Holo Sapiens Promotion - Free!

My Science-Fiction novel Holo Sapiens is to be free for five days, from April 25th to April 29th as part of an Amazon promotion.

Here's the story blurb;

“I’m glad my life came to an end. That was when it really began.”

In the near future, a horrific pandemic known as The Falling has decimated mankind, leaving just a few cities standing. In a desperate bid to prevent the extinction of our race, technology has given rise to an entirely new species: Holo Sapiens.

Those fortunate enough to be able to afford it can be resurrected after death as holographic projections immune to disease, hunger and time itself. But as the human survivors of The Falling make their last defiant attempt to find a cure before the last cities fall and political power is passed to the holosaps, the discovery of a “kill-switch” that could see Holo Sapiens consigned to history changes the world. As the prospect of war looms between the living and the “after-living”, it is down to one woman to find the kill-switch before mankind and Holo Sapiens attempt to erase each other from existence...

Which side of the afterlife will you be on?

Grab a copy while it costs you nothing!

Amazon US

Amazon UK

"SURVIVOR" is now available at a promotional price!

The debut in my new Science-Fiction series, Survivor, is now available across all Amazon stores! Very excited to see how this new venture develops as I release more in the series, the first time I've committed to a long-running serial via self-publishing.

You can get the book at the links below:

SURVIVOR ( UK )

SURVIVOR ( USA )

I hope all of my readers enjoy this new novel, and I'm really looking forward to writing more in the series.

"Atlantia" - the Survivor series

I often get asked by other authors, and aspiring authors, just how much time and effort I put into my novels: how far I will go to give them the best chance of success? The answer can't be made just in terms of how many hours I spend writing, as there is so much else to do when writing both traditionally contracted novels and self-published independent titles.

With my latest new series I went further than ever before - working full-time, plus evenings and weekends is the norm for me, but I've now ventured into the realms of 3-D design and developed a fully realised "battleship" model for use on the covers of my Survivor series.

I've never done this before, but it proved easier than I thought and with a few hours' practice I was able to begin building the model. The program, for those interested, is a freeware package called Google SketchUp. Textures were designed by me also. Here's a couple of shots of the model itself, and then the final artwork for the novel, which will be published on April 2nd, 2014.

Who ever said that writing was easy? :)

Amazon's Kindle Big Deal Promotion!

I'm delighted to report that Eden has been selected for a major Kindle promotion running on Amazon.com from March 14th! It will be discounted to $1.99, which couldn't have happened at a better time.

If you're a fan of my books in the USA, keep an eye open for the price reduction and grab a bargain while it lasts!  :)

EDEN

Reviewer Request!

As many of you may know, in about a months' time I will be releasing the first volume of a brand new science-fiction space opera, Survivor, which I am hoping will be the first in a long-running series of books. I've always wanted to write in this genre, but until the advent of true world-wide self-publishing it just hasn't been possible.

To give the series its best possible launch, I'm looking for a dozen or so keen readers and reviewers in the UK and USA who are willing to post reviews on their respective Amazon sites, to whom I can send free advance copies. I'll also be approaching industry bloggers for reviews as always, but it's the fans of these stories and of my other works who I'd really like to hear from. I'll be able to send a free copy of the finished e-book when it's ready, probably on or just before it's put up for sale on Amazon.

REVOLUTION price promotion!

My action thriller Revolution is on a price promotion for a day or two at Amazon UK, £0.99!! Grab it while it lasts for a great bargain!  :)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Revolution-Dean-Crawford-ebook/dp/B00HET1UKO/ref=pd_sim_kinc_6?ie=UTF8&refRID=1KTBDE3M1CSTN1YJF2MF

EDEN: paperback.

I'm delighted to announce that EDEN is now available as a paperback, for those who want it. Despite my best efforts the price is too high for my liking ( £9.99 / $10.44 ) probably mainly due to the fact that I write 100,000 word novels rather than 30,000 word novellas like many self-publishing authors.

I'll produce paperback versions for my other self-published novels too, but I may experiment with the size to see if slightly larger print packages might come in a bit cheaper.

Here's the link to EDEN, however, for anybody who would like to own a physical copy of the book:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Eden-Dean-Crawford/dp/1494939479/ref=la_B004UO651U_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1392199250&sr=1-6

"Survivor" pre-release teaser video.

The teaser for my "Survivor" serial, which will be published in six volumes from March 2014, is now ready and is being shared across the Internet.

Hope you enjoy it - release of Volume I is scheduled for mid to late March, Vol II a couple of weeks after.

My 2014 release schedule!

Okay folks, here's my publications plan for 2014 - and cover artwork for "HAVEN: Redemption", which will be released in April.

March: "Survivor" - Volume I

May onwards: "Survivor" Vols II to IV


"Survivor" may run to nine volumes depending on how things turn out. Currently I'm deciding whether six larger volumes would be better than nine smaller ones, as some readers are apparently tiring of long-running series where they keep having to pay out for fairly short stories.

 

 

 

 

SURVIVOR!!

I'm almost ready to begin writing what I hope will become a really exciting serial, Survivor. Plotting is well underway, with the nine-part high-concept storyline packed with twists and turns that will keep readers very much on their toes.

