Michael J. Sullivan's Blog, page 57

Great day to buy a book...Independent Bookstore Day

Usually I use Saturdays to highlight an author in my "Authors Helping Authors" segment. But since today is Independent Bookstore Day, I'm going to use it to lend a helping hand to all the amazing independent bookstores that need readers.  The book publishing business isn't an easy one, especially not for bookstores whose margins are tight and increasingly hard to compete against giants like Amazon.

It's a beautiful day here in Virginia (I'm actually at a horse race, but had this post scheduled to go up without me). So I'm going to head to my favorite store tomorrow. But you should take a second to stop by your favorite as well.  Here are some of bookstores that I want to send some additional love to this weekend:
One More Page Books - Arlington, VA Mysterious Galaxies - San Diego & Redondo Beach, CAPolitics & Prose Bookstore Coffeehouse - Washington, DCKrammer Books - Washington,  DCStrand - New York, NYWord Bookstores - Brooklyn, NY, Jersey City, NJThe Poisoned Pen - Scottsdale, AZFlyleaf Books - Chapel Hill, NC

Moving on up...from 24 to 14 on reddit's Best Fantasy Novel List

Back in March I posted reddit's 2014 list of best novels (voted on by the 50,000 members of that sub). The vote was repeated this year (now with 75,000 members) and I'm please to announce that Riyria Revelations move up 10 spots (from 24 to 14) and Riyria Chronicles made the list at spot 37 (tied with 5 others).

There were 85 books that received 3 or more votes. Here is the full list:
A Song of Ice And Fire by George R.R. MartinThe Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick RothfussThe Stormlight Archive by Brandon SandersonThe Lord of The Rings by J.R.R. TolkienGentleman Bastard by Scott LynchThe Wheel of Time by Robert JordanThe Malazan Book of The Fallen by Steven EriksonDiscworld by Terry PratchettThe First Law by Joe AbercrombieHarry Potter by J.K. RowlingThe Broken Empire by Mark LawrenceThe Dresden Files by Jim ButcherFarseer Trilogy by Robin HobbThe Riyria Revelations by Michael J. SullivanMistborn by Brandon SandersonRaven's Shadow by Anthony RyanEarthsea Cycle by Ursula K. Le GuinThe Second Apocalypse by R. Scott BakkerThe Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel KayThe Sandman by Neil GaimanDemon Cycle by Peter V. BrettPowder Mage by Brian McClellanThe Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. LewisTigana by Guy Gavriel KayThe Dark Tower by Stephen KingJonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna ClarkeLightbringer by Brent WeeksThe Chronicles of The Black Company by Glen CookThe Silmarillion by J.R.R. TolkienThe Magicians by Lev GrossmanHis Dark Materials by Philip PullmanWorm by wildbowNight Angel by Brent WeeksThe Hobbit by J.R.R. TolkienTawny Man by Robin HobbThe Book of The New Sun by Gene WolfeHyperion Cantos by Dan SimmonsThe Drenai Saga by David GemmellThe Riyria Chronicles by Michael J. SullivanGood Omens by Neil Gaiman/Terry PratchettThe Empire Trilogy by Raymond E. Feist/Janny WurtsThe Chronicles of Amber by Roger ZelaznyThe Witcher by Andrzej SapkowskiNew Crobuzon by China MiévilleKushiel's Legacy by Jacqueline CareyThe Heroes by Joe AbercrombieThe Legend of Drizzt by R.A. SalvatoreLiveship Traders by Robin HobbThe Once and Future King by T.H. WhiteLong Price Quartet by Daniel AbrahamAbhorsen by Garth NixThe Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin HearneGormenghast by Mervyn PeakeAmerican Gods by Neil GaimanLow Town by Daniel PolanskyThe Belgariad by David EddingsDune Chronicles by Frank HerbertUnder Heaven by Guy Gavriel KayRiver of Stars by Guy Gavriel KayThe Fionavar Tapestry by Guy Gavriel KayNeverwhere by Neil GaimanStardust by Neil GaimanThe Riftwar Saga by Raymond E. FeistWatership Down by Richard AdamsThe Stand by Stephen KingVlad Taltos by Steven BrustThe Princess Bride by William GoldmanDragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffreyChronicle of the Unhewn Throne by Brian StaveleyThe Coldfire Trilogy by C.S. FriedmanThe Orphan's Tales by Catherynne M. ValenteThe Dagger and the Coin by Daniel AbrahamThe Shadow Campaigns by Django WexlerDread Empire by Glen CookThe Sarantine Mosaic by Guy Gavriel KayKate Daniels by Ilona AndrewsAmbergris by Jeff VanderMeerBest Served Cold by Joe AbercrombieDeverry by Katharine KerrThe Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd AlexanderThe Acts of Caine by Matthew Woodring StoverInheritance by N.K. JemisinRiddle-Master by Patricia A. McKillipThe Last Unicorn by Peter S. BeagleConan the Barbarian by Robert E. Howard

Free short story...Burning Alexandria

When originally asked to write a short story for sffworld's anthology The End - Visions of Apocalypse, I penned a little time-travel short with a Twilight Zone ending. It was called Greener Grass. It didn't "quite" fit the theme of the anthology, although it did plant the seeds for my novel Hollow World.  So, I needed a new short story for N.E. White's project.

