Mike Jastrzebski's Blog, page 50

Reflections on riding the bull called publishing 2012

New cover for the Feb. 19th release of the Thomas&Mercer edition of Bones

by Christine Kling

When the end of the year rolls around, it always makes me think back on the past 12 months. This has been an amazing year for me – a year full of changes in my own place in the world of books and in my view of myself as a writer.

When I made the decision in December of 2011 to self-publish my fifth novel, Circle of Bones, I really thought I was making an irrevocable break from the world of traditional publishing. Readers of this blog over the past two years will know that it was a decision I did not make lightly. When you get a publishing contract with a big publisher, you think you’ve made it and you can’t imagine that you will ever choose another path or make the decision to walk away. Yet I did just that. My editor at Ballantine still had the option on my fifth book. I submitted Circle of Bones to him and he sat on it. My contract said he had to make a decision in 45 days, and I kept hoping he would call, but after 4 months, I’d had it. I sent him an email and told him I was withdrawing the book from consideration and I was going to self-publish it. I felt certain I’d live to regret that grandstand move.

For so many years, self-publishing has been looked down upon by the world of traditional publishing, and it seemed to carry with it a stench of failure. Mike J. will remember the many conversations we had when I railed against the idea that self published books would ever be able to compete with traditionally published books. Back then, I was still under the illusion that self-publishing was synonymous with using a vanity press. Even this recent article in the New York Times failed to recognize how so many of today’s self-published author/entrepreneurs are different: “They used to call it the ‘vanity press,’ and the phrase itself spoke volumes. Self-published authors were considered not good enough to get a real publishing contract. They had to pay to see their book in print.” The article went on to extol the virtues of Simon & Schuster’s recent partnership with Author Solutions (a real old-fashioned vanity press) which only showed that the author of that NYT article was just as blind as I once was to the changes that have taken place in publishing in the past three years.

But I didn’t just pay somebody else to publish my book. I hired a developmental editor and a copy editor ($1100), a cover artist ($150), bought ISBN numbers ($250 for 10), taught myself how to format books, created a business called Tell-Tale Press and registered it in the state of Florida as a sole proprietorship. I opened a business bank account and ordered business cards, and I read blogs, books, and articles and everything I could find on this new business model.

I’m also still learning everything I can about how to market my books. After self-publishing Bones, I got the rights to my four Seychelle books back from Ballantine (even though the ebooks were still in print) because my contracts stipulated that if my sales from all editions did not number more than 300 per title for two consecutive 6 month periods, I could get the rights back. I submitted my royalty statements to prove that was the case, then I set about getting the cover art done. After editing and formatting those books, I self-published them. In July, the first month I had all four editions of my self-published Seychelle books available at $3.99, I sold a combined 2500 copies across the four titles in one month. Take that, Ballantine!

One reason I’ve been so successful at selling my self-published books is I work hard at the marketing. Initially, I contacted dozens of book bloggers and sent out copies for reviews – with no luck. Then, I tried ads on Facebook and Google. Finally, it was through Amazon’s Kindle Select program whereby authors can make their titles free for 5 days every 90 days that my books found legs. It doesn’t work as well today as it did prior to April, but it still certainly helps. For example, this month I offered Surface Tension for free on Dec. 7-9. When I have a promo, I try to contact as many places that list free books as I can, and I also pay for some listings and ads on certain sites. This is the list of what I did for my December promo:

PAID PROMO

1. Paid promotional Boost on Digital Book Today $30.00
2. Kindle Promo (David Weeks) 2-day tweet special $16.95
3. Book Bub free day ad for $150
4. Author Marketing Club $15.00
5. Kindle Nation Daily $29.99
 

FREE LISTINGS

1. Pixel of Ink
2. Ereader News Today
3. Books on the Knob
4. Free Booksy
5. Bargain ebook Hunter
6. Free Kindle Fiction
7. Free Book Dude
8. Indie Book Promo
9. Free Kindle Books and Tips
10. Book Goodies
11. Ebooks Habit
12. The ereader cafe
 

As of December 7th, I had sold 35 copies of Surface Tension for the month. Over the course of the 3-day giveaway period, the book was downloaded for free 29,476 times and it made it to #2 on the Kindle Free Bestseller list. As of today, I’ve sold 415 copies and the book has been borrowed 233 times (which should pay as much as a sale this month). The great part is that the promo on the one title also pushes sales across all my titles and this has resulted in my being able to make a living as a writer for the past year.

And as a result of these kinds of efforts, in the past 12 months I have sold or had borrowed over 17,000 copies of Circle of Bones, and the ebook has had some 97,000 copies downloaded for free.

