I mentioned briefly on Facebook that I was in communications with a publisher to bring Reztap back. It's been out of print for a couple of years. While I was originally looking to launch my own publishing company to do the Reztap series right, I';ve since reconsidered since I don't have that kind of time and money to devote to that kind of enterprise; hence why it's been several years since Reztap was in print!
I will be getting a contract from Blue Forge Press within the next day or two, have it thoroughly reviewed by my lawyer, and then likely sign it. You may be asking yourself why I went with Blue Forge Press. My simple answer is - it feels right. It's the right time, the right place, and the deal is like a traditional publishing company where I am not paying fees for work on the book like a vanity press. They're up for getting all three completed books to the presses as soon as possible. They are investing their money in my success - they liked the books that much. I shared the series premise and they are on board.
They will handle everything. I just have to write and make a few public appearances at conventions and the like. I finally get to get book two out to you readers - that's so exciting! Here's a list of the books that will be coming out this year, I think. They are completed, so there's that for you.
1. Mishaps and Mayhem (aka Book Zero)
2. The Adventures of Reztap (aka Book One)
3. Reztap and the Quest for the Insane Moth (aka Book Two)
Future releases will include books three thru six and may also include some spin off books. I will be narrating the audio books as well. It's really happening. I am incredibly close to actually making a living as a writer; that's been a life long dream. Of course, sales will have to be healthy to make that happen, but it really feels like I'm turning a corner.
Let me just say this again - a traditional publisher read my books and wants to publish them. This is traditional author stuff. Not a vanity press. It's a validation of years of work.
There are other advantages to working with Blue Forge Group - an opportunity to work in different mediums telling different stories as well. It's an exciting week.
Keep writing out there!
Artemus
Showing posts with label publishing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label publishing. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 6, 2018
Monday, February 15, 2016
The Undiscovered Country
To stave off the flood of comments (one of which would be a 50% increase over the life of this blog), the title does not refer to my death of that of any of the characters in The Chronicles of Reztap. However, the nuts and bolts of the published series itself are undergoing an extensive shift. The books themselves are experiencing a death and a rebirth of sorts.
First, an acknowledgement to Megan LaFoyett (then Director of Publishing) and Jeff Hastings (Owner) of Chart House Press. Without them, book zero of The Chronicles of Reztap, Mishaps and Mayhem, would never have come into being. Megan requested it as a forward copy edition to be sent to book sellers as a kind of pre-marketing push. Unfortunately, her involvement with Chart House Press ceased before that aspect of book zero could come to fruition. Still, those previously untold early adventures would likely not seen the light of day any time without a push to get them written and published. Second, getting book one into a professional shape and appearance is due in no small effort to the expertise of many others working behind the scenes at Chart House Press, from the internal layout to the revised cover design, the second edition of The Adventures of Reztap was a sparkling shiny present compared to the clumsy first edition I pushed out years ago. Thank you both for your involvement in getting Tar and Gorth out to be seen and enjoyed by many more readers than ever before.
Chart House Press has since adjusted their charter to be exclusively pushing non-fiction books from here on out. Even as we speak, both books, Mishaps and Mayhem & The Adventures of Reztap. are no longer available on Amazon. As much as it pains me to see it, I realize it is also for the best. Given their new direction, Chart House Press is not be able to devote the time, energy and expertise The Chronicles of Reztap series is due. This is a mutual agreement - I wasn't just shut out of Chart House Press. We came to an agreement that the book series would be better served elsewhere.
This pushes me into the Undiscovered Country. By default, I need to get The Chronicles of Reztap published by another publisher, and not just self-published. However, I don't want to get put in a bind again with my books being essentially out of print before they've had a decent chance to catch on. My only recourse - start my own publishing company. It's the only way to ensure I retain the rights to my books and can keep them published continually from here on out. A perfect solution with only two drawbacks - time and money. I literally have no time to devote fairly to this endeavor, and that is largely driven by the fact that I have no money I can dedicate to getting this started right now. Seriously, starting one company at a time is enough of a drain on my time and money. Starting a second would be a quick trip to the poor house.
Unfortunately, that means, at least for a time, there will be no copies, electronically or otherwise, of either book zero, one or two available. What you can get now is what you'll be able to get for at least a few months if not a full year. I'm committed to getting everything going as soon as possible, but that could easily push into next year.
I wish it wasn't so, but that's where I'm at. I'll need time to get both financial and professional resources gathered to launch the publishing company in a manner that will ensure it produces quality products. This will not be an overnight effort pushing out a substandard product. For the fans out there, and I've actually met a few, I'm sorry to say it will be a while before I can get everything running again but once I do, I can assure you it will remain a steady company that will keep the products alive and available.
Stay tuned over the next couple of weeks and months as a Reztapian phoenix rises from the ashes of this expiration. I will keep you updated on my progress.
Thank you for you time and dedication.
Regards,
Artemus
First, an acknowledgement to Megan LaFoyett (then Director of Publishing) and Jeff Hastings (Owner) of Chart House Press. Without them, book zero of The Chronicles of Reztap, Mishaps and Mayhem, would never have come into being. Megan requested it as a forward copy edition to be sent to book sellers as a kind of pre-marketing push. Unfortunately, her involvement with Chart House Press ceased before that aspect of book zero could come to fruition. Still, those previously untold early adventures would likely not seen the light of day any time without a push to get them written and published. Second, getting book one into a professional shape and appearance is due in no small effort to the expertise of many others working behind the scenes at Chart House Press, from the internal layout to the revised cover design, the second edition of The Adventures of Reztap was a sparkling shiny present compared to the clumsy first edition I pushed out years ago. Thank you both for your involvement in getting Tar and Gorth out to be seen and enjoyed by many more readers than ever before.
Chart House Press has since adjusted their charter to be exclusively pushing non-fiction books from here on out. Even as we speak, both books, Mishaps and Mayhem & The Adventures of Reztap. are no longer available on Amazon. As much as it pains me to see it, I realize it is also for the best. Given their new direction, Chart House Press is not be able to devote the time, energy and expertise The Chronicles of Reztap series is due. This is a mutual agreement - I wasn't just shut out of Chart House Press. We came to an agreement that the book series would be better served elsewhere.
This pushes me into the Undiscovered Country. By default, I need to get The Chronicles of Reztap published by another publisher, and not just self-published. However, I don't want to get put in a bind again with my books being essentially out of print before they've had a decent chance to catch on. My only recourse - start my own publishing company. It's the only way to ensure I retain the rights to my books and can keep them published continually from here on out. A perfect solution with only two drawbacks - time and money. I literally have no time to devote fairly to this endeavor, and that is largely driven by the fact that I have no money I can dedicate to getting this started right now. Seriously, starting one company at a time is enough of a drain on my time and money. Starting a second would be a quick trip to the poor house.
Unfortunately, that means, at least for a time, there will be no copies, electronically or otherwise, of either book zero, one or two available. What you can get now is what you'll be able to get for at least a few months if not a full year. I'm committed to getting everything going as soon as possible, but that could easily push into next year.
I wish it wasn't so, but that's where I'm at. I'll need time to get both financial and professional resources gathered to launch the publishing company in a manner that will ensure it produces quality products. This will not be an overnight effort pushing out a substandard product. For the fans out there, and I've actually met a few, I'm sorry to say it will be a while before I can get everything running again but once I do, I can assure you it will remain a steady company that will keep the products alive and available.
Stay tuned over the next couple of weeks and months as a Reztapian phoenix rises from the ashes of this expiration. I will keep you updated on my progress.
Thank you for you time and dedication.
Regards,
Artemus
Monday, December 14, 2015
Entering Limbo
I admit, I felt that particular leg of my foundation in writing shaking quite a bit since the loss of the Director of Publishing who had championed me to my publisher. Loss as in no longer working there, not because she had passed. I now begin the strange journey of transition from being a published writer to being, well, something else.
I felt the loss more acutely when the Director of Publishing left. She was the creative spark that directed the fiction side of the business. Without her, all the fiction titles and authors have floundered a bit. My excitement to join the publishing company had more to do with access to real marketing and publishing expertise than it did with the "reputation" of being a professionally published author. Just when my book came out, my champion disappeared and so did the push that was supposed to come with my debut novel.
Still, I can say I've sold about as many books in my first year as an average book by any author this year. many authors have sold less and a few have sold more. I've gained experience in web site design (to a degree), seen some very well done cover designs and book layouts (enough to know I need someone else to do them), and a splash of insight into book marketing. It has been a great learning experience, but I'm now at a point where I can't exactly take advantage of that experience and move forward. Limbo has its drawbacks.
My options from here forth are to find another publisher or create my own publishing company. Actually, the third option is simply to go back to self publishing which is just a step down from creating my own publishing company. I honestly had another publisher lined up, but things have changed for them since our last chat a few months ago and they're no longer an option for the foreseeable future. It may be best to go it alone, take on all the pieces of self publishing and simply get the thing done on my own. The advantages are that I'll have complete control over every aspect of the books' life and marketing. The disadvantages are essentially the same - all of those bits and pieces will take time I simply haven't had in my schedule to take over.
What I didn't have before is access to people who controlled every aspect of building a professional quality book. With the contacts I have now, I feel confident I can arrange those pieces and get them into place. The marketing contact I found is probably the biggest key. Still, the production of this book series at this point is a vanity project of sorts now. That's the reality of the situation. Have people commented that they loved the book? Absolutely! For fans of that genre, it's really spot on. The question of how to reach my target audience that I haven't met yet without spending a ton of money is the real conundrum. I suppose it's the same problem most self published authors face - how to reach their audience and not go broke in the process.
In the mean time, The Adventures of Reztap and Mishaps and Mayhem are still available for sale, and I still get paid royalties for them. It's actually unclear at the moment if I'll be pulling them from Chart House Press or leaving them there. All signs seem to point to the publisher wanting to relinquish control as soon as possible. What files and data I'll receive in the process in unclear. Even book two is in a basically completed stage, just waiting on me to get the cash together to push for the marketing reviews of The Adventures of Reztap and, possibly, Mishaps and Mayhem as well.
New job, bills stack up and the cost for getting review copies sent out seems further and further away every day. I'm taking a deep breath and pushing forward. I want to get those reviews online before March 2016. I'd like to get book two reviewed shortly thereafter and published some time in 2016, hopefully by the summer. I just don't want links to point to a book that's no longer there! Hence, limbo.
Wish me luck and keep on reading!
Regards,
Artemus
I felt the loss more acutely when the Director of Publishing left. She was the creative spark that directed the fiction side of the business. Without her, all the fiction titles and authors have floundered a bit. My excitement to join the publishing company had more to do with access to real marketing and publishing expertise than it did with the "reputation" of being a professionally published author. Just when my book came out, my champion disappeared and so did the push that was supposed to come with my debut novel.
Still, I can say I've sold about as many books in my first year as an average book by any author this year. many authors have sold less and a few have sold more. I've gained experience in web site design (to a degree), seen some very well done cover designs and book layouts (enough to know I need someone else to do them), and a splash of insight into book marketing. It has been a great learning experience, but I'm now at a point where I can't exactly take advantage of that experience and move forward. Limbo has its drawbacks.
My options from here forth are to find another publisher or create my own publishing company. Actually, the third option is simply to go back to self publishing which is just a step down from creating my own publishing company. I honestly had another publisher lined up, but things have changed for them since our last chat a few months ago and they're no longer an option for the foreseeable future. It may be best to go it alone, take on all the pieces of self publishing and simply get the thing done on my own. The advantages are that I'll have complete control over every aspect of the books' life and marketing. The disadvantages are essentially the same - all of those bits and pieces will take time I simply haven't had in my schedule to take over.
What I didn't have before is access to people who controlled every aspect of building a professional quality book. With the contacts I have now, I feel confident I can arrange those pieces and get them into place. The marketing contact I found is probably the biggest key. Still, the production of this book series at this point is a vanity project of sorts now. That's the reality of the situation. Have people commented that they loved the book? Absolutely! For fans of that genre, it's really spot on. The question of how to reach my target audience that I haven't met yet without spending a ton of money is the real conundrum. I suppose it's the same problem most self published authors face - how to reach their audience and not go broke in the process.
In the mean time, The Adventures of Reztap and Mishaps and Mayhem are still available for sale, and I still get paid royalties for them. It's actually unclear at the moment if I'll be pulling them from Chart House Press or leaving them there. All signs seem to point to the publisher wanting to relinquish control as soon as possible. What files and data I'll receive in the process in unclear. Even book two is in a basically completed stage, just waiting on me to get the cash together to push for the marketing reviews of The Adventures of Reztap and, possibly, Mishaps and Mayhem as well.
