Books on Amazon

 Why Bother?

Book Promoters of Twitter

In the last quarter - 3 months - I have been approached by several book promoters on Twitter, the first question I get asked is always, is your book on Amazon?

My reply is No; I did have books on there, but they never sold, so I took them down.

They always tell me, they can boost my sales, what they mean is they can boost their profiles; apparently, there is a lot of interest in my last book, where I don't know. The only interest I have aroused is from a group of promoters in Nigeria, these are no more than college kids with no experience. 

Is this all I am worth?

What don't you understand?

 A note to BOOK PROMOTERS on TWITTER

Foreign Language

I often think I talk in several tongues, or at least in a language which has passed into history, why?

Book promoters on Twitter keep trying to get me to pay them to promote my latest eBook, despite repeating myself I have NO MONEY for promotion.

Another futile policy is attempting to convince me my time will come if I write again.

          My light shone too bright for a short time in 2012 when I earned an award

Why do I need a Book Promoter?

 Alan Place - Book Promoter

                               I wish Nigerian wannabee book promoters would leave me alone!

I do NOT need a Book Promoter!

Why should I pay someone in Nigeria to promote my books, when I have been  doing the job for over 15 years?

I accept they may have some contacts I don't know about, but they usually use the regular ones, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, and  Google books. As my ebooks are on Draft2Digital, I have several platforms outside the usual.

Many years ago, I was a successful book promoter, in a small way, my talent won a contract for two writers, and boosted the sale of another writer from 20 books a month to over 200. 

In those days, I was naive, I thought I would get at least thanked, I didn't.

Not Nigeria again :(

Was I being bullied?

                                                                        A lot of Interest

I have come to attention of readers in Nigeria according to one lady who was supposed to promote my book (above), the book is getting a lot of attention, the question is where, all I get is a lot of attention from book promoters in Nigeria who know less about books, than I do about sex on Mars.

I can't prove it, but I think it was a scam, she hasn't been in touch from mid-July when she posted her link to the book on Twitter, and she doesn't go to the site now.

The writer who pointed me in her direction has also had her account terminates, after harrying me to spend a further $50.00 to have the book added to Amazon, when I had already paid $150.00, after being told it would only cost $100.00

The Year of Hell

2024  - The year of the Scam

                                                           Better safe than Sorry

Looking back on 2024, I can say it has been one of the worst years, if not the worst year, of my life, both for the family, and myself.

I spent most of the Summer ill from three medical conditions, one was a slight bout of Covid.

From June, when I was scammed into thinking the book on here would be publihsed by a group of promoters on Fiverr, until yesterday, I have not had a week when a lady has tried to scam me in some way.

In July, I was told my book was getting a lot of interest, where I have no idea, the only interest I got was from "promoters" in Nigeria. I realise I could have missed a genuine opportunity for the book to sell, but any contct with Nigeria I consider a scam. Besides, from the small contacts I had with the "promoters. I know more about the world of publishing than they did; I am not surprised, they may have a degree from some University in the far outreaches of the jungle, I have had 15 years trying to be recognised as a writer, I was giving them ideas how to promote. 

Since July, I adopted the mindset "Better safe than Sorry."

My hope for 2025

The year is better than 2024, if it isn't, I may not be here to welcome 2026.

The Book of Revelations

 Alan Place - Book Promoter

Twitter Promotions

On Twitter, I often get approached by book promoters, they try to get me to write again, this is something I aim to do this year.

WHAT DO THEY DO?

The usual price is a minmum of $150.00, for what?

All they will be doing is adding the book to a series of sites, many of which will be useless to me.

My aim for the year is to create a series of links on Draft2Digital as the year goes on. I know, I have been a critic of the site, and its policy of lending books out, now I know the error of my ways, I can orevent the error again.

The big plus is I won't be paying someone over £100.00 to do something I can do myself. Okay, they know sites I don't, but would those sites bring sales?

Deja Vu

 Untold Truths

Look Back in Anger

The irony of the title of my latest book has just hit me; the book is called Untold Truths, which describes aptly how I feel tonight; now I realise how close I was to being scammed.

I am getting a sense of Deja Vu with the way things are going about my latest book, in June, I was approached on Twitter by Linda Lael Miller, who put me in touch with her agent, Lina Cruz, and then her profile vanished from Twitter; the same thing happend this month, only the writer is Tricia O'Malley.

