I was reading a book the other day by a new-to-me author. The premise sounded interesting and the plot was doing a fair job of holding my interest. Unfortunately, I had to DNF the book. The dialogue... OMG, the dialogue... It was bad. Like an example of bad dialogue in a 'how to write' book. People don't talk to each other that way and after a while, I had to close the book to save my sanity.
Then I was working on the edits for Blink of an I - a novel I initially wrote early in my career. And OMG, the dialogue! It was bad. I could hear the characters talking to each other in my head and realizing people don't talk to each other that way - not even way in the future after the world has fallen apart. And I swear I must've used every dialogue tag in the Big Book of Dialogue Tags. 'He exclaimed', 'she hissed', 'he sneered', 'she whispered', 'he choked'... And I was all like 'who wrote this crap... oh, it was me'.
So, when I noticed this yesterday morning, I went back and re-edited the 45 pages I had already done. So bad. So much dreck. Bleh. It took me all day, but it's fixed now. And I'll scour the remaining pages to make sure as I edit along, I fix what seems bad.
Anyway, if you aren't already reading your dialogue out loud, do so. If it sounds unnatural to you, then it will sound even worse in your readers' heads.
"But, but, but," you say, "my book is set in Victorian England (or 2351AD or a million years BC or on Tahiti or in Jamaica or wherever/whenever) and they talk different." Sure, they do. But you'll find that no matter where or when your characters are, there will be a rhythm to their speech and there will be things they'll say or won't say, or natural ways they'll talk that will fit and feel right to your readers.
Always work toward dialogue that will feel right to your readers. The goal is to keep them reading, not to make them DNF a book for any reason.
So, anyway, Blink is on its way to being fixed. There's a lot of work ahead and I still have life stuff I need to attend to, so I'd better get cracking. Have an awesome weekend, and don't forget to watch that dialogue. ;o)
Friday, December 29, 2017
Wednesday, December 27, 2017
Keeping Track of Sales
It's that time of the year again - time for the creation of new spreadsheets for the New Year. Every year, I create two new spreadsheets to keep track of the year's sales.
The first spreadsheet does the day-to-day stuff. It looks like this:
Of course, you see the layout for Dying Embers at the top, but beneath that is each book with its own data and color - in the order I published the books in. (So below DE is Accidental Death and then Wish in One Hand, etc.) Each color here corresponds to the color on the next spreadsheet.
This, of course, is the big 'Totals' spreadsheet. This one takes all the numbers from the first spreadsheet and spits them into a form where I can see where sales are at across the board in one place. If you click on it, you can see there are tabs for different things I want to know - Overall Data, Overall by Month, Monthly Chart, Daily (which is units sold by day each month), Daily Pgs (for KU sales), Pages Read (which totals pages by book), Pages Chart, and then the previous years' info. (You only see the 2017 tab here, but there are tabs for 2016 and 2015 as well.)
Here you only see January and February, but all the months are done. I've hidden those rows so I don't have to scroll down to see the totals. If you look, you'll notice a new brown row in February for the new book I'm publishing. I add rows as I go along. (Frankly, this is becoming a behemoth, but what's a gal to do. Stop publishing more books? As if.)
I think I'm also going to hide some columns this year, because I don't sell books at $3.99 anymore and I don't sell through Createspace's Expanded Distribution. I might hide the D2D column, too, because I haven't done that in a while. :shrug: I can always unhide any of these when/if I do need them again.
I'm not really sure how much these spreadsheets are actually helping me, but I'm a geek and I like to see the numbers this way. I like to think it helps me track whether advertising and discounts or freebies are doing what they're supposed to do. I'll talk more about that after the first of the year when all the 2017 numbers are in.
Well, I hope all y'all weren't too bored with this post, and that it helps someone somewhere. If you're a writer, how do you keep track of sales? Do you bother? If you're a reader, do you have any questions? Feel free to drop them in the comments.
The first spreadsheet does the day-to-day stuff. It looks like this:
Here you only see January and February, but all the months are done. I've hidden those rows so I don't have to scroll down to see the totals. If you look, you'll notice a new brown row in February for the new book I'm publishing. I add rows as I go along. (Frankly, this is becoming a behemoth, but what's a gal to do. Stop publishing more books? As if.)
I think I'm also going to hide some columns this year, because I don't sell books at $3.99 anymore and I don't sell through Createspace's Expanded Distribution. I might hide the D2D column, too, because I haven't done that in a while. :shrug: I can always unhide any of these when/if I do need them again.
I'm not really sure how much these spreadsheets are actually helping me, but I'm a geek and I like to see the numbers this way. I like to think it helps me track whether advertising and discounts or freebies are doing what they're supposed to do. I'll talk more about that after the first of the year when all the 2017 numbers are in.
Well, I hope all y'all weren't too bored with this post, and that it helps someone somewhere. If you're a writer, how do you keep track of sales? Do you bother? If you're a reader, do you have any questions? Feel free to drop them in the comments.
Friday, December 22, 2017
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
From B.E., Hubs, and Kira-cat...
Wishing you all a happy, healthy, joyous and awesome holiday season - whichever holiday you celebrate. May you all be safe and crime free in the days to come. (Unless it's fictional crime, then have at it. :wink:)
And if you're looking for ways to fill that new Kindle or to fill the Kindles of your loved ones, all my books will be on sale starting Christmas morning and running through to New Year's Eve.
Wishing you all a happy, healthy, joyous and awesome holiday season - whichever holiday you celebrate. May you all be safe and crime free in the days to come. (Unless it's fictional crime, then have at it. :wink:)
And if you're looking for ways to fill that new Kindle or to fill the Kindles of your loved ones, all my books will be on sale starting Christmas morning and running through to New Year's Eve.
Monday, December 18, 2017
Clueless and That's Okay
They say 'know your market'. Well, let's admit it right here, folks. I'm clueless.
I don't know what the market wants. I never have. I only know what I want. And since I'm one of those weird eclectic readers, I want all sorts of stuff. Thus, I write all sorts of stuff.
I happened to be talking with the manager of my local smoke shop the other day. I hadn't seen her in a while and she asked how the writing was going. I, of course, reached into my magic bag of all things and pulled out a bookmark for her. She was blown away that I had nine books out. (Last time we talked, it was like three. Like I said, I hadn't seen her in a while - she's usually in the office in back when I stop to buy cigarettes.) And as she looked at the bookmark, she's like 'you write all sorts of stuff'. And I'm all like 'yes. yes, I do'. She was excited about the suspense, but really excited about the supernatural stuff. So I gave her my Once Upon a Djinn postcard, and then another bookmark and postcard for her mom.
Sometimes I give people bookmarks and they're 'ooo, I love mysteries' or 'I'm not into paranormal stuff', though. :shrug: I like to be a little bit for every reader, if I can.
So far, I have two suspense novels, two mystery novels, four paranormal novels, and one political/medical thriller. Now? Now, I'm putting out a dystopian. Which pretty much makes me nuts, I guess.
I'm in the process of editing said dystopian novel and I bounce back and forth like a rubber ball between 'I love this' and 'Everyone's going to think this is lame'. Could be people will love this as much as I do. Could be it'll languish in obscurity like Blood Flow (which I thought would fly off the shelves and hasn't). I really have no clue.
And that's okay.
You see, it's like I said. I know what I like. And it's also like I said that I'd like to be able to provide something for every type of reader. Will every reader buy all my stuff? Not likely, unless they're an eclectic like me. Will that build me a following? :shrug: I guess I have a minor following out there. As I put more books out and more people discover me, the readership will grow. Hopefully.
Anyway, it's probably not the smartest marketing plan in the world, but I gotta do my own thing. I hope you'll come along for the ride, and maybe find something new.
Speaking of new, my editor is not typically into reading dystopian, but she really enjoyed Blink. Said it reminded her of her past love for Brave New World. Yay! If you were ever into BNW, or Anthem or Fahrenheit 451 or 1984, then look for Blink of an I in February.
I don't know what the market wants. I never have. I only know what I want. And since I'm one of those weird eclectic readers, I want all sorts of stuff. Thus, I write all sorts of stuff.
I happened to be talking with the manager of my local smoke shop the other day. I hadn't seen her in a while and she asked how the writing was going. I, of course, reached into my magic bag of all things and pulled out a bookmark for her. She was blown away that I had nine books out. (Last time we talked, it was like three. Like I said, I hadn't seen her in a while - she's usually in the office in back when I stop to buy cigarettes.) And as she looked at the bookmark, she's like 'you write all sorts of stuff'. And I'm all like 'yes. yes, I do'. She was excited about the suspense, but really excited about the supernatural stuff. So I gave her my Once Upon a Djinn postcard, and then another bookmark and postcard for her mom.
Sometimes I give people bookmarks and they're 'ooo, I love mysteries' or 'I'm not into paranormal stuff', though. :shrug: I like to be a little bit for every reader, if I can.
So far, I have two suspense novels, two mystery novels, four paranormal novels, and one political/medical thriller. Now? Now, I'm putting out a dystopian. Which pretty much makes me nuts, I guess.
I'm in the process of editing said dystopian novel and I bounce back and forth like a rubber ball between 'I love this' and 'Everyone's going to think this is lame'. Could be people will love this as much as I do. Could be it'll languish in obscurity like Blood Flow (which I thought would fly off the shelves and hasn't). I really have no clue.
And that's okay.
You see, it's like I said. I know what I like. And it's also like I said that I'd like to be able to provide something for every type of reader. Will every reader buy all my stuff? Not likely, unless they're an eclectic like me. Will that build me a following? :shrug: I guess I have a minor following out there. As I put more books out and more people discover me, the readership will grow. Hopefully.
Anyway, it's probably not the smartest marketing plan in the world, but I gotta do my own thing. I hope you'll come along for the ride, and maybe find something new.
Speaking of new, my editor is not typically into reading dystopian, but she really enjoyed Blink. Said it reminded her of her past love for Brave New World. Yay! If you were ever into BNW, or Anthem or Fahrenheit 451 or 1984, then look for Blink of an I in February.
Wednesday, December 13, 2017
Crime and Punishment... Or Lack Thereof
I'm not really sure what's going on in the world lately. People are committing crimes and not being punished for them.
The guy who shot that gal in California but was found 'not guilty' because he said the gun went off - several times into a crowd - accidentally after he'd dropped it and picked it back up again. He was already a criminal, but hey...
The woman who passed out from being high on drugs and let her child freeze to death on her porch. No jail time.
The man who raped a 12-year old girl while wearing his monitoring anklet, who - if he'd been punished in the first place - would have been in a cage instead of walking around where he could ruin some poor girl's life.
The numerous people who get off on 'not guilty by reason of disease or mental defect'. (Personally, I'd prefer they re-word that to 'guilty but insane' and then they still get punished.)
Plea deals that let murderers walk free after 5 years.
Bleeding hearts who go easy on offenders who then go commit more, and often worse, crimes once they're let go.
People who commit multiple crimes but are only charged with one, and then get off lightly.
:shudder:
Punishment. Crimes are supposed to include punishment. Not reform. Not help. Pun-ish-ment. It's supposed to be a deterrent. Think about what you've done so you are less likely to do it again. What deters a criminal if they are either never punished at all or are lightly punished for a heavy crime?
Jus' somethin' to think about this morning.
The guy who shot that gal in California but was found 'not guilty' because he said the gun went off - several times into a crowd - accidentally after he'd dropped it and picked it back up again. He was already a criminal, but hey...
The woman who passed out from being high on drugs and let her child freeze to death on her porch. No jail time.
The man who raped a 12-year old girl while wearing his monitoring anklet, who - if he'd been punished in the first place - would have been in a cage instead of walking around where he could ruin some poor girl's life.
The numerous people who get off on 'not guilty by reason of disease or mental defect'. (Personally, I'd prefer they re-word that to 'guilty but insane' and then they still get punished.)
Plea deals that let murderers walk free after 5 years.
Bleeding hearts who go easy on offenders who then go commit more, and often worse, crimes once they're let go.
People who commit multiple crimes but are only charged with one, and then get off lightly.
:shudder:
Punishment. Crimes are supposed to include punishment. Not reform. Not help. Pun-ish-ment. It's supposed to be a deterrent. Think about what you've done so you are less likely to do it again. What deters a criminal if they are either never punished at all or are lightly punished for a heavy crime?