New job, bills stack up and the cost for getting review copies sent out seems further and further away every day. I'm taking a deep breath and pushing forward. I want to get those reviews online before March 2016. I'd like to get book two reviewed shortly thereafter and published some time in 2016, hopefully by the summer. I just don't want links to point to a book that's no longer there! Hence, limbo.
Wish me luck and keep on reading!
Regards,
Artemus
Thursday, October 1, 2015
The Bump and Grind!
Admit it - it was an enticing title! I'm becoming a click bait master. Seriously, though, it's really all about the grind. Not any bump explored in this article, though that in itself would be interesting but a bit off mark for my blog. The grind comes from breaking into a new job field which takes a lot of time, energy and concentration. I'd be whining and moaning about how this cuts into my writing time if it wasn't for the fact that A) the marketing of my second book is still crawling to a start and B) I need the funds to get the marketing started, which requires becoming good at my new career. It's quite the cart before the horse argument. None of this brings my writing to the fore - in fact, it's really depressed my writing time and production to, well, basically nothing. But, let's be honest, no matter how much I write, it's going to take a long time for my writing to pay the bills, if it ever does. Luckily, that isn't what drives my writing in the first place, so you can look forward to me completing this series within the next couple of years - I'm simply driven to do so!
Launching into a new career is exciting and frightening all at the same time. You see the fruits of the labors of the veterans around you, realize it will take some time to get to that level and, oh my, how am I going to put food on the table? I've embraced the new job and put all my time and energy into making it work. I've been lucky to have such great team members sharing their expertise and showing me the ropes. They've really built an incredible teaching culture here. Even so, it's been a bit of touch and go with the finances. My checking account has dropped below zero more than once in the last three months, and that's not something I've seen happen since the I was laid off ten years ago. This career is all sales and commission. There is no salary. You take a break, you starve (unless you've been so successful, you've built up a hefty nest egg to take time off). I have no nest egg. It's actually going to be a sprint for the next year or two just to keep the creditors at bay. It's frightening that I can't just show up to work, "dial it in," put my butt in a chair and coast for the day if I need to. There's no such luxury in sales. On the other hand, there's thrill in the hunt, adrenaline in the chase and the promise of a reward if you've done your job well and right.
Now, if I could just time travel to where I'll be in six months or a year from now, I'll be walking in and closing like a champion (a possible exaggeration). As it is, I'm still a newbie. I'm hoping I can last to the finish line of the first year, when most new agents have given up and dropped out. Can I hold it together without breaking from the pack and running for the hills? I will say I have one thing going for me - I'm as stubborn as a mule when it comes to sticking it out and giving my all towards success. I've risen to the top tier of pretty much every job I've held by just staying in there and doing a good job, working my hardest and not losing sight of the goal. I can do this if I can just hold out and get there.
Let's drop into the energy side of the equation. I'm middle aged, so I'm not quite as energetic as the spring chickens around me. That may seem to put me on the fast track to failure, but while I'm not the fastest or most energetic, that isn't what actually wins this game. The young look for the quick reward nowadays. If they try it for a few weeks or even just days and don't see immediate reward, some of them are out the door onto another job that looks more promising. I know the value of the slow and steady progression to not just sales but also expertise in the field. Getting to know your products, the sales cycle and your customers takes a while to discover and absorb until you feel like a sales call is second nature, overcoming an objection is child's play and riding the wave to success seems like it was always destined to be. There's a real value to seeing the veterans in the office and knowing they were in the same boat as you when they started. They overcame their inexperience and blossomed into successful professionals. I'm banking on my persistence and tenacity to get me there as well.
I'm fortunate that I'm middle-aged and not a little more advanced in age. It hasn't affected my memory; I'm still able to do the repetitious study and practice that begets expertise. Were I to try starting this career in my later years, I'm not sure my mind and focus would be up to the task. In truth, the only thing I do wish is that I'd started a little earlier in life. Then, I'd be enjoying the fruits of my labors instead of just starting up the hill. Unfortunately, there's only so much focus to go around - my concentration has to be centered on my job and that definitely affects my writing.
I started book three shortly before I left Texas. It had a promising start, but the stress and activities surrounding the move (and marketing book one) simply drove my concentration from the writing that needed to be done to progress on book three. Truth be told, it doesn't matter in the short term. Book two is months away from being published, although it has been completed. It's now moving at the typical glacial pace of a major publisher, although it's a smaller press involved. There's really no rush to complete book three. Hence, I get to concentrate on becoming better at insurance sales in the mean time.
In all honestly, the transition has been refreshing. Writing led to my time in the acting profession, which increased my improvisational skills and, really, that's at the core of making cold calls on a telephone. The split second reactions you make are at the core of making the first step in a sale - the appointment. My time in IT led to both looking for solutions and handling customer issues which is really at the heart of the sales cycle of finding out what the client needs and then presenting them suitable options.I love helping people and this job actually gets to the core of that desire - I help people transfer the risks they sometimes don't even realize they have to the insurance company. They get protection and piece of mind.
And in the end, doesn't that make it worth the grind?
Regards,
Artemus
P.S. You may have noticed me having a bit of fun with the links in the blog. Some are spot on and others take a bit of thinking to connect what I mean with the link. Just wanted to show you I'm still thinking and trying marketing all at the same time!
Launching into a new career is exciting and frightening all at the same time. You see the fruits of the labors of the veterans around you, realize it will take some time to get to that level and, oh my, how am I going to put food on the table? I've embraced the new job and put all my time and energy into making it work. I've been lucky to have such great team members sharing their expertise and showing me the ropes. They've really built an incredible teaching culture here. Even so, it's been a bit of touch and go with the finances. My checking account has dropped below zero more than once in the last three months, and that's not something I've seen happen since the I was laid off ten years ago. This career is all sales and commission. There is no salary. You take a break, you starve (unless you've been so successful, you've built up a hefty nest egg to take time off). I have no nest egg. It's actually going to be a sprint for the next year or two just to keep the creditors at bay. It's frightening that I can't just show up to work, "dial it in," put my butt in a chair and coast for the day if I need to. There's no such luxury in sales. On the other hand, there's thrill in the hunt, adrenaline in the chase and the promise of a reward if you've done your job well and right.
Now, if I could just time travel to where I'll be in six months or a year from now, I'll be walking in and closing like a champion (a possible exaggeration). As it is, I'm still a newbie. I'm hoping I can last to the finish line of the first year, when most new agents have given up and dropped out. Can I hold it together without breaking from the pack and running for the hills? I will say I have one thing going for me - I'm as stubborn as a mule when it comes to sticking it out and giving my all towards success. I've risen to the top tier of pretty much every job I've held by just staying in there and doing a good job, working my hardest and not losing sight of the goal. I can do this if I can just hold out and get there.
Let's drop into the energy side of the equation. I'm middle aged, so I'm not quite as energetic as the spring chickens around me. That may seem to put me on the fast track to failure, but while I'm not the fastest or most energetic, that isn't what actually wins this game. The young look for the quick reward nowadays. If they try it for a few weeks or even just days and don't see immediate reward, some of them are out the door onto another job that looks more promising. I know the value of the slow and steady progression to not just sales but also expertise in the field. Getting to know your products, the sales cycle and your customers takes a while to discover and absorb until you feel like a sales call is second nature, overcoming an objection is child's play and riding the wave to success seems like it was always destined to be. There's a real value to seeing the veterans in the office and knowing they were in the same boat as you when they started. They overcame their inexperience and blossomed into successful professionals. I'm banking on my persistence and tenacity to get me there as well.
I'm fortunate that I'm middle-aged and not a little more advanced in age. It hasn't affected my memory; I'm still able to do the repetitious study and practice that begets expertise. Were I to try starting this career in my later years, I'm not sure my mind and focus would be up to the task. In truth, the only thing I do wish is that I'd started a little earlier in life. Then, I'd be enjoying the fruits of my labors instead of just starting up the hill. Unfortunately, there's only so much focus to go around - my concentration has to be centered on my job and that definitely affects my writing.
I started book three shortly before I left Texas. It had a promising start, but the stress and activities surrounding the move (and marketing book one) simply drove my concentration from the writing that needed to be done to progress on book three. Truth be told, it doesn't matter in the short term. Book two is months away from being published, although it has been completed. It's now moving at the typical glacial pace of a major publisher, although it's a smaller press involved. There's really no rush to complete book three. Hence, I get to concentrate on becoming better at insurance sales in the mean time.
In all honestly, the transition has been refreshing. Writing led to my time in the acting profession, which increased my improvisational skills and, really, that's at the core of making cold calls on a telephone. The split second reactions you make are at the core of making the first step in a sale - the appointment. My time in IT led to both looking for solutions and handling customer issues which is really at the heart of the sales cycle of finding out what the client needs and then presenting them suitable options.I love helping people and this job actually gets to the core of that desire - I help people transfer the risks they sometimes don't even realize they have to the insurance company. They get protection and piece of mind.
And in the end, doesn't that make it worth the grind?
Regards,
Artemus
P.S. You may have noticed me having a bit of fun with the links in the blog. Some are spot on and others take a bit of thinking to connect what I mean with the link. Just wanted to show you I'm still thinking and trying marketing all at the same time!
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Beaten and Broken!
So dramatic. I do admit to being beaten and broken (nearly) when it comes to getting reviews. I haven't given up entirely, but the tradition routes have offered little in the way of fruit. My request for reviews have, in a sense, been almost completely fruitless!
FAIR WARNING: This blog post gets a bit analytical...you've been warned...in triplicate!
Try as I might, the simple request for reviews from family, friends, old co-workers, fellow writers and even the mailman have come up practically empty. I did manage to get one friend, who I haven't ever met in person, to write a review for Mishaps after he downloaded a copy of it and read it during the free Amazon giveaway period. He rated it a 4, which I value highly as a well reasoned review accompanying the rating.
Is Mishaps and Mayhem any good? I've actually gotten raves about it in person - one enthusiastic reader laughed out loud while reading it during a convention as I chatted with someone else. They liked it so much, they bought Adventures as well! This was a fellow author. If I can make a fellow author laugh, it must be at least passably decent writing. Of the other comments I've had about that book, they've loved it. To be fair, I actually wrote the prequel AFTER writing book one and two, so I had a really good handle on my characters, writing style and insight from the editing process on Adventures - it was, in short, the third book I'd written, so it should be pretty good, right?
Onto Adventures of Reztap! Is it any good? My editor, publisher and another friend (who read the first edition) thought it was a great laugh and good fun! I'll have to find out if my author friend liked it as much, hopefully at the upcoming Comicpalooza here in Houston. I will be attending the convention and displaying and selling my wares at a booth rented by Triscelle Publishing - they were so impressed with the books they offered to give me shelf space to sell Mishaps and Mayhem and Adventures alongside their own books. I feel incredibly honored that they have shared that space and their time and effort to help me get a leg up. I wasn't able to get a booth at Comicpalooza this year, so that's my only way of getting exposure. Very nice people at Triscelle Publishing! (They offered after several hours of interaction and upon a reading of one of my books - I did NOT ask. This was a gracious gift, not a negotiation after I requested anything - so please don't pester them, but do buy their books!)
But, what does that have to do with reviews? The author who loves my book hasn't written a review, and I know she loves it! What's a writer to do? I've met the system halfway. Amazon does allow for free copies to be given away in exchange for an honest review (provided the reviewer include the following disclaimer "I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review" in their review.) Easy as pie, right?
Consider Mishaps and Mayhem was free for five days, downloaded countless times (I really don't know how many times - only my publisher does and they haven't told me yet - but it was in the top 7,000 free Kindle downloads by the end), and I personally requested a group of friends to download it (for FREE) and please review it - and I got ONE review! So, no, not easy at all. Luckily (I hope), I found a service that will post my free offer to prospective reviewers with the implied agreement they will post an honest review in exchange for the free eBook. Enter Choosy Bookworm! Don't applaud just yet, the service to post my book offer isn't free, but I'm at a desperate point for some reviews. You can't pay for reviews (according to Amazon's term of service), which this does not do. I'm paying an advertising fee to get my "book offer" in front of "mostly" reliable reviewers. The reviewers themselves get no money - they only get a free eBook.
Interested in a free eBook of The Adventures of Reztap? Check out the page at Choosy Bookworm and sign up!
So, I still haven't gone down the "disreputable road" of paying for reviews. Are other authors paying to get reviews? I checked out the top twenty or so best selling Amazon science fiction eBooks. The range of reviews rank from 2 to literally over 10,000! None have "zero" reviews. The ones with few reviews appear to have a built-in audience - these are writers who have already gathered a large number of fans/readers, so the reviews may not mean that much in relation to sales. The only correlation I saw for sales was no one had "no" reviews. Did anyone pay for them, though? Not that I could tell. I'm also not an expert at culling through reams of data looking for patterns. I'd give you a detailed analysis of my research methods, but that would be painfully boring. Suffice it to say, I see some value in having a few reviews. I don't necessarily need 10,000!
