S.J. Reisner's Blog, page 108

International Author

Found out today all my books are available through both Amazon Canada (paperbacks only so far) and Amazon UK (paperbacks and Kindle).  This means you don't have to place an overseas order to get my books! Woohoo! Enjoy them!

Yeah - I knew my Kindle books were available in the UK, just not the paperbacks. I'm hoping the Kindle books will be available to Canada UK soon, too.

The Argument FOR Indie Authors

A lot of folks on the Kindle user boards and other places are touting the "Self Published is Evil!" banner. Probably because the small press and indie authors over there are constantly promoting themselves. Again, someone is trying to promote the idea that all self-published work is bad (and trying to throw the small press in with that crowd).

This really isn't always the case. First - Kindle has a neat feature called "SAMPLE". Nook Readers also have this option. Reading a sample of a book or finding an excerpt online is really the smart way to research a book BEFORE you buy it. Even books put out by big publishers should be sampled first! Just because it's put out by a publisher whose name you recognize is no guarantee it's good or that you'll like it. At the most, you can expect 1-4 funky typos per book whereas some self-published stuff may have more errors than that. Depends on the indie author and how (s)he is.

I've kind of stepped away from reading nothing but big publishers lately and have moved into reading almost exclusively small press and Indie (minus a few series I'm following). Why? Because the small presses and indies are oftentimes willing to tread into new or taboo territory.  They aren't afraid to take chances on new authors or stories with themes or topics the main stream won't touch with a ten-foot-pole.

Basically - I've noticed a lot of what's being put out by the big presses these days is really cookie-cutter and formulaic and to be honest with you, I'm bored with reading the same books over and over again. I've found that in small presses and Indie authors, this doesn't seem to happen as frequently until the author falls into a pattern (i.e. they find a book that sells well and then they write that same book over and over again).

Okay - let's be honest. YES, there probably are a higher number of lemons in the Indie market. The small press at least provides some sort of barrier (i.e. editorial input). But really I've read a lot of crap in the mainstream press, too. A good book is a subjective thing. Now granted tons of spelling errors and really poor writing has no place in the publishing world regardless the size of the publisher (or lack thereof). However, you can usually weed those books out by using the SAMPLE feature. SAMPLE is your friend.

I guess my point is don't discount self-published books or even small presses (a lot of people erroneously think that just because a small press isn't well known that it's a self-publishing front) because you're going to miss out on a lot of good, unique, and interesting work by writers who don't suck.

The truth of the matter is that good writers are a dime a dozen (there are a lot of us out here), but big publishers only have so many books they can put out each year by new authors. This means a lot of good books are passed over in favor of celebrity authors (guaranteed income for the publisher), or authors who are already known and have a following. Some of those good, yet rejected-by-a-big-publisher books end up with a home at a small press, and others are self-published. Just sayin'...

Oh - and on that note as someone who has a whole slew of self-published non-fiction - I'd say my thousands of copies sold and hundreds of fans really say otherwise about how "horrible" self published writers are. Not to mention that I have fans with all my small press fiction as well (in three different genres).  Now sure - none of it's self published and it all goes through an editor and editorial process, but I put my self-pubbed stuff through a similar process and very rarely do I get some anal retentive reader who complains about my split infinitives, how I used a comma on page 93, or whatnot. Most readers judge on content. I didn't become a bestselling indie (i.e. Small Press because we did brand it) non-fiction author by sucking. ;)

More Novellas & Dreams

My secret identity has been really busy. I've got two more novella's contracted. My publisher was thrilled that I was able to get the next story to him so quickly. Yay.  Yeah, I have some bestselling eBooks and I'm proud of them. They were a lot of work. There's also been talk of a paperback anthology sometime next year, which I'm super excited about. I would like a physical paperback copy of a collection of my novellas.

Now onto other things. I actually dreamed about the NaNo novel. I am kicking myself because in the dream there was a solution to where I'm stuck at the moment. I didn't write it down. This just lends more credence to the practice of keeping a dream journal at the side of the bed and writing down everything from my dreams into the journal. Now sometimes I'll do this, I'm just not consistent. Consistency is everything there.

