I probably don't spend the time on this internet contraption that I should, given it's my primary marketing tool. But every now and then I do poke my head around the curtain to look at the behind-the-scenes portion of this blog. There you'll find all kinds of interesting data, most of it more interesting than useful.
Usually when you pull up the "Stats" tab on your blog's dashboard, Google Analytics defaults to a "what's happened in the last week" overview. So, if you haven't taken a look here in more than a week and don't care to expand the reach of the summary, then you tend to miss data points. From a social media marketing perspective, this is probably--no, definitely--bad business practice. Not knowing what sites are referring back to my blog, what URLs, and so forth makes it harder to sort and shape the content I put up here to bring traffic to the blog.
But, hey. I'm doing okay, right? I've got you three.
But if one day I want more than three people and the good automated folks over at vampirestat (don't go there unless you want viruses on your computer) checking in here, then I should pay attention to the "Stats" tab on a more regular basis.
It was in that vein of thinking then that I said the hell with it and changed my summary period from one week to all time. Now, I'm not one to get giggly over numbers, but my vanity finally peeked its head. I've lived in a blogger world where my page view numbers have crept along steadily, though only in small increments. But in the 'all time' summary, my graphs and numbers challenge those of Vince Flynn, John Le Carre, Stephen King and probably even CNN's homepage for what they get in five minutes of traffic. For the briefest of moments I felt like a celebrity.
And then I scrolled down to the Search Keywords listing. This is where you find information on what key words people used in various search engines that led them to your site. At first glance, they looked as I would expect.
"thejmparkhangout" "book cover missionary position" "catchy titles with innuendo"
And then I saw this entry: "blog peepee"
Uhh...peepee?
So, someone got to my blog by looking for blogs about peepee? Or with the word peepee in them? I knew at once which blog post to attribute this to. One from my early days on the JM Park Hangout talking about something in my book, The Missionary Position. The question that came to mind, however, was "Is this something I want? Do I want people looking for pee-pee to come to my blog?"
The answer, of course, is HELL YEAH, I DO! Hey, if someone gets here, I don't care how it happened. That's one more set of eyeballs on my site, and potentially one more reader for my book. I'm not proud. I'll take what I can get.
I think that's a fine place to finish up this posting.
So, on that note, I'd like to throw up a couple other random words in the bodily excretions category for the search engines out there to look at: pee-pee, poo-poo, puke, vomit, spit, Dirty Sanchez (okay, admittedly not a...well it kind of is a bodily excrement), booger, the runs, sweat, weird bowel movements, hemorrhoids (it's close), and, last but not least, corn poop.
Who knows what alternative minds I might bring to my readership!
Showing posts with label TMP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TMP. Show all posts
Saturday, September 14, 2013
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Warbird Radio
Hi, guys. Just wanted to let you know about a recent interview I did with Warbird Radio for The Missionary Position. You can find it here. If you've not heard of it, Warbird Radio is a great place to find interviews with people a lot more interesting than me...pilots and other folks who've contributed to history and some of the people who watch over those historical relics (the airplanes, not the people) and legacies we're still lucky enough to have around...and discussions of planes and places that fill our grade school textbooks. There's plenty of other great stuff too.
My segment is a little more than halfway through the show (Episode 495). Listen up!
P.S.: In keeping with the interview, here's a cool video from YouTube. It's one of the best stop-motion sequences I've ever seen. Enjoy.
My segment is a little more than halfway through the show (Episode 495). Listen up!
P.S.: In keeping with the interview, here's a cool video from YouTube. It's one of the best stop-motion sequences I've ever seen. Enjoy.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
The Last Flight Of Coke Darden's Douglas Dolphin
Ladies and gentlemen, meet the Douglas Dolphin! I found the below video on YouTube some time ago and can't believe I hadn't posted it sooner. Anyway, the plane in this video belonged to a man named Coke Darden (a surefire protagonist's name if I've ever heard one), and now resides at the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, FL, where it was ultimately retired.
The video provides an extremely rare opportunity to hear and see an actual Douglas Dolphin in flight - the same aircraft flown by Jack Halloway in The Missionary Position - from the interior of the cabin. Filmed in 1998, the video reflects the quality of the cameras in use back then, but it still provides a good sense of what it was like to be in the Dolphin when landing and taking off from water, the sounds of the hydraulics at work as the gear was retracted and lowered, and the roar of its twin engines when the Dolphin took flight.
