Naomi Clark's Blog, page 93
February 3, 2011
Book Goggles reviews NIGHT AND CHAOS!
Huzzahs! She liked it! It's weird how much more nervous I was sending this for reviews than my previous publications. I mean, I'm always nervous asking for reviews, because, you know, I don't people to hate my stuff. But something I self-published... It kinda makes me feel a lot more vulnerable. But luckily:
I can't help but wonder why we aren't seeing her name plastered all over the shelves at your local Barnes & Nobles along with the heavyweights of the UF genre...This book was so cool that Clark makes it all look so effortless & easy.
So there you go. Unrehearsed testimony from someone is not related to me.
I can't help but wonder why we aren't seeing her name plastered all over the shelves at your local Barnes & Nobles along with the heavyweights of the UF genre...This book was so cool that Clark makes it all look so effortless & easy.
So there you go. Unrehearsed testimony from someone is not related to me.
From Twitter 02-02-2011
13:44:04: @ADBlackburn Happy book birthday-day!
17:36:00: New blog, in which Nome reflects on the Indie Thing thus far - http://naomi-jay.livejournal.com/367164.html
17:38:03: Today I have mostly been hiding in the library at work. I feel this may be my true calling in life. It's warm, it's quiet, nobody can see me
17:39:16: This is pretty much perfect. Maybe I was some kind of ocean-floor dwelling mollusc in a previous life?
18:34:12: @ADBlackburn You're welcome. Looking forward to reading it :)
20:18:18: I love coming home to a man who's made chilli
20:47:56: Livejournal, you are most displeasing to me tonight
20:51:01: @brian_ohio Lol, brilliant! But don't worry, I won't thank you...
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February 2, 2011
Reflections on the Indie Thing Thus Far
I'm probably a bit premature, really, since NIGHT AND CHAOS is still just a baby and hasn't been out on it's own long enough for me to make any solid conclusions, but still, that's never stopped me before.
So I've been spending a fair bit of time on the various Amazon forums looking for places to promote NIGHT AND CHAOS, and seen the same situation over and over. There are two types of forums. One - indie threads started by indie authors for promotional purposes that are apparently only frequented by other indie authors there to promote themselves. I've seen very little evidence of readers popping in and saying "I will totally buy this book, kthnx!" The other type is where readers have started a topic along the lines of "I'm looking for a book like X, please recommend something," which is then drive-by spammed by indie authors yelling READ MY BOOK EVEN THOUGH IT'S TOTALLY UNRELATED TO YOUR REQUEST OMG!!! This obviously creates a lot of negative feeling, and plenty of forums which specifically state they're not interested in what indie authors have to say.
I don't know how to get around this. I engage in quite a few of these forums (mostly on Amazon UK), and I'm so, so careful to keep Reader Nome separate from Writer Nome. If someone asks for recommendations, I'll offer them without mentioning my own work. If someone's looking for indie reads or offering indie promo, I'll post about NIGHT AND CHAOS there, but I'm convinced only other indie authors are visiting these places, since I'm not seeing a bump in my Amazon rankings that would indicate people are responding to such promo.
It's frustrating, but I completey get the reader perspective, since some of these indie authors are freaking everywhere and being all, "buy my book about communist gypsy bear-baiters in 1980s Sweden even though you asked for a recommendation on time-travel romances, dammit!" and it is pretty silly.
I've sent NIGHT AND CHAOS to a few places requesting reviews, but only heard back from three saying they'll read it. Whether that's because it's indie or because it's a novella, I don't know, so I'm not worrying about that too much. Because this is other lesson I'm learning: this is a long game. Quantity counts as much as quality; from what I can see, the indie authors having the most success are the ones with plenty of books available. I'm sure there are exceptions, but this seems to be the rule. Now, I don't have a massive backlist of novels, so I can't shove a ton of stuff on the Kindle and make myself more visible this way. Wild will be ready to go up there in a few weeks, but Wild is ... contentious, and not everyone is going to fall over themselves to read a YA werewolf urban fantasy where the heroine takes drugs, gets slapped around by her boyfriend, and generally has a miserable time.
