Michael J. Bode's Blog, page 3

Support my Book Launch

I started a campaign on Thunderclap. Basically it's an easy way to get the word out about my book on launch day. I just need 100 supporters and Thunderclap will make the announcement for you on October 29th.

Click Here to Support. It's totally free.

Also if you haven't, the electronic version of the Mirrored City is available for preorder. Those sales count on October 29th and go a long way toward making my titles visible to the Amazon algorithm on launch.

A few other odds and ends.

My knee continues to improve. I made it through Dragon Con but I was pretty wiped after Friday and Saturday. Didn't get much accomplished from a business side of things. I think I definitely got a lot more out of the smaller, intimate panels at Outlantacon.

I had my first day of work today. It was an hour and a half of orientation. I go back in Friday.

And finally... I'm doing an audiobook version of the Queen of Lies with Vance Bastian. That should be due out before the holidays.

I'm in the midst of editing the final revisions for the Mirrored City so I should really get back to work

Quick Updates

I will be starting my new part-time job on September 8th working as a business intelligence consultant. It's pretty good timing in that it's after Dragon Con and my knee should be well on the mend by then so I won't have to show up to work in flip flops or hobble around with a brace for my first few weeks.

Sometime after my iPhone broke and my knee broke, my PC broke. I got a little laptop with every intention of taking my writing out of the house. Shortly after I broke my knee so it never really seemed practical to hang out at Starbuck's... Well almost a month later, today is that day.

I accomplished precious little last week. I wish I could say I was busy writing. I wasn't. I'm going in kind of a crazy direction with this book and it needs to be executed perfectly or it will turn readers off.

Book 2 comes back from the editor on Friday. So... that will begin the revision process.

Really, though I need to get exposed to some other writers. Outlantacon was really the encouragement I needed and I'm looking forward to Dragon Con being even better.

I Have the Worst Super Power Ever

Guess what I can do? My bones heal really fucking fast. Granted I would have much preferred not breaking bones and never learning this about myself. But the improvement was, in the words of my doctor, "Remarkable."

Had my three week x-rays and the fracture is almost invisible.

I still wear the brace, but between you and me, I can pretty much walk.My next milestone is going to be putting on shoes. But having a bum knee hasn't stopped me from dancing. I think if you put me in a dance off with all the other orthopedic patients I would smoke all those motherfuckers. Behold....

There's something satisfying and vaguely metaphorical about healing slowly as my life comes together. As injuries go this one has actually been not too bad. Besides the itching I barely notice it.

I've started the Witcher 3... Which is why I've not accomplished anything productive. Other than kicking ass of monsters. I wish I'd played this game when I was designing my character Heath. What Geralt does and says is very spot on with the kind of work an Inquisitor would do.

It's truly an awesome game... although it's about as kind in its portrayal of women as a Gillian Flynn novel. It's definitely a game that steers clear of the wrath of Gamergate... but there's an artistic integrity that makes me think the developers wouldn't have given a fuck either way.

Anyway I'm alive and well. I start my new job the day after Labor Day (America's one socialist tradition).

Book three is also underway and it's fucking insane by chapter two.

 

A Short Guide to Amazon’s Pay Per Click Advertising for KDP

I ran an ad campaign since the beginning of the month on Amazon. Here's what I learned.

Amazon's ad campaigns take DAYS after approval to actually start serving impressions. Give it time. It took me 4 days.
My sales rank was in the 20k-30k range, some all time highs for this book. I did not see that volume in sales, which indicates to me that the majority of engagement came through borrows. (People can borrow through their kindles)
Amazon's reporting is Horrible . To the point that it's nearly impossible to judge the success of a campaign. You get impressions, clicks, spend, and sales but the data is not broken down by day and there may be up to three day lag before a sale ends up in the report.
They don't do any calculations. There's basic stuff like conversion rate or click through. To calculate conversion % you have to divide the total sales by the royalty for the book and divide that by the number of clicks.
Borrow activity (KENP) does not show up in the sales data  at all . But based on my sales rank, I know for a fact that it's there.

Use Case

I'm promoting a $4.99 title by interest (Science Fiction & Fantasy: Adventure, Fantasy, Sword & Sorcery) at ten cents per click. Run time 8/1-8/15. 

