I've been using the Instagram app all year. Here was my year, as captured by Instagram. The Robert Burns Dinner. I tried haggis for the first time, and am–amazingly–still smiling. A visit to Carleton College in Minnesota in early April. They get very excited about spring there. Two photos from the St. Louis City Museum.  An amazing outdoor playground (and yes that's a bus hanging over the roof). Looking down on a 12-story spiral slide. I love this place. New York City, from the Highline Park. The new park is an incredible public space. The Campaign. Button up! Three Signs Read more…

When I did a year-end post last year, I focused on what I’d “shipped.” This was based on a blog post by Seth Godin, and it reminds me of a quote I read in the Steve Jobs biography–“Real artists ship.” Essentially: you have to finish and deliver something. And looking over what you finished and delivered in the last year is a good way to do that. And I’ve finished and delivered a lot last year and this year. But this year has also taught me that there are many things just as good as shipping. I would say that Read more…

I'm in St. Louis with Mary's family for Christmas and New Year's. I've always liked Christmas Eve, maybe even more than Christmas Day. Have some eggnog, sing a carol, a watch Elf, or whatever Christmas movie is your annual tradition. I'll post some photos and a year-end review at some point this next week, but for now–Merry Christmas!

Self-publishing is all about experimentation. What works, what doesn't. So far I've tried many many different drivers to spur sales. Pay-per-click advertising Display advertising Social networking "Loyalty transferring" blog posts Targeting other books to piggy-back sales on … That list goes on and on. Some have been modestly successful. Some only a little. It turns out that so far the best promotion I've done has been–without a doubt–giving the book away for free. Yes, giving away a free book generated the most amount of sales. Let me explain. It was a trial run: use Amazon's new "promotions" opportunity to make The Read more…

I tried to get The Saints Go Dying and The Marinara Murders into Overdrive, the system that runs the Tacoma Public Library's ebook lending program. But unfortunately, it wasn't open to an individual author. So since I can't do that, I'm trying out the new Kindle Lending Library. Anyone with a Kindle and with an Amazon Prime membership can borrow The Marinara Murders (for at least the next 90 days). Of course, you're paying $79 for the privilege to borrow a book for free, but it comes with free shipping and streaming movies. Even though you're getting it for free, I will Read more…

Powell’s is always central to any trip I take to Portland. I think I was there three times this weekend. It’s so big that they now have an app on the iPhone that will help you navigate to a specific book. But of course, a bookstore as big as Powell’s is great for browsing, not just looking for that one particular book. I pared down my hardcover purchases to something much more reasonable. And I discovered a couple of new books I’m really excited about. I caught a bit of a cold too, so I had some early nights in Read more…