First go check out Amanda Hocking's epic post on how she got to this point. Worth reading. I hope there are more of these success stories to come.
Moving on. I've been having a lot of trouble enjoying books lately so it was a huge relief to actually manage to finish one or two. I've had lots of books waiting to be read but I couldn't get into anything so haven't posted what I've been reading for ages. This has not helped my TBR pile.
Anyway, this week I am reading . . .
My Blood Approves
Portal
Glimpse - I enjoyed this one. Not at all what I expected and by that I mean I couldn't predict what was going to happen.
Next up on my e-reader are:
Hush Money
Forsaken by Shadow
As always, recommendations are welcome.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Baaa
Three words. Hangover. From. Hell.
Considering the above, this is probably going to be somewhat incoherant but as everyone else is talking about it, I'm going to be a sheep and do it too.
Publisher's Weekly: aka the numpties who are making what seems like a thinly veiled attempt at scamming self publishers out of $149. They've never exactly been advocates of indies but this is a brand new level of low. It genuinely pisses me off that they're charging people $149 to be featured in a crappy supplement. They can do what they like but what's bothering me is the carrot on the stick. Oh, you might get a review. Oh, you might be seen by an agent.
It's pretty crappy to take advantage of people's hopes and dreams and mostly, their desperation. When you first publish something yourself, there's a process that requires patience. Firstly, nobody knows it exists, it doesn't sell, it has no reviews and even the best writers can get panicky and feel like it's a total disaster. So this reputable name comes along and offers you what sounds like a great opportunity and you grab it with both hands. It's an investment, you tell yourself. You hand over your cash, your book gets a little ad and then . . . nothing happens.
The majority of the people you're marketing to probably won't ever see it. The possible review disappears from the equation. Talk of agents takes on a dream like quality because you start to believe you imagined it. Eventually, you sell some copies, get reviews and recommendations and are a happy camper but that probably would have happened even if you didn't pay $149. Your mileage may vary but the above is the typical story for so many people. I know plenty will go for PW's offer but I sincerely hope they have their eyes wide open and see it for what it is. They're charging $149 for a possibility of a review.
Shame on you, PW.
Considering the above, this is probably going to be somewhat incoherant but as everyone else is talking about it, I'm going to be a sheep and do it too.
Publisher's Weekly: aka the numpties who are making what seems like a thinly veiled attempt at scamming self publishers out of $149. They've never exactly been advocates of indies but this is a brand new level of low. It genuinely pisses me off that they're charging people $149 to be featured in a crappy supplement. They can do what they like but what's bothering me is the carrot on the stick. Oh, you might get a review. Oh, you might be seen by an agent.
It's pretty crappy to take advantage of people's hopes and dreams and mostly, their desperation. When you first publish something yourself, there's a process that requires patience. Firstly, nobody knows it exists, it doesn't sell, it has no reviews and even the best writers can get panicky and feel like it's a total disaster. So this reputable name comes along and offers you what sounds like a great opportunity and you grab it with both hands. It's an investment, you tell yourself. You hand over your cash, your book gets a little ad and then . . . nothing happens.
The majority of the people you're marketing to probably won't ever see it. The possible review disappears from the equation. Talk of agents takes on a dream like quality because you start to believe you imagined it. Eventually, you sell some copies, get reviews and recommendations and are a happy camper but that probably would have happened even if you didn't pay $149. Your mileage may vary but the above is the typical story for so many people. I know plenty will go for PW's offer but I sincerely hope they have their eyes wide open and see it for what it is. They're charging $149 for a possibility of a review.
Shame on you, PW.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
First Blog Interview & Congrats
Colour me excited. Quick post - Kipp Poe Speicher (who wrote Closing My Eyes Helps Me To See Clearly) just posted my first blog interview. Take a look, lots of writers have been interviewed and there is even a review or two.