Each "Volume" will be released on the second week of each month, with the first being a free title provided I can ensure that Amazon will price-match effectively. However, should there be any issues I will be making sure that Volume 1 will be available to download for free from my website.

This is the first time I have attempted a serial of novellas. Each will be approximately 30,000 words long, far bigger than most serialised stories available on Amazon, and with nine volumes in total it represents the equivalent of a large trilogy of full-length works. Each volume ( after the first ) will be very low priced to attract readers and keep them hooked.

Here's the final artwork - can't wait to get stuck into it and make the first episode available for my readers...



2014!!

Happy New Year!!

I hope that you all had a fabulous Christmas and New Year. Mine was fairly quiet, mostly spent with my family and dodging power cuts! I also wanted to take some time out before beginning 2014, which will be my biggest year yet as far as writing novels is concerned.

The total count is yet to be confirmed, but I am hoping to produce no less than five different titles this year. Two of them are for my literary agent, which will hopefully be picked up by major publishers. Two are sequels to Eden and Holo Sapiens, both of which will be released later this year. The fifth is a bit special, as it's not actually a single title. Instead, it will be nine novellas released as a series, hopefully starting in May and then being published one per month for the rest of the year.

I like to tease readers, so I won't tell you anything about the storyline - instead, I'll leave you with this concept artwork for the series.

I hope all my followers have a fabulous 2014!

 

 

 

 

Brand new newsletter!

I've wanted for some time to provide readers of my novels with a way of receiving updates via e-mail when new books are released or when special offers and promotions occur, but it's been hard to find a decent provider of this service that doesn't send annoying spam mails at the same time. Let's face it, nobody likes spam e-mails!

However, I've done it. My news letter will only be sent when a new book is about to be released or when something special happens like a "free" book offer on Amazon ( one is in the pipeline for next year, bargain hunters! )

If you'd like to sign up, then just click the link below. It takes only seconds, and it means you won't have to monitor my blog, Twitter feed or Facebook page to keep up to date with new releases.

http://eepurl.com/KoP8T

Merry Christmas to all my followers! :)

REVOLUTION!!

One of the greatest things about the incredible rise of e-publishing is that it allows authors to publish books that otherwise would probably never have seen the light of day. Since the enormous success of Eden I've decided to edit and release other titles that were unable to attract offers from traditional publishers, as there is no good reason not to do so as long as the content is up to standard.

So, this month, I will be releasing my thriller Revolution to Amazon for Kindle. This book was the last that I wrote before beginning work on the manuscript that became Covenant, the debut in the Ethan Warner series.

When a journalist goes missing in the wilderness of the war-torn former-Soviet state of Mordania, friend and former colleague Megan Mitchell is compelled to search for her. Thrown into the conflict between the democratic Mordanian Government and an uprising led by the ruthless General Mikhail Rameron, Megan must strive to locate her lost friend and avoid becoming a pawn in a dangerous game.

As American diplomats struggle to strike lucrative oil-deals with the Mordanian government while it remains in power, and the United Nations tries to protect the capital city Thessalia's safe-haven, a lone reporter reveals footage of the carnage within the country. In a rush to avoid American intervention, rebel forces start protecting villages and citizens inside the war zone, and a revolution begins: now, the news is not just reporting on the conflict, it is actually controlling it. With every report, the conflicting forces attempt to gain favour in the eyes of the world watching on their televisions in their millions.

Megan pushes herself to the limit in order to rescue her friend, but she is captured by rebel forces and abducted deep behind enemy lines, and there she discovers the horrific truth behind the conflict, and that nothing reported on television is ever as it seems...

Revolution will be released for publication around December 19th, 2013.

Marketing "Holo Sapiens"

So, once again I find myself about to start a promotional run for a new independent novel, and I couldn't have hoped to have been in a better position. Checking Amazon UK's stats this morning, Holo Sapiens is already #14 in the Post Apocalyptic category, with Eden just ahead of it at #7.

This is fabulous news - less than 2 weeks after its launch and Holo Sapiens is already featuring prominently on the store ( and at the 3,300 position in Kindle UK overall ). Once again, this is with no publicity other than here on the blog and on Facebook and Twitter, and a single industry blogger's review ( featured in my previous post ).

The story in the USA is different, however. With a launch at a different time of year, the remarkable set of circumstances that saw Eden rise to the top 1,000 position in just a few weeks no longer exist. Holo Sapiens moves between the 70,000 and 200,000 positions, which obviously means that the novel cannot be seen by many potential readers yet.

Fortunately, this time around I'm more savvy with the marketing and have already pre-booked my advertising campaign. This falls on the 11th, 12th and 13th of December. The first day is a one-day banner with popular e-book forum KBoards. The second and third are both one-day promotions on Kindle Nation Daily, for the Kindle Fire and ordinary Kindle respectively.

The idea of this campaign is not to propel Holo Sapiens into the Amazon Top 100 or anything ( although that would be nice! ) but merely to sell enough copies of the book to rise sufficiently in the rankings to get some visibility. From there, I'm hoping that the book's professional look and intriguing subject matter will sustain a decent ranking, generate regular sales and start the ball rolling.

