A few years ago an unknown girl from Belfast (the name eludes me at the moment) started writing a short parody of 50 Shades of Grey called 50 Shades of Red White and Blue as a joke for her friends on Facebook. After one week the word had spread and she had grown to a huge number of followers. During the second week she increased the number of followers. At the end of the second week she self-published an eBook on Amazon UK and sold a huge amount copies on the first day jumping to the top 10 in the paid Kindle store. I don’t know what number she sits at in the paid Kindle store now (many authors don't reach this even with a professional marketing campaign). All this came from a free Facebook account and a bit of “good writing”, this is the power of social media in the publishing world today.

 

I'm inherently skeptical of these "No. X in the Kindle Store" claims; simply making an initial impact in a crowded category is entirely possible through impulse purchases. True success, if one is reducing everything to financial terms, is in sustaining this success. To use generic terms - being a high-tier brand in the short term (No.5 in category within the first week, say) is no measure of long-term success or indeed any measure of success at all; category ranking only becomes interesting on timescales of quarters at the least or years. I know it's slightly different in terms of books and albums, but the theory is there; who cares if someone gets a bit of initial buzz?

 

If you're into stuff like this, read on.

~ Amy Zhang, Falling into Place

~ Shannon Celebi

This is a very short story, it feels like it's capturing what I hope is the beginning of a love between Jimmy and Scotch.Jimmy and Scotch met six weeks ago, in the brief span of that conversation we see that Jimmy has lots of dreams and is open and outgoing, Scotch has simpler wishes, he wants a home, a place to feel safe. Safe is something I get the feeling is important for Scotch. Fast forward to New Years, they are parked in a cold car, it's snowing and Jimmy is being just a little romantic. He wants to take their relationship further but he doesn't pressure Scotch, he just encourages.It feels realistic, it's cold and the car isn't the most comfortable place and Scotch is a little hesitant but he also wants it, Jimmy is sweet and keeps the mood light.This is a story of first times and with hope for more.