Being a Solo Flying Writer Can be Scary As Hell. Being a Pro Writer Offers Grounding. Being an Indie Author Too Gives the Best of Both Worlds.

My first published works appeared in the Janes' School Gazette in 1976, a grade school newspaper where I wrote columns and was a junior editor. (Yes, that was when I was in the 4th grade. :-)

Ten years later though, in 1986, I finished my first full-length novel. In 1991, I won my first writing award--an award that sat on my desk for some 20 years, reminding me where I got my start in this crazy business called publishing.

But it wasn't until 1994 that I signed my first contract with a publisher, which makes 2014 officially my 20th year as a published professional writer.

Between 1994 and 2001 were a lot of good and great writing years. In 2001, I went independent and straddled the so-called hybrid-author line between published pro and indie writer.

Of all the things I've done in my life, going indie was one of the scariest. Why? Independent writers fly solo. They rely on no one and nothing. It is refreshing. It is releasing. It is renewing. And yet it also can be scary as hell.

ABOUT EBOOKS AND AUDIOBOOKS

Many people think ebooks are something fairly new, but an interesting fact about ebooks is that they've been around since the mid to late 1990's when there were several very popular ebook programs that helped writers produce books on floppy disk and later CD-ROM. The first really big ebook push was around the fall of 2001. Back then, Amazon carried ebooks distributed by Ingram Digital. 

Ingram Digital's initial ebook distribution program went to websites all around the world. The first Ruin Mist novel was released as a serial ebook in 2001 as part of Ingram Digital's early ebook service, as well as other early ebook services, and was very successful. Reagent Press and I followed the successful ebook launch with a print release in February 2002 and the Ruin Mist books quickly became bestsellers on Amazon and elsewhere. 

In 2005, Reagent Press and I brought the Ruin Mist books to audio, focusing particularly on digital audio which was something fairly new at the time and available from sites like The Audio Book Store, Emusic, and Audible. Upon their release, the Ruin Mist audiobooks quickly dominated bestseller lists, especially at Audible. 

Like Harry Potter, Narnia, and many other popular books, the original Ruin Mist books are available in editions for adults and young adults. For adults, there are 'Keeper Martin's Tale', 'Kingdom Alliance', 'Fields of Honor', and then 'Mark of the Dragon'. For young adults, there are the four 'Kingdoms and the Elves of the Reaches' books and the four 'In the Service of Dragons' books.

The world of Ruin Mist is expansive and there are many other related novels. 'Journey Beyond the Beyond' and 'Into the Stone Land' are Ruin Mist: Magic Lands novels. 'Breath of Fire' and 'Living Fire' are Ruin Mist: Dragons of the Hundred Worlds novels. 'The Dragon, the Wizard & The Great Door' is a Ruin Mist: Guardians of the Dragon Realms novel. Companion guides like 'Illustrated Encyclopedia of Ruin Mist', 'Keeper Martin's Guide to the Fantastic', and 'Art of Ruin Mist: Heroes and Villains' are also available.

About all this, I am certain of one thing and it is this: If the Ruin Mist books had been published only in print or only in print in standard markets, the books never would have sold over 1 million copies. Just as the availability of the Ruin Mist books in print beyond standard markets created new opportunities, so did the wide availability of ebooks and audiobooks. As you plan your author platform, you too should be looking at releasing your books in formats, editions and markets that make the most sense for you.

ABOUT MY DAY JOB

An industry joke by and between writers is "Don't quit your day job." Of course, I wrote the Ruin Mist books and many other fiction books while also working a day job. My day job from 1985 to 1996 was in the military. From 1996 to the present, my day job is as a technology journalist and writer.

After high school, I joined the military to see the world--and really did. I was stationed in Japan, and toured Asia. I was stationed in Germany, and toured Europe. I saw what hell is like during two combat tours in the Persian Gulf War. I was stationed in Hawaii, and toured the Pacific.

After the military, I began work full-time as a writer. My writing though was primarily focused on nonfiction. I wrote articles for PC Magazine, Dr. Dobbs, and other journals, and I wrote technical manuscripts and other nonfiction works for publishers like Macmillan, McGraw Hill, Pearson, Microsoft, and O'Reilly. This work paid the bills, the mortgage and kept the lights on, but I also kept dreaming of things beyond.

