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| Yes, Jimmy, even you can support an indie author! |
Like most of the indie authors I know, I wish that my books would move off Amazon's virtual shelves a lot faster than they do. I was whining about my lack of success to a friend who pointed out that I was surrounded by fans, but that people do not know how best to support indie authors.
Well, that's something I might be able to do something about.
Here are 3 easy ways to support your favourite indie author...
Most independently published authors use Amazon.com (Amazon.ca, in Canada) to sell their books. There are more than 15 million books in that system, so it's difficult to get noticed. But Amazon ranks each book and author according to SALES and REVIEWS. Books with higher rankings are suggested more often to readers who use Amazon's system. So, a higher rank means you get noticed more often. And, it can take much less than you might expect to nudge a good book into the light because many millions of books in the system lack any sales or reviews at all.
Doing one or all of the following can significantly help an indie author out...
1) Buy their book. Print books might be too rich for your budget, but e-book versions are usually inexpensive; typically in the $1-$4 range. Even if you do not have a tablet or e-reader, you can purchase the book and download it to your computer. There are applications you can get so that you can read it. But if you purchase without ever downloading, at least the author will get a few cents and, more importantly, his/her ranking will rise.
2) If you liked the book, post an honest review. Reviews are just as important as sales, when it comes to ranking. You do not need to have purchased the book on Amazon to post a review. Also, your review does not have to be long and detailed. A simple, "I loved it!" will suffice. So if the author gifted you a copy, or it was passed to you by a friend, you can still help out with a review. (To do this, you will have to create a free account on Amazon.)
3) If you didn't like the book, keep that to yourself. Writing, editing and publishing a book is a long, arduous and solitary process for which a person should at least be congratulated. If you've never created a book, then you really can't appreciate the toil. And, becoming a great writer is a journey that is not likely to be completed in a single book. Unless the author invites it, keeping your negative comments to yourself will help him/her maintain the courage to move forward on that journey. If an author does invite criticism, be gentle and do your best to keep it constructive.
Of course, this advice could help you support any author, but it could also help you support ME! So, just in case you're feeling philanthropic, here are convenient links to each of my books...
Wakeless
(a realistic police procedural fused with straight-up sci-fi action/adventure—Michael Connelly meets Isaac Asimov.)
Release date: June 9, 2019
Paperback/ebook: 377 pages
Genre: Techno-thriller, Sci-fi, Action/Adventure
Publisher: WMDbooks
ISBN-13: 978-1091506084
Link to book on Amazon.ca
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The near future:
You can choose your reality—virtual, augmented, or holographic—and artificially intelligent virtual assistants within humanoid shells have recently become available to the average consumer.
Constable Joseph Sault is out of touch with his children, possibly losing his wife to another man and his father to dementia, and constantly in trouble with his superiors. Feeling isolated and powerless, he finds solace only in his work. It’s a shaky balance that probably isn’t really working.
For Sault, more trouble begins with a simple question about an apparent traffic accident: How could a small, autonomous car on a barren stretch of road sustain so much damage? Answers prove elusive, questions keep piling up, and he soon finds himself in the middle of what might be a conspiracy with world-shaking implications.
When the prime suspect turns out to be his wife’s employer, his work and personal life collide.
Cornered and out of options, Sault is forced to risk everything in a desperate bid to outwit the man who has the world’s most powerful artificial intelligence at his command.
The Space Between Thought
(a novel about life, love, death, tea and time travel.)
Release date: Dec 16, 2014
Paperback/ebook: 264 pages
Genre: Literary Sci-fi, Action/Adventure
Publisher: WMDbooks
ISBN: 1467980412
ISBN-13: 978-1467980418
Simon Sykes' virtual reality software company is exceeding expectations. He has money and power. He has Celeste, a beautiful, talented, and devoted girlfriend. And secretly, he has his pick of other women on the side. He is in control, on top of the world, and relishing every moment. But Celeste’s sudden death deals him a staggering blow. To everyone except Simon, it looks like suicide, but he alone saw the ghostly figure at the scene of the crime. Plagued by grief and guilt, Simon vows to uncover the truth at any cost. While his business languishes and friends grow concerned for his sanity, Simon stumbles upon a secret that promises the power to unravel the mystery and undo one life-altering moment, to save Celeste and restore his future: time travel. Meanwhile, Simon's suspicious behaviour has renewed police interest in the case. With Chief Inspector Holloway closing in, Simon wrestles with time, space, and reality to rescue the love of his life, unmask her true killer, and remodel his world.
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I Married Japan
(Japan's hilarious journey into one man's life.)
Release date: Jan 22, 2016
Paperback/ebook: 138 pages
Genre: Travel, Asia, Anecdote, Humor
Publisher WMDbooks
ISBN: 1522891803
ISBN-13: 978-1522891802
Think you just married an exotic Japanese woman? Wrong! In fact, you just married all of exotic Japan and 3000 years of history. But, the die is cast, the adventure’s begun, and the wonders and wondering will never cease.Throw in a couple of kids and a quirky Canadian family filled with characters, and you have the makings of epic tragedy, or gut-busting comedy, depending upon your point of view.
Get ready to learn, and be prepared to laugh your way through this collection of Japan-related articles on family life with the Deans!
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The Book of 5 Uncredible Short Stories
(from the distorted mind of William M. Dean)
Release date: May 05, 2016
Paperback/ebook: 145 pages
Genre: Humorous Sci-fi, Humorous Action/Adventure, Humor
Publisher: WMDbooks
ISBN: 1533055777
ISBN-13: 978-1533055774
If, all of your life, you have been desperately seeking a book filled with aliens, maniacal sheep, cupids and other mythical creatures—then your life is sad and you are misguided, to say the least. However, luck is with you and within these pages, you will find far-fetched stories from far-flung realities, told with exaggeration that amplifies truths, and adjectives that modify nouns. This is a work of fiction and has been scrupulously edited to exclude all fact so as not to distract you from all those aliens, maniacal sheep, cupids and postal workers you were looking for.
For the rest of you, there is at least one stunningly good-looking woman and some cute cats.
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Slices of Laugh
(Amusing Musings on Life and Family)
Release date: April 15, 2017,
Paperback/ebook: 219 pages
Genre: Humor, Slice of Life
Publisher: WMDbooks
Humorist William M. Dean has been compared to Mark Twain and Dave Barry, in gender. Here are 34 hilarious anecdotes and articles offering his unique perspective on far-flung subjects ranging from life, family, parenting, sex, intimacy, arguments, stealing your neighbor’s water, Japan, clothes dryer repair, violence, drugs, pets, sex again, aging, writing, couponing, Disneyland, scouting, dining with the Queen of England, and more.
A refreshingly wholesome, uplifting read, perfect for when you’re waiting for your nails to dry, your server to stop texting, your doctor to retrieve an implement, your lover to finish, or to hide behind while following a suspect in a busy terminal.
Lots of chuckles, keen observations, pearls of wisdom and nearly 100 funny pictures.
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