I'm a debut author with no broad following or name recognition.

Why ten cents? Well because I didn't know that it would take four-five days to start seeing activity. More on pricing below.

Performance

I had immediate good performance and strong sales rank (for me, anyway) throughout the early part of the campaign. Here I measured click through (How many people clicked on an ad), conversion (how many people bought an ad) and net profit %.

Note: These are the aggregate rankings on each day, not the daily activity. Sample: 40k impressions 470 clicks

 

Click Through: This number was the most solid and predictable of the three. It started at 1.7% and ended at 1.2%, steadily declining day over day. This tells me that my ads hit a point of saturation quickly and the quality of leads diminished over time as people became inured to the ads.

Conversion Rate: I averaged about 3%. This also went down with the click through. Again I suspect the window for quality leads closes pretty quickly, especially if impressions are served multiple times. (i.e. if I didn't buy it the first time I'm not going to buy it). On my best day I converted at 5%, other days I had zero sales. Again the data was delayed so it's impossible to say which number is accurate save for the aggregate.

Net Profit: Based on the hard number of books sold I spent 6 dollars on my campaign. However... there were definitely borrows. With the KENP payouts I will never, ever know how many pages read over the coming months-years how many of those were from this campaign. I do feel confident the campaign has been slightly profitable when factoring those in.

Cost Per Click

Toward the end I lowered my bid to five cents and still got impressions. At that point however I wasn't getting sales. If I started at five I would have seen 50% profits. Since I was curious I put together a CPC matrix based on book price.

If you expect to sell 5 books for every hundred clicks at 2.99, then a ten cent CPC is your break even point. (I would add 5% conversion seems pretty optimistic for an ad) .If you want to make 50% ROI then you need to cut the numbers in the table below in half.

I've highlighted where my title sits in the chart below.

Conclusion

Amazon PPC ads can be a tool for modest success with the right inputs. Bidding as low as possible seems like a safe strategy.

They set a minimum budget of $100. It's difficult to see spending all of this (at least in the sci fi/ fantasy interest bucket). So this was not a scaleable solution for me. It would take months to spend $1000 and even at 50% profit... it's not a money machine.

I would use it again to goose my sales rank or lead people to a particular title. It paid for itself, mostly and got me exposure.

Knee Update – the Fifteen Hundred Dollar Man

In advance of my actual bill, I got a letter from Humana regarding my visit to the ER. The bill was $4,500 for a leg brace, some x-rays, a tetanus shot, and a shot of morphine. YeeeOUCH!

My trip to the ER will cost me $1,500 after Obamacare. That's a fucking kick to the nuts but, again... my insurance has paid for itself. (I also have to remind myself that, not so long ago, I spent that kind of money on a blazer, some shirts, and a couple pairs of pants.) I'm even more glad I took part time work because this could be catastrophic to my long term plans.

The knee is doing better. It can bend just a very little. It doesn't hurt. I can get around. I can take out my trash. And I'm adapting. I can get in and out of cars pretty quick. I think I'll be fine on my feet by Dragoncon at the rate I heal.

Quitting my Day Job Part 6

It's been an interesting four months since I left my job.

Has it been worth it? Yes, and no.

First and foremost, there's the whole OMFG I fucking did it factor. A lot of people dream about taking time off to pursue their passion, but very few do. That takes balls and now I know that I have a rather healthy pair. I can go through life with a level of confidence I didn't have before. I believed in myself and it worked out fine.

I also got a lot of writing done and had ample time to get up to speed on the industry very quickly. Sales are improved and stable. Based on my sales rank, I'm moving around six-eight titles a day, which is a massive improvement to when the book launched. Reviews are trickling in and they're good. I wrote a good book that won't be a cause for embarrassment later.

I achieved a lifelong dream. Go me. I didn't plan on it, but I laid the foundation over the last decade. Any time I was unhappy at work, I chucked more money into savings. It's like a swear jar for worker complaints.

But writing is a lot like gardening. Most of the time you do something and then you wait. And wait. When sales are low, it can get pretty boring. Plus, I only have one plant in my garden (I like to think of it as a tomato). There's only so much you can do in a single day. At first it seemed overwhelming but now that I have the hang of social media and a working knowledge of the industry, it's not that much work.

To put it quite simply, it's not a full time job... Not yet, anyway.