Lessons and experiences from all my military service and traveling spill over into my writing like water over Niagara Falls. When my children were young, I started writing the Bugville Critters books in the 90's and over the years finished dozens of illustrated picture books featuring a little bee called Buster, a little lady bug called Lass, and their friends. My children have always been big Bugville fans and they're the ones who urged me to get the books published. 

When I started the journey to get the Bugville books published in 2004, I decided to bring the books to audio first and then print. Audio seemed a natural fit as my children loved hearing the stories as much as they loved reading them. At the time, I also was starting work on the Ruin Mist audio books.

The first Bugville Critters audiobooks were released in 2007. The print books followed in 2008. After releasing the original books starring Buster and Lass, I realized I also had a wealth of early learning books. These books became part of my Bugville Jr and Bugville Learning product lines. About all this, I am certain of one thing: If I had not expanded the Bugville Critters into new product lines, the books never would have sold over 1 million copies. It was the wide selection and diverse product offering that helped the books become successful.

As an author, your books are your brands and you too should be looking for ways you can expand. Expand into areas that make sense based on what you are writing.

I've sold 2.5 million Robert Stanek books, but I don't know if I'd have been able to continue as a writer without also having sold 7.5 million William Stanek books. Selling 10 million books over 20 years is a solid success, but one without the other? I'm not sure that would have worked, and it's one of the reasons I decided to be both a pro and an indie author. 

I hope my insights from 20 years in this crazy writing business help you in your writing.

Thanks for reading,

Robert Stanek

Long, Hard Slog Up the Middle: A Writer's Journey Part 1

I’ve been a writer for more than 30 years. I finished my first full-length novel in 1986, won my first writing award in 1991, and signed my first book contract in 1994. Since then, I've gone on to write more than 150 books, which have been read by readers all around the world.

I earned my stripes in this crazy business when I wrote for many years for the simple pleasure of writing itself. It wasn’t until 1994 that I signed my first contract. It wasn’t until 1995 that my first book was published. It wasn’t until 1996 that I was able to write full-time.

My full-time work as a writer is as a technology journalist and nonfiction writer. In those early days, I wrote articles for leading publications like PC Magazine and Dr. Dobbs. I also wrote books for leading publishers like Macmillan, Pearson, McGraw Hill, Microsoft, and O’Reilly Media. For articles, I often received $1 or more a word. For books, I often received solid five-figure advances. That was, of course, success, and I did in fact rise quickly, becoming a recognized world leader in my field in only a few short years.

Success, however, can be short lived. In publishing, a writer’s last success doesn’t necessarily pave the road to the future. A writer’s future is determined by his or her next book and often also by factors the writer cannot control. The world changes every day. Trends and tastes shift. Yesterday’s media darling can be tomorrow’s nobody.

I’ve lived the change firsthand. Between 1995 and 1998, I signed more than a dozen contracts, wrote books as fast as I could write them for readers who couldn’t get my books fast enough. I was on fire. In those few short years, my books earned millions at retail. I thought the ride would never end, until it did.

The market changed. Trends and tastes shifted. The hot topics of the day were flooded with a smorgasbord of offerings. There weren’t just 10 or 20 books on that hot topic, there were a hundred. Eventually, this oversaturation cannibalized sales of all similar books. Thus, even as my success and career were hitting new highs, I was left scrambling.

But unlike many of my contemporaries at the time, I saw the light of that oncoming freight train. I knew my options. I knew what I had to do.

I could continue to write books in an oversaturated market, try to live with sales that were a tiny fraction of what they had been, or I could look to new opportunities. I chose plan b—the new opportunities. I risked everything, left my old publishers who weren’t interested in my new ideas, and went out looking for publishers who were interested in my new ideas.

The change meant I had to rejoin the working world. I took a job with a tech company in Seattle and joined the ranks of the marathon commuters, driving 140 miles round trip every working day. I continued writing in the evenings and on weekends. I continued to pitch my new ideas to new publishers.

Days and weeks passed. Months too. By the sixth month, my wife and I were seriously considering our options and wishing we’d sold the family home and moved to Seattle months ago.
But I didn’t give up. Instead, I polished my ideas yet again and sent them out via my agent to a new publisher who I heard was looking to do something different. I just hoped that the “something different” they wanted would be my radical idea for a new series of books.

The wait to hear back from the publisher was agony because at this point it was make or break. If I heard back from the publisher and it wasn’t good news, my writing career likely was over. If I heard back from the publisher and it was good news, there was hope, but no certainty.