How it happened, I’ll probably never know, but somehow, Terry Goodman at Amazon’s Thomas & Mercer imprint got hold of my book and even better, he liked it. Others have sold far more copies than I have, but back in August, I signed a 3-book contract with T&M, and I suddenly found myself in a place I never thought I would be – back with a traditional publisher (albeit a controversial one). What a crazy year, right? And as you can see from the image above, the new edition of Circle of Bones, re-edited and repackaged by Thomas & Mercer is soon to be released as an ebook, trade paperback and audiobook – with what I think is a fabulous new cover.

But, a funny thing happened to me during this year of great change. I discovered I really liked having total control over my books. I liked the marketing and the designing of formats and watching my sales change hourly on my author dashboard. I like being my own publisher. So back in August when I was having the conversations with Thomas & Mercer about them re-issuing Circle of Bones, Terry asked me if I wanted to sell them the rights to the Seychelle books, too. I didn’t even have to think about it. I said no. I want to keep some self-published books in addition to having some that are traditionally published. In this new world of self-publishing, they call it being a hybrid author. Sorry about the cliché, but it is truly the best of both worlds.

When I returned from my recent 5-week research trip to Thailand and the Philippines, I found two huge heavy boxes containing 25 ARCs of the hefty new paperback edition of Circle of Bones. It’s been over a week, and I can’t figure out what to do with them. It would cost a bundle to mail them to reviewers. When I first published a paper version of my self-published edition of Bones I sent about 10 paper copies and 15 ebook copies to book reviewers, and I never got a single review that I know of. I’m not sure I’ll have any better luck this time around.  If you have any thoughts on what to do with paper ARCs in 2013, I’d welcome your suggestions.

As exciting as 2012 has been, 2013, aka the year of the Tablet, promises to be even better. I anticipate increased book sales, more reviews of navigational apps (:-), more sailing, and the completion of The Dragon’s Triangle, book #2 of the Riley and Cole trilogy.

For a techie, writer, sailor, it doesn’t get any better than that.

Fair winds!

Christine

 

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Spotting the better amid the worse…

C.E. Grundler

To say that the last few months have been bumpy ones would be an understatement of the highest order. I’ve had my hands full on many levels, which would be more than enough as it is, but a brief glimpse of the news only underscores that these days there is no short supply of tragedy, on levels that should be unimaginable. I’ll admit, lately it’s been getting pretty overwhelming. But then, a moment of beauty and serenity sneaks up on me, and everything seems a little bit better.

Last night was one of those moments. I’d been down at the marina, and the snowstorm that had been moving across the country reached the Hudson valley as night fell, quickly blanketing everything in a soft layer of white that shimmered under the mercury vapor lights. Christmas lights hung from the mast of sailboat on the main dock, and everything took on a whispery quiet postcard perfection. My only wish was that my boat was already in the water, not only to be part of this lovely scene, but then because I’d have a mere walk down the dock to a warm dinner and cozy bunk, rather than a white-knuckle drive home. But even the slippery roads couldn’t diminish the beauty of the night. At a rail crossing the gates dropped, red lights flashing across the wind-swept whiteness, and a freight train emerged, headlight piercing the falling flakes as it rumbled past. Maybe it was all the visual input, or maybe it was the concentration the unplowed roads demanded, but as I drove home, for the first time in a long time, my mind shifted from all that has been occupying it far too much lately. And that felt good.

This year is almost over, with a new one closing in fast. If there’s one thing 2012 has taught me, it’s that things can always be worse. Much worse. And even when they are, if you take a moment, you’ll see there’s still plenty of ‘better’ to be found. Here’s to 2013 being a better year.

Happy New Years to all!

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Merry Christmas to all!

One of the hardest things I’ve had to get used to since we moved aboard Rough Draft and sailed her south to Florida is the lack of a white Christmas.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the warm winters and wouldn’t move back north for anything, but if I had a wish granted to me at this time of the year I think I’d wish it would snow in Florida every Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I’d gladly put up with the cold weather two days a year.

I grew up in Michigan and my Christmas memories are of snowball fights, snowmen, and the cold. There were a few years when the snow was skimpy, but it was rare not to have a least a little snow on the ground for the holidays.

I’ve moved around a lot over the years. My early adult years were northern moves; to Maine then back to Michigan then to Minnesota, so the snow was always there. In those early years the cold didn’t bother me as much as it does today and I thought nothing of shoveling snow. Minnesota brought more snow than anyplace else I lived, but a snow blower replaced the shovel and I tolerated the cold.

