As an Indie author it is only natural that you want your story to reach as many people as possible. Afterall, you've spent countless hours carefully crafting your story, had it edited until it is as perfect as possible, and you've spent a lot of time (and probably money!) creating an eye-catching cover. You are proud of your work - and you should be - and you want as many people as humanly possible to read & enjoy your work. I was (and am), no different than any other author. I enjoy entertaining people, and aside from the occasional nasty review, most of my readers have liked my stories (each of my 3 books are currently sitting with at least a 4 star review on Amazon). Even though the royalties are low to say the least, there is some transparency associated with self-publishing on Amazon. Unfortunately the same thing cannot be said for some of the more popular translation services. At the prompting of some former business colleagues, I first ventured into the realm of having my books translated from English to simplified Chinese (I spent a lot of time in China and although the people I knew there liked the English version, they said if I published them in Chinese I'd gain a bigger fan base). I did my research with the help of people I knew in China, and decided to go ahead and have my first 2 books translated into Chinese. This was my first mistake. The company that I used was Fiberead.com, a large company located in China that supposedly had ties to the Chinese marketplace. After sending my English manuscript to Fiberead, a team of translators were assigned and the translation process began. Several months later, my book was published in China. Several of my friends in China purchased the e-book and told me that the translation was good, albeit some "editing" (read: censorship) had taken place, which did not come as a surprise to me. I then sent them the 2nd book and the same process followed. My 2 books have now been on sale in China since 2017, and as of today's date, my royalties total RMB34.61, which translates to USD4.95 at today's exchange rate. To add insult to injury, the actual per book royalty amounts have dropped from USD1.00 for book #1, and USD0.59 for book #1, to under USD0.000143 per book since they were originally published. Fiberead requires a minimum royalty amount of USD50.00 (RMB350) before you can ask for payment - and even then the payment is at their discretion! At this rate I'll be long dead before I see dollar 1 from this "service". Boyed by my initial sales in China, I decided to translate my books into Spanish. I chose Spanish as I have a friend who could reliably confirm the translation prior to publication. For this fateful endeavor, I chose a company called Babelcube. Boy, was that a mistake! For starters, Babelcube doesn't have a team of professional translators as Fiberead does (not that using Fiberead was a good idea either!), but instead matches authors with people willing to translate your book into one of a dozen different languages. The editing, review and approval of all such translations are left up to the author, and once it is approved, Babelcube takes care of the publishing and marketing of the translated book; or so they would have you believe. As best as I can determine, all that Babelcube does is take your translated book and list it on Amazon as an ebook in the language into which it has been translated. I have seen zero actual marketing done, just my book listed on Amazon in Spanish and apparently also being sold through "other" sales channels, although I can never find them. I guess that their "marketing plan" only involves luck and possibly divine intervention! To make matters worse, actual sales reports are not always provided (my last one was in 2019 although my books remain on Amazon). In 5 years, I have earned a total of USD2.81 in royalties, but like Fiberead, I cannot withdraw any amount that is under a specified amount which is, in this case, USD100.00. While neither of these so-called services cost me much more than my time and effort, the amount of frustration that I have endured due to the lack of transparency and lack of actual customer support, has not been worth it. For all I know, my books could be selling in these languages in decent quantities, but I don't know. Someone must be making money from these endeavors, but it certainly is NOT me! Even better, neither service will agree to remove the books from their markets and each attempt that I have made is met with unreasonable - and almost impossible obstacles - to do so. Even when I follow their instructions to cancel my account and remove my books, they add something new (like telling me that I have to pay the translation teams in the case of Fiberead, something I refuse to do). Even though selling self-published books through Amazon isn't ideal, at least I get a wire transfer each month that I make a sale (even if the amount is below $1.00). With these other 2 companies, I have seen nothing after 5 years. The fact that neither firm will allow me to remove my books from their sales platform makes me believe that there must be a reason they want them kept on their platforms. However, I cannot prove anything at this time. Based on my own personal experience, I would strongly advise against using either of these translation & sales platforms for your Indie books. It just simply is not worth it, and you have zero to gain...at least from my 5 years' worth of waiting.