Jus' somethin' to think about this morning.
Monday, December 11, 2017
Addressing Amazon Issues and Myths
If you're an author publishing through Amazon - and let's face it, that's about all of us - there is apparently some issue with the reports. I've been getting an error message for the past week or so. I did some research last night by going into the community forum at KDP and it's not just me. Loads of people are getting the same message with a subsequent drop in reported sales. No need to panic. I'm sure they're addressing the issue. Also, some actual sales are showing up as free in the reports, even when your books are not free. This morning the graph is telling me I gave away three books. None of my books are free right now. However, the month to date report is showing them as sales, so it's all good.
It does bring up an interesting quandary, though. How do writers know whether the actual royalty deposits are correct when the reports are off? No clue. But there wasn't really a clue before. I did see one person claiming this was a way for Amazon to steal from us. Umm, and they call me paranoid.
I guess we just have to trust that someone somewhere is keeping an eye on it. Because, seriously? There are certain people who are so hot to damn Amazon, you know darn well the company would be in deep shit if they tried to fudge this stuff. So, it would be stupid of them to do it. And they don't seem stupid.
So, anyway, hang in there. I'm sure this stuff will get cleared up eventually and we'll all get the money that's due us.
In other Amazon related stuff, I saw a new report that Amazon is screwing us in the reviews. The person posting this even had a link to Amazons terms for reviewing books, and guess what? I read them and they don't seem any different than they were the last time some arm-waving fearmonger claimed Amazon was screwing us out of reviews. Again, no worries here. Yeah, reviews seem to be down, but it's across the board, not just at Amazon. I think it has to do with people not wanting to write a review. How many of us have a boatload of Goodreads ratings without corresponding reviews? Yeah. So, again, I don't think this is anything to get excited about.
Hell, maybe the fearmongers who keep saying 'Amazon won't let you review that' are actually keeping people from trying to review books. Jus' sayin'.
Oh, and the whole thing about having to spend $50 at Amazon to be able to write a review? It's not new and it's not stopping people from reviewing your books. For one thing, it's cumulative across the entirety of your online purchasing lifespan and includes everything you've ever bought at Amazon (except gift cards, I guess. :shrug:). If you've never in your whole life bought more than $50 worth of stuff at Amazon, you can't write a review. Who hasn't bought $50+ worth of stuff through Amazon?? I see this as a non-issue. So, if you want to review a book at Amazon, go for it. If they, for some reason, deny your review - reword it and try again later. (I had a couple reviews get denied because they had curse words in them, so I fixed it and resubmitted and it worked.)
Any other Amazon issues out there that need to be addressed? Anything you've heard/read but haven't had time to confirm/deny yet?
It does bring up an interesting quandary, though. How do writers know whether the actual royalty deposits are correct when the reports are off? No clue. But there wasn't really a clue before. I did see one person claiming this was a way for Amazon to steal from us. Umm, and they call me paranoid.
I guess we just have to trust that someone somewhere is keeping an eye on it. Because, seriously? There are certain people who are so hot to damn Amazon, you know darn well the company would be in deep shit if they tried to fudge this stuff. So, it would be stupid of them to do it. And they don't seem stupid.
So, anyway, hang in there. I'm sure this stuff will get cleared up eventually and we'll all get the money that's due us.
In other Amazon related stuff, I saw a new report that Amazon is screwing us in the reviews. The person posting this even had a link to Amazons terms for reviewing books, and guess what? I read them and they don't seem any different than they were the last time some arm-waving fearmonger claimed Amazon was screwing us out of reviews. Again, no worries here. Yeah, reviews seem to be down, but it's across the board, not just at Amazon. I think it has to do with people not wanting to write a review. How many of us have a boatload of Goodreads ratings without corresponding reviews? Yeah. So, again, I don't think this is anything to get excited about.
Hell, maybe the fearmongers who keep saying 'Amazon won't let you review that' are actually keeping people from trying to review books. Jus' sayin'.
Oh, and the whole thing about having to spend $50 at Amazon to be able to write a review? It's not new and it's not stopping people from reviewing your books. For one thing, it's cumulative across the entirety of your online purchasing lifespan and includes everything you've ever bought at Amazon (except gift cards, I guess. :shrug:). If you've never in your whole life bought more than $50 worth of stuff at Amazon, you can't write a review. Who hasn't bought $50+ worth of stuff through Amazon?? I see this as a non-issue. So, if you want to review a book at Amazon, go for it. If they, for some reason, deny your review - reword it and try again later. (I had a couple reviews get denied because they had curse words in them, so I fixed it and resubmitted and it worked.)
Any other Amazon issues out there that need to be addressed? Anything you've heard/read but haven't had time to confirm/deny yet?
Friday, December 8, 2017
Crime at the Holidays
Christmas is the season where we're supposed to be all giving and full of the milk of human kindness for our fellow man. Unfortunately, there are also shitheads who don't care and make this time of year their hunting season. And then there are the people who use the stress of the holidays and the imbibing of alcohol as an excuse to commit crimes against other people.
So far this week, right here in the back of beyond, we had a murder in a house I pass every time I go to the park to go fishing. One gentleman stabbed another repeatedly. Early reports are that they were friends. And the gas station, where I fill up my vehicle with fuel and myself with coffee, got robbed by an employee who also had a bunch of drugs in his car. AND someone busted in the front door of the feed store where I pick up grain for the critters. Assholes didn't get anything, thank goodness, but still, you really don't expect that shit in the middle of freakin' nowhere.
I assume most of you don't live in the middle of nowhere, though. You're living in more heavily populated areas and thus must be even more vigilant than my fellow Ozarkians. (I'm vigilant all the damn time because I have lived in big cities and little cities, burgs and towns and villages and rural locales. It all made me watchful.)
I watched a video this morning of police officers asking whether a woman had locked her car before going into the mall. She said 'yes, of course' and then another officer went to her car. The back door opened right up. Her alarms went off, of course, but by the time anyone would notice (or care... car alarms go off all the time and no one cares anymore), her stuff would've been gone.
They'll steal stuff out of your car. They'll steal stuff out of your cart - like your purse, if you aren't paying attention. They'll steal stuff off your porch...
I saw a report a few days ago of a city's police department leaving fake packages on people's porches around town. The packages were equipped with GPS tracking, so when the assholes stole the packages, the police could catch them in the act. Smart.
Anyway, be alert out there. Stay away from drunks. You know who amongst your friends and family can't handle their booze and become 'instant asshole' (instant asshole, just add alcohol). Lock everything, all the time. If you're having packages delivered, be home. And if you can't be home, have them delivered to someone you know will be home or at your place of work or to a rented PO Box.
Don't let a criminal ruin your holiday season, okay? And have as merry a little Christmas as you can. Or a pleasant Hannukah. Or whatever.
So far this week, right here in the back of beyond, we had a murder in a house I pass every time I go to the park to go fishing. One gentleman stabbed another repeatedly. Early reports are that they were friends. And the gas station, where I fill up my vehicle with fuel and myself with coffee, got robbed by an employee who also had a bunch of drugs in his car. AND someone busted in the front door of the feed store where I pick up grain for the critters. Assholes didn't get anything, thank goodness, but still, you really don't expect that shit in the middle of freakin' nowhere.
I assume most of you don't live in the middle of nowhere, though. You're living in more heavily populated areas and thus must be even more vigilant than my fellow Ozarkians. (I'm vigilant all the damn time because I have lived in big cities and little cities, burgs and towns and villages and rural locales. It all made me watchful.)
I watched a video this morning of police officers asking whether a woman had locked her car before going into the mall. She said 'yes, of course' and then another officer went to her car. The back door opened right up. Her alarms went off, of course, but by the time anyone would notice (or care... car alarms go off all the time and no one cares anymore), her stuff would've been gone.
They'll steal stuff out of your car. They'll steal stuff out of your cart - like your purse, if you aren't paying attention. They'll steal stuff off your porch...
I saw a report a few days ago of a city's police department leaving fake packages on people's porches around town. The packages were equipped with GPS tracking, so when the assholes stole the packages, the police could catch them in the act. Smart.
Anyway, be alert out there. Stay away from drunks. You know who amongst your friends and family can't handle their booze and become 'instant asshole' (instant asshole, just add alcohol). Lock everything, all the time. If you're having packages delivered, be home. And if you can't be home, have them delivered to someone you know will be home or at your place of work or to a rented PO Box.
Don't let a criminal ruin your holiday season, okay? And have as merry a little Christmas as you can. Or a pleasant Hannukah. Or whatever.
Wednesday, December 6, 2017
Early Editing
Good Mornin', Everybuddy,
Since I am editing - slowly, but still - I thought I'd drop some edit notes down for you.
This is for Early Grave...
>> Rewrite beginning. Make stronger.
>> If they're in the common area, Tess can't grab the quilt off a chest.
>> Mr. Harpton? Ah, the groper. Make these two separate people.
>> paychecks calling to Tess.
^ Not. She's living off inheritance.
> what she suffered through (Tess
> whether he had any (he would have
>> Add more descriptors to beg. Ch 2
>> the word of one woman
^ Nope. One detective, etc.
>> 13 old people @ 3 facilities?
>> His mother raised him to think
^ grandmother
^^ fix whole 'mom' thing
> Laurel Matthews? Corey?
>> pissing contest in the first ten
^ make stronger
>> Eva Brown?? Seriously? (Yes, played with it on purpose later.
>> You mention going to the funerals but never show it. Why?
>> No page break before Ch4
That's most of the first page of notes - with super spoilery ones left out . I realize it probably looks weird and isn't very understandable, but you get the gist of what my edit notes to myself look like. Early on, I don't make a whole lot of notes about grammar. I'm hitting the high spots on the first run through. Grammar will come later after I tackle the big stuff - since I will probably insert even more typos and mistakes during the big edits.
Any questions?
Since I am editing - slowly, but still - I thought I'd drop some edit notes down for you.
This is for Early Grave...
>> Rewrite beginning. Make stronger.
>> If they're in the common area, Tess can't grab the quilt off a chest.
>> Mr. Harpton? Ah, the groper. Make these two separate people.
>> paychecks calling to Tess.
^ Not. She's living off inheritance.
> what she suffered through (Tess
> whether he had any (he would have
>> Add more descriptors to beg. Ch 2
>> the word of one woman
^ Nope. One detective, etc.
>> 13 old people @ 3 facilities?
>> His mother raised him to think
^ grandmother
^^ fix whole 'mom' thing
> Laurel Matthews? Corey?
>> pissing contest in the first ten
^ make stronger
>> Eva Brown?? Seriously? (Yes, played with it on purpose later.
>> You mention going to the funerals but never show it. Why?
>> No page break before Ch4
That's most of the first page of notes - with super spoilery ones left out . I realize it probably looks weird and isn't very understandable, but you get the gist of what my edit notes to myself look like. Early on, I don't make a whole lot of notes about grammar. I'm hitting the high spots on the first run through. Grammar will come later after I tackle the big stuff - since I will probably insert even more typos and mistakes during the big edits.
Any questions?
Wednesday, November 29, 2017
The NEW Goodreads Giveaway Program
I got an email this morning from Goodreads with the subject of 'Introducing the New Goodreads Giveaways'. I almost deleted it as junk mail. Good thing I didn't. It's all about the new super-special programs that Goodreads is implementing for giving away books through them.
And it's no longer free.
Starting in January of 2018 - so about 6 weeks from now - you can only give away books if you pay them to hold your giveaways. Isn't that special? I know in the email they sound super excited about it.
I remember an old saying and I'm paraphrasing because I don't remember remember it. "Marketing is telling you to go to hell and making you think you're going to enjoy the trip."
That's about how I'm feeling about the whole Goodreads Giveaway Program this morning. They've basically told me to go to hell and they're trying to make me think the trip will be super awesome.
Basically, you can get the Standard Plan or the Premium Plan. Standard is $119 and Premium is $599. But if you ACT NOW, you can get 50% off, or some such thing. So, $60 or $300... to give away a book.
I like giving away books. It makes me happy. Not $300 happy. Not even $60 happy. Lord knows it isn't like I've seen great things come my way because I've given out a book here or there. I got one review once from someone who won a Goodreads giveaway. And there's one winner who immediately listed my book for sale on Amazon. Gnarly. I'm supposed to pay someone so someone else can get a free book they can then list for sale? Ummmmmmmm. No.
