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David Gaughran

David Gaughran is the author of the South American historical adventure A Storm Hits Valparaiso and the short stories If You Go Into The Woods and Transfection as well as the popular self-publishing guide Let's Get Digital: How To Self-Publish, And Why You Should.

David's Posts

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Writers, James Bond, and the Perils of Product Placement

In 2001, Fay Weldon was commissioned by Bulgari to write a novel, in which she was contractually obliged to mention the brand at least twelve times. A 2006 novel by Sean Stewart and Jordan Weisman replaced generic reference to make-up to specific mentions of Cover Girl products, in exchange for free advertising on a site owned by the parent company, Proctor & Gamble.  Read On »

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Inside the E-book Price-Fixing Case

The respective CEOs were alleged to have met in secret in the private dining rooms of upscale Manhattan restaurants, talking about how to deal with Amazon.  Read On »

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Barnes & Noble: If You Want Competition, Compete!

“If Barnes & Noble want to truly compete with Amazon, they need to stop tilting things in favor of their friends in Manhattan. They need to stop treating self-published work with disdain, and, it must be said, their customers.”  Read On »

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Franzen, E-books & Bathtubs

It seems it has become fashionable in certain circles to have a pop at e-books and e-readers. I’ve been noting the trend with some amusement, but had decided it wasn’t worth responding. That is, until Jonathan Franzen’s recent comments.  Read On »

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Stories Don’t Need “Enhancements”

Readers want to lose themselves in a novel, not be dragged out of the story by superfluous bells-and-whistles which can only detract from that immersive experience they crave.  Read On »

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The Sharks Are Circling

All the indications are that this is going to be another bumper year for self-publishing. However, the ever-increasing viability of this path, and its popularity with writers, is also attracting those seeking to make money from self-publishers.  Read On »

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The Future is Indie

If you really want to see where the large publishers are headed, don’t look at the performance of the titles they are putting out, look at the stuff they aren’t.  Read On »

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Crowdfunding: The Indie Advance

Crowdfunding allows artists to receive financial backing for their projects without sacrificing their rights or royalties and enables them to work without commercial interference.  Read On »

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There’s No Magic Bullet

What I’m getting at is this: be wary of following someone else’s path.  Read On »

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Reaching Out To Readers

The importance of word-of-mouth is well understood. What’s more of a mystery is how you get to the point of having a bunch of people spreading that word.  Read On »

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