It was summer, and I had just learned of Ray Bradbury's death. My wife and I were taking a bike ride down to Washington DC, and for part of it, we would be passing through Alexandria Virginia. Thinking about Fahrenheit 451, my favorite work of Ray's, got me thinking about book burning. It was impossible to ignore the irony of being in a city named after the most famed library burning in history.  Hence, the idea of the story for N.E.'s anthology came to mind.

Recently, some groups on goodreads chose to read Fahrenheit 451, and I offered them my little short story for free. Then, I made it available to those in "The Dark Room" (a private/secret) goodreads group.  Then I figured, why not keep going...and so now I'm making it available through this blog. Just click on the cover or this link . I'll send you a copy in whatever format you wish. I hope you enjoy it.

Hello, my name is Майкл Дж. Салливан...prepare to redux

Okay, so I'm not going to kill you, but I do love seeing how my name translates into various languages. I learned today that the second Riyria book has just been released in Russia and that's what got me to know that Майкл Дж. Салливан is Michael J. Sullivan in that language. Here are the covers for the first two books.


The most interesting thing about these covers is how my name is so prominent. I think that is the first time I've ever seen that happen ;-)

Hello, my name is Майкл Дж. Салливан...prepare to die.

Okay, so I'm not going to kill you, but I do love seeing how my name translates into various languages. I learned today that the second Riyria book has just been released in Russia and that's what got me to know that Майкл Дж. Салливан is Michael J. Sullivan in that language. Here are the covers for the first two books.


The most interesting thing about these covers is how my name is so prominent. I think that is the first time I've ever seen that happen ;-)

Riyria Chronicles #3 News

For some time now, I've been saying I'm going to try to get the third Riyria Chronicle out by the end of the year, so no new news there. But something has changed recently, and it's worth doing an update.

As people may know, I've finished writing my new series, The First Empire, which has been picked up by Del Rey and will be coming out in the summer of 2016. When arranging this deal, I'd been working under the assumption that I had up to April or May of 2016 to get the third chronicle book done and on the market. Turns out it's gotten a little more complicated. You see, Del Rey is going to put a big marketing push into the new series, and so they don't want any Riyria book hitting the streets in 2016. What this means is rather than "trying" to get the book out by the end of the year, it HAS to hit the streets before December 31st or it turns into a pumpkin.  Okay, so it won't actually become a pumpkin, but it will have to sit in line behind the release of the initial three books of The First Empire, and that would mean a long wait.

Because time is so short, I won't be able to release this book through Orbit or any other traditional publisher. The ONLY way to meet the deadline is to self-publish. Going that route isn't a concern. We've done it before and can do it again. But it will mean a lot of hard work on both mine and Robin's part.

With The First Empire now finished and behind me, I can concentrate 100% on this next Royce and Hadrian tale. I've already been developing ideas, but now I have to take all those bits and pieces and weave it into a cohesive story. Having done this a few times my confidence level is high. Still, until it's written and through alpha testing (Robin's read), I'm never entirely sure if I'll have a winner or a dud.

Speaking of testing, I'm going to be needing some beta readers for the release, but time will be short. Robin figures there will be only three weeks for people to read and provide feedback. If you are interested in being a beta reader, then here is a form where you can sign up.  The beta will probably be hitting somewhere around September, so for college folks take that into consideration when signing up.

Another thing that will be keeping Robin busy is a Kickstarter for this book. We are working with a partner that should be able to get the books into bookstores and libraries, but to do so we'll have to do a print run of at least 5,000 hardcovers, plus cover costs for warehousing and distribution. All told, we anticipate the production of the book will cost about $33,000.  We're going to finance the $4,400 for cover design and editing and also throw in another $2,600 for printing, but that means we'll still need to raise $26,000 for the printing. Given that the Hollow World Kickstarter funded at $30,000+ I think this should be doable. The good news is if we don't hit the goal, the book still comes out. The only difference is  there won't be a hardcover edition, and it won't be sold in stores.

We want to reward avid fans, and so we'll have some "early bird" specials for the Kickstarter, but you'll have to be quick to grab them. For instance, a number of  early backers will get their rewards at a  discount, and there will be bonus content for those who sign up in the first two days. If you want to be put on a list for notification, here's a link.

Here's also a preview of what we'll be giving away and the price points for each. (Click on the chart to see a larger version).
















Notice the (D)Early Bird, (P)EarlyBird), and (H)Early bird are the digital only, paperback + digital, and hardcover + digital rewards but at a savings of 20%. Also, we're going to have three different versions of the hardcover.

A rare limited edition - only 50 books producedAn affordable limited edition - only 250 books producedA standard editionWe're also going to be having a number of "add-ons" such as posters, t-shirts, and coffee mugs. So you'll be able to get some other cool perks if you are in on the fun.
One last thing that the Kickstarter is going to be able to provide is a helping hand for authors that could use a little boost in getting people to read their work. I'm going to open a contest and publish someone's short story along with my book in the hope that they can get some additional readers.

