One Link to Rule Them All

 

one link to rule them all

 

Most of you know of the “universal” or “global” link for books. A lot of authors use it. The link allows you to customize your book url so it redirects interested readers to the correct country. (Amazon .com becomes Amazon .ca or Amazon .co.uk—you get the idea.)

So, yes, I do want this. And, sure, I’m willing to learn about different options. Which is why I’m here today.

The companies that change your link range from free to one-time fee to monthly subscription. So you can assume they range in services. (They do.) We’re going from cut-and-paste-your-link to tracking sales, customizing domains, and tons of other techie stuff I don’t understand.

Some give you a link that automatically redirects your Amazon customers. So your country’s Amazon store will become their country’s Amazon store. This allows readers to quickly and easily buy your book from the site where they have an account. This is Amazon only.

Others completely transform your link. They go global and create a link that works in every country, on every operating system (iOS, Android, Windows…), in every store (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks…), on every device (laptop, tablet, phone…) so you’re not only international, you’re, like, intergalactic.

Here are a few that I’ve seen. If you use any of these, please let me know in the comments. If you know of any I’ve missed, drop those in the comments, too. Inquiring minds want to know.

 

SmartURL

BookLinker

RelinksMe

Books2Read

Genius Link

 

My random thoughts in (a bit over) 200 words.

ThoughtBubbleDo you use a universal link? Do you like it? Which company would you suggest and why (price, ease-of-use, accessibility for buyers)?

 

I was recently searching for the best universal/global link when I remembered this post. Forgot it was from 2017 (!) but, as it’s still relevant and quite timely for me, thought I’d repost it.

Since that post, I’ve been using BookLinker, and it’s worked fine, but I’d like to change it. I don’t need (or want) bells and whistles but do want to branch out (and away from an Amazon-only link). 

Hinting at Shadows ~ 3rd Annual October Sale #FREE #FreeBook #BookSale

Universal Link

October is here.

It’s not the usual fun-filled season of Halloween parties this year but there are lots of lovely aspects of autumn to embrace.

I want to enjoy the cool weather, crisp air, apple cider, and pumpkin-spiced…everything. I also want to offer you my deliciously dark, decidedly not pumpkin-spiced words. Because. October. 🎃 👻

Hinting at Shadows, my first collection of flash, will be FREE from October 18th-22nd. 

So, if you haven’t read it, here’s your chance to grab a copy.

What some people are saying about Hinting at Shadows (I am, as always, delighted and grateful):

 

beautifully and richly crafted.

The author’s haunting prose very cleverly invokes strong images with the minimum of words. Sarah Brentyn delivers something quite different, written beautifully…

I was entranced from the very first story.

I’m dumbfounded at how much this author conveys and the emotions she evokes with so few words… Take time to savor this collection and fully appreciate the poignant writing.  

Hinting at Shadows…is sheer poetry in the garb of flash fiction.

 

If you’d like to download a FREE copy, here’s the link:
Hinting at Shadows 🖤

Happy reading, all!

 

On the Edge of a Raindrop ~ Holiday Sale #FREE #BookSale

 

Universal Link

 

As a little gift to you, gentle readers, my second collection of flash fiction is free for the holidays.

Enjoy these bite-sized delights between driving, eating, and unwrapping.

It’s the perfect book to bring along when you’re stuck in traffic, waiting for never-on-time Aunt Jackie, or sneaking out of the room because your cousin brought up that wedding thing. Again.

If you want a collection to dip in and out of during the holiday season, here’s your chance to grab a copy.

On the Edge of a Raindrop is FREE! You can get a copy HERE. 

Also: Hinting at Shadows is still on sale for the holidays. You can get a copy for just 99c/99p HERE. 

Happy Holidays! ⛄️

 

Here’s what some people are saying about On the Edge of a Raindrop:

 

Brentyn’s prose is poetic…

for those who enjoy being able to read shorter works without losing the impact of a story.

