Latest Articles from The Vandal AKA Derek Haines

Do Free Ebook Promotions Work? My Conclusion

Does free ebook marketing work? After a four-week blitz of free Kindle ebook promotions, I have to say that the defining answer as to whether free ebook promotions work, is well, yes, no and perhaps. There are so many factors at play when you use KDP Select’s free book promotion that in all honesty, it can become a bit confusing. Let me start at the beginning and the confusion might become clearer. My plan was to offer four books over four three-day weekends. To increase the exposure of each promotion I looked for ten sites that promote Free Kindle Ebooks but quickly discovered that most of them are very selective about

Line Editing – Never Rush It

Line editing makes all the difference. No matter how great your new story may be, are you really sure that you have an error-free manuscript? Hitting the publish button because you are impatient to get your fantastic new book out to readers can be one of the most fatal mistakes a self-publishing author can make if you have not done line editing. New books fail for many reasons; such as a weak plot, shallow characters or simply because it is not in a popular genre. This is a fact of life in publishing fiction. But to have your new book fail because it contains so many errors that it makes it

Friendship

Hello Friend Credit my account with your friendship, And I will return your change with a smile. For I know we’ll neither overdraw, Once we have stood the test a while. A friendship is always growing, From its early first sown seed. And with the gentle art of caring, It will grow at a steady speed. The want to make your cherished friend, A content and happy soul. Will bring the rich and full rewards, That will be treasured ‘til you’re old. Sometimes there are testing times, When the scales seem to be tipped. And maybe a time to stay tight-lipped. Just hang in there for your true dear friend,

Social Media Fatigue

Are you tired of social media? As an early adopter of social media, I’m now finding it increasingly difficult to decide what I should be doing with it now. In the early days, it was a fun way to communicate and keep in touch with friends and family that I have scattered around the globe. Then, as I’m a ‘wanna be’ author of note, I tried using social media as a way of letting people know that I wrote books. However, with the sudden advent and popularity of ebooks a couple of years ago, I found myself spending more time letting people know about my books than keeping in contact