You've gotta love the internet and all of the new sites that help us creative types be, well, creative! Last night I took a few minutes to check out SoundCloud.com, a site that allows artists to upload soundtracks of their work. This can be done for musicians, singers, narrators and even writers who have had their books made in audiobook format (like me!). Using the site was relatively easy and, best of all, FREE. You can quickly upload your sound track, an album cover (in my case the audiobook cover), type in appropriate key words to help people find your work and then you're done. Easy-peasy! I uploaded all 3 of the 5-minute free audio previews of my books. Here are the links: https://soundcloud.com/brad-taylor-941456781/bloodlines-cove-point-manor-retail-sample https://soundcloud.com/brad-taylor-941456781/bloodlines-of-noble-blood https://soundcloud.com/brad-taylor-941456781/bloodlines-brendas-revenge Each clip is now easily searchable by a large number of SoundCloud users - just be sure to choose your keywords and descriptions carefully. Give a listen to my sample audio clips and let me know what you think - they work on any computer, tablet or smart phone. I think that this is a great site that will help many indie artists share their work with the world, and maybe in the process, help them to find their dreams.

Bloodlines: Brenda's Revenge is now officially on sale through Audible, Amazon and i-Tunes. Better yet, for the past 24 hours, Brenda's Revenge was sitting at #1 in the New Releases for Horror! This is the first time that I've had a book hit #1, and to tell the truth, it feels pretty darned good! Credit must go to my narrator, the talented Hollywood veteran, Steve Carlson. Steve has done an excellent job not only in setting the scene for this spooky tale of the afterlife, but he has really put a lot of effort into bringing the characters to life. The audiobook is a little over 9.5 hours in length, and every minute is action packed, with a sprinkle of dark humor added in for good measure. Although I wrote the story, being able to listen to such a talented narrator tell me the tale is an incredible experience, and very enjoyable. Now, if only someone in Hollywood would bring the characters to life on the big or little screen for even more people to enjoy.... If you haven't listened to Steve's rendition of the Bloodlines gang, go to Audible or Amazon today and listen to the preview...you'll be hooked!

After months of working with the very talented narrator, Steve Carlson, Bloodlines: Brenda's Revenge has now been completed in audiobook format. Steve Carlson, a veteran Hollywood actor who has had roles on several well-known soap operas such as General Hospital, The Young & The Restless, The Bold & The Beautiful, as well as classic shows such as Hawaii 5-0, Mod Squad, Dragnet, Micky Spillaine's Mike Hammer and many more shows, narrated this latest story in the Bloodlines Series. Steve's acting and voice talent brings to life this dark and suspense filled story, making it an audiobook that you won't want to miss hearing! Bloodlines: Brenda's Revenge will be available for sale on Audible, Amazon and on iTunes the week of November 11th. If you haven't already listened to Bloodlines: Cove Point Manor and Bloodlines: Of Noble Blood, now's the time to catch up before the darkest of the stories, Brenda's Revenge, is released this coming week. For a quick, 2-minute audio preview, go to: https://youtu.be/HzjaN55A7pM

It has been awhile since my last post, and in that time I have been busy working with the talented Steve Carlson, veteran Hollywood actor & narrator. To be honest, Steve is doing all the work...although I did write the story that he is narrating. Brenda's Revenge is the last of my published books to be turned into an audiobook. It has taken so long because I wanted just the right narrator to tackle this project, and I think that my patience is going to pay off. We are now finished with 16 of the 22 chapters, and Steve is doing an excellent job in bringing the story to life. Listening to Brenda's Revenge has also prompted me to start a new story in the Bloodlines series. While still in rough draft, this new story takes Alex and Maggie, and some of the other characters from previous stories, to South Carolina where they help right an old wrong dating back to the Antebellum period. As time and my mood permits, I will be working on this new story and hope that it will keep the tradition of mystery, supernatural happenings and, of course, some dark humor alive as the Bloodlines series continues. If all continues to go well, Bloodlines: Brenda's Revenge will be available on, or shortly after, October 31st. Could there be a more perfect time for a ghost story?

Students are back in school and it seems that everyone is quickly forgetting the lazy days of summer. Even some of the trees here in Southern Ontario have started to put on their fall colors, and the nights are growing cooler and longer. I happen to like autumn, and even though I know that there are many cold, dark and long nights ahead, I look forward to the next few weeks of warm days, fall colors and the smell of the forest as it prepares for the long winter ahead. Soon it will be time to turn off the air conditioner and turn on the fireplace. It will be the perfect time for me to write and to stay inside and do some reading. My third novel, Bloodlines: Brenda's Revenge, soon goes into production to become my third audiobook. For this final book in the Bloodlines trilogy (at least it is the final book thus far!), I have hired veteran Hollywood actor Steve Carlson. Steve has a long list of television, movie and voice acting roles under his belt, and I am quite anxious to see how he brings "Brenda's Revenge" to life. Once this latest audiobook is completed and launched, I hope to turn my attention back to writing another novel. I currently have two projects underway, with one being a prequel to Cove Point Manor, and the other a horror short-story. I also have more than a few other ideas running around inside my head begging to be put into words. Hopefully I can find both the time and motivation to get these projects completed between now and Spring, but we will see what happens. In the meantime, get out and enjoy the warm, sunny days and cool nights...soon the northern hemisphere will be gripped with the icy chill of winter, and a whole new world of wonder will be upon us.

