Joseph Rhea's Blog, page 8
January 23, 2015
New "Author Bio" on my website
For as long as I can remember, I have possessed the twin needs to "create" and "explore." In school, I excelled in both art and creative writing, but my need for exploration (partly fostered by watching Jacques Cousteau as a kid) led me in to the field of Oceanography. While science offered me a wonderful and challenging career, it wasn't quite enough. Therefore, my non-work hours began to fill up with more creative hobbies, which have included everything from creating CGI-based comics to building multi-player computer simulations with my brother.
Then one day I decided to return to my creative-writing roots and began working on my first novel-length, science fiction story. What started out as a high-tech adventure, with a young man attempting to rescue his girlfriend from a virtual reality simulation against the backdrop of the "technological singularity," evolved into a story about accepting the choices of our past, as well as reconciling our relationships with our parents, both before and after death. That novel, Cyberdrome, was finally published in 2008 and has now been read by over 40,000 people around the world, gained critical success, and created a huge fan base.
Spurred on by the success of that book, I decided to start another. However, rather than continue with the sequel to Cyberdrome (yes, there will be one), I decided to give myself a bigger challenge, and started a 5-book, dystopian, undersea series called, Novum. As before, what began as the adventures of a young, reluctant, cargo-ship captain trying to eke out a living below the surface of a distant "water world" (a planet covered by ocean) evolved into something more: a story of relationships, the importance of overcoming our caveman-inherited fear of the unknown, and the futility--and sometimes danger--of trying to live in the past.
What's next? I have a few more books to finish in my Novum series, and then I plan to start the long-awaited Cyberdrome sequel. Along the way, I also hope to complete some of the backlog of short stories I have outlined, covering topics ranging from how paradigms affect our view of the world, to the very nature of reality, so be sure to follow me on one of the social media links on my website (JosephRhea.com/contact) to receive updates and release dates, or just stop by to chat.
Thanks for stopping by, Joe
Then one day I decided to return to my creative-writing roots and began working on my first novel-length, science fiction story. What started out as a high-tech adventure, with a young man attempting to rescue his girlfriend from a virtual reality simulation against the backdrop of the "technological singularity," evolved into a story about accepting the choices of our past, as well as reconciling our relationships with our parents, both before and after death. That novel, Cyberdrome, was finally published in 2008 and has now been read by over 40,000 people around the world, gained critical success, and created a huge fan base.
Spurred on by the success of that book, I decided to start another. However, rather than continue with the sequel to Cyberdrome (yes, there will be one), I decided to give myself a bigger challenge, and started a 5-book, dystopian, undersea series called, Novum. As before, what began as the adventures of a young, reluctant, cargo-ship captain trying to eke out a living below the surface of a distant "water world" (a planet covered by ocean) evolved into something more: a story of relationships, the importance of overcoming our caveman-inherited fear of the unknown, and the futility--and sometimes danger--of trying to live in the past.
What's next? I have a few more books to finish in my Novum series, and then I plan to start the long-awaited Cyberdrome sequel. Along the way, I also hope to complete some of the backlog of short stories I have outlined, covering topics ranging from how paradigms affect our view of the world, to the very nature of reality, so be sure to follow me on one of the social media links on my website (JosephRhea.com/contact) to receive updates and release dates, or just stop by to chat.
Thanks for stopping by, Joe
January 13, 2015
Why am I giving an entire book away for free?
Two days ago I set the list price for the Kindle, Apple, Nook, and Kobo editions of the first book in my new dystopian science fiction series, Novum, to zero dollars and zero cents. That's right, I am giving the book away for free.
Why would I, or any author, do this? Some people call it a "loss leader" for a series, where you give the first book away, then hope it will lead to sales of the rest of the series. However, my reasons are even simpler. I want to save my readers money. That's right; I care about my readers.
So here is the deal. If I charge what Amazon thinks I should be charging, which is $2.99 per book (anything lower and the author is penalized P in royalties) then it will cost you $6 for the first two books. If I sold each book for a more reasonable $1.99, it would cost you about $4 for the first two books, which isn't bad, but due to the penalties mentioned above, I would earn only $1.40 in royalties. However, by making the first book free, and leaving the second book at $2.99, you will get two books for $3, and I make about $2 in royalties.