It’s amazing what can be conveyed in just a few sentences

I read these stories slowly savoring the words and connecting to her prose much in the same way I do with poetry.

I could see a whole life in a paragraph, so insightful and artfully captured are they.

 

Happy reading, all! 🖤⛄️

Hinting at Shadows ~ Holiday Sale #99cents #99p #BookSale

 

Universal Link

 

October has come and gone. Whisked away like colorful leaves caught in autumn breezes. My annual fall sale is over but the holidays are approaching and the spirit of the season has filled me.

This is a great time of year to enjoy some bite-sized morsels between driving, eating, and unwrapping. For those who want a collection to dip in and out of during the holiday season, here’s your chance to grab a copy. (If you prefer paperbacks, these slim volumes are a perfect stocking stuffer. Just saying.)

I’m putting Hinting at Shadows on sale for the holidays. ⛄️ Because why not? You can get a copy for just 99c/99p HERE. 

FYI: I’m putting On the Edge of a Raindrop on sale (FREE) the first week of December. Watch for that one. Cheers! 🍷

Happy Holidays! ❄️

 

Here’s what some people are saying about Hinting at Shadows:

 

Short and brilliant…

beautifully and richly crafted. Brentyn has a skill with the written word that just leaves you breathless…

Every story is a pearl. The writing is exquisite… 

The author’s haunting prose very cleverly invokes strong images with the minimum of words. Sarah Brentyn delivers something quite different, written beautifully…

Hinting at Shadows…is sheer poetry in the garb of flash fiction.

 

If you’d like to download a copy, here’s the link:
Hinting at Shadows 🖤❄️

 

Happy reading, all!

Hinting at Shadows ~ 2nd Annual October Sale #99cents #99p #BookSale

 

Universal Link

 

October is here again, my bloggy friends! 🎃 👻

Colorful leaves, crisp air, cotton sweaters, kick-ass boots, apple cider, pumpkin spice, Halloween… You get the idea.

I love October. It’s a beautiful time of year and I’m celebrating with my second annual autumn sale.

For all you Halloween fiends, this is a perfect time to enjoy some bite-sized morsels of delicious darkness. For those who want a collection of small stories to curl up with this fall, here’s your chance to grab a copy.

 

Hinting at Shadows, my first collection of flash, will be just $0.99 / £0.99 for the entire month of October. 

 

Here’s what some people are saying about Hinting at Shadows (I am one happy & grateful writer here):

 

“Every story is a pearl. The writing is exquisite and full of pathos with a focus on the poignancy of the human condition.”

 

“beautifully and richly crafted. Brentyn has a skill with the written word that just leaves you breathless…”

 

The author’s haunting prose very cleverly invokes strong images with the minimum of words. Sarah Brentyn delivers something quite different, written beautifully…”

 

“Hinting at Shadows…is sheer poetry in the garb of flash fiction.”

 

And a recent review (just in time for Halloween)…

“Brentyn is a master storyteller of the macabre…she weaves her stories into feelings that will make you embrace your own darkness…if you dare!”

 

I’ve just been informed of another review on Hinting (in the comments). Please check it out here: 

“This is a book to be read over and again. These small stories are multifaceted and each reread will reveal something overlooked in previous reads, a marvel in fiction so short.”

 

 

 

If you’d like to download a copy, here’s the link:
Hinting at Shadows 🖤

 

Happy reading, all!

Hinting at Shadows ~ October Sale

 

Universal Link

 

It’s October, my bloggy friends! 🎃 👻

Colorful leaves, crisp air, cotton sweaters, kick-ass boots, apple cider, pumpkin spice, Halloween… You get the idea.

I love October. It’s a beautiful time of year and I’m celebrating with a sale. For all you Halloween fiends, this is a perfect time to enjoy some bite-sized morsels of delicious darkness.

 

Hinting at Shadows, my first collection of flash, will be just $0.99 / £0.99 for the entire month of October.

