Well, I thought a great way of completing this series of articles would be by sharing my views on publishing the app as that’s the final step in the entire process. Developing the game is only part of the process. Another aspect that most of us overlook is selecting which store to upload the game. How much thought do you put into deciding which app store we should publish our Android app in? If the answer is none, don’t panic; you are not alone.

Although many marketers are aware of alternative app stores, many don’t know the advantages of using all of these additional app stores. The vast amounts of app developers initially opt to publish their app in the largest and most popular app store, Google Play. Right now, though, there are 3 markets out there that are popular with developers.

1) Google Play

Well, I’m not going to talk much about it. Google Play is without a doubt the most popular market among Android users, with over 50 billion apps downloaded and more than 900,000 apps in the store. So, if you are running on a limited budget and can only upload your files to one store, then Google Play should be your first choice.

The flipside to this is that with so many games in the market, your game can easily get lost. Between February 1, 2013 and May 30, 2013 there were on average 957 apps released per day — these figures alone highlight the competition your app will face.

2) Amazon Store

Amazon not only regularly highlights games — which is a great free advertising tool for you to utilize — but it also has a review process that encourages apps to be of high quality, and that makes it a favourite of mine. They also recently launched a new section for indie developers which helps in further discovery of your game.

Another point to note is that Google Play does not allow Kindle users to download their store, whereas Amazon has no such restrictions.

3) GetJar

Did you know that Angry Birds did not debut on Google Play or Apple’s App Store? It was first released on a lesser known site called GetJar.

GetJar promotes free apps, potentially giving developers a wider audience. It was here that Angry Birds gained its reputation as a free app and then polished their app and released it on Google Play. Strategically, that was a smart move; it prolonged the entrance into the wider marketplace, allowing the folks at Rovio to perfect their product and build audience anticipation.

The downside to this Android app store is that the submission of apps is a long process and the site does have a lot of down time.

Other app stores that you should check out are: SlideMe, Mobango, and AppsFire.      

This was a really short article that I thought would be appropriate right around the release of our game. Let me know if this article was useful, or if you have discovered some really awesome app stores that everybody must know about, in the comments below. Also, let me know how you found the entire series. If there are topics that you would like me to write about, let me know that too in the comments.

© 2013, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

A Vampire Novel with Actual Bite!

As the modern world establishes itself and pushes the supernatural into the shadows, the supernatural fights back.

The Darkening Dream is a chilling new dark fantasy novel by Andy Gavin, creator of Crash Bandicoot and Jak & Daxter. The book has received rave reviews and is on sale for only 99 cents on Amazon Kindle from June 25th-29th! Download your copy here.

In addition, Andy is doing a big giveaway, including a $100 gift certificate to Amazon, signed copies of his books, video games, posters, and more!

The Darkening Dream Rafflecopter Giveaway
Tweet, like, follow, share, blog and grab a copy of his book to enter.

Get your 99 cent copy of The Darkening Dream today on Amazon only.

Long-time readers of dark historical fantasy (Tim Powers, Guy Gavriel Kay, Katherine Kurtz) will appreciate the weaving together of mythology, occult, and religion, while younger readers and fans of HBO dramas (True Blood, Carnivàle) or urban fantasy (Laurell K. Hamilton, Kim Harrison, Jim Butcher) will be drawn to the twisted imagination, graphic action, and romantic tension.

About The Darkening Dream

Even as the modern world pushes the supernatural aside in favor of science and steel, the old ways remain. God, demon, monster, and sorcerer alike plot to regain what was theirs.

1913, Salem, Massachusetts – Sarah Engelmann’s life is full of friends, books, and avoiding the pressure to choose a husband, until an ominous vision and the haunting call of an otherworldly trumpet shake her. When she stumbles across a gruesome corpse, she fears that her vision was more of a premonition. And when she sees the murdered boy moving through the crowd at an amusement park, Sarah is thrust into a dark battle she does not understand.

With the help of Alex, an attractive Greek immigrant who knows a startling amount about the undead, Sarah sets out to uncover the truth. Their quest takes them to the factory mills of Salem, on a midnight boat ride to spy on an eerie coastal lair, and back, unexpectedly, to their own homes. What can Alex’s elderly, vampire-hunting grandfather and Sarah’s own rabbi father tell them? And what do Sarah’s continuing visions reveal?

No less than Gabriel’s Trumpet, the tool that will announce the End of Days, is at stake, and the forces that have banded to recover it include a 900 year-old vampire, a trio of disgruntled Egyptian gods, and a demon-loving Puritan minister. At the center of this swirling cast is Sarah, who must fight a millennia-old battle against unspeakable forces, knowing the ultimate prize might be her very soul.

The Reviews Are In

“A vampire novel with actual bite.” ~The Kirkus Reviews

“A gorgeously creepy, strangely humorous, and sincerely terrifying tale.” ~Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

“Mr. Gavin has brought something refreshingly new to a genre now suffused with poorly-concealed bodice-rippers which have more in common with Fabio than Bram Stoker: depth. His big baddies are scary, not romantic interests, and the added religious lore is complex and engaging. Don’t expect another Twilight — the story can get downright creepy, so be prepared for a return to the old horror sensibilities of supernatural fiction.” ~Amazon Review

“With Mr. Gavin’s video-game pedigree, I was expecting something aimed squarely at the 18-25 year old fanboy contingent; what I got in The Darkening Dream was something wholly unexpected: A period novel with a female protagonist, a crash-course on Judaism in the colonial years, and multi-layered series of plot arcs featuring a crazy cast of natural and supernatural characters populating turn of the century America.” ~Amazon Review

“…A perfect blend of mystery, magic and myth. A grown-up Grimm’s fairy tale… emphasis on grim.” ~Amazon Review

Read the first two sample chapters here.