Just like Eden, there's a long way to go, but I'm confident that the book is good enough to succeed even against the huge competition created by the Christmas season. I'm planning advertising for 2014 also, but I recently learned an interesting and valuable lesson over at KBoards: summer is, by and large, a low-selling period for most independent authors. This contradicts what I would have instinctively thought, that the holiday season would be a good time for people to be buying books to read on the beach etc. My only conclusion is that people do read books at the beach, but not so much on their Kindles - they buy paperbacks for their holidays.

The BIGGEST selling periods for independent authors seems to be post-Christmas, with many saying their sales spike during Boxing Day ( presumably as Kindles are received by countless people as gifts ). January and February are also big months for many self-published authors.

With this in mind, Eden's success was even more surprising during the summer of 2013, so I'm hoping that the more favourable marketing conditions of winter will help Holo Sapiens rise in the ranks over the next few months...

Awesome review for Holo Sapiens.

I was hugely excited to read this review of Holo Sapiens by respected industry blogger Kate Atherton on her blog "For Winter Nights". It really encapsulates so well the atmosphere of the novel.


For Winter Nights

EARLY RELEASE! "Holo Sapiens"

I decided over the weekend that, with the manuscript ready and the conversion complete, there seemed little point in waiting any longer. With industry bloggers keen to get hold of the book, I uploaded "Holo Sapiens" to Amazon a few days earlier than advertised.

You can get it here in the USA:

Holo Sapiens

And here in the UK:

Holo Sapiens


Although I haven't advertised the novel yet it's already pushed up into the best-seller charts for Post-Apocalyptic in the UK. Really hoping that this book takes off like Eden did before it.

Grab it fast! The book is on a promotional price for a short time only of $0.99 in the USA and £0.99 in the UK. Just like Eden, this is for a full-length, 100,000 word novel - a real bargain by any standards.

I hope that all my readers enjoy the book!!

Building a brand: Holo Sapiens

I've been hard at work ( as ever ) working on my latest novel, which is now being read by beta readers for editorial feedback. So far, one has commented that the novel is at least as good as Eden, perhaps even better. Editorials have been fairly light, with no major structural issues and the work limited to typos, clarity and general polishing of the manuscript.

I've also been busy enhancing the HTML coding for the book, ready for publication, by learning how to insert my company logo in the front in the manner of major publishers, how to remove the Table of Contents ( who uses these in fiction anyway? ) and generally sharpening up the presentation.

So far, everything's looking grand and the presentation of the e-book looks as professional now as a publication by one of the big traditional houses. I'll be updating Eden's file with the same logo and adjustments to maintain the brand appearance as soon as I can.

I'm also hard at work on the screenplay for Holo Sapiens. This may seem a bit premature, but the story concept is so unique that I want to put my stamp on it as early as possible. Having a full screenplay in place will help me to do that, and with the Knight-Hall Agency potentially able to put it in front of the Hollywood studios I'd be insane not to put it together.

I've let Eden slip down in the USA charts over the last couple of weeks, shifting my focus to Holo Sapiens in full. From all I've researched about self-publishing, the best advert for one novel is often another by the same author. I'm hoping that the release of Holo Sapiens, if all goes to plan, will push Eden back up the charts by association. That said, Eden is still in the top 1,000 or so in the UK so it's doing very well all by itself. In the USA it's around the 6,000 mark in Kindle Paid, still not bad considering the competition.

My next work will be for my literary agent, a crime-thriller with a twist that should take me until the early new year to complete. After that, it's a full year of writing for me, completing the following titles:

EDEN: Redemption.

Holo Sapiens: Homo Immortalis

Soul Seekers: Ghost Ship  ( Young adult series )

2014 is going to be as busy as 2013!

"Holo Sapiens" promotional video

My new video for "Holo Sapiens"! Just 26 days to go until publication :)

I'm also delighted to report that "Eden" has now sold over 10,000 copies and is still going strong! Very much looking forward to seeing how my growing list of titles affect each other in terms of sales and 'reach' to new potential readers...

My first book video!

Since first self-publishing a novel, I've been thinking a lot about how to further spread the word of my work. I knew a lot of authors had used videos to do so, so I decided to give it a whirl. With my company's logo sorted, I wanted to produce something that looks very professional so that I can advertise my work in the manner of a traditional publishing house.

The idea is to keep all of my self-published works under a highly visible banner, which will feature in all of them rather like a cover, so that hopefully readers will start to associate good quality books with both my name as an author and also with Fictum, my company.

The video is for "Eden", which is still selling a hundred copies a day months after it was first published. It will soon be joined by "Holo Sapiens" at the end of November.

My new company logo! :)

I've recently designed a logo for my company. As I'm self-publishing as well now, it seemed appropriate to place those publications beneath a recognisable banner. As I'm also planning to produce short videos to advertise my books it helps to create product recognition, a bit like film studios.

I had a great deal of fun creating them, and hopefully in the future they'll appear on reading devices at the start of my books  :)

For those of you wondering - the company name is Latin for fiction.

Here's the static logo:

And here's the animation: