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You know, I'm starting to get annoyed with everyone Smashwords sends my stories to. It takes forever to get changes made, and I've barely seen heads of tales of profit from any of them.
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Jan 12, 2012 21:48
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workingdogv1 posted:I often lose sight of what "success" in sales really means when you see people like Konrath and Locke. They're the extreme outliers, but we hear more about them because of their success so it seems to be the norm. Yeah. Those guys are anomalous. At least to date. There are kinda three types of writers playing with Kindling—or, from a perspective, three types of readers. Most obviously, you've got the people who have been doing 'real' books for decades, whose stuff is now [badly OCRed] on the Kindle as a matter of batshit legacy course; their groupies, from hardcore stalkerfans to the average idiot seeing their stuff in masspulp at Safeway, are as likely as not to grab or replicate the printed stuff on this newfangled Kindle thingy they've picked up. I don't expect that to end anytime soon; it's roughly identical to grabbing the White Album from iTunes.com because it's just what you do. Most notoriously, you've got the handful of cyberstars coming ostensibly outta nowhere and remaining exclusive to the Kindle [or at least to EBooks] and doing whatever's working to make themselves householdish names: Locke and Hocking and so on; at the risk of speaking to quality [however subjective], they're not dissimilar to Stephenie Meyer—relatively thoughtless poo poo, KindleMilled out as quickly and brutally as possible, which can get snapped up through its own momentum, the consumerbase seeing the whole catalogue as something like evidence of presumed popularity and proliferation. Most commonly, you've got everything else. Most of us, I assume. People writing because it's what we do, as people—or at least as pseudonyms—coming outta nowhere like Locke but potentially putting the level of thought and rethought into our stuff expected more from the established, published people whose books can be seen at Safeway. Technically, of course, we're in the junkbasket, likely surrounded [maybe overcome] by those who could be Locke and Hocking if they put more effort into marketing. And that tells the public, however accidentally, that we're probably just unpublished losers lacking even the ability to spam this poo poo correctly. Of course, that's not necessarily true. I've seen some really stellar stuff showing up on the Kindle from people no one's ever heard of: Scott Sigler leaps immediately to mind, with his hardscience fiction exclusive to his own website a couple years ago. I take that as evidence that the industry really has changed: ten years ago, we'd have heard of him because Legacy, Inc, woulda grabbed him and got his stuff into Waldenbooks. But he, and we, no longer have much need for Legacy, Inc. Which kinda returns us to the question. Do we write lots and lots of abject poo poo, spamming it hard enough to convince the collective that we exist; slowly and surely write decent stuff, filling our time more with that than with shotgun marketing; or find some balance in between which might or might not lead to a new form of notoriety. Personally, again, I prefer to be good at what I do [insofar as I can], and wait until a given book is something I'm willing to admit having written before throwing it up and looking for customers. Which of course could just be a good excuse for being slowish and shy about promotion [the latter at least is kinda true], making me look like the majority of abject poo poo; but, over time, I assume that things'll even out a bit—possibly around the time I stop hearing from what I'm calling old people ignoring the Kindle, sight unseen, because they 'don't like reading on a computer screen.' But that's its own rant, for another time.
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Jan 12, 2012 23:05
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Speaking of sales and serials, my ebook versions of Nightlights aren't selling anything. My biggest theory is the utter lack of reviews-- I know the web-published format is probably robbing some sales (robbing is probably the wrong word) but I'm definitely in the 0-2 sales for each of the two books. It's one of a few things that has stolen my enthusiasm for publishing more that way. Also not sure my serial itself (http://www.dreamfarmer.net/)is getting as much attention as I'd hoped, although when I had an ad up here it seemed to be doing all right. It's a bit hard to tell what with RSS feeds and all but since I was hoping to spawn commentary I think it's safe to call that aspect of the experiment a failure. But not in a bad way! Just an educational way. I'm going to use it in more experiments, including publishing a full ebook of the whole story once the web-serialized format wraps up in the summer. And I will solicit reviews of that version from book bloggers like a crazy thing, so hopefully that will also be... educational. My current focus is really on the book my micro-publisher is putting out next month, along with its sequel. I feel a little weird talking about it here because it's not, well, self-published, but a micropress shares a lot more with self-publishing than Big Six houses, so... My publisher, Candlemark & Gleam, uses Kickstarter to handle paperback preorders for the new releases. At first I wasn't really sure about this since it seems to steal sales from Amazon on launch day. But just recently I realized the royalty income from direct-from-publisher sales is much larger than the royalty via Amazon sales, so hey. Mixed blessing, I think. In this case, my family (whom I don't talk to outside of Facebook that often) kind of went crazy on the supportive front, which is exciting in a way, and also terrifying in the 'but what if nobody doesn't who knows me is interested?' way. But I did get an early good review... it's all pretty terrifying, really. Given that I'm expecting a baby the same week the book launches doesn't really calm me down. Anyhow, I'm doing my best to promote the book-- I made a text trailer for it since Kickstarter loooooves videos, and I may get a chance to write a guest post for GeekMom. Here's the Kickstarter link if anybody wants to check it out: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/candlemarkandgleam/print-release-of-matchbox-girls The $20 pricetag for the paperback is way outside the general self-publishing goons pricetag-- while I've watched all C&G's bring-to-print campaigns I always wait for the $5 ebook versions if I'm interested myself. But hey, the publisher thinks it's worthwhile, so that can only be good for me. We've collaborated on the various higher tier rewards, although a persistent problem I've seen is that I think it's pretty hard to be interested in a souvenir from a story you haven't read. chrysoula fucked around with this message at 05:32 on Jan 13, 2012 |
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Jan 13, 2012 05:26
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Blah blah blah E/N poo poo. I'm backing off from the thread. Sorry. I am a bad OP, etc, etc. Otherwise ... Keep being awesome, kids! You sure as hell don't need me to keep the discussion going. FingerbangMisfire fucked around with this message at 21:55 on Jan 13, 2012 |
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Jan 13, 2012 06:57
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That kinda sucks. Get...erm...well soon. Or whatever you say to something like that.
