tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post399638713196469264..comments2023-09-25T02:24:22.087-07:00Comments on Anne R. Allen's Blog: What are Algorithms—and are They Killing the "Kindle Revolution"? Anne R. Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02420000168356370825noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-17678292953600005272013-05-23T19:42:21.079-07:002013-05-23T19:42:21.079-07:00Lisa--Yeah. They've probably changed again sin...Lisa--Yeah. They've probably changed again since I wrote this :-) <br /><br />Janice--I'm not sure the Bean Trees is still on sale. Those usually only last a day or two. I got that info from Bookbub. Their newsletter is free and it gives a list of books free and on sale that day. Or if you're in the UK, try EBookBargainsUK (EBUK) You're right about all the tricking going on. Elves and counter-elves :-) <br />Anne R. Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02420000168356370825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-41626025352316897992013-05-23T18:53:43.591-07:002013-05-23T18:53:43.591-07:00Congrats on the Writer's Digest award and also...Congrats on the Writer's Digest award and also letting me know about Bean Tree. Gonna head on over to Amazon to get it when I finish this note. This article was very informative and explained a lot about things that I was not even aware. Tricky little algorithms, and tricky algorithm manipulators.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-44293253887148479752013-05-23T13:35:41.711-07:002013-05-23T13:35:41.711-07:00Really interesting article! Thank you. There's...Really interesting article! Thank you. There's so much information to keep track of that's changing all the time - like you said!Lisa Gail Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03648323153868702165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-58257918772058516762013-04-23T12:12:33.746-07:002013-04-23T12:12:33.746-07:00LK--Sometimes it helps to know why something is ha...LK--Sometimes it helps to know why something is happening, even if you can't do anything about it. At least you know it's not the fault of your book. Or your marketing. Things keep changing so fast. And you've got it right: keep writing. The more books you have out there, the better your chances, no matter what the robot elves are doing. Anne R. Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02420000168356370825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-11088758525241656162013-04-23T09:35:41.936-07:002013-04-23T09:35:41.936-07:00Hi Anne,
Congratulations on your achievement. Tha...Hi Anne,<br /><br />Congratulations on your achievement. That is just so amazing.<br /><br />Thanks so much for this information. This is probably the reason for my recent slow sales. But nevermind, I'll just have to keep on writing. LK Wattshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09366991733427612418noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-81987789782534991712013-04-18T09:10:22.477-07:002013-04-18T09:10:22.477-07:00Alice--Thanks for the cupcakes! :-)
Janet--I mig...Alice--Thanks for the cupcakes! :-) <br /><br />Janet--I might still not know about the wonderful honor if you and Lila at Popular Soda hadn't notified us. And you took the time to scan the whole page so we could read the article and see we're #8--I know the order doesn't matter, but still, it's nice to be close to the top where people can see us. Thanks a million!<br /><br />Icy--You've made a very important point. E-reading is growing every day with the tablet and smartphone market, so there are more and more readers who want our content. We need to get our writing out to as many places as possible so they can find it. Anne R. Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02420000168356370825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-70931311300292708712013-04-18T04:20:55.068-07:002013-04-18T04:20:55.068-07:00Excellent post - and really explained quite a lot ...Excellent post - and really explained quite a lot of things for me. Now that people have ereaders (whatever they may be) I think they're going to want content, so there will always be a market for new writers, but there will no doubt be a new 'revolution' to change the game again. Writers just have to go where the readers are.Icy Sedgwickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11501193571425442406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-22209114522705903742013-04-16T22:41:18.361-07:002013-04-16T22:41:18.361-07:00YAY and you're most welcome! The WD honors are...YAY and you're most welcome! The WD honors are much deserved. Go Anne and Ruth!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-30166681421670161542013-04-16T20:10:41.763-07:002013-04-16T20:10:41.763-07:00Whoo hoo, I'm so excited for the two of you an...Whoo hoo, I'm so excited for the two of you and your blog! <br /><br />I still don't get algorithms but I am totally excited for your top spot in WD. <br /><br />Lots of hugs and cupcakes!Alicehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14640032121885343233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-18302856588050868572013-04-16T11:07:46.639-07:002013-04-16T11:07:46.639-07:00Christine--I think a lot of writers don't real...Christine--I think a lot of writers don't realize how much of our sales--and our reading choices come from machines doing this kind of calculation. It's like a scifi movie--the robots have taken over :-) <br /><br />Meghan--I didn't have room to go into it, but yes, algos control all of our online life--not just Amazon. Everything on Goodreads, Facebook or any social media platform--plus all our online shopping is algorithm driven. And the only thing we know about them for sure is that they change.