Anyway. Where was I? Long game. Yes. Yes! Word of mouth is key too, I think, which is why I'd quite like some more reviews on Amazon. I'm taking a very long view with this game. Although ultimately my aim is be making enough money off Kindle sales to go part-time at the day-job, I don't want to put out a bunch of crap just because I can. I'd rather take my time and build an audience because I've got quality books available than because I spammed the hell out of people and put up 1002 shitty books.
And I don't plan to self-publish everything I write, either. Obviously my Urban Wolf books will always be with QueeredFiction, not just for contractual reasons, but because I love my publisher and editor there. Despite the fact that my sales with Damnation Books aren't great, I'd also prefer to keep my Shoregrave/Ethan Banning stuff with them too, because I see it as part of building a brand and a name, and I think DB are a publisher with big plans and sensible methods of putting those plans into action. Anything I write as![[info]](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1380442897i/1319734.gif)
tessa_morelock
, I will try to publish with epubs and small presses, because romance writing is not my strong suit and I don't trust myself to do a good job without the input of good editors. Not that my urban fantasy is world-beatingly awesome, but I've been writing and reading it long enough to feel more confident going it alone there.
Anyway, these are my conclusions thus far.
So I've been spending a fair bit of time on the various Amazon forums looking for places to promote NIGHT AND CHAOS, and seen the same situation over and over. There are two types of forums. One - indie threads started by indie authors for promotional purposes that are apparently only frequented by other indie authors there to promote themselves. I've seen very little evidence of readers popping in and saying "I will totally buy this book, kthnx!" The other type is where readers have started a topic along the lines of "I'm looking for a book like X, please recommend something," which is then drive-by spammed by indie authors yelling READ MY BOOK EVEN THOUGH IT'S TOTALLY UNRELATED TO YOUR REQUEST OMG!!! This obviously creates a lot of negative feeling, and plenty of forums which specifically state they're not interested in what indie authors have to say.
I don't know how to get around this. I engage in quite a few of these forums (mostly on Amazon UK), and I'm so, so careful to keep Reader Nome separate from Writer Nome. If someone asks for recommendations, I'll offer them without mentioning my own work. If someone's looking for indie reads or offering indie promo, I'll post about NIGHT AND CHAOS there, but I'm convinced only other indie authors are visiting these places, since I'm not seeing a bump in my Amazon rankings that would indicate people are responding to such promo.
It's frustrating, but I completey get the reader perspective, since some of these indie authors are freaking everywhere and being all, "buy my book about communist gypsy bear-baiters in 1980s Sweden even though you asked for a recommendation on time-travel romances, dammit!" and it is pretty silly.
I've sent NIGHT AND CHAOS to a few places requesting reviews, but only heard back from three saying they'll read it. Whether that's because it's indie or because it's a novella, I don't know, so I'm not worrying about that too much. Because this is other lesson I'm learning: this is a long game. Quantity counts as much as quality; from what I can see, the indie authors having the most success are the ones with plenty of books available. I'm sure there are exceptions, but this seems to be the rule. Now, I don't have a massive backlist of novels, so I can't shove a ton of stuff on the Kindle and make myself more visible this way. Wild will be ready to go up there in a few weeks, but Wild is ... contentious, and not everyone is going to fall over themselves to read a YA werewolf urban fantasy where the heroine takes drugs, gets slapped around by her boyfriend, and generally has a miserable time.
Anyway. Where was I? Long game. Yes. Yes! Word of mouth is key too, I think, which is why I'd quite like some more reviews on Amazon. I'm taking a very long view with this game. Although ultimately my aim is be making enough money off Kindle sales to go part-time at the day-job, I don't want to put out a bunch of crap just because I can. I'd rather take my time and build an audience because I've got quality books available than because I spammed the hell out of people and put up 1002 shitty books.