In October of 2003 when Mary and I headed south on our boat I swore I would not set foot north of the Mason-Dixon line between November first and March first. Except for the year Mary’s mother died I’ve stuck to that oath.

It seems that the Florida sun has baked and thinned my blood to the point where I just can’t tolerate the cold weather. But still, for those two days of the year I think I could put up with it.

Of course South Florida’s not going to get snow on Christmas during my lifetime, but if I were a kid again I think I’d add a white Christmas to my wish list to Santa.

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On being a mere mortal

by Christine Kling

Often times people ask me if my characters are simply slightly changed versions of me. I’ve heard friends say that when they have been reading my Seychelle novels, they hear my voice in their heads. But you know what? When I create my characters, I make them significantly different from me. They are generally younger, stronger and tougher and that difference has really been brought home for me recently.

On my research trip in Thailand and the Philippines, I was backpacking and staying in the cheapest private rooms I could find. There were many guest houses that had “dorms” where lots of folks stayed in one big room, but I always took the cheapest private room. The least expensive room I stayed in was around $32 and the most expensive (In Subic Bay) was around $70. Sometimes, the rooms were clean and delightful, but at other times, the cleanliness was less than desirable. Some of the rooms and no windows but old dirty air conditioners which were undoubtedly full of bacteria and viruses. Shortly after my arrival in the Philippines, while down in Puerto Gallera, I came down with a rotten cold. I’ve been fighting it ever since.

The trip back to Florida from the Philippines is one grueling SOB. Our bodies have certain circadian rhythms for sleep and awake time, and these flights can screw everything up. Take this for example: my flight took off from Manila at 10:30 p.m. on Saturday night and after an 11-12 hour flight,  it arrived at San Francisco at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday night. Got that? I arrived 4 hours before I left. Freaky, huh? Crossing the International Date Line can do that.  The next morning, I flew to Denver and after a 4-hour layover, I flew on to Florida arriving at midnight. And then, of course, I could not sleep the rest of the night. It was midday for me.

Now, if I were actually one of my kick-ass characters, such trauma would be no big deal and I’d bounce right back. I’d be duking it out with bad guys and sailing off into the teeth of a storm. But, hey, I’m not either Seychelle or Riley and the wear and tear of all that jet lag let loose the bugs in my system again. By Monday morning, I was sick as a dog. I spent the next couple of days napping on the couch in the condo where my son lives and taking it easy and trying to recover from the jet lag and this weird Asian flu that I can’t seem to kick.

As writers, we sometimes get reviews that claim our characters are not realistic. I just got a new review of SURFACE TENSION wherein the guy wrote, “The main quibble I have, and the reason I only gave it four stars, is that the heroin gets captured or kidnapped or held five times! Jeeez. In many suspense thrillers the main character gets captured and escapes once, sometimes twice, but five times is really pushing it. It makes her seems like such a sap. Since this is her first adventure I hope she learns from her mistakes and the author turns it down a couple of notches in the subsequent novels.”

By my reckoning, this guy is counting every encounter she has with the bad guys as a capture or kidnap, so okay, I’ll grant the five times. Of course, if Seychelle were a mere mortal like me, that would be over the top. I’d probably be done in by one encounter with real bad guys. And books about me would be pretty boring. But I don’t write books about me. I write thrillers and the characters I write are not me, in spite of what many friends may think.  My characters are younger, stronger and far more courageous than I am. They don’t get sick and fall into their bunks to recuperate. Maybe, if I wrote a different sort of book, they would, but I don’t write realism. I write books to take people out of their ordinary lives. So, while my adventures these past few weeks traveling through SE Asia have been plenty exciting enough for me, now I get to buckle down and write a tale that will turn it all up several notches, because – like it or not – that is what I do.

Fair winds!

Christine

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The Spirit of Santa Claus

For the past eighty-plus years, Santa has been making pre-Christmas stops at lighthouses along the coast of New England. The tradition started in 1929 with a Maine-based float plane pilot by the name of William Wincapaw. Wincapaw, and later his son, took it upon themselves to deliver Christmas presents to grateful coastal light keepers and their families. This act of joyous goodwill was later continued by Boston-based author Edward Rowe Snow who was the “Flying Santa” from the mid-1930s all the way up to 1981.

Snow wasn’t a pilot so his was a two-man operation with Snow dropping presents from the air while his aviator took him from one coastal lighthouse to the next. The gifts, which were donated by local business sponsors, included coffee, tea, Gillette razor blades, rubber balloons, chewing gum, dolls and pen and pencil sets, as well as copies of Edward Rowe Snow’s most recent books.

