Jon Say's Blog, page 8

Flesh Wound hits the UK next week!

As much as I would like this announcement to be caused by a lucrative sale of foreign publishing rights followed by a UK book tour, the fact of the matter is that two of the members of LibraryThing who were selected as winners of the Member Giveaway for Flesh Wound reside in the UK.

As you'll recall, LibraryThing is the social networking site for voracious readers (sswww.librarything.com), and as a registered author there I volunteered 15 copies of FW to any readers who would write a review of it in return.  Over the two week period of the giveaway, 163 members requested a copy.  They had a marketing blurb of the book, written by me, to use in determining whether to throw their hat in the ring.  LibraryThing then randomly selected 15 members of the group and sent their names and addresses to me, and I sent out the copies of the book yesterday.

I'm bound by the rules of the giveaway not to divulge any of their personal information and quite frankly I have no desire to do so, but here are some interesting facts about the group of winners:

11 reside in the US (MA, TX, PA, UT, KY, two each in IL, OH, and VA)
2 reside in the UK (both in England)
2 reside in Canada (both in Nova Scotia)
2 are male
13 are female

So the copies should arrive next week, and hopefully some reviews will start to be posted in the next month or so.  It feels good to have more copies of FW distributed around the country and world.  I always wonder who else is going to see the book while someone is reading it, or see it lying around on a table or desk and perhaps want to check it out.  You just never know.

My attention now turns primarily to writing the sequel to Flesh Wound!  I have started the research, and I think there is going to be a very compelling story coming out of it.  What I can tell you now is the tentative title – "Rubbed Out" – and the topic – trafficking in human sex slaves that are sent to the US from South Korea to work in massage parlors here.  This is a very real, very lucrative, and very thriving business that has been going on for a long, long time.  Recent statistics indicate human sex trafficking is an $8 billion international industry, and get this:  in terms of profits, it is on a path to overtake drug and arms trafficking.

I will repeat that.

In terms of profits, the human sex trafficking industry is on a path to overtake drug and arms trafficking.

Are you kidding me?  I don't know about you, but that statement blows me away.  It comes from the US Department of Homeland Security office in South Korea.  Why is no one talking about this?  All you hear is war on drugs, war on drugs, war on drugs.  Which, by the way, seems to have no impact on actual drug consumption in the US or anywhere else, as far as I can tell.  But when was the last time you saw or read a news story on human sex trafficking?  There aren't many.

So as I plot this novel out and write it, I am going to take you on a journey with me through this murky underworld.  I don't know where we're going to wind up.  But I know it is going to be eye-opening, compelling, and hopefully raise some awareness of what is going on all over the towns we live in.

Not to make an awkward segue, but in the meantime have a great weekend!  Enjoy the Fall weather (or not for all of you living in SoCal ), and read something that makes you say "Wow!" this weekend!  -Jon

"All The Creatures Were Stirring" is now available! Read the entire novel for free!

"All The Creatures Were Stirring", the prequel to "Flesh Wound" featuring Max Chandler, is now available! Find it on this website by hovering over the 'Novels' tab, then click on "Creatures" in the drop down menu which appears.  That page is where you'll find the links to the entire novel, broken into four-chapter segments.  Each file is a PDF that is compatible with Kindle readers, can be read on your PC or laptop, and can be printed out as well.

You can download and read all of the files, i.e. the entire novel, for free!  If you'd like, you can also click on the "Donate" button located at the bottom of the "Creatures" page and contribute whatever you think is appropriate directly to me, Jon Say, in appreciation of your reading experience.  :)

This website is the ONLY location where "All The Creatures Were Stirring" is available.

I am really excited about having "Creatures" out there and available, and I can now begin working on my next project: writing the sequel to "Flesh Wound".  I have been anxious to get going on this novel ever since "Flesh Wound" was released in July.  My plans for this blog are to continue to update it as a journal of my experience writing the sequel.  You will come along with me as I plot, outline, write, and revise the sequel.  I'll publish excerpts of the manuscript here as well, and you can react and comment on them if you'd like!

Thank you for all of your support!  I hope you enjoy reading "All The Creatures Were Stirring"!  And if you haven't checked out "Flesh Wound" yet, I encourage you to do so.  I was reading it again last night and I liked it all over again.  :)  Have a terrific day!  I'll blog again before the weekend!  -Jon

Experiment Part 2: Pay for the Book Only If You Like It

Last week, I talked about how I was going to experiment with "All The Creatures Were Stirring", the novel I wrote as the prequel to "Flesh Wound", by making it available on this website for direct purchase as an e-book.  It would be available either in its entirety ($8.99) or by groups of four chapters at a time ($0.99 per group).

I've changed my mind.  I am going to take the experiment further.  I am going to put "Creatures" out on this website by chapter groups for free!!! That's right, you can download Chapters 2-5, and then if you like those, you can download Chapters 6-9, etc., etc., until you've read the entire book.  Free.  No Charge.  Nada.

What I'm going to ask is this:  Any reader who likes what they've read come back and use the handy "Donate" button I'm going to add to right beneath the file downloads to make a donation to me, Jon Say, for whatever you thought your reading experience was worth.

This is an unconventional way of getting content to readers, no doubt.  I am certain that some readers will read the book, hopefully like it, and not donate a cent.  That's not my preference, obviously, but I can live with it.  I still like this method of getting "Creatures" out there and here's why.

"Creatures" gets in front of readers who would not otherwise read it.  The more people who read my writing, the better.  Maybe someone who reads "Creatures" will take a look at "Flesh Wound" and buy it, who knows?
"Creatures" gets in front