Also, congratulations to Amanda Hocking. Her latest book, Wisdom, has only recently gone live and it's already in the top 25 paid bestsellers on Amazon. Cracking news. Let's hope it keeps on climbing!
Also, congratulations to Amanda Hocking. Her latest book, Wisdom, has only recently gone live and it's already in the top 25 paid bestsellers on Amazon. Cracking news. Let's hope it keeps on climbing!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Milestones and Madness
So the blog carnival was good craic but one of the participants let me know my blog looks bogey in their feedreader. It looks fine in mine so I had no idea, sorry if it looks strange. I didn't want to post again until I sorted it but I'm having a serious case of stupidity right now, nothing makes sense to me. I'm going to keep trying to fix it, hopefully I'll figure things out when I'm less distracted. It's a lovely sunny day and school starts back up on Thursday. Between getting ready for that, trying to sort out a birth certificate disaster and staying up til four every night (writing/editing/poncing about online) my brain isn't running at top speed. :)
In other news, my horror short story collection almost hit a minor sales milestone this month. With a week to go, I doubt it's going to quite make it but I'm happy anyway. I'm pretty sure it reached its highest sales rank too but I haven't been paying a close eye on that. For an experiment (in a market that isn't supposed to exist), it's gone much better than I expected but that's absolutely thanks to the kind people who took the time to read and review/recommend it so cheers.
In other news, my horror short story collection almost hit a minor sales milestone this month. With a week to go, I doubt it's going to quite make it but I'm happy anyway. I'm pretty sure it reached its highest sales rank too but I haven't been paying a close eye on that. For an experiment (in a market that isn't supposed to exist), it's gone much better than I expected but that's absolutely thanks to the kind people who took the time to read and review/recommend it so cheers.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
To Be An Indie - Blog Carnival
This post is for the Indie Author Blog Carnival run by Dun Scaith. Check out the host here and of course check out the other participants below my own post.
The subject for this particular blog carnival is basically why we chose to go down an Indie route.
Looking back, I feel like I fell into it but in reality, I put a lot of time and research into my decision. I wasn't sure if it was possible, how it worked, if I could do it all alone. I spent more than a few hours trying to figure it all out before I finally said feck it and jumped right in.
I've always written with the vague notion that some day I'd make a living doing it. But I've never really done anything about it. I haven't written query letters or sent manuscripts to agents and/or publishers. I also didn't have a realistic idea of what it is like to be a traditionally published author.
This year I basically decided I wanted to take creative writing seriously. I have a few years of being at home left. I now have five small children. One is at school, one is in playschool and next year two more will be starting playschool leaving only one at home. When last but definitely not least mini-Farrell goes to playschool, it'll be time for me to either go back to work or find a job I can do at home. So this time period is my chance to prove to myself one way or another whether writing is right for me - as a source of income anyway.
So I had a time limit. And the misfortune to write things that aren't particularly marketable. At least by trad publishing standards. I could tone things down and try to fit into one particular genre but I really can't face that. I write dark fiction to take a break from the fluffier stuff. I write tame y/a fiction to take a break from the morbid stuff. I switch genres, I go into taboo areas and I never get bored. I have fun.
I did quite a bit of research into publishing, ebooks, contracts, etc. I discovered that most published writers don't live on their earnings. Many books fail to earn out their royalties, many get remaindered or aren't marketed very well and the publishing industry seems to be in an awkward place. If I went down that road, it would be highly unlikely my manuscript would be read. If I was successful in signing a contract, it would take years for anything to happen and after that I'd pretty much be on my own. I might be tied into a contract. Maybe even forced to churn out never-ending series of books, one after the other. Success is relative but for me, trad publishing just didn't seem like a sign of success anymore. I didn't want to hang about for years on a dream that might never happen.
Then there was the ebook issue. Being independent and self publishing seemed like a viable option all of a sudden. After a lot of thought, I decided to experiment with ebooks, particularly using Amazon DTP and Smashwords. I could do things rightnowstraightaway and receive almost immediate feedback. I would know how people responded to my work and better yet see how my promotional efforts affected sales insanely quickly. The excitement from other indies has always been infectious and I had realised something. I had nothing to lose.