 

Here’s what some people are saying about Hinting at Shadows (I’m deliriously happy & grateful):

 

I just finished Hinting at Shadows and had to rave a little about this book of short fiction. Every story is a pearl. The writing is exquisite and full of pathos with a focus on the poignancy of the human condition.”

 

“beautifully and richly crafted. Brentyn has a skill with the written word that just leaves you breathless…
I was entranced right from the very first story”

 

The author’s haunting prose very cleverly invokes strong images with the minimum of words. Sarah Brentyn delivers something quite different, written beautifully with intuitive understanding and the ability to generate an emotional reaction.”

 

 

If you’d like to download a copy, here’s the link: Hinting at Shadows 🖤

 

Happy reading, all!

 

What’s All the Hubbub About BookBub?

 

 

I’ve been seeing a lot of hubbub about BookBub. It’s kind of all over the blogosphere right now.

From all the posts I’ve seen, it seems to be this fab, new site for authors. Yet, it’s hardly new and it’s not just for authors.

So what is it?

(Sorry. I’m not here to answer that question. I’m asking it.)

It appears to be, mostly, for readers to find books and get deals. But authors can join and put up a bio with their books.

Also…reviews. It’s another place to post reviews. That would be so very, very good. I’m just not seeing a lot of reviews there. Is this a new wave of amazingness that people are starting? Or is this just a trend that’s going to fizzle? I know it’s been around for years but so has Pinterest, Flipboard, Google+ and many, many other platforms we’ve signed up for and left to gather dust in the virtual corner of our online attic.

When I search the almighty internet, opinions vary. (I’m sure you’re as shocked as I am.) It’s wonderful, it’s horrible, it’s useful, it’s useless, you MUST join, don’t bother joining… You get the idea.

There is much ambivalence about the Bub so I’m wondering (among my bloggy friends) who is on it, how they like it, what it’s used for, etc.

Is this a useful platform (or…place? or…site?) for authors to be on?

 

 

I’ve seen a half dozen posts in the past month alone about the Bub but the most recent ones are from Colleen Chesebro who is on there and encourages other authors to get on there, too. And Georgia Rose who is on there and is bringing her reviews with her.

 

Image Source

 

Are you on BookBub? Do you love it, hate it, or are you ambivalent about it? How is it working for you as an author? Do you write reviews on there?

 

UPDATE: Okay. I’ve joined. Click the cute, little button below if you’d like to connect on the Bub:

See you there! 🙂

 

Georgia Rose has created a fantastic tutorial: How to Post Your Reviews on BookBub <- (Check that out!)

 

Have You Cleaned Your Book Links Yet?

 

 

Everyone loves cleaning, right?

Yeah.

Here’s a quick and easy (don’t you just love those words?) way to clean something super important: buy links for your books.

 

Hmm… Long, messy link. (Clean-up on aisle five!)

Happy, clean, pretty link!

How did I get that? Easy. Delete everything highlighted in yellow. (That would be everything after your ASIN.)

What are those reference, encoding, string of letters and numbers thingies? Why are they there? If the link works without them (it does), why include them? You need your ASIN (Amazon Standard Identification Number) but after that…?

You could take out the “https” or the “www” (or even the title of your book if you’d like) to shorten it for sharing or just to look nice. But, for now, I’m thinking that stuff at the end there would be great to, you know, not be there.

I don’t know much about the mumbo-jumbo techie stuff like algorithms or backlinks or tracking or, actually, anything of the sort but I still think cleaning links is a good idea. If there’s even a potential problem, why risk it? I read this post on D.G. Kaye’s site a few months ago regarding Amazon links. She gives info on what all this stuff might mean for you and your books. If you haven’t read it, you really should.

And, though I’ve seen many people write about this, I’m still seeing lots of long links out there. Perhaps it’s not crucial to remove that gobbledygook but…what if it is? Get rid of it.

I guess that’s all I’m saying.

So now you’re saying, “Yah, well my links are clean, lady!”