On that note, an e-mail from a FB friend sparked more work on HD, which is nice. I think I feel a bit more confident writing about the topic now that I've more fully experienced the subject matter. I'm finding I have a great deal to say, which is a good thing when you're writing an entire book. This also means HD isn't coming out this year unless I get a wild hair. But it is coming. I'm still talking to fellow necromancers about their experiences as well.

I also feel the urge to work on Into Darkness. Good things are happening and at this point if I don't finish the NaNo I don't care because the contracted work is going well and I'm enjoying the work. I'm also getting a real paycheck for fiction now, which I'm happy about. I don't know how long it will last, but I'm going to enjoy it while I have it and thank the Gods every day for the readers who enjoy my work. Without them it wouldn't be possible and I am humbled by the fact that they are buying it, recommending it, and talking about it.

Monday Meanderings

I want to thank Mystee from A Moment with Mystee for giving me the opportunity to participate in her January book giveaway. I'll also be doing an interview on her blog in January and I have a guest blog spot over there in February. Watch here for more details!

I am still debating what to blog about. I'm thinking paranormal, things that go bump in the night just because that's always a fun topic. We'll see. I'll know more in a few days what I'm going to do.

Another contracted novella out the door and I'm now 3 days behind on the NaNo, but I'm cool with that. I did write over 7K this weekend anyway.

I did get some fun "fan mail" over the weekend that I'm considering, too. I get some strange ones, that's for sure. Ask me about the time some guy wrote to me to tell me Stevie Wonder's brother was possessed by demons, I dare you.  ::giggles::  Or the time the guy wrote to me to tell me he was possessed by a squirrel and needed to know what to do. And of course the infamous, "How do I summon a demon to XXX" fill in the blank. I've gotten everything from questions about summoning demons for penis enlargement, to money, women, fame, and power. Love it! Of course it's not generally mail I answer either. I don't see any reason to encourage or validate stuff like that because it always turns out strange for me.

Some people just want to talk and ask me how my day was or tell me about their day. I guess that's pretty cool, too. I just don't always have time to respond.

Wow, this really is a meander. Now back to business. I'm at work, have a lot to do, and at some point I need to make it over to FM to update, but I want to have a word count for the day before I even go there.

Stupid is the New Smart

Has anyone else noticed this trend? Stupid is the new smart. We pay people millions just because they look good, or look good and sound good, or because they sucked someones dick on video or showed their hootchie to the paparazzi.  We pay people millions because they can play a game. We exalt the beautiful and often brainless. We even elect the stupid to public office.

It's unfortunate we no longer reward or hold in high esteem real talent or intelligence. Okay - so maybe some of us do, but a vast majority of people don't.

Even in publishing real authors with real talent are being passed over for the easy money makers. I was watching CNN the other morning and some little starlet (don't know who she was, just that she was blond and cute - probably something Disney) was talking about the new novel she ::wink:: wrote. When asked about her writing process she said, in a 'duh' way, "Well, like, I had these ideas and I wrote them down."

When asked how she got published she said, "Well, I met the right people and got a contract." Which is likely code for, "I sucked someones penis and they had an 'in'." 

Yeah, I know, it sounds like I have sour grapes and truthfully - umm, yeah. I mean I know a lot of talented writers out there. But they're not pretty, and they don't already have a teeny bop audience who will buy whatever they're selling either. It's sad because real storytelling talent is left unrewarded while marginal, or even completely brainless hacks can write a book about anything and sell it just by virtue of their celebrity regardless. To add insult to injury - most of them don't even write their own stuff. A ghost writer does it. So if there is any talent behind it - it's the ghost writer's, not the person whose name is on the cover.

Whether most people realize it or not, the recording and publishing, television and movie making corporate moguls dictate what we read and what we like and what is popular. They're the ones who reward the incredibly stupid. This is in part why I've really gone to reading and listening to stuff on the Indie side of the fence recently. To prove I'm not just supporting or enjoying whatever New York or California tells me to. Not saying there aren't talented authors or musicians in traditional venues - there are - but their books are often cookie cutter and they all start sounding alike after awhile.