Thankfully, I heard back from my agent within a few days and the news was...

To be continued...

Thanks for reading,

Robert Stanek

Bestseller Lists Can Lie (Or Alternatively Finding Your Happy Place While Perusing the Bestseller Lists)

I'm Robert Stanek and I founded Go Indie and Read Indies to help and support independent authors. Today, I want to break down a mistruth in this industry: the one that says bestseller lists show the actual bestsellers in the industry. The simple truth is that bestseller lists don't necessarily show the books that actually are bestselling in any category or any genre at any particular time. More accurately, bestseller lists are reflective of the bestselling books at any particular time in any particular category or genre.
  

Bestseller lists, like those in the New York Times, can lie. Every year books appear on the New York Times lists that have relatively few sales, especially when you get into the extended portions of particular lists. Every year books appear on the New York Times lists that have fewer sales relative to other titles in a particular genre that aren’t on the list. Every year books appear higher on the New York Times lists that actually have fewer sales than titles ranked lower on the list. And none of this is specific to the New York Times lists, rather this is specific to all lists of this nature.

Bestseller lists capture a portion of sales in particular markets and locations. Some bestseller lists incorporate numbers reported to them by publishers as well, which is sort of like inviting the fox into the hen house.

Publishers can become craftsman at working the bestseller lists to ensure important titles land on them. Ways some publishers do this: one-day laydowns, strict street dates and distribution focused on locations tracked by the lists. So if you’re Publisher XYZ and you have a book that you want on a particular New York Times list, you ensure the boxes of books arrive at specific stores on a specific date, can’t go on sale until a specific “street” date and you ensure those stores tracked by the list are your priority focus—you may even ship at different times to markets not tracked by the list to ensure buyers have to go to locations tracked by the list to make purchases.

Publishers organize marketing, drive pre-orders, give tracked stores incentives—whatever it takes—to ensure buyers go out and buy the book on a specific date or dates and especially at tracked stores—and those targeted sales at the right locations put the book on that important list. For some of the most important lists, depending on time of year and category, that tactic can be used to put a book on that all important list with only a few thousand actual sales in a particular week. For other lists, depending on the time of year and category, that tactic can be used to put a book on a list with less than several thousand actual sales in a particular week. Go into the extended lists and that tactic can be used to put a book on an extended list with even fewer sales. Yet when publishers proclaim a book a New York Times bestseller, they rarely state the list the book was on and I don't think I've ever seen one make the distinction between a primary list and an extended list.

Being on a bestseller list is, of course,  very cool for authors and publishers alike. I just would prefer specificity and you may as well. When possible and practical, a USA Today Bestseller should be listed as such and by category, as should a Publisher's Weekly or other print media bestseller. Likewise for online bestsellers, which should list the website and category. Preferably the category will be a top level or competitive second-level category, as this will have more relevance than lower level categories.

With my books, when possible and practical, I always try to state exactly where my book was a bestseller and in what category and in the relative position within a category. I believe that's the only honest approach. As examples:

'The Pieces of the Puzzle' was #1 Fiction for 4 weeks, Top 10 Mystery for 11 weeks and Top 20 Mystery for 16 weeks at Audible.com. 

'The Kingdoms and the Elves of the Reaches' was #1 in Fiction at Audible and soon #1 on the entire site and not long after one of the Top 100 grossing titles in Audible’s history.

When you are specific, whether on a media list or online list, you let readers determine relevance for themselves. As online categories at specific sites are straight forward and based on actual sales numbers, rather than being weighted or based in part on a publisher's reported numbers, I believe online lists when specified precisely can be more honest than media bestseller lists.

The New York Times in particular has many bestseller lists. These lists change over time and currently, at the time of this writing, are as follows:

Combined Print & E-book Fiction (Top 15, extended to Top 35)

Combined Print & E-book Nonfiction (Top 15, extended to Top 35)

Hardcover Fiction (Top 15, extended to Top 35)

Hardcover Nonfiction (Top 15, extended to Top 35)

Paperback Trade Fiction  (Top 20, extended to Top 35)

Paperback Mass-Market Fiction (Top 20, extended to Top 35)

Paperback Nonfiction (Top 20, extended to Top 35)

E-book Fiction  (Top 25, extended to Top 35)

E-book Nonfiction  (Top 25, extended to Top 35)