Writing a book is the easy part - getting your book noticed by your target audience however, is difficult! I've seen the same complaint over and over again on message boards, and after being in the market now for a little over 3.5 years, I have to agree. Without a marketing team from a traditional publishing house behind you, marketing your work can be a daunting task. It can also be fun and, in the process, unveil some hidden talents that you didn't know that you had. A lot of indie authors try the usual marketing routes - keywords on Amazon, pay-per-click ads, blog writing, twitter advertising and Facebook advertising. All are excellent ways to start getting your name - and your work, out "there" in front of potential readers. It can also be very expensive and, unless you sell thousands of books, your return on investment can be dismal. I've tried all of these advertising methods and some have worked, but most have only relieved my bank account of cash with little to show for it. It was time for me to start thinking outside of the box. I began following some favorite celebrities on Twitter and Facebook. In the process, I have learned more about my favorite celebs and even discovered that some of them actually manage their own feeds and interact with their fans. Bonus! However, I have also discovered that when some celebs have interacted with my posts, I saw an uptick in book sales. Now I cannot directly correlate the celebrity attention to the increased sales, but if it is not, it is an odd coincidence (and I don't believe in coincidences). I also began looking for new ways to advertise my books. One of the coolest things I have found is a website called Promo.com which allows you to create your own videos. It is a relatively simple process - you find a suitable stock video, add your own advertising phrases and music, download the finished result and then post it anywhere that it can garner some attention. All in all, the process was fun (at least to me) and in only 2 weeks I have managed to create 4 very different advertising videos. I have placed these videos on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Redditt and Pinterest. As of this morning, my videos have been viewed almost 3,000 times - not bad for a $96.00 investment. Only time will tell if my videos will attract buyers, but it can never hurt to get your name, and the names of your books, in front of a potential audience. I still maintain some of my more traditional advertising methods with Facebook, Amazon and BookBub, but I am mixing things up a bit by adding my videos to my marketing plan. I will update everyone on the results in a few months once my ads have been in front of my target audience for awhile.

Online reviews are now a part of our everyday lives. Everything product and service seems to have a user review, and reviews of the same product/service can vary wildly from one reviewer to the next. Indie publishing is no exception to this rule, and if you choose to sell your works on Amazon or Audible (an Amazon company), reviews are key to product placement. Good reviews can mean higher placement in Amazon's search engine which can help drive sales. There is a downside to online reviews though, and if you aren't careful, you can quickly become discouraged by negative reviews. Let's face it: not everyone will like your book. It doesn't matter if you have a successful series of books like J.K. Rolling or Stephen King, or Mark Twain all do, they will not appeal to everyone. Whether you a new to the world of publishing (self or indie-published or traditionally published), a negative review can sting. But it doesn't have to. I'll admit that I made more than a few mistakes with my first self-published novel. Some spelling and grammatical errors managed to get past my editor and were only corrected at a later date. Some readers were kind enough to point out these issues, while other's went on a complete rant about finding some mistakes. Having my mistakes made public was embarrassing, but I sucked it up, made the corrections and moved on. For awhile that seemed to quell the negative reviews, and my books started receiving a significant number of complimentary reviews. Soon there were more positive than negative reviews from readers and listeners who had enjoyed the stories. Even though the majority of the reviewers liked my printed or audio books, there were still some people that didn't like them. Some even hated the stories, and for various reasons. Any artist (and yes, writers are artists) who has summoned up enough courage to chase their dreams and put themselves in the public eye deserves some credit. Not everyone can or will do this, even if they are incredibly talented. Putting yourself "out there" for the whole world to see means that you could be making yourself a potential target for some very negative individuals. I have been self-published for a couple of years now, and for the most part the reviews of my work are more positive than negative. However, I still have some reviewers who simply don't like my stories, and I am fine with that. This is not an uncommon occurrence in the writing world; Twitter, author blogs and Facebook are full of indie artists who chat about how they cope with negative reviews (not to be confused with constructive reviews that help the author improve). Even big names such as J.K. Rolling, Stephen King, Margaret Mitchell and Mark Twain receive negative reviews, and some of them are quite amusing! A quick search on Amazon will illustrate how ludicrous some of the negative reviews can be: "It's witchcraft!" - one star review for Harry Potter by J.K. Rolling. "Is this child pornography?" - one star review for IT by Stephen King. "I lost the book so I'm giving it one star." - IT by Stephen King. "Racist!" - Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell. "The story wasn't as good for me now as it was when I was a teenager in the 1970's" - Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell. There are even more instances of one star reviews being given for the actual print quality of the books, which has nothing to do with the story or the author. My most recent run-in with a negative review came from a lady who had listened to the audiobook version of my first novel, Bloodlines: Cove Point Manor. She goes on a rant about the characters and story line (it is FICTION, by the way) and how the antagonists are portrayed in a negative light; she says that they lack character, integrity and common decency. If my antagonists were good people, how would they be antagonists??? I guess this particular listener has never come across a TV show, movie or book that has characters who are not nice or act in bizarre and over-the-top behavior in order to drive home a point, or to entertain. Thank goodness she hasn't watched or read any science fiction! I make a point of reading all the reviews that are left for my work, both the good and the bad. I have also been taking the time to look at the history of a reviewer. Most sites that allow reviews will also post the history of the reviewer (just click on the reviewers screen name) which can prove to be of value. More often than not I find that someone who leaves a wild rant about how much they hate something has a long track record of doing the same thing for a myriad of other products and services. This can also come in handy when you are looking to make a purchase - not all reviews are real, and too many 5 star reviews can be as much a red-flag as too many 1 star reviews. Negative reviews will happen and the advent of online reviews gives everyone the opportunity to voice their opinion, even if that opinion is contrary to your own. You can't please everyone, but sometimes you can learn from the comments that reviewers make. Some will even make you laugh.