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Jan 13, 2012 07:36
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Damnitologist posted:That kinda sucks. Get...erm...well soon. Or whatever you say to something like that. Also, got another review for my book. People seem to like the beginning but think it peters off, but I have the opposite opinion. It's also true that Anchored is full of excessive violence, but I ate that kind of stuff up when I was a teenager. Live and let buy. People are somewhat enjoying my writing and I'm grateful for that. Instead of griping that no one understands me, I'll make my next book better. Soulcleaver fucked around with this message at 07:53 on Jan 13, 2012 |
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Jan 13, 2012 07:50
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Soulcleaver posted:You're supposed to say HANGIN'S TOO GOOD FER THE BITCH or something. Awkward, if they get back together and I'm the dickish one who was insulting his chick. VVV Heh. That makes the whole thread worth it. Damnitologist fucked around with this message at 08:48 on Jan 13, 2012 |
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Jan 13, 2012 08:26
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Damnitologist posted:Awkward, if they get back together and I'm the dickish one who was insulting his chick.
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Jan 13, 2012 08:45
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Damnitologist posted:Yeah. Those guys are anomalous. At least to date. This is impressively egotistical. You're like a character in a sitcom, or maybe a cartoon version of yourself.
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Jan 13, 2012 09:35
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Mr. Belding posted:This is impressively egotistical. Yeah okay.
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Jan 13, 2012 11:02
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Soulcleaver posted:Prose before hoes. This. Also this: Mr. Belding posted:This is impressively egotistical. Don't think too much about writing. Or what other people are writing. Most of what you typed was kind enough to acknowledge success. And, yeah, none of us can predict when something like that will occur. Moreover, you're right in that writers are loving writers. We can't help it. Writing is creation. Something from nothing. But don't spend too much time analyzing. Just do what you do. FingerbangMisfire fucked around with this message at 11:34 on Jan 13, 2012 |
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Jan 13, 2012 11:26
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FingerbangMisfire posted:Don't think too much about writing. Or what other people are writing. Most of what you typed was kind enough to acknowledge success. And, yeah, none of us can predict when something like that will occur. Moreover, you're right in that writers are loving writers. We can't help it. Writing is creation. Something from nothing. But don't spend too much time analyzing. Just do what you do. Heh. In a real way, analysing is what I do. By various estimates, that's what makes the things I write work out. But I get your point. I was trying to be [optimistically] helpful; maybe that kinda flunked.
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Jan 13, 2012 11:38
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No, I don't think you flunked at all (anything that provokes conversation is good). I'm trying to be very non-judgmental. And I don't want to see talent stymied. Edit: I think of this thread as a kind of support group. gently caress YEAH at times and NO DUDE THAT poo poo SUCKS at others. I don't want anyone left in the dark at the same time that I don't want to seem oppressive about what should be discussed. I'm just gonna let it flow, but I wanted to poke my nose in. FingerbangMisfire fucked around with this message at 22:35 on Jan 13, 2012 |
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Jan 13, 2012 11:41
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FingerbangMisfire posted:No, I don't think you flunked at all (anything that provokes conversation is good). I'm trying to be very non-judgmental. And I don't want to see talent stymied. Ah. Gotcha. I'm the one misreading something, then. Didn't much care when the other guy slammed me. Seriously: opened the metaphorical fridge; saw I was fresh outta Giving a drat; couldn't be bothered to order more. And that was all before glancing at his rapsheet history of personal attacks. But, for a minute, I thought you were agreeing with him. And that made me wonder what I'd written so badly. Made me, to wit, try to analyse it.