Anyway, they can do what they want to do. It's their business, after all. I think it's short-sighted and stupid, but I'm entitled to my opinion. I'll still have my books listed on there for readers to add to their lists. Until they start charging for that crap.
And yes, I'm bitchy about it. It's like there a consortium somewhere thinking up ways to make the self-publishing business harder every damn day.
I have a distinct urge to run away this morning. But it's rainy and cold. Don't mind fishing in the rain. Don't mind fishing in the cold. Cold and rain? No freakin' way. I think I'll sort my library this morning and see what needs to be donated to St. Vinny's.
What are you up to today? Do you enter Goodreads giveaways? Ever won anything thru there? I have, but it's been a while.
And it's no longer free.
Starting in January of 2018 - so about 6 weeks from now - you can only give away books if you pay them to hold your giveaways. Isn't that special? I know in the email they sound super excited about it.
I remember an old saying and I'm paraphrasing because I don't remember remember it. "Marketing is telling you to go to hell and making you think you're going to enjoy the trip."
That's about how I'm feeling about the whole Goodreads Giveaway Program this morning. They've basically told me to go to hell and they're trying to make me think the trip will be super awesome.
Basically, you can get the Standard Plan or the Premium Plan. Standard is $119 and Premium is $599. But if you ACT NOW, you can get 50% off, or some such thing. So, $60 or $300... to give away a book.
I like giving away books. It makes me happy. Not $300 happy. Not even $60 happy. Lord knows it isn't like I've seen great things come my way because I've given out a book here or there. I got one review once from someone who won a Goodreads giveaway. And there's one winner who immediately listed my book for sale on Amazon. Gnarly. I'm supposed to pay someone so someone else can get a free book they can then list for sale? Ummmmmmmm. No.
Anyway, they can do what they want to do. It's their business, after all. I think it's short-sighted and stupid, but I'm entitled to my opinion. I'll still have my books listed on there for readers to add to their lists. Until they start charging for that crap.
And yes, I'm bitchy about it. It's like there a consortium somewhere thinking up ways to make the self-publishing business harder every damn day.
I have a distinct urge to run away this morning. But it's rainy and cold. Don't mind fishing in the rain. Don't mind fishing in the cold. Cold and rain? No freakin' way. I think I'll sort my library this morning and see what needs to be donated to St. Vinny's.
What are you up to today? Do you enter Goodreads giveaways? Ever won anything thru there? I have, but it's been a while.
Monday, November 27, 2017
Post Marketing Wrap-Up
Well, the sale for Dying Embers and Fertile Ground ended last night, so it's time to jot down the hard and fast numbers* for that. Residual sales may make these go up, but I don't expect much in the way of residuals off this.
Let's just say that while it did go, it did not go as well as I had hoped.
DE and FG were on sale from the 21st thru the 26th. 99 cents each. I sold 7.8 copies worth of DE and 4 copies worth of FG. (1.8 of DE sales were KU page reads.) Net gain was about $9.
I spent $41 on advertising. :shrug: That happens sometimes. And sometimes it doesn't. In September, I spent $28 on advertising and netted almost $90 - with another $60 so far in residual sales. Different genres, different times of the year, different strategies. I dunno.
This has been a low sales year overall. So, my expectations weren't all that high to begin with.
Anyway, I think DE is reaching a saturation point for the people I'm able to reach. Everyone in that sphere who'd want it has a copy. FG? Well, I can be pretty sure the idea of a book with a serial rapist scares the hell out of people, and there's really no way around that without giving away the whole plot shebang and constant reassurances that I wouldn't be graphic about that kind of thing. (Or maybe it is the reassurances that are turning people away... I dunno.)
Maybe when I put out the third SCIU book next year sales will go up for the other two. To that end, Early Grave will be the second book I put out next year. I have to edit it to a point where I can send it off the AWE (Awesome Wonderful Editor), and she has to finish editing what I have with her now. So, we'll probably start her on that in February with a potential release date in May or something.
Until then, I'll keep plugging along, advertising as the fundage allows. I didn't get a bonza return on my investment this time, but I still believe it's worth it.
*As always, your mileage may vary.
Let's just say that while it did go, it did not go as well as I had hoped.
DE and FG were on sale from the 21st thru the 26th. 99 cents each. I sold 7.8 copies worth of DE and 4 copies worth of FG. (1.8 of DE sales were KU page reads.) Net gain was about $9.
I spent $41 on advertising. :shrug: That happens sometimes. And sometimes it doesn't. In September, I spent $28 on advertising and netted almost $90 - with another $60 so far in residual sales. Different genres, different times of the year, different strategies. I dunno.
This has been a low sales year overall. So, my expectations weren't all that high to begin with.
Anyway, I think DE is reaching a saturation point for the people I'm able to reach. Everyone in that sphere who'd want it has a copy. FG? Well, I can be pretty sure the idea of a book with a serial rapist scares the hell out of people, and there's really no way around that without giving away the whole plot shebang and constant reassurances that I wouldn't be graphic about that kind of thing. (Or maybe it is the reassurances that are turning people away... I dunno.)
Maybe when I put out the third SCIU book next year sales will go up for the other two. To that end, Early Grave will be the second book I put out next year. I have to edit it to a point where I can send it off the AWE (Awesome Wonderful Editor), and she has to finish editing what I have with her now. So, we'll probably start her on that in February with a potential release date in May or something.
Until then, I'll keep plugging along, advertising as the fundage allows. I didn't get a bonza return on my investment this time, but I still believe it's worth it.
*As always, your mileage may vary.
Wednesday, November 22, 2017
Facebook Marketing
On Monday, I said I might do a post about the various Facebook groups I use to market my on-sale books.
In no particular order, here are the groups - some are public and some you have to belong to (which means sending a request to the group owners before you post, so no big deal)...
Amazon Kindle Goodreads - "This group is for people who own Amazon Kindle and want to share their recommendations for books they recent read and liked, or chat about their favorite authors etc."
Indie Authors International - "READERS and WRITERS and ARTISTS from EVERYWHERE, across borders, without barriers. EVERYONE WELCOME."
eBook World - "This is the group where authors and publishers can share their kindle books.. For promoting kindle books or for reviews exchanging."
Self-Published Crime Fiction Writers - "Welcome to my group.
I hope I have chosen my first guests well, and that you all enjoy the Crime-Fiction genre.
Here is a place to post any books that you would recommend to your friends of other group members.
If you are an author, you are welcome to join the group and post your Crime Fiction novels here. Please don't spam and please stick to the genre."
Free Kindle Books UK - "...We constantly search our website for good free books and post any that we find in this group. ..."
Free Kindle Books - "Sharing *free* Kindle (Amazon sites only) books as and when we find them. Get in quick as sometimes the books are only free for 24 hours before they return to paid. ..."
Kindle Unlimited - "Kindle Unlimited is a place for author's to share their kindle books and ebooks and a place for Kindle Unlimited subscribers to find great reads. ..."
I'm sure there are more. Scads, probably. But these are the ones I belong to. There have been varying results, but they're all free so it's not costing me anything but time to post to them, and you never know when someone will see your post and buy.
As for other marketing with Facebook, I have paid for ads. Several times. And I never see a sale directly from any of my paid marketing efforts. There might be residual stuff from having my book splashed on FB, but nothing I can connect directly - i.e. post ad, see uptick in sales or page reads. I haven't done one of these paid ads in a while. It's hard to justify them when I don't see results, ya know what I mean?
I know some of you aren't on Facebook at all. I understand. It's a drain. Sometimes it sucks the energy right out of me. It's definitely a timesuck. But, like I said, I do see sales without having to shell out any of my tightly squeezed cash.
Twitter? I try to avoid it. Talk about energy-sucking. Bleh. But I do have my FB author page feeding Twitter. Sometimes I even go there and post, but only during sales. Sometimes I see sales I can directly relate to a Twitter post. Mostly, though, it's just for the exposure.
And that's it in a nutshell. Any questions?
In no particular order, here are the groups - some are public and some you have to belong to (which means sending a request to the group owners before you post, so no big deal)...
Amazon Kindle Goodreads - "This group is for people who own Amazon Kindle and want to share their recommendations for books they recent read and liked, or chat about their favorite authors etc."
Indie Authors International - "READERS and WRITERS and ARTISTS from EVERYWHERE, across borders, without barriers. EVERYONE WELCOME."
eBook World - "This is the group where authors and publishers can share their kindle books.. For promoting kindle books or for reviews exchanging."
Self-Published Crime Fiction Writers - "Welcome to my group.
I hope I have chosen my first guests well, and that you all enjoy the Crime-Fiction genre.
Here is a place to post any books that you would recommend to your friends of other group members.
If you are an author, you are welcome to join the group and post your Crime Fiction novels here. Please don't spam and please stick to the genre."
Free Kindle Books UK - "...We constantly search our website for good free books and post any that we find in this group. ..."
Free Kindle Books - "Sharing *free* Kindle (Amazon sites only) books as and when we find them. Get in quick as sometimes the books are only free for 24 hours before they return to paid. ..."
Kindle Unlimited - "Kindle Unlimited is a place for author's to share their kindle books and ebooks and a place for Kindle Unlimited subscribers to find great reads. ..."
I'm sure there are more. Scads, probably. But these are the ones I belong to. There have been varying results, but they're all free so it's not costing me anything but time to post to them, and you never know when someone will see your post and buy.
As for other marketing with Facebook, I have paid for ads. Several times. And I never see a sale directly from any of my paid marketing efforts. There might be residual stuff from having my book splashed on FB, but nothing I can connect directly - i.e. post ad, see uptick in sales or page reads. I haven't done one of these paid ads in a while. It's hard to justify them when I don't see results, ya know what I mean?
I know some of you aren't on Facebook at all. I understand. It's a drain. Sometimes it sucks the energy right out of me. It's definitely a timesuck. But, like I said, I do see sales without having to shell out any of my tightly squeezed cash.
Twitter? I try to avoid it. Talk about energy-sucking. Bleh. But I do have my FB author page feeding Twitter. Sometimes I even go there and post, but only during sales. Sometimes I see sales I can directly relate to a Twitter post. Mostly, though, it's just for the exposure.
And that's it in a nutshell. Any questions?
Monday, November 20, 2017
Advertising, Marketing, Etc.
Time again for a discussion on marketing, advertising, marketing venues, etc., ya know, since I haven't done one in a while. And since I haven't done one in a while, I'm going to start over rather than add to the previous one. The slate is clean.
Okay, so looking back, I wasn't a good monkey in keeping track of what advertising dollars went to which book. :eyeroll: I should fire my marketing manager, but that's me, so... I've given myself a good talking to and put a note in my file about dereliction of duty.
Here's a basic overview of what information I did put into the spreadsheet and the budget.
Reading Deals - $29. I paid for an ad in February. I assume for Dying Embers, since there's a sales uptick for that book in that month. And I have one coming out this week, also for Dying Embers.
Booktastik - $10. I paid for an ad in February. Ditto for the book, not ditto for an ad this week. I recall not seeing a lot from this ad, but it could be my memory.
Paranormal & Urban Fantasy Bargains - $3/$12. I paid for an ad in June. I assume for Wish in One Hand, since it was on a free promo. I saw some sales of the other two books in the series. And I paid for 4 ads in September. The 4 ads went much better than the single ad - probably because the single ad was for one book only and the 4 ads were for the whole series. This really seemed to get me some nice sales for the series.
Author Billboard - $6. I paid for an ad in September. Also seemed to see an uptick in sales. And I have two coming out this week - Dying Embers and Fertile Ground. Fingers crossed.
ebookdealsdaily - $10. I paid for an ad in September. I'm not sure how well this one did, since I was already rolling along from the other advertising when this ad went live.
eReaderNewsToday (ENT) - I tried for an ad in September, but they turned me down. They did say it was because their newsletter was full for the dates I needed, so that's on me. I should've planned better.
Which brings me around to this week's ads. Dying Embers and Fertile Ground will both be on sale starting tomorrow and running through Sunday night - here and in the UK. Hence, advertising. I did a sale for AD and NC over Halloween and didn't advertise anywhere but on FB and Twitter (posts only, no paid ads). I sold a few copies. I should've advertised, but I put the sale together at the last minute and didn't have time to advertise. Derp.
