Hugh Howey's Blog, page 99
March 28, 2012
March 27, 2012
I think I have the perfect slogan
I made bumper stickers. If there's a more perfect slogan to sum up all that we are, as Woolites, I would love to hear it. But I think I got it right the first time.
http://www.cafepress.com/wool1.632260476
I ordered 10.
One Indie Disadvantage
There are only a few disadvantages that I've spotted from the indie side of the authorial fence. They don't begin to dent the mountain of positives, but I thought I'd point out a few.
One is the difficulty in getting bloggers to accept your book and review it. I've given up even trying. The last time I reached out was before WOOL 2 came out in November. Maybe I would have more success now, but the crazy thing is that it's happening on its own. Every now and then I'll get a Google alert that points me to a new review out there. It still stinks that I can't even submit Wool to most websites because they've stopped accepting self-published works.
Another downside with being indie is not getting to attend book conventions and feature on panels as easily. It's possible, especially with smaller conventions, but you can have the #1 book in your genre and still be a pariah. I hope that changes in the future. It gets in the way of the author/reader connection at book and SF gatherings.
The disadvantage I started this post to discuss is another I hope will change one day. Amazon might be working on it, in fact. I've heard rumors. I'm talking about the ability to pre-order a book, which right now we self-pubbed peeps can't set up. It creates an uneven playing field, and here's why:
Books are ranked on the Kindle bestseller lists by an algorithm (a secret one) that we've somewhat deduced through shared stats. It mostly has to do with your hourly and daily sales rates (and borrow rates). When books are pre-ordered, that gives you a huge bump on release day, which increases visibility, which gives you more of a bump, and so on. Indies do silent releases by comparison. We have to make announcements and wait while the trickle builds into any sort of flow. And readers have to constantly check to see if their favorite indie author (here's hoping they have one) has anything new out.
I pre-order books all the time. I see an upcoming work mentioned and I throw it in my cart and pay for it. I'm not billed until it ships, and it usually shows up on my stoop the day of release. I love this system. I'm hoping I (and the rest of my fellow indies) can be a part of it one day.
March 26, 2012
Get ready…
A huge nod to Kitten for the title layout design. You shall be getting some credits in the print edition. 
March 25, 2012
Our awesome little home
Our home is for sale, and we had two different lookers take the tour today. They both seemed to really like the place, and it felt great to show it off. But it's such a bittersweet experience, selling a home. Especially one you love as much as I adore this one.
The house is small. Around 800 square feet. It forced us to simplify our lives, and it really got us in great financial shape. Coming from a life of living aboard tiny boats, I was sold before we embarked on this adventure. My wife needed convincing. I think this place has really won her over. Not just for its ability to save us money, but a recognition of how much we owned that we never needed.
I look forward to closing on the house, because I don't want to be in Florida with something I'm responsible for so very far away. But I'll also be sad. I might literally cry to see it empty, our stuff taken out, someone taking the key to the front door from me. It's odd, but the home that taught me to not be too attached to things, to be able to let go and live freely, has become the thing I'm attached to the most. (Thing being the operative word. My wife, family, friends, and little mutt are in a different league.)
So here I sit, our house perfectly clean, mood music playing from the speakers embedded in the ceilings throughout the place, both hoping we get a call from one of these lookers . . . and dreading it.
You won't believe this
It's back! And hopefully it'll stay that way.
The WOOL OMNIBUS has been taken down from the Kindle store! I received an email from Amazon a few hours ago that said I formatting issues with the book, that the font was too dim. I'm assuming this has to do with the Kindle Fire, as I also got an email from a customer saying the same thing. I don't know if this is related to the glitch that took down two of my other books or not.
So I pull up my files and make sure the font is set to black, the background to none. I re-upload new files for all six Wool books (Omnibus and the five individuals). Just now, the book disappeared from the Kindle store. It was ranked #127 overall at the time. Gone. Poof.
I am numb, shocked, stunned, outraged, despondent. I can't believe they can work this hard on a Sunday to screw my life when I couldn't get anyone on a Friday to restore my other two books. If it isn't resolved soon, I can see a major depressive episode coming on.
Email your congressman if you think it'll help. I'm going to go curl up in a ball and cry.
March 24, 2012
On to revisions!
Wool 6 is now considered "in draft." I'm a third of the way through my first revision. There will be many more to come. Soon, it will go out to my handy dandy team of editors (my wife and my mother, possibly another). After their input is massaged into the work, a handful of beta readers will get their turn to rip the story apart. Soon after, it will go out to the masses.
Still weighing the title and eager for input here. The logical title is: Wool 6 – Legacy. This makes it easy for readers to find. However, I'm tempted to retire the "Wool" moniker and call this "First Shift – Legacy," or something like that. And then note that it is the sixth book in the Silo Series. It gets rather confusing this way, but I love the 5 Wool books so much and don't want to taint them with a never ending string of subsequent stories. The problem, then, would be determining the reading order or even having readers find the dang book.
As always, I'm open to suggestions.
Amazon is (was) driving me nuts
Update: It looks like books 2 and 4 have returned from the ashes! I like to think the tears I shed helped restore them.
Of course, the rankings are now gone, so tell your friends to pick up this series so they can be restored to their former glory!
Books 2 and 4 of the Wool series have disappeared from the Kindle store. For those of you wondering why this is, I have no freakin' clue. And there's no one I can get on the phone to explain the problem or get it fixed. This is happening with some other books, so it appears to be a glitch on their end. I apologize for any frustration/confusion. If you're reading along in the series, I recommend returning what you've already purchased and going for the Omnibus Edition. Let's hope that one doesn't up and vanish as well!
Amazon is driving me nuts
Books 2 and 4 of the Wool series have disappeared from the Kindle store. For those of you wondering why this is, I have no freakin' clue. And there's no one I can get on the phone to explain the problem or get it fixed. This is happening with some other books, so it appears to be a glitch on their end. I apologize for any frustration/confusion. If you're reading along in the series, I recommend returning what you've already purchased and going for the Omnibus Edition. Let's hope that one doesn't up and vanish as well!
