Happy Release Day: 101 Killer Zombie Jokes

What to do with an entire notebook full of zombie jokes that haven't made it into a novel? Put them in a joke book: That's how I came up with most of the jokes in my new release 101 Killer Zombie Jokes and 13 Rotten Ones.

Loaded with original zombie illustrations, it's a great way to get reluctant readers turning the pages.

Best of all, at just 99¢ you might even laugh while clicking "Buy Now"!

Why did the zombie join Girl Scouts?

What do you call a zombie's painting?

Tooth Decay: An epidemic among the Undead.

Review Backlog & One Upcoming

I've been focusing on writing and haven't done a good job updating the blog. But I feel it's ungrateful to not at least try to keep up with sites that take the time to review my books. So here's a list of some recent reviews--I know there's at least one I can't find, so if I've left your review out or you know of any sites I forgot to mention, please drop me a note and I'll add them to the list!

First, 26 Letters, wrote up a nice, short review of Super Zombie Juice Mega Bomb The Graphic Novel. She focused on it's suitability for younger readers, so if you are thinking about this book for a younger kid who might be an advanced reader for his/her age, this might be worth checking out.

Book Paddle linked to the same book on their indulgy site. Which is the first time anyone's posted one of my books over there (that I know of).

No Way Out, has gotten two reviews, one way back in March (told you I was behind) from Books & Movie Reviews, and another for O.D. Book Reviews. Both are great, really detailed reviews!

Last, but most importantly (since this book just came out) Ashley, at one of my favorite blogs: Paranormal Sisters, is going to be publishing a review of my newest book: Zack & Zoey Save Walt's Brain in the next week or so!

A BIG thanks to everyone who has taken the time to review my books; it's probably the best way to get the word out and there's so many reviewers and bloggers who do and getting nothing out of it other than the occasional Thank You from readers and authors.

Zack & Zoey Book 2 is Ready!

I'm pleased to announce that Zack & Zoey Book 2: Zack & Zoey Save Walt's Brain is ready for publication!

Editing and proofreading is complete and the book is just undergoing last minute formatting and legal review before it's put on sale, later this week. Until then, here's a few illustrations from the over four dozen in this book:

Zack & Zoey Book 2, First Illustrations!

Yes, even though I haven't been updating the blog, I have been working. Zack & Zoey book 2 is currently in editing and I hope to have it released early next month.

The illustrations are taking a little longer than I had hoped, but I'm sure they'll be worth the wait. Here's a few  previews of a couple of the rough sketches:

20,000 Kid's Books Sold via Self-Publishing!

I haven't posted in a while, but I have some news I think is worth sharing. January I had my first 2,000 book month and just a couple days ago I sold my 20,000th kid book. For those who are interested, here's some of my stats:

Books given-away: over 250k (most short stories)
Percentage of books sold on Amazon: over 95%
Printed copies: less than 200
First sale: June 26th 2010
Books sold in 2010 and 2011 combined: 8691
Books sold in 2012: 8746

This isn't phenomenal success, but it's pretty good for an indie Kidlit author. So I figured I'd offer my best (okay, my only) advice for other kidlit writers trying to generate some sales.

There's no sure-fire review blog or advertising sites for kidlit. Twitter and Facebook don't help much. The only thing I've found that really helps promote is to publish free short stories and tack on a preview of your full-length books at the end.

Amazon's KDP self-pubbing platform only allows you to set the price as low as 99¢, not free. So you have to use Smashwords or Draft2Digital.com to upload your short stories to sites like B&N and Apple. Then wait, sometimes months for Amazon to price match.

It's been getting much harder to get Amazon to set a book to free, but it's worth the effort.

And don't discount the roll luck plays. After the basics (good writing, cover, description, etc), luck is key. But every book you release, even the short stories, are like getting another raffle ticket. With enough tickets, and enough time, you're bound to get lucky, eventually.

I'm Going to the World Series

VIEW FROM MY SEATS

No one probably remembers that back in April I predicted that the Giants would be going to the World Series. There were some shaky games in the middle of the season, but I was right, the Giants are heading to the Series.

I really wanted to go to one of the games. But how can you justify spending that kind of dough on baseball tickets?

Once I thought about it, I came up with the perfect excuse to buy tickets: I'll use last month's commission check. And I'll still have a little leftover for beer. Why sell books if you are never going to spend the money?

Now, my monthly sales don't afford front row seats, but after missing the 2010 World Series, I'm just glad to be going.

The playoffs were tough (as everyone knew they would be), but we are definitely on a roll. The Tigers are a good team with great pitching, so it's going to be a great Series.

!!!GO GIANTS!!!

Kindle Nation Daily Gives Zack & Zoey 5-Stars!

Earlier this week, Colton at Kindle Daily Nation Kids Corner reviewed Zack & Zoey's Alien Apocalypse. You may recall, earlier in the year they also reviewed Super Zombie Juice.
Here's a blurb from this latest review:

"I really enjoyed this book. I laughed a lot and kept quoting things in the book to my mom. There were even pictures in Zack and Zoey, which I thought was awesome."

Read the rest of the 5-star review at Kindle Nation Daily. And a big thank you to Colton and the folks over at KND for making the effort to review kidlit. There's so few sites that do, it's great to see such a well known one taking the time to post these reviews from student reviewers!