As for Facebook and Twitter. I've paid for ads with Facebook and really didn't see a return on my investment. I haven't paid for ads on Twitter. In FB's case, I see more activity from posting to various groups than anything else. And I occasionally see activity from posting about a sale to Twitter. Not huge numbers, but still.
In any case, the more I put my books out there, the more I see page reads in Kindle Unlimited. I think more people are willing to take a chance on a book when they don't have to buy the whole book - like when it's included in their monthly subscription. Then they start to read and more often than not, they read through the whole series. I had one person start with Wish in One Hand, read through the series, and then read all my other books one after the other. It was awesome to watch the page counts roll along in a wave.
A final note to this post. Recently, Elizabeth Spann Craig did a post on advertising I think y'all should read. And in it is a link to a list someone else put together of advertising venues. It's not comprehensive - good lord, there are so many venues, I don't think it could be comprehensive - but it's damn good and it'll save time when you're looking to advertise your books. Or, hey, if you're looking for books to read, those lists are a gold mine. Seriously.
Anyway, if you're out there self-publishing your work and wondering how to get noticed and get sales, I highly recommend doing some advertising. It doesn't have to be expensive. Of course, the more you spend, the more you can potentially make. Still, getting the word out there helps. Maybe Wednesday I'll list the various FB groups I post to for advertising. And perhaps, if I remember, next week I'll post something about how this week's advertising and sale went.
Hope that helps. If you have any questions, let me know.
Okay, so looking back, I wasn't a good monkey in keeping track of what advertising dollars went to which book. :eyeroll: I should fire my marketing manager, but that's me, so... I've given myself a good talking to and put a note in my file about dereliction of duty.
Here's a basic overview of what information I did put into the spreadsheet and the budget.
Reading Deals - $29. I paid for an ad in February. I assume for Dying Embers, since there's a sales uptick for that book in that month. And I have one coming out this week, also for Dying Embers.
Booktastik - $10. I paid for an ad in February. Ditto for the book, not ditto for an ad this week. I recall not seeing a lot from this ad, but it could be my memory.
Paranormal & Urban Fantasy Bargains - $3/$12. I paid for an ad in June. I assume for Wish in One Hand, since it was on a free promo. I saw some sales of the other two books in the series. And I paid for 4 ads in September. The 4 ads went much better than the single ad - probably because the single ad was for one book only and the 4 ads were for the whole series. This really seemed to get me some nice sales for the series.
Author Billboard - $6. I paid for an ad in September. Also seemed to see an uptick in sales. And I have two coming out this week - Dying Embers and Fertile Ground. Fingers crossed.
ebookdealsdaily - $10. I paid for an ad in September. I'm not sure how well this one did, since I was already rolling along from the other advertising when this ad went live.
eReaderNewsToday (ENT) - I tried for an ad in September, but they turned me down. They did say it was because their newsletter was full for the dates I needed, so that's on me. I should've planned better.
Which brings me around to this week's ads. Dying Embers and Fertile Ground will both be on sale starting tomorrow and running through Sunday night - here and in the UK. Hence, advertising. I did a sale for AD and NC over Halloween and didn't advertise anywhere but on FB and Twitter (posts only, no paid ads). I sold a few copies. I should've advertised, but I put the sale together at the last minute and didn't have time to advertise. Derp.
As for Facebook and Twitter. I've paid for ads with Facebook and really didn't see a return on my investment. I haven't paid for ads on Twitter. In FB's case, I see more activity from posting to various groups than anything else. And I occasionally see activity from posting about a sale to Twitter. Not huge numbers, but still.
In any case, the more I put my books out there, the more I see page reads in Kindle Unlimited. I think more people are willing to take a chance on a book when they don't have to buy the whole book - like when it's included in their monthly subscription. Then they start to read and more often than not, they read through the whole series. I had one person start with Wish in One Hand, read through the series, and then read all my other books one after the other. It was awesome to watch the page counts roll along in a wave.
A final note to this post. Recently, Elizabeth Spann Craig did a post on advertising I think y'all should read. And in it is a link to a list someone else put together of advertising venues. It's not comprehensive - good lord, there are so many venues, I don't think it could be comprehensive - but it's damn good and it'll save time when you're looking to advertise your books. Or, hey, if you're looking for books to read, those lists are a gold mine. Seriously.
Anyway, if you're out there self-publishing your work and wondering how to get noticed and get sales, I highly recommend doing some advertising. It doesn't have to be expensive. Of course, the more you spend, the more you can potentially make. Still, getting the word out there helps. Maybe Wednesday I'll list the various FB groups I post to for advertising. And perhaps, if I remember, next week I'll post something about how this week's advertising and sale went.
Hope that helps. If you have any questions, let me know.
Friday, November 17, 2017
Taking the Plunge
Okay, it's done. I have sent a manuscript to my editor.
I'd been playing with the idea of releasing something different next. One of my dystopian novels. And I had two books that, in my estimation, were as ready to go as I could make them by myself. But I couldn't choose. So, I sent an email to my Awesome Wonderful Editor (AWE), hoping she would make this easy on me.
She didn't. She made me choose. =o\
This is the email that ensued...
In the end, I chose Blink... err, Blink of an I... which I always refer to as Blink in my head. It was originally written in 2006, rewritten, revised, edited, etc. and then queried in '08 & '09, then revised some more, critted, etc. until I finally set it aside. I still love this book and I still believe in this book, so I took the plunge and I'm moving forward with it.
Unless, of course, my editor comes back and tells me it's beyond help.
Here's the blurb* that once landed me a request for pages from an agent...
Here's hoping, with the help of AWE, this will be alive and out in the world next year.
Like I said, it's not my usual stuff - although it does have loads of suspense. Naturally.
Anyway, there it is. I'm taking the plunge. And just so you know, if all goes according to plan, I'll for sure have a suspense and a paranormal released next year - Early Grave and Sleeping Ugly. And, if I ever get off my ass, a mystery, too - Dennis Haggarty #3.
How about you? Have you ever taken a plunge where you weren't exactly sure what the outcome would be? How'd that work out for you? How worried should I be? ;o)
*Wow, that blurb blows. I'll totally redo it before this goes live, but I'll leave it here so you get the gist.
I'd been playing with the idea of releasing something different next. One of my dystopian novels. And I had two books that, in my estimation, were as ready to go as I could make them by myself. But I couldn't choose. So, I sent an email to my Awesome Wonderful Editor (AWE), hoping she would make this easy on me.
She didn't. She made me choose. =o\
This is the email that ensued...
GAH! I've been back and forth, back and forth about this. Blink
or Unequal, Blink or Unequal... Argh. If I were to pick one to read,
like if someone had a gun to the back of my head and said 'choose one or
I'll blow your brains out', I'd probably be splattered all over. They
say if you do eeny-meeny-miney-mo, and then when you land on one, your
reaction will determine what your real choice is. If I eeny and land on
Blink, I'm like 'dang, I wanted Unequal'. BUT if I eeny and end up on
Unequal, I'm like 'dang' again. So, sitting here thinking about which
one is probably cleaner, I'd have to go with Unequal - because it was
written more recently when I had a better grasp of what I was doing.
But if I think about which one is more important to me, I'd have to go
with Blink. ...
Sooo, the answer is.... I'll email you something later and surprise you. ;o)In the end, I chose Blink... err, Blink of an I... which I always refer to as Blink in my head. It was originally written in 2006, rewritten, revised, edited, etc. and then queried in '08 & '09, then revised some more, critted, etc. until I finally set it aside. I still love this book and I still believe in this book, so I took the plunge and I'm moving forward with it.
Unless, of course, my editor comes back and tells me it's beyond help.
Here's the blurb* that once landed me a request for pages from an agent...
A foundling raised in a state home,
Mary Jones should be a meek servant under the Union’s
dictatorship. Instead, she has a
tendency to wander where she shouldn’t, and this time it’s straight into a
forbidden store run by a member of a secret society—The Order, and they need
help. Before she can blink, they decide
she’s perfect for a mission they’ve planned for decades. Now, she can either stay home where the Union
Guard already has orders to kill her, or she can escape the city to search for
traces of mankind outside.
If she survives long enough to
return, that is.
Beyond the ravages of a
long-forgotten war, she learns freeing her city means eradicating the Union—by herself, if necessary. When she promised to free her people, though,
she never dreamed they wouldn’t want her help.
Here's hoping, with the help of AWE, this will be alive and out in the world next year.
Like I said, it's not my usual stuff - although it does have loads of suspense. Naturally.
Anyway, there it is. I'm taking the plunge. And just so you know, if all goes according to plan, I'll for sure have a suspense and a paranormal released next year - Early Grave and Sleeping Ugly. And, if I ever get off my ass, a mystery, too - Dennis Haggarty #3.
How about you? Have you ever taken a plunge where you weren't exactly sure what the outcome would be? How'd that work out for you? How worried should I be? ;o)
*Wow, that blurb blows. I'll totally redo it before this goes live, but I'll leave it here so you get the gist.
Monday, November 13, 2017
Presumed Innocent Until Proven Guilty
I watch a lot of true crime shows - First 48, Live PD, COPS, etc. - and they all remind us that the people involved are innocent until proven guilty. Sometimes ad nauseum. Sometimes when you can see with you own eyes that the person under arrest did exactly what they're being charged with. Regardless, it is an important thing to remember.
Here in the USA, people are presumed innocent until PROVEN guilty.
Well, they were innocent until proven otherwise and were guilty when they were proven guilty. I'm not sure what's going on now.
Today, we have people who are being ruined by allegations of crime without proof. It's all very fucked up.
As for the recent witch hunt, you believe the allegations or you don't depending on what side of the fence you land on. Bill Cosby and Judge Moore vs Bill Clinton and Kevin Spacey? Who's the criminal? Where the proof? Hmm. Seems like there was proof in there for one of those...
But I digress.
Sure, I'm laughing my ass off over some of this stuff. I have to or I'll go nuts. And I can be pretty certain here in my own home that I am correct in my assumptions of who is guilty and who isn't. But I don't make public opinion. Nobody cares what I have to say on the subject - and they shouldn't, because it is just opinion. Opinion and conjecture is not proof. And I don't have anything to do with the criminal justice system. I just write about it. Which is something actual criminals should thank their lucky stars for, lemme tell ya.
So, before you jump on the bandwagon - at least publicly* - remember that this is still America and we still presume someone is innocent until proof shows otherwise beyond a reasonable doubt. Which basically means I can't point at you and say you stole my Ferrari** and have the police come and lock you up on my say-so. This 'innocent until proven guilty' thing protects us all.
Remember it and hold it tight, folks, because the next round of pointing fingers could be directed at you.
* What you say and think in your own private places is nobody's business. Have at it.
** I do not now nor have I ever nor will I ever own a Ferrari. I'd someday like to have enough money to eschew the purchase of a Ferrari, though.
Here in the USA, people are presumed innocent until PROVEN guilty.
Well, they were innocent until proven otherwise and were guilty when they were proven guilty. I'm not sure what's going on now.
Today, we have people who are being ruined by allegations of crime without proof. It's all very fucked up.
As for the recent witch hunt, you believe the allegations or you don't depending on what side of the fence you land on. Bill Cosby and Judge Moore vs Bill Clinton and Kevin Spacey? Who's the criminal? Where the proof? Hmm. Seems like there was proof in there for one of those...
But I digress.
Sure, I'm laughing my ass off over some of this stuff. I have to or I'll go nuts. And I can be pretty certain here in my own home that I am correct in my assumptions of who is guilty and who isn't. But I don't make public opinion. Nobody cares what I have to say on the subject - and they shouldn't, because it is just opinion. Opinion and conjecture is not proof. And I don't have anything to do with the criminal justice system. I just write about it. Which is something actual criminals should thank their lucky stars for, lemme tell ya.
So, before you jump on the bandwagon - at least publicly* - remember that this is still America and we still presume someone is innocent until proof shows otherwise beyond a reasonable doubt. Which basically means I can't point at you and say you stole my Ferrari** and have the police come and lock you up on my say-so. This 'innocent until proven guilty' thing protects us all.