I tested it out with some short stories and loved every second of it. Odd little pieces of flash fiction I never expected to sell now sell every day. Not many copies but it is a lot more than I expected. I had such low expectations that every day seems to bring a new high. It's been such a learning curve but at the same time it all feels so freeing. We can do things our own way and that rocks.
Even better is how much I've learned in so many aspects of publishing, editing and marketing. There is such a helpful Indie community out there (Kindleboards I'm looking at you), more than happy to share what they've learned to us newbies mixed in with all of those readers who are dying to tell us what they think. The consumers are the important ones, they're dictating how we are adapting and dealing with change in publishing. And we're able to listen and react - something traditionally published writers can't do because they don't have as much control over what happens to their books.
Purely down to my initial introduction to self publishing these past five months or so, I am more than happy to continue. I'm concentrating on a novella and a novel that I hope to release (after some editing and cover art help) - I don't see myself having any regrets. I don't have the personality (or time) to wait around for somebody else to publish my book. I have no problems editing to make a book more readable but I can't change a book to fit a certain market. Becoming an indie will not work for everyone but if you feel like traditional publishing isn't a good fit then maybe give my way a try. Lots of people manage to use both methods of publishing and this often works out well too. Never say never but for me, I'm happy with what I'm doing.
If I fail, I fail on my own terms and if it all works out . . . bonus. :)
Participants:
Jess C. Scott
Ty Johnson
Levi Montgomery
Moses Siregar III
Kait Nolan
Zoe Winters
Camille LaGuire
Targoun
Luna Lindsey
M.T. Murphy
Susan Bischoff
Stacey Wallace Benefiel
J.A. Marlow
Chris Kelly
The subject for this particular blog carnival is basically why we chose to go down an Indie route.
Looking back, I feel like I fell into it but in reality, I put a lot of time and research into my decision. I wasn't sure if it was possible, how it worked, if I could do it all alone. I spent more than a few hours trying to figure it all out before I finally said feck it and jumped right in.
I've always written with the vague notion that some day I'd make a living doing it. But I've never really done anything about it. I haven't written query letters or sent manuscripts to agents and/or publishers. I also didn't have a realistic idea of what it is like to be a traditionally published author.
This year I basically decided I wanted to take creative writing seriously. I have a few years of being at home left. I now have five small children. One is at school, one is in playschool and next year two more will be starting playschool leaving only one at home. When last but definitely not least mini-Farrell goes to playschool, it'll be time for me to either go back to work or find a job I can do at home. So this time period is my chance to prove to myself one way or another whether writing is right for me - as a source of income anyway.
So I had a time limit. And the misfortune to write things that aren't particularly marketable. At least by trad publishing standards. I could tone things down and try to fit into one particular genre but I really can't face that. I write dark fiction to take a break from the fluffier stuff. I write tame y/a fiction to take a break from the morbid stuff. I switch genres, I go into taboo areas and I never get bored. I have fun.
I did quite a bit of research into publishing, ebooks, contracts, etc. I discovered that most published writers don't live on their earnings. Many books fail to earn out their royalties, many get remaindered or aren't marketed very well and the publishing industry seems to be in an awkward place. If I went down that road, it would be highly unlikely my manuscript would be read. If I was successful in signing a contract, it would take years for anything to happen and after that I'd pretty much be on my own. I might be tied into a contract. Maybe even forced to churn out never-ending series of books, one after the other. Success is relative but for me, trad publishing just didn't seem like a sign of success anymore. I didn't want to hang about for years on a dream that might never happen.
Then there was the ebook issue. Being independent and self publishing seemed like a viable option all of a sudden. After a lot of thought, I decided to experiment with ebooks, particularly using Amazon DTP and Smashwords. I could do things rightnowstraightaway and receive almost immediate feedback. I would know how people responded to my work and better yet see how my promotional efforts affected sales insanely quickly. The excitement from other indies has always been infectious and I had realised something. I had nothing to lose.
