THE TRADITION CONTINUES

Last year, I kicked off the annual start to the holiday shopping season on Black Friday by offering some of my books for free. I then promoted it on social media starting on Black Friday and then continued on Small Business Saturday (independent authors are small business owners after all), Indie Author Sunday (I totally made that up but to my knowledge no one has grabbed Sunday yet, so I’m making a claim for it… help me promote #IndieAuthorSunday on social media) and finally Cyber Monday (these are electronic books that have to be ordered online).

I believe this one small promotion is what really helped me turn the corner on my writing career. Soon after, my book, Bourbon Mixology became a bestseller on Amazon.

Coincidence?

Maybe.

I’m not going to take a chance, though. Once again, this four-day shopping bonanza will feature my very own “12 Days of Christmas”… a dozen of my books available for free download starting Black Friday and running through Cyber Monday.

Here’s a look at the lineup this year:

I have six of my chapters, complete with bonus material from the book Small Brand America IV: Special Beer Edition. Those six are as follows:

Jolly Pumpkin

Smuttynose

Jester King

Brooklyn Brewery

Full Sail Brewery

Spider Bite Brewery

I also have two of my chapters from Small Brand America V: Special Bourbon Edition as a part of my Twelve Days of Christmas. Here are those two:

Syntax Spirits

10th Mountain

In addition to these 8 books that are part of bigger books, I have 4 stand alone books as well. They are as follows:

Life with Akester – The book I wrote about my father. This one really got me started with writing after the unexpected passing of my Dad on 12/12/12.

Coffeehouse Jazz I – A book dedicated to helping you build the ultimate jazz playlist by sharing 101 instrumental jazz classics.

Second Cup: More Coffeehouse Jazz – The sequel, with 101 more instrumental jazz classics.

Brain Tsunami – The book I wrote with Jenna Brownson, Amanda Hoppes and Samm Lim. We took a real life accident my brother-in-law had, and all wrote different endings since he had amnesia from the event and doesn’t remember what happened. It’s an awesome ride!

I hope you enjoy the 12 books I am giving away this holiday season. Of course, if you are doing some shopping, I sure would appreciate you considering some of my books for the individuals on your holiday shopping lists this season. Here’s a look at some winners that would make great gifts:

Bourbon Mixology – My bestselling book ever offers 50 signature cocktails from 50 iconic bars.

Bourbon Mixology 3 – The latest in my Bourbon Mixology series featured 30 more iconic bars sharing their signature cocktails.

Coffee and Holiday Mixology – This specialty book features iconic bars sharing their signature coffee and holiday-themed drinks.

Leo the Coffee Drinking Cat – A fun story featuring primitive drawings kids can relate to.

Small Brand America IV: Special Beer Edition – 26 craft brewers share their story.

Small Brand America V: Special Bourbon Edition – 20 craft distilleries go behind the scenes to share their history.

Pa’u Hana – My only novel is a fun adventure of two best friends trying to break into the movie business. Guaranteed laughs with this one!

Thank you for reading a little bit about what I am doing this holiday season to promote my writing!

Happy Holidays!
Steve Akley – Inventor of #IndieAuthorSunday

 

 

 

 

Advertisement

CYBER MONDAY? I GOTCHA COVERED!

Tomorrow rounds out the trifecta of shopping “holidays” we have right after Thanksgiving:

Black Friday – Shopping highlighted by mega deals from the large department stores and retailers.

Small Business Saturday – Shifting the focus to local, and mom and pop retailers, to ensure we support those who live in the community as well as sell to it.

Cyber Monday – Hot deals and free shipping for online retailers.

Well, until I gather some steam for Indie Author Sunday, we need to tack on to the existing shopping holidays already in place. After all, indie authors, as well as all forms of art, are the ultimate small businesses. Our work isn’t a reflection of us… it is us! Plus, not only do we create the content, we are solely responsible for marketing and selling it as well.

Well, I’ve got some great things happening for Cyber Monday. First of all, I’m having my own 12 Days of Christmas for my readers. I’m offering 12 pieces of my work for free!

That’s right, for Cyber Monday only, I have 12 eBooks for free on Amazon. These include mini books from my Small Brand America series, one of my Coffeehouse Jazz books and even Life with the Akester, the book about my father (some of the stories at the end of the book are hilarious… be sure to check out The Bowtie, a classic, as well as The Recorder, the story of my “best” Christmas ever).

To get any, or 12 of these books, just check out my catalog on Amazon any time on Monday and download them for free: http://goo.gl/GCf4Ts

I know many of you are going to be shopping Amazon on Monday. Please consider my books for some of your holiday gifts… even if it’s just to round out the shopping cart to get free shipping. Here’s a half-dozen books, worthy of your gift giving from my catalog:

Pa’u Hana – My first novel is a laugh out loud buddy movie.

Bourbon Mixology (Vol. 2) – This gem features 50 iconic bars sharing their signature bourbon cocktails.

Small Brand America V: Special Bourbon Edition – This book shares the stories of 20 craft distillers making some of the best bourbon in the country!

Small Brand America III: Special Hawai’i Edition – This one explores 25 small food/consumer product manufacturers based in Hawai’i. This one’s still my best selling book of all-time (Bourbon Mixology Vol. 2 is closing in on it quickly, though).

Bourbon Mixology (Vol. 1) – The first edition from my series features bourbon cocktail recipes from the craft distillers featured in Small Brand America V: Special Bourbon Edition.

Leo the Coffee Drinking Cat – A great gift for the 3 -5 year old set, the first of three Leo books, this one introduces the coffee drinking cat and his family.

Have a great Cyber Monday!

 

 

CYBER MONDAY & THE INDIE AUTHOR

All of my work is done for 2014. I do not have any further works getting published this year. I am starting on a couple of project that will be out next year. I’m working on both some pre-production work on both my novella and my book on bourbon (I have the companies I want to approach identified and I will be contacting them soon).

Even though I don’t have any other books coming out this year, it doesn’t mean I’m done promoting my current work. Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving, is the busiest online shopping day of the year. Many of you will spend a good deal of time shopping the many deals being offered for this retail event (even if it means you are a little less productive at work).

Even I, and indie author, want to get in on this action!

First of all, my latest book, Leo the Coffee Drinking Cat Gets on TV, is a great item to pick up if you are shopping for someone in the 2 – 6 year old set! It’s a fun story and my “primitive” drawing style (as my Mom labeled it) actually works well with the young ones. They seem to like the simplicity of my work.

At a price point of less than $8, it’s an affordable gift and it may even help you round out your shopping cart on Amazon.com if you are looking to get to their $35 threshold for free shipping.

I’m even starting off the holiday season by giving a few gifts for you. Two of my mini eBooks containing single chapters and bonus material from my book Small Brand America IV: Special Beer Edition, are free on Amazon on December 1 and 2. You can download both Brooklyn Brewery and Odell Brewing Company for these two days only. Just click on their name above to go directly to the site (if you don’t have a Kindle device, just download their free app). I only ask that you please review these books on Amazon as return of the favor of these free gifts.

As always, I thank you for your interest in my writing and wish you a happy and healthy holiday season!