So I’ve finally jumped on board the permafree train with Kick. I’ll have to get the links up to all the various sites that now have it free. But for now, this blog post will suffice 🙂
Amazon:
B&N:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/kick-john-l-monk/1117970975
Apple:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/kick/id942369059?mt=11
Google:
http://books.google.com/books/about?id=Q5NqBQAAQBAJ
Inktera/Foundry:
http://www.inktera.com/store/title/66cb5832-9a35-42ef-9a35-a87522cb3533
Filed under Writing Market
After reading this, you will become subsnoofilated with the power of ‘Infinite Lameness’….oooom…..ooom…. (ooom (….))
If not for my decision to read all the books in John L Monk’s awesome indies project, I would never have read page one of Dan’s Lame Novel . Especially not with its plain lame cover. I mean, we’ve all read enough lame stuff. We should subject ourselves to something deliberately lame?
Yes. If laughing improves your day. 
I have so many things to say about this work that I don’t know where to begin. Does the writer break all the rules or uphold them? Both, if you look sideways. For example, almost every chapter starts with the weather and the location of the character, an aid to readers in case it’s been a while since we set the book aside. Now I kind of like that technique in a novel–it keeps me on track. But since his intentions are lame, Rinnert goes over the edge, describing his own weather and what he has been doing between chapters, and…
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Today’s Rocking Self-Publishing Podcast episode was an incredible experience. Featuring hybrid author Rachael Herron, it starts off destroying any misconceptions you had about traditional publishing. She got a big 6-figure deal in an auction, and had to split 45k over 3 years (after taxes and the agent’s cut). She’s now making good money self-publishing (2-3k a month, if memory serves me).
The most important part of the podcast happened about 1/2 through, when she got into dealing with motivation issues, writer’s block, super high productivity, good vs. bad writing (for drafts), and the writing/productivity class she gives. Listeners will get a 1/2 price special deal for her class, which is about 40 bucks.
And then there’s the guest post from Monday — don’t forget about that (especially if you’re interested in better using Twitter):
http://rockingselfpublishing.com/guest-post-006-went-zero-1000-twitter-followers-just-two-months/
Filed under Writing Experience, Writing in general, Writing Market
It’s 4:35 a.m.
I was supposed to get up an hour from now, to write, but couldn’t sleep. Now I know why — someone was out there writing about “Kick” on her wonderful blog: http://glindaharrison.com/2014/11/19/review-kick-by-john-l-monk/.
The L’Monks of old, in scratchy old Scotland, would wake up an hour early whenever the M’Gibson clan got drunk and attacked. We always managed to beat them back to their ancestral “hooms” (homes) where they belonged. Our motto then was: “They can take our 8 hours of slumber…but they’ll never take…our freedom!” We used to shout that motto everywhere, wherever we went — more or less nonstop — and we were finally forced out of Scotland for it. The M’Gibson clan then stole the motto, changed the words a little, and killed anyone who said it hadn’t been theirs all along.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Can’t wait to check it out.
*Update: looks like their first episode was Oct 1, 2014*
Listening now…very well done show. Listening to the one about a bundling a site/company that invites authors into book bundles and sells them on their site: StoryBundle.com. Imagine if the Awesome Indies Project had the ability to take the indies, bundle their books, sell them on john-l-monk.com, and make money for all involved. And stuff.
** Update #2 **
I signed up for StoryBundle and got a free book using their “send to kindle” feature. All you have to do is add their email address to your “approved” list on Amazon (they give instructions). It worked perfectly. I do this all the time with my own .mobi files so I can edit my books. Pretty cool.
Filed under Indie Publishing, Writing Market
Absolutely wonderful book. Very dark, with some truly beautiful writing. If you love The Bad Box as much as I did, I guarantee you the author would love a review.
Filed under Awesome Indies, Reviews
I was browsing kboards today when I came across this post. I was impressed. He’s sort of doing what I’m doing here with the Awesome Indies Project, except he’s more prolific 🙂 Go Will!