The creativity aspect is great but the business side is kind of basic for someone who's used to the fast paced world of corporate life. When a pastime becomes a vocation, you start to need other hobbies.

The income isn't stellar, to be perfectly honest. I'm performing way better than most indie published books and from where I started (no marketing, no fan base) my numbers look great. But this is a very, very competitive business. It's not just other authors-- customers have tons of options when it comes to what they do with their free time (Netflix, video games, Facebook... It's not just books).

So I'm going back to work.

I've accepted an offer to work two days a week, doing reporting stuff at a company that makes a very fun product. That will take care of the money, plug any unsightly gaps in my resume and get me out of the house. It seems like a win-win for everyone.

And I never hated what I did for a living, it's just the parts of the job I liked weren't the core responsibilities. This new gig is everything I love. I enjoy coding and building things just as much as I like writing books. The most important thing to keep in mind is if what you're doing matters. My book matters, but I can do more.

It's not an either or proposition. I wrote my first novel in my spare time. It's totally doable if you commit to it. Going full time was the right for me at the time. I'd hit a wall with my last career and, seeing what was on the other side, didn't particularly care to scale it. I had a book and some savings so, whatever-- I went for it.

I'm glad I did.

In the end, though, I'd recommend new authors on waiting to pull the trigger on quitting their day job entirely. If you can stick it out, save whatever you can till you hit a

It's 99.999% likely you won't make money off the bat. The money happens, but you need to think in terms of rate of return vs. return on investment. The first book is a sunk cost for most authors. But if you indie publish it's a potential stream of income for life.
Writing full time is not that interesting. I compared it to gardening and I think that's an apt analogy. I'm not a gardener. You need to be out in the world, meeting new people, broadening your experiences.

Again, it was the right choice for me at the time. Just as it's the right choice to go back to work part time. Getting old, in general, sucks (And 40 may be the new 30 but it is not youth). But the one thing I absolutely love about being experienced and established is the ability to do whatever I want.

So live your dreams. Life does get better if you plan ahead.

My Knee is Getting Better

I thought about writing a short story called Knee Jerk Reactions, which focuses on the complaints of a surly asshole with a knee problems. Art reflects life etc.

The saga of my recovery continues.

I drove to the store on my own. Having long legs and a compact car is a bit of a logistical problem but I managed. This is the final hurdle between me and any semblance of a normal life and I managed.

I can walk half a mile, as long as its flat without consequence.

The leg doesn't hurt anymore. I get maybe three times a day when I have an OUCH! moment but it's brief and tolerable.  Most of the soreness is brace related.

My biggest concern is that my brace is starting to smell bad. Like the really bad cross between a fungus and a soft French cheese. The back of my knee is pretty slimy when it sweats and well... you get the picture. My favorite thing is to use the Velcro from the straps to scratch myself. It's nearly orgasmic.

Bottom line is that I'm good. I think the injury is actually minor, more of a wake up call than a catastrophe. It can bend a little more than it could. Once it can I think I'll be fine.

Book Review: The Heartland Trilogy by Chuck Wendig

I recieved an advanced review copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Heartland Trilogy is Chuck Wendig's young adult series set in an alternate future America, possibly an alternate reality all together. (There are similarities but never anything to tie this world directly back to ours).

The premise begins with a world, the Heartland, swallowed by a genetically modified strain of corn, which is possibly sentient... and evil. It reminded me of a piece by the onion, Monsanto Harvest-Resistant Corn Now Engulfing Most Of Midwest. It's kind of an goofy seeming premise at first, but Wendig makes it work as the books go on to explore the culture and class systems within this world, which is much bigger than just one town in the middle of nowhere.

It centers around a healthy sized cast of characters, most of them hailing from a nowhere town called Boxelder. The characters are, almost universally, both likeable and realistic. Wendig's heroes are fleshed out but they're also flawed.

Wanda's character showed some really well done development of a female character. In particular I rooted for Lane, even before I knew he was gay. Wendig has an awesome defense of his artistic choice ,on par with Kluwe's epic rant, to a fan who objected to gays being in young adult fiction.

For young adult reading this series doesn't come across as being for teens although most of the characters are in that age range. Most YA is pretty sophisticated-- teenagers don't want to read the books their parents approve of, anyway. There's sex, drugs and swearing... and all the good stuff that's all too rare in adult speculative fiction.