A beautiful spectacle to behold if you're into that sort of thing. So, without further ado, may I present to you "The Last Flight of Coke Darden's Douglas Dolphin."
P.S.: Many thanks to w4joy for posting and keeping this video going on YouTube!
The video provides an extremely rare opportunity to hear and see an actual Douglas Dolphin in flight - the same aircraft flown by Jack Halloway in The Missionary Position - from the interior of the cabin. Filmed in 1998, the video reflects the quality of the cameras in use back then, but it still provides a good sense of what it was like to be in the Dolphin when landing and taking off from water, the sounds of the hydraulics at work as the gear was retracted and lowered, and the roar of its twin engines when the Dolphin took flight.
A beautiful spectacle to behold if you're into that sort of thing. So, without further ado, may I present to you "The Last Flight of Coke Darden's Douglas Dolphin."
P.S.: Many thanks to w4joy for posting and keeping this video going on YouTube!
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Why I hate pee-pee
Maybe it's a story all authors are familiar with at some point in their careers. I don't know. I just didn't think it would be this early in mine. I guess for lack of a better phrase, I'll just call it the "Lost Edit." Sounds kind of ominous, doesn't it? Well, here's the story.
As some of you may know, I published The Missionary Position in late June to Amazon's Kindle, and then on Smashwords for multiple eBook platforms. It was a fine and decent 'product,' but I recognized it could use some improvements when I had the time to make them. But time was a mysterious anomaly at that point in my life. I understood it existed, but only in the abstract and then only for those souls fortunate enough not to be bogged down in the same quagmire of study as myself. That's how my first foray into publishing TMP went.
Funny how it's not until you're in the homestretch of a project that the glaring mistakes you were completely oblivious to before suddenly become glaringly obvious. Prior to hitting the publish button for eBook platforms, all seemed fine. Then I pressed the button and BAM! It hit me like a ton of bricks. I had a tense issue - a past tense/future tense conflict. Maybe not a big deal to some, but it bothered the hell out of me and I knew I'd have to fix it before the print edition came out.
Fast forward to August. I should have been studying for my Comprehensive Exams in anticipation of finishing my Master's degree. But I really wanted to get the print edition of TMP published sooner rather than later, so I poured myself into it at the risk of floundering on my Exams. Distracted as I edited? Probably, yes. Did I do as good a job as I would have done if I'd waited until after exams and didn't feel the pressure of other responsibilities tugging at my coattails? Probably not.
And so came the pee-pee. I shake my head as I think about it even now. Poor old Monk. Why did I ever make him say it? It was fine in the initial draft and publication. Yes, the language was coarser (he said "dick" instead of "pee-pee", if you're wondering because you read an earlier draft), but in a moment of doubt over who knows what, I changed the wording in an edit with the mindset that I'd let it sit and then come back and read it over again later (before publication) to see if it resonated okay.
Well, exam time came and I got rushed. By this time I'd completely forgotten about the pee-pee change, and the next time I read over the passage was when the book was published in paperback form...
...and, no, "pee-pee" didn't resonate.
Shit. That was my initial thought. Four letters that pretty much summed up how I felt about pee-pee. I guess it's quaint since both belong in the toilet. There it was, set in print forever. Now I've got a three-year-old's version of what he calls his junk in my book. Worse, I did a blind edit where I took the print edits and put them into the eBooks for updates. Now EVERYONE's got pee-pee in their books.
You're welcome, readers. You're welcome.
As some of you may know, I published The Missionary Position in late June to Amazon's Kindle, and then on Smashwords for multiple eBook platforms. It was a fine and decent 'product,' but I recognized it could use some improvements when I had the time to make them. But time was a mysterious anomaly at that point in my life. I understood it existed, but only in the abstract and then only for those souls fortunate enough not to be bogged down in the same quagmire of study as myself. That's how my first foray into publishing TMP went.
Funny how it's not until you're in the homestretch of a project that the glaring mistakes you were completely oblivious to before suddenly become glaringly obvious. Prior to hitting the publish button for eBook platforms, all seemed fine. Then I pressed the button and BAM! It hit me like a ton of bricks. I had a tense issue - a past tense/future tense conflict. Maybe not a big deal to some, but it bothered the hell out of me and I knew I'd have to fix it before the print edition came out.