I know I may be being over cautious, and I could lose out on a genuine book boost, but on the other hand, I could save myself another $150.00 minimum, which will take a lot of sales to recover.
The book Lina was "supposed" to have promoted; she said there was a lot of interest in the book, but where? The only interest I have seen is from "promoters" in Nigeria who are likely to be running in the scam too.

The Book Marketeer Scam

 Why is it a scam?

Money for old rope

On Twitter, rarely a week goes by without me being pestered by people "posing" as book promoters.

Why is it a scam?

In short, you can't prove they have tried to promote the book, even if it doesn't get sales; no more than you can prove they didn't.

Most of the people have no qualifications, other than a laptop. Many of the ones I got hassled from were from Nigeria, and had no sense of writing.

To show what I mean, the top-ranked University in Nigeria is ranked lower than 800 in the world, which is as good as a 5th grade school in the USA.

Why should I pay a person to promote my work when I was doing it for over 15 years? They may know sites I don't, but years ago, I added my eBook content to so many sites I can't recall their names

I have noting to lose

 Books.by

                                                     Book Promoters of Twitter

With nothing to lose, and the possibility of someting to gain; I am considering adding my eBook content to a site called Books.by.

I was approauced by another book promoter on Twitter this week, I have no faith in them, anybody can be a book promoter; I was for several years, and I have no qualifiactions. Why should I pay someone in Nigeria to do what I can do for free?

They claim to have a degree, which is NOT worth the paper it is written on, the highest ranked university in Nigeria is ranked below 800 in the world, making it the equivalent of a high school in the USA.

When I was a promoter, I got two writers a contract with my blurb writing ability, and boosted another writer's sales from 20 a month to over 300.

I treat anyone from Nigeria as a "snake in the grass," as it is the SCAM centre of the internet.

Help an Indie Writer

 Book Promoters of Twitter

Alan Place - Indie Writer

Each week on Twitter, I get approached by promoters, saying they can help promote my writing to a new level, and asking why I stopped writing?

The best way to help me, and encourage me to write again is to buy a few inexpensive eBooks of mine.

The issue is, while they are correct, greater exposure would possibly help my sales, I have to pay a minimum of $200, which means I will be $200 down, before I begin, that is more than I earned as an Indie Writer in 15 years

A note to BOOK PROMOTERS on TWITTER

 I stopped Writing years ago

                                                     The Lost Years

This short story is a ghost romance about a USAAF crew member whose ghost haunts his old station.

It could be read as a single ghost story, or as a part of a double set with the story Amelia.

The lost years could also describe my 15-year struggle for recognition as a writer, which I gave up this year; I haven't brought out a story for several years, I don't see the point in writing if nobody is going to read what I wrote.

I keep being asked by promoters, if I have plans for new books. I have no plan, or energy to write.

I wish Nigerian wannabee book promoters would leave me alone!

Not Nigeria again :( 

 A group of students in Nigeria

Putting aside the scam I suffered at the hands of Linda Lael Miller's agent, I wish I had not contacted the agent, Lina Cruz AKA Joy Mautin.
Since that day, I have been plagued by people from Nigeria who think because they have a degree from some backwater college in the jungle, they can teach me about book promotion.

They may have the qualifications, but I have been a writer for over 15 years, what do they think they can tell, that I haven't found out?

Bestselling Author scam

 Scambusted

SCAMBUSTER

If you get contacted by a person "claiming" to be a bestselling writer, it is usually a scam, how do I know?

Ask yourself, then the other person, how did you find out about me?

The most common reply I got was "I follow other writers, on Twitter." The other reply is " I can't tell you why."

Before you rush into anything, remember these things; if they are a bestseller, they would not know about you. They are busy writing their next book, and anyone with a but of IT know-how can download images from the internet, and create a false profile.

Book Promoter Scam

Until recently, I was plagued by people "claiming" to be a book promoter, and telling me they could influence my eBook sales, if I paid them for promotion.

The things to remeber here are anyone can make a banner to post online, and claim they are someone they are not. If you are paying a person to promote your work, you are out-of-pocket before you start. A true publisher will give you an advance on how they feel your book will sell. Most of the people "claiming" to be promoters are in Nigeria - the SCAM capital - they claim to have a degree, but the highest ranked University in the country is ranked lower than 800, making it tlower than a high school in the USA.

Building up my Profile

 Readers over Sales

Book Promoters of Twitter

My aim has never been for book sales, I knew from the first day - 15 years ago - I would not succeed as a writer.