No child left behind rewards the incredibly stupid by saying, "It's okay to be average and everyone is the same, and you're all entitled to the same rewards as someone who's worked their ass off and actually has some talent.  Bullshit. Hard work, contribution, and talent should be rewarded. Those who have nothing but looks, or a voice, or whatever - should be encouraged to use their brains. (Not saying all pretty people are stupid, just that sometimes when they get what they want by virtue of their looks alone, some don't exercise their brains anymore - Paris Hilton asking that farmer's wife what a well was used for comes to mind. Seriously, if you're that dumb that you don't know what a well is, we should throw you into one.)

As a result we've got a generation of selfish people who are entitlement minded and think they deserve something just because they're pretty or popular or because they did a sex tape. Or they think they deserve what everyone else has just because they exist.

I think of what that says about our culture and I am saddened that the true role-models worthy of our respect and admiration -- and our money, the scientists, authors, inventors and musicians (the ones who actually have the talent but who aren't necessarily the loudest or the prettiest) are often the ones who get the shaft and the least respect of all.

Super Secret Writer

Last Thursday I went to the dentist. As usual, my dental hygienist started asking me how things were and what was new with me and I found myself saying, "Not much. Same old thing. Working." Then we talked about me and DH's trip later this month and how she was going to her parents' in Nebraska for thanksgiving. And not once did I say, "Oh, I just had a third novel come out!"

When it comes to face-to-face self promotion when it's not in the appropriate atmosphere - I suck. I know some authors who tell everyone about their books. Their hairdresser, their dental hygienist, the plumber, their mechanic and his wife, their butcher, their bank - everyone. For some reason, IMHO, it almost seems bad manners to me to A. Talk about myself to excess and B. Find a way to turn every opportunity for conversation into a talk about my books.

Okay - yeah - here I talk about myself all the time. On my Facebook I talk about myself all the time. But that's different. I use this blog and my Facebook for self-promotion. When I'm hanging out with friends in the real world I want to talk about stuff other than my writing. When I'm talking to my dental hygienist, I guess I want to talk about my teeth. Or maybe her going to visit her parents in Nebraska. Not my books.

Perhaps it's to my detriment. Or not. Not sure. It just seems uncomfortable and strange to me to tell everyone about my books. In fact I'd say a good number of people in my life have no idea I'm a published author. And you know what? I think I may actually like it that way.

NaNo November

So this year I decided to break down and write a NaNo novel. I've had this idea running through my mind for about three years now. Or at least the characters and the backstory. So this year I've decided to write about them. Now, whether or not I'll put it through editing and see it if will make a viable novel at some point remains to be seen. But for now it is what it is, an idea that I fully intend on putting into a novel. I'm already at 4K. Haven't started writing for today yet.

So if posts to this blog end up sporadic this month, that would be why. I'll be furiously typing my eyes off to hit 50K before the end of the month and if all goes well, I could easily have the bulk of that banged out by the 20th or so. We'll see. :)

Experiment Month One

Background:
A writer friend and I were discussing what kinds of books sold. Then she confided in me that she'd been writing a certain type of book incognito. I was shocked. Flabbergasted in fact since she has books with major publishers as well as small press. I mean, I'm not a prude, but I'm not without my Puritan upbringing like so many other Americans. I even blushed. I said aloud, "I could never write that."

Then she told me how much of her writing income came from this. I was floored. Surely she was making it up. So I started doing some research. I began reading the books and watching their eBook sales numbers. Finally, I threw my Puritan upbringing to the wolves and sat down and penned a Novelette. I'm a pretty decent writer with a strong writing resume, so it wasn't too tough for me. I finished the story the beginning of September and it was edited and released as an eBook October 1. During the month of October I worked on a second. The second was a true Novella coming in at over 14K. It was released October 25.

I've labeled them Novella #1 and Novella #2 to share the detailed results of this experiment with my writer friends. If you want very specific details (titles, pseudonym, genre specifics) you'll need to contact me at swordarkeereon@gmail.com and we can talk about it. Or you can PM me on Facebook. I don't want to compromise my secret identity here.