Hardcover Advice & Misc.  (Top 10, extended to Top 15)

Paperback Advice & Misc.  (Top 10, extended to Top 15)

Children’s Picture Books   (Top 10, extended to Top 25)

Children’s Middle Grade    (Top 10, extended to Top 15)

Young Adult    (Top 10, not-printed extended)

Children’s Series   (Top 10, not-printed extended)

Hardcover Graphic Books   (Top 10, not-printed extended)

Paperback Graphic Books   (Top 10, not-printed extended)

Manga  (Top 10, not-printed extended)

Combined Hardcover & Paperback Fiction (Top 35, not-printed extended)

Combined Hardcover & Paperback Nonfiction (Top 35, not-printed extended)

Each list has a primary and an extended portion. Some of these lists are harder to get on and more competitive than others. Generally, the number of titles on each list is reflective of how competitive the list is. Generally, unit sales, or the number of books sold, is what lists look at vs. the cost of a book and its total earnings. However, the lists depend on tracked store reporting, on publisher reporting and relative weighting. These things virtually guarantee certain types of books will never appear on certain media bestseller lists--at least until the rules are changed to be more reflective of the entire marketplace (and I won't hold my breath waiting for that to happen anytime soon).

If you're an indie author, while you likely won't get on such a list with printed books, you may get on such a list with ebooks. Inclusion of ebooks is something that's happened only in the last few years. Ebooks were included when the list creators started realizing that many e-only books had unit sales above those of what they were calling bestsellers at a particular time. For the authors whose books peaked before such reporting, they simply missed the opportunity to have those books appear on the media lists--and there were many authors who lost such opportunities. 

View any of these lists online and you’ll be able to read a full explanation of their methodology for creating each list. When you read the fine print, you find that the lists are weighted like I've mentioned: “The universe of print book dealers is well established, and sales of print titles are statistically weighted to represent all outlets nationwide.” 

In other words, the lists for printed books are representative of sales at tracked stores and then multiplied by and/or padded with a modifier value to represent sales across the US. (And there's other fine print as well, such as with regard to publisher reported numbers, etc, etc.)

Reading this you may wonder if a list like this is sort of like Nielsen ratings for books. With Nielsen ratings, the television viewing habits of a relatively small cross-section of households are statistically extrapolated to be representative of millions of viewers across the US. Nielsen ratings are carefully controlled. The bestseller lists are not. With the bestseller lists, publishers know what stores and markets are tracked and what stores and markets aren’t tracked. Using statistical weighting, a few thousand sales at tracked stores can be interpreted as many, many thousands of sales across the US.

It's important to point out that if a list includes publisher reported numbers, as many lists did and some continue to do, the honor system was/is relied upon. The publisher reported numbers were/are simply relied upon as fact--something that some publishers took advantage of by shipping out huge numbers of books at steep discounts and than calling the books "sold."

As with print books, ebook-related lists are representative of the industry while not necessarily all inclusive.  At the time of this writing, the New York Times states they don't weight ebook sales yet--but may in the future--while also stating they track only certain ebook markets. It could be list creators simply want to find ways of being relevant when everyone else is looking to the primary online marketplaces themselves to determine what book is a bestseller at any given time. It's also important to point out that e-audio isn't included in such numbers, nor are ebook sales from websites not considered primary markets.

Finally, keep in mind, it’s not just traditional publishers who work bestseller lists. Over the past year or so, I’ve seen indies working online lists and I don’t like the trend.

Additionally, as cool as it can be for an author to see their free giveaway soar up the Amazon free list and maybe get to #1 Free in a category or even #1 Free on the entire site, a book given away isn't a bestseller. During my giveaways at Amazon every one of the books I had in KDP Select landed at #1 in a top-level category at some point in time. I gave away over 250,000 books and I don't count any of it as anything. Why? I gave the books away for free. Readers weren't purchasing them. Reaching #1 Free multiple times was fun but ultimately meaningless (and I do of course, as always, reserve the right to change my opinion about this).

If you're an author and you disagree with my thoughts on free, and that's your choice to do so, I hope you'll always qualify in any reference that your book was being given away at the time. You can use the same qualifiers I discussed earlier with regard to website, category and position within category. For example:

A #1 Free Mystery at Amazon

Further, true bestsellers stay on print bestseller lists not for a single week but for multiple weeks. True bestsellers stay on online bestseller lists not for a few hours on a particular day or for a particular day but for many days. Here's an example:

'The Kingdoms and the Elves of the Reaches was #1 on Audible for FOURTEEN consecutive weeks and then a Kids & YA Top 10 bestseller for the next THREE YEARS.