So in a nutshell, you save 25% on your 2-book purchase and I make 30% more in royalties. That's what I call a win-win scenario. The additional benefit for you, is by giving you the first book for free, in a real sense you get to "try it before you buy it." So now we are up to a win-win-win scenario, and I'd better stop there, before reality implodes. ;)
If you are interested in trying out a new dystopian science fiction series that has no zombies (sorry) then go to my website for the book links. www.JosephRhea.com
My thanks to the several thousand people who have already taken me up on this deal, and also the several hundred who have purchased the second book, Novum: Exile already. Maybe this is working as a loss-leader after all, which makes it a win-win-win-win...(stopping now!) ;)
Why would I, or any author, do this? Some people call it a "loss leader" for a series, where you give the first book away, then hope it will lead to sales of the rest of the series. However, my reasons are even simpler. I want to save my readers money. That's right; I care about my readers.
So here is the deal. If I charge what Amazon thinks I should be charging, which is $2.99 per book (anything lower and the author is penalized P in royalties) then it will cost you $6 for the first two books. If I sold each book for a more reasonable $1.99, it would cost you about $4 for the first two books, which isn't bad, but due to the penalties mentioned above, I would earn only $1.40 in royalties. However, by making the first book free, and leaving the second book at $2.99, you will get two books for $3, and I make about $2 in royalties.
So in a nutshell, you save 25% on your 2-book purchase and I make 30% more in royalties. That's what I call a win-win scenario. The additional benefit for you, is by giving you the first book for free, in a real sense you get to "try it before you buy it." So now we are up to a win-win-win scenario, and I'd better stop there, before reality implodes. ;)
If you are interested in trying out a new dystopian science fiction series that has no zombies (sorry) then go to my website for the book links. www.JosephRhea.com
My thanks to the several thousand people who have already taken me up on this deal, and also the several hundred who have purchased the second book, Novum: Exile already. Maybe this is working as a loss-leader after all, which makes it a win-win-win-win...(stopping now!) ;)
December 21, 2014
Adding "Books" tab to your Facebook page
Finally figured out how to add a "Books" tab to my Facebook page so that people can buy my books directly from Amazon, without having to go through my website The links also show editorial and customer reviews. Sweet deal!
I learned how to add the book tab here: http://self-publishingforbeginners.blogspot.com/2013/06/how-to-add-amazon-store-to-your.html
November 20, 2014
Novum: Rubicon now has a cover - and it's brilliant!
Late last night, my brother, Dave (daverhea.net), sent me the newest version of the book jacket he's been designing for "Novum: Rubicon" - the next installment in my scifi series. I have to tell you that it blew me away! We've been working on it for a couple of weeks now (that is to say, I give him suggestions, and he makes something, and sends it to me for feedback,) and we were both getting frustrated because nothing was working. I had this idea of what I needed the book to convey, while at the same time, have it fit with the theme of the first two book covers, which was really difficult. Well, he came up with the final solution on his own and it's brilliant. I'm really looking forward to showing you all the cover - all I need to do now is finish writing the darn thing.
November 18, 2014
Holiday sale!
I'm starting the holiday season early by putting all three of my science fiction books on sale (two are less than a dollar!)
Cyberdrome (was $5.99, now $4.99)
Novum (was $2.99, now $0.99)
Novum: Exile (was $2.99, now $0.99)
This is for all ebooks from all distributors (Amazon, Apple, Sony, etc) all over the world.
Go to http://JosephRhea.com/books
Cyberdrome (was $5.99, now $4.99)
Novum (was $2.99, now $0.99)
Novum: Exile (was $2.99, now $0.99)
This is for all ebooks from all distributors (Amazon, Apple, Sony, etc) all over the world.
Go to http://JosephRhea.com/books
November 3, 2014
NaNoWriMo (my way)
I'm taking advantage of a rare two hour writing window tonight to officially start the 3rd book in my scifi series, Novum. It will be called Novum: Rubicon and it involves a long and dangerous journey into the unknown for the crew of the Rogue Wave.
