In this video interview, Debbi Mack asks me about my writing, philanthropy and a myriad of other interesting topics. I also contributed a guest blog, which you can read at the second link below.
Category: Keyboard Reflections
Audiobook Retailers
Here is a list of locations currently selling The Vanishing Wife audiobook. I will be adding to this post every time a new retailer comes on board.
Authors Direct (direct from my storefront)
Audiobook is Now Available
The wait is over! The Vanishing Wife, narrated and produced by son and Nashville singer/songwriter Trevor Finlay, is now available from Authors Direct at Findaway Voices. If you are a fan of Audible, ITunes or some of the other audio book retailers, you will have to wait a little longer. But you can get it right now by clicking on the link. Barry Finlay – Authors Direct Audiobooks (authors-direct.com). After ordering the book, you will receive an email with instructions for listening. Listen as Trevor brings the characters from the first book in The Marcie Kane Thriller Collection to life.
The Audiobook is on its way!
Just pressed the button to send The Vanishing Wife audiobook off into the ether. I’m told it will take 20-30 business days to hit the retail sites, but when it does, it will be available for purchase from over 40 audiobook sellers, including Amazon and Apple. It will also be available by request from your favorite library. Thanks to son and Nashville singer/songwriter Trevor Finlay for making the characters come to life.
Audiobook Update
I thought I should provide a little update into the audiobook process. As I mentioned earlier, The Vanishing Wife is being produced as an audiobook. Son and Nashville singer/songwriter Trevor Finlay is narrating and producing the book. He has done his thing and now it’s up to me to give it a final listen.
When it’s ready to go, it will be uploaded to the distributor. That should happen early next week. Then it takes up to two weeks to hit the stores. It will probably take longer to reach Audible since it’s, well, Amazon. It takes longer to get to speed with an 18-wheeler than it does with a Honda Civic, if you know what I mean.
The good news is, it’s coming. Here’s a sample from the book.
Free E-Books? Yes or No?
Have you ever wakened in the middle of the night with a random thought that seemed to come from nowhere? It used to happen to me a lot when I was working. A solution to a problem would come to me in the middle of the night and I kept a notepad beside my bed to capture the moment. It doesn’t happen as frequently now, but when it does, I get up and write it on a white board in my office. Sometimes, I can even decipher it the next day.
A thought came to me last night, although I didn’t write it down. I must have been thinking about writing a blog post before I went to bed. My thought was actually a little more complex than usual because it was in two parts: Why am I, as a reader, expecting to read e-books for free and why, as a writer, am I occasionally offering my e-books for free?
As a reader, I think the answer is because they are there. Check out Amazon and you will find free e-books every day of the week. It’s kind of like a professional athlete who is offered a $24 million contract. They are not going to turn it down. I’m not going to turn down a free book. Maybe there is an expectation that if is the author is unknown, we don’t want to invest anything in their work. We can read to our heart’s content and never spend a cent. But is that right? Is it fair to the author?
Reading is a hobby. So is golf and a golfer will spend hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars on equipment and green fees. Fishermen spend money on gear. Skiers spend money on equipment and lift tickets. Moviegoers spend money for a two-hour movie. Even if our hobby is sitting in a coffee shop, we will spend exorbitant amounts on specialty coffee and we will sit there and read an e-book on our device that we downloaded for free. But why should a book that offers around six hours of entertainment be free when there is a cost attached to any other hobby you can think of?
Indulge me while I put on my author hat. There are some questionable benefits to authors to offer free books, and some that are worthwhile. Let’s start with the questionable ones. Authors need reviews so when books are offered for free, the hope is that readers will at least provide some feedback. But thousands of free downloads will provide a return in reviews that can be counted on one hand. Amazon counts free downloads as sales so a free day or two can boost the author’s profile temporarily. The key word is “temporarily.” The boost is fleeting. If the author is exclusive to Amazon, he or she is paid for page reads. There is always an uptick in page reads after a free day, but that peters out after about three days.
There are some tangible benefits to offering free books in certain situations. The main benefit is to introduce a reader to an author. It makes sense for an author to offer the first book in a series or a short story introducing characters. The reader might be enticed to purchase other books by the same author. It’s a valuable marketing technique.