Now that's bestselling power and it was reflected in the massive sales and millions in retail earnings for my books at Audible.

Thanks for reading,

Robert Stanek

Taking Your Work From Print to Film: Going to Hollywood Baby… You Coming With?

Hollywood is catnip for writers. As a writer who’s been doing the job for a few decades, I’ve had more than a few Hollywood encounters myself. I’ve negotiated screenplay options. Talked backend and points with production companies. Got the limo rides. Been on movie sets. Walked the walk. My current screenplay might even get signed this time, then again it might not—it’s Hollywood baby and anything can happen.




Way back in 2002, the first two times Hollywood came knocking, I was too awestruck to enjoy the moment. All I could think was DreamWorks is considering my books for the movies--and then before that could sink in Fox was there considering my books too. I was dancing on top of the world, especially with the same books doing so well on Amazon's bestseller lists.

Dancing on clouds was fun but it wasn't until Hollywood came knocking a third time that I knew I'd really done something right. That third time, it was VMP who came knocking. As they're the producers of Armageddon, Virus, Clockstoppers, Adventure Inc., The Coven, The Punisher, Æon Flux, Room Service, Welcome to the Jungle, The Incredible Hulk, Punisher: War Zone, I thought for certain this was the right fit. The right production company for Ruin Mist.

But it wasn't to be.... A lot of years passed and thoughts of breaking into Hollywood faded away. In 2008, I finished Illustrated Encyclopedia of Ruin Mist and Keeper Martin's Guide to the Fantastical Beasts and Fairie Creatures of Ruin Mist. Both books were BIG hits with fans and as it turns out with MGM, who came knocking, as did Artciculus Entertainment.

MGM was the one I'd've liked to see make the movies. They could have done it right and ensured a 4-movie run, which was what I was hoping for. It's the complete story that I want to tell in film and it's only through the course of all four books that the story behind the story is fully told. That being the story of the tragic romance of Ansh Brodst, a man at arms, and Delinna Alder, a princess of the realms.

In 2010, I finished the Ruin Mist comics and a prequel, Dawn of the Ages. The Ruin Mist graphic novel was published in late 2011. And it's these stories that bring a new movie production company to my door.

If you’re a writer, you might think there’s no more perfect place than Hollywood to live out your starry-eyed dreams and no bigger canvas for those very same dreams to play out. But what have you done lately to make those starry-eyed dreams a reality? Anything? Something? Nothing?

Most likely the answer is nothing, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Whether you have a single, finished, polished work that comes alive on the page or a hundred, you can start doing things right now to help make your Hollywood dreams a reality.

In Hollywood, it’s ideas that matter. Hollywood’s all about big ideas and big deals. If the concept is the right one, Hollywood could care less whether your book has sold five copies or five million copies. Sure, it’s easier for Hollywood to tie into and market a film based on a bestseller but Hollywood makes movies out of also-ran books every, single day because somewhere, the right someone loved the concepts the books explored.

Whether you think I’m smoking something funny and want a toke of that great stuff or not, queue up some of your favorite movies, go through the begin and end credits and see how many say “Based on the novel (or short story) … by …” Odds are you’ll see more than a few of those “based on” credits (and many from authors and books you’ve never heard of).

The number of “based on” credits you see is a reflection of just how important written works are to Hollywood. However, that “based on” credit isn’t representative of every book, novella or short story adapted for film. It’s a privilege, a right that not every author gets. Only authors savvy enough to negotiate the “based on” right get credit, and they have to negotiate the right into the screenplay option agreement in the first place (and then ensure that the right isn’t written out in addendums and such later). What then is the true number of theatrical works based on books? Does anyone really know?

Doubtful. What I do know though is that Hollywood is always looking for fresh, source materials and books give Hollywood plenty to work with. The source books needn’t be from bestsellers or industry luminaries. For that matter, the source books needn’t be books or anything book-like either. Hollywood options plenty of short-form works for adaptation as movies. In some ways, short-form works are easier for Hollywood to work with as they present the characters, the central story, the plot more succinctly than books. Hollywood options plenty of works that were never books too—they’re called screenplays and screenplays are the currency of Hollywood.