And I don't plan to self-publish everything I write, either. Obviously my Urban Wolf books will always be with QueeredFiction, not just for contractual reasons, but because I love my publisher and editor there. Despite the fact that my sales with Damnation Books aren't great, I'd also prefer to keep my Shoregrave/Ethan Banning stuff with them too, because I see it as part of building a brand and a name, and I think DB are a publisher with big plans and sensible methods of putting those plans into action. Anything I write as
tessa_morelock
, I will try to publish with epubs and small presses, because romance writing is not my strong suit and I don't trust myself to do a good job without the input of good editors. Not that my urban fantasy is world-beatingly awesome, but I've been writing and reading it long enough to feel more confident going it alone there.Anyway, these are my conclusions thus far.
From Twitter 02-01-2011
08:32:50: @Scarimonious Coming today! Now I have the cover it should officially be open. Huzzahs!
09:55:19: Serve in Heaven, Reign in Hell - open for submissions! http://tinyurl.com/5s7f2fx I don't often ask this, but please retweet!
10:08:48: @Scarimonious Do it, do it, do it!
11:10:41: RT @QueeredFiction: Curious After Dark http://bit.ly/ikbgCT Your Urban Fantasy Feburary Horoscope is up.
11:10:56: @Scarimonious @AnneLyle Thanks for the retweets!
16:33:33: RT @QueeredFiction: Curious After Dark http://bit.ly/ikbgCT #urbanfantasy #horoscope
18:40:26: Thanks for all the retweets re the anthology, everyone!
19:23:57: RT @brian_ohio: Win a copy of THE IRON WITCH by @kazmahoney here... http://brian-ohio.livejournal.com/264441.html
20:57:45: Editing Wild! Ha ha ha, how many times have you heard that one before?
20:58:08: But this time, I mean it. Aiming to have it Kindle-ready in the next week or so
22:32:00: I'd like to take a moment to express my dislike of Sun (the band, not the star)
23:15:24: La la la la la ... El Capitan!
23:17:04: "As a real life person he wasn't much fun, but he sure made a good-ass bottle of rum."
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February 1, 2011
"Hard work never killed anybody, but why take a chance?" - Edgar Bergen
So! I've pretty much pulled myself out of the slump I fell into after I finished the edits on DEMONISED. I don't know what happened. I was all like, "I'm done. Life is sad now." I thought maybe I was feeling guilty about doing so many horrible things to Ethan throughout the novella, so I decided the cure was to write a short story about Ethan where he doesn't get covered in semen or anything. I think once it's finished I'll make it available as a free read as part of the promotion for DEMONISED (which is out very soon now!)
In other news, I haven't done any writing of note since finishing said edits. I'm leaning towards working on editing Wild, since editing is what I'm all about right now, so I can get that ready to go on the Kindle this month. After that, Blood and Bones is top of the to-do list, followed by Halflife. But I'm expecting (yet more!) edits for BLOOD HUNT, the second Urban Wolf novel, pretty soon, so basically... editty-edits.
In other other news, only four days left at the horrible day job! Huzzahs! I'm torn between being really nervous and really excited about the new job. It's been a pretty stress-laden couple of weeks here getting my temp trained, etc, so I haven't really had time to sit down and panic about the new job, so I suppose that'll hit me at the weekend.
And in other other other news, my website is currently down and probably will be for the rest of February because I don't have any money spare this month to renew the domain name thingy. I can't imagine this will impact upon anyone's lives in any way (except maybe my dad, who reads my Twitter stream via my website then rings me up to tell me off for using words like "bollocks" and possibly the occasional spammer who wants to tell me how to increase traffic to my site and therefore make my business more effective), but ... I can't remember the start of this sentence. So I shall leave it at that.