<br /><br />Tyrean--ReadWave looks like a great site. I hope they catch on. Anything that encourages short story writing gets major kudos from me. I don't know about figment. I'll have to check it out. Thanks for the share on Google+!Anne R. Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02420000168356370825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-12685772041170062592013-04-16T07:20:41.707-07:002013-04-16T07:20:41.707-07:00Congratulations! And thank you for this extremely ...Congratulations! And thank you for this extremely informative article about self-publishing and the big zon. <br />I'm planning to check out that short story site, because it sounds great! Have you heard of figment? I wonder how they compare.Tyrean Martinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15356604721537744361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-20277986711589014842013-04-16T06:32:54.230-07:002013-04-16T06:32:54.230-07:00Congratulations on making the Writers' Digest ...Congratulations on making the Writers' Digest top 50, Anne! That's fantastic, and you deserve it.<br /><br />As for algorithms, GoodReads talked about how it planned to change its algorithm (when I met with the Director of Community right before Amazon's acquisition) and I think it still plans to do that. Of course, Facebook has an algorithm for determining which of your friends' posts you see, and Klout has an algorithm to determine your social media influence. What's frustrating about all of these algorithms is that they change periodically, so once you figure out one system, it changes and you have to deconstruct the algorithm of the next system. I guess that's a good thing - it makes all of the systems more difficult to game.Meghan Wardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12773598501857799104noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-9887765899829111252013-04-15T14:00:15.315-07:002013-04-15T14:00:15.315-07:00Congrats on your Blog acknowledgment! So well dese...Congrats on your Blog acknowledgment! So well deserved. I think I will have to read this post several times to understand even part of the information you have so succinctly shared with us. Math! Ack! My brain just does not want to go there. But, alas...I guess it must. Christine Ahernhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18332152375980196208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-12958545378891194562013-04-15T10:11:04.990-07:002013-04-15T10:11:04.990-07:00Debra--That's fascinating that your book sold ...Debra--That's fascinating that your book sold better at $3.69 than $.99! I'll have to keep that in mind once the promo is over. Right now, the sale price has got two of my books in the top 100, so it's working, but I know it wouldn't work long. Algos seem to favor new data, no matter what it is.<br /><br />Kim--You're right that the Goodreads thing has some serious drawbacks. The Goodreads trolls are definitely a problem. It seems to harbor gangs of indie-haters, who give books one star without reading them. Not helpful data to send over to Amazon.<br /><br />Florence--Brain fart there. I do know they are now the Big 5, not 6. :-) <br /><br />Claude--I don't have any experience with CreateSpace book trailers, but I know they're all pretty expensive. I'm not a big fan of book trailers. Unless you've got a cat playing a piano in it, I don't think anybody will look at it except other authors and marketing people. I only watch them to be polite to writer friends. I don't know anybody who has bought a book because of a trailer. If I had money to spare, I'd put it into audiobooks. There's money in them thar headphones. <br /><br />Anne--I know you're one author who suffered a lot from the changes in Amazon algos. I also noticed just today that they've eliminated a lot of romance categories, like romantic suspense for for author rankings. I major pain. They seem to be hitting romance authors hardest. No idea why. I'm so glad you're selling other places. That's the future, I'm sure!<br /><br />Laura--POI and KND don't seem worth the price to me any more because of the restrictions on free books. But maybe it's good in the long run, so we're less likely to devalue our books.<br /><br />LTM--More aand more authors are reporting Select didn't do them any good. What worked last month may not work this month. Everything changes so fast.<br /><br />Coleen--You're so right. The only thing we know for sure is that everything can change on a dime and we'd better be paying attention.Anne R. Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02420000168356370825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-87752751730040370472013-04-15T06:39:07.141-07:002013-04-15T06:39:07.141-07:00Congrats, Anne!!