With no built-in fan base, I'm starting from scratch. I didn't see any debut authors in the top twenty list. That may be something to hope for a few books down the line or maybe even with another series after I've built up a solid foundation of readers and fans. I'm SOOOO jumping the gun that I'll actually build a foundation of fans, but I'm trying to be optimistic here! I'm hoping I see good sales after another book or two comes out. I have to prime the pump beforehand with advance copies to get reviews on Amazon as SOON as book two comes out.
I think that's about all the analytics you're going to get from me tonight. Happy reviewing!
Regards,
Artemus
FAIR WARNING: This blog post gets a bit analytical...you've been warned...in triplicate!
Try as I might, the simple request for reviews from family, friends, old co-workers, fellow writers and even the mailman have come up practically empty. I did manage to get one friend, who I haven't ever met in person, to write a review for Mishaps after he downloaded a copy of it and read it during the free Amazon giveaway period. He rated it a 4, which I value highly as a well reasoned review accompanying the rating.
Is Mishaps and Mayhem any good? I've actually gotten raves about it in person - one enthusiastic reader laughed out loud while reading it during a convention as I chatted with someone else. They liked it so much, they bought Adventures as well! This was a fellow author. If I can make a fellow author laugh, it must be at least passably decent writing. Of the other comments I've had about that book, they've loved it. To be fair, I actually wrote the prequel AFTER writing book one and two, so I had a really good handle on my characters, writing style and insight from the editing process on Adventures - it was, in short, the third book I'd written, so it should be pretty good, right?
Onto Adventures of Reztap! Is it any good? My editor, publisher and another friend (who read the first edition) thought it was a great laugh and good fun! I'll have to find out if my author friend liked it as much, hopefully at the upcoming Comicpalooza here in Houston. I will be attending the convention and displaying and selling my wares at a booth rented by Triscelle Publishing - they were so impressed with the books they offered to give me shelf space to sell Mishaps and Mayhem and Adventures alongside their own books. I feel incredibly honored that they have shared that space and their time and effort to help me get a leg up. I wasn't able to get a booth at Comicpalooza this year, so that's my only way of getting exposure. Very nice people at Triscelle Publishing! (They offered after several hours of interaction and upon a reading of one of my books - I did NOT ask. This was a gracious gift, not a negotiation after I requested anything - so please don't pester them, but do buy their books!)
But, what does that have to do with reviews? The author who loves my book hasn't written a review, and I know she loves it! What's a writer to do? I've met the system halfway. Amazon does allow for free copies to be given away in exchange for an honest review (provided the reviewer include the following disclaimer "I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review" in their review.) Easy as pie, right?
Consider Mishaps and Mayhem was free for five days, downloaded countless times (I really don't know how many times - only my publisher does and they haven't told me yet - but it was in the top 7,000 free Kindle downloads by the end), and I personally requested a group of friends to download it (for FREE) and please review it - and I got ONE review! So, no, not easy at all. Luckily (I hope), I found a service that will post my free offer to prospective reviewers with the implied agreement they will post an honest review in exchange for the free eBook. Enter Choosy Bookworm! Don't applaud just yet, the service to post my book offer isn't free, but I'm at a desperate point for some reviews. You can't pay for reviews (according to Amazon's term of service), which this does not do. I'm paying an advertising fee to get my "book offer" in front of "mostly" reliable reviewers. The reviewers themselves get no money - they only get a free eBook.
Interested in a free eBook of The Adventures of Reztap? Check out the page at Choosy Bookworm and sign up!
So, I still haven't gone down the "disreputable road" of paying for reviews. Are other authors paying to get reviews? I checked out the top twenty or so best selling Amazon science fiction eBooks. The range of reviews rank from 2 to literally over 10,000! None have "zero" reviews. The ones with few reviews appear to have a built-in audience - these are writers who have already gathered a large number of fans/readers, so the reviews may not mean that much in relation to sales. The only correlation I saw for sales was no one had "no" reviews. Did anyone pay for them, though? Not that I could tell. I'm also not an expert at culling through reams of data looking for patterns. I'd give you a detailed analysis of my research methods, but that would be painfully boring. Suffice it to say, I see some value in having a few reviews. I don't necessarily need 10,000!
With no built-in fan base, I'm starting from scratch. I didn't see any debut authors in the top twenty list. That may be something to hope for a few books down the line or maybe even with another series after I've built up a solid foundation of readers and fans. I'm SOOOO jumping the gun that I'll actually build a foundation of fans, but I'm trying to be optimistic here! I'm hoping I see good sales after another book or two comes out. I have to prime the pump beforehand with advance copies to get reviews on Amazon as SOON as book two comes out.
I think that's about all the analytics you're going to get from me tonight. Happy reviewing!
Regards,
Artemus
Sunday, April 26, 2015
Reztap and the Quest for the Insane Moth - Book 2 News
We're flying to the next book in the Chronicles of Reztap series - Reztap and the Quest for the Insane Moth! See what I did there - flying? OK, bad joke. The Quest manuscript and cover are completed while the editing has just started. It feels like I did this just a few months ago with Book One - oh, that's because I did just do this a few months ago!
The manuscript for Quest was done faster than the manuscript for Book One (Adventures), which technically had it's infancy in the 1980s. Given that time frame, Adventures took roughly 30 years to complete! Really, though, I was maturing as a writer during that time, with countless revisions, writing group critiques and some writing workshops thrown in there the last ten years. The previous twenty was more of a life happens delay, with sporadic writing occurring here and there including two Star Trek: The Next Generation scripts - which sadly never saw or had a chance at production.
Book Two took about eight months. The lightning round began in June when I figured full time writing would be a fine career transition, and that's when I really put the steam and brought the final manuscript to my soon to be publisher, Chart House Press, in August. That included a great deal of part-time writing, but it really paled in comparison to writing the prequel, Mishaps and Mayhem - A Primer to The Adventures of Reztap. I wrote that 100-page set of three short stories in three weeks (the bulk of which was roughly 80 - pages in the last six days before I sent it in.) That was a real eye opener to my writing abilities - I clocked over 5,000 words one day. To put it bluntly, that's insane, but it worked. I was in the groove so to speak.
If you managed to get out to see me at the Houston's Authors Bash 2015, AggieCon 46 or the MenilFest last weekend, you would have seen the cover art for Quest. I know I have many fans who are not able to make it in person out to see me, but I'm not quite at liberty to the cover at this time. Quest is a darker book by far than Adventures and that is reflected in the cover art. It's dark and populated with zombies! It does play a bit on the zombie tropes out there - I hope my Adventures blurb writer, Joe McKinney, continues to have a healthy sense of humor as I'm traipsing a bit on his territory being one of the foremost in the zombie field (see his Dead City book series for some great, fast-paced zombie action!)
Jerrica Law did a fantastic job on the art of the Quest book cover. She's really nailed the vision I had for the covers and delivered great cover art. Book Zero (Mishaps) was actually a quick revision of a sketch she originally did for the Adventures book cover which I rejected since Adventures didn't involve a shipwreck. Mishaps did and that helped her get the cover out quick for the quick to write, quick to press prequel. She's currently hard at work on the book cover for the third book in the series. I won't reveal the name just yet for a few reasons - I like suspense and I'm not under contract with my publisher for it yet, so the delivery date and publication are nowhere close to set in stone. I've only just barely begun to write it as well. Marketing and coordination for the first two books (and the prequel) have kept my attention away from the important task of writing the book. After Quest comes out, we'll see where we are with Chart House Press and find out if they're ready for the next set of books or not.
Then we have editing! This was my down with the first edition - not getting a professional editor. Second edition of Adventures is fully edited and is so immeasurably better than first edition that I shudder to open the fist edition to take a peek. The manuscript transition from third person to first person introduced so many writing mistakes that I overlooked on three personal editing passes that I knew it had to have the keen eye of a top notch editor to give it any hope of survival. Happily, Chart House Press connected me with Erika Wisdom, a fine editor and fan of science fiction. It's good to get an editor who is not only sharp, but also "gets it" when a humorous novel poking fun at science fiction tropes comes across her desk.
Erika will also be editing Quest! I'm very excited to continue what I consider a successful partnership with such a fine editor. She quite properly dissected Adventures, providing a bevy of corrections and suggestions, putting the manuscript in excellent shape. After I completed my run-through of incorporating everything she had exhaustively done, I then had to go back and look at my own changes with a fine tooth comb to make sure I hadn't introduced further errors with my own revisions. I think I nailed it, although a last minute grammar check revealed a few things I'd overlooked. Still, it was a much better experience than I thought it would be - I'm very happy with the final product and look forward to the same experience with Quest.
Stay tuned for a revelation of the book cover for Quest - coming soon!
Regards,
Artemus
The manuscript for Quest was done faster than the manuscript for Book One (Adventures), which technically had it's infancy in the 1980s. Given that time frame, Adventures took roughly 30 years to complete! Really, though, I was maturing as a writer during that time, with countless revisions, writing group critiques and some writing workshops thrown in there the last ten years. The previous twenty was more of a life happens delay, with sporadic writing occurring here and there including two Star Trek: The Next Generation scripts - which sadly never saw or had a chance at production.
Book Two took about eight months. The lightning round began in June when I figured full time writing would be a fine career transition, and that's when I really put the steam and brought the final manuscript to my soon to be publisher, Chart House Press, in August. That included a great deal of part-time writing, but it really paled in comparison to writing the prequel, Mishaps and Mayhem - A Primer to The Adventures of Reztap. I wrote that 100-page set of three short stories in three weeks (the bulk of which was roughly 80 - pages in the last six days before I sent it in.) That was a real eye opener to my writing abilities - I clocked over 5,000 words one day. To put it bluntly, that's insane, but it worked. I was in the groove so to speak.
If you managed to get out to see me at the Houston's Authors Bash 2015, AggieCon 46 or the MenilFest last weekend, you would have seen the cover art for Quest. I know I have many fans who are not able to make it in person out to see me, but I'm not quite at liberty to the cover at this time. Quest is a darker book by far than Adventures and that is reflected in the cover art. It's dark and populated with zombies! It does play a bit on the zombie tropes out there - I hope my Adventures blurb writer, Joe McKinney, continues to have a healthy sense of humor as I'm traipsing a bit on his territory being one of the foremost in the zombie field (see his Dead City book series for some great, fast-paced zombie action!)
Jerrica Law did a fantastic job on the art of the Quest book cover. She's really nailed the vision I had for the covers and delivered great cover art. Book Zero (Mishaps) was actually a quick revision of a sketch she originally did for the Adventures book cover which I rejected since Adventures didn't involve a shipwreck. Mishaps did and that helped her get the cover out quick for the quick to write, quick to press prequel. She's currently hard at work on the book cover for the third book in the series. I won't reveal the name just yet for a few reasons - I like suspense and I'm not under contract with my publisher for it yet, so the delivery date and publication are nowhere close to set in stone. I've only just barely begun to write it as well. Marketing and coordination for the first two books (and the prequel) have kept my attention away from the important task of writing the book. After Quest comes out, we'll see where we are with Chart House Press and find out if they're ready for the next set of books or not.
Then we have editing! This was my down with the first edition - not getting a professional editor. Second edition of Adventures is fully edited and is so immeasurably better than first edition that I shudder to open the fist edition to take a peek. The manuscript transition from third person to first person introduced so many writing mistakes that I overlooked on three personal editing passes that I knew it had to have the keen eye of a top notch editor to give it any hope of survival. Happily, Chart House Press connected me with Erika Wisdom, a fine editor and fan of science fiction. It's good to get an editor who is not only sharp, but also "gets it" when a humorous novel poking fun at science fiction tropes comes across her desk.
Erika will also be editing Quest! I'm very excited to continue what I consider a successful partnership with such a fine editor. She quite properly dissected Adventures, providing a bevy of corrections and suggestions, putting the manuscript in excellent shape. After I completed my run-through of incorporating everything she had exhaustively done, I then had to go back and look at my own changes with a fine tooth comb to make sure I hadn't introduced further errors with my own revisions. I think I nailed it, although a last minute grammar check revealed a few things I'd overlooked. Still, it was a much better experience than I thought it would be - I'm very happy with the final product and look forward to the same experience with Quest.
Stay tuned for a revelation of the book cover for Quest - coming soon!
Regards,
Artemus
Thursday, April 9, 2015
If You Liked It, Then You Should Have Put a Review On It!