 Here's how it will work.Writers can submit a query letter just like they would send to an agent or editor
I (and/or Robin) will evaluate each query, and ask for full submissions from worthy candidates. Everyone will get a critique of their query even if not selected.
From that candidate pool, we'll pick a winner and help them by providing structural editing/coaching and copy editing to turn the story into a finely polished piece.
We'll be paying them twice the "pro-rate" for short stories  (because the "pro-rate" is ridiculously low).  So, they'll get $0.15 a word rather than the $0.07 that most paying fantasy magazines and anthologies provide.Even those that don't get selected will get query letter feedback, which I would have loved to have "back in the day." Hopefully, the person that  get selected will receive a little more exposure for their work.
So, that's a lot of news, and hopefully a lot of people will be excited about this. The Kickstarter will provide the best means for pre-ordering the book, and those people will get it before it's available through the retail chain.  If I don't make the December 31st deadline, the Kickstarter backers will be "grandfathered in." They can still receive their books in 2016 because they were purchased in 2015, but everyone else will have to wait until after the third First Empire is released. Hopefully, that won't be an issue, but doing the Kickstarter allows me to hedge my bets and make sure that at least some people will get the book earlier rather than later.  
I hope you are as excited about all this as I am. We'll keep you updated as the project moves along.

Nice Job, Robin!

One of the great things about the "business of writing" is there is always another mountain to climb, always another goal to reach for. For some, this realization would be crushing. For me, it's invigorating. The other day when Robin an I were about to set out for lunch she asked me to wait a few minutes because she was waiting for something and she wanted to capture it when trigger. I wasn't sure what she was talking about but after another five minutes or so, she said we were "good to go." When we got back from lunch, she sent me this image and told me to post about it.












I'm sure there is some explanation why people like watching numbers turn over to all round numbers. I remember watching my first car (a beat-up Dodge Dart that was more Bondo than metal), switch over from 99,999 to all zeros.  I actually pulled over to savor the moment.  So I understand why Robin was excited to see 200,000 books added to people's shelves in goodreads.  I'm just not sure why anyone but us cares...but she wanted me to post and given our recent bullet dodging, I'm inclined to do as she asks.

I will say this. I never, believed such a day would exist.  To me the more meaningful number is the 105,108 ratings and reviews.  That's more than a hundred thousand people who have not only read my books, but felt strongly enough about them to express an opinion.  Now THAT is pretty darn cool.

Long, long ago, when we were releasing my very first book through a small publisher in Minnesota Robin and I were walking to the Metro for a night on the town to celebrate the contract signing. She was going to work on "getting the word out" while I concentrated on writing.  

She asked me, "How many people do I have to get to read your books for you to feel like a success." 

After some consideration, I replied, "Fifty." Then after a pause I added, "But they have to be people who I've never met and know nothing about me."

She nodded and said with confidence, "I can do that." 

To be honest, I wasn't as convinced. I should have known better than to doubt her. Robin has never failed at anything she's set out to do.  And I think she overshot the mark by a pretty large margin. So I want to thank Robin for all the hard work she's put in to get my books read, and most importantly to all those people who have taken a chance on a new unknown author.  Your support of my books has been amazing, and I, and Robin, are eternally grateful.  

Won't be participating in Indiecon

I was supposed to do a presentation tomorrow at Indie Recon 2015 regarding Hybrid Authorship. Turns out one of Robin's tests is occurring at the exact same time as that live session, so I've cancelled.  At some point after everything is said and done, I'll try doing a "recorded" version of the presentation and make it available.  Sorry for the short-notice cancellation.

In any case there is a huge line-up of excellent presenters including: Portter Anderson, Belle Andre, Barbara Freethy, Joanna Penn, CJ Lyons, Mark Corker, David Farland, Jane Friedman, Victoria Strauss, Ben Galley, and many, many more.  The on-line conference starts today, and the full list of events can be found here .

Missing Person

Hectic doesn’t quite describe things lately. We have a saying around our house that March is bad luck, as it has been the time of the worst events (I don’t have to tell you, do I, Julius?). This year March is spilling into April. 
Contract negotiations, a car accident (not me), and a tight deadline to finish the First Empire series and a short story for an anthology, have kept me too busy to even properly finish last month's AMA in a timely manner. Now, most recently, my wife spent a night in the hospital suffering severe chest pains with tests revealing ‘cause for concern’.

As a result if emails are not replied to, threads are left hanging, or I am otherwise missing from public discourse, it's because a wrench was jammed in a vital group of gears. 

How many reviews?

I'm really busy editing the last book of the First Empire, so no time today for a "Authors Helping Authors" or "Author's Tools" post. (The take quite a bit of time to research, write, and review.  I really want to get this book edited in time for Robin's birthday so I didn't do my usual "Wednesday Night out" and while I had ballgame tickets for yesterday, I left early so I could get some writing in.

But, I did run across a poll on Goodreads that I thought was interesting so I thought I would pose it here and hopefully get some more people to weigh in.  The question?

How many reviews do you usually look at before buying a book?
None1 - 34 - 6More than 6
More than 63,500 people have already answered the poll.   You can answer for yourself here.