A Way to Expand Your Readers

Sometimes a light bulb goes off in a person’s head, and he or she suddenly understands something they had not been aware of before.

Such was the case with me this morning.

I’ve been writing about Earth humans landing on an alien world where the indigenous species is similar to them, but different enough to cause conflict. So, when I saw the blurb on Lisa Locke’s novel, Between Mountain and Sea: Paradisi Chronicles, free on Freebooksy recently, I went to snatch it up. Turns out, I had already downloaded it. It tells the story of a migration from Earth to an alien planet where the natives are very human in appearance.

That sounded similar to my Terran Trilogy, so I wanted to see how another author handled that theme. I started reading from my Kindle library. The story is very readable, although I figured out the big secret a quarter of the way through.

Mei Lin is a young Chinese girl who is descended from the powerful Yu family that now dominates the Earth colony of New Eden. Due to Earth’s climate change, cyber wars, nuclear proliferation, ten people called the Founders, come together to create the Paradisi Project which has the objective to find a habitable planet and build a fleet to escape Earth for a better place to live.

Many years later, the project succeeds in discovering such a world in the Andromeda Galaxy and sends ten ships with 10,000 people each, mainly from the Yu family, their staff, and loyal supporters. One ship, the S.S.Challenger is left behind as a prototype for more ships to follow.

Mei Lin is a descendent from these originals and was born on New Eden where men dominate the family. She is the only girl of six brothers and, after a botched eye surgery, is sent to recuperate at their estate, Mrnyddamore. The estate is far out in the country close to villages of the planet’s original inhabitants. She forms a bond to these simple people who have hidden psychic abilities.

So the story has a similar flavor to my Terran Trilogy. And… the name Paradisi Project was tickling my memory. Still authors occasionally use the same title as other authors. Since I’ve published my first book, Caught in Time, three other authors have come out with the same title, which doesn’t make me happy. Anyway…

I kept reading.

Mei Lin finds a hidden diary written by a long ago descendant who was one of the First Founders and who built Mynyddamore, the estate where she is recuperating. She writes about her life to a young boy who was supposed to come on the S.S.Challenger and join the colony later, but she hears nothing about the ship. From there on out, the book jumps back and forth between the story of Mabel, her great, great, great grandmother and Mei Lin’s current life.

Of course, there is tension between the indigenous people and the growing colony, along with Mei Lin and her own family. As Mei Lin learns more about the early colony and herself, she is drawn into events and soon becomes embroiled in its conflict.

I liked the story and was intrigued by the author’s telling of a similar theme as mine. Then, I came to the back matter in the book.

That’s when the light bulb went on.

The Paradiso Project is an open source world where authors are invited to write their own stories within that world. Sixteen authors are listed along with their books. I recognized two of them immediately.

I had read Andy McKell’s novel, Faces of Janus and have its sequel, Janus Challenge,  in my library, ready to read. Also, in my library, is Cheri Lasota’s Sideris Gate.

Andy is a frequent commentator on my blog and has several more novels out in the Paradisi Universe. As does Cheri and other authors.

Cheri Lasota is another northwest author who I met personally at a book talk a few years back. When I saw her book in an ad site, I tucked it into my library. Now I plan to be even more diligent in reading these two authors to see how they interpret this universe.

In an explanation about the project, Lisa Locke says that the inspiration for the collaboration came from world renown author Hugh Howey. He opened up his own world of Wool to other authors who have written their stories in that universe and encouraged her to do the same.

If you are writing space opera or building a world, inviting other authors to write in your world may be one way to expand your reader base. Bundling several of these stories into an anthology may be another step to increase awareness of your work and build sales. Fans from one author may be lured over to another author’s work.

Of course, you may want to have some control over the stories and agreement with the other authors so that they are well-written and reflect favorable on your world. But a collaboration could be fun and profitable for all concerned.

As the Indie wave of writers increases, clever authors are looking for new ways to be discovered in order to expand their readers and their sales.

This idea may be a way for you to do just that.

*Hello from Oregon*

enjoy the rain

A Writer’s Insights and An Assassin’s Fate

With the stress of the holidays, or maybe just the distractions, many authors are finding it hard to stay on track with their writing and marketing. I’m reading blogs that mention burn out. For me, it’s both. I’m thinking of what to get my family for Christmas, and I’m shopping with my daughter at the mall. There are parties and plans that preempt my writing. Meanwhile, I’m losing the momentum of the story.

Hence my blog is late, and my writing even more behind schedule. My editor is yelling at me and my publisher is disgusted with my procrastination.

Oh, wait…

That’s me.

The hardest taskmaster of them all.

