A ghost town, a closed down gold mine with vampires inside, and a jaded undead cowboy guarding it.
"Was That a Ghost?" Kindle Nook
Find out if you encountered the unexplained using the "Trinity of Relevance," quizzes and examples, then what to do next.
"Don't Go There! A Flash Horror Anthology" Kindle Nook
Large collection of horror short stories, timed so you know how long it takes to read each and fit them in your schedule.
"Abandoned Places: Abandoned Memories (Desert Edition) Kindle Nook
Photographs and psychic reads of abandoned locations in the desert.
I spent over 20 years trying to get published traditional routes. I don't consider myself a poor writer. So, what's the deal? Well, getting published became harder and harder without someone representing you (and taking a plump cut). The ironic thing about ebook publishing is that it has changed the publishing industry forever. You know how indie music and online music exchanging hurt the big stupid music companies that were spitting out godawful stars like Britney Spears? You know how movie studios are hurt by indie moviemakers who are making what people actually want to see? You know how newspapers are taking a nosedive because people can get news online or cable? Well, thankfully the publishing companies are eating humble pie now.
Still, is it worth going ebook publishing? Well, it is our future and unavoidable. In the negative, you have to ask yourself first--Am I willing to be my on editor? my own typesetter? Book cover designer? Promoter? Agent? PR? You literally have to be able to do it all. Putting the book up on Kindle and Nook and other sites is easy enough, but they also have not made them document friendly as far as taking a word documenting and plunking it down without it looking odd on readers. If you have a lot of photographs in your book, it could be a hot mess. Even if you think you can get attention and publicity, you might sell a dozen books a month if you're really cranking. It's not an easy industry. Without hard copies of a book for people to thumb through and with so many ebooks being online, the chances of someone finding your book are very slim. To get print copies of your book in print-to-order, you might need to transfer to PDF format and need an expensive Adobe program for that as well as understanding a helluva lot about running these programs and getting the layout right. You also have to set up accounts with every place you deal with and constantly check in and rush around trying to get people to read and review your book or know it exists. It's enough to make you want to just start writing books with titles like "How To Get More Sex" just so people find your book! Even with all of this, you still are completely vulnerable to grumpy pants trolls going on and giving your book a bad rating and if only a handful of people have rated your book, it can weigh it heavily. You have to remind yourself constantly that when reading reviews, if there's one sourpuss in a group of people who loved it, everyone knows that this guy has a burr in his pants.
So, what are the pro's of ebook publishing? Being able to give publishing companies the finger and move on. The more you experience feedback from the direct audience (readers), the sooner you can work your skills and become a better writer. Having been published and showing that you've already been out there in the public and your book rated and so publishers will have more to go on when you present yourself as a published author to their company. Doing ebooks is simpler in that you can go to publish much sooner than publishing companies that can line books up years ahead of time. Places like Kindle and Nook send you a check periodically for your royalties (70% if the book is 2.99 or more) and you get a tax form at the end of the year. Some people do make millions in ebooks, but you are very unlikely to have that happen unless you are in a genre that is wildly popular, such as paranormal romance (think "Twilight" crowd) and if you spend 24/7 on publicity and getting it to catch fire. I suggest having a few 99-cent offerings so people can taste your writing and see if they want to bite the higher priced stuff.
Ultimately, putting up an ebook says something to yourself as a writer--I am legit. For that alone, it's worth the sweat and tears, insecurity and anxiety.
I have a few upcoming ebooks--
"Philia: Sex in a Dark Place" An erotic/horror short story collection
"Ghost Hunting Theories Blog Book" A 99-cent collection of the best of GHT's theories about the paranormal, how I built up the blog, how I grew the blog.
"The Hunt: Ghosts" First in a 3-part paranormal romance series about a paranormal investigation team.
"The Thicket" A paranormal romance about a Pagan community in the hills of West Virginia.
Hoping to go to print--(in the market for publishers, want these in hard copies)
"Zombie Housewives of the Apocalypse"
"Kickin' Up Dust! (Getting Lost to Find Ourselves)"
"Spirit Vessels: Why Some Buildings Are Haunted"