Kboards post:
I have decided to start reviewing books as the main source of blogging on my site. http://www.willmarck.com. It’s almost exclusive to indie books with few reviews. The goal is to find hidden gems and hopefully help some unknowns get discovered. I figure I should pay it forward. I love to read, and love to discover new unknown authors, so why not? Right? I know from experience that it’s difficult to get the ball rolling when you’re new and barely have any reviews. I do have some rules and information that can be found in more detail on the site. Basically, I only read fiction, specifically humor, sci-fi, dystopian, horror, and technothrillers. I am currently taking submissions for reviews. If you are interested, check out the site, read the rules, and submit your book via email in the format I lay out on my review policies page. Please only look into it if you’re an indie, that has under 100 Amazon reviews (not combined, just one title), is available on Amazon in Kindle format for under $2.99, and fits the genres above. I won’t accept every book and I won’t review anything outside of the genres I’ve listed. I will pay for each book and won’t accept any type of compensation. I do have a page dedicated to my own works, but it stays there. I don’t promote my work on the review pages. All that I ask is that you consider subscribing to the blog or share my page on social media. I look forward to hearing from you. Please, please, please, read my rules before submitting. Good luck to everyone and I hope success finds you!
Filed under Awesome Indies, Indie Publishing, Reviews
The first part of the week was spent saying, “Um…this is hard again…it was supposed to get easier after book-2…” and struggling to reach 1k a day. Then around Thursday, I figured out the central conflict of book-3, and the words flowed very easily. I wrote 3k on Friday, 3k on Saturday, which means everything before Friday is sort of embarrassing, huh?
Witness the power of posting your weekly/monthly word counts.
I mean, I just wrote this big fancy thing on how I’d survived writer’s block — how embarrassing if I was stuck with it again, hmm? So I got up every morning, put my butt in the chair and did the best I could…and like most people who occasionally get lucky, I put myself in a position to receive enlightenment.
Last night, I finished recording an interview with TJ Redig of Scrivener Soapbox, set to air sometime in December. I spent the week listening to his other podcasts and guess what? They were great. Totally adding him in to my weekly self-pub podcasts. TJ’s a very cool guy and a great interviewer. Very friendly, which reminds me: haven’t you always wondered what happens after the recording ends? Does each side hang up? Do they sing songs and tell knock-knock jokes? Actually, we talked about movies a little, and also about TJ’s own writing. No knock-knock jokes — and you found that out here at john-l-monk.com!
Filed under Word Counts, Writing Market
I literally just got done with a podcast interview (which I’ll promote when he sends me the info). My first audio interview ever, and I admit I was kind of nervous. I tried not to let it show. Can’t believe Armand has done so many though — wow, incredible.
I’ve been asked many, many times to be interviewed over the last 3 or so years, and I get excited every time. Whether it is an e-mail interview, podcast interview via Skype or in person, it is usually enjoyable. It is definitely helping me to reach new potential readers, too…
I’ve lost count of the interviews I’ve done and I’m way too lazy to go back and figure out a number. I know it is between 1 and 987 (I don’t believe I’ve done 988 or more). I know they’ve all been fun. Hell, even the interviews that were boring are fun because it let me see what not to do when I was interviewing someone, so each time it is a learning experience.Â
I’m hoping to do more interviews soon, because January 1st 2015 the new year of Authors Supporting Our Troops officially begins. I want to create more…
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Looks like an interesting indie book. Kind of an amazing cover 🙂
AFTER THE NEBULA AND HUGO, THE PROMETHEUS Award is one of the oldest and most enduring fan-based awards in Science Fiction. Established in 1979, the award has been presented annually since 1982 at the World Science Fiction Convention. Nominees must dramatize the conflict between individuals and coercive governments, champion human rights, promote personal and economic liberty, explore a free future, or critique the tragic consequences of abuse of power, especially by the State. Sarah Hoyt’s “Darkship Thieves” won the 2011 Prometheus Award in Reno, and “A Few Good Men,” the third novel in this series, has been short-listed for the 2014 Hugo in London.
On the dystopian Earth of this novel, the ruling party—inaptly known as The Good Men—are killing millions with carefully engineered “natural” disasters. Homosexuality is a crime. The son of the Good Man of Olympic Seacity is barely holding onto his sanity after…
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John L. Monk 