Michael J. Sullivan's Blog, page 74

Independent evaluation - get your first five pages critiqued

Well the holidays are over and it's time to get back to work. Well truth be told I was working all through the holidays, but I was dedicating myself as much as possible to writing my current work in progress (which is in the home stretch).  But now that others are getting back to their jobs I thought I needed to take a minute out of my writing to make a blog post.  So here I am.

Whether you are submitting to an agent, publisher, or self-publishing, the first five pages of your work are essential. They can easily make or break any chance of a sale and I'm not the only one who feels this way.  Famed agent Noah Lukeman felt so strongly about this that he wrote a book...called ...you guessed it, The First Five Pages.  

If you've not had anyone but yourself (or a loved one) look at your writing, it's almost impossible to know whether it is ready for prime time or still needs more work. I'm really fortunate (in all kinds of ways) but also because I belong to a great writer's group, and I have fabulous beta readers to give me feedback. Others, may not be this fortunate. I also have some strong opinions...and a desire to help out other writers. So as part of my New Year's resolution I figured I would try to give back and one way I can do that is by offering some independent evaluation.

So here's the deal.

I'll review/critique the first five pages for 1 - 10 authors a month. I'm not saying that my opinions mean much in the grand scheme of things, but I have at least had a few books published and have a generally good idea of what publishers are looking for. What you do with the feedback is your own business...use it, throw it away, burn it and me in effigy, but at least I'm impartial and sometimes that is hard to find.

How do you get selected?  The fickle finger of fate will decide. In other words, I'm going to use a random number generator. I'll likely not even read the body of the emails, so that won't effect the decision. Plus it saves you the time of writing something to compel me to pick yours, and me the time of reading and feeling bad because I didn't select the person who has six months to live and their bucket list includes getting feedback from me on something they wrote (not that I think anyone has such a thing on their bucket lists - but you get the point).  How many will be selected is going to depend on how many come in, how long it takes me to review each one, and how much time I can devote to this.

So what should you send?  I'm glad you asked. It would really help out if you follow these instructions (and if you don't I reserve the right to ignore your submission for not coloring within the lines). Here is what I would like:

Microsoft Word document with 1" margins all around, double spaced, using 12 point Times New Roman font. Feel free to italic and bold as needed, but don't substitute underlines for such - I'd rather see the manuscript as it would appear in a book.
You can send less than 5 pages but no more than 5 pages. Don't cut off a sentence midway. Also this must be your first pages. You can send me your prologue or chapter one, but please don't send me five pages from chapter 3 or your best five pages that are in the middle of your book.
Email your manuscript to michael.sullivan.dc@gmail.com and in the subject put: FIRST FIVE PAGES (and yes use all caps - I need to find them)
Don't "follow up" to see if I received it or to find out if you were picked.  I'm going to try and keep the admin of this to be a minimum.  If I look at it, I will respond. If I don't respond, I probably didn't see it.
One entry per email address per month.  Which means that you can send the same piece (or a different one) each month. But please wait till the start of the month.  Don't send me 3 submissions in January and expect me to parse them out to the other months. Well that's all I can think of for right now. I might revise this as time goes on - but I think this is good enough to start the ball rolling. 
Oh yeah, one last thing. Don't submit if you don't have a thick skin.  If your work is great as is, I'll say so, but it will be more helpful to you if I look at it with a critical eye. The intention of this exercise is to learn and grow, not to have your ego stroked...and I'm not very good at "being nice." But if what you are looking for is honest...then I'm your man.

Audible's 5-star listens

Each year around this time Audible.com takes a look at their titles and highlights those with a significant number of 5-star ratings.  I'm pleased to announce that once again I have a title (The Crown Tower) that has made two of these lists:

The Best of Everything - which, not surprisingly covers all categories of booksSci-fi & Fantasy - which, surprisingly, I got the #1 spotIn 2011, Theft of Swords made the same two lists - which really bowled me over. Lists like this, as well as the Goodreads Choice Award (where The Crown Tower was also picked), are especially gratifying because they are selected based on a bunch of readers raising their hands as saying, I really like this book. 
So I just wanted to say thank you to all the people who read, listen, and provide a good rating or review of the musing I write.  Also, since this is an audio accolade, I have to once again provide a tip of my hat to the exceptional work of Tim Gerard Reynolds who did the narration.
Yesterday, I just finalized a deal with Audible.com to release a free edition of The Jester.  For those that don't know, this was a Royce and Hadrian short story that I created for the Unfettered Anthology to help pay off the extensive medical bills that Shawn Speakman incurred when he was fighting his second bout with cancer.  The audio rights for the full anthology were bought by Audible and they, wisely, tapped Tim to do that recording...so look for that soon.  But for those that want a taste of the magic that Tim has given to my works, you can listen to him perform my other short story, The Viscount and the Witch. Even if you have read the short as a standalone, or as the second chapter of The Rose and the Thorn, you'll sure to enjoy this version.  Oh, and feel free to skip past the first 4 1/2 minutes as that is just ramblings from me ;-)

Have you heard?