My apologies to Beyonce, but she does have a point especially in these days of books being ranked on Amazon by reviews they get. There are a lot of controversies regarding positive reviews, negative reviews and purchasing reviews. But when you're a brand new writer trying to make an impact on Amazon, what are you supposed to do?
Positive reviews on Amazon are amazing when it comes to how Amazon markets your book. You get bumped up on "what buyers looked at" type of link lists and pages. People who go to your page and see it has been reviewed dozens or hundreds of times are more likely to consider taking a chance on your book. Amazon has built a culture among authors of encouraging them to get reviews or risk being dropped into the bottom ranks of obscurity, rarely ever getting a chance to get seen by random book shoppers. Interestingly enough, there are some shoppers who immediately ignore 4 and 5 star reviews because they they have been purchased or are somehow fraudulent otherwise. The problem with this tactic is that some of those reviews are honest and once you get into 3 star territory, that is where people who don't like the book or possibly competitors will say how bad a book is to purposefully give it "bad press". Truth be told, no one pays for 3 star reviews. My personal feeling is this applies more to consumer products as opposed to books, but you can still run into an ex-significant other who may want to cream your book for the sheer joyful malice of the act.
Negative reviews are an interesting concept. Sure, an avalanche of bad reviews may keep you from getting a product, but Amazon is infamously lax in weeding out unscrupulous reviews by competitors. Just like the recent Indiana Pizzeria controversy, there can be a flood of bad things to say about the place by people who've never been there if they have an agenda to press. Alternatively, that same location has gotten a ridiculous amount of donations to support it - "they'll never have to sell pizzas again" type of support. Like the Yelp review site, it's incredibly hard to get rid of bad reviews whether deserved or not. Unfortunately, without some kind of review process, it's impossible to manage these reviews for their consistency and truthfulness.
Enter the purchased reviews! These are specifically against the Amazon terms of agreement. You cannot "pay" someone for a review. Amazon is even going to court against some of these purchase review sites. These sites have conflicting language about how they go about getting these reviews posted. Some of it states the "reviewer" will not have to actually buy the product to write the review. Other language says to send the reviewer an empty box, so they can still be a "verified buyer". In other words, these sites are using Amazon's rules and tactics against them to get around the intention of the rules. Amazon is so big, it's nearly impossible for them to sift through the billions of reviews on their site to find the ones that may be bogus. They can't review every purchase and confirm a product was actually sent or an empty box. In short, while Amazon may fight these sites in court, it's unlikely they'll be able to stop the bogus reviews from coming in from other providers. The really crazy thing? This doesn't mean the products or books purchasing these reviews are bad; they're just trying to work the system like others already have, including the larger companies that post their own bogus reviews via pseudofake accounts without ever going to an outside provider. If the big businesses are doing it, why can't the smaller businesses and independent authors?
The obvious answer is - it is dishonest. The disturbing realization is - you the consumer and the honest product providers are getting hosed by a system designed to be taken advantage of, even if it is "against Amazon policies". So, here's my challenge to you consumers and readers out there. Post reviews of the products you use and the books you read! isn't hard and is only a little time consuming, but by doing this you will reduce the demand for the fraudulent review providers. If you've bought and used the product on Amazon, post a review of the product and the company you purchased it from! Viva la revolution and all that jazz.
It is incredibly hard to get a review of your book (and even your product) from your trues readers/consumers. I know, I've tried. I realize I've sold many books, some even given away for free. I have one review for one of my two books. It's been a whole month. I've personally asked people buying from me IN PERSON to review the books. Nada. I have a single review from a friend who downloaded a free copy from Amazon during the free promo period. Don't get excited - I asked 15 friends. With that kind of response, you may be able to see why authors and companies resort to purchasing reviews. I've had people literally gush about how much they enjoyed my book...in person. Those same people will not write a review for it. I'm in a quandry. I know it's a good book, but I can't get reviews to save my life. It really is a head scratcher.
I would be totally jazzed if you bought The Adventures of Reztap and/or the prequel short story book Mishaps and Mayhem - A Primer for The Adventures of Reztap AND WROTE A REVIEW! However, I would be equally happy if you looked at the last things you purchased from Amazon and did your due diligence and wrote a short review of that product and/or company you purchased it from. Get out there and make Amazon reviews a truer reflection of the consumer experience! If you don't, you're going to continue to read purchased reviews and possibly experience a negative result from trusting them.
So what's it going to be America, United Kingdom, Australia and India? I hope you step in and make this baby your own! I'll let you know if I see any results on my end in about a month or so.
Keep on reviewing!
Regards,
Artemus
Positive reviews on Amazon are amazing when it comes to how Amazon markets your book. You get bumped up on "what buyers looked at" type of link lists and pages. People who go to your page and see it has been reviewed dozens or hundreds of times are more likely to consider taking a chance on your book. Amazon has built a culture among authors of encouraging them to get reviews or risk being dropped into the bottom ranks of obscurity, rarely ever getting a chance to get seen by random book shoppers. Interestingly enough, there are some shoppers who immediately ignore 4 and 5 star reviews because they they have been purchased or are somehow fraudulent otherwise. The problem with this tactic is that some of those reviews are honest and once you get into 3 star territory, that is where people who don't like the book or possibly competitors will say how bad a book is to purposefully give it "bad press". Truth be told, no one pays for 3 star reviews. My personal feeling is this applies more to consumer products as opposed to books, but you can still run into an ex-significant other who may want to cream your book for the sheer joyful malice of the act.
Negative reviews are an interesting concept. Sure, an avalanche of bad reviews may keep you from getting a product, but Amazon is infamously lax in weeding out unscrupulous reviews by competitors. Just like the recent Indiana Pizzeria controversy, there can be a flood of bad things to say about the place by people who've never been there if they have an agenda to press. Alternatively, that same location has gotten a ridiculous amount of donations to support it - "they'll never have to sell pizzas again" type of support. Like the Yelp review site, it's incredibly hard to get rid of bad reviews whether deserved or not. Unfortunately, without some kind of review process, it's impossible to manage these reviews for their consistency and truthfulness.
Enter the purchased reviews! These are specifically against the Amazon terms of agreement. You cannot "pay" someone for a review. Amazon is even going to court against some of these purchase review sites. These sites have conflicting language about how they go about getting these reviews posted. Some of it states the "reviewer" will not have to actually buy the product to write the review. Other language says to send the reviewer an empty box, so they can still be a "verified buyer". In other words, these sites are using Amazon's rules and tactics against them to get around the intention of the rules. Amazon is so big, it's nearly impossible for them to sift through the billions of reviews on their site to find the ones that may be bogus. They can't review every purchase and confirm a product was actually sent or an empty box. In short, while Amazon may fight these sites in court, it's unlikely they'll be able to stop the bogus reviews from coming in from other providers. The really crazy thing? This doesn't mean the products or books purchasing these reviews are bad; they're just trying to work the system like others already have, including the larger companies that post their own bogus reviews via pseudofake accounts without ever going to an outside provider. If the big businesses are doing it, why can't the smaller businesses and independent authors?
The obvious answer is - it is dishonest. The disturbing realization is - you the consumer and the honest product providers are getting hosed by a system designed to be taken advantage of, even if it is "against Amazon policies". So, here's my challenge to you consumers and readers out there. Post reviews of the products you use and the books you read! isn't hard and is only a little time consuming, but by doing this you will reduce the demand for the fraudulent review providers. If you've bought and used the product on Amazon, post a review of the product and the company you purchased it from! Viva la revolution and all that jazz.
It is incredibly hard to get a review of your book (and even your product) from your trues readers/consumers. I know, I've tried. I realize I've sold many books, some even given away for free. I have one review for one of my two books. It's been a whole month. I've personally asked people buying from me IN PERSON to review the books. Nada. I have a single review from a friend who downloaded a free copy from Amazon during the free promo period. Don't get excited - I asked 15 friends. With that kind of response, you may be able to see why authors and companies resort to purchasing reviews. I've had people literally gush about how much they enjoyed my book...in person. Those same people will not write a review for it. I'm in a quandry. I know it's a good book, but I can't get reviews to save my life. It really is a head scratcher.
I would be totally jazzed if you bought The Adventures of Reztap and/or the prequel short story book Mishaps and Mayhem - A Primer for The Adventures of Reztap AND WROTE A REVIEW! However, I would be equally happy if you looked at the last things you purchased from Amazon and did your due diligence and wrote a short review of that product and/or company you purchased it from. Get out there and make Amazon reviews a truer reflection of the consumer experience! If you don't, you're going to continue to read purchased reviews and possibly experience a negative result from trusting them.
So what's it going to be America, United Kingdom, Australia and India? I hope you step in and make this baby your own! I'll let you know if I see any results on my end in about a month or so.
Keep on reviewing!
Regards,
Artemus
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Reztap on Publishers Weekly Cover (Spring 2015 Catalog)
The Adventures of Reztap will be one of several covers that get the honor of being on the cover of the Spring 2015 catalog of Publishers Weekly! There were 50 candidates (those who offered the additional funds for the honor), but I believe it's pared down to a dozen or so that make the cover. The others get to be included in the catalog inside at the reduced price of the inside "ad."
What does it mean, though? What kind of impact will this have on the future of my first professionally published book? Publishers Weekly has 26,000 subscribers, so at the very least there's a high probability that 26,000 new people will see my book cover that hadn't originally. That also means there are some booksellers and librarians out there that might order my book, stock my book, or at least take a chance on it that may not have otherwise. So, it's a start.
What it doesn't mean covers a wide variety. The normal Publisher's Weekly magazine has book reviews in it, which can really give a book additional exposure and sales. This is the catalog, though. It's the guide to booksellers about what's new and available, with nothing but a book cover and a brief synopsis to sway them one way or the other towards stocking a book. There is no review. The booksellers have to take a chance and order it. It will be seen by agents and Hollywood producers as well. But I'm taking that with an incredibly large grain of salt; my impression of today's top movie making engines is they're looking for true stories to make compelling films from, not a science fiction comedy. Still, a writing agent could be interested, pick up the book and shoot me an email. I may get other works produced with that kind of contact.
On the side of sales - this is a smaller publisher. These books are typically print on demand. Do they have to give refunds on the books that booksellers stock or is that just considered a sale? OK, these really are questions I should ask my publisher and I will. Right now, to be honest, it's a little gray to me what kind of real impact this will have. Certainly nothing's guaranteed. I could accidentally hit right in the middle of a big upswing in sales of science fiction humor books and suddenly be near the crest of a wave of sales! Just as easily, however, there could be a glut of these kinds of books gathering dust on the bargain table at Barnes & Noble. It's essentially impossible to tell.
One thing I do know - this is not the only marketing aspect of The Adventures of Reztap's journey. There will be blog tours, convention appearances, book signings, etc. all coming down the pike. I'm excited and nervous at the same time. If I suddenly get a flood of book orders the month following the release of the Publishers Weekly Spring 2015 catalog, I will be sure to up date you all.
Regards,
Artemus
Regards,
Artemus
Saturday, February 21, 2015
A New Reztap On The Horizon
Busy is the word of the year. From the short story book to book one and two, there were so many activities punched into January and February, it's a little dizzying. March - September are looking crazy too!
First things first - I did get signed by the publishing company (Chart House Press). What does that mean exactly? Here are the nuts and bolts:
1. Small publishing house means no advance. I'm actually very okay with that since my initial intention in summer 2014 was to pay for an editor. Well, I still get to do that. The extra umph in the relationship comes from the marketing connections, expertise and some other services surrounding the publishing of the book. From a financial standpoint, it's a very real investment of time and some money on my part, but there's additional investment from the publishing company in other aspects of this (some of which I'll point out later). In other words, I did NOT get a big advance and can now retire to a South Pacific island and enjoy the fruits of my labors. OK, I was never going to do that anyway, but you get the point.
2. What exactly am I responsible for in this relationship? Web site (www.artemuswithers.com) is one. I'm responsible for setting it up, running it, paying for it, etc. That also means I own it, so there will be no struggle to disengage it from some parent corporation that wants to keep it. I like that as well. Of course, that also means getting my own web designer, handling technical problems, working on content, etc. It's a bit more work than, say, an author page off the publisher's website - but it's completely under my control and I'm a bit of a control freak when it comes to my image and content being out there.
Editing - I pay for editing fees, which I was already going to do. I'm very happy with the editor they selected (they have a stable of contracted editors they farm work out to). How is this a burden off my shoulders? I didn't have to search for an editor that would not just be good, but would also understand and maybe even appreciation a science fiction humor novel. That experience and connection with editing talent is huge! There was no two or three month long search for just the right editor - my publisher nailed it with their expertise and contacts. Believe me, when I got through with the editing process on the first book, I was so happy with the editor and the results.
