www.ViewsfromSandhausen.com: New Site Going Live

Our main website, http://ViewsfromSandhausen.com will go live this Thursday, June 9, 2011.

The blog currently found at http://FlaAuthor.wordpress.com will be transferred as of that date.   There will be a link pointing to the new site, for some period of time.

Please add the http://ViewsfromSandhausen.com to your address book and watch for our first post on that site will appear this Friday.

Meanwhile, our book is available for purchase at Amazon USA and Amazon
Germany, plus Barnes & Noble, and if I may say so, is doing well.  I’ll
see you in the book and on the new site.

Cliff

Guest Post – Shelley Hitz

Guest Blogging Success Podcast Series: How to be a Good Guest Blogger

Guest post by Shelley Hitz

By way of introduction, I have worked with Shelley for a several months, and it has been a thoroughly enjoyable and educational experience!  I have selected her to be my first guest blogger because her message is clear, compelling and full of value for you, my readers.  I urge you to listen to her advice by clicking on the MP3, download her free, fact-filled book here, and to visit her site!  She has delivered more value (Excellent content/Price) FREE, than anyone in the Author Blogosphere!  Enjoy and learn.

Cliff

Download and read Shelley’s free PDF report called, “Guest Blogging Success for Authors.”

Shelley Hitz is an entrepreneur, author and speaker. Her website, Self Publishing Coach, provides resources and tutorials that help you publish and market your book. Sign up for her newsletter, Self Publishing Tips to download her book templates, which she offers surprisingly free.

You can also find Shelley on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

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If you enjoyed that presentation, and why would you not, I’d like to draw your attention to her recent offering, “A Step-by-Step Guide to Guest Blogging“.

She is also going to promote her upcoming tour, on her website, here.  Check it out!

Cliff

Phenom: Amanda Hocking

Today’s blog will be shorter than usual but we will discuss a truly remarkable author, Amanda Hocking.  She may be only 25 years old but in that time, she has accomplished more than a dozen of her talented peers.

During the course of the last few years, with determination and all the intensity that she could muster, she has published four Young Adult paranormal romance novels, and has more than a dozen finished books ‘on the shelf’ and ready to go.  So you say, “OK, she is prolific – what else?” As of March 2011, she has sold about a million copies of nine books and earned two million dollars from sales, something previously unheard of for self-published authors.  The great majority were self-published as eBooks.  She set a low price point and the cash and admiration rolled in.

The lesson for us all is that we too can achieve a measure of her success.  Admittedly, her genre of ‘Young adult paranormal romance’ is probably the hottest niche today.  Through hard work, laser-like focus, untiring effort, and a lot of time spent on other things than writing, Amanda made it happen!

Please read on for more of her remarkable story.  Amanda Hocking summary.

Cliff

Information Delivery: Times Marches On

There has been a lot of discussion about the future of books. 

Views from Sandhausen Website - First Draft

As we look back at the Record, Movie, and Entertainment systems evolution, we see a shift of media; content reigns and delivery system evolves.  Since the same things are happening to all of these information delivery systems, it tells us that it is not about these ‘Information Niches’; it is more about how we are evolving as a species.

As an abject Lover of books, it has been of concern to me personally. As I strive to move forward in my writing and publishing efforts, I feel like I felt in my 30’s when White Water Rafting meant so much to me.  The analogy is not only solid, it is absolutely fundamental to what we are experiencing.  We avoid the rocks (new ideas), are sucked into whirlpools (when we bet on an innovation that proves to be a dry well), and are relentlessly pushed by the overpowering force that we feel (Time) to our greater glory – or total destruction.

As said by Julius Wiedemann in his recent (excellent analysis) post The Book Is Dead. Long Live The Publishing Industry! , “We are moving toward an ever-growing differentiation between the book as object versus content delivery system. As this occurs, we cannot ignore the fact that our lives are shifting dramatically toward a digitalized experience. This shift is happening not just for the sake of technology; it is happening because we–as in, society–are changing, as is our behavior.”

My lifelong desire was to write and publish a book.  I love to write so it was just a matter of time.   I published Lynn’s Story in a hardback version only.  It went to close family and friends who intimately loved and shared joys with Lynn and me.  I am publishing Views from Sandhausen in all formats less audio.

MAJOR INTERRUPT!! The paperback proof copy of Views from Sandhausen was just delivered!  It is Brilliant!!!  I may sleep with it tonight.  WOW!!!

 As pointed out in Mr. Wiedmann’s post, I expect that people will still buy a physical copy of the book, if they liked the eBook that they have read.  If this comes to pass, it is VITAL that eBooks have the same pagination as does the hard or soft cover edition.  The current practice of paginating eBook’s as ‘screens’ will make it slightly more difficult to read the eBook on your commute, the PC version in the office (whoops, did I say that?), and the hard/soft cover version whilst trying to fall asleep.  Not impossible mind you, just more difficult.

I intend to leverage that trend by offering book bundles Hard + eBook, or Soft + eBook, on my personal sell site, ViewsfromSandhausen.com.  OF course, pricing breaks will be offered.

Other happenings: (things are moving very fast) over the last two days, include my sending the first round of comments back to Smart Author Sites on the look and feel of the site that they are currently designing. Today’s photo will give you a quick look at the first draft of the site Home Page.  Please feel free to comment on what you see!  (You always are welcome to leave me comments: it makes both you and I better!)

The Twitter following continues to grow; I am weeding out the ‘chaff’ and adding people who are ‘movers and shakers’ in this business.  If I’ve learned something from you (and I know that you don’t care) – I’m following You!  Lastly, I’m continuing to work with PhotoFunia and their very clever software that produces images like this:

What a great tool for subtle advertising!!

