Tag Archives: Publishing

Around the Web

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Net Neutrality is STILL one of the most important things on the agenda right now. The FCC said yes to the internet fast lane idea. Even libraries have stepped into the fray. In their words, the death of net neutrality could KILL Libraries. Here are some ways you can still fight against it.

And also, a video that shows what Net Neutrality vrs the FCC’s “Open Internet” plan is.

Now… on to our regularly scheduled web news.

Author Earnings will have another report up in 25 hours.

Publishing is more then books.

The ISS gets and HD cam directed at earth.

Reddit answers the best way to start a new hobby, from fencing to glass blowing, and much much more.

Jim Butcher does and AMA.

Time to Reform Copyright. While he has a point, copyright is a little messed up, I might not agree with everything he says. Google books did start uploading out of print books for free on google books a long time ago. Some of them are still under copyright, but they aren’t available ANYWHERE else, so they’ve made a case for adding them to their library (as long as they don’t sell them.) The Internet Archive started adding loads of video to their archive, saving things that might otherwise disappear forever. Copyright isn’t always good. It causes things to be forgotten over time. Ignored. Lost. And what good does that do anyone?

Another Day, Another Paragraph

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I’ve been working on “Mermaids Curse” a lot lately, trying to get it finished. The plan is for the end of the month, and I think it might be close. It is currently 56,000 words long, and I’m trying for a little over 80,000.

I always have this trouble when I get the majority of a large word done. The bones are there, the pieces laid out, and all the easy sections are written. Now I just have to fill in the little sections in between. I suppose if I wrote more linearly this wouldn’t be a problem, but I’ve never had a very linear mind to begin with.

“Zombie Swarm” is on hold right now as I push forward with “Mermaids Curse”. After getting “Forgotten Ones: Eternal Tapestry” edited, and seeing how well it turned out, I am really excited to have a finished full length novel, and getting that edited. Even a pro cover.

Once I have “Mermaids Curse” finished I will probably go back to the “Eternal Tapestry” trilogy and finish the other two books before going back to “Eversword Saga” and digging into the rest of the ten book series. (I have the bones of at least 4 more books finished, I just need to go in and build up the rest of it, so hopefully I have more published by the end of the year.)

So much to write, so little time.

Look for another exciting episode of “Story Telling Podcast” monday at 8pm PST.

I also did another Indie News Bites, this time with four news stories. I am going to try to make a new one each week now that I know what I’m doing, and have got it down to about two hours of production. It will go even faster once I’m more comfortable in front of the camera.

 

Around the Web

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Some interesting things going on around the web this week.

authorearnings.com released a new report. Look for a “Indie News Bites” video tonight or tomorrow for my take on what this means. (Oh, and Hugh Howey already replied to some of the articles written refuting his newest report.)

Amazon changes royalties on ACX audio books. 

When It Comes To Women’s Writing, How Do Publications Stack Up? (hint, not well)

Book Bub most popular title trends in various genres.

Some of you might be interested in this man who did an AMA on Reddit, and because of his AMA he went to #300 in Amazon ranking. His cover is odd, to say the least, but people were interested and asked him questions, then bought the book.

Bitter writer suggests Rowling should hang up her typewriter… seriously? Because her books “suck up the oxygen from other writers”? How do you feel about Stephen King, Dean Kootz, or any other best selling author? Some of which died years ago, btw. /rant OH! And Anne Rice Responds…

My Traditional Publisher Wish List

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Today, on Reddit, someone said they were starting up a small publishing company, and wanted to hear from authors about what they would like to see in a publisher that would make them sign.

Here was my wish list:

As a self publisher I have to do everything myself or hire some one to edit, do cover designs, format, market, publicize, upload to all the stores, etc. Etc. Etc.

In exchange Amazon gives me 70% of every sale. They also give me data of every sale. Everyday. Online at the touch of a button. I get to set my own prices. And they offer me some plans for putting out free books, print books, audio, and translations (which I have to pay for, of course).