Marketing - materials, knick knacks, swag, posters, table runners, and banners - all that stuff is on me. Again, I'm very okay with this. It's all under my control - I select what I want and how I want it. I have gotten suggestions from my publisher on what type of things I should be bringing to book signing, conventions, etc. There have been no directives on what I have to bring. I can spend as little or as much as I want on the process. In this aspect, I'm still very much in touch with the independent author feel, but not hanging out there without a safety net.
Cover art - This is actually a bit of a mixed bag. I've privately contracted my own cover artist to provide the art ( hats off to my Reztap cover artist Jerrica Law, a hard working recent college grad!). That gives me ownership of the images and ability to use them freely for my marketing materials, web site, whatever. My publisher does handle the lettering on the covers - title, author name, other info including the back cover blurb, info, etc. The in-house cover artist, Ida, does a fantastic job with not just the creation of the words on the cover, but also blending the front cover art to seamlessly flow to the back, picking out elements from the front to include on the back, etc. She's really a maestro at that. I've seen some of her other covers that involve the whole package, and she's a truly excellent cover artist in her own right. In the end, there's a lot of artistry going on for the covers, and I'm just responsible for paying for a single cover artist.
Production - The writing (and integration of editing notes). The initial writing of a book is a fun thing. I've found even the subsequent second and third drafts are fun in discovering new and better ways of getting my meaning across. As I'm a new author, my publisher (Chart House Press) wanted a small sample f my writing to send to the booksellers they have relationships with to let them know what kind of book they'd be getting if they pre-ordered book one (which isn't quite available yet). I was tasked to write a book of short stories from the Reztap universe. I found myself pressed up against my deadline with only 6,000 words done and I had to deliver 25,000. I managed to push out what I thought was okay work in about the space of a week. I literally wrote over 5,000 words one of those days. It was really impressive, in my humble opinion. But that is that heart of what I do - I'm the writer. No one else will be performing that task for me. Now I have several quality short stories to expand my readers' understanding of the universe I've created. Reviewing the marked up transcripts from the editor was actually refreshing. Instead of hunting through the pages trying to find out what I'd done wrong, a very knowledgeable editor (thank you Erika Wisdom!) painstakingly went through everything and delivered a word document highlighting all my writing sins along with some recommendations on how to repair the damage. Post editor, it's up to me to make changes, incorporate their suggestions and/or correct them as I see fit. My writing has improved tenfold from the experience.
Social media - that's pretty much on me, but the publisher does their share as well. My Twitter feed, Facebook posts and blog content right here are all my responsibility and under my control. Obviously, while I'm busy writing, the social media content gets neglected, so there's an interesting balance going on just with my media foot print.
Personal appearances - well, it's pretty obvious no one else can or should appear as me. Book signings, convention appearances and blog tours are all on me. The appearance part anyway.
3. What does the publisher bring to the table?
A lot more than you might think at first. I did mention some of what they do above (cover art layout, lettering, and selecting an appropriate editor), but there is much more on their plate. Things I really didn't think about before.
Publication - copy editor, book formatting, and all the technical details that go into registering books, listing books, and submitting books to booksellers. With my self-published books I did most of this myself, but not as well as I've seen my publisher do it.
Marketing - identifying marketing opportunities and listing on their own social media. This is all stuff I don't have to do (some of the marketing I should be doing to expand that arm, though). An add for The Adventures of Reztap will be appearing in the Spring edition of Publishers Weekly catalog - you know, that silly little thing all the booksellers look through to decide what they're going to stock on their shelves. Do you know how to get an add in there? Did you even think about the catalog before you read this?
Events - this is really a big one that I simple don't have the expertise, or time, to setup. I'm attending a small convention here in Katy with about one hundred fellow authors called the Houston Author Bash. It's not the first one, but I'd never heard of it before. That brings to mind how many other chances to press the flesh, so to speak, I haven't been doing as a self-published author? Don't get me wrong, there are self-published authors at this event as well, but I simply had no idea about the event or how to register. All taken care of by my publisher.
That's just one of many events being setup by my publisher. There's a book launch party next week, blog tours and book signings in the upcoming months, all of which my publisher is handling for me. I just have to show up and put in my time, sell books and meet some wonderful readers. Not having to set all of this up frees me up to actually write/edit. I can't even imagine the time it would take for me to figure out what and where to appear, set it up, and pay fees where appropriate. I don't have to do any of that (although, I will be discussing some upcoming conventions that may not be on my publisher's radar and I might indeed have to setup myself).
Social media - My name is on the Chart House Press web site. When they mention their authors and what the authors are doing, what books are coming out and what events they will appear at. This also flows to their Facebook site and Twitter feed.
Reach - this is kind of all encompassing, but it's a true measure of the value of a publisher over self-publishing. They know people (booksellers, fellow writers, other industry people, readers, reviewers, etc.) that I simply don't. Through those connections, my work is spread out across a much broader spectrum than I could initially manage on my own. I don't want to knock self-publishing - there are a great many authors who are very successful at it, but just as many who aren't because they don't know how to expand that reach beyond a small circle of friends and acquaintances.
Validation - someone in the writing business read my book, evaluated it, and decided it was worthwhile to publish. They're not just publishing my book - they're putting their name on it too. I'm humbled, honored and thrilled all at the same time. I get to call myself a published author. That's a gateway not many writers get to pass through.
Mechanics and know-how - there are so many things going on behind the scenes. There are things I haven't even contemplated that are going on in pursuit of my book being a success.
4. The last two months have been a whirlwind of activity. I written a short story book (Mishaps and Mayhem), incorporated edits for book one (The Adventures of Reztap), worked with my web designer on clearing technical hurdles to get my web site up and running, and juggled social media and event planning duties (planning my attendance and all the marketing pieces that go with that). I just got done approving the proof for Mishaps and Mayhem and ordered a bunch of them to have for next week's Houston Authors Bash (please come if you can - Mishaps and Mayhem only available at in-person events, you can't order it online or buy it from a bookstore).
The next four months will be incredibly busy too. Book one comes out March 9th, 2015 (I still have to approve the proof for that). Book two (Reztap and the Quest for the Insane Moth) will come out in early May 2015. I'll have to incorporate the edits, approve the cover art, and then approve the proof of book two. I have to WRITE book three. It is convention season - there are so many conventions to attend, Book signings, blog book tours, etc. I anticipate being busy each weekend through the end of September!
So, the real crazy time begins. I will do my best to keep things updated on the blog, but visiting my web site once it's fully operational will be the best way to keep up on events and appearances.
Keep writing and reading!
Regards,
Artemus
Monday, October 20, 2014
The Future of Reztap is at Hand!
A little update on the recent happenings with The Adventures of Reztap and subsequent books:
I was looking for an actual editor (other than myself, who didn't do such a great job) to edit my first self-published novel, The Adventures of Reztap. Several people enjoyed reading it, but a few of my writer friends mentioned there were some bad editing errors. Lesson learned - don't edit your own stuff. There are multiple benefits from getting an editor, the primary ones are your work is 99% free of editing errors and the books are then eligible to be covered by large book reviewers (who will not review a book unless it has been professionally edited).
I had self-published my first book mostly to learn the ins and outs of self-publishing. I think I've learned many valuable lessons and felt ready to get book one professionally edited as well as book two (which I finished at the beginning of October). So, I contacted a person I knew thru my wife who was a freelance editor. My reason for going local was to get someone close who I could meet with if needed. I also had a good feeling knowing what this editor had done in the past, so I was pretty comfortable going with her. I thought it was good to try to hire locally as well.
I contacted the editor. She talked to me for about twenty minutes about the book before I sent it to her. Turns out, she was no longer doing freelance editing. She was now Director of Publishing at a small press here locally and their company would be interested in looking at my book and possibly publishing it. My initial thoughts on a traditional publisher were that it was a shot in the foot financially for a writer. Traditional publishers offer a 15% royalty on average for writers on book sales. She mentioned they did higher royalties and I was immediately interested. I haven't seen a contract offer yet, but it's still much better at first glance than a traditional publisher. It may be she's referring to ebook royalties and not print, but the royalties she mentioned sounded inline with the ones you get from Amazon and the ebook aggregators who publish to Apple and Barnes & Noble. I knew this since I'd already self published to both and those were the rates.
Now, they're not one of the big six traditional publishing houses, so it stands to reason they've got their eye on how to compete in today's market and offer an attractive package to savvy writers. Honestly, a 50% run on a print book is worth the investment if they're going to edit my book as well. I don't know how they would manage a 70% royalty to the writer on a printed title, though. There's more overhead with printing, even on a print on demand (POD) basis that would make that a very tight margin for a publisher, so I'm kind of guessing I won't quite be getting that. With a typical POD basis, I was looking at getting maybe 30% of the cover price. CreateSpace (a division of Amazon) gives a 37% royalty on books purchased thru Amazon (where most sales would likely come from) and a 57% royalty on print titles thru the CreateSpace estore. I'm thinking for a smaller publisher than CreateSpace, a 50-70% royalty would be a little high. Then again, maybe I'm wrong and they've really been able to bring down the actual physical costs of printing a hard copy of a book. But really, I think she meant ebook rates and not print rates. I need to see a contract to be sure, but if nothing else, something better than 15% is going to peak my interest.
The thing I'm chomping at the bit about is speed, of course. It's been a little over five weeks since I submitted book one to the publisher. I know, that sounds like a reasonable enough time to get an answer, but consider what route I would go thru with a traditional publisher. First, I would submit the book. The soonest I would get a reply from a large publishing house would be six to eight weeks, although it could reasonably take several months longer...and that's just to get what would likely be a rejection slip on what would be a 15% royalty (max) if they published. I've actually got the ear of the Director of Publishing. She doesn't mind hearing from me once a week and giving me an update on progress. I simply would not get that thru a traditional publisher - in fact, I'd probably be dependent on my agent for all correspondence and negotiations with the publisher. Well, I don't have an agent, so I'm already skipping one piece of the process with a direct line to the publisher. Of course, the biggest factor in all of this is I was just looking to pay someone to edit my book for me; getting an offer to have it published (and hopefully get some kind of advance on it), well, I can only say it sounds like something I've dreamed of since I was in high school. I think I can wait a few weeks to see how this all plays out.
In the mean time, I finished my second book in the series (also submitted that to the editor) and compiled a short list of the future books I have planned in the series also with a short synopsis of each book. One of the things that had interested her in my initial conversation was my intentions to write sequels. I think they're looking for regular writers who produce often. I'm only too happy to oblige! Of course, if they pass on publishing, I'm really not out too much except a little bit of time. I have another local contact I can hire to edit the books and still self publish if it comes to that. The bonafide credentials of being a published writer (as opposed to self published) has its advantages though, so I'm hopefully it will work out.
Have to be honest here. I've also been pursuing a copywriting business venture, but I've been rethinking the whole thing since I've really gotten back into writing. I think I may just have to let it go. It's a shame, especially since I've put quite a bit of money into it, but the more I heard from my copywriting guru, the more it sounded to me like I should be writing novels and screenplays as opposed to doing copywriting. I'm going to take that gamble and run with it for a few months and see if it gets me where I want to go. I'm only a small advance from a publisher away from convincing the family to let me give it a shot! Copywriting business is still an option, but I'm putting it on hold right now. Kind of feel this is my best opportunity to pursue a real future in writing. Best I grab it while I can.
Felling optimistic. Hope you are too.
Artemus
I was looking for an actual editor (other than myself, who didn't do such a great job) to edit my first self-published novel, The Adventures of Reztap. Several people enjoyed reading it, but a few of my writer friends mentioned there were some bad editing errors. Lesson learned - don't edit your own stuff. There are multiple benefits from getting an editor, the primary ones are your work is 99% free of editing errors and the books are then eligible to be covered by large book reviewers (who will not review a book unless it has been professionally edited).
I had self-published my first book mostly to learn the ins and outs of self-publishing. I think I've learned many valuable lessons and felt ready to get book one professionally edited as well as book two (which I finished at the beginning of October). So, I contacted a person I knew thru my wife who was a freelance editor. My reason for going local was to get someone close who I could meet with if needed. I also had a good feeling knowing what this editor had done in the past, so I was pretty comfortable going with her. I thought it was good to try to hire locally as well.
I contacted the editor. She talked to me for about twenty minutes about the book before I sent it to her. Turns out, she was no longer doing freelance editing. She was now Director of Publishing at a small press here locally and their company would be interested in looking at my book and possibly publishing it. My initial thoughts on a traditional publisher were that it was a shot in the foot financially for a writer. Traditional publishers offer a 15% royalty on average for writers on book sales. She mentioned they did higher royalties and I was immediately interested. I haven't seen a contract offer yet, but it's still much better at first glance than a traditional publisher. It may be she's referring to ebook royalties and not print, but the royalties she mentioned sounded inline with the ones you get from Amazon and the ebook aggregators who publish to Apple and Barnes & Noble. I knew this since I'd already self published to both and those were the rates.