In other news, I haven't done any writing of note since finishing said edits. I'm leaning towards working on editing Wild, since editing is what I'm all about right now, so I can get that ready to go on the Kindle this month. After that, Blood and Bones is top of the to-do list, followed by Halflife. But I'm expecting (yet more!) edits for BLOOD HUNT, the second Urban Wolf novel, pretty soon, so basically... editty-edits.
In other other news, only four days left at the horrible day job! Huzzahs! I'm torn between being really nervous and really excited about the new job. It's been a pretty stress-laden couple of weeks here getting my temp trained, etc, so I haven't really had time to sit down and panic about the new job, so I suppose that'll hit me at the weekend.
And in other other other news, my website is currently down and probably will be for the rest of February because I don't have any money spare this month to renew the domain name thingy. I can't imagine this will impact upon anyone's lives in any way (except maybe my dad, who reads my Twitter stream via my website then rings me up to tell me off for using words like "bollocks" and possibly the occasional spammer who wants to tell me how to increase traffic to my site and therefore make my business more effective), but ... I can't remember the start of this sentence. So I shall leave it at that.
Serve in Heaven, Reign in Hell - open for submissions!
Guess what I'm doing?
No! I'm editing an anthology for Static Movement. Look at my shiny cover!
Give me your angels and demons, your nephilim and fallen angels! I want tales of Heaven and Hell, saints and sinners, redemption and revenge. For me, a lot of the fun of these anthologies is seeing how every author interprets the theme differently, so be creative! I'm looking for urban fantasy, romance, and horror. No erotica, please.
I'm looking for submissions between 1,500 and 5,000 words, no flash. If you have something longer than 5k you think will fit, please email me to query.
Usual Static Movement formatting rules apply: single space with indented paragraphs, no space between paragraphs and standard 12 font. Use centered *** for scene breaks, and please put your bio at the end of the story in the manuscript. Please make sure your story is how you want it to appear in print, and pay attention to grammar and punctuation!
Please send your submissions with ‘Serve in Heaven, Reign in Hell’ in the subject line to naomi_jay@hotmail.co.uk
This anthology is opened until filled and is a 'for the love' of anthology. No copies or payment, exposure only, but you can't beat a good bit of exposure, I reckon
I'm really excited, guys. I wanted to go into editing after university, but the right opportunities never came along, so I'd love to do more of this kind of work this year if it goes well.
No! I'm editing an anthology for Static Movement. Look at my shiny cover!
Give me your angels and demons, your nephilim and fallen angels! I want tales of Heaven and Hell, saints and sinners, redemption and revenge. For me, a lot of the fun of these anthologies is seeing how every author interprets the theme differently, so be creative! I'm looking for urban fantasy, romance, and horror. No erotica, please.
I'm looking for submissions between 1,500 and 5,000 words, no flash. If you have something longer than 5k you think will fit, please email me to query.
Usual Static Movement formatting rules apply: single space with indented paragraphs, no space between paragraphs and standard 12 font. Use centered *** for scene breaks, and please put your bio at the end of the story in the manuscript. Please make sure your story is how you want it to appear in print, and pay attention to grammar and punctuation!
Please send your submissions with ‘Serve in Heaven, Reign in Hell’ in the subject line to naomi_jay@hotmail.co.uk
This anthology is opened until filled and is a 'for the love' of anthology. No copies or payment, exposure only, but you can't beat a good bit of exposure, I reckon
I'm really excited, guys. I wanted to go into editing after university, but the right opportunities never came along, so I'd love to do more of this kind of work this year if it goes well.
From Twitter 01-31-2011
08:03:10: RT @kissedbyvenus: Our new venture, the VENUS MAGAZINE has lift-off, feel free to tweet and share our link: http://issuu.com/kissedbyven ...
18:06:53: @JohnShort70 Aw, I'm going to miss it now coz I'm ill! Would love to know his thoughts on the Gandalf/Magneto debate!
18:08:23: Going home early with Killer Headache. Damn you, brain!
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Naomi Clark's Blog
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