My aim has always been to promote my short story readers via my blog.

With this aim in mind, I am going to attempt to raise the profile of the blog from the ground again.

Why do I have so few eBooks on my Amazon page?

 Few sales

                                                                  The Bitter Truth

A question I get asked a lot by book promoters on Twitter is why aren't my eBooks on Amazon?

The answer to the question is they were for over a decade, but they never sold. My bestseller sold 15 copies in a decade, that was only because the eBook twice sold seven copies in a weekend; the next bestselling book only sold a dozen, and that had TWO 5-star ratings

When my writing began

 Book Promoter Scam

                                                                    So many sites

I have to laugh at the number of times I have been approached by book promoters on Twitter.

They don't realise I was promoting my eBook content before many of them were out of college, and I forgot more about promotion than they "claim" to know.

I added my eBooks to so many sites, I forgot the names on most of them; apart from one in Miami, Florida, and one based in Iceland; all they wanted was for me to be a "slush reader," in other words to read, and comment on the works of writers they had published.

The magazine based in Florida was called "Horny Devil," as you can imagine, they wanted sex stories. I didn't accept, not that I don't write sex stories, I didn't like their remit of anything goes; keep it legal. I used to write stories for a lady I was in contact with in London, years ago, she was into violent sex. A little rough sex play can be arousing, but she was into blood letting, and the more the merrier; where, if at all, did she draw the line?

I kept asking myself, did I miss my only opportunity to be published?

My friends kept saying "if you're asking the question, you know your answer." Several years later, I checked if the site was ongoing, it had either closed, or been forced to close.

Writing for a magazine based in Iceland may appear desperate, but the magazine, Abandoned Towers, has a considerable following in the Science Fiction world.

I lost this contract through the jealousy of a person who "claimed" to be an editor. I sent my eBook to her for a few tweaks, but she did nothing for me, the rest is history as she trashed the story online, mainly because it earned an award

Bestselling Writers on Twitter

 The Great Irony

It is a joke

For some inexplicable reason, for the second time this year, I have been approached on Twitter by another bestselling writer.

I find it laughable that these people know about me, when I have given up on writing.

What don't they understand that after a struggle for 15-years, this year is the end. Also amusing is the wording of the request for me to continue; it is almost as if they copy/paste a section of a speech.

They all have the best agent, this agent can boost my online visibility, and sell my books.

In desperation, I believed this rubbish in June of this year, and it cost me £140 for nothing.

Another aspect of this joke is I am now being approached by several book promoters pushing to improve their online visibility.

The Ghosting by Alan Place

Buy your Copy 

Money gets the vote

This week, I have had two book promoters ask for a copy of my eBooks; if I was to send the file, I would lose out; once they have the file they can send copies anywhere. So I sent them a link instead. I could still lose out, if they decide to send the copies, but this way, I may get the sales I need to pass $10.00 on Draft2Digital, and get paid for once.

Nothing New Here

 The Hard Sell

                                                                                                        Freebie Time

What didn't happen is what I expected not to happen today.

Yesterday, I was approached by two book promoters, one on Twitter, and the other on LinkedIn, they were interested in promoting my eBooks.

The young lady said she was willing for a small fee to promote The Cursed, and the other person wanted to promote my Special Edition of The Old Church Ghost. The reason Old Church Ghost is a Special Edition is it contains four versions of my popular ghost story, including the original which is not available, other than in this selection.

I sent them the links, but got no reaction as they were expecting a FREEBIE. One way of thinking on the topic is because I didn't send the file, I could have missed out on sales, my way of viewing the situation is IF I'd sent the file, what is there to stop them sending it out online; either way I would have lost out.

Do I speak in many tongues?

 What is there NOT to understand?

Do I speak in an Ancient Aramaic language which nobody understands, or do they prefer not to read what I am saying?

Since July, I have been beset by writers, and promoters who cannot accept my reality.

I HAVE NO INTEREST IN WRITING

Almost weekly, I get requests to ask this promoter, or that promoter to help my book sales. Some may be genuine, but having being a scam victim a few months ago, I am not taking chances again.

Besides, after 16 years of struggle, I have nothing to give.I have many ideas, but no desite to write.

It is odd, how people with a degree, cannot - or will not - accept that after my struggles, I have given up, or is it strange?

To me, if a person says no, that is what they mean; that has been the case with me about my writing for the last five years, at least.