plan out your novel, then your post-novel plan – who will edit, make cover art, format, and how will you publish. Will you go with Amazon KDP or for a more broad spectrum release with Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, iTunes, etc. Save up your money, because you can do it cheap, but in this case cheap is not always good. You want your editor to really help clean up your story, not just do a one time sweep for loose punctuation.
How do you keep in touch with fans?
I have a twitter – @Dottalini, a blog – danielottalini.com, and a Facebook page. I also created a book page – brasslegionnaire.com for my novels, since I sort of wanted to keep that series separate from my author blog when I start writing other novels that aren’t part of this series.
What was your biggest mistake and your greatest achievement (so far)?
So far, I would say my biggest mistake was not writing more. I wish I had been smarter and had at least two stories ready to go, instead of just the one. It would have been fast and simply to make a 10-15,000 word novella and pop that out really cheap next to my other novel, that way I could hook more readers with a low-priced introductory story. My greatest achievement is that my novel – Brass Legionnaire – has been nominated for an EPIC – Electronic Publishing Industry Coalition – eBook award – it’s a finalist (top three) for the action adventure category. That is insanely cool considering that Brass Legionnaire is my first novel.
Round Up: Copper Centurion is coming out this spring, and a short story – Roma Aeronautica, is also coming soon. I’ll be starting work on novel number three, Iron Tribune, next! My books are on sale on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, and Smashwords.
(P.S – in case you were wondering, this is not a paid advertisement or whatnot – did you really think I would do that? I paid for the interview and simply enjoyed the experience. Ciao!
08 Saturday Dec 2012
Posted in Advertising, Self-Publishing
Happy Holidays everyone! Only about three weeks left till Christmas, and let me tell you, things are only getting busier from here on out!
Today’s post is all about Advertising. More specifically, the types available to authors (on a relatively cheap basis) and whether or not it’s worth it. I’m going to give each type of advertisement a ranking. $ for affordability and stars for effectiveness. Ideally, you want a type that is low cost and high effectiveness, that is, purchases per click!
Opttion 1: Google Adwords: $ (Three Stars)
What you need: Google Account and a CC
How it works: Essentially, you are creating a text or picture advertisement to run alongside Google’s search results or on any google page. So for my Brass Legionnaire, if you typed in the word “Steampunk” you might see my advertisement pop up. The caveat is that you tend to pay by the click. You also need to pick good target words and hope that your book is a match for people doing that search The more you are willing to pay by the click, the more likely you are to get yours seen. But then the more expensive your advertisement campaign becomes.
I tend to run my ‘offers’ for clicks between $1.00 and $1.50 per day. That way, I can pop in fifty dollars and then let it run for a while. Have I seen a huge jump in sales? Not necessarily, but I have seen rather consistent clicking the advertisement, as well as rather consistent sales since I’ve started. Now I cannot individually target this as the factor in all honesty, but I am considering letting it stop at the end of this cycle and seeing what happens to my numbers.
Option 2: Goodreads (Or other book website/blog) $ (Three and a half stars)
Goodreads and other web blogs are great places to run your book ad. After all, you’re specifically targeting the group of ‘readers’ that you want. I’m not going to run an ad on a Women’s artwork website, I’m going to run it on one that likes to focus on Sci-Fi, fantasy, or history! Thus it is a tiny bit more effective, and if you are on Goodreads, you can see how some information on people clicking on your link. You can make the link go outside the site (and on other blogs) but for goodreads they encourage you to link to your own site on the page. I’m not sure which is better, as I have very limited experience with this site (only 4 days worth of ads.)
Option 3: Facebook $ Two Stars
So you’ve got a facebook account? Do you have a facebook page? Great, then you can run ads! Similar to the way that Google Adwords works, you create an ad then provide a link. Similar to Goodreads, you can link to an external site or to your own facebook group page. I was town between making a Steam Empire Chronicles page and an Author Page. In the end I went for an Author page, figuring that it would be all encompassing should I ever write more books (Which I plan to). Pop in some money, assign a target demographic, and off you go. Was this effective in getting me sales? Probably only a bare few. But it DID get me a much wider target base. Before the ad, I had roughly 20 ‘likes’ on my page. My ad has been running since Thanksgiving, and I’m up to about 55 or so. That seems pretty good to me. And they are people I don’t know! Even better! You have to go into this realizing that you aren’t out to make sales now, more so to build community involvement and interest.
Other advertising service: $-$$$ (three-four stars)
Bookbub and several other advertising services for self-published authors have sprung up like weeds around the proverbial well of writing. In many cases, the services can be overpriced or poorly targeted. Some specific ones are useful, but require that you discount your book in order to purchase an ad slot, and even then they can deny you. So if you’re looking for a specific time to do an advertisement, you’d be out of luck, as I was when I wanted to run Black Friday ads. However, in retrospect I’m sort of glad I didn’t spend $200 on the advertisement. I’m not sure I would have made it back.
Some other information: When I published with Wix, I got $30 free at Google Adwords and $50 free on Facebook for advertisements. Thus, I’ve only paid about $75 (out of my pocket) in advertisement costs total since my book was published. 2/3 of that was to Google. So as you can see, lots of choices, but be careful where you put your money!
Where do you guys advertise that makes the greatest bang for your buck? Or do you eschew advertisements altogether?