As readers, we shouldn’t be reluctant to try new authors, even if they are independent. E-books by independent authors that are not free are usually in the $2.99 to $4.99 range compared to $16 for a well known author. That’s less than a specialty coffee! There are some great authors who have remained independent or extracted themselves from contracts because traditional publishers are not providing the same services anymore. We may pay for the occasional book we can’t finish, but we have also paid for a specialty coffee we couldn’t drink. It doesn’t mean we will stop drinking coffee.
Authors invest their talent and considerable time and money in writing, editing, book cover design, and marketing and they deserve to be compensated. I, for one, am offering my short story, An Interview With Marcie Kane, free for signing up for my newsletter. The first book in The Marcie Kane Thriller Collection, The Vanishing Wife, is available at a reduced price. The rest of the series will only be offered at a reduced price from time to time. But not free! I hope other authors will consider doing something similar.
Damn the 3 am epiphanies!
Famous Books That Were Self-Published
While self-publishing is gaining a foothold in modern-day literature, I still notice people at my signings who will flip the book over, presumably to check the publisher, and then quickly set it back down again and walk away. Those of us who self-publish, whether it is our decision or not, are still seen by some as miserable failures as authors.
It’s true that there are some really bad books out there and self-publishing has contributed to that. It’s possible to slap pretty much anything together, give it a title and cover and publish it. The only real control is the reader who will hopefully provide an honest opinion about the quality of the book. On the other hand, I’ve read a few classics that make me shake my head as well. Sometimes it boils down to promotion. As consumers, if we are told often enough that something is good, we tend to think it must be. We are kind of gullible that way.
My point is that there are some really good books that have been self-published and some bad books that have been traditionally published and vice versa. It’s interesting to note that some famous books started out being self-published before they were picked up by traditional publishers. The article below refers to 5 of those. You may not agree they are all good books, but they are all famous.
So, for the self-published author, there’s always hope if you want to be traditionally published. For the readers, I urge you to give self published authors a chance. They may never become famous, but they just may become your next favorite author.
Covid Book Launch
After a number of technical glitches, it was great to have the opportunity to launch my book, The Burden of Darkness, virtually during this covid era.
I appreciate everyone who watched and the many questions. It was fun and I hope to do something similar in the future. If you haven’t had a chance to see it yet, here it is.
https://www.facebook.com/barry.finlay1/videos/10163759741930296/
Don’t forget, The Burden of Darkness is now available through Amazon or by order from your favorite book store.
Something to take your mind off…
| In this stressful time we’re all experiencing, I thought you might welcome a distraction. We’re all looking for things to do while we physically distance ourselves from colleagues, friends and even family. At least, we get to stay in touch through the magic of technology. Imagine if we didn’t have that! I’m filling in time by reading, practicing guitar, working out at home… Okay, I did most of those things before, but I’m spending longer at each one now. If this goes on long enough, I might even have to clean up my workshop! Send off an email and let me know what you’re doing to fill in the time. As for my writing, I’m in the process of finalizing a new addition to The Marcie Kane Thriller Collection called The Burden of Darkness, and rather than tell you about it in writing, I put together a short video. You can check it out here: https://youtu.be/j8ljnqUqGhY I’ll be revealing the cover soon and hopefully, things will continue to progress and, at a minimum, I can schedule a virtual release. In the meantime, if you wish to pick up one of my other books to get ready, you can order them from your local bookstore or you can find me on Amazon. Author Feature: I like to feature one of my favorite authors periodically, and this time it’s Rick Mofina. Rick is a former journalist who has interviewed murderers on death row, flown over Los Angeles with the LAPD and patrolled with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police near the Arctic. His work has been praised by the likes of James Patterson, Dean Koontz, Michael Connelly, Lee Child, Louise Penny, and Jeffery Deaver, among others. I’m also happy to say, Rick endorsed my second novel in The Marcie Kane Thriller Collection, A Perilous Question. Check out Rick’s latest work, The Lying House, today! That’s it for now. Until the next time, stay healthy and Keep On Reading! |
Support Your Local Author
SHOP LOCAL FOR YOUR NEXT READ
As you ponder what to give the readers on your family and friends list for Christmas, give some thought to buying the work of a local author. There are likely some in your neighborhood who are just as talented as the authors whose books you see featured when you walk into your local book store. The only difference is that most don’t have the luxury of marketing machines behind them to convince you they are great writers.
The graphic below features writers in the mystery/thriller genre in my home town of Ottawa, Canada, but there are probably just as many, if not more, where you live. Look up your local authors and give them a chance. You will be pleased by the quality of the writing.