Now, they're not one of the big six traditional publishing houses, so it stands to reason they've got their eye on how to compete in today's market and offer an attractive package to savvy writers. Honestly, a 50% run on a print book is worth the investment if they're going to edit my book as well. I don't know how they would manage a 70% royalty to the writer on a printed title, though. There's more overhead with printing, even on a print on demand (POD) basis that would make that a very tight margin for a publisher, so I'm kind of guessing I won't quite be getting that. With a typical POD basis, I was looking at getting maybe 30% of the cover price. CreateSpace (a division of Amazon) gives a 37% royalty on books purchased thru Amazon (where most sales would likely come from) and a 57% royalty on print titles thru the CreateSpace estore. I'm thinking for a smaller publisher than CreateSpace, a 50-70% royalty would be a little high. Then again, maybe I'm wrong and they've really been able to bring down the actual physical costs of printing a hard copy of a book. But really, I think she meant ebook rates and not print rates. I need to see a contract to be sure, but if nothing else, something better than 15% is going to peak my interest.
The thing I'm chomping at the bit about is speed, of course. It's been a little over five weeks since I submitted book one to the publisher. I know, that sounds like a reasonable enough time to get an answer, but consider what route I would go thru with a traditional publisher. First, I would submit the book. The soonest I would get a reply from a large publishing house would be six to eight weeks, although it could reasonably take several months longer...and that's just to get what would likely be a rejection slip on what would be a 15% royalty (max) if they published. I've actually got the ear of the Director of Publishing. She doesn't mind hearing from me once a week and giving me an update on progress. I simply would not get that thru a traditional publisher - in fact, I'd probably be dependent on my agent for all correspondence and negotiations with the publisher. Well, I don't have an agent, so I'm already skipping one piece of the process with a direct line to the publisher. Of course, the biggest factor in all of this is I was just looking to pay someone to edit my book for me; getting an offer to have it published (and hopefully get some kind of advance on it), well, I can only say it sounds like something I've dreamed of since I was in high school. I think I can wait a few weeks to see how this all plays out.
In the mean time, I finished my second book in the series (also submitted that to the editor) and compiled a short list of the future books I have planned in the series also with a short synopsis of each book. One of the things that had interested her in my initial conversation was my intentions to write sequels. I think they're looking for regular writers who produce often. I'm only too happy to oblige! Of course, if they pass on publishing, I'm really not out too much except a little bit of time. I have another local contact I can hire to edit the books and still self publish if it comes to that. The bonafide credentials of being a published writer (as opposed to self published) has its advantages though, so I'm hopefully it will work out.
Have to be honest here. I've also been pursuing a copywriting business venture, but I've been rethinking the whole thing since I've really gotten back into writing. I think I may just have to let it go. It's a shame, especially since I've put quite a bit of money into it, but the more I heard from my copywriting guru, the more it sounded to me like I should be writing novels and screenplays as opposed to doing copywriting. I'm going to take that gamble and run with it for a few months and see if it gets me where I want to go. I'm only a small advance from a publisher away from convincing the family to let me give it a shot! Copywriting business is still an option, but I'm putting it on hold right now. Kind of feel this is my best opportunity to pursue a real future in writing. Best I grab it while I can.
Felling optimistic. Hope you are too.
Artemus
Friday, July 27, 2012
Tracking the Oiled Ferret (Sales)
With all this discussion about pricing and effects on sales, a sobering thought entered my befuddled brain. These are barely real-time statistics I am referencing for my conclusions.
Amazon and Smashwords are relatively on-time with their notifications of sales and how much that will put in my account. I recently received a nice little sum of money from both of them for sales in May and June. That was the end of the second quarter.
The next payments, no matter how many I sell, won't com until the end of October. I can still track sales for those two sites, but the long-term result is still a quarterly payment.
The real challenge will be tracking the sales for the Premium Distribution channel. All those web sites report sales roughly quarterly. My fancy little price change for testing won't yield any measurable results for those channels until October. That's a very long waiting game.
Advice to the other self-publishers out there - just be ready for a long game - this is not a quick one-handed poker challenge, it's a long yacht voyage around the world.
We'll table the discussion of where the book ranks in sales for another day.
Artemus
Amazon and Smashwords are relatively on-time with their notifications of sales and how much that will put in my account. I recently received a nice little sum of money from both of them for sales in May and June. That was the end of the second quarter.
The next payments, no matter how many I sell, won't com until the end of October. I can still track sales for those two sites, but the long-term result is still a quarterly payment.
The real challenge will be tracking the sales for the Premium Distribution channel. All those web sites report sales roughly quarterly. My fancy little price change for testing won't yield any measurable results for those channels until October. That's a very long waiting game.
Advice to the other self-publishers out there - just be ready for a long game - this is not a quick one-handed poker challenge, it's a long yacht voyage around the world.
We'll table the discussion of where the book ranks in sales for another day.
Artemus
The Paradigm Shift - eBook Pricing
I've seen many articles relating to how to price eBooks. I've had feedback on how The Adventures of Reztap eBook is priced ($4.99) where the paperback is $12.95. That is about a 62% discount - which seems to be in line with other pricing I've seen.
On the high side, there has been some discussion about $9.99 being the average price for a fiction eBook. I would venture that is also an average couple of more pages than my mdoest entry at 180 pages. Still, I don't think there are an average 360 pages to all those fiction eBooks, so the pricing still seems more than fair from that standpoint.
However, I have also seen articles and stories about pricing the eBook at $2.99. This is the minimum pricing at which the author can still get a 70% royalty on Amazon, so I think that is whre this bottom line pricing figure has emerged from. If you go below $2.99, your royalty drops to 35%. On Amazon, you can't price below $0.99. You can get free eBooks onto Amazon by offering them free elsewhere (like Smashwords) and Amazon finds out and "price matches" your eBook. But that's not a tried and true method; it's just what I've heard. If you enter the KDP Select program, that is a zero cost for your eBook for Prime members, while the author gets a piece of a $600,000 pie - really only about $2 per book checkout by the Prime member.
In the interest of testing, I'm going to drop my eBook to $2.99 on Amazon and Smashwords. This first book is all about discovering what works and what doesn't. It may take a while for the price change to filter out to the other platforms that get the digital eBook from Samashwords (Barnes and Noble, iTunes, Kobo, Diesel, etc.) I will let you, my intrepid companions on this ePublishing adventure, know what the outcome of the price change is. Be warned, the price changes set may not take effect for a few days - I've already taken steps to change the prices - for instance, now the eBook is unavailable on Amazon until they review the eBook again, a process which could take up to 48 hours.
Other strategies include giving the first book in a series away free to drive sales of other books in the series. Unfortunately, the other books in my series have yet to be written/published, so it doesn't so much apply to me at this time. In a year, that will be a different story and a different blog post.
Happy Pricing!
Artemus
You can download The Adventures of Reztap from Amazon, Smashwords, iTunes (look in iBooks on iPhone or iPad), Barnes and Noble, Kobo and Diesel.
On the high side, there has been some discussion about $9.99 being the average price for a fiction eBook. I would venture that is also an average couple of more pages than my mdoest entry at 180 pages. Still, I don't think there are an average 360 pages to all those fiction eBooks, so the pricing still seems more than fair from that standpoint.
However, I have also seen articles and stories about pricing the eBook at $2.99. This is the minimum pricing at which the author can still get a 70% royalty on Amazon, so I think that is whre this bottom line pricing figure has emerged from. If you go below $2.99, your royalty drops to 35%. On Amazon, you can't price below $0.99. You can get free eBooks onto Amazon by offering them free elsewhere (like Smashwords) and Amazon finds out and "price matches" your eBook. But that's not a tried and true method; it's just what I've heard. If you enter the KDP Select program, that is a zero cost for your eBook for Prime members, while the author gets a piece of a $600,000 pie - really only about $2 per book checkout by the Prime member.
In the interest of testing, I'm going to drop my eBook to $2.99 on Amazon and Smashwords. This first book is all about discovering what works and what doesn't. It may take a while for the price change to filter out to the other platforms that get the digital eBook from Samashwords (Barnes and Noble, iTunes, Kobo, Diesel, etc.) I will let you, my intrepid companions on this ePublishing adventure, know what the outcome of the price change is. Be warned, the price changes set may not take effect for a few days - I've already taken steps to change the prices - for instance, now the eBook is unavailable on Amazon until they review the eBook again, a process which could take up to 48 hours.
Other strategies include giving the first book in a series away free to drive sales of other books in the series. Unfortunately, the other books in my series have yet to be written/published, so it doesn't so much apply to me at this time. In a year, that will be a different story and a different blog post.
Happy Pricing!
Artemus
You can download The Adventures of Reztap from Amazon, Smashwords, iTunes (look in iBooks on iPhone or iPad), Barnes and Noble, Kobo and Diesel.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Successes & Delays
First I'll start with Smashwords (http://www.smashwords.com/) - the eBook starting place for my adventure. The inital eBook publishing process was relatively painless. Sure there were some growing pains with formatting and what not, but it was not too bad. Someone with my persnicketiness was boudn to work just fine with fine attention to detail.
The path to many online retailers can only be found through an eBook "aggregator" like Smashwords. You do this by listing your eBook through the Premium Distribution Channel for sites like Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Sony, Kobo, and Diesel. Most of these have gone pretty smoothly, but not all. There have been delays based mostly on the way those sites do business. I put The Adventures of Reztap online through the channel on May 12, 2012. Here is where they stand at the various retailers:
Sony (shipped on June 21st) - should appear two weeks after it is shipped. Why it took five weeks to ship, I don't know. Says it ships every Thursday or Friday.
Barnes & Noble (hasn't shipped yet) - Should appear within a few days of shipment. Says it ships every Thursday or Friday.
Kobo (shipped May 31st - on the site now!) - Should appear within a few days of shipment. Says it ships daily.
Amazon (opted out - it has been put directly on KDP)
Apple (shipped June 26th) - Ships multiple times per day. Manual review will take take weeks or longer before listing on iTunes.
Diesel (shipped June 5th - on the site now!) - Says it ships every Thursday or Friday.
Page Foundry (shipped June 13th) - not sure how to get to this. It's a relatively new add-on to the Premium service.
Baker-Taylor (shipped June 19th) - Says it ships every Thursday or Friday. This is where libraries order from. Not sure exactly how that works.
On Amazon (kdp.amazon.com), I uploaded everything (having to reformat both the book and cover), but it was authorized, cleared and listed within 48 hours.
So directly to Smashwords and Amazon, the process was fairly quick. The slow churn through the distribution channels is frighteningly turtlish. I've been marketing a book people can't get to yet on iTunes (they've asked) or Barnes & Noble's Nook for over a month. That's two of the three premium eBook platforms out there.
Lesson learned - don't believe everything you read about how fast an aggregator will get your book on the other web sites. I think theere was some delay on Smashwords part this time, but I've heard delay horror stories after the bbok has shipped, especially to Apple. that's a bit of a bummer, but this is all about the learning process, right?
Keep writing, mi amigos!
Regards.
Artemus
The path to many online retailers can only be found through an eBook "aggregator" like Smashwords. You do this by listing your eBook through the Premium Distribution Channel for sites like Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Sony, Kobo, and Diesel. Most of these have gone pretty smoothly, but not all. There have been delays based mostly on the way those sites do business. I put The Adventures of Reztap online through the channel on May 12, 2012. Here is where they stand at the various retailers:
Sony (shipped on June 21st) - should appear two weeks after it is shipped. Why it took five weeks to ship, I don't know. Says it ships every Thursday or Friday.
Barnes & Noble (hasn't shipped yet) - Should appear within a few days of shipment. Says it ships every Thursday or Friday.
Kobo (shipped May 31st - on the site now!) - Should appear within a few days of shipment. Says it ships daily.
Amazon (opted out - it has been put directly on KDP)
Apple (shipped June 26th) - Ships multiple times per day. Manual review will take take weeks or longer before listing on iTunes.
Diesel (shipped June 5th - on the site now!) - Says it ships every Thursday or Friday.
Page Foundry (shipped June 13th) - not sure how to get to this. It's a relatively new add-on to the Premium service.
Baker-Taylor (shipped June 19th) - Says it ships every Thursday or Friday. This is where libraries order from. Not sure exactly how that works.
On Amazon (kdp.amazon.com), I uploaded everything (having to reformat both the book and cover), but it was authorized, cleared and listed within 48 hours.