Novella #1 (8,400 words)
Released October 1, 2010 on Kindle
Released October 2, 2010 on Nook

Price: $2.99
Author Royalty Kindle: 2.00
Author Royalty Nook: 1.94

Kindle Copies Sold: 51
Breakdown - US:       50            UK:    1

Nook Copies Sold:  103

Kindle Profit: $102.00
Nook Profit: $ 200.18
Total Made on Novella #1 Month 1: $302.18


Novella #2 (14,000words)
Released October 25, 2010 on Kindle
Released October 26, 2010 on Nook

Price: $2.99
Author Royalty Kindle: 2.00
Author Royalty Nook: 1.94

Kindle Copies Sold:  20
Breakdown- US: 17      UK: 3

Nook Copies Sold: 460

Kindle Profit: $40.00
Nook Profit: $ 894.01
Total Made on Novella #2 Month 1: $934.01
(actually this is really only one week!!!)

Total Month 1 Income on Experiment: $1,236.19

Some observations:

Nook users seem to buy more of this particular genre and I wonder if it's because once the book is live, so are the covers and descriptions whereas Amazon can take up to a week to import the description. Once Amazon imports the description, your book is no longer in front of readers and your opportunity to lure a reading audience is gone.

I first thought the first 72 hours were the most pivotal and I had to go into several Amazon Kindle user groups to let them know the books were available. I did it incognito as if I were a reader recommending it. Yes, I know that's underhanded, but I don't have an Amazon account as my secret identity and quite frankly don't want everyone knowing about my secret identity because what I'm writing isn't just mainstream, vanilla you-know-what. I've always taken to the taboo in almost everything I do, after all. So upon dropping little recommendations here and there, that's when the most sales were generated on Amazon. Otherwise, sales trickle in at 1-3 copies per day. Most sales seem to happen in the evening hours on Amazon.

This did not hold true for Nook. On Novella #2 the Nook sales spurt started 4 days after the initial release. Something amazing happened and in the space of 24 hours I went from 24 books sold to 100 books sold in 24 hours. The book ended up #143 on BandN's bestsellers in Nook and #5 in Erotica sales on Nook. Don't ask me how it happened. It just did. I've also heard that certain types of stories sell really well, and this particular story has that in it.

I woke up 10/30/2010 to find that Novella #2 was at #138 and #2 on the bestseller list. Still don't know how it happened. I only have a few handfuls of friends and writer friends and a couple editors who know who I am and what I'm writing. They have promised to keep my secret identity secret.

Different types of books generate different types of sales (obviously). Mixing the sacred with the profane... eh, not so much as "experience" type stories.

To really make any substantial money doing this you'd have to generate at least one new story per week and include as many elements that may sell well as possible. My current plan is to release 1-4 of these stories per quarter with no commitment. However, the allure is there. It would be tempting but I would have to give up writing the things I love to write and my readers love to read and I'm not quite willing to do that. Instead, I'll be content throwing a few of these out every few months as an exercise in writing shorts (if anything). Not to mention I clearly have readers in this genre now. I may even play in various sub-genres there with additional pen-names. We'll see. I'm just dabbling.

You may also have to assume that there is a possibility that Nook will eventually be drowning in these stories. So those who got into BandN Nook early with their books will have good sales until everyone is doing it, at which point your sales may be similar to Amazon's. About 10 copies per week per title on average.

I'll post another report at the end of November to track where these stories and their sales are. I fully expect sales to slowly taper off to maybe 20 copies a month or something like that. I have two more of these stories in the works right now. They'll probably be released December/January.

Secret Identity

My secret identity now has a #2 bestselling erotica novella. (If I say anything more my secret identity will be compromised.) LOL! Wow! I realize the whole thing is an experiment, but I have to admit I'm REALLY surprised by the results and almost instantaneous sales boom (more of which you'll learn about tomorrow). What is even more impressive is to see people rating it between 4-5 stars. Of course I still wonder about the state of our culture when *this* is what they choose to read in such volume. Of course I shouldn't be surprised and just so you know - I'm NOT complaining. I really enjoyed writing it. The editor has been very helpful and workable with my personal life this month AND they want more.

So I'm donning my secret identity cape again and I'll be working on another one in December. :-)

Number Five...

Calling number five? Number five, please. 

Please take a bow, number five.

::bows then straightens, addressing the audience::

"I'd like to thank all of you, my fans. Without all of you, I would not be number five."

::applause::