Remember it and hold it tight, folks, because the next round of pointing fingers could be directed at you.
* What you say and think in your own private places is nobody's business. Have at it.
** I do not now nor have I ever nor will I ever own a Ferrari. I'd someday like to have enough money to eschew the purchase of a Ferrari, though.
Wednesday, November 8, 2017
NaNoWriMo: Still No, But...
If you're participating in NaNoWriMo this year you should be at 13350 or so by the end of tonight. I am still not participating. But...
Last night as I was trying to go to sleep, my brain started playing with the next Dennis Haggarty book. I already had the general premise laid out, but not enough that it was blowing my skirt up enough to write it. Last night? My silly brain figured it out. I dragged my butt out of bed and wandered over here to write it down.
You see, I had this idea that Dennis goes off to a conference of rural police chiefs, and I was trying to think of exactly which little town in CO I would drop the conference into. Then it occurred to me - drop the conference into Last Ditch.
Okay, that was a good idea. Not worth dragging my butt out of bed for, though. I'd remember that one. What got me out of bed was the acronym for the conference... CARPAC. The Colorado Association of Rural Police Administrators & Chiefs*.
I never would've remembered that if I hadn't written it down. And just like that, I'm excited about writing this. Silly what lights the fire sometimes, eh?
So, I'm still not doing NaNo, but I may be writing this month after all. In fact, if I start this now, I could have the first draft done by the end of the year. Maybe. We'll see.
What silly things have lit your fire?
*Yeah, it's lame, but sometimes the hoops people jump through to make an acronym are lame, so it works in its own weird way.
Last night as I was trying to go to sleep, my brain started playing with the next Dennis Haggarty book. I already had the general premise laid out, but not enough that it was blowing my skirt up enough to write it. Last night? My silly brain figured it out. I dragged my butt out of bed and wandered over here to write it down.
You see, I had this idea that Dennis goes off to a conference of rural police chiefs, and I was trying to think of exactly which little town in CO I would drop the conference into. Then it occurred to me - drop the conference into Last Ditch.
Okay, that was a good idea. Not worth dragging my butt out of bed for, though. I'd remember that one. What got me out of bed was the acronym for the conference... CARPAC. The Colorado Association of Rural Police Administrators & Chiefs*.
I never would've remembered that if I hadn't written it down. And just like that, I'm excited about writing this. Silly what lights the fire sometimes, eh?
So, I'm still not doing NaNo, but I may be writing this month after all. In fact, if I start this now, I could have the first draft done by the end of the year. Maybe. We'll see.
What silly things have lit your fire?
*Yeah, it's lame, but sometimes the hoops people jump through to make an acronym are lame, so it works in its own weird way.
Monday, November 6, 2017
Content Warnings and Age Guidelines
Let me just start out by saying I don't have either content warnings or age guidelines on any of my books. In this day and age, there are probably reasons why I should, but it's one of those things I won't do.
The covers and the blurbs should pretty much tell you whether you're old enough to read the book, and that your children probably aren't. Well, maybe except for the Once Upon a Djinn series, where the most R-rated thing is the swearing. And it's not rife with curse words. I gently sprinkle them in where they're necessary. If you've reached an age where my books look interesting to you and you haven't encountered swearing before, you probably should put my books down and go back to your bubble.
As for content warnings, I'm against them. Meaty books should shock or surprise or perhaps offend you a little, and if you're reading along and come across something that you just can't handle, close the book and move on. I did that the other day. It was over the top - for me.
Maybe I should put a special snowflake warning on mine. 'If you are a special snowflake, you're probably not going to like this book.' Wouldn't want anyone to melt, doncha know. Perhaps such a warning would've prevented a one-star review/rating here or there. :shrug: They are what they are.
Of all my books, Fertile Ground is the one I worry about the most. The villain is a serial rapist and murderer. But I think I treat the subject well - I don't actually describe the acts in depth, just the before and the after - and the heinous asshole does get a most satisfying sort of justice in the end.
Of course, there is a lot of murder in my books. If you're sensitive to that sort of thing, you probably shouldn't be shopping in the mystery/suspense/thriller/urban fantasy sections.
Sometimes I wonder if authors put content warnings on their books as less of a 'warning' measure and more to titillate. Like saying 'don't read this' will encourage people to read it, just to see what the fuss is about. :shrug: I can't do that. It's not me.
What do you think? Do you put content warnings and age guidelines on your books? Do you care whether a book you want to read has content warnings?
The covers and the blurbs should pretty much tell you whether you're old enough to read the book, and that your children probably aren't. Well, maybe except for the Once Upon a Djinn series, where the most R-rated thing is the swearing. And it's not rife with curse words. I gently sprinkle them in where they're necessary. If you've reached an age where my books look interesting to you and you haven't encountered swearing before, you probably should put my books down and go back to your bubble.
As for content warnings, I'm against them. Meaty books should shock or surprise or perhaps offend you a little, and if you're reading along and come across something that you just can't handle, close the book and move on. I did that the other day. It was over the top - for me.
Maybe I should put a special snowflake warning on mine. 'If you are a special snowflake, you're probably not going to like this book.' Wouldn't want anyone to melt, doncha know. Perhaps such a warning would've prevented a one-star review/rating here or there. :shrug: They are what they are.
Of all my books, Fertile Ground is the one I worry about the most. The villain is a serial rapist and murderer. But I think I treat the subject well - I don't actually describe the acts in depth, just the before and the after - and the heinous asshole does get a most satisfying sort of justice in the end.
Of course, there is a lot of murder in my books. If you're sensitive to that sort of thing, you probably shouldn't be shopping in the mystery/suspense/thriller/urban fantasy sections.
Sometimes I wonder if authors put content warnings on their books as less of a 'warning' measure and more to titillate. Like saying 'don't read this' will encourage people to read it, just to see what the fuss is about. :shrug: I can't do that. It's not me.
What do you think? Do you put content warnings and age guidelines on your books? Do you care whether a book you want to read has content warnings?
Wednesday, November 1, 2017
NaNoWri...NO
I am not writing a book this month. Nope. Not a gonna do it. No way. No how.
Except when I was telling Hubs about how I wasn't going to do NaNoWriMo this year, I started telling him about how Dennis Haggarty #3 is pestering me in the brainpan. And the more I talked, the more I wanted to start writing it.
But no. I am up to my ass right now with other stuff. And it's Fall fishing time. And I wanted to do ancestry stuff this month. And I have stuff I need to be editing. And...
We'll see.
How about you? Are you writing a book this month? Have you ever tried to NaNo (i.e. write a book in a month)?
Except when I was telling Hubs about how I wasn't going to do NaNoWriMo this year, I started telling him about how Dennis Haggarty #3 is pestering me in the brainpan. And the more I talked, the more I wanted to start writing it.
But no. I am up to my ass right now with other stuff. And it's Fall fishing time. And I wanted to do ancestry stuff this month. And I have stuff I need to be editing. And...
We'll see.
How about you? Are you writing a book this month? Have you ever tried to NaNo (i.e. write a book in a month)?
Monday, October 30, 2017
Books in the Trunk
I keep a box in the trunk of my car filled with paperback copies of my books. It's there in case I run across anyone who actually wants to buy a hardcopy of one. To be honest, it's been a long, long time since I hand sold a book, though.
Every once in a while, when I'm pushing the box aside for groceries, I tell myself I really should get that out of there. It's just taking up space and every time I see it, it reminds me that my paperbacks aren't selling. (Of course, I'm not really doing anything to sell them, so that's on me. And a story for another time.)
But it's still there. And Friday I was reminded why I need to always keep it there.
Hubs and I went to town Friday. He needed a haircut and while he certainly could've gone alone, he asked me to come along for the drive. It was a beautiful day, so why not? Anyway, I dropped him off at the barber and went across the street to buy cigarettes.
I've been patronizing this smoke shop slash liquor store slash bait & tackle place for about 4 years and I like to chat with the employees. They're great gals (and just recently guys). And most of them are readers. The one who was working yesterday is always cheerful and nice. We've talked about her and her family. She's a hard working gal who busts her butt.
So, anyway, I was there talking to her and she asked me how the writing was going. (Not a question I get too often out there in the world.) I told her and then gave her a new bookmark and a new postcard. She was really excited for me, which kind of made my day. And I told her all of the ebooks are available for $2.99. Then she confessed that she prefers to read hardcopy.
Totally cool, but I could tell she wasn't going to go online and order my paperbacks, and that she was disappointed about that. I mean, I keep my paperbacks as inexpensive as I can, but they're still way more than $2.99.
Another customer was waiting, so we said our goodbyes and I went out to put the cigarettes in the car. And there in the trunk was that box, filled with books that haven't been going anywhere. I grabbed a copy of Wish in One Hand, whipped out a pen and signed it, then took it back inside. When I handed it to her, she lit up. And then she opened the front and saw the signature and squeed.
I made her day. And she made mine.
So, the box will remain in the trunk and I will add more books to it. Just in case. You never know. And hey, she might buy the others now, or she might opt for the ebooks (she does have a Kindle), and she might tell other people about them. But if she doesn't that's okay, too. Because she already made my day.
One more thing. I had been debating on whether to continue to produce paperback copies of my books. I was leaning away from future books having hardcopy versions. Now I'm leaning back. If I don't have the paperbacks, how can I hand one out? They're an added expense to my publishing budget, but they really are worth it.
What about you? Do you prefer ebooks or paperbacks? If you're a writer, do you keep copies of your books in the trunk of your car?
Every once in a while, when I'm pushing the box aside for groceries, I tell myself I really should get that out of there. It's just taking up space and every time I see it, it reminds me that my paperbacks aren't selling. (Of course, I'm not really doing anything to sell them, so that's on me. And a story for another time.)
But it's still there. And Friday I was reminded why I need to always keep it there.
Hubs and I went to town Friday. He needed a haircut and while he certainly could've gone alone, he asked me to come along for the drive. It was a beautiful day, so why not? Anyway, I dropped him off at the barber and went across the street to buy cigarettes.
I've been patronizing this smoke shop slash liquor store slash bait & tackle place for about 4 years and I like to chat with the employees. They're great gals (and just recently guys). And most of them are readers. The one who was working yesterday is always cheerful and nice. We've talked about her and her family. She's a hard working gal who busts her butt.
So, anyway, I was there talking to her and she asked me how the writing was going. (Not a question I get too often out there in the world.) I told her and then gave her a new bookmark and a new postcard. She was really excited for me, which kind of made my day. And I told her all of the ebooks are available for $2.99. Then she confessed that she prefers to read hardcopy.
Totally cool, but I could tell she wasn't going to go online and order my paperbacks, and that she was disappointed about that. I mean, I keep my paperbacks as inexpensive as I can, but they're still way more than $2.99.
Another customer was waiting, so we said our goodbyes and I went out to put the cigarettes in the car. And there in the trunk was that box, filled with books that haven't been going anywhere. I grabbed a copy of Wish in One Hand, whipped out a pen and signed it, then took it back inside. When I handed it to her, she lit up. And then she opened the front and saw the signature and squeed.
I made her day. And she made mine.
So, the box will remain in the trunk and I will add more books to it. Just in case. You never know. And hey, she might buy the others now, or she might opt for the ebooks (she does have a Kindle), and she might tell other people about them. But if she doesn't that's okay, too. Because she already made my day.
One more thing. I had been debating on whether to continue to produce paperback copies of my books. I was leaning away from future books having hardcopy versions. Now I'm leaning back. If I don't have the paperbacks, how can I hand one out? They're an added expense to my publishing budget, but they really are worth it.
What about you? Do you prefer ebooks or paperbacks? If you're a writer, do you keep copies of your books in the trunk of your car?
Monday, October 23, 2017
You Have My Permission
If you've been over to The Writing Spectacle lately, you may have seen that I have had writer's block. Which is probably part of the reason why you haven't seen me here lately. But that's beside the point. I haven't been writing. Which sucks.
Yesterday, I gave myself a good slapping around (mentally, of course). Sort of a 'you are going to get up off your ass and write or so help me I will slap the holy crap out of you so you'd better think of something and I mean now' thing. And I thought of something. Then I smooshed out my cigarette, looked at Hubs and told him I was going to work.