As a writer, before you count yourself out of the game, deal yourself in by learning the basics of the screenplay trade. Familiarize yourself with how screenplays are written and how screenplays are pitched to the studios. An understanding of screenplay structure will help you position yourself. An understanding of the pitch will help you sell your work to Hollywood.

As for me, I don't know if the 6th time is the lucky charm for Ruin Mist. It might be, then again it might not be. It's Hollywood baby, and anything’s possible.

Thanks for reading! Hope you'll follow the blog if you aren't already and stay tuned for more in the days and weeks ahead. I'll get into the specifics in these posts as I'm able.

Robert Stanek

Summer of Indie Begins in 1 Day

Summer of Indies Begins in 1 Day.

Summer of Indie features many of the best and brightest stars of today's indie scene.

Spread the word. Follow, post, tweet about: http://readindies.blogspot.com 

Summer of Indies biggest supporters so far: 

• Brian Bigelow
• Tammie Clarke Gibbs
• Rachel Hunter

And: GRACE GUERRA and the Book Junkies Library.

Summer of Indie Begins in 2 Days

2 days to Summer of Indie. 

Summer of Indies features many of the best and brightest stars of today's indie scene.

Summer of Indie is a FREE event. I'm Robert Stanek and I'm donating my time to support the event. Summer of Indie is a celebration of the indie author and the indie book. It's all about recognizing indie authors and celebrating their books.

You can support Summer of Indie by following this blog, encouraging others to follow and tweeting. Tweet, Tweet, Tweet...

#Readers, once you #GOIndie, you get Great #Books, Better Prices! #FB: http://t.co/L4JndVk0 #Blog: http://t.co/Wm8eI7ay via @RobertStanek

#SummerOfIndie #ahead #AmIn Are You In? http://readindies.blogspot.com via @RobertStanek #books #authors

Join us for Summer of Indie! Spread the word!

Summer of Indie Begins in 3 Days!

3 days to Summer of Indie. 

Summer of Indies features many of the best and brightest stars of today's indie scene.

I'm Robert stanek, and I'm IN, and here's a few other indie authors who also are in:

A.D. Duling
Ashley Fontainne
Brian Bigelow
C. M. Barrett
Carolyn Arnold
Chicki Brown
Doreen McGettigan
Erik Gustafson
Jerry Last
Leigh M. Lane
Linda Leander
Lisa Bilbrey
Lynne Cantwell
Melissa Pearl
Michele Richard
Michelle Hughes
Nadia Scrieva
Nicole Storey
Rachel Hunter
Sharon Cooper
Staci Stallings
Suzie Welker
Tammie Clarke Gibbs
Tracy James Jones
Valerie Douglas

Join us for Summer of Indie! Spread the word!

SUMMER of INDIE AHEAD

Summer of Indie is ahead. I will promote it all summer long and the authors in it -- if everyone in turn promotes Summer of Indie. I've tentatively hired someone to work on the program the ENTIRE summer as a *paid* job.

Everyone who has signed up for summer of indie OR asked to be featured at Read Indies (about 100 people so far) will be featured all summer long on a rotating and repeat basis.

Your participation will determine how much or how little additional. How can you support Summer of Indie?

1) Periodically post about Summer of Indie on your page, site, blog and ask people to follow the BLOG. I will watch number of followers and hope to see this grow considerably. The blog link is: http://readindies.blogspot.com/.

2) Tweet about #SummerofIndie, #ReadIndies and #GoIndie periodically. I will watch tweets and hope to see this grow considerably. Some tweets you may want to use:

#SummerOfIndie #ahead #AmIn Are You In? http://t.co/qwPzdj6K via @RobertStanek

RT @RobertStanek: #Readers, once you #GOIndie, you get Great #Books, Better Prices! #FB: http://t.co/N3zAI3ql #Blog: http://t.co/ITk6b6mG

I LOVE @RobertStanek. He's the best and the guru behind #SummerOfIndie

(Okay that 3rd tweet I added just to see you grin, it's not real, unless you really like it :-)

3) Ask people to join Go Indie. Post about Go Indie on your page, blog, site periodically I will watch group membership and hope to see it grow.

4) Thank you -- I think it's going to be fun. AND if you schedule/automate all this periodically from now until Sept 1 or whatever, you can sit back, relax and let us promote you (if you joined, that is).

Best,

Robert Stanek