Love your posts,always appreciate...Congrats, Anne!!<br />Love your posts,always appreciate the information. If there's one thing I'm learning about this pub business, it's to keep on learning. :)Coleen Patrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15863892455120177554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-10459069740539064062013-04-15T05:55:47.402-07:002013-04-15T05:55:47.402-07:00Me = Wait... The Bean Trees is only $1.99?! *runs ...Me = Wait... The Bean Trees is only $1.99?! *runs to Amazon*<br /><br />OK, I'm back... *pants* LOL! :D<br /><br />GREAT article. Thanks, Anne! I didn't find Select to be very helpful to me, so I agree completely with crossing platforms. <3LTMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05239077455322030275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-11782775225730326592013-04-15T03:40:13.059-07:002013-04-15T03:40:13.059-07:00Do I wish I'd been ready to go with self publi...Do I wish I'd been ready to go with self publishing when Select first took off? And POI rushed authors through the chart. Def. Careers were made that might not have happened so easily.<br /><br />But, I'm glad now that the freebie rush is over. I'm glad now that to make it requires a really good book. Yes, it's up and down, but that's normal.<br /><br />I'm not sure I'd want to go back, even if it is harder today. When has publishing ever been easy?<br /><br />And congrats, Anne!Laura Paulinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06503090226508079501noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-55551757964051755292013-04-15T03:18:45.804-07:002013-04-15T03:18:45.804-07:00Late to the party.
Congratulations! Of course yo...Late to the party. <br /><br />Congratulations! Of course you're on the WD list of best blogs. You and Ruth totally rock.<br /><br />As to Amazon and the algos...don't get me started. They've messed with my career so many times and screwed me over just when I finally gained traction I don't even want to deal with Amazon anymore. Yes, I understand it's business and they can do what ever they want, but it just seems to me, they built their business on the little self-pubbers, and now they're the all powerful, they let us drift in the wind.<br /><br />I've always been on Smashwords, only played the Select game once or twice, and it never helped me. My thing was always just to write the next book. And now on Smashwords it's finally paying off. Apple has finally found me and sales are picking up significantly (knock on wood). I've also published on B&N independant of SmashW and plan to do the same on Kobo. <br /><br />Amazon isn't the only game in town, it really never was, but it's only now that the other markets are coming around to help, rather than hinder the self-pubbing market.<br /><br /> As they say in the stock market DIVERSIFY and that's exactly what I'm doing.Anne Gallagherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05816355522284492131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-88414129451508375852013-04-15T00:09:10.022-07:002013-04-15T00:09:10.022-07:00Anne, a thousand congrats, and Ruth too, for your ...Anne, a thousand congrats, and Ruth too, for your nomination - so well deserved, your blog is my first stop to get really up-to-date info! And I love your style too, love yours books, everything, in one word, I'm a fan!<br /><br />My experience with the big Zon has always been correct - since I'm not a best-seller, there's really nothing to report! <br /><br />The only thing I regret is that their book trailer package at Create Space is so expensive and you can't lower the cost by providing your own images, something that a lot of indie film makers who make book trailers for you will do, like for exmple, Polish film maker Magda Olchawska - it makes sense: providing your own images necessarily cuts down on costs...Claude Forthommehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03871790739257823515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-89834739478953846332013-04-14T17:57:13.196-07:002013-04-14T17:57:13.196-07:00Here's a comment from Florence Fois, one of ou...Here's a comment from Florence Fois, one of our most dedicated peeps. Blogger seems to have blocked her comment: (curse you, Blogger!!) so here's her comment, rescued from spam:<br /><br />fOIS In The City has left a new comment on your post "What are Algorithms—and are They Killing the "Kind...": <br /><br />Congratulations Anne and Ruth. This is well deserved. As an avid fan and consistent Sunday reader, I am pleased to see you get this recognition :)<br /><br />And as always, a great post. Does algo remind us of algebra? Do we crings and break into a sweat thinking of how to reach the heights of the higest mathematical equation?<br /><br />What is good to know is that the playing field might level off for other ereaders, but on the whole, what I also see is that agents and the Big FIVE ... no longer SIX ... are learning from the Big Zon.<br /><br />Also, I thank you again for your weekly links. This is something I truly believe many of us should try. Shorts are a great way to learn our craft and get name recognition. YOu are the Bomb :) <br /><br />Florence--Thank you so much!Anne R. Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02420000168356370825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-72197931860121250372013-04-14T16:49:50.340-07:002013-04-14T16:49:50.340-07:00Congratulations Anne and Ruth. This is well deserv...Congratulations Anne and Ruth. This is well deserved. As an avid fan and consistent Sunday reader, I am pleased to see you get this recognition :)<br /><br />And as always, a great post. Does algo remind us of algebra? Do we crings and break into a sweat thinking of how to reach the heights of the higest mathematical equation?