What I would want from a publisher, if I signed with one, would be all of that stuff (uploading, formating, editing, cover design, marketing, sales, etc) to be taken care of in exchange for giving up more of my royalties. I would also want higher royalties on ebooks then on print books. At least 50%. I know what I get for ebooks on amazon, and I know how much work goes into it after the initial set up (next to none), so I would expect for that to be taken into account. I also know publishers offset their overhead through ebook sales, so I would be willing to give up some, but not all, of my 70%.

I would also want transparency. An easy to read invoice showing how many books were sold, how many returned, prices, etc. Monthly online statements, and quarterly payments, monthly if possible. Direct deposit would also be helpful.

Also, I’d want a limited time contract. 5 years sounds about right unless renegotiated. That way if your not making money on it and you abandon it, then I still have a chance to use it for something.

I do not ever want to sign anything that says exclusive. Not for all my books, not for a genre, and not even for a series. They are my books, and I have to make the right choices for them book by book. But then again, if you’re doing a great job of selling and caring for my books, then of course I’ll come back to you.

And lastly, I want some clear sense of marketing. What are you doing for me that I can’t do, or hire out, for myself? What makes giving up my royalties worth while?

Around the Web

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sprtLast night we had a very special episode of SPRT, where we talked with Hugh Howey (author of Wool) about his new website, AuthorEarnings.com. 

If you don’t know what any of this is… go listen to the first 15 minutes of the show that will catch you up nicely. If you are interested then just stick around and listen to the rest of it. We ended up recording for two hours, something we’ve never done before, because the subject was so interesting, and Hugh is such an awesome guy.

Also, you might be interested to read Chuck Wendig’s thoughts on it, or Dana Beth Weinberg’s. There have been some others, but those are the two I found right off hand.

Now… back to the regularly scheduled shenanigans.

Niel Gaiman reads “Green Eggs and Ham“. Enough said.

How to Craft Tweetable Quotes That Spread Your Content like Wildfire

Hugh Howey reads his introduction to “From the Indie Side” about what it means to be an indie author.

Random Penguin India recalls, and will destroy, “The Hindus”,, an alternative history book, because a Hindu educational organization sued them over it.

Amazon releases “150 Love Stories for Every Romantic Mood”. I don’t see ‘bitter’ or ‘single’ on that list.

That’s all for now. I am going to try to make this a regular weekly thing again, as I really enjoy it. I was also thinking of doing it as a vlog…. would anyone be interested in watching a vlog with me about odd things I find online?

Are You an Elitist?

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I read Jim C Hines post today in which he states “it isn’t an us vs them thing” (regarding self publishing verses traditional publishing).

I found the post through Reddit, and I agreed with it. As I commented on the post, Self Publishing is about giving authors options. The more options you have, the better decision you can make.

So I went into the comments on Reddit, and what did I find? Several would be authors saying how much better traditional publishing is. (Not a single one of them, from what I can tell, were published in any way.)

Sigh. You guys… you missed the point.

Not to say that self publishing doesn’t have it’s fair share of elitists. This thread was just filled with traditional publishing elitists.
“Self publishing is for people in a hurry to get published”… well, yes.
“Self publishing is full of rank amateurs.” Sure. So it everything else.
“SP is all drivel…” No. Just, no.

The route of self publishing isn’t better, or worse. It is what you make of it. How much time and effort you put in. How much insight you want to share. Or just plain fun.

It is an option that, by it’s very existence, gives authors avenues they did not have just ten years ago. It gives them the ability to stand up to a publisher and say “this contract isn’t good enough, I’ll do it myself.”

Now, is it right for everyone? Of course not. But that is up to the author to decide, not the mass of people on some shitty forum that can’t get their head out of their ass.

(Too far?)

Seriously, people. We have enough entitled elitists making rules for other people to live by. Just stop it. We defeated the gate keepers. We have open access to the world. But that doesn’t entitle us to be dicks about it.

“Don’t be a dick.” Wheaton’s law. Learn it. Live it. Good!

Around the Web

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Yes, we are doing the podcast, but occationally I find some interesting studies and articles that aren’t right for the podcast. So, it looks like I will be dong “Around the Web” again.

