The length of individual units and the number of chapters

It’s important that individual sections in a book aren’t too long. It’s the same as in movies or on television, when individual shots last only a few tens of seconds or a few minutes at the most and keep changing so that the viewer doesn’t get bored. I use a similar system. Usually, this means three or four different stories, which become more and more interconnected over the course of the book until at a certain point they all come together. The stories are divided into smaller segments, which can range from one to several pages. In this way, the reader’s interest never wanes, as these are extremely readable units that often foreshadow coming events. Usually, I include around 100 numbered chapters in each book. Thus the units are short, from half a page to a few pages.

93 books sold in February!

Here are the sell numbers for February:

I'm very satisfied.

I have big plans how to speed up those numbers in March. We will see what the future brings.

How long does a novel take to emerge?

Many writers are obsessed with the number of books they’re going to write in their life. Initially I also thought about how many books I could write. But later I decided to take a different route. Fewer well written books is a much better option. Now that I have more experience, a book takes approximately 4 months to appear, provided I write an hour and a half every morning. First, I read the bit I’d written the day before and then I write on.

In spite of this, a novel takes another 4 to 6 months to take final shape. During this time I read it through a few times, making corrections along the way. This second phase is even more important than the first. But many writers who are too obsessed with the number of published books devote insufficient attention to this phase, which is a big mistake.

It’s necessary to keep reading the book until there’s hardly anything left to correct. And I don’t mean just words and sentences, but the story itself. The writer must feel everything his main characters feel. You must follow your heart and add or remove sentences, paragraphs and even pages. And with every chapter, you must ask yourself if it’s necessary at all.

I’ve realized that it is best if 3 to 4 weeks pass between two readings. This gives your brain a chance to clear and you can experience the book almost anew each time.

Press Release

Three days ago a made first press release:http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9219482.htm, but frankly it didn’t work as it should . Only two persons have uploaded the book.

I think that in the near future I will concentrate only on book bloggers. As Amanda Hocking has found out they are the most effective way to promote books. 

How much did I earn in January 2012?

Below you can see that I have earned 247.45$. That means that I have sold 707 books. (707 x 0.35$ = 247.45$). Because my price of book is below 2.99$ Amazon gives me only 35% of royalty (0.35 cents per book). If my price of book would be 2.99$ then I would gain 75% of royalty (2.24$ per book).

Not bad for the beginner. I’m very proud that 14.000 new readers have uploaded the book: Only the Strongest Survive in one day. In because of that the next day I have sold about 200 books for 0.99$. And the day after about 150 pieces. And so on.

You must understand that if you sell so many books (even for free) in one day, then you have positive consequences for the whole week. Amazon has a computer system that rates you higher and consequently you sell more books.

Imagine how much would I have earned if the sell price of my book would be 2.99$. In that case I would earn about 2.24$ per book.

Here is the calculation:

707 books x 2.24 $ = 1.584 USD

But I have decided to work on readership. Here is an interesting article about pricing the e-book: LINK

Amanda Hocking

A few months ago I read an article about Amanda Hocking on http://amandahocking.blogspot.com. I must admit I was very impressed. It gave me a lot of ideas about self-promotion. If you read her blog from the beginning, you’ll see that she too tried to find an agent in America, but without success. In April 2010 she began publishing books in electronic form and a year later she’d already made 2 million dollars. And two months later another 2 million. The woman isn’t even thirty yet and she’s already financially secured for life. Unbelievable. Amanda is very honest in her blog, revealing important information that every future self-publisher needs. She is a decisive and persistent person who didn’t give up as soon as agents rejected her. And it was her stubbornness that allowed her to succeed where most people fail. Besides, we mustn’t forget that she loves her work and is narrowly specialized and, of course, writes interesting novels that people like.

Thank you, Amanda. You were a great inspiration to me and a source of excellent advice.

Excelent Midwest Book Review for Only the Strongest Survive

Another intriguing opening marks Ian Fox's style, which is to grab the reader's attention from the first paragraph of description: "Emely Donnovan, the CEO of Donnovan Corporation, slipped out of her black Porsche

Carrera GT sports car and hurried to the entrance of the office building. "Here are the keys, Mr. Kruger," she said to the porter. "The usual space, please."

The day proves anything but usual for fast-paced CEO Emely, one of the wealthiest women in America, when she is kidnapped and buried alive; and the story that evolves will delight mystery and thriller readers who would initially predict quite a different outcome from the initial events.

As Emely and her kidnapper evolve some unusual bonds, a strange dilemma comes to unfold: what happens when terrorism and a plot for financial gain changes to unexpected romance which is experienced on both sides?

There has been much written about emotional connections between victims and captors that evolve as a response to a struggle for survival on the victim's part - but none hold the depth and dilemma of ONLY THE STRONGEST SURVIVE, where the captor himself is drawn to his victim.

At first the two are separated by their different objectives: hers to survive, his to reap financial gain: "When she lay on the bed or sat at the desk, she replayed the memory of what had happened to her. She thought about it so much that it gave her a headache. When she wasn't thinking she was crying, and when she wasn't crying, she was asleep.

John was not thinking of her. His thoughts revolved around the money that would soon be in his account. Every morning he rang his bank to check the balance. He knew that a transfer from abroad took at least three days, but still hoped that things would perhaps happen sooner."

Add to the budding romance other protagonists who have different interests in the changing situation plus swiftly changing motives and treachery and you have a story that follows no predictable path ... and herein lies its delight.

Ian Fox's writings will prove compelling to readers who seek complexity and difference in plots. ONLY THE STRONGEST SURVIVE is especially recommended for readers who, in the past, have read many thrillers with too few real surprises. Those who seek the thrill of the unexpected will find Ian Fox's works satisfying on many levels: filled with the depth, detail and turns that you just don't find in too many novels nowadays.

http://midwestbookreview.com/mbw/feb_12.htm#donovan