If you haven't heard one of the Riyria stories as read by Tim Gerard Reynolds you're really missing out on something special. Tim is without question the "Voice of Riyria" and once you hear him act out the various characters, you'll never be able to read the books again without hearing his portrayal in your ears.

Over two years ago, I wrote a little short story called The Viscount and the Witch. At the time, it was a little present to my existing readers to act as a bridge between my self-published books being pulled from the market and the Orbit books starting to ship.  Since then, I've used Viscount as a free introduction to my stories...to give people a taste to see if they might want to read the rest. Nowadays, it is quickly growing into obsolesce--mainly because it was incorporated as a chapter in The Rose and the Thorn. In fact, the whole Riyria Chronicles series has grown from its tiny seed.

I've always loved this short story and, as I already mentioned, Tim's reading of my books. So after recording The Rose and the Thorn, I asked my audio book producer, Recorded Books, if I could have a copy of chapter two. They were kind enough to agree. I also went up to their studios in New York and recorded a brief  introduction (4 1/2 of the total 45 minutes) in case you were ever curious as to what I sound like...which I'm sure everyone is ;-). We are still working on how (and if) we can get this posted for free on sites such as audible and itunes, but in the meantime, I can certainly make it available here. Just hit the Listen Audio button and it will bring up a control in a new window.




Oh, and if you would prefer to download the file (to put on your ipod or kindle) just right click on the control then select "Save video as..." Yeah, I know it's not a video, but you will get a MP3 file that you can put on any device you desire.

Even if you've already read the short story, I encourage you to give this version a listen. Tim has a way of making me sound much better than I am. Oh, and if you do enjoy the listen, please send a tweet to @KanshoReynolds (add the hashtag #vatw) to show him your appreciation. I'd love to see him flooded with praise for the wonderful job he did on this and all of my books. Happy listening!Oh, and if you would prefer to download the file (to put on your ipod or kindle) just right click on the control then select "Save video as..." Yeah, I know it's not a video, but you will get a MP3 file that you can put on any device you desire.

Even if you've already read the short story, I encourage you to give this version a listen. Tim has a way of making me sound much better than I am. Oh, and if you do enjoy the listen, please send a tweet to @KanshoReynolds (add the hashtag #vatw) to show him your appreciation. I'd love to see him flooded with praise for the wonderful job he did on this and all of my books. Happy listening!

Last day to win limited edition copies of Hollow World

It's still 131 days until the release of Hollow World, but four lucky people will be mailed signed limited-edition hardcovers tomorrow. This means you have a chance to join the nearly one thousand people who are already reading the novel (because they participated in the Kickstarter). The Kickstarter backers paid $75 for these editions, and as there are only 250 of them in existence, they will become collector items. If you're not yet familiar with Hollow World, here's a bit about the book:

The future is coming...for some sooner than others    Ellis Rogers is an ordinary man who is about to embark on an extraordinary journey. All his life he has played it safe and done the right thing, but faced with a terminal illness he's willing to take an insane gamble. He's built a time machine in his garage, and if it works, he'll face a world that challenges his understanding of what it means to be human, what it takes to love, and the cost of paradise. Ellis could find more than a cure for his illness; he might find what everyone has been searching for since time began...but only if he can survive Hollow World.

“This is a clever and thought-provoking story, with loads of interesting ideas, some adrenalin-pumping action and plenty of humor...overall an entertaining read with Pax being one of my favorite characters of the year.”  — Pauline M. Ross, Fantasy Review Barn
There are two ways to enter:
Goodreads - open to US, Canada, and the United Kingdom My parallel giveaway - open to all countriesIf you live in a place where you can enter in both...feel free to do so.  For those outside the specified countries, you'll actually have two ballots entered in my drawing  (the software that takes the poll will determine what country you are from). This way everyone will have two chances to win.
Even if you've read Hollow World, or have your own print copy, I encourage you to enter. The books will arrive in time for holiday gift giving so you might just get a nice present for a friend or loved one.