Fast forward to August. I should have been studying for my Comprehensive Exams in anticipation of finishing my Master's degree. But I really wanted to get the print edition of TMP published sooner rather than later, so I poured myself into it at the risk of floundering on my Exams. Distracted as I edited? Probably, yes. Did I do as good a job as I would have done if I'd waited until after exams and didn't feel the pressure of other responsibilities tugging at my coattails? Probably not.
And so came the pee-pee. I shake my head as I think about it even now. Poor old Monk. Why did I ever make him say it? It was fine in the initial draft and publication. Yes, the language was coarser (he said "dick" instead of "pee-pee", if you're wondering because you read an earlier draft), but in a moment of doubt over who knows what, I changed the wording in an edit with the mindset that I'd let it sit and then come back and read it over again later (before publication) to see if it resonated okay.
Well, exam time came and I got rushed. By this time I'd completely forgotten about the pee-pee change, and the next time I read over the passage was when the book was published in paperback form...
...and, no, "pee-pee" didn't resonate.
Shit. That was my initial thought. Four letters that pretty much summed up how I felt about pee-pee. I guess it's quaint since both belong in the toilet. There it was, set in print forever. Now I've got a three-year-old's version of what he calls his junk in my book. Worse, I did a blind edit where I took the print edits and put them into the eBooks for updates. Now EVERYONE's got pee-pee in their books.
You're welcome, readers. You're welcome.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Barnes and Noble, Apple a GO!
Just checked this morning and saw that TMP had made it onto the Barnes and Noble Nook Book site, and the Apple iBooks site. Took long enough, but at least we're there. More options for downloads gets me excited.
Cheers. I'm back to the Olympics now (with maybe a bit of study for my upcoming comprehensive examinations during commercials?).
Cheers. I'm back to the Olympics now (with maybe a bit of study for my upcoming comprehensive examinations during commercials?).
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Innuendo and a teaser
Something I never considered when choosing a name for this book was that I'd be listed among sex instruction manuals and religious manifestos. My only thought back then was that a little innuendo might make for a nice catchy title, a bit of titular wording to attract people's attention. But when the book was first listed on Amazon and I gave people the title to look it up, they had to scroll through several pages of sex instruction manuals, S & M books, or texts on Mother Theresa before they got to The Missionary Position.
I'm happy to report as of today, however, that when I typed in "The Missionary Position" in Amazon's search box, my book came up number SIX! Mother Theresa is still on top (as she probably should be), but I've knocked the sex books down the list. I'm feeling pretty good about that. Sex is a hard genre to compete against when mine is admittedly a very small niche market of pulp-styled historical adventure fiction.
Now for a little teaser...I've got a number of sequels and prequels lined up for The Missionary Position. A couple have basic outlines already done, and I've got a number of ideas for the rest. One in fact is about a third written. What's my point in telling you this? All have the same innuendo style of titling as TMP. Should I veer away from this? I don't know. From a marketing standpoint I like innuendo, but it comes with a twist. By default of how I title my books I'll continue to get listed with books outside my genre if someone just types in their names. But I think it works. We'll see.
This is my first foray into indie publishing, and I've got a long way to go before I understand the pros and cons of it all. And truth be told, this genre represents only one of a couple others I'd like to publish in. Genres where innuendo titles won't necessarily come into play. For instance, I've had a novel written in the suspense-thriller genre for a couple years now, but I need to find some reliable editors and beta readers to take a look at it before I'll be comfortable putting it out into the world. The book sort of fell off my radar as I've worked these past couple years on finishing my Masters. I think it's a good read, but the longer I wait to get it ready for publication the more work it'll require to go back and update it.
Why? Well, I began writing it in 2007, and finished the first draft sometime in 2008. Think about the technology changes that have occurred since then. Some of my characters were using PDAs.
PDAs! Remember those?
Exactly.
I'm happy to report as of today, however, that when I typed in "The Missionary Position" in Amazon's search box, my book came up number SIX! Mother Theresa is still on top (as she probably should be), but I've knocked the sex books down the list. I'm feeling pretty good about that. Sex is a hard genre to compete against when mine is admittedly a very small niche market of pulp-styled historical adventure fiction.