Spring is now just around the corner, and the non-stop snow, ice and cold here in Southern Ontario seems to have ceased...at least for now! After a long winter season, I am looking forward to warmer, sunnier days and being able to get outside more frequently without getting covered in salt and snow. Until then though, I will spend my time working on a couple of new projects. I am still keeping "Bloodlines: Dynasty" on the back burner for the time being, but the characters and story are constantly talking to me so eventually they will force me to tell their story. My attempt at a short story has also gone on longer than I had hoped, but the story has taken on a life of its own and is rapidly becoming a novella, and possibly even a novel. I have also been busy moving my e-books and print books away from Amazon, at least from an exclusivity standpoint. As I have lamented in previous posts, Amazon has a real mess on the go with reporting and a lot of people, myself included, are not happy with the lack of resolution. I have started pulling my e-books out of Amazon's exclusive KDP program (page reads vanished, or at least they were not being reported so I lose nothing) and have unpublished the print books with Amazon as well. I, along with hundreds of other authors, have been less than impressed since Amazon closed CreateSpace and forced everyone over to KDP Print. The reporting of sales have been slow to say the least, and receiving payment has become a huge hassle. Even when I have sent Amazon lists of order numbers and proof of payment and delivery, I was unable to receive a reasonable response. If they could not confirm sales that I had proof were made, then how many other sales that I don't know about go unreported? I now have "Bloodlines: Cove Point Manor" being printed with IngramSpark and sales have shot back up to normal. More importantly, the sales are being recorded and reported to me. As a side benefit, the IngramSpark program allows for the paperback books to be listed at significantly lower prices. My 2nd novel, "Bloodlines: Of Noble Blood" is just going through the final print process and will also be available soon. I have also moved the e-book version of "Of Noble Blood" over to SmashWords now that it is out of the exclusive KDP Select program. "Cove Point Manor" will be coming out of Select this week and will also be moved over to SmashWords. Using both IngramSpark and SmashWords is not as easy as Create Space and KDP was, but the extra costs and efforts to list with these other companies should be off-set by actually getting paid for my work. Maybe one day Amazon will get their act together and return to how they were operating a year ago, but in the meantime I refuse to stay exclusive with them. My books will remain available through Amazon as the e-books will remain online (just not in KDP Select), and IngramSpark makes the paperback available through Amazon but also through major online and in store retailers. Time will tell if I have made the correct choice, but so far I am happy with the results.