Give the Gift of Books

So it's Black Friday and I know many people will be hitting the streets and doing their holiday shopping today. Personally, I hate crowds, traffic, and parking so I do all my shopping from home.  For those looking to give books this year I have a few tips for you:

* Buy signed copies of my books - and I'll even gift wrap them and mail to your loved one
* Save 30% off print books bought from Amazon (discount code: BOOKDEAL)
* Save 30% off print books bought from Barnes and Noble (discount code: BFRIDAY30)

Take advantage of some of these deep-discounted books from Amazon

* $1.79 - The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks
* $1.99 - A Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan
* $2.49 - The Blinding Shadows by Brent Weeks
* $2.49 - Cold Days by Jim Butcher
* $2.99 - Dance of Dragons by George R.R. Martin
* $2.99 - Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
* $2.99 - The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
* $4.29 - A Memory of Light by Brandon Sanderson & Robert Jordan
* $9.99 - All five books of the Song of Ice and Fire Series by George R.R. Martin
































As for my books, I'm offering discounts of 15%-20% off and that includes pre-ordering Hollow World and you'll receive a copy in March (a month earlier than the April release). If you want me to ship to someone you love, just specify their shipping address in the notes field. I'll also provide free gift wrapping on request.
































So if you are like me and don't want to fight the crowds and the traffic.  Go online and buy books for holiday giving.

Happy Birthday Riyria

It's hard to believe by Theft of Swords came out two years ago! A lot has happened since then and to say that the series has exceeded my expectations is an understatement. Technically the series is older than that, as it was first small press published in October 2008, and when disaster struct with the small press, we had to reclaim and self-publish (starting in April 2009). But to me it's the relaunch of the series by Orbit that the series really was born and that was November 23, 2011.
When we started self-publishing, Robin was taking the lead for getting the world out. I remember a cold winter day when we were walking to the Metro that she asked, "So how many copies do I have to sell for you to consider this whole thing a success." 
I thought hard and replied, "Fifty." But then added the qualifier, "But it has to be to people who I don't know and who have never met me."  
"I think I can do that she said." 
While it is difficult to get exact numbers as reporting happens infrequently and in the distant past, I do get periodic numbers from my publisher indicating how many books have sold through ebooks and how many print books have left the warehouse. I also recently got some interesting data on the number of audio books and man - you audio listeners really love the series - so thanks for that.  From the best we can put together it looks like 435,000 English language books have been sold between the self and traditionally published versions.  So yeah, Robin, you beat the 50 I had originally anticipated.
Those numbers are amazing, but the truth is that the outstanding sales of Riyria really has more to do with you, the readers, than anything that I or Robin have done.  I wrote the best books I could, Robin got them in front of a few people, but it is you who have told your friends and family about the books and recommended that they pick them up that made all the difference. Even simple acts like leaving reviews that has shown others that the books are worth taking a chance on is all your doing. So any success the series has enjoyed is your doing - and I give you my heartfelt thanks.
Long story short....I'm thrilled that the books are still going strong, especially since many books have their six weeks in the sun then disappear. I just wanted to take a moment to celebrate this very small milestone and to thank all of you for getting the series to where it is now. I guess it's time to come up with some new milestones to reach.  I'll put my thinking cap on.

Signing this week at Barnes and Noble as part of Discovery Friday

This Friday (at 7:00 pm) I'll be at the Barnes and Noble in the Tyson's Corner Mall  as part of Discovery Friday. This is a nationwide event that will be offering:A chance to win a $1,000 shopping spreeOne day discounts throughout the storesSpecial events (like having me sign books)Personalized recommendations from booksellersActivities for the kiddiesI'll be signing books, of course, and also passing out signed bookmarks and maybe even a few Hollow World posters. For those not in the Virginia area, here is the full list where you can find other Orbit authors:Rachel Aaron/Rachel Bach: B&N #2974, Athens, GAAmanda Carlson: B&N #2514, Edina, MNDavid Dalglish: B&N #2931, Springfield, MOMira Grant: B&N #2569, Walnut Creek, CAAnn Leckie: B&N #2542, Ladue, MOBrian McClellan: B&N #2079, Mentor, OHMichael J. Sullivan: B&N #2238, Tyson’s Corner, VAOh, and if you are a fan of David Baldacci, stop by Thursday night at the store I'll be at Friday as he'll be there for that.