This week:

Doctors now prescribing books to help treat depression, OCD, and other mental ailments.

Which goes well with this study that says reading books boosts your brain function for several days.

The daily routines of famous authors.

Stop analyzing, just write! (video)

A blog post about creating a little bit every day.

Which goes nicely with this G+ campaign to create #onething every day next year.

New Year is Around the Corner

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Christmas is tomorrow. The presents are under the tree. Stockings are filled. Lights are up. And everyone is looking forward to a big meal, followed by a long sleep.

And I am considering the last year, the progress I made, and what I want to accomplish next year. (Not waiting for a new years resolution.)

For 2013 I had no real plan except to start working through my old stories, and get as many of them finished and published as possible. Most of them were short stories (20 short, 3 novella) and I am rather pleased with the turn out. 2013 also gave me a huge start on some novels, and other short stories that I want to continue working on.

Sales were … okay, I suppose. I was actually really encouraged by how often I got sales, and while I can’t track my sales daily yet, I am doing so monthly, and that’s a huge step in the right direction for me.

Every sale just encourages me to write another book, and there is nothing wrong with that.

This coming year, 2014, I want to continue writing and publishing stories. I’d like to have at least two, if not three, 60-80k word books out. One is already half finished, so I have a nice jump on that.

I’m also going to work on short stories. Two a month seems like a good plan, because finishing something gives me a good sense of accomplishment, and bolsters my resolve to keep writing. Keep creating. “Make good art.”

I do, however, want to put more emphasis on the longer works this year. I need full novels, not just short stories.

And… sigh… I’m going to have to learn to market and get reviews, even though I hate that part of writing. But, since I’m doing this through the self publishing route, it is even more important for me to figure out the marketing side of this business.

I think once I have a couple of full length novels out I will feel more comfortable pushing the marketing. But only slightly.

So… here is to the new year, and a lot more story telling going on!

A Sale – and NaNoWriMo day 14

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Amazon has their new Countdown, so I’m trying it this weekend.

“Small Bites: The Complete Collection” will be on sale for .99 cents in December 14th (because you have to scheduled a month in advance.). $1.99 on the 15th. $2.99 on the 16th, and back to normal price on the following Monday. If you haven’t read it yet, here is a great opportunity to get it. (Don’t worry, I’ll remind you about it.)

If you have read it, and haven’t written a review, I would absolutely love one. I am only a couple away from ten.

As for NaNoWriMo, I am finally starting to get into the swing of things with it. I started in a funk, trying to get through things, and forcing myself to sit down at the computer. Sometime over the last couple days I finally found a rhythm and realized.. i like this story. I like where it’s going, and I can write it.

I think last night was the break through when I decided how it was going to end. The pieces started falling together, finally, and I was able to write several chapters.

I have a better feel for the characters now, and can see where they are all coming from. It’s made the writing so much easier, and I wrote nearly 2000 words today without even thinking about it.

I am much more confident about this becoming a full novel. It’s already 20k words in, and I have so much more to write.

Hooray!

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This morning I did an interview on Buddy’s Writing Show. We discussed “Forgotten Ones”, how I got into the whole self publishing biz in the first place, and a bit about my own podcast. It was a great interview, and I was really honored to be his first guest.

Keep an eye out for more episodes. Buddy already has a calendar booked with more guests.

“Forgotten Ones” is 2.99 for just a few hours more. It will be $4.99 after tomorrow. 

Also, I’m prepping for NaNoWriMo. I’m looking forward to it, but at the same time I am not very confident that I am going to finish this time.

I worked for three months on “Forgotten Ones”, a 30k word book. I actually wrote the 3000 word synopsis back in May, and it sat on my shelf till August. I actually wrote it in Aug, and Sept, and edited in October. Published it on the 18th.

So… two months to write, half a month to edit…. on just 30k words.

I think it will work a lot better with two projects going because when I get stuck on one I can work on another. That is what has usually kept me writing steadily, and when I get to the end of the month I have to finished projects.

I’m still pretty sure I’m going to work on one of my paranormal romance stories. But I’ve got a few to choose from… so we’ll see.