So directly to Smashwords and Amazon, the process was fairly quick. The slow churn through the distribution channels is frighteningly turtlish. I've been marketing a book people can't get to yet on iTunes (they've asked) or Barnes & Noble's Nook for over a month. That's two of the three premium eBook platforms out there.
Lesson learned - don't believe everything you read about how fast an aggregator will get your book on the other web sites. I think theere was some delay on Smashwords part this time, but I've heard delay horror stories after the bbok has shipped, especially to Apple. that's a bit of a bummer, but this is all about the learning process, right?
Keep writing, mi amigos!
Regards.
Artemus
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
What Works To Sell Books? (June 2012 Sales)
Jumping the gun a little bit on June Sales of The Adventures of Reztap, I have gotten a nice bump the last week. Total book (and eBook) sales for June is 17 so far (I don't imagine it will get much higher before the end of the month). Here's a breakdown of how the sales have gone:
6 paperbacks by hand (ordered from Amazon by me - not included in Amazon's sales figures)
5 paperbacks from Amazon
1 eBook for the Kindle (via Amazon's Kindle Digital Publishing)
5 eBooks on Smashwords
Obviously with 17 sales I'm not exactly rolling in the dough. Just the same. it's a nice start and some fellow writers have inquired as to what I've done to get those sales. As I'm doing my best to be transparent with this process for other authors to learn from, here are some details including monetary figures.
Business cards: In late May, I ordered 250 business cards with the book cover on one side and two web sites and a coupon code on the other about where to order the book from. These were originally ordered to be hand out at Comicpalooza here in Houston, but through part of the learning process, I realized I hadn't ordered far enough ahead and the cards arrived several days after the convention ended. I did hand out a small spattering of homemade marketing materials, but they were done at the last minute and hardly had the look of any professionalism to them; I also left out pertinent information like the name of the book. Ahh well.The business cards have been distributed to friends, family and a few comic book and trading card retailers in the Houston area. Have they been a success? Well, no one has used the coupon code on the back of the card, so I can't really tell - someone may have ordered a paperback or the eBook directly from Amazon using the information, but the coupon code is not valid for those sites.
Conventions: The Comicpalooza convention was fun, but without the proper marketing materials in hand, I miserably failed to take advantage of the opportunity. It was a great learning experience and I'm looking into doing a book signing at the ArmadilloCon coming up at the end of July. Of course, I need to contact those folks - I may already be too late to get my name on the program. I will learn about how long a lead time I need for it for next year, when I hope to have two or more books available. Again, this year is a learning experience.
Book Giveaways: I did a book giveaway on Good Reads web site (www.goodreads.com). Four books just shipped today to the winners. DId it result in an increase in sales? Really too early to tell. Honestly, that has been the most difficult part of the process -seeing what tactic works and what doesn't. I have to believe it's been positive for word of mouth, though - over 500 people signed up for the giveaway, none of whom had heard of the book before the giveaway. That is exposure to new potential readers and that's always a good thing. I've gotten one person on the Good Reads web site to rate the book already and 60+ people added the title to their "To Read" list. I'm also writing a blog on the site to invite readers to discuss the book and answer any book or self-publishing questions they might have. This is a potentially huge platform to reach readers and interact with them, build a following for the book and, more importantly, get my name out there.
Hand Sales: OK, this may be a fluke in the numbers. I attended a 50th wedding anniversary for my in-laws and sold all six books to family - two people only and they bought extra copies to distribute to local libraries they support as well. Fluke or not, book sales are book sales. The family members who did buy them from me chided me for not letting the larger gathering a day before know I had books on hand to sell and only handed out cards for where they could order it. Don't discount the value of a family - they can be great advocates for your book, telling their friends about it and generally disseminating your book out there with their friends and you could get a snowball effect. It's especially good if the book is good, which I've had primarily positive reviews about.
Social Networks: While I've had some success driving people on Facebook and possibly Twitter to this blog, I'm not of the opinion that it has generated any sales. However, getting people to this blog and possibly growing a blog readership are good things. There is always the potential that people will read this blog, find value in it, and be genuinely curious about the book too. A future reader is still a reader and I welcome them all! I have been a little concerned that my "pushing" of the book via social networks is viewed as annoying by many people. I'm really not sure how effective it is - it could potentially be turning people off, but then would they have been readers anyway? Hard to say. I'm trying not to use the platforms as sales pitch only. I know I wouldn't like to see nothing but sales pitches on them!
Other Marketing: Is this al the marketing there is? No, I'm about to embark on pursuing book reviews (and possible book giveaways) with several blogging sites through Bloggerdise; this is a blogging source site for bloggers looking for things to review, people to interview and things to giveaway. It's both rewarding for their followers and for me, getting my name and book out there in front of more readers.
I think the conventions will be a nice platform to show of my wares as well, but I don't ever want to be in the position where I need to make money off the convention to make it worth my while. I will only attend conventions I'm truly interesting in participating in from an attendee standpoint. Will there be future conventions that invite me? I hope so and I'll be glad to attend them as long as I have some kind of forum to expose my book to - perhaps do a reading and/or book signing, be on a convention panel, and maybe even be a guest of the convention. Big dreams, I know. I don't expect anything like that too soon. That really will be a future course.
Book signings at book stores is a possible future path as well. I'm aware of this, but haven't really researched how to do it. This is still a part-time endeavor for me, so I'm under no illusions that I'll hit every marketing opportunity.
Press releases are another avenue I haven't pursued. I'm really just not sure how to do this and is it worth my time to pursue it? I may just not find time to attack this.
The Future is Bright: I have put a lot of time into the writing for the first book and I'm under a tighter deadline to produce the second book. I've only just started writing it. I am committed to this being a future career path if it will produce just enough for me to live on. I'm not at the point where I'm willing to swap jobs yet. I still need my normal job to pay the bills and, as they say, support my writing habit.
The Numbers: Enough jabbering - what have I spent so far and how much have I made? The costs are greatly outweighing the returns, but the future returns could easily turn that around. Here are the numbers so far (with the total 17 sales in the plus column):
Business cards: $54.11
Publishing costs (ISBN purchase - $50, proof purchase for The Book Patch - $9.51 including S/H): $59.51
Shipping costs for book giveaway: $32.40
Purchase of books for hand sales: $71.20
Convention attendance and parking: about $50
Total costs: $267.22
Hand sales: $80
Amazon eBook sales: $3.49
Amazon paperback sales: $24.30
The Book Patch paperback sales: $9.61
Smashwords eBook sales: $18.50
Total Sales: $135.90
Analysis: There are a lot of costs that won't repeat here (like ISBN purchases) and there are also things that will reoccur depending on what I'm doing (convention attendance), but most of this is startup marketing costs. I don't know if next months sales will be outstanding, but I will probably need to get more paperbacks on hand for the convention - especially since I'm pretty sure none of the booksellers there will have any in their inventory. I didn't expect to break even the first month, so I'm not concerned about these figures. Heck, they're more optimistic than I thought they'd be. If there are sustained sales by additional cost-free marketing and word of mouth, I will be showing a profit for my efforts within a few months. However, it will have to hit viral hit proportions for me to consider it a new career. We're not there yet...but we could be within a few years!
Regards,
Artemus
6 paperbacks by hand (ordered from Amazon by me - not included in Amazon's sales figures)
5 paperbacks from Amazon
1 eBook for the Kindle (via Amazon's Kindle Digital Publishing)
5 eBooks on Smashwords
Obviously with 17 sales I'm not exactly rolling in the dough. Just the same. it's a nice start and some fellow writers have inquired as to what I've done to get those sales. As I'm doing my best to be transparent with this process for other authors to learn from, here are some details including monetary figures.
Business cards: In late May, I ordered 250 business cards with the book cover on one side and two web sites and a coupon code on the other about where to order the book from. These were originally ordered to be hand out at Comicpalooza here in Houston, but through part of the learning process, I realized I hadn't ordered far enough ahead and the cards arrived several days after the convention ended. I did hand out a small spattering of homemade marketing materials, but they were done at the last minute and hardly had the look of any professionalism to them; I also left out pertinent information like the name of the book. Ahh well.The business cards have been distributed to friends, family and a few comic book and trading card retailers in the Houston area. Have they been a success? Well, no one has used the coupon code on the back of the card, so I can't really tell - someone may have ordered a paperback or the eBook directly from Amazon using the information, but the coupon code is not valid for those sites.
Conventions: The Comicpalooza convention was fun, but without the proper marketing materials in hand, I miserably failed to take advantage of the opportunity. It was a great learning experience and I'm looking into doing a book signing at the ArmadilloCon coming up at the end of July. Of course, I need to contact those folks - I may already be too late to get my name on the program. I will learn about how long a lead time I need for it for next year, when I hope to have two or more books available. Again, this year is a learning experience.
Book Giveaways: I did a book giveaway on Good Reads web site (www.goodreads.com). Four books just shipped today to the winners. DId it result in an increase in sales? Really too early to tell. Honestly, that has been the most difficult part of the process -seeing what tactic works and what doesn't. I have to believe it's been positive for word of mouth, though - over 500 people signed up for the giveaway, none of whom had heard of the book before the giveaway. That is exposure to new potential readers and that's always a good thing. I've gotten one person on the Good Reads web site to rate the book already and 60+ people added the title to their "To Read" list. I'm also writing a blog on the site to invite readers to discuss the book and answer any book or self-publishing questions they might have. This is a potentially huge platform to reach readers and interact with them, build a following for the book and, more importantly, get my name out there.
Hand Sales: OK, this may be a fluke in the numbers. I attended a 50th wedding anniversary for my in-laws and sold all six books to family - two people only and they bought extra copies to distribute to local libraries they support as well. Fluke or not, book sales are book sales. The family members who did buy them from me chided me for not letting the larger gathering a day before know I had books on hand to sell and only handed out cards for where they could order it. Don't discount the value of a family - they can be great advocates for your book, telling their friends about it and generally disseminating your book out there with their friends and you could get a snowball effect. It's especially good if the book is good, which I've had primarily positive reviews about.
Social Networks: While I've had some success driving people on Facebook and possibly Twitter to this blog, I'm not of the opinion that it has generated any sales. However, getting people to this blog and possibly growing a blog readership are good things. There is always the potential that people will read this blog, find value in it, and be genuinely curious about the book too. A future reader is still a reader and I welcome them all! I have been a little concerned that my "pushing" of the book via social networks is viewed as annoying by many people. I'm really not sure how effective it is - it could potentially be turning people off, but then would they have been readers anyway? Hard to say. I'm trying not to use the platforms as sales pitch only. I know I wouldn't like to see nothing but sales pitches on them!
Other Marketing: Is this al the marketing there is? No, I'm about to embark on pursuing book reviews (and possible book giveaways) with several blogging sites through Bloggerdise; this is a blogging source site for bloggers looking for things to review, people to interview and things to giveaway. It's both rewarding for their followers and for me, getting my name and book out there in front of more readers.
I think the conventions will be a nice platform to show of my wares as well, but I don't ever want to be in the position where I need to make money off the convention to make it worth my while. I will only attend conventions I'm truly interesting in participating in from an attendee standpoint. Will there be future conventions that invite me? I hope so and I'll be glad to attend them as long as I have some kind of forum to expose my book to - perhaps do a reading and/or book signing, be on a convention panel, and maybe even be a guest of the convention. Big dreams, I know. I don't expect anything like that too soon. That really will be a future course.
Book signings at book stores is a possible future path as well. I'm aware of this, but haven't really researched how to do it. This is still a part-time endeavor for me, so I'm under no illusions that I'll hit every marketing opportunity.
Press releases are another avenue I haven't pursued. I'm really just not sure how to do this and is it worth my time to pursue it? I may just not find time to attack this.
The Future is Bright: I have put a lot of time into the writing for the first book and I'm under a tighter deadline to produce the second book. I've only just started writing it. I am committed to this being a future career path if it will produce just enough for me to live on. I'm not at the point where I'm willing to swap jobs yet. I still need my normal job to pay the bills and, as they say, support my writing habit.
The Numbers: Enough jabbering - what have I spent so far and how much have I made? The costs are greatly outweighing the returns, but the future returns could easily turn that around. Here are the numbers so far (with the total 17 sales in the plus column):
Business cards: $54.11
Publishing costs (ISBN purchase - $50, proof purchase for The Book Patch - $9.51 including S/H): $59.51
Shipping costs for book giveaway: $32.40
Purchase of books for hand sales: $71.20
Convention attendance and parking: about $50
Total costs: $267.22
Hand sales: $80
Amazon eBook sales: $3.49
Amazon paperback sales: $24.30
The Book Patch paperback sales: $9.61
Smashwords eBook sales: $18.50
Total Sales: $135.90
Analysis: There are a lot of costs that won't repeat here (like ISBN purchases) and there are also things that will reoccur depending on what I'm doing (convention attendance), but most of this is startup marketing costs. I don't know if next months sales will be outstanding, but I will probably need to get more paperbacks on hand for the convention - especially since I'm pretty sure none of the booksellers there will have any in their inventory. I didn't expect to break even the first month, so I'm not concerned about these figures. Heck, they're more optimistic than I thought they'd be. If there are sustained sales by additional cost-free marketing and word of mouth, I will be showing a profit for my efforts within a few months. However, it will have to hit viral hit proportions for me to consider it a new career. We're not there yet...but we could be within a few years!