Get your 99 cent copy of The Darkening Dream today on Amazon only.

About the Author

Andy Gavin is an unstoppable storyteller who studied for his Ph.D. at M.I.T. and founded video game developer Naughty Dog, Inc. at the age of fifteen, serving as co-president for two decades. There he created, produced, and directed over a dozen video games, including the award winning and best selling Crash Bandicoot and Jak & Daxter franchises, selling over 40 million units worldwide. He sleeps little, reads novels and histories, watches media obsessively, travels, and of course, writes. Find out more here.

© 2012 – 2013, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

Pulpy detective stories are a genre of books that are right in my wheelhouse. The plot twists and intense action make for an exciting roller coaster experience that ebbs and flows from start to finish. However, author Mark S. Bacon is part of a new movement: flash fiction.

On March 30th he’ll release his novel Cops, Crooks & Other Stories in 100 Words: 101 Tales. It’s a collection of mini mysteries each running about 100 words, and each tale promises “satisfying, unexpected endings”. A number of stories in the collection have been published in a variety of fiction magazines -  Stymie Magazine and MicroHorror being a couple examples – tailored to the short story style.

101 Tales will be released through Amazon(Kindle) and the Barnes and Noble Nook Store.

Here is a sample from the book directly from Bacon’s website:

Honor Among Thieves

The darkened home looked empty.  Pete tried the front door.  Locked.  Around back he jimmied open a patio door with a credit card.

Immediately, he saw a man holding a pillowcase full of something.

“Shit.  You startled me,” the man said.  “First time I ever seen two guys break into the same house.  I came in the window.  But hey,  I believe in professional courtesy.  I’ve got jewelry and laptops.  Rest is yours.”

Pete opened a drawer, reached inside.

“Hold it,” Pete said, pointing a revolver.

“What about professional courtesy?”

“I forgot my keys, “ Pete said.  “I live here.”

© 2012 – 2013, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

FREE Two Days Only: A Vampire Novel with Actual Bite!

As the modern world establishes itself and pushes the supernatural into the shadows, the supernatural fights back.

The Darkening Dream is a chilling new dark fantasy novel by Andy Gavin, creator of Crash Bandicoot and Jak & Daxter, that has received rave reviews on Amazon and Goodreads and is FREE for two days only on Amazon Kindle (February 7^th to 8^th)! Download your FREE copy here: http://amzn.to/yTvZPG

Long-time readers of dark historical fantasy (Tim Powers, Guy Gavriel Kay, Katherine Kurtz) will appreciate the weaving together of mythology, occult, and religion, while younger readers and fans of HBO dramas (True Blood,Carnivàle) or urban fantasy (Laurell K. Hamilton, Kim Harrison, Jim Butcher) will be drawn to the twisted imagination, graphic action, and romantic tension.

About The Darkening Dream

Even as the modern world pushes the supernatural aside in favor of science and steel, the old ways remain. God, demon, monster, and sorcerer alike plot to regain what was theirs.

1913, Salem, Massachusetts – Sarah Engelmann’s life is full of friends, books, and avoiding the pressure to choose a husband, until an ominous vision and the haunting call of an otherworldly trumpet shake her. When she stumbles across a gruesome corpse, she fears that her vision was more of a premonition. And when she sees the murdered boy moving through the crowd at an amusement park, Sarah is thrust into a dark battle she does not understand.

With the help of Alex, an attractive Greek immigrant who knows a startling amount about the undead, Sarah sets out to uncover the truth. Their quest takes them to the factory mills of Salem, on a midnight boat ride to spy on an eerie coastal lair, and back, unexpectedly, to their own homes. What can Alex’s elderly, vampire-hunting grandfather and Sarah’s own rabbi father tell them? And what do Sarah’s continuing visions reveal?

No less than Gabriel’s Trumpet, the tool that will announce the End of Days, is at stake, and the forces that have banded to recover it include a 900 year-old vampire, a trio of disgruntled Egyptian gods, and a demon-loving Puritan minister. At the center of this swirling cast is Sarah, who must fight a millennia-old battle against unspeakable forces, knowing the ultimate prize might be her very soul.

The Reviews Are In

“A vampire novel with actual bite.” ~The Kirkus Reviews

“Mr. Gavin has brought something refreshingly new to a genre now suffused with poorly-concealed bodice-rippers which have more in common with Fabio than Bram Stoker: depth. His big baddies are scary, not romantic interests, and the added religious lore is complex and engaging. Don’t expect another Twilight — the story can get downright creepy, so be prepared for a return to the old horror sensibilities of supernatural fiction.” ~Amazon Review

“With Mr. Gavin’s video-game pedigree, I was expecting something aimed squarely at the 18-25 year old fanboy contingent; what I got in The Darkening Dream was something wholly unexpected: A period novel with a female protagonist, a crash-course on Judaism in the colonial years, and multi-layered series of plot arcs featuring a crazy cast of natural and supernatural characters populating 18th Century Colonial America.” ~Amazon Review

“…A perfect blend of mystery, magic and myth. A grown-up Grimm’s fairy tale…emphasis on grim.” ~Amazon Review

Read the first two sample chapters here >> http://bit.ly/xXVxXS

Get your FREE copy of The Darkening Dream for two days only on Amazon here. http://amzn.to/yTvZPG

No eReader or Kindle? No problem. Get free apps for your Web Browser, PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry, or Android Phone.

© 2012 – 2013, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.