Comments for The Johnny Denovo Mysteries

Comment on Chapter 1 from “The Green Monster: A Johnny Denovo Mystery” by Self-Publishing Review | Blog | A Publishing Person Self-Publishes

Self-Publishing Review | Blog | A Publishing Person Self-Publishes — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 02:58:39 +0000

[...] guess what? I’m starting the process of publishing the sequel this week, and will have the book out by early Fall 2009. Beat that, consignment [...]

Comment on Yes, Metaphors Are Really Tools Used By Intelligence Agencies by Crossing the Divide | Kawa Creative

Crossing the Divide | Kawa Creative — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 13:51:52 +0000

[...] Yes, Metaphors Are Really Tools Used By Intelligence Agencies (johnnydenovo.com) [...]

Comment on Escalators — Evidence That Metaphors Affect Generosity and Mood by Why don’t metaphorical hawks kill metaphorical doves? | Metaphor Hacker - Hacking Metaphors, Frames and Other Ideas

Sun, 03 Apr 2011 08:29:15 +0000

[...] Escalators – Evidence That Metaphors Affect Generosity and Mood (johnnydenovo.com) [...]

Comment on “Entanglement: A Johnny Denovo Mystery” Receives Its First Review by “Entanglement: A Johnny Denovo Mystery” Receives Another Review « The Johnny Denovo Mysteries

Sat, 15 Jan 2011 17:44:41 +0000

[...] Comments « “Entanglement: A Johnny Denovo Mystery” Receives Its First Review [...]

Comment on Who Does Johnny Denovo Look Like? by Lamont Autaubo

Lamont Autaubo — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 05:43:21 +0000

Johnny Depp is extraordinary sexy and kind hearted person. An awesome actor-the BEST! Beautiful man, inside & out.

Comment on Free Excerpts by Andrew Kent

Andrew Kent — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 17:27:09 +0000

Hi Amber,

The site for the Johnny Denovo Mysteries is a WordPress blog. The only costs have been for the domain name (johnnydenovo.com) and for some custom WordPress plugins, some for DNS hosting for the domain, some for a little bit of CSS I added. Overall, it runs about $20/year.

The first two book covers were designed by yours truly. I used to be a graphic designer, so it was something I knew I could do. However, the second cover I was not happy with — I couldn’t find a good image to capture the book. So, for the third book, I hired a professional designer I’ve worked with before, and he did a magnificent job.

Advice? Hmmm. Write a good book. Have others read it, and accept their spoken and unspoken criticisms with an open mind. Be sure to have 1-2 people read it who you know won’t hold back their criticisms. You want to have a better book, and it’s better to have the pain of revision be a private, pre-publication event. I had a hard time finding the right voice for my books, but a few good early readers of drafts helped me identify the problems and find the voice. It’s been much easier ever since. Be ready to spend more money than you think is reasonable on marketing — Facebook ads, press releases, Google ads, etc. Arrange local signings. Contact your local paper. Contact your alumni association if you have one. Give out free samples and excerpts. I’ve had a lot of success with a low-priced e-book version of my first novel, and that’s led to more uptake of my second. It’s that advice about creating a “platform” — one book usually isn’t enough unless there’s a built-in platform for it (a current hot topic it ties into). Consider chopping your one book into thirds if it’s long enough so that you have three books (by the way, I didn’t do this — I’ve just kept writing). Have a professional copy editor read the final draft. Sweat the cover design. Have fun. And be patient — it’s been 18+ months since my first book was published, and I’m having my best sales month yet.

Comment on Free Excerpts by Amber Lisa

Amber Lisa — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 13:47:52 +0000

I’m a writer too and, if you have the time, I have a few questions for you.

1. I really like your website, how did you mange to get it up, did you go through DogEar, or did you have someone else design it? If so, who? How much did it cost?

2. I really like you book covers, did Dogear design those as well?

3. What advice do you have for an author just getting into self-publishing?

Thanks,

Amber Lisa

Comment on Who Does Johnny Denovo Look Like? by Mona Landau — Who Would Play Her? « The Johnny Denovo Mysteries

Mona Landau — Who Would Play Her? « The Johnny Denovo Mysteries — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 14:29:11 +0000

[...] We’ve talked before about who would play Johnny, with John Cusack, George Clooney, Bono, Hugh Jackman, and Dax Shepard all having been named by readers. [...]

Comment on Read an E-Book Week: Get Johnny for 50% Off by Jean

Jean — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:13:07 +0000

Hey – congrats on the good press.

Maybe we’ll see Johnny & his pals in a TV mystery series some day … like some of the well-done British series …

Comment on Praise by Self-Publishing Review — Blog — A Publishing Person Self-Publishes

Self-Publishing Review — Blog — A Publishing Person Self-Publishes — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 02:48:14 +0000

[...] management of my account, in a matter of months (not years), I have a book that has garnered incredibly positive reviews, a readership base of acknowledged fans that spans many countries in the English-speaking world, [...]