News from AmazonClicks.com

The Book Awards

2009-05-11T16:32:00.002+01:00

After much deliberation, the new Awards will simply be called 'The Book Awards'!

Each month readers will vote for just one Award so the next will be the 'The Book Award for May 2009'.

The domain thebookawards.com has been registered and the site will now be updated to reflect the new name and remove the sales side.

Previous votes for the AmazonClicks Awards will be carried over and rank ordered again for this month shortly.

Thank you for your patience over the past few weeks and especially for the very warm emails of support.

Finally, a short note to the authors who have been nominated over the months since we started;

Please be in no doubt, it's an achievement to inspire people to take the trouble to vote for your work. The winners of these awards should be proud they have evoked that inspiration.

Pete

Lame attacks - still..

2009-05-05T09:41:00.003+01:00

Well friends, it appears we are being attacked by a self-publicist running a blog site who is trying to attract readers by attacking others.

I won't publish his blogs name (if you really want it just email me) as that is clearly what he's hoping for, but basically he accuses us of trading off Amazon's name and running meaningless awards. I'm guessing he's never won an award and is envious of those of you who have attracted hundreds of votes for your titles.

If you come across this sort of vitriol, I suggest you just ignore it because his is only one tiny, unknown voice against the many that have praised your achievements.

As for the Amazon name, I think it's pretty clear on every page of this site that we aren't trading off it, despite the fact that Amazon were perfectly content having an approved Associates relationship with us for many months through 2008 and accepting thousands of visitors as a result.

Still... now that relationship has ended and rather than give fuel to the mindless ramblings of people like the aforementioned, I intend to change the name in the near future.

I will send out a notice when it is done and clearly I will post an update here but any links you have created will be re-directed to the new site. After long consideration and polling onions around the Internet, I've decided not to pursue the eBook or any other type of selling on line. The new awards site will be just that, exclusively awards.

Personally I find it sad that people spend time portraying themselves as the 'custodians of the publishing world' when in fact they are simply promoting their own blog site, but aspiring authors should not be deterred from continuing to write. These people are in the minority and few have even heard of them so they will have no impact on the prospects for your work.

Pete

And the winner for April is .....

2009-05-02T08:31:00.002+01:00

Angels in Mourning by David Wind!

Congratulations David for taking the title this month after quite a number of weeks in the top ratings.

As previously mentioned, the site is about to undergo so changes so please bear with me whilst this happens. This needed prevent you from voting for your favorite title though, I'll still be counting!

Just one day to go!

2009-04-30T10:52:00.005+01:00

As the last day of voting is upon us for April, it remains too close to call at the top and several titles further down the ranks are sharing positions.

There will be just one winner this month and in the future as we transition towards the new set up described earlier. The results will be announced this weekend.

A number of surveys, polls and requests for feedback have been conducted to evaluate the eBook proposition and I'm pleased to report overwhelming support in favour. So wheels are now in motion to set this up and if you wish your title to be included, please send it to ebooks@amazonclicks.com .

Big changes on the way - Major Announcements!

2009-04-22T11:01:00.003+01:00

Two Major Announcements

The AmazonClicks Award

After much deliberation, we have decided to merge the Readers and Authors Choice Awards to one monthly 'AmazonClicks Award' for the most popular book. Due to the low votes in April, this will be effective immediately. The good news is that the competition goes on and with the announcement below, even more traffic will be directed to our site.

AmazonClicks to Sell eBooks !

Having watched the behaviour of some on line retailers recently and the growth in sales of ebooks, AmazonClicks is to build a worldclass store specialising in eBook sales and free downloads. This store will be open to all authors and all available formats. In addition, we will offer to convert any work from a 'Word' format into an ebook including short stories, poems and of course full length books.

Based in the Channel Islands, AmazonClicks (like Amazon.co.uk's Jersey operation) can take advantage of the 'de minimus' agreement that allows all goods to be sold without VAT below an £18 value. This will apply to all eBooks as the top price will be limited so no VAT or Sales Tax of any kind will be charged. This coupled with the low operational costs of distributing eBooks will permit generous margins to be paid to our authors who, after all, were responsible for the many hours of creative work that went into these publications. It is anticipated that the higher sales volume and margins will result in a greater return to the authors even though the retail price may be the same or lower.

There will be no initial publication charge for pre-formatted works and the site will be promoted heavily online. A small charge will be made for the conversion of works from 'Word' to eBook format.

This represents a huge opportunity for all writers to distribute their works to an international audience and ride the eBook wave which is currently outstripping paper books by about 10 to 1. It is also a much more environmentally friendly route to market.

During May and June AmazonClicks will transform in appearance to ensure it is 'user friendly' to ebook customers and our marketing will commence ready for a launch on 1st July, 2009.

A note to authors now - how do you get your book listed?