I'm actually hoping to make this the beginning of my own version of #NaNoWriMo ( National Novel Writing Month ) where I will attempt to complete this 30k word novella in one month.
That's about three times faster than my normal so it's probably not doable with my schedule, but I will make a valiant effort. Wish me luck.
November 2, 2014
What is TSU?
Yesterday, I laid claim to my name on the newest social media site in town, TSU. It has a different business model than most others, in that it gives 90% of the ad profits back to you, the creator of your content, and your fellow tsu readers.
Right now it's by invitation only, so I am officially inviting you. Just go to my page, http://www.tsu.co/josephrhea and see if it's right for you.
October 2, 2014
Book Prices:
Last week I made a command decision to drop the price of each book in my Novum series to 99 cents. Since the series will have 5 books when finished, buying them one by one will now cost readers no more than the final "combined" book, which I plan to sell for $4.99 (just like my first novel, Cyberdrome.)
Now I just hope that I won't drive away readers who skip $0.99 books because they think "you get what you pay for." It is kind of funny that I usually get more sales at higher prices, but that's the market right now. So, this decision will probably hurt sales a bit, but it's more important to me to treat my readers fairly. I've been writing for quite a while now, and I plan to write for many more years to come, and I appreciate the fans (and friends) I've made along the way. Call me old fashioned - but just don't call me old! ;)
Now I just hope that I won't drive away readers who skip $0.99 books because they think "you get what you pay for." It is kind of funny that I usually get more sales at higher prices, but that's the market right now. So, this decision will probably hurt sales a bit, but it's more important to me to treat my readers fairly. I've been writing for quite a while now, and I plan to write for many more years to come, and I appreciate the fans (and friends) I've made along the way. Call me old fashioned - but just don't call me old! ;)
September 17, 2014
Help make the Kindle version of Novum free on Amazon!
First off, why would I want to give a highly-rated, 30,000-word book away for free? Well, it's one way of building buzz for my series and its free advertising for my other book, Cyberdrome.
The digital version of Novum is already free on iTunes, Kobo, Barnes&Noble, and elsewhere, but Amazon doesn't allow ebooks to be set free by the author/publisher.
However, they will price-match their competition, which is where you guys come in. If you have a few minutes, please help make it free by doing the following:
Go to my Amazon page: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E0NVLK6
and halfway down, you will see a link that says "Would you like to give feedback on images or tell us about a lower price?"
Click on the "tell us about a lower price" part and enter one of the links below (iTunes and Barnes&Noble). Then enter a price of $0.00 and hit the submit button.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/novum/id912807619
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/novum-joseph-rhea/1117400769
The more people who do this, the sooner Amazon will price-match, and your reward will be a free Kindle copy of the book. And if you've already read Novum, the sequel, Novum: Exile is currently less that $1 on Amazon (down from $3). That's a win-win scenario if I ever heard one!
Thanks gang, and feel free to reshare if you can.
Joe
The digital version of Novum is already free on iTunes, Kobo, Barnes&Noble, and elsewhere, but Amazon doesn't allow ebooks to be set free by the author/publisher.
However, they will price-match their competition, which is where you guys come in. If you have a few minutes, please help make it free by doing the following:
Go to my Amazon page: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E0NVLK6
and halfway down, you will see a link that says "Would you like to give feedback on images or tell us about a lower price?"
Click on the "tell us about a lower price" part and enter one of the links below (iTunes and Barnes&Noble). Then enter a price of $0.00 and hit the submit button.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/novum/id912807619
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/novum-joseph-rhea/1117400769
The more people who do this, the sooner Amazon will price-match, and your reward will be a free Kindle copy of the book. And if you've already read Novum, the sequel, Novum: Exile is currently less that $1 on Amazon (down from $3). That's a win-win scenario if I ever heard one!
Thanks gang, and feel free to reshare if you can.
Joe
September 5, 2014
Novum is now FREE on iTunes!
If you own an iPad or iPhone, today is your day: Novum is now FREE on iTunes! https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/novum/id912807619