Wincapaw and Snow are long gone, but the spirit of Flying Santa continues today although Mr. Claus now relies on helicopter, versus fixed wing, transportation.

Of course nobody should confuse the Flying Santa with the real Santa Claus. I say this with confidence as I have first-hand knowledge of the true Santa.

As a young boy, I corresponded with Santa annually. I also knew Santa as a guest, one who was chronologically reliable and gracious enough to always clear his cookie plate.

I don’t remember being propped-up on Santa’s lap as a child. I did, however, have an in-person encounter with the legit Santa when I was young. It was a December evening. I believe it was a Friday night although I am not one hundred percent sure about that fact. What I do know is that the doorbell rang and we were greeted by Santa. He had come by to double-check my Christmas list. And I recall with great clarity that when Santa left I ran up to my room and looked out my window and that’s when I found out the truth about Santa, a fact I shared with everyone I knew – “Santa drives a black Mercury that looks just like Mr. Dowd’s!” (Mr. Dowd being our neighbor down the street who also drove a black four-door Mercury sedan.)

My interaction with Santa ebbed as a teenager and it became almost non-existent in my twenties, yet Santa began to re-emerge later in life.

When Sally and I married it was a mid-December wedding and our reception took place at a small inn just outside of Boston. There was snow on the ground and the many kids attending were anxious for the Christmas morning that was to follow just weeks later. I’ll never forget their excitement when Santa walked into our wedding reception with a bag of small pre-Christmas presents. It was a lasting memory, one shared by everyone at the wedding…everyone except for my good friend Jim who inexplicably stepped away shortly before Santa appeared and returned only after the red suited man departed. Nobody questioned the spirit of Santa Claus that day.

I sometimes think, too, of one day in the car when the kids raised the question of Santa’s authenticity. Sally didn’t miss a beat when she told the kids, “It’s a matter of whether or not you believe in Santa. If you don’t believe, he won’t be real for you.” I can hear Laura, then seven – and two years older than her brother, shouting out, “I believe in you, Santa. I believe.”

I believe, too.

Despite the overblown commercialism, the extended span of the season, and the stress inflicted by expectations of all sorts, the simple spirit of Santa persists in many corners. I haven’t spotted him in years, but I am on the lookout for that black Mercury or his helicopter heading along the coast. And who knows, maybe the spirit of Santa will be especially close by this year.

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Where’d he come from?

Key West Latitude is the working title on my newest Mick Murphy Key West Mystery. My critique group hates it, I like it and, so far, I’m winning! But that’s for another time. Something happened during my writing last week and I wonder if it has ever happened in your writing.

I’m about three-quarters of way through the new book and while the tension has kept building, the conflict kept coming, the story needed something. Since this is Key West, I can’t just put in a string of violence like I could do if the story was taking place in Miami or any big city. Couldn’t do it realistically in Key West, just not real.

I had to drive to the mainland two weeks ago and while on the four-hour ride, I ran ideas through my head. I could do this. I could do that. I could continue on as I’d been doing. Then a question arose about my character Padre Thomas. Where was he? A few chapter back I’d had in a few scenes. Moved forward with the tension, but lost Padre Thomas!

I finally came on idea that would add some action and tension to the story and a twist about my character Norm’s past and maybe his present. Padre Thomas hadn’t been around for a few chapters because he’d been taken prison at his own home by someone I named ‘the colonel,’ who has a past with Norm.

I’d tell you more but then you’d know the story and why buy the book when it comes out next year?

‘The colonel’ is a good guy, but he’s bad! Maybe he’s a psychopath. The scene ran three chapters and then ‘the colonel’ left, with a scary promise he’d be back if he didn’t get what he needed from Mick Murphy.

In all my mental plotting, I never thought of ‘the colonel’ and now I can’t stop thinking of how to use and abuse him!

My question is this, has a character just shown up in your writing, uninvited, that helped the story?

My version of ‘the colonel’ is that he’s such a SOB he could be a stand-along character! I dislike him so much that I have to keep him around. A good guy who’s just as bad, or worse than the bad guys!

Let me hear from you.

Happy Holidays.

www.michaelhaskins.net

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‘Tis the season at Harbortown Marina

By Mike Jastrzebski

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Things we take for granted in the USA

by Christine Kling

1. Fast internet so we can get our posts done on time

2. Our public transportation vehicles are not built and run by guys who work in their back yards.

3. Nor are they pulled by horses

4. Fields are plowed by machinery.

5. We think spinning wheels are only found in fairy tales.

6. Our elderly don’t have to peddle goods in order to eat.

7. When our country gets hit by a catastrophic storm, people the world over will join hands and come to our aid.

Fair winds!