Now for a little teaser...I've got a number of sequels and prequels lined up for The Missionary Position. A couple have basic outlines already done, and I've got a number of ideas for the rest. One in fact is about a third written. What's my point in telling you this? All have the same innuendo style of titling as TMP. Should I veer away from this? I don't know. From a marketing standpoint I like innuendo, but it comes with a twist. By default of how I title my books I'll continue to get listed with books outside my genre if someone just types in their names. But I think it works. We'll see.
This is my first foray into indie publishing, and I've got a long way to go before I understand the pros and cons of it all. And truth be told, this genre represents only one of a couple others I'd like to publish in. Genres where innuendo titles won't necessarily come into play. For instance, I've had a novel written in the suspense-thriller genre for a couple years now, but I need to find some reliable editors and beta readers to take a look at it before I'll be comfortable putting it out into the world. The book sort of fell off my radar as I've worked these past couple years on finishing my Masters. I think it's a good read, but the longer I wait to get it ready for publication the more work it'll require to go back and update it.
Why? Well, I began writing it in 2007, and finished the first draft sometime in 2008. Think about the technology changes that have occurred since then. Some of my characters were using PDAs.
PDAs! Remember those?
Exactly.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
No futz'in around
I think I should first apologize for the long delay between blogs, but times they are a'tough. Well, not really, but they're at least pretty damned busy. I'm nearing completion of my Master's and everything is converging in the form of papers, tests and the ominous Comps in August. No excuse, I know.
Anyway, a little update on book distribution...
According to Smashwords, The Missionary Position (TMP) should be getting distributed to B&N, Apple, and other premium outlets either today or tomorrow. To be honest, I'm a bit frustrated with the process, and concerned about the quality of the product they will put out. Formatting for distribution through Smashwords did not allow me the same kind of product I achieved through Amazon's Kindle.
Granted, I didn't have a great first outing with the Kindle platform either when I looked at my "proofs," but at least with Kindle's interface I was able to make quick changes and see them implemented quite fast. With Smashwords, I saw my initial proofs, didn't like'em, changed them, and then had to wait for daaaayys. And then a few more weeks before it finally reached the point (today or tomorrow) that it will get to the Premium distribution channels. I'm afraid if I go in an putz around with it again, it'll reset the whole thing and I'll have to wait an equally long time for the changes to go through and get to market again.
Don't know. Maybe it doesn't work that way, but I unfortunately don't have the time now to futz around with it. In a week I'll have a break and look into it, but to be honest the first priority then (book-wise) will be getting the paperback versions available.
Point is, I want to put out a quality product that represents the best possible reading and viewing experience I can provide my readers, however few of them there may be. That means there cannot be excessive amounts of "white space" between pages, no convergent paragraphs and all that mess. Just good story that's easy to navigate through.
Anyway, a little update on book distribution...
According to Smashwords, The Missionary Position (TMP) should be getting distributed to B&N, Apple, and other premium outlets either today or tomorrow. To be honest, I'm a bit frustrated with the process, and concerned about the quality of the product they will put out. Formatting for distribution through Smashwords did not allow me the same kind of product I achieved through Amazon's Kindle.
Granted, I didn't have a great first outing with the Kindle platform either when I looked at my "proofs," but at least with Kindle's interface I was able to make quick changes and see them implemented quite fast. With Smashwords, I saw my initial proofs, didn't like'em, changed them, and then had to wait for daaaayys. And then a few more weeks before it finally reached the point (today or tomorrow) that it will get to the Premium distribution channels. I'm afraid if I go in an putz around with it again, it'll reset the whole thing and I'll have to wait an equally long time for the changes to go through and get to market again.
Don't know. Maybe it doesn't work that way, but I unfortunately don't have the time now to futz around with it. In a week I'll have a break and look into it, but to be honest the first priority then (book-wise) will be getting the paperback versions available.
Point is, I want to put out a quality product that represents the best possible reading and viewing experience I can provide my readers, however few of them there may be. That means there cannot be excessive amounts of "white space" between pages, no convergent paragraphs and all that mess. Just good story that's easy to navigate through.
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