Regards,
Artemus
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Book Patch Paperback Reformatted
Once I got it in my hand, I knew I had to change it, and so I have.
The new formatting gives another quarter inch around the edges - should be just enough room for your thumbs to comfortable rest while holding the book open. Also changed the header and footer around a bit, so page numbers now appear at the bottom, author name on even pages, and book title on odd pages. I consolidated designs from several other books and decided what I thought looked best. It was interesting to note that there is no uniform format to be inferred from the many samples I looked at. There seemed to be just as many variations on header/footer configurations as there were book titles.
The reformatting also caused the book to increase in page number. If you were the sole purchaser of The Book Patch version, you will have a unique prize on your hands. It was 159 pages - now it is 197 pages (I think). Point being, there is no new content, just reformatted margins to make it easier to read. I always listen to my readers and it was not just me who thought the margin was too small in the original printing.
Any comments or suggestions, I'm all ears! Well, OK, all eyes...and a bit of nose, if you must know.
Regards,
Artemus
The new formatting gives another quarter inch around the edges - should be just enough room for your thumbs to comfortable rest while holding the book open. Also changed the header and footer around a bit, so page numbers now appear at the bottom, author name on even pages, and book title on odd pages. I consolidated designs from several other books and decided what I thought looked best. It was interesting to note that there is no uniform format to be inferred from the many samples I looked at. There seemed to be just as many variations on header/footer configurations as there were book titles.
The reformatting also caused the book to increase in page number. If you were the sole purchaser of The Book Patch version, you will have a unique prize on your hands. It was 159 pages - now it is 197 pages (I think). Point being, there is no new content, just reformatted margins to make it easier to read. I always listen to my readers and it was not just me who thought the margin was too small in the original printing.
Any comments or suggestions, I'm all ears! Well, OK, all eyes...and a bit of nose, if you must know.
Regards,
Artemus
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Amazon Exclusive - July thru September 2012
I will be taking advantage of the Kindle Lending Library in July 2012 thru September 2012. The agreement means exclusive digital rights for that period to Amazon for eBook distribution of The Adventures of Reztap.
So what does that me to you, my incredibly large and attentive audience? It means for those three months, you will only be able to view or buy the eBook version of the book through Amazon. It does not affect the print version, so you can still by that from either Amazon or The Book Patch.
It will temporarily prevent the eBook from being distributed to any other outlet. I will be accomplishing this by "unpublishing" the book from the Smashwords site which will effectively remove it from distribution on all other web sites.
You may be asking yourself why I'm doing this. Well, I want to see what it will mean to me financially to have the eBook available in the Lending Library for that exclusive period. How much of a share of the money allocated to that venture will I receive in that amount of time? Will it be advantageous to me or will it be a drag on sales? Will people be coming to purchase the eBook from Smashwords/iTunes/Nook/Kobo/Diesel only to find it missing?
This is all an experiment for me to find ut what distribution methods are best. I need to know if having it in the Lending Library is a plus or minus so I can determine if I want to do that with future books. Will it increase4 the exposure of the title to the world out there, or will it be an obtrusive restriction? I can't know until I try it. This experiment will influence the template of future releases. Will the second eBook in the series debut to only the Amazon Lending Library? It all depends on how much of a following it gets due to the Lending Library. It may be a complete and total non-starter. I just have to try it and find out.
If you are NOT a Kindle owner, then I would suggest getting the eBook from the other web sites without delay - at the end of June it will be gone for three months. Here again are the sites that feature the eBook for sale:
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/The-Adventures-Reztap-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B008A80EZU/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339342602&sr=1-2&keywords=Reztap
Smashwords (multiple version of the eBook like PDF, HTML, RTF, text and more): https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/161674
Kobo eReader: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/The-Adventures-of-Reztap/book-Bl_-PAnCY0WzqlZXrblDbg/page1.html?s=-szyCdU67EKdKJPgbbXw1Q&r=1
Diesel eBooks: http://www.diesel-ebooks.com/item/SW00000161674/Withers-Artemus-The-Adventures-of-Reztap/1.html
Still pending shipping/review/approval: iTunes (for the iPhone and iPad), Barnes & Noble (for the Nook)
Of course, you can always get the paperback print version at:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Adventures-Reztap-Chronicles-Volume/dp/1477589228/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339342602&sr=1-1&keywords=Reztap
The Book Patch: http://www.thebookpatch.com/BookStoreResults.aspx?search=Reztap&ddl=any (Note: needs a slight adjustment to the print version for formatting issues - that is planned this week.)
I look forward to any comments and thoughts you might have on this direction.
Regards,
Artemus
So what does that me to you, my incredibly large and attentive audience? It means for those three months, you will only be able to view or buy the eBook version of the book through Amazon. It does not affect the print version, so you can still by that from either Amazon or The Book Patch.
It will temporarily prevent the eBook from being distributed to any other outlet. I will be accomplishing this by "unpublishing" the book from the Smashwords site which will effectively remove it from distribution on all other web sites.
You may be asking yourself why I'm doing this. Well, I want to see what it will mean to me financially to have the eBook available in the Lending Library for that exclusive period. How much of a share of the money allocated to that venture will I receive in that amount of time? Will it be advantageous to me or will it be a drag on sales? Will people be coming to purchase the eBook from Smashwords/iTunes/Nook/Kobo/Diesel only to find it missing?
This is all an experiment for me to find ut what distribution methods are best. I need to know if having it in the Lending Library is a plus or minus so I can determine if I want to do that with future books. Will it increase4 the exposure of the title to the world out there, or will it be an obtrusive restriction? I can't know until I try it. This experiment will influence the template of future releases. Will the second eBook in the series debut to only the Amazon Lending Library? It all depends on how much of a following it gets due to the Lending Library. It may be a complete and total non-starter. I just have to try it and find out.
If you are NOT a Kindle owner, then I would suggest getting the eBook from the other web sites without delay - at the end of June it will be gone for three months. Here again are the sites that feature the eBook for sale:
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/The-Adventures-Reztap-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B008A80EZU/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339342602&sr=1-2&keywords=Reztap
Smashwords (multiple version of the eBook like PDF, HTML, RTF, text and more): https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/161674
Kobo eReader: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/The-Adventures-of-Reztap/book-Bl_-PAnCY0WzqlZXrblDbg/page1.html?s=-szyCdU67EKdKJPgbbXw1Q&r=1
Diesel eBooks: http://www.diesel-ebooks.com/item/SW00000161674/Withers-Artemus-The-Adventures-of-Reztap/1.html
Still pending shipping/review/approval: iTunes (for the iPhone and iPad), Barnes & Noble (for the Nook)
Of course, you can always get the paperback print version at:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Adventures-Reztap-Chronicles-Volume/dp/1477589228/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339342602&sr=1-1&keywords=Reztap
The Book Patch: http://www.thebookpatch.com/BookStoreResults.aspx?search=Reztap&ddl=any (Note: needs a slight adjustment to the print version for formatting issues - that is planned this week.)
I look forward to any comments and thoughts you might have on this direction.
Regards,
Artemus
Amazon Update!
Amazon has published both the paperback and Kindle versions of The Adventures of Reztap now. You can search Amazon's web site for Reztap now and see a link to both versions! How about a quick recap of where you can get the book now?
Amazon paperback: http://www.amazon.com/The-Adventures-Reztap-Chronicles-Volume/dp/1477589228/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339342602&sr=1-1&keywords=Reztap
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/The-Adventures-Reztap-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B008A80EZU/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339342602&sr=1-2&keywords=Reztap
Print version at The Book Patch: http://www.thebookpatch.com/BookStoreResults.aspx?search=Reztap&ddl=any (Note: needs a slight adjustment to the print version for formatting issues - that is planned this week.)
Smashwords (multiple version of the eBook like PDF, HTML, RTF, text and more): https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/161674
Kobo eReader: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/The-Adventures-of-Reztap/book-Bl_-PAnCY0WzqlZXrblDbg/page1.html?s=-szyCdU67EKdKJPgbbXw1Q&r=1
Diesel eBooks: http://www.diesel-ebooks.com/item/SW00000161674/Withers-Artemus-The-Adventures-of-Reztap/1.html
Still pending shipping/review/approval: iTunes (for the iPhone and iPad), Barnes & Noble (for the Nook)
The good news - I don't have any other places to put the books/eBooks, so I've completed my distribution part of the journey (OK, still have a small correction to make to The Book Patch print version). Marketing is another matter. I will be exploring the different channels of marketing and publicity to find out which is most effective.
The bad news - Well, not really bad, but still - I need to continue the marketing/publicity, and work on the next book. Sure, it sounds easy when I put it like that. Writing is definitely enjoyable for me. The editing, not so much. Marketing and publicity are unknowns - I might enjoy it more next time around when I've discovered what works so I'm not wasting time & money on avenues that don't.
More to do!
Regards,
Artemus
Amazon paperback: http://www.amazon.com/The-Adventures-Reztap-Chronicles-Volume/dp/1477589228/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339342602&sr=1-1&keywords=Reztap
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/The-Adventures-Reztap-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B008A80EZU/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339342602&sr=1-2&keywords=Reztap
Print version at The Book Patch: http://www.thebookpatch.com/BookStoreResults.aspx?search=Reztap&ddl=any (Note: needs a slight adjustment to the print version for formatting issues - that is planned this week.)
Smashwords (multiple version of the eBook like PDF, HTML, RTF, text and more): https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/161674
Kobo eReader: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/The-Adventures-of-Reztap/book-Bl_-PAnCY0WzqlZXrblDbg/page1.html?s=-szyCdU67EKdKJPgbbXw1Q&r=1
Diesel eBooks: http://www.diesel-ebooks.com/item/SW00000161674/Withers-Artemus-The-Adventures-of-Reztap/1.html
Still pending shipping/review/approval: iTunes (for the iPhone and iPad), Barnes & Noble (for the Nook)
The good news - I don't have any other places to put the books/eBooks, so I've completed my distribution part of the journey (OK, still have a small correction to make to The Book Patch print version). Marketing is another matter. I will be exploring the different channels of marketing and publicity to find out which is most effective.
The bad news - Well, not really bad, but still - I need to continue the marketing/publicity, and work on the next book. Sure, it sounds easy when I put it like that. Writing is definitely enjoyable for me. The editing, not so much. Marketing and publicity are unknowns - I might enjoy it more next time around when I've discovered what works so I'm not wasting time & money on avenues that don't.
More to do!
Regards,
Artemus
Friday, June 8, 2012
Proof is in the Pudding
I received my proof today from Amazon (CreateSpace) and I am glad I looked through it. Mind you, there weren't glaring grammatical errors or anything. Well, I don't think there were - after the editing marathon I went through earlier, I just don't have the stomach to go through a real editing session again.
I did find separators being right justified that should be centered. I also found several last sentences in chapters with just a few words strung across the page to fully justify; the addition of a carriage return before the section break took care of those. I even adjusted a word at the end that had a font two sizes too big. I realized as I went through all this that I was not just being a perfectionist, but I was bringing the book to a state where the reader would not be drawn out of the story by a glaring visual disturbance. Much in the same way as a grammatical edit keeps the viewer from getting jarred from the story because of a misspelled word or a funky sentence structure, so too this step in the process was an effort by the author to engage and treat the reader to something wonderful.
The proofing process is more about making things not be there than the writing process is about putting things in. I hope I've taken away enough and left just the right amount in. Here's to interior literary design!
Regards,
Artemus
I did find separators being right justified that should be centered. I also found several last sentences in chapters with just a few words strung across the page to fully justify; the addition of a carriage return before the section break took care of those. I even adjusted a word at the end that had a font two sizes too big. I realized as I went through all this that I was not just being a perfectionist, but I was bringing the book to a state where the reader would not be drawn out of the story by a glaring visual disturbance. Much in the same way as a grammatical edit keeps the viewer from getting jarred from the story because of a misspelled word or a funky sentence structure, so too this step in the process was an effort by the author to engage and treat the reader to something wonderful.
The proofing process is more about making things not be there than the writing process is about putting things in. I hope I've taken away enough and left just the right amount in. Here's to interior literary design!
Regards,
Artemus
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