I tested it out with some short stories and loved every second of it. Odd little pieces of flash fiction I never expected to sell now sell every day. Not many copies but it is a lot more than I expected. I had such low expectations that every day seems to bring a new high. It's been such a learning curve but at the same time it all feels so freeing. We can do things our own way and that rocks.
Even better is how much I've learned in so many aspects of publishing, editing and marketing. There is such a helpful Indie community out there (Kindleboards I'm looking at you), more than happy to share what they've learned to us newbies mixed in with all of those readers who are dying to tell us what they think. The consumers are the important ones, they're dictating how we are adapting and dealing with change in publishing. And we're able to listen and react - something traditionally published writers can't do because they don't have as much control over what happens to their books.
Purely down to my initial introduction to self publishing these past five months or so, I am more than happy to continue. I'm concentrating on a novella and a novel that I hope to release (after some editing and cover art help) - I don't see myself having any regrets. I don't have the personality (or time) to wait around for somebody else to publish my book. I have no problems editing to make a book more readable but I can't change a book to fit a certain market. Becoming an indie will not work for everyone but if you feel like traditional publishing isn't a good fit then maybe give my way a try. Lots of people manage to use both methods of publishing and this often works out well too. Never say never but for me, I'm happy with what I'm doing.
If I fail, I fail on my own terms and if it all works out . . . bonus. :)
Participants:
Jess C. Scott
Ty Johnson
Levi Montgomery
Moses Siregar III
Kait Nolan
Zoe Winters
Camille LaGuire
Targoun
Luna Lindsey
M.T. Murphy
Susan Bischoff
Stacey Wallace Benefiel
J.A. Marlow
Chris Kelly
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Kindle Giveaways
Scott Nicholson (kick ass author of books like The Red Church and Burial to Follow) is going on a blog tour next month. He planned on doing a giveaway while he was at it. Yesterday, he announced he is now giving away not one but two Kindles.
Check out his blog posts for details on how to enter and get ready to follow Scott around the blogosphere to rack up as many entries as possible. Good luck!
And buy some of his books to say thank you. :) (I've really enjoyed what I've read by Nicholson so far.)
Check out his blog posts for details on how to enter and get ready to follow Scott around the blogosphere to rack up as many entries as possible. Good luck!
And buy some of his books to say thank you. :) (I've really enjoyed what I've read by Nicholson so far.)
Saturday, August 14, 2010
When Life Gets In The Way
This last week has been madness. Firstly, we had an unexpected house guest which threw my "work" routine out of whack. The reason we had a visitor for a couple of days was down to a bit of drama involving some extended family members. I have to say, people think some of the stories I write are repulsive but truth is always worse than fiction. I can't understand how vile people can be and how there are always those willing to keep it a secret. Never mind me, outrage always come easily to me.
Then, my piss poor broadband provider had a major screw up so we lost connectivity for a few days. I'm actually scared by how lost I was while we were internet-less. I felt like I was missing everything. When it came back, I couldn't figure out what I needed it for, I was just anxious when it wasn't around. Sad but true.
I got a lot accomplished when I didn't have the Internet to distract me so maybe I should disconnect more often. I finished one thing, got back to work on another and started something new so I think I'll just have to accept that some days I'll get more done than others. At least until school starts!
Then, my piss poor broadband provider had a major screw up so we lost connectivity for a few days. I'm actually scared by how lost I was while we were internet-less. I felt like I was missing everything. When it came back, I couldn't figure out what I needed it for, I was just anxious when it wasn't around. Sad but true.
I got a lot accomplished when I didn't have the Internet to distract me so maybe I should disconnect more often. I finished one thing, got back to work on another and started something new so I think I'll just have to accept that some days I'll get more done than others. At least until school starts!
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