I saw down here and looked at where I'd left off on Early Grave. And I still didn't know how to proceed. Oh, I knew where I wanted to go. And I had that idea of something I'd just bullied myself into coming up with. But how to get from where I was to where I wanted to be? No clue. Which meant I was staring down the barrel of another day of not writing.
And I did not want to face myself after another one of those.
So I started writing. I slapped down a bunch of filler crap to get me from point A to point B. It's probably horrible. I'll probably most likely kill it off in edits. But it's there. And it did its job. It got me past the stall point and on to the next point. I dashed that off, too. It's sparse, but it's there. I can fill it in later.
This morning, thinking about what happened the night before, I realized I had given myself permission to write crap. If you know me, I'm a big proponent of giving yourself permission to write crap, so I'm not sure how I'd rescinded that permission somewhere along the way. But I had. For some reason or other, I was stalled because I talked myself into believing that the words going down on the page had to be 'not crappy'. Derp.
Crap can be fixed. Always. Blank pages? Can't do a damn thing with those. Ever.
Last night was a total crap fest. Yay! And it was 1500 words more than I wrote the entire week before. I'm embracing the crap, especially if it means I can turn out the pages and have something to edit later. So what if the scene I wrote would be totally unbelievable from a law enforcement officer standpoint? I can fix that. So what if the characters are acting out of character? I can fix that, too.
Embrace the crap.
You have my permission. ;o)
Yesterday, I gave myself a good slapping around (mentally, of course). Sort of a 'you are going to get up off your ass and write or so help me I will slap the holy crap out of you so you'd better think of something and I mean now' thing. And I thought of something. Then I smooshed out my cigarette, looked at Hubs and told him I was going to work.
I saw down here and looked at where I'd left off on Early Grave. And I still didn't know how to proceed. Oh, I knew where I wanted to go. And I had that idea of something I'd just bullied myself into coming up with. But how to get from where I was to where I wanted to be? No clue. Which meant I was staring down the barrel of another day of not writing.
And I did not want to face myself after another one of those.
So I started writing. I slapped down a bunch of filler crap to get me from point A to point B. It's probably horrible. I'll probably most likely kill it off in edits. But it's there. And it did its job. It got me past the stall point and on to the next point. I dashed that off, too. It's sparse, but it's there. I can fill it in later.
This morning, thinking about what happened the night before, I realized I had given myself permission to write crap. If you know me, I'm a big proponent of giving yourself permission to write crap, so I'm not sure how I'd rescinded that permission somewhere along the way. But I had. For some reason or other, I was stalled because I talked myself into believing that the words going down on the page had to be 'not crappy'. Derp.
Crap can be fixed. Always. Blank pages? Can't do a damn thing with those. Ever.
Last night was a total crap fest. Yay! And it was 1500 words more than I wrote the entire week before. I'm embracing the crap, especially if it means I can turn out the pages and have something to edit later. So what if the scene I wrote would be totally unbelievable from a law enforcement officer standpoint? I can fix that. So what if the characters are acting out of character? I can fix that, too.
Embrace the crap.
You have my permission. ;o)
Monday, October 16, 2017
Sales in Other Countries
Oops. Wrote this earlier and forgot to hit publish...
Someone in Australia has been reading my books. One after the other. (In the Kindle Unlimited program otherwise I'd have no clue.) Yay! Not sure how that happened, though. I mean, I kind of have an idea. The sales last month boosted my visibility. Natch. But how someone in Australia found Wish in One Hand exactly puzzles me.
All my books are available everywhere Amazon is. Since they're only available in English, it makes sense they'd sell into other English speaking nations. It doesn't happen quite as often as I'd hope, though. Sometimes I sell into the UK. Every once in a while, I sell something in Canada, but it's rare. (Which kind of baffles me, because both my editor and my cover artist are Canadian and Canada's like right up there. Our neighbors to the north. :waves:) Even rarer, Australia.
When I run a freebie, I see people from all over the world downloading, which is cool. Here's how last month's freeie for WIOH broke out...
US - 649 downloads
UK - 36
Germany - 12
France - 2
Spain - 1
Italy - 0
Netherlands - 1
Japan - 0
India - 1
Brazil - 1
Mexico - 0
Australia - 18
But free downloads almost never equates into sales in those countries. I can't remember the last time I actually had a sale or page reads in Germany.
And don't get me started on reviews. I have reviews here. I have a minor number of reviews in the UK. Anywhere else? Nada.
Anyway, like I said, I'm not sure about how I get sales in other countries or how to get more of them. I'm certainly happy to have them.
Do you read books from other countries? I read a fun romance out of Australia the other day. Sometimes I see a free book listed in the Kindle UK Facebook thing and I'll go to the US site and see if it's available here.
Someone in Australia has been reading my books. One after the other. (In the Kindle Unlimited program otherwise I'd have no clue.) Yay! Not sure how that happened, though. I mean, I kind of have an idea. The sales last month boosted my visibility. Natch. But how someone in Australia found Wish in One Hand exactly puzzles me.
All my books are available everywhere Amazon is. Since they're only available in English, it makes sense they'd sell into other English speaking nations. It doesn't happen quite as often as I'd hope, though. Sometimes I sell into the UK. Every once in a while, I sell something in Canada, but it's rare. (Which kind of baffles me, because both my editor and my cover artist are Canadian and Canada's like right up there. Our neighbors to the north. :waves:) Even rarer, Australia.
When I run a freebie, I see people from all over the world downloading, which is cool. Here's how last month's freeie for WIOH broke out...
US - 649 downloads
UK - 36
Germany - 12
France - 2
Spain - 1
Italy - 0
Netherlands - 1
Japan - 0
India - 1
Brazil - 1
Mexico - 0
Australia - 18
But free downloads almost never equates into sales in those countries. I can't remember the last time I actually had a sale or page reads in Germany.
And don't get me started on reviews. I have reviews here. I have a minor number of reviews in the UK. Anywhere else? Nada.
Anyway, like I said, I'm not sure about how I get sales in other countries or how to get more of them. I'm certainly happy to have them.
Do you read books from other countries? I read a fun romance out of Australia the other day. Sometimes I see a free book listed in the Kindle UK Facebook thing and I'll go to the US site and see if it's available here.
Wednesday, October 11, 2017
Why I'm Amazon Exclusive
All my books are available at Amazon. And only at Amazon* or through Createspace (which is owned by Amazon).
Why?
Well, there's the ease. I'm lazy and Amazon makes everything easy for me. One place to sell books, one place to market books, one place to check stats... you get the picture. But that's not the only reason.
I've tried putting my books on other sites. Know what happened? Next to nothing. I sold 12 books total in 2016 through other venues. And by marketing through those other channels, I lost the ability to have my books in the Kindle Unlimited program. Compared to the 12 books sold in 2016 through other venues, people read (and I got paid for) the equivalent of 182 books. That's $9.47 elsewhere vs $382 in KU. The math doesn't lie.
Know what else happened? I got paid a fraction of what I would've made through Amazon on each book. Other venues paid me an average of 79c per book. Regular sales through Amazon on my $2.99 books is $2.04. Even with the KU per page money dropping, I'm still averaging $1.98 per book this year (down 12c from last year's average). I can't argue with the numbers.
But not everyone uses Amazon you say? I have considered the people who don't use Amazon. Really I have. Right now, those people who bought the 12 books last year may not be able to access my other books. (Well, they could if they used Kindle for PC or for Nook or for whatever device they have.) I'm truly sorry about that. And it makes me a little sad. I want everyone to be able to read my books, however they want to read them. Unfortunately, when I weigh their needs against the money I'd be losing, the answer is clear.
No money, no books. It's really as simple as that. It's why I've only published two books this year instead of the 3 or 4 in my other publishing years. Oh, I can still write books. I have scads of them on my hard drive. But until there is moolah in my bank account, I can't afford to edit them or put covers on them and make them available for people to read.
So, there it is. I'm Amazon exclusive and now you know why. Any questions?
(If you've downloaded my books from anyplace else in the past year or so, you've stolen them. And you're part of the reason why I can't afford to publish more books. Shame on you.)
Why?
Well, there's the ease. I'm lazy and Amazon makes everything easy for me. One place to sell books, one place to market books, one place to check stats... you get the picture. But that's not the only reason.
I've tried putting my books on other sites. Know what happened? Next to nothing. I sold 12 books total in 2016 through other venues. And by marketing through those other channels, I lost the ability to have my books in the Kindle Unlimited program. Compared to the 12 books sold in 2016 through other venues, people read (and I got paid for) the equivalent of 182 books. That's $9.47 elsewhere vs $382 in KU. The math doesn't lie.
Know what else happened? I got paid a fraction of what I would've made through Amazon on each book. Other venues paid me an average of 79c per book. Regular sales through Amazon on my $2.99 books is $2.04. Even with the KU per page money dropping, I'm still averaging $1.98 per book this year (down 12c from last year's average). I can't argue with the numbers.
But not everyone uses Amazon you say? I have considered the people who don't use Amazon. Really I have. Right now, those people who bought the 12 books last year may not be able to access my other books. (Well, they could if they used Kindle for PC or for Nook or for whatever device they have.) I'm truly sorry about that. And it makes me a little sad. I want everyone to be able to read my books, however they want to read them. Unfortunately, when I weigh their needs against the money I'd be losing, the answer is clear.
No money, no books. It's really as simple as that. It's why I've only published two books this year instead of the 3 or 4 in my other publishing years. Oh, I can still write books. I have scads of them on my hard drive. But until there is moolah in my bank account, I can't afford to edit them or put covers on them and make them available for people to read.
So, there it is. I'm Amazon exclusive and now you know why. Any questions?
(If you've downloaded my books from anyplace else in the past year or so, you've stolen them. And you're part of the reason why I can't afford to publish more books. Shame on you.)
Monday, October 9, 2017
Be Vewwy Vewwy Quiet
I wrote words last night. But I am trying to be vewwy vewwy quiet about it so I don't chase them all away.
Yeah, sometimes words are like bunnies. No sudden moves. No open acknowledgement of their existence. Or they'll run away.
Hell, I don't even like to acknowledge that I have writer's block because with WB, it's the opposite. I acknowledge it and it swarms all over me. Bleh. I have to ignore that shit so it'll go away.
I said yesterday that I might do something totally off the wall to get my writing jump started. That wasn't the trick. In fact, I spent all day yesterday trying to think of something off the wall to write and came up empty.
What worked? I sat down here last night and read the last good bit of writing I had on Early Grave. And I saw where I had glossed over something and then omitted something kind of important. I reworked that last patch. Then I deleted about a thousand words past that point and wrote a scene where the hero and the heroine argue. And although he's kinda of right, she can't see it and it totally pisses her off, which makes her do something unwise which will lead to where I need the plot to be. Tada.
:fingers crossed:
The reason I'm crossing my fingers is that I don't want this bunny to run away. I need this bunny.
So, be vewwy vewwy quiet. K?
Yeah, sometimes words are like bunnies. No sudden moves. No open acknowledgement of their existence. Or they'll run away.
Hell, I don't even like to acknowledge that I have writer's block because with WB, it's the opposite. I acknowledge it and it swarms all over me. Bleh. I have to ignore that shit so it'll go away.
I said yesterday that I might do something totally off the wall to get my writing jump started. That wasn't the trick. In fact, I spent all day yesterday trying to think of something off the wall to write and came up empty.
What worked? I sat down here last night and read the last good bit of writing I had on Early Grave. And I saw where I had glossed over something and then omitted something kind of important. I reworked that last patch. Then I deleted about a thousand words past that point and wrote a scene where the hero and the heroine argue. And although he's kinda of right, she can't see it and it totally pisses her off, which makes her do something unwise which will lead to where I need the plot to be. Tada.
:fingers crossed:
The reason I'm crossing my fingers is that I don't want this bunny to run away. I need this bunny.
So, be vewwy vewwy quiet. K?
Friday, October 6, 2017
Being a Hermit and a Writer
I may have explained before that I am, for the most part, a hermit. Not literally, of course. I mean, I don't live in a cave or anything, and I do occasionally have contact with the outside world. I have to shop and stuff, so there's a bit of social interaction there. And I socialize on the internet. And there's Hubs.
But yeah, other than that, I'm a hermit. And with the world the way it is, my hermitude is getting worse.
That's neither here nor there, though. What I want to talk about today is how being a hermit clashes with being a self-published writer.