No, I am not talking about my waistline, although that could use some trimming too! I am talking about leaving Amazon's Kindle Select program and their exclusivity contract. With Amazon an author has the option to enroll in their KDP Select program where the author is paid for each page read by Amazon Kindle Unlimited members. The per page payment is paltry (around $0.0045 per page), and the exclusivity that you are forced to give to Amazon means that you are not able to sell your book in electronic format anywhere else. At one time the KDP Select program provided decent monthly income for me, but lately the returns are simply not worthwhile. In reading the author discussion boards, I am not alone in this opinion and there are lots of questions regarding the accuracy of the actual reports. At the moment there are known reporting problems with paperback sales, and for me personally, it has been a 3 month struggle to try and get this issue sorted (to no avail at the time of this posting). Amazon may be the big fish in the online book selling game, but the returns with them are not worth locking myself out of the rest of the market. I have begun to pull my books from Amazon's KDP Select program as the exclusivity contracts expire. Bloodlines: Of Noble Blood, was the first book removed from this program and is now available in e-book format at other online retailers. Bloodlines: Cove Point Manor will be the next to come out of KDP Select, and then finally Brenda's Revenge. I have also removed all of my print books from Amazon due to my on-going dispute with Amazon and the lack of resolution with receiving payment for known - and proven - sales. If they are not paying me for the sales of my book, why on earth would I continue to allow them to sell them??? This is both an unfortunate and frustrating issue for me as well as lots of other indie authors. When Amazon shut down Create Space, printing and selling paperback books became a nightmare. When Create Space was still active, there were minor issues from time to time, but their reporting and payments for sales were never an issue. Amazon has had 6 months to fix this issue, but it still remains unresolved, or at least it does for me. I am currently reviewing options for offering paperback books again, and hopefully I will have this problem solved shortly. In the meantime you will be able to purchase my novels in e-book format at most major online retailers, including Amazon, but access to the e-books as part of your Kindle Unlimited membership will soon disappear.

After months of struggling with the idea of leaving my exclusive arrangement with Amazon, I have finally decided to cut ties with the online giant. A number of changes made to how print books are published and sold, along with numerous reporting issues have left me with no choice. Effective immediately my books are no longer being offered for sale on Amazon in the English language. I am currently seeking new ways to bring my stories to the marketplace including traditional publishing. Unfortunately for readers, I am not alone in my decision to leave the industry giant and seek out other routes to my readers. This was not an easy decision to make, and I appreciate the support of my readers and all of the knowledge I have gained by self-publishing, but the rewards are no longer worth the effort. The lack of transparency with the actual sales and page reads of my books is simply something which I can no longer tolerate. I am presently reviewing a number of ways in which I can bring both my electronic and print books to my readers and hope to have this issue settled in the near future. In the meantime I will continue to make my books available directly to customers through this website. My current work in progress started out as a short story which is now quickly growing into a full novel. This new book breaks from the Bloodlines Series, but will still contain the elements of humor,and the supernatural which you enjoy. I will also be introducing several new characters that I am certain that my readers will like! Please check back for updates and once again, thank you for your loyal support!

If you search the KDP author boards, or any number of indie artist discussion boards, you will quickly find the topic of reviews being discussed. Some indie artists tend to place a lot of importance in receiving reviews for their work while others simply dismiss them. At one time I will admit that I was in the former camp, but recently I have moved over to the "don't worry about them" camp. One must remember that reviews are opinions, and opinions are highly subjective and subject to one's mood, expectations and, in a lot of cases, a person's reason for leaving the review in the first place. This holds true for both good and bad reviews and it doesn't take a lot of time to find reviews for almost anything that can be considered highly suspect. These false reviews are very easy to find; one only needs to type "review of XXX" in an online search engine and you will quickly find reviews for almost anything, and within those reviews you will find both positive and negative reviews. As you peruse the reviews, it will quickly become apparent which reviews have a hidden agenda. Some businesses have been fighting back against false and unfair reviews and have even sued the reviewer for damages in addition to a retraction of the original review. This may work for a large corporation or even a local business that can prove that they have been damaged by such a review, but for indie artists, this generally is not a viable option. The best advice that I have seen from other indie artists is to simply ignore the false reviews and trust that consumers are smart enough to be able to spot a fake review. Also remember that reviews are not normally the deciding factor for a purchase and someone considering a purchase of your book, song or other creation will most likely not base their final decision on a few obviously skewed reviews (either good or bad). Finally, for those people who leave reviews as an attempt to get a person or business to purchase their service, forget it. We may be indie's but that doesn't mean that we are naive. Fake reviews are about as effective as spam emails in getting one of us to purchase your "much needed" service to further our success as indie artists.