To feel better about this author experience, I offer several blogs for writers intent on becoming authors. The first, if you haven’t read it already, is Hugh Howey’s blog on becoming a writer. If you have read it, now’s a good time to re-read it. He offers great insight into the writing process.

1. His first insight is that the only obstacle to writing is you. To become an author you have to start writing. As simple as it sounds, many authors use various excuses to block their goal of completing a novel.

2. You can’t compare your rough draft to books you’ve read. Those have been polished and edited by professional people.

3. There is no special qualification required…to write.

4. The best writers are the best readers.

5. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Keep it in mind, oh impatient one.

6. Whoever works the hardest will get ahead. In this insight, High mentions that it is easier to work hard if you are passionate about what you do. I find this very true.

7. Competition is complicated. The number of books out there isn’t important. Your book may be the inspiration or escape needed for a particular reader. Don’t let the numbers swamp you.

8. Be helpful and engaged. Authors should help and encourage one other.

9. Know your readers

10. Know your industry. Treat your writing as if it were a business.

These are the highlights of his discussion with important and insightful comments to support them. To read the complete blog, go to:

http://amazonauthorinsights.com/post/165774835635/writing-insights-part-one-becoming-a-writer

Then, I recommend reading his follow-up blogs starting with writing rough drafts. I swear he was a fly on my wall. I do a lot of my writing in my head in the shower, before I fall asleep, or generally while driving. Then, I put words to these scenes I have created. He describes this same process for his writing.

Who knew?

At the moment, I’m at what he calls “the crux.” Noting that it was a normal phase in writing relieved a lot of my current frustration. I eagerly read where he describes how to get out of this impasse. Give me that machete so I can cut my way out.

http://www.hughhowey.com/writing-insights-part-two-the-rough-draft/

There are several more blogs on the writing process that I’ll visit in a later blog.

The second blog I recommend is the Passive Voice. PG (passive guy) writes a lot about how Amazon has changed the industry in this blog and ends up with these statistics on author earnings that I found interesting.

You may, too.

A few facts from Author Earnings (emphasis is PG’s):

http://www.thepassivevoice.com/2017/12/publishings-greatest-challenge-might-surprise-you/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ThePassiveVoice+%28The+Passive+Voice%2

In 2016, two-thirds of traditionally-published fiction and non-fiction books were sold online.
• About 75% of adult fiction and non-fiction books (including both traditional and indie published) were sold online (77% of fiction, 72% of non-fiction) in 2016.
• In early 2017, Big Five publisher sales on Amazon were 20.8%–or barely one fifth–of all Amazon US consumer ebook purchases.
• As far as the earnings of individual authors who have debuted in the last three years:
◦ 250 Big Five authors are annually earning $25,000 or more from Amazon sales
◦ 200 recent small or medium publisher authors earn $25,000 or more from their Amazon sales annually
◦ Over 1,000 indie authors who debuted in the last 3 years are earning more than $25,000 per year from Amazon sales
• Looking at earnings of debut authors from the past five years, more indie authors are now earning a $50K-or-better living wage from Amazon than all of their Big Five and Small/Medium publisher peers put together.
• Fewer than 115 Big Five-published authors and 45 small- or medium-publisher authors who debuted in the past five years are currently earning $100K/year from Amazon sales. Among indie authors of the same tenure, more than 425 of them are now at a six-figure run rate.
PG suggests that traditional publishing’s greatest challenge is demonstrated by numbers like this.

Lots to think about.

Another reason this blog has been delayed is that I was reading the 800 page tome by Robin Hobbs called Assassin’s Fate. I have been an avid reader of all Hobb’s books, and I am particularly fond of Fitz Chivalry and the Fool.

There are eighty-eight percent five stars out of 755 reviews. So, I’m not alone.

The story: Fitz Chivalry’s daughter, Bee, is kidnapped by the Servants, a secret society that uses dreams of special children to mold the future, often for their own benefit. Fitz Chivalry and the Fool believe Bee is dead, and they embark on a revenge mission to wipe out the whole island where this sect lives to destroy them utterly. The Fool had vowed never to return to where he grew up, was tortured, and finally escaped. But now, he joins his closet friend to wreak vengeance on his earlier persecutors.

Unbeknownst to them, Bee survives and is dragged across the land and sea by her sadistic abductor, who believes she is the chosen one. She brings along a small group from the island who bend to her commands. One minion, when given the spit of the dragon, can control the minds of those around him, except for Bee, who has special talents she hides. She can dream the future also, but she doesn’t reveal this fact to her tormentor. Others bend to her kidnapper’s vicious demands and also bully Bee.

So, yes, there are dragons and ships and magic and many old familiar characters from several of her other books that make a cameo appearance.

Read the earlier books first, write up all your apologies for chores being left undone, appointments missed, late blogs, and then enjoy this fine conclusion to the story of Fitz Chivalry and the Fool.