Two and a half years ago when I started the self-publishing thing, I was faced with some crucial decisions about how to proceed with the marketing portion of the business. I was encouraged to attend conferences and book signings and stuff. :shudder: The thought of being in crowds makes me want to crawl into a hole and pull the rocks down over myself. I did do some face-to-face, one-on-one stuff. I went to the local libraries and introduced myself and donated books. I went around to the places where I was known and told the people I knew about my book.
Since then, the people I knew at the libraries have left and everyone I know already knows about my books. :shrug: And I can't make myself start the process all over again. Get out in the world and meet more new people? :shudder:
I've pulled back on my internet stuff, too. I mean, I was already shrinking away because socializing is exhausting, but last year's election hoopdedoo helped shove me further back into my figurative cave. For a while there, it seemed like I was unfriending people on a daily basis. I ran away from Twitter because I couldn't scan through the feed without wanting to hurl.
And I'm pretty sure my sales have suffered as a result. Being a hermit and a writer is not a path I recommend for anyone who really wants to succeed at this self-publishing thing. (For varying definitions of 'success'.) However, I can't make myself step up to the social things I would need to do to whip up more sales. I guess when it comes down to it, I value my hermitage more than sales.
So, as my profile on FB says, 'Here I sit, hermit-like, in my cabin in the woods banging away at the keyboard and creating worlds.' Feel free to grab a cup of coffee and join me. Online. From your own hermit-holes. ;o)
But yeah, other than that, I'm a hermit. And with the world the way it is, my hermitude is getting worse.
That's neither here nor there, though. What I want to talk about today is how being a hermit clashes with being a self-published writer.
Two and a half years ago when I started the self-publishing thing, I was faced with some crucial decisions about how to proceed with the marketing portion of the business. I was encouraged to attend conferences and book signings and stuff. :shudder: The thought of being in crowds makes me want to crawl into a hole and pull the rocks down over myself. I did do some face-to-face, one-on-one stuff. I went to the local libraries and introduced myself and donated books. I went around to the places where I was known and told the people I knew about my book.
Since then, the people I knew at the libraries have left and everyone I know already knows about my books. :shrug: And I can't make myself start the process all over again. Get out in the world and meet more new people? :shudder:
I've pulled back on my internet stuff, too. I mean, I was already shrinking away because socializing is exhausting, but last year's election hoopdedoo helped shove me further back into my figurative cave. For a while there, it seemed like I was unfriending people on a daily basis. I ran away from Twitter because I couldn't scan through the feed without wanting to hurl.
And I'm pretty sure my sales have suffered as a result. Being a hermit and a writer is not a path I recommend for anyone who really wants to succeed at this self-publishing thing. (For varying definitions of 'success'.) However, I can't make myself step up to the social things I would need to do to whip up more sales. I guess when it comes down to it, I value my hermitage more than sales.
So, as my profile on FB says, 'Here I sit, hermit-like, in my cabin in the woods banging away at the keyboard and creating worlds.' Feel free to grab a cup of coffee and join me. Online. From your own hermit-holes. ;o)
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Self-Publishing Pros & Cons
I've probably done this before, but I think it's probably time again to list the Pros and the Cons of self-publishing.
Pros:
- No one tells me what to write.
- No one tells me what to publish.
- I don't have to worry about my editor 'changing houses'.
- No agent necessary.
- I don't have to worry about my publisher closing its doors.
- I don't have to worry about my publisher making silly business decisions.
- I can set reasonable prices for my books so people like me can afford them.
- I set my own schedule.
- I don't have to worry about getting scammed by untrustworthy publishers.
- The market tells me whether I've made the right decision about what to write and what to publish.
- I never have to wonder whether someone will release the rights of my books to me.
- I don't have to give anyone a percentage of my earnings.
- I get to be a hermit and still sell books.
Cons:
- I have to worry about everything, from writing and editing to marketing to accounting to personnel.
- The market is hard to figure out.
- If I fuck up, it's all on me.
- Sometimes I make silly business decisions.
- I have to pay for editing and cover art myself.
- I'm the one who has to run around figuring out how to pay for all this.
- Sometimes being a hermit clashes with the goal of selling books.
Sometimes the Cons outweigh the Pros, but for the most part, the Pros win every time. Of course, your mileage may vary.
Did I miss anything? Feel free to add your own pros/cons in the comments. =o)
Pros:
- No one tells me what to write.
- No one tells me what to publish.
- I don't have to worry about my editor 'changing houses'.
- No agent necessary.
- I don't have to worry about my publisher closing its doors.
- I don't have to worry about my publisher making silly business decisions.
- I can set reasonable prices for my books so people like me can afford them.
- I set my own schedule.
- I don't have to worry about getting scammed by untrustworthy publishers.
- The market tells me whether I've made the right decision about what to write and what to publish.
- I never have to wonder whether someone will release the rights of my books to me.
- I don't have to give anyone a percentage of my earnings.
- I get to be a hermit and still sell books.
Cons:
- I have to worry about everything, from writing and editing to marketing to accounting to personnel.
- The market is hard to figure out.
- If I fuck up, it's all on me.
- Sometimes I make silly business decisions.
- I have to pay for editing and cover art myself.
- I'm the one who has to run around figuring out how to pay for all this.
- Sometimes being a hermit clashes with the goal of selling books.
Sometimes the Cons outweigh the Pros, but for the most part, the Pros win every time. Of course, your mileage may vary.
Did I miss anything? Feel free to add your own pros/cons in the comments. =o)
Friday, September 29, 2017
Contacting Me
Reading a blog post this morning by the most wise Elizabeth Spann Craig brought something to my attention. I never made it super easy for people to contact me through the blogs.
I mean, I'm all over the place - blogs, Facebook, Twitter... But, ya know, I hadn't exactly linked everything all up. So, to that end, there's a new page here at Outside the Box. Look up there under the pretty picture and you'll see a 'Contact Me' button. It has all the places I can be contacted linked for easy use.
Over at The Writing Spectacle, I put a link at the top of the right sidebar to the Contact Me page here. Easy peasy. At least I hope it is.
If you can think of other ways you might want to get a hold of me, let me know. (I do have an Instagram thingie, but I can't use it because I'm a throwback with no suitable devices.)
The only other ways to contact me are phone numbers and snail mail addresses. Umm, yah, not putting those on the internet for the world to see. Sorry. If you subscribe to my newsletter, my PO Box is listed on the bottom of that because they made me have a physical address before they'd allow me to send newsletter. If you really need to send me something physical, use that. Or contact me another way and we'll talk.
I'm trying to be accessible to readers without leaving myself totally out there where the loonies can find me. Know what I mean?
Anyway, I hope you won't be shy about contacting me - even if I may be shy about contacting you. (Which means if you follow me on FB or Twitter or whatever, I won't be sending you messages out of the blue for any reason. I respond to stuff, but I rarely initiate.)
I mean, I'm all over the place - blogs, Facebook, Twitter... But, ya know, I hadn't exactly linked everything all up. So, to that end, there's a new page here at Outside the Box. Look up there under the pretty picture and you'll see a 'Contact Me' button. It has all the places I can be contacted linked for easy use.
Over at The Writing Spectacle, I put a link at the top of the right sidebar to the Contact Me page here. Easy peasy. At least I hope it is.
If you can think of other ways you might want to get a hold of me, let me know. (I do have an Instagram thingie, but I can't use it because I'm a throwback with no suitable devices.)
The only other ways to contact me are phone numbers and snail mail addresses. Umm, yah, not putting those on the internet for the world to see. Sorry. If you subscribe to my newsletter, my PO Box is listed on the bottom of that because they made me have a physical address before they'd allow me to send newsletter. If you really need to send me something physical, use that. Or contact me another way and we'll talk.
I'm trying to be accessible to readers without leaving myself totally out there where the loonies can find me. Know what I mean?
Anyway, I hope you won't be shy about contacting me - even if I may be shy about contacting you. (Which means if you follow me on FB or Twitter or whatever, I won't be sending you messages out of the blue for any reason. I respond to stuff, but I rarely initiate.)
Wednesday, September 27, 2017
Rambling
My brain would not shut off last night. This after a day of not getting it to turn on. It happens. More often than I'd like, frankly. I did get the motor to crank over about 7:30pm and I wrote with wild abandon. Then it was bed time. And I went to bed because my hands were tired and I thought I'd written to a point where I could let it go for the night.
Nope. As soon as my head hit the pillow and I started to get comfortable, the brain was all like 'hey, what if this and this, and then this?' I was screaming at it in my head to shut up shut up shut up. Finally I distracted it with a song or two and fell asleep.
This morning, all of the things I was thinking are hiding. Except one. I wrote that down a second ago. I hope to rebuild everything else at some point today. Fat chance, I know, but I'll try.
Anyway, Early Grave rolled over the 50K mark last night and I'm creeping up to the climax, which is part of what my brain was tinkering with last night.
It's like the cat. She has all damn day to wash her fur. Does she do it during the day? Nooo. She waits until we're in bed - either for a nap or for the night - and she goes to town, licking and slurping to beat the band. Yep, that's my brain. Ugh.
So, anyway, it's the 27th. I'm still thinking I won't have this first draft done by the end of the month, but I should have it done shortly thereafter. Fingers crossed. I need more nights of wild writing abandon and less nights of meh.
Okay, that's enough rambling out of me. You got any rambling to let out?
Nope. As soon as my head hit the pillow and I started to get comfortable, the brain was all like 'hey, what if this and this, and then this?' I was screaming at it in my head to shut up shut up shut up. Finally I distracted it with a song or two and fell asleep.
This morning, all of the things I was thinking are hiding. Except one. I wrote that down a second ago. I hope to rebuild everything else at some point today. Fat chance, I know, but I'll try.
Anyway, Early Grave rolled over the 50K mark last night and I'm creeping up to the climax, which is part of what my brain was tinkering with last night.
It's like the cat. She has all damn day to wash her fur. Does she do it during the day? Nooo. She waits until we're in bed - either for a nap or for the night - and she goes to town, licking and slurping to beat the band. Yep, that's my brain. Ugh.
So, anyway, it's the 27th. I'm still thinking I won't have this first draft done by the end of the month, but I should have it done shortly thereafter. Fingers crossed. I need more nights of wild writing abandon and less nights of meh.
Okay, that's enough rambling out of me. You got any rambling to let out?
Friday, September 22, 2017
Inspiration and Epiphanies
Jack London once said "You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club."
I totally get it. Sitting around waiting for inspiration to strike isn't productive. And we all need to be productive to make this writing thing work. (Hell, to make any venture work.)
My problem most of the time isn't a lack of inspiration - although there is that, too, from time to time. It's a lack of gumption. I expend energy writing or editing or marketing, and I need a freakin' nap. Like a two week long nap. And when I'm tired, it's harder for me to find the words.
But like inspiration, I realize I need to go after gumption with a club. I make myself sit down here and write. Mostly, those times produce really crappy lame words. But it's producing words. Crappy words are still better than no words. Crappy words can be fixed.
Sometimes, though, something clicks in my head and things fall into place. An epiphany! Who needs inspiration or gumption when you have an epiphany. I had two of those last night. The first one I had when I was sitting in the living room trying to work up the gumption to work. It filled my gumption tank and I scurried in here to write about 2K words. The second one struck after I'd already shut down the 'puter for the night and I forgot to write it down. Lucky for me, just thinking about having the epiphany made it pop into my head and I wrote it down a couple minutes ago. Things are falling into place.
Thinking about it now, I guess I got the first epiphany because I was strolling through the jungle of my mind with a club looking for gumption, and I flushed it out. WHACK. Brought that sucker down. The other epiphany was sneakier, but I nailed it, too.
So, I'm back to writing. I had hoped to get this first edition done by the end of September. I don't see that happening, but it's possible. And if I miss that deadline, I'll be finished soon after. It's all good.
I totally get it. Sitting around waiting for inspiration to strike isn't productive. And we all need to be productive to make this writing thing work. (Hell, to make any venture work.)
My problem most of the time isn't a lack of inspiration - although there is that, too, from time to time. It's a lack of gumption. I expend energy writing or editing or marketing, and I need a freakin' nap. Like a two week long nap. And when I'm tired, it's harder for me to find the words.