<br /><br />What is good to know is that the playing field might level off for other ereaders, but on the whole, what I also see is that agents and the Big FIVE ... no longer SIX ... are learning from the Big Zon.<br /><br />Also, I thank you again for your weekly links. This is something I truly believe many of us should try. Shorts are a great way to learn our craft and get name recognition. YOu are the Bomb :)fOIS In The Cityhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06347958777030988677noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-8221407624862730312013-04-14T16:45:20.501-07:002013-04-14T16:45:20.501-07:00Really great article! Thank you for all the inform...Really great article! Thank you for all the information and links. I've never thought that much about algorithms (I too had math anxiety back in high school), but I know they are really important so I'm glad I got to read more about it. <br /><br />I'm still not sure how I feel about Amazon buying Goodreads, but if they can make Goodreads more reliable review wise that might be nice. I know a few people that have had their books trolled and the reviews skewed because of it. <br /><br />And a big congrats on being named one of the best sites for authors by WD! Kim (YA Asylum)https://www.blogger.com/profile/01933643189969276703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-71923641559874655922013-04-14T14:34:39.783-07:002013-04-14T14:34:39.783-07:00Congrats, Anne and Ruth! So well-deserved. I'v...Congrats, Anne and Ruth! So well-deserved. I've already got your Camilla box set, Anne, and owe you two reviews :) Am very excited to go pick up Ruth's.<br /><br />I conducted my own experiment recently. I dropped my book to 99 cents for a week, then raised it to $2.99, then to $3.69. It's selling best at $3.69. At 99 cents, it pretty much dropped off the radar. so it looks like Amazon is favoring higher-priced books these days. I'm starting to think that $2.99 price point might be passe, too.<br /><br />I agree with you, Anne -- I'm at the beginning of this whole indie publishing thing, and it's time to branch out to other digital sellers. Thanks for the great advice!Debra Eve | Later Bloomerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06352958666659616541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-76420920573418486202013-04-14T14:09:09.702-07:002013-04-14T14:09:09.702-07:00Paul--I'm so glad you've picked up Ghostwr...Paul--I'm so glad you've picked up Ghostwriters. It's set in your neck of the woods. Well, not too far away--Santa Ynez and Solvang.<br /><br />Roland--Taking weight away from 99 cent books really hurt indies, especially when people like Barbara Kingsolver are selling for 1.99. I didn't go into the general search engine algos, because I understand them even less. For some reason, the Google elves like us, but I have no idea what we've done right.<br /><br />T.L. I'm with you on monopolies. They're never good for the general public. No matter how much people love the Zon, they must see that healthy competition is the key to healthy commerce.<br /><br />E.J.--Thanks much, and thanks for the share on Google+. Yeah, my next book may not go into Select. Up to my publisher, but they'll have to see if it's working any more. Some people say 99c is the new free. <br /><br />I'm SOOOO glad to hear you had a good experience with the new Nook Publishing. When it was first announced, a lot of indies acted as if asteroids were about to wipe out civilization. Then a few people tried it and went, "Oh. That was fast. And kinda cool." Anne R. Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02420000168356370825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8385052143211121638.post-83963833459278001592013-04-14T13:20:44.711-07:002013-04-14T13:20:44.711-07:00FANTASTIC post! And very indicative of why this si...FANTASTIC post! And very indicative of why this site is being listed as a 'WD Best'. Seriously HUGE congrats, and absolutely well deserved. <br /><br />This blog is THE resource I continually come back to for publishing insight and perspective. <br /><br />Re the post: I think being an Indie means you just have to to keep exploring and paying attention to changes in the industry. We don't have the luxury of just putting our head down and writing all the time, just to put something out the same way we've done before. <br /><br />With your previous book, maybe doing KDPS made some sense. This time it might not--and maybe only a few months have gone by. It changes that quickly.<br /><br />As to what you were saying, I agree that it doesn't mean you have to know or understand how the algorithms work. Just listen to what authors (preferably ones without axes to grind--like the fabulous bloggers here :) are saying about their experiences.<br /><br />I just used the new Nook Publishing site to get my latest into the world, and I have to say that I really liked it. Super easy to use, and you can even edit the epub files after uploading, share with collaborators, etc. Truly believe it is the new standard authors will expect form Smashwords, Amazon, and the rest.<br /><br />As with most things, I suppose time will tell.<br /><br />Congrats again on the success, all! :)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00273059558675234923noreply@blogger.com