At this stage, we invite all authors to contact us by email at ebooks@amazonclicks.com giving the name of the work they wish published, a contact name and email address (if other than the sending address) and an indication of the eBook format(s) available. If not in any format, just confirm it is available in Microsoft Word .doc or .docx format.

NB It is vital that you confirm that you are the owner of the copyright for any work put forward and take full responsibility in the event of any subsequent claims.

We will reply with a list of other details that are required in a few weeks.

Finally, we don't see eBooks as the demise of their paper counterparts, they will appeal to a different audience but one that is large and growing very rapidly.

It's been quiet

2009-04-20T15:25:00.002+01:00

Well you may be wondering why there have been no updates for a while.

The truth is there' been nothing to tell you. The voting has dropped off a cliff and right now I'm wondering if it will recover.

I like to keep upbeat but as this site isn't here to make me money, I need to see some activity to justify my efforts. :)

Since we set up AmazonClicks.com over two thousand people have voted for a variety of titles and their support has been very much appreciated by me and, more importantly, by the authors they supported. I know of course that many authors lobbied their customers to support them and that is fine.

Perhaps the current authors listed should try this?

We're in the last week of voting for April so there has never been a better opportunity to get your favorite title an Award.

Let's see the votes return!

Abstract Murder

2009-04-13T08:57:00.002+01:00

A new title by A L Peck, 'Abstract Murder' is the only submission over the last few days and the voting has also been low. So no changes in the positions of our leading books.

Everyone on holiday? :)

Amazon Boycott

2009-04-11T11:45:00.002+01:00

We've come a long way since starting up AmazonClicks.com and the Awards as well as the previous relationship with Amazon in their Associates program. We have also learned a great deal about the way Amazon operate, some of which we find unpalatable.

They used to be a great company to work with and buy from but now, like many large organisations, they have lost the plot and started to attack the very people they built their business on, the authors.

They are trying to force every print on demand author to use their wholly owned printing company and they are imposing 60% profit margins on many of the publishers who supply them. This effectively squeezes them out of the market.

What Amazon seem to forget is that there are a great many authors who are also their customers and these people have family and friends who have been customers as well. So enough is enough, a boycott has been called and AmazonClicks.com supports it.

To find out more, follow this link to the Arts Council sponsored website of 'youwriteon.com'.
www.youwriteon.com/info/Publishers/amazon-boycott.aspx

There is always Barnes & Noble, Waterstones, Play.com, WH Smith, The Book Depositary, etc. in fact many others who provide excellent service and free delivery of books to your door. So please tell everyone you know to support the boycott until and unless Amazon changes its ways.

Thank you

Change in the Authors' lead for April

2009-04-08T18:54:00.002+01:00

'Shaping the Wolf within your Dog' has taken the lead in the Authors' Choice Award for April and several other positions have changed.

'Angels in Mourning' continues to lead with our Readers' Choice Award although there has been some position shifting further down the ranks so who knows how long the lead will last!

The votes are streaming in now for April and as ever, the positions (especially leading positions) are extremely close.

April off to a Better Start

2009-04-03T13:43:00.003+01:00

You're back!

The first flurry of voting for April puts 'Out of the Italian Night' (my late father's book!) at the head of the Authors' Choice Awards and 'Angels in Mourning' at the front of the Readers' Choice Awards this month.

I struggled with whether or not to include my father's book and decided not to allow my own book, 'Rachel's Shoe' from competing even though it was nominated. Dad's book is a different situation though and I feel as long as I'm 'up front' about it - why not?

So here you have the early positions for April, let's see what happens!

Tumbleweed rolls !!

2009-04-01T23:31:00.002+01:00

Well we have had one day when no votes came in for one of our categories after a month end but over the past 24 hours no votes have been received for either!

This, of course , spells opportunity for you to get your favorite title in the lead for April! Right now there's little between the top 30 books so your vote might make all the difference.

Go on, get the ball rolling for April and reward your chosen author!

And the Winners for March are ........ !

2009-03-29T15:08:00.002+01:00

'Dusk Before the Dawn' by Larry Ketchersid wins the Amazonclicks.com Readers' Choice Award for March with run away last minute voting!

The Authors' Choice Award goes to 'Time Couriers' by C Q Scafidi.

Congratulations to both authors and thank you to the hundreds of supporters who voted for our titles in March.

Just a few hours to go!

2009-03-28T10:10:00.001Z

In the closing hours 'Dusk before the Dawn' and 'Time Couriers' look set to win this months' Awards. Will there be an upset in the closing hours?

Check back here tomorrow to find out!

March voting nearly over!

2009-03-26T23:15:00.000Z

Just two more days!

Countdown on March!

2009-03-25T12:11:00.002Z

3, 2, 1 ... the days are counting down and an overnight re-shuffles threatens to upset the favorites in this month's awards.

First place in the Authors' Award is now a draw between two titles and the rest are biting at their heals.