An honor to be nominated...goodreads Best Books of 2013 Choice Awards

From time to time fellow authors, or aspiring authors, ask me about what I attribute my success to. The first thing I always mention is, "Write a good book." Where "good" is defined as a book that people love enough (for whatever subjective reasons they have) that they recommend it to others. The second thing I bring up is that getting the word out about the book is just as important (the whole tree falling with no one to hear it thing) and as far as that goes I always bring up (a) goodreads and (b) book bloggers, both of which have been very good to me and my novels.
We are now in the second round of voting for the Goodreads Choice Award, and I'm honored to say that once again I have a nominated title, The Crown Tower (first book in the Riyria Chronicles). Round one which ran from Nov 4 - Nov 9 picked fifteen titles based on the number of people who shelved the books and the ratings and reviews they gave them.  Round two (which runs from Nov 11 - Nov 16) added five titles based on write in ballots.  The third round will limit the field of twenty to a final group of ten. I, of course, am hoping to make that round, but truly it was an honor just to be nominated originally. Especially in such an amazing field.

The full list includes:
Blood of Dragons by Robin HobbCompanions, the by R.A. SalvatoreCrown Tower, the by Michael J. SullivanDaylight War, the by Peter V. BrettFirebird, the by Susanna KearsleyGhost Bride, the by Yangsze ChooEmperor of Thorns by Mark LawrenceForged in Blood by Lindsay BurokerGolem and the Jinni, the by Helene WeckerMemory of Light, a by Robert Jordan and Brandon SandersonNatural History of Dragons, a by Marie BrennanOcean at the End of the Lane by Neil GaimanPromise of Blood by Brian McClellanRepublic of Thieves, by Scott LynchRiver of Stars by Guy Gavriel KayRiver of No Return by Bee RidgewaySeduction by M.J. RoseThinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic, the by Emily Croy BakerThird Kingdom, the by Terry GoodkindVicious by V.E. SchwabI was fortunate to be nominated two other times:2010 for The Emerald Storm2012 for PercepliquisI have no illusions (or delusions) of winning, so I'm not even going to ask you for your vote. But please do go here and join the over 1,000,000 people who have already voted.
One last thing that I should mention. That to celebrate the nomination I'm going to be giving away some signed copies of The Crown Tower. There are two contests running, and all you have to do is enter to win.  The books will be signed and dedicated however you wish, and they should be shipping December 6th which will mean they can arrive in time for gift-giving. I'll even gift wrap before mailing if you are giving to a friend or family member. Her are links to the contests:Goodreads (US only)My Giveaway (all countries)Because non-US people can't participate in the first one, those outside the US will get an extra ballot when they sign up for the second one - to help even out the odds.
Lastly, I'd just like to thank all the readers of goodreads for shelving and rating my books over the years. Your support is what got me in not just one, or two, but three years worth of nominations. I'm thrilled and surprised and already feel like a winner just for being included.

A Very Riyria Halloween

The other day I got an email from a reader who mentioned that she and a friend dressed up as Royce and Hadrian for Halloween.  I must say they are the perfect example of great friends to mirror my pair of rogues. They did a fabulous job on their outfits so here is Isabeau as Hadrian on the left and Ivy as Royce on the right.



Didn't they do a great job?  Pictures posted with permission of Ivy. Thanks for sharing this with me guys and for allowing me to show your fine work to others.

World Wide Distribution

A few weeks ago I got some really good news. My English language ebooks will now be available worldwide.  It has been an ongoing frustration for me, and my readers over the past two years, especially those people from countries like Thailand and other parts of the far east.
What made matters even worse, is that when I was self-published they had no problems getting the books. Signing with a publisher generally results in greater distribution (and it certainly did with respects to paper books) but I lost distribution in several key parts of the world just after going with Orbit. 
Here's the deal.  When self-published, I control the countries where the books are sold - and of course I selected them all.  When I sold my rights to Orbit I gave something called "World English" which means Orbit, and only Orbit can distribute the books. But territories and rights is still an area that publishers struggle with and as such there were certain countries that were not serviced.  
I even got a few angry letters from readers who accused me of "not caring" about readers in their part of the world. I assure you this was not the case...both myself and Orbit wanted to sell the books everywhere, it was an infrastructure issue that was preventing them, and this is now fixed.
The letter I received from Orbit on October 7th indicated that:

Ebooks will go on sale immediately in the UK, Europe, Australia, India and Africa (through HUK’s ebook retail partners) and in South America, the Caribbean, and Asia in the coming weeks (through HBG’s ebook retail partners). The map below shows the division of territories.  

So, I'm hoping that they are now available everywhere.  If not, please let me know and I'll check into it. The map indicates which country is serviced by which part of Orbit so if you live in Africa - I would look at UK site of Amazon but if in Thailand I would look at Amazon's US site.

This is a big relief to me. As soon as I found out about the black out countries I immediately contacted Orbit who said they were working on it. It has taken awhile, but given the complexity of the situation I understand why it took so long...I'm just happy that it is fixed now - and those people who started Revelations "back in the day" can now finish the series because Percepliquis and Heir of Novron is now available for purchase.