Changes in Publishing

Publishing is changing, but you knew that. The problem becomes how is it changing right now, and what headlines are we to believe about recent trends. December and January are great months to evaluate the past year and forecast upcoming developments.

Unfortunately, several publishing headlines proclaimed facts that don’t present the true picture. Politics isn’t the only purview of misleading or fake news.

Thank goodness for Hugh Howey and Data Guy.

Articles claimed that ebooks were decreasing and paperbacks were on the rise. Turns out that the rise of paperbacks sales came from several sources. 1: adult coloring books in 2015-16 became wildly popular. 2: Traditional publishers winning against Amazon (remember the big battle for agency pricing?) hiked prices for popular ebooks to sometimes the cost of a paperback. Readers chose the paperbacks when Amazon discounted them almost to parity with the ebook. 3: Finally, the data for these articles came from Bolkers who issues ISBNs. ISBNS are used by traditional publishers to track books. One book could have three or four different ISBNS depending on its format. An overwhelming amount of Indie publishers don’t use ISBNS due to their high cost here in the United States. They are not required by Amazon to publish ebooks. Amazon provides for free their own ASIN to tag ebooks. Indie authors often sell the large majority of their work as ebooks on Amazon and use Amazon’s ASIN. I use both.

Thankfully, Data Guy has a software program that scrapes data from Amazon, and other distributors (Kobo, Nook, etc.) to provide a more accurate picture of what might be happening.

Jane Friedman writes a blog with some interesting comments on the state of publishing.
https://janefriedman.com/9-statistics-writers-know-amazon/.   Check her out.

I believe that politics has impacted sales for January and February by distracting readers from books. My sales have dropped off, and I blame lack of marketing and political distraction, but this is merely my assumption. What about you?

Surprising changes in publishing are Amazon’s foray into brick and mortar to sell books and their new traditional publishing style imprints that are popping up.

I live five minutes away from the mall that houses Amazon’s new brick and mortar store. It’s fresh and new and highly curated. All covers face out and most are selected from Amazon’s bestsellers lists. It’s clever because a reader is presented with books that are proven already successful in the marketplace. No prices are put on the books since Prime members pay less and prices may vary. Will this new Amazon strategy pay off?

As a friend of mine often says, “We’ll see.”

This week I read Charlie Jane Anders’ “All the Birds in the Sky.” The timing couldn’t be better as it has just received a 2016 Nebula Award nomination.

The story starts off with Patricia Delfine’s tortured years at Canterbury Academy. All the angst of junior high school are magnified. Cliques of girls harass her and call her a witch. True, she talks to birds and a rather important tree, but only in the woods where no one can hear her. Nature is sacred to her and often she tries to escape the cruelty of her life by going into the forest behind her house.

Not only is school traumatic, but when she gets blamed for mean girl tricks, the school calls her parents and they lock her in her room for days, only letting her out to attend school. Her younger sister brings her meals, but not before she has poured hot sauce and chili pepper all over it.

Sibling love at its finest.

One day, Patrica literally runs into Lawrence Armstead who also gets pushed around and ridiculed at the same school. He, however, is a computer genius, and through a schematic on the Internet builds a time machine in a wristwatch that can jump him ahead two seconds. It’s not much, but it helps when spit balls come his way. Eventually, he builds a robot from parts and hides it in his closet. Unfortunately, his parents don’t value his geeky genius and sign him up for the Great Outdoor Nature Adventure to get him away from his computer and experiments so he can be more like “normal” boys. He hates it.

Patricia and Lawrence become awkward friends. Patricia is talked into lying about his attendance at nature class in exchange for twenty dollars. Lawrence also provides her with a module so she can talk to his robot and “socialize” it. The AI, in turn, gives out good advice on coping.

The book skips forward to San Francisco and young adults Patricia and Lawrence. Both have survived their childhood…barely. Patricia actually saves Lawrence’s life and, after a traumatic event, Patricia is found by a magician and runs away from her family to magic school.

The second half of the book follows the reunion of the two where they both struggle with lovers, their jobs, current co-workers, and a growing threat to the world. It becomes apparent that Patrica represents magic and nature while Lawrence symbolizes science. Together the two, with their talents, might save the world from a looming doomsday threat.

This is a strange book for science fiction. The early lives of the two main characters makes for agonizing reading and points out the failure of society both in education and child raising. I find the Nebula has often nominated and awarded unusual books that dance between fantasy and science fiction. This is one of those books.

Although the ending rather disappointed, I still recommend reading the book for its vivid characterizations and emotional events. It has a bit of the flavor of the Magicians in it. The trials these two have to overcome endears them and is worth the read.