The Readers' Choice Award is now separated by just 3 votes! So basically anything could happen with just a few days to go.

New day - same positions!

2009-03-24T13:06:00.002Z

Overnight the votes fell almost equally on our leading titles leaving the positions unchanged for another day.

In this final week, every vote counts so if you have yet to vote for your favorite, you could make all the difference!

Just 4 days of voting left !

Final week of March

2009-03-23T12:28:00.003Z

As the months draws to a close, 'Dusk Before the Dawn' by Larry Ketchersid holds on to the first place in our Readers' Choice Award and 'Time Couriers' by C Q Scafidi leads our Authors' Choice.

As ever the voting is close at the top especially in the Author's Choice Awards where only a few votes seperate most of the leading titles.

Both awards are very much up for grabs and by this time next week, two authors will be celebrating their success and preparing Press Releases to announce the winning of an AmazonClicks Award!

Final Week of March!

2009-03-21T09:23:00.002Z

Now you can all see the rankings for March and with just one week to go, there are a number of titles vying and in close contention for the Awards this month.

The announcement of the winners will be made next weekend and I will give you a blow by blow account during the week on this news page. The nomination pages will also be updated tomorrow so you will know the latest positions at the beginning of the week.

What the ranks don't tell you of course is just how close it is at the top in both categories - there's still every chance your favorite title could win this month!

New Look to Site

2009-03-20T00:16:00.006Z

The new look to AmazonClicks.com is almost completed and although not radically different it will be tidier, easier to navigate and, importantly, quicker for me to update!

I intend to update positions each weekend and the month end announcements will now be moved to the last weekend each month - to cut out the late nights when it falls mid-week! The 'News' Blog however will be updated daily so you can keep up with any news or position changes.

As you will see, we have severed the Associate relationship with Amazon and this means our annual Book Award prize will be changed. The new prize will be one whole year of prominent promotion on the AmazonClicks website - this receives thousands of visitors every month - in addition to International Press Releases announcing the winning title!

There is still a little finishing off to do over the coming days but thank you for your patience and please remember the votes continue as normal. This month is as close as ever!

The Lead Grows!

2009-03-16T12:47:00.002Z

As we arive at the middle of March, the leading titles are widening the gap. It's good to see that our website work hasn't impacted adversely on the voting and the daily count is still going well. The authors in both categories will welcome this support a great deal so.

The disruption to the site will be over very soon. Keep those votes coming in!

Progress update!

2009-03-11T14:09:00.003Z

We are still beavering away in the backroom of the AmazonClicks site and whilst it will take a few more days, there is no impact on the ability to accept votes for your favorite books.

Another new comer is soaring through the ranks of the Readers' Choice at the moment and our Authors' remain pretty quiet. 'Dusk before the Dawn' is clinging onto first place despite attempts to dislodge it. It's all very close indeed!

One of our voters has experienced a problem with repeating acknowledgement messages which we are looking into. If this also affects you, please let me know by emailing webmaster@amazonclicks.com , we think it is sorted out as our attempts to recreate the problem haven't yielded any issues, but if not please tell us.

Thanks

The Race for March gets Underway!

2009-03-05T11:22:00.002Z

'Dusk Before the Dawn' is out in front for our March Readers' Choice Award at present although several books are catching rapidly. In particular a new entry, 'RadgePacket - Tales from the Inner Cities' is rising rapidly through the ranks so an interesting month is ahead of us.

Our Authors' Choice Award has seen more modest activity over the last few days and several titles are currently sharing the leading place! This looks like an opportunity for our Authors to help one of their chosen titles 'steal a March' on the others, if you'll forgive the pun!

Keep Those March Votes Coming!

2009-03-03T22:53:00.002Z

Despite the workman all over our site with buckets and ladders everywhere, our Awards business carries on as usual! Please use this blog to check on the voting progress this month as it may be a couple of weeks before the site is ready. Basically, we are improving some of the 'back-end' processes to make it function more efficiently.

I will let our two February winners savour their victory a little longer before reporting on the votes this month but suffice it to say they are already coming in and new leaders are emerging!

February Voting Closes and the Winners are .....!

2009-03-01T08:43:00.004Z

....'Out of the Wreckage: The Pop Stories' by Barbara Blanks for our Readers Choice Award, and 'Stage Struck' by Suzanne Stokes for our Authors' Choice Award!

Congratulations to Barbara and Suzanne!

Your Award certificates will be ready in a few days and your titles will be entered in our Hall of Fame.

The website is now undergoing a face lift so please bear with us whilst this happens. However, the voting for March can continue as normal so please keep those votes coming in, they won't be wasted even if the site doesn't appear to be reflecting the changing positions whilst we make our improvements.

Once again, well done to our February winners!

It's very close!

2009-02-28T23:30:00.002Z

It is very close with just half an hour to go !

Radio silence until the morning now - remember to check the blog as the main site is being improved.

Good luck Authors!