Online Author / Webmaster

by Steve Barancik
(Tucson, AZ)

Online Author Becomes Kid Book Webmaster, Finds Audience

Welcome to my book blog. And my site.

(If you've already read this, page down to read new posts.)

Not too many years ago, I was living many an author's dream:

I was writing for Hollywood, collecting big checks. It wasn't often artistically fulfilling, but I certainly preferred it to working in an office.

Well, FADE OUT on that.

But I'm still trying to make a living doing what I know: typing out words on my keyboard for an audience. And...

I'm doing it independently. Without bosses. Welcome to my DIY dream!

My Children's Behavior Books

It all started with a realization that writing for children had more appeal than writing for cigar-chomping Hollywood producers and teenagers necking in the dark.

I penned a few stories. They featured small kids struggling with problem behaviors.

The Time Balooga Forgot Other People's Feelings
How Sonora Got Her Own Room Back
How Bobo Learned to Be Satisfied
How Timbo Found Out That Telling the Truth Really Does Work
How Smoolie Became a Shy-entist
How Cocoona Learned to Clean Even Better Than Her Parents
How Boberto Learned to Like Being by Himself Sometimes

Cute stuff! But after a dozen years in H'wood, I had no energy left for trying to please children's book publishers.

I was sick of middlemen. I wanted to reach my audience - or at least their parents! - directly.

I did my own twist on self publishing.

I built a website and used that site to build an audience. The site was aimed at parents interested in reading material for their children.

(Visit http://www.best-childrens-books.com to see.)

The site wasn't about my books, it was about children's books in general.

(After all, who ever heard of a one-author bookstore? Guess what: it doesn't work any better on the web than it would in real life!)

Now that the site has an audience, I'm selling my books on it as well.

(See http://www.best-childrens-books.com/storytelling-behavior-books.html)

Currently I'm selling them in ebook form. Down the road, I might self publish them in hardback as well.

Most of my revenue comes from advertising and other authors' books, but I earn money from my own books too. (None of that would be happening if I'd built a one-author site.)

I created this site because my other site clued me in to the needs of self published authors. Also because I figured I might want an audience someday for my more adult work.

(I'm a part-time monologist. See http://monologcabin.com)

Between the two sites, I'm getting an audience of over 8000 new readers a day (and that number keeps growing). I have a newsletter as well. (See the pink box on the home page.)

Let's hear it for the internet!

Frankly, when I look at what's happened to the music business, electronic distribution looks like the future of writing to me. Even if people keep buying hard copy books, they'll be doing most of their shopping on the internet.

It's important to me to be one of the writers who gets found in this new, electronic world. That means writing lots of content for the internet so search engines find me.

Read the book that taught me all this at

http://myws.sitesell.com/writingsuccess.html

So this is my books blog and that's my story. I'll keep posting periodic updates to let you know how it's going.

You can blog here too...for free.

Visit

http://www.shared-self-publishing/book-blogs.html

If this were your book blog, the link to the webpage of your choice would be right here. (Instead it's a link to my sales page.) Then below that would be your book on Amazon.

I hope to see you around the site!