And while reading this book, if you’re an adult, you’ll be glad you are. If you’re a teenager, you’ll be grateful that your life is better than their early life was… I hope.

A Best Selling Fantasy, er, Science Fiction

Summer is over and, in Portland, that means that the rains are on the way. My only consolation is that football season is beginning, and the Ryder Cup is coming up this month.

I didn’t do any marketing in August and sales suffered. I don’t care as I am wrapped up in getting my latest book, A World Too Far ready to publish. I have one more Beta reader to report in and a proof with the second cover to check over, and I’ll be done. I’m dancing about because in all my stats, September tends to be the lowest in sales, and I’m analyzing when would be the best time to launch. Publishers claim November and December are strong because of Christmas, but I would guess that would be for hardback or trade paperbacks. I still sell more ebooks than paperbacks. Another difference from how book publishing used to be.

Still…

The answer may be…when the book is ready. I’m considering setting May 2017 as the date for the next book and making it firm as May is usually one of my strongest months.

Speaking of the book publishing business, Hugh Howey has an excellent blog you should read.

http://www.hughhowey.com under “A Peek Behind the Curtain”

Good stuff.

This week after a few false starts, I got my teeth into the newest (and I think final) book of Mark Lawrence’s Red Queen’s War book three, The Wheel of Osheim.

I really enjoy the bad boy characters in his books and, in fact, Jorg Ancrah of Prince of Fools makes an appearance to give Jal some serious advice. We see the character arc of Jal Kendreth who trips into a hero’s role no matter how hard he tries to run away.

What I liked least was the jumping back and forth between Snorri in Hell trying to save his family and Jan’s escapades after he wiggles out of Hell, leaving Snorri behind.

Escaping Hell, Jal finds even worse nightmares and villains among the living nearer to home. A bit of a zombie apocalypse erupts as he is left alone, appointed as Marshall to save his city of Vermilion, while grandmother, the queen, goes after the Blue Lady and her many mirrors. The Blue Lady is bent on speeding up the turning wheel of Osheim that portends the end of the world.

The wheel of Osheim is turning faster and faster, threatening to crack the world. Loki’s key may play a vital role in stopping it or speeding it up, depending on how it ‘s turned, and Jal carries it.

This is the part I liked the best. Lawrence inserts science fiction into a story that could masquerade as a fantasy except that rumors and hints say it’s the future after a nuclear holocaust. Jalan meets what is described as holographs or “data echoes” of long dead “builders” involved in the “wheel” that sounds suspiciously like the Hadron Collider. Blending mythology (Loki’s key and the Dead King ) and science (the collider and the builders ), Lawrence delivers a rousing and unique story.

ps. You do know that we barely escaped being hit by an asteroid only 7.3 million miles away, don’t you? And September 17, a smaller one is on track to come nearer, but hopefully to also miss. See header for picture.

Magic and Spaceships

Hugh Howey started it, and now others are using the technique. Write a short novella, give it away and sell the next three or four episodes at cheap prices. Get a fan following and bundle. Not because it’s cold, but to collect the first five books together and sell at a reasonable price.

It’s like a teaser or lost leader at the retail store, and it works because a lot of readers like a free taste before they gulp the whole meal.

Which reminds me to tell you that Caught in Time, the first of my series, is being offered for .99 through June 20. If you haven’t clicked the button yet, now is the time to get a deal before it goes back to the regular price. And if you’ve already read it and like it, please leave a review as I’m short on those. Thanks. Thanks. Thanks.

On to this week’s science fiction suggestion.

Starship Mage, book 1 is a novella of only 63 pages, that begins a series of short books, which Glynn Stewart bundles into an omnibus of 299 pages. I didn’t realize it at the time I chose it and put it on my book list last January. I was attracted to the cover and the title, and didn’t read the fine print that noted page length. As readers, we need to start doing this in this age of the ebook. The idea of mixing magic and spaceships just intrigued me.

Besides, the first episode was free. (By now you know that I like a deal)

Starship Mage, book 1 is about a newly graduated Jump Mage, Damien Montgomery, who needs a job, but doesn’t have the normal family connections to get him a berth on a starship. Jump Magi are an elite circle of people whose magical talents are trained to power starships for faster than light speeds. They have the ability to “jump” ships over huge distances but at a price.

After an attack by pirates, the damaged starship Blue Jay is towed to port to the planet of Sherwood. The crew has survived solely due to a brave magi who jumped too much and too soon in order to save the ship and died in the attempt.

Unfortunately, the planetary Governor of Sherwood is the now dead mage’s father and blacklists Captain David Rice of the Blue Jay in a moment of anger and grief.