Views from Sandhausen Advertising

Now take a further few moments and read Julius Wiedmann’s insightful post The Book Is Dead. Long Live The Publishing Industry!

Social Media Overtakes Pornography as #1 Web Activity

Image via Wikipedia

Do you still think that Social Media is a fad?  Is this another Hula Hoop, or Betamax, or the current ‘Rad’ thing to do?  Many of us believe it is here to stay.  To provide you with evidence to support that assertion, do I have a movie clip for you?  It will take 5 minutes out of your day but, I believe, it will also take the doubt out of your mind.  Did you know that Social Media has overtaken pornography as the #1 web activity?  That’s good new!

A short story for you.  Back in 1990, as a technology believer and practitioner, I believed that the Internet was “The Next Big Thing”.  In my stodgy large corporation, I was surrounded by Luddites.  I knew that we had to jump on this new reality.  We had to be the “First Mover”!  As a Principal Engineer in R&D, I had some autonomy and discretionary budget.  I went to the head of Corporate Security and told him that I would ‘bring the Internet into ‘My Company’, and give Him the credit.  He looked at me like an offensive beetle and told me that “…over his dead and bleeding body” would I do that.

Going back to the drawing board, I devised a security gateway that incorporated world-class computer authentication, and anti-virus protection.  Six months later I went back to the new head of Corporate Security and made the same, but updated, pitch.  www,MyCompany,com was online by 1992, before any of our competition!

The point of all this is that Social Media, in the not too distant future will be regarded as a very big thing; a turning point for society.  To provide evidence for this assertion, I need to thank my friend, Joanna Penn (The Creative Penn) for posting this video.  It is part of the presentation for the book Socialnomics, written by Eric Qualman. He asks the question, “Is Social Media a Fad or the biggest shift since the Industrial Revolution?” That’s BIG.  The facts within are staggering!  Welcome to this new reality!

Kindle Author Interview: Cliff Feightner

Image via Wikipedia

Posted by David Wisehart on February 8, 2011

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Kindle Author Interview Cliff Feightner

Posted by David Wisehart on February 8, 2011

Labels: interview, Kindle

Cliff Feightner, co-author of Views from Sandhausen: Experiences from a Foreign Service Assignment, discusses his book, his journey as a writer, and self-publishing on Kindle.

DAVID WISEHART: What can you tell us about Views from Sandhausen?

CLIFF FEIGHTNER: Views from Sandhausen is a diary of an American couple on their first Foreign Service assignment in Europe. He is an experienced international traveler who is an Information Technology Professional, then working for an American Fortune 100 company—assigned to Germany. His wife is a well-tended adventurous woman who revels in the good life that being married to a successful mid-level executive provides.

Views is a series of over 100 notes (with photos), sent home to their friends and families—to keep them updated. Views, is funny, heart-breaking, informative, thought-provoking, and provides the reader with

Please read the rest of this Very important interview on Dave’s site, Here.

My 100th Blog Post!

WOW! A milestone that I never thought that I’d reach!  Who knew that there would be enough material to generate 100 posts?  Of course, I’ve been blessed with much in my life and the recessitation (SP) of less than 0.01% of that would have been of interest to anyone. 

 Now it seems that this is a shared milestone.  In fact, if you search on ‘100 Blog

Celebrating 100 Blog Posts!!

 Posts’ in Google, you will get 375,000 ‘hits’.  Lots of folks are similarly amazed!  As you look at some of the blogs below, I warn you about “Bakingdom”; her post will immediately send you into a delicious state of sugar shock!  (Please click on the names below)

Inquizetive

Guni’s ART box

Justine Santora says it this way…

What Anne Makes

Simply Elegance

Bakingdom

 Some folks throw parties to mark this event; others hold contests.  I’m personally celebrating by having two Great interviews posted in the last two days!  Please see: Self-Publishing Coach Interview: Views from Sandhausen for the first.   

The second KINDLE Author interview will be the subject of tomorrow’s post.

I started blogging back on July 8, 2010, with a post called “Views from Sandhausen” Overview.  Looking back on that post, it seems so primitive; I read no manual, and had no clue how WordPress software was to be used – I just charged in and started writing!  Those were the days when my hot links were jumping all over the page, to my significant frustration.

Here’s a view of our growth over the past few months.

Growth in FlaAuthor.WordPress.com Blog

Not bad for a rookie!  At least I have hit the Magic 100 before many of the other bloggers referenced above; 2 ½ Years Indeed!

So, the book is selling, I am seeing some light at the end of the financial tunnel, and I have renewed my conversation with Smart Author Sites.  My initial printer, Lightning Source, is in my sights, and they are offering a “New Title” special until the end of the month.  It is indeed something to ponder.

Until then dear friends, I hope what I have had to say has occasionally held your collective interest.  I get very little feedback from you, other than comments on individual posts.  If there are subjects you wish to explore or an area where you would like me to focus, do NOT hesitate to contact me! 

Happy Birthday Honey

On a Personal note, today would have been my wonderful wife Lynn’s 64th birthday.  I love you baby, Always and Always!

Thank you for your attention and support!

 Photo Credit:  http://inquizetive.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/celebrating-100-posts.jpg?w=350&h=154

Self-Publishing Coach Interview: Views from Sandhausen

It was my pleasure to be invited by Shelley Hitz, Founder and Owner of Self-Publishing-Coach.com, to do an interview about the current state of Self-Publishing ‘turn-key’ companies. She is a charming and talented author and Coach and can be reached at http://Self-Publishing-Coach.com. Her site is loaded with templates and other valuable resources for writers.  You have to see it!

Credit: Shelley Hitz

Please read and enjoy the full interview here.

Thanks