Then I say, “That’s great! What about the links to other people’s books? The ones you’re promoting on your blog or posting on social media?”

Uh-huh.

Clean those up, too, you know? Because. You’re nice that way.

A global or universal link will eliminate the need to do this for your books but a lot of people haven’t gotten around to that yet. *raises hand* Also, that doesn’t help when you’re sharing other people’s books or they’re sharing yours and don’t have your link. If you get into the habit of dropping that gunk after the ASIN (see the highlighted link up there ↑↑↑), it won’t be an issue. You’ll always have clean links. And your fellow authors will, too.

 

Are your links clean? If not, why? Is this a choice or have you just not gotten to it yet? (P.S. Even if you use clean links in your posts, please check your sidebars… Just saying.) 🙂

 

P.P.S. I’m just taking a shot in the dark here but you should probably clean before creating a universal link. I mean…who knows what happens if you use a long link with all those encoded reference thingies to paste into a global link? Does it clean for you? Does it forever track you? No clue.

 

I’m sharing Debby’s comment in the post here for more info:

it’s important to clean off the links of other’s books when you’re promoting them because anyone who…decides to buy from the link provided to get to Amazon can be misconstrued as a ‘friend’ of the author…it’s a target and flag to Amazon that the book was purchased from a tracked link making you look like you knew the author because it was a trailed link, not the clean link you’d see if you actually just went to Amazon direct to the book page. 🙂 [Also]…Universal links should be clean…”

 

Hinting at Shadows ~ Summer Sale

 

 

June is a big month for short fiction.

Bath Flash Fiction Award is an organization whose goal is to “promote flash fiction for both writers and readers and to bring the genre to a wider audience.” They are hosting the Flash Fiction Festival on June 24 & 25th. “The first literary festival in the UK entirely devoted to Flash Fiction. Happening on the weekend of National Flash Fiction Day [June 24]…”

That’s a lot of flash.

I’m psyched about this promotion of flash fiction so I’m celebrating with ALL OF THE THINGS! Okay, a sale.

Hinting at Shadows, my collection of flash, will be just $0.99 (£0.99) for the entire month of June.

Happy flashing! Erm…reading. 🙂

 

You can get your copy here: Amazon US | Amazon UK

 

 

Yes, yes. I’m getting a global link. Working on it. Cheers!

 

Global Links: One Link to Rule Them All

 

 

Yesterday was Earth Day and today is World Book Day.

I’m thinking globally.

Most of you know of the “universal” or “global” link for books. I’ve seen some posts about it and a lot of indies using it. The link allows you to customize your book url so that it redirects interested readers to the correct country. (Amazon.com becomes Amazon.ca or Amazon.co.uk—you get the idea.)

So, yes, I do want this. And, sure, I’m willing to learn about different options. Which is why I’m here today.

The companies that change your link range from free to one-time fee to monthly subscription. So you can assume they range in services. (They do.) We’re going from cut-and-paste-your-link to tracking sales, customizing domains, and tons of other techie stuff I don’t understand.

Some give you a link that automatically redirects your Amazon customers. So your country’s Amazon store will become their country’s Amazon store. This allows readers to quickly and easily buy your book from the site where they have an account. This is Amazon only.

Others completely transform your link. They go global and create a link that works in every country, on every operating system (iOS, Android, Windows…), in every store (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks…) on every device (laptop, tablet, phone…) so you’re not only international, you’re, like, intergalactic.

Here are a few that I’ve seen. If you use any of these, please let me know in the comments. If you know of any I’ve missed, drop those in the comments, too. Inquiring minds want to know.

SmartURL

BookLinker

RelinksMe

Books2Read

Genius Link

 

My Sunday thoughts in (a bit over) 200 words.

 

ThoughtBubbleDo you use a universal link? Do you like it? Which company would you suggest and why (price, ease-of-use, accessibility for buyers)?

 

Happy Earth Day! 🌎

Happy World Book Day! 📚