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Jan 13, 2012 11:45
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It's just that this thread should be pretty relaxed, that's all. Advice about teh business. A community. Our successes and failures, etc. It's not really ABOUT writing (I really, strongly discourage critiques on prose). We're all writers. And we could go at each others' throats for hours in a different setting. Ie; a bar anywhere. If you're here, you're probably a writer. But thoughts about writing are probably better served somewhere else. This is Schrodinger's thread: About writing but not about writing. Sometimes. Derp 
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Jan 13, 2012 11:51
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Oh. Maybe I did misunderstand something then. Though I was aiming more for the process after writing than the one during it. That might not have been too clear, thinking about it. Also, I'd missed the part where talking about the process was offtopic.
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Jan 13, 2012 11:54
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Honestly, dude. Don't worry. Say what you want to say. Just don't expect everyone to agree. There aren't any clear rules in the OP other than DON'T CRITIQUE (Besides covers, because that's part of da biz). And you're right, we have never talked about the process of writing.
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Jan 13, 2012 12:01
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Well, it's your thread. So, if you want to set rules, you've got the heaviest vote. But, yeah: we're okay.
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Jan 13, 2012 12:03
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I think I've so far failed to set rules, haha.
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Jan 13, 2012 12:16
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Feel free to set rules. Call it a plot twist. Include spooky music, and maybe a dramatic hamster.
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Jan 13, 2012 12:19
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SUDDEN BERNARD HERMANN
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Jan 13, 2012 12:36
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Aw; no fair. How do we not have a :psycho: icon when I need it....
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Jan 13, 2012 12:48
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If you know Hermann poo poo off the top of your head, you're OK for this thread.
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Jan 13, 2012 12:51
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Herrmann 
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Jan 13, 2012 12:56
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As a married guy, Vitka, I know that feel. Sometimes I wonder WTF will happen with my relationship, which is only complicated by the fact we have kids. Yeesh. If I do wind up in divorce one day, I'm never.ever.getting married again. Ever.
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Jan 13, 2012 13:14
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Never been married; likely never will be. It's not even really that I've never met the right woman; it's more that, a dozen years into this thing, she sees no logic in getting married either. But, anyway...um...selfpubbed books; yeah; awesome. Ooh. Just found this: http://www.physorg.com/news/2012-01-amazon-ready-e-books-kf8-format.html The KindleFire, at least, should allow Hypertext5 and CSS3. It'll allow for inlined images and things I've been waiting five years to cram into a damned Kindle. Finally. Damnitologist fucked around with this message at 15:22 on Jan 13, 2012 |
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Jan 13, 2012 13:22
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Any thoughts on the viability of CYOA style ebooks?
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Jan 13, 2012 16:03
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Less chat thread more self-publish chat thread. Sorry to be a dick, but let's please keep the thread on track.
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Jan 13, 2012 16:15
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Here's some self-publish chat. Am I just stupid, or is there some magical way of getting Amazon thumbnails of book covers to not look scrunched/pixelated as hell? They look fine at full size, but the thumbnail is just poo poo. Are smaller originals better? Is there some magical file format that makes them not look tiny?
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Jan 13, 2012 16:30
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^^^ Trial and error, mostly. Have a cover you like up at whatever—600*900, say. Hope it's got thick enough lines to survive ensmallening. See what happens when amazon.com ensmallen it for you. Possibly repeat for the next ten hours until something works.psychopomp posted:Any thoughts on the viability of CYOA style ebooks? I've been contemplating a CYOEpicBatshitA for a couple years now. Viability is simple but not easy, theory but not practice. The simple version is pretty much this: <P WIDTH="0">Stuff happens!</P> <P>You should do something about the stuff!</P> <P> </P> <P WIDTH="0">Will you:</P> <P><A HREF="#option1">Go do this thing</A></P> <P WIDTH="0">...or...</P> <P><A HREF="#option2">Go do that thing</A></P> Then you just write pages for option1 and option2, and 3&4 and 5&6, and 8192 and so on. I think it would have to be written and playtested on a website first. And exhaustively. It wouldn't be impossible; it would just take a seriously long time to finish. Still: I'm all for it, personally. Damnitologist fucked around with this message at 16:37 on Jan 13, 2012 |
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Jan 13, 2012 16:34
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Is this kind of thing marketable at all?
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Jan 13, 2012 16:53
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Maybe. If it's funny enough, and reaches the right audience. Or if it's some sort of ChooseYourOwnTextPorn, maybe. Or both. I think I'd do it more for fun, and to know that I'd done it. If it went all bestseller too, then that would be a bonus.