Christine

 

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Indeed it is…

Hard to write this blog sometimes, as Mike was saying on Monday. At this moment, I couldn’t agree more.

You see, it’s Thursday. Again. Which means I’ll be rushing between contractors and chaos here at my house, then down to the boatyard, where I’ll be helping out a fiberglass company with an onslaught of boats to repair. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I give them a hand, on Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays I’m down the road at another marina, where I’ve joined the office staff. And most nights, lately, I leave work only to spend the next few hours attacking work on my own boat. The nice part is, with all the new friends I’ve been making lately, I have a whole team of people on hand to offer help when I need it. Then I return to a house full of dust, boxed up contents, and piled up furniture. Finding a clear place to write, no less a moment of cohesive though, especially with crews of contractors everywhere I turn, makes writing a challenge that has recently fallen to the back of the list.

On the bright side, I did find my power cord the other day. Then everything got moved yet again, so it’s back to conserving my 68% and dropping charge to absolutely essential computer use. In other words, it’s time to post this, shut down, and head off to work. There’s a whole lot of wrecked boats that need fixing!

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Holiday Shopping List

With the holidays approaching, a number of people have asked me for suggestions on gift ideas for a writer. (Okay, nobody has really posed this question, but I write fiction so I can make this stuff up. Stick with me on this.)

After considerable thought (yes, more fiction), I have identified three items that one might consider for the writer in their life. Here they are, ranked in an order of importance best determined by individual writers.

I. Keurig Coffee Maker

Keurig coffee makers first appeared in offices, but they are increasingly showing up in residences and it’s easy to understand why. These one-cup systems accommodate differing tastes and they brew good coffee. In the case of writers, they also increase writing output.

To get a sense of the added productivity these babies unlock, consider that coffee is part of most every writer’s day. After slogging away at the keyboard for a good stretch of time it’s only natural to take a coffee break. But that’s where the problem begins. Typically, the sequence takes place along the following lines:

1) Get up and fill the coffee machine with water

2) Check the mail on your way to refrigerator

3) Get the coffee out of the fridge

4) Look through your mail

5) Call the electric company to ask why they didn’t receive last week’s payment

6) Run to the bank to pay the mortgage before the late fee kicks in

7) Get back home and set up the coffee

8) Break for lunch while the coffee is brewing

9) Eat lunch

10) Pick up where you left off with your writing

In contrast, the Keurig machine lets you brew a single cup of coffee at your writing desk. Sure, this may slow your bill paying. And, true, your lights might get turned off by the utility company and your home may be seized by the bank. But the important thing is you’ll be writing more. Total expected writing time saved by a Keurig coffee machine? I would approximate 3 hours per cup of coffee. Considering that most authors drink five or six cups of coffee a day, we’re looking at 15-18 hours a day or as 5,000 extra hours of productivity per year!

II. Internet Timer

Efficient caffeine dispensing helps, but today’s writers are also hobbled by that time-suck machine known as the Internet. Fortunately, help is on the way in the name of an Internet Timer and this can easily be added to your holiday list.

I recently spent a few days, hours, minutes checking this out on the web and I found an Internet timer that is sold to parents, one that can be easily adapted for use by writers. In fact, if enough writers sign onto this we might create new niche for the company. Consider my edits to their marketing material (below):

EZ INTERNET TIMER IS PARENT WRITER FRIENDLY

EZ Internet Timer is an easily customizable Online Timer and Internet Filter allowing parents writers to restrict or limit access to Facebook, Write On The Water and Yachtworld.com Twitter, mySpace, MSN or online games.

Ask yourself these questions:

•Is your child writer becoming addicted to Facebook, Yachtworld.com, MySpace or Twitter?

•Are internet activities getting in the way of school work publishing deadlines?

•Did your child writer forsake other activities once enjoyed writing for the Internet?

Based on my web search, Internet Timer sells for $29.95. I am sure there are other, probably cheaper, alternatives on the web, but that search would simply further my addiction.

III. The Humble Pen

If you are ready to embrace an era of increased simplicity, let’s start this year and let’s begin with the writer. Perhaps Paul Simon said it best in his lyrics to the song Hurricane Eye:

If you want to be a writer, you don’t know how or when

Find a quiet place, use a humble pen

So there you have it, the coffee maker, Internet timer, and humble pen, all wonderful items for a writer’s holiday wish list.

Sorry it wasn’t a longer list. That old coffee break thing, you know.

Happy Holidays.

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