Monday, September 01, 2014

Viva Gumroad


So far my little Gumroad shop only has one item for sale: the ebook From Mexico to Miramar or, Across the Lake of Oblivion, what I call a "nonfiction novela about a fairytale" -- a visit to the Emperor of Mexico's castle in Italy. (Have a look here-- and if you buy it, you'll see what a lickety-split easy process Gumroad makes that.)

Most of my several books are available on amazon.com and Barnes & Noble, and a few items are also on iTunes (visit my main shop here), but I see Gumroad as a very promising venue for many more of my ebooks, forthcoming audio books, and possibly some videos as well.

Gumroad doesn't do marketing, but fellow writers take note: the power is the elegant simplicity and ease of its customer interface. On that note, via publishing guru Jane Friedman's blog, here's a post by Jeremiah Shoaf on why, after several years, he switched from E-Junkie to Gumroad.

More Gumroaderie:
> In Wired
> In the New York Times (in the context of building your own website)
> On GIGAOM

P.S. I'm a huge fan of www.instacart.com for the same reason: the interface. Instacart's puts most grocery store on-line ordering sites in the Neanderthal pee-wee league. I'm in Mexico City mainly these days, where don't yet have Instacart but I used it to order bottled water, kibble and canned dog food when I was traveling with my dog in California. Superb. Apart from saving time, since I couldn't leave my dog in the car (too hot) or take him into the store, delivery was a most welcome convenience.

COMMENTS always welcome

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SURF ON

Madam Mayo:
> Traditional + Indie = Hybrid Publishing: Three Authors Dish at Jane Friedman's Blog
> Cyberflanerie: Instacart Mexico City & etc.
> M.M. McAllen's new Book, Maximilian and Carlota: Europe's Last Empire in Mexico

And over on the homepage, www.cmmayo.com
> About the book, Podcasting for Writers & Other Creative Entrepreneurs
> Answers to the Three Questions I am Most Often Asked About the Writing Business
> Upcoming one day only Literary Travel Writing workshop at the Writer's Center, Bethesda, MD, Saturday October 11th.