Some characters I connected with less, like Rigo-- he never seemed really essential to the cast and had the unfortunate burden of humanizing the fledgling badasses, often to minimal success (Or having good ideas but never being the one to execute). It's pretty clear who the good guys are and there's not a lot of profound ethical debate. The villains tended to be a bit one dimensional at times, although this improves over the course of the books.

It makes a timely statement about income inequality in modern day America, with the privileged classes literally living far above the day to day struggles of the poor farmers they exploit. The politics are light but they're there and you can hear a few choice GOP talking points coming from the central antagonists. There's a lot of other themes explored, from class to the environment as well as the characters' personal struggles with becoming adults and the meaning of family.

The overall message is positive, but the books' main goal is to entertain and they do so beautifully.

Wendig is a master of language. Every sentence is a delight to read in how he phrases his descriptions in a tight, evocative way that very few writers can. He's clear and concise without flowery language, or words that send you to the dictionary. Wendig balances well-written and simple with seemingly no effort at all.

The chapters are short and read quickly. You could burn through one volume over a weekend. Check it out if you need something to read. I don't give out stars or anything but this is a good series.

Misadventure! My First Shower in a Week

One of the best things about breaking my knee, besides the pain medication, is the outpouring of attention I receive. People have called, IMed, dropped by, and texted since the news broke. I've had meals cooked, food brought, errands run and household tasks done for me. I'm like a celebrity, but instead of being famous I'm just clumsy.

However the perks come with a cost. Namely up until late Thursday night I was filthy. I've skipped a day or two in the shower but a full week is a new personal record (not including my one month foray into the Uintas mountains). Since my scrapes have almost healed and I was bored I decided to try the bane of all people on crutches... the shower.

Not being able to bend one's leg sucks if you have long legs like I do. As I stood naked in my shower I tried to work out the logistics of the brace, faucets, hair products and scrubber. It was a non-starter. So a bath it was.

I got the brace off and keeping my knee locked I was able to ease down into the tub, keeping my foot against the wall on the edge of the tub so I could fit. Only I realized there was a problem. I hadn't shut off the water and the faucets are like a million miles away.

With some discomfort I was able to turn them off before I drowned or flooded my bathroom.It also became immediately apparent I was not going to be able to sumberge my back, let alone my head or shoulders.

But... OH MY GOD it was glorious to take my scrubber to the itchy backs of my legs and grind it against my skin till I could no longer stand it. It was borderline orgasmic. I managed to wash my face-- hair and beard will have to wait for another day.

I waited in the empty bath till my leg was dry enough to put my brace back on. The dismount was a struggle at first but I took it in stages and managed to climb out through a series of contortions. Suddenly those commercials where the old lady says "I've fallen and I can't get up," didn't seem so laughable.

I can't begin to describe how good it feels to be 95% clean and in fresh self-adhesive bandages (Thanks Ben!). My left foot, unfortunately is on it's own. I've never been able to touch my toes, an ability I wish I'd practiced. But still... clean skin. Holy shit.

My swelling is down some and my nasty scrape is down to just the lower palm of my right hand. I can peg-leg around the house fine without crutches. The human body is an amazing thing... even better when you wash it.

 

 

Pre Order The Mirrored City Today

Pre order for the next volume in my series, Architects of the Grand Design, which is due out in October.

The Mirrored City

Sword is a sentient artifact that lives through the personality of those who wield it. Maddox is a troubled wizard with the power to return from death, whether he wants to or not. Sword shares everything, including Maddox’s pain.

Sword only wishes to see his friend back to his old self. So when he becomes the victim of a crazed serial killer, it seems like bringing a murderer to justice might be just the thing to raise Maddox’s spirits and give him purpose.

What should be a simple matter of hunting a monster soon uncovers a twisted conspiracy spanning the two halves of the Mirrored City and the ancient ruins that lie beneath. The facts don’t add up. No one is who or what they appear to be. The trail of the elusive killer leads to an ancient evil waking from slumber.

Sword and its allies, a band of misfits and murderers, are all that stand in the way of a plot that threatens to destroy Creation itself.

A battle for one man’s soul becomes a desperate struggle to save a fractured city.