Rebelious rules by Kristina Gallo

Many indie authors offer their books for free in the hope of getting reviews. It is a noble guest and generous, but there is no profit from this in the long term. Why? People will get a book free, and then they will not leave a review. Sometimes you can get a review if you repeat you need it, or if a person is your friend, but unknown people are not obligated to review, so in general, they will not do it. If you show your audience they can get every book for free, you show they don't need to pay for your work. It is not about money, it is about your rating. You invested in your book, cover, formatting, and editing, and now you should give a book for free? Indie books are cheap. The E-book is between 0.99 cents and 3.45 dollars, and this is small money. Kindle will take their percentage, and you can't get much. But, your product must have a price, you are not a charity. Even if this price is symbolic, still your product is marked for sale. Ask people, do they remember how much m...

Booklovers are people who love to spend their time reading books. It is great to spread your view and knowledge by reading, you can travel to places you never been and find out things you never supposed to exist. As an indie author, I am looking for my readers, I am willing to spread my circle, but people are of various kinds. Not every reader is suitable for every author. Accord my experience, here are 7 types of readers: Fake reader . He will give you a review, but he is not indeed interested to read your books. He just wishes to do a favor but your book is not his choice. Santa Claus reader. This is a person who will take your free book, promise a review, and then vanish. You will never get your review, and this reader is real as Santa Claus. Picky reader. This is an honest person who will immediately say "I am not interested" or "I will read your book. You can get reviews very fast from this reader, he knows what he wishes. Reciprocate reader. This is a person who...

The Internet is an interesting place, but not so confidential and safe. Many people here come to satisfy their own interests, and needs, and to take advantage of someone. Every woman gets a tone of friend's requests, it doesn't matter how old is she, is pretty or popular. So, if men are chasing you on the internet, don't be pretentious and don't feel special. Trolls don't have a big standard. They chase all women and pick those who are naive. How do you know your virtual friend is a troll? I will help you with a few tips, based on my experience. Look at his profile and his behavior in the first days since you added him. Then, answer these questions: Does he like your every post? Does he contact you privately? He sent you messages even though you ignored him? He talks to you in public and asks you to reply to him after you ignored him privately? He sent naked women and filthy photos in your inbox? He asks you for money? If you answered YES on this question, you have ...

I f you are an indie author, you will get offers for paid reviews, sooner or later. Someone of money hunters will approach you through your inbox or in groups, offering their reviews for your books, in exchange for "small fees." Indie authors are struggling with book sales, but some reviewers are like vultures, trying to get money from authors because we need reviews as a marketing tool for our books. Some reviewers will ask 10 dollars for one review, some even more. I advise you: don't buy it. Don't accept it. Why? Paid reviews are not objective . Someone will praise your book, and you paid for it. Do you remember when you go shopping and a saleswoman praises you for how you look good in a new dress? She does it because she wants to sell a dress. So, if you paid for a review, it will be praised, because you give money. You will get 5 stars, and a person even did not read a book. Amazon will punish you . If they discover you paid for reviews, you are breaking their ru...

My book "Husband For Rent" is in pre-order and it will release on 18 October. This is my book number 10 on Amazon. I am a Croatian multi-genre author. I  started with a blog and self-help books. Then I turned to romance stories with a reality check. This year I changed the direction. My role model is Agatha Christie, so I wanted to give a chance myself to write thrillers. "The Player Without Luck" is already available and got 18 USA reviews on Amazon. Husband For Rent is thriller suspense. If you love fast action, provocative dialogues, intrigue, sarcastic humor, and unpredictable events, this is a book for you. A short blurb: Viktorija is a psychologist. She is working in an office sponsored by Government and helps migrants with asylum applications. Her ex-husband Boris tries to maintain their connection after the divorce, and she wishes to be rid of him. While on her lunch break, Viktorija meets Jamal, a waiter who is a migrant from Algeria and befriends him. Jama...

When I started to write, I met many interesting people who are reading and writing. I got some advice, various kinds. Some advice was useless and ego-bursting, and some were good for my progress. I also realized that is a dangerous world of competition and some people are like vultures, ready to remove you from their path or to ask for money to fill their pockets. So, what kind of indie authors you might face? Smartass. The one who offers you editing for a suitable fee even though you did not ask for it. Also, he will lecture you on how you must work on your books and read other writers.  The snitch . He will report you if you have bad formatting, a title that is provoking, or content that damaged his moral standards. For example, my title "Seduce her with a fist" is a metaphor title, a book is against violence, this is an example story. But, the indie author reported it as violent and abusive. Luckily, social media did not pay attention to it. The beggar. That is the kind o...

Every author will face a bad review for his book, sooner or later. You might have a perfect book, but there is always a reader who will think differently.  If you think that a good editor and translator will help you to change the audience's opinion, you are wrong. Your book is an investment, you paid an illustrator, editor, and beta readers, but still, this is not enough to be a bestseller. You got a bad review. What do I consider a bad review? 1 star on Amazon. 2 stars on Amazon. Receiving bad reviews doesn't mean that your book is a pile of rubbish.  The reasons for bad reviews might be different: It could be an act of revenge . Someone doesn't like you and he will spit at your book. The reader doesn't like this genre, yet he read and reviews. It could be trolling . Such people exist and mark many books with bad ratings, just to make a mess. It might be compensation. If you give an author a bad mark, he can do it for you too. Does a bad review have an influence on s...