But like inspiration, I realize I need to go after gumption with a club. I make myself sit down here and write. Mostly, those times produce really crappy lame words. But it's producing words. Crappy words are still better than no words. Crappy words can be fixed.
Sometimes, though, something clicks in my head and things fall into place. An epiphany! Who needs inspiration or gumption when you have an epiphany. I had two of those last night. The first one I had when I was sitting in the living room trying to work up the gumption to work. It filled my gumption tank and I scurried in here to write about 2K words. The second one struck after I'd already shut down the 'puter for the night and I forgot to write it down. Lucky for me, just thinking about having the epiphany made it pop into my head and I wrote it down a couple minutes ago. Things are falling into place.
Thinking about it now, I guess I got the first epiphany because I was strolling through the jungle of my mind with a club looking for gumption, and I flushed it out. WHACK. Brought that sucker down. The other epiphany was sneakier, but I nailed it, too.
So, I'm back to writing. I had hoped to get this first edition done by the end of September. I don't see that happening, but it's possible. And if I miss that deadline, I'll be finished soon after. It's all good.
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
Release Day Advertising and Numbers
Hey All.
Here we are again with a break down of the things I did for the release of Wish Hits the Fan and how it's panned out so far.
Starting last Thursday, I placed Wish in One Hand as free for 5 days (the max Amazon allows for) and both In Deep Wish and Up Wish Creek as 99c/.99p for 7 days (max for a Kindle Countdown Deal).
I didn't set any advertising for Thursday, but I did kind of blitz Facebook and Twitter. I ended up with 360 copies of WIOH out the door that day, and sold 25 copies of the other Once Upon a Djinn books.
Friday, my first ads went up at Paranormal & Urban Fantasy Bargains and Author's Billboard. 235 copies of WIOH went out and I sold 11 copies of the others.
Saturday, more ads for PUFB and another ad at ebookdealsdaily.com. 82 copies of WIOH, 11 sales.
Sunday, no ads but additional FB and Twitter stuff. 50 copies of WIOH, and 9 sales.
Monday, the final ad at PUFB began. 36 WIOH, 2 sales.
Tuesday, the last day of the PUFB ad. 2 sales.
Wrapped into all of that are the 3500 pages read through Kindle Unlimited.
So, basically, I spent $28 on advertising and made a little over double that. Which is about what one should expect from advertising dollars, I guess. I'm hoping for some additional residual sales as people who picked up WIOH read it and buy the others, and as people who downloaded the books for KU, read pages and I get credit for those. We'll see.
I also saw some activity for my other non-OUAD books. The only book out of the nine that had no activity was Dying Embers, so that's something. And I saw more activity from other countries - UK, CA, AU, and Japan, of all places. :shrug:
It wasn't an explosion of sales for release day - I only moved 16 copies of WHTF - but I'm calling it a win. Especially considering that prior to this, I'd only sold like 85 books total over the first 8 books this whole year.
Still not sure what's up next. I really need to get back to work on finishing Early Grave. And then edits for Sleeping Ugly. And writing the next book in Dennis Haggarty's world. First, though, I have to find a way to recharge my gumption hump.
Okay, that's it. Any questions?
Here we are again with a break down of the things I did for the release of Wish Hits the Fan and how it's panned out so far.
Starting last Thursday, I placed Wish in One Hand as free for 5 days (the max Amazon allows for) and both In Deep Wish and Up Wish Creek as 99c/.99p for 7 days (max for a Kindle Countdown Deal).
I didn't set any advertising for Thursday, but I did kind of blitz Facebook and Twitter. I ended up with 360 copies of WIOH out the door that day, and sold 25 copies of the other Once Upon a Djinn books.
Friday, my first ads went up at Paranormal & Urban Fantasy Bargains and Author's Billboard. 235 copies of WIOH went out and I sold 11 copies of the others.
Saturday, more ads for PUFB and another ad at ebookdealsdaily.com. 82 copies of WIOH, 11 sales.
Sunday, no ads but additional FB and Twitter stuff. 50 copies of WIOH, and 9 sales.
Monday, the final ad at PUFB began. 36 WIOH, 2 sales.
Tuesday, the last day of the PUFB ad. 2 sales.
Wrapped into all of that are the 3500 pages read through Kindle Unlimited.
So, basically, I spent $28 on advertising and made a little over double that. Which is about what one should expect from advertising dollars, I guess. I'm hoping for some additional residual sales as people who picked up WIOH read it and buy the others, and as people who downloaded the books for KU, read pages and I get credit for those. We'll see.
I also saw some activity for my other non-OUAD books. The only book out of the nine that had no activity was Dying Embers, so that's something. And I saw more activity from other countries - UK, CA, AU, and Japan, of all places. :shrug:
It wasn't an explosion of sales for release day - I only moved 16 copies of WHTF - but I'm calling it a win. Especially considering that prior to this, I'd only sold like 85 books total over the first 8 books this whole year.
Still not sure what's up next. I really need to get back to work on finishing Early Grave. And then edits for Sleeping Ugly. And writing the next book in Dennis Haggarty's world. First, though, I have to find a way to recharge my gumption hump.
Okay, that's it. Any questions?
Friday, September 15, 2017
Release Day is Finally Here!
When I first started writing the first genie book (Djinn-ocide... which would eventually become Wish Hits the Fan) back in September of 2009, I really had no idea where it would go. I thought maybe I could make a series out of it someday and maybe it would land me an agent and a publishing contract.
LOL, well, we all know where that last part of the vision went, don't we?
I self-published Wish in One Hand in August of 2015. A little over two years later, the fourth and final book in the Once Upon a Djinn series is available for the general public to read. Yay!
I'm super stoked that all the books are together. And I really I hope you all enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them.
Here they are...
Wish in One Hand
In Deep Wish
Up Wish Creek
Wish Hits the Fan
Not quite sure what's up next. I'm going to enjoy this for a little while, I think. All four books together. Finally.
Whew.
LOL, well, we all know where that last part of the vision went, don't we?
I self-published Wish in One Hand in August of 2015. A little over two years later, the fourth and final book in the Once Upon a Djinn series is available for the general public to read. Yay!
I'm super stoked that all the books are together. And I really I hope you all enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them.
Here they are...
Wish in One Hand
In Deep Wish
Up Wish Creek
Wish Hits the Fan
Not quite sure what's up next. I'm going to enjoy this for a little while, I think. All four books together. Finally.
Whew.
Wednesday, September 13, 2017
Punishment and Crime
Yesterday, Hubs was reading me news stories about the crime that's sprung up in the wake of the hurricanes. Apparently, St. Martins/St. Maartens is like a freaking warzone after Irma. Parts of FL have turned into a free-for-all. Looting abounds.
Seriously? I mean, WTF is wrong with people? Find an instance where people are beaten and battered and hit them again? Kick them when they're down? That's pretty low. And I find myself longing for the good old days when 'looters will be shot on sight' was a thing.
I'm sure that was a major deterrent and kept many borderline criminals from committing that particular crime. Unless you're profoundly stupid, getting shot for looting would stop you from looting. Wouldn't it?
Nowadays, though, punishment is less deterring. Looters will be arrested, spend a night in jail while awaiting bail, then be out again to loot some more. It just doesn't have the same ring it to, does it? Maybe, perhaps, down the road a piece, they'll spend some more nights in jail. Big deal. They get three hots and a cot in jail, TV, free education, etc., plus everything they can smuggle or barter or steal. Sure, they lose their freedom for a while, but they don't seem to really give a shit about it. They'll be out - sooner than expected with parole and junk - and then they can go back to their criminal enterprises.
Punishment for crime was also supposed to be about justice for the victim. I'm not really feeling the justice - especially when I watch shows like The First 48 and see guys getting 8, 10, 12 years for murder. Of which you know they'll only actually serve 50% if we're lucky. How is that justice? Someone is dead and the person that made them dead gets a light sentence. Ugh.
Meanwhile, our jails/prisons are full. And I hear people saying THAT's the reason why people get off so easily - because there isn't room for them in prison. Umm... yah. If prison was the deterrent it was supposed to be, there would be fewer people going to prison. Although, it might be too late for that now. It makes me crazy.
So, yeah, I'm in the 'looters should be shot' camp. I'd bet that after you popped the first few, the next group thinking about looting would think twice.
Seriously? I mean, WTF is wrong with people? Find an instance where people are beaten and battered and hit them again? Kick them when they're down? That's pretty low. And I find myself longing for the good old days when 'looters will be shot on sight' was a thing.
I'm sure that was a major deterrent and kept many borderline criminals from committing that particular crime. Unless you're profoundly stupid, getting shot for looting would stop you from looting. Wouldn't it?
Nowadays, though, punishment is less deterring. Looters will be arrested, spend a night in jail while awaiting bail, then be out again to loot some more. It just doesn't have the same ring it to, does it? Maybe, perhaps, down the road a piece, they'll spend some more nights in jail. Big deal. They get three hots and a cot in jail, TV, free education, etc., plus everything they can smuggle or barter or steal. Sure, they lose their freedom for a while, but they don't seem to really give a shit about it. They'll be out - sooner than expected with parole and junk - and then they can go back to their criminal enterprises.
Punishment for crime was also supposed to be about justice for the victim. I'm not really feeling the justice - especially when I watch shows like The First 48 and see guys getting 8, 10, 12 years for murder. Of which you know they'll only actually serve 50% if we're lucky. How is that justice? Someone is dead and the person that made them dead gets a light sentence. Ugh.
Meanwhile, our jails/prisons are full. And I hear people saying THAT's the reason why people get off so easily - because there isn't room for them in prison. Umm... yah. If prison was the deterrent it was supposed to be, there would be fewer people going to prison. Although, it might be too late for that now. It makes me crazy.
So, yeah, I'm in the 'looters should be shot' camp. I'd bet that after you popped the first few, the next group thinking about looting would think twice.
Monday, September 11, 2017
Updates and News and Stuff
I got everything uploaded to Createspace and they approved my files last night. The proof should be here Friday, which is release day for the ebook. If the proof looks like it's supposed to, I'll approve it and it should be available for sale, at least on Createspace, Friday. However, if there's anything wrong with the proof - like the time they put someone else's cover on my book - then the date will be pushed back. But I don't foresee that happening. :fingers crossed:
Remember, all of the other Once Upon a Djinn books will be either free or deeply discounted starting Thursday. Wish Hits the Fan will be $2.99. Which is not a budget buster. And they're all available through Kindle Unlimited, so if you have a subscription there, you can get them for free through that.
I'm really trying to push this release. Please forgive me if you've heard all this before and are getting a little tired of my pimping. If you've been around long enough, you'll know this happens here around release day. I shout about my books here. And on The Writing Spectacle. And on FB. (Sometimes on Twitter, but I haven't been very active there lately.) It's a thing.
There should be some advertising later this week and next. Right now, it's just at Paranormal & Urban Fantasy Bargains and Authors' Billboard. I got declined at one of the larger advertising venues, but I expected that. I'll try to get some other stuff lined up, but right now, that's it for me.
And let me just say THANK YOU to all of you who come here, whether you comment or not. I really appreciate it. You are my core people. And I couldn't do this without you. :hugs:
Now, back to your regularly scheduled lives. I'll be back to talking about something other than this release eventually. ;o)
Remember, all of the other Once Upon a Djinn books will be either free or deeply discounted starting Thursday. Wish Hits the Fan will be $2.99. Which is not a budget buster. And they're all available through Kindle Unlimited, so if you have a subscription there, you can get them for free through that.
I'm really trying to push this release. Please forgive me if you've heard all this before and are getting a little tired of my pimping. If you've been around long enough, you'll know this happens here around release day. I shout about my books here. And on The Writing Spectacle. And on FB. (Sometimes on Twitter, but I haven't been very active there lately.) It's a thing.
There should be some advertising later this week and next. Right now, it's just at Paranormal & Urban Fantasy Bargains and Authors' Billboard. I got declined at one of the larger advertising venues, but I expected that. I'll try to get some other stuff lined up, but right now, that's it for me.
And let me just say THANK YOU to all of you who come here, whether you comment or not. I really appreciate it. You are my core people. And I couldn't do this without you. :hugs:
Now, back to your regularly scheduled lives. I'll be back to talking about something other than this release eventually. ;o)
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