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Jan 13, 2012 16:55
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Soulcleaver posted:You're supposed to say HANGIN'S TOO GOOD FER THE BITCH or something. Wayyyy back before self-chat here, but I'm curious to find out whether these reviews are accurate so I picked up a copy. Final tally on my three-day giveway, 997 copies given away, rose to #2 on the free western kindle rankings and in the top 500 overall for free books, so that gave me a little more of a visibility boost. I sold a few of my novels, not sure if that's related, but I saw a massive spike in traffic on my blog that could be attributed to buying a daily featured spot on Kindle Nation Daily for 26 bucks. I'm still not sure where the whole thing stands from a moneymaking perspective, but I would spend a lot more to get that many views from a Goodreads ad. From a marketing perspective, I'm very happy.
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Jan 13, 2012 17:28
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Damnitologist posted:Maybe. If it's funny enough, and reaches the right audience. Or if it's some sort of ChooseYourOwnTextPorn, maybe. Or both. Okay, tentative plan: Write a web-based CYOA and upload it to my website, where I coincidentally host links to my fiction available up on amazon, B&N, and Smashwords. When it's been extensively playtested I package it as an ebook and throw it up on Amazon, too, and upload another CYOA piece for people to play(test).
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Jan 13, 2012 17:47
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On CYOA: Check out the ChoiceOf stuff? http://www.choiceofgames.com/make-your-own-games/choicescript-intro/ Creates output for a variety of platforms including Kindle. I've played the ChoiceOf Romance and looked into making my own. It's at least a starting place for CYOA stuff and apparently they're doing pretty well as a business so it's not a crazy proposition. Or at least they were a month or so ago. The site seems kind of wonky right now.
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Jan 13, 2012 19:28
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Dropped my first short story the other day. It's free right now. So if anyone wants to check it out, I'd love it.
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Jan 13, 2012 21:26
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psychopomp posted:Okay, tentative plan: That's roughly what I'd been thinking. Set it up at cyowhatever.website.com, or even just ChooseYourOwnWhatever.com. Add a column to one side with links to extant KindleBooks. Possibly populate other borders with ProjectWonderful.com adverts [it seems like a good fit for a CYOA]. Get at least maybe sixteen or thirty-two endings in place before telling anyone. Add new branches as you think of them. To date, I've thought about doing that in straight hypertext. Thinking about it now, I wonder whether it would be potentially easier to do it as a sort of locked down MediaWiki site, in which you or you and people you really trust are the only editors; translating that to Kindling later would be a little more work, but the creation process would be far simpler—plus, depending what sort of group effort you were willing to let it be, you could have dozens of coauthors. chrysoula posted:On CYOA: Check out the ChoiceOf stuff? http://www.choiceofgames.com/make-your-own-games/choicescript-intro/ Creates output for a variety of platforms including Kindle. I've played the ChoiceOf Romance and looked into making my own. It's at least a starting place for CYOA stuff and apparently they're doing pretty well as a business so it's not a crazy proposition. Grabbed it; looking at it. It seems kinda buggy so far. It could be a good timesaver if it worked. The way I think personally, WordPad or MediaWiki still might be easier overall. EDIT: However long it would take to set up, I could probably throw together a quick x.y.com MediaWiki thing on my server, if we want a goondriven MegaCYOA to dick around with. If the results are worth talking about, it could be an alternative to the proposed goonthology in the end. Damnitologist fucked around with this message at 22:52 on Jan 13, 2012 |
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Jan 13, 2012 22:19
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workingdogv1 posted:Wayyyy back before self-chat here, but I'm curious to find out whether these reviews are accurate so I picked up a copy. Also, I want in on the CYOA stuff. I loved that crap in grade school and the Kindle would be a great format for it. Maybe each goon author could write a separate section and Damnitologist could wrap it all together.
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Jan 13, 2012 23:08
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My first hunch is that a goondriven MediaWiki would decay instantly into an editwar fuckfest. But we could give it a try. I'll get a subsite set up, then give it a few hours to propagate to everyone. Though, at the moment, I'm screaming at KindleGen for doing something stupidly wrong with KF8; if I never show up again, it's because I gave up and kicked the netbook into a neighbour's yard. EDIT: Got that set up: http://goon.your.own.adventure.gremlin.net I'll assume that everyone here knows how to FURTHER EDIT: It occurred to me to protect the Main Page and Do Nothing; everything else can probably remain open, despite probable editwar fuckery. At least for now. RANDOM THOUGHT EDIT: Thinking about it, this could be offtopic, a little. If that's a problem, someone can launch a new thread for it somewhere. Up to the OP.... Damnitologist fucked around with this message at 00:31 on Jan 14, 2012 |
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Jan 13, 2012 23:40
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Secret Agent X23 posted:
She said in the review that she didn't know just what genre The Hookie-Pookie Man fit into. Quite rightly, I can tell from the blurb that it's entirely unpinnable. So why not just call it a story book? ninja edit: hoooly poo poo that post's old
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Jan 14, 2012 02:33
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