Desperate Captain David Rice connects to desperate Mage Damien Montgomery and the Blue Jay acquires a new jump mage, finishes repairs, and heads out. But the ship is a marked vessel, and young Damien Montgomery doesn’t realize that his life is going to get a lot more complicated and dangerous. He will have to think outside the box to save his crew as both pirates and the law pursue the soon-to-be embattled spaceship.

I found the first story a fun blend of magic and space adventure and plan to continue the series. Think of the Firefly series with magic sprinkled throughout. Not deep and stirring, but an enjoyable space adventure that I recommend.

Amazon Marketing

I have been asking myself lately whether enrolling in Amazon’s KDP Select was worthwhile. I know of writers who swear they sell more on Smashwords or the iBookstore, but for me Amazon sells more, hands down. I kept two of my books up on Smashwords just to compare as my ads reach all platforms. Sold two this year compared to hundreds on Amazon. That’s an enormous difference. However, I have noticed in the last three months that my Kindle Unlimited and Kindle Prime sales are starting to compete strongly with my standard retail sales.

Bear in mind that a recently broken shoulder caused all marketing efforts to dramatically halt. Now I’m in restart mode and evaluating past efforts. The question becomes: “Would those sales have happened, or would they have gone to someone else if I hadn’t been on KDP Select?”

Sales on KOLL are dependent on what Amazon puts in the kitty and over time have averaged around $1.62. My usual royalty is around $2.75 or more. Am I winning or losing with this strategy? That’s why Nicholas Rossis’s blog that interpreted Hugh Howey’s author earnings was so interesting. (See previous blog for Howey’s link). Rossis states that Indie author’s using KDP Select earn 13% more and with KOLL, Amazon is providing incremental earnings to Indie authors. Yea!

Check out his interesting blog.

http://nicholasrossis.me/2014/10/25/kindle-unlimited-conclusions-from-hugh-howeys-latest-author-earnings-report/

For June, I’m experimenting with Book Gorilla and have scheduled an ad for June 15th when Caught in Time will be offered for $.99. The special will run to June 20. I’m hoping to catch those readers who are looking for an adventurous time travel summer read and are stocking up their Kindle, iPad or Nook now.

This week I am discussing Falling Sky by Rajan Khanna. This book came into my hands through my Science Fiction Book Readers that meets once a month at Powell’s. Before each meeting, Peter passes around Advanced Reading Copies (ARCS) and various books he has on hand that he thinks we might like. I grabbed Falling Sky because of the cover. And it was free.

Also, I was looking for an unknown current author to present to my blog readers who might be a diamond in the rough. In addition, Khanna mentions that the seeds of the story started at Clarion West in 2008 (near me) and his teacher there, my friend Mary Rosenblum, suggested his short story be turned into this novel. So I had an interest in seeing if he suceeded .

Falling Sky is a post apocalyptic near future that takes place in North America where a disease has turned humans into little more than rabid beasts called Ferals. Ben Gold has managed to survive by taking to the air in his family’s airship, scavenging abandoned buildings and homes for food and supplies while trying to avoid Ferals that roam on the ground. The danger is that contact with any infected human fluids transmits the disease, causing that person to become a Feral.

Air colonies have formed to protect those uninfected humans from those on the ground, but air pirates raid these colonies scavenging for food, weapons and goods. Ben discovers a group of scientists in one colony who are searching for a cure, and one, named Miranda, attracts his attention. But then an attack loses Ben his airship, and he has to fend for himself on the ground among Ferals. He vows to go after the pirates to reclaim his ship, but Miranda comes back into his life, and he has to decide whether to help her or go it alone.

Recently I have noticed a lot of Apocalyptic science fiction coming out. For example, MADD Max: Fury Road is showing in theaters. That kind of genre is not my usual fare, but the flavor of Steampunk percolates through this story making it palatable.

The writing is very readable and the story contains a lot of action as airships soar over deadly ground, trying to survive in a world overrun with human savagery.

Superstar Science Fiction Marketeer

Along with recommended science fiction and fantasy, I have been recently discussing self publishing and marketing.

 And…no one is more at the forefront of marketing for the Indie author than Hugh Howey.

I first became aware of Hugh Howey when I downloaded a free, self-published, short story off of Amazon called Wool. At the time, I didn’t realize it was a short story, but I had heard a bit about it and it showed up on my Amazon’s “suggested for you” list.

Seemed like an odd title, but it was free and intriguing noises were being made about it.

 There followed on Amazon a longer sequel of 126 pages called Wool 2: Proper Gauge for .99 and then a 106 page story called Wool 3: Casting Off for .99, a little longer at 166 pages Wool 4: the Unraveling was $1.99, and finally a 259 page novelette, Wool 5: The Stranded for $2.99.

 Hugh Howey says in July 2011 he wrote the first short story, never marketed it, never mentioned it on his blog, but readers clamored to know more about the world with the silos. Offered free, many downloaded, read it and wanted more.

 So he wrote more.

Five more.

 The stories were bundled into an omnibus called Wool Omnibus Edition 1-5 for $5.99.

 Hugh Howey was on fire.

 Following this success, he continued with The Shift series, much in the same vein as Wool…First Shift at 236 pages, Second Shift at 266 pages and Third Shift at 282 pages all collected together and in 2013 offered the Shift Omnibus. Wool went to hardback, published by Random House, UK in 2013 and Ridley Scott Productions is discussing making a movie of Wool.

 Then, Hugh Howey opened the doors to his Silo world, and authors from all over are now writing stories and novels in the Silo Universe. Wider distribution came with audiobooks. Also, Shift can be found in Scribd’s subscription listings.

 This is where it becomes apparent that “content is king,” and some stories fire the imagination of their readers and take off to become mega hits if the author is paying attention to the new trends.

 And Howey was.

 It was an undefinable, combustible mixture of great storytelling, fresh marketing approaches and being at the right place at the right time.

 Hugh Howey has been very clever and innovative in how his stories were released out into the mad maelstrom of the new publishing world.

 Then one year ago (2013), he published his novel, Dust, also through CreateSpace, that wrapped up his Silo trilogy.

 “Wool introduces the world of the silo, Shift tells the story of its creation and Dust brings about its downfall.”

Dust is a full novel of 464 pages. Sold in paperback ($14.78), Audiobook ($12.33) or Kindle ($5.99). I happened to grab it out of my local library in the paperback version. Before you yell cheapskate too loud, I did buy the Wool version first and then accidentally found Dust in my library. *snatch*

 As a finale to an exciting trilogy, it delivers. Once again the reader encounters the determined Mayor Juliette who understands more than anyone the horrors of the silo and desperately tries to save her people. Dust also brings back the grittiness of life in the silo with the good, the bad, and the clueless that live there.

It’s a story of the human spirit that never gives up, that adapts and copes in order to survive against horrifying odds.

But you have to start at the beginning. You have to start with Wool.

 And then, you’ll be hooked.

Science Fiction: More Marketing and An Exciting Military Series

Word of mouth..still a powerful means of getting your book out there, but there’s no way to control it except by writing a story worthy of mention.

As Mark Coker says, “Content trumps all.”

I am still figuring out the best path in which to offer my books that is both cost effective and energy efficient. As a counterpoint to Coker’s idea of spreading distribution access to your book across distribution lines, Hugh Howey has a thought provoking blog entitled. http://www.hughhowey.com/no-more-shitty-baskets.

Once again, I enrolled Caught in Time in Amazon’s KDP Select and this time tried the Countdown Deal. I did very little marketing on my own and was pleasantly surprised at the results. There are hordes of readers who have found the website for Countdown deals, and also sign up for daily offerings of free books through other websites. Avid readers are cleverly pursuing cost effective ways to satiate their reading experience.

As much as I honor Coker’s efforts, for my genre, or maybe just my books, they are not selling in Smashwords. Two books have been listed there for over two years and sales are dismal. I’m not sure why as they are listed on Apple iBookstore, Kobo, Sony, Diesel, Scrib’ner and now, libraries. While Smashwords sets my books on other shelves, Amazon helps me market and seeds the entire globe with them. And I am selling well there. I sell in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Japan, India, Canada, Australia and more.

It makes me dizzy. It thrills me.

So the word is spreading and not always in American English.

Which brings me to this week’s selection suggested by fellow writer Ted Blasche. Ted just recently published a gem of a short story in VFW…or Veterans of the Future Wars, an anthology of short story military science fiction. Ted holds the rank of LTC USA (retired), and is in the process of writing an exciting military science fiction series that will eventually reach publication.

He leaned forward at our last meeting and with eyes alight recommended I read Aurora cv-01 by Ryk Brown. If you check out this series, you’ll notice there’s lots to it. Within days, Ted was on book#8 and intravenous feedings so as not to have to stop reading in order to eat.

Aurora follows a well known storyline. The influential senator’s son, Nathan Scott, rebels against his father and enrolls in the space academy where he is noticed by Captain Roberts. There is competition for the spot of helm with a smart and feisty female, Cameron Taylor but Nathan’s unorthodox strategies win him the helm position. Anal and by-the-book Cameron is paired with Nathan as his navigator. Sparks fly between the two competitors.

Unexpectedly, the unit is shifted to a brand new, top secret ship, named Aurora, and ordered out for a trial run and shake down cruise to Jupiter. To Nathan’s chagrin, a one night stand from his father’s party shows up in uniform in a security position on board the ship. But Nathan can’t be distracted by complications at the moment.

Upon arriving in the orbit of Jupiter, Captain Roberts unveils a prototype jump engine on board and receives orders from Earth Command to jump to the Oort Cloud to test its effectiveness. Captain Roberts also informs the bridge that the Jung, a powerful enemy, has recently conquered yet another system, and Sol system is the last remaining free system left in the galaxy. He speculates that within a few years, the Jung may attack Sol system with the intent to take it over. However, the trial jump lands them in the lap of an unexpected Jung fleet and they’re immediately engaged in battle.

Hit and barely functioning, the Aurora inflicts damage on an enemy ship that appears to be inoperative, but a boarding party finds surviving soldiers have activated an anti-matter self destruct sequence. Tension, non stop action ensues as the boarding party scrambles away, one brave soldier staying behind to give the Aurora more time to escape the imminent explosion. In desperation, the Aurora jumps as the anti-matter explodes in the nearby ship, kicking the ship 10,000 light years across the universe, landing it in the middle of yet another unexpected battle. Immediately, the Aurora’s crew is attacked by a huge unknown alien ship. Winning, the fight, Captain Roberts gets mortally wounded, leaving Nathan, three weeks out of the academy, as captain. Now the ship is badly damaged and again involved in active combat, but this time thousands of light years from Earth.

As you can see, Ryk Brown provides breath taking action. Young Nathan scrambles to save what’s left of the crew and try to figure out what’s happening in an unknown sector far, far from home. He needs to fix a damaged jump engine that is limited in how far it can function and get home so he can warn Earth of the Jung attack…but first…he needs to survive.

I don’t care if the scenario has ever been done before, I was breathing heavily through several action-packed episodes. The storyline has some great twists and turns and enough emotion and character development for most military scifi readers. The one screaming flaw was the disruptive changes in point of view. I would be reading in one point of view and suddenly flip to another, then within two sentences flip back. When you’re trying to fight a battle, this can become annoying. But other than that, I agree that this is the start of a fine new series and if military scifi is your interest…welcome aboard…and hang on.

Selling a Science Fiction Novel

 

Marketing is in an upheaval for both big publishers and small self publishers.

What to do?

Take a look at the play book of John Scalzi who uses both something old and something new.

The something old is the juggernaut of science fiction publishing houses, TOR. Often I check out the Acknowledgments in a book. Since I am reading The Human Division for my 2014 book list, I looked at what John had to say there. John thanks TOR’s editor Patrick Neilsen Haydon for his support…and Irene Gallo for the art, Sona Vogel as head copyeditor, cover artist John Harris, book designer Heather Saunders, and TOR’s publicity TEAM. (numerous names here) He thanks fiction agents selling overseas and tv/movie agents who are involved in an “Old Man’s” movie project. He acknowledges the team at Audible who are  putting together an audible version. It’s a picture of wide distribution and an entourage of professional help with his book. The Acknowledgments run two and a half pages.

Whew! I could sell a few novels with that kind of support.

He mentions a rigorous signing tour for Red Shirts during which he writes episodes of The Human Division. This brought up the memory of a year and some time ago when he came locally for a signing of Fuzzy Nation.

I went.

It was John Scalzi.

Running late, I slid into a seat in a packed section of Powell’s bookstore. The man next to me introduced himself and before I knew what was happening, he’d gone to grab a book for me, saying that they were running low. He handed me a $25 hardback edition of Fuzzy Nation. It had an ugly cover.

He acted like it was a great favor.

I couldn’t quite hand it back…but putting out expensive hardbacks and following up a year later with the cheaper paperback is so old school. And very traditional publishing.

Needless to say, Scalzi put on a great performance, both witty and informative. I figured that half the cost was for the live entertainment. And I got a personally signed book…for a crowded bookshelf. Of course, paperbacks of older works were also available, but the new one was only available in hardback for signing. So, being charming to your reading public when they’re holding your $25 novel is a good strategy.

I spent a lot of money that night.

The Human Division is now available only in expensive hardback at the bookstore, but fortunately we have Amazon and Kindle downloads for us high tech frugal folks…if you don’t mind foregoing the illegible signature.

BUT, John doesn’t just old school it.

If you are involved in the Twitterverse, you might be following Scalzi.

I am.

He tweets some of the more enjoyable snippets and is very funny. While others scream, “buy my book” or tell you what they’re eating for breakfast, John offers up humorous anecdotes in the life of a successful author and even makes humdrum daily events hilarious. He is a prolific tweeter.

In addition, John talked TOR into releasing The Human Division not only as a print book, but electronically in episodes.

Innovative.

Okay, okay…Charles Dickens did it through print newspapers a while ago, but electronically episodic is still a new path for most science fiction writers. Not too long ago, Hugh Howey used this form of marketing to break through with his Wool series and has become quite successful. Now he’s selling trade paperbacks in bookstores. (6″x9″ $15-$17)

John also has a very popular blog: www.whatever.Scalzi.com

He is plugged into the science fiction good old boys’ and girls’ network and lists a number of well known science fiction authors who helped him while he did “a staggering amount of travel.” He apologizes to the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (premier science fiction association) for being distracted with publishing The Human Division during October and says, “it won’t happen again while I’m president.”

So, this shows me how important networking and interacting with fellow writers can be, and also that getting involved in prominent associations and conferences is also helpful in getting recognized, and boosting sales.

 The Human Division is also “in the universe” of the very popular novel, Old Man’s War, which was nominated for a Hugo…so winning awards, or even a nomination, and especially a Hugo, plumps up sales, and writing within a popular series helps sell any new book in that series.

Which gets me back to old school basics…

Write a great book…and they will come help you market everywhere.

And keep writing…as you tour, as you tweet, as you blog, as you serve on committees and attend cons.

Then you will sell…

Quite a lot.

Ps. Next week I’ll review The Human Division

 

Sampling the Novelette in Science Fiction

I have never been a short story enthusiast, nor one for anthologies. Give me the long story…the deep world…or better yet, an extended series.

The number one current marketing tip is…write more books…novelettes…short stories.

Recently, thanks to Hugh Howey and others, the teaser and then, follow-up novels have become touted as a way to accumulate readers.

My path.

I tried Hugh Howey’s first book, Wool, and this week followed that with book 2,  Wool: Proper Gauge.  I must admit I spent money to get it, but I was impressed with the writing and very much enjoyed it. And it didn’t cost that much.

I plan to read more.

In book one, the reader is introduced to the world of the silo where humanity is trapped by a hostile world inside a huge one hundred forty-four level living space. The sheriff, Holston, believes that the bleak landscape that they see through the begrimed windows is a lie, as did his wife before him, and he volunteers to go out and clean the other side of the contaminated lenses. The poignant story of this event runs about forty-nine pages.

Book two, Wool: Proper Gauge continues the story as the aging mayor Jahns and her assistant, Marnes, have to now find a new sheriff for the Silo community. Very cleverly, Howey places Marne’s top candidate at the bottom of the Silo, and the Mayor and Marnes travel down all one hundred and forty-four levels in an attempt to interview her and persuade her to accept the position.

What you get is a fascinating look at the Silo community at various levels and an interesting mystery concerning the controversial candidate…Juliette, a mechanic servicing the engines of the Silo at the bottom.

An additional obstacle crops up in the form of Bernard, who runs IT and appears to be trying to gather power and control over the Silo. He suggests another candidate and is startled when Mayor Jahns rejects his signed, sealed and delivered choice. A dangerous move on her part.

A shocking twist at the end wets the reader’s appetite for book three.

Not content to open a whole new way of delivering a fascinating story, Howey has opened his world to other authors who are now publishing their own stories within the Silo universe.

Hmmm… Interesting.

Another set of authors, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, are bringing out novelettes and adding them to the already best selling novels of the Liadon Universe. They are offering these shorter stories for anywhere from $1.99 and up.

I recently read Courier Run. I picked it because it is a back story on the relationship between Daav yos Phelium, Delm Korval, and Aelliana Caylon when they were first starting out as courier pilots on Ride the Luck. And it was only $2.99 and an easy read.

 I also wanted to learn further about Daav, since I had recently read Fledgling, Saltation, and Ghost Ship in which he plays an older father and background part.

I was in the Liadon Universe and thirsty for more.

 For those who have read Agent of Change, and Carpe Diem, and know Daav, Courier Run is a fun filled story about an upper class romance, a mother, a daughter and a ring in a tricky insurance fraud shell game. Daav and Aelliana are tasked to deliver a priceless ring to a museum, but the daughter has already gifted this ring to her paramour. Quick thinking is in order for Aelliana and co-pilot Daav as they deliver the ring on Ride the Luck.

The second story in this set is “Kinship” and finishes up the story in Changeling, which tells Ren Zel’s story of “death” and ostracism through the hands of a treacherous clan leader. In “Kin Ties” he returns home and faces true death at the hands of the clan leader’s descendent who blames him for the death of her mother and the collapse of her clan.

As always, Miller and Smith deliver. In this case reading Changeling first would make “Kinship” more understandable, but the two stand on their own in the Liadon series.

In the past, both these novelettes would be too short to find on a bookstore shelf unless buried in an anthology, but the new world of publishing and how we read has open up the door, and these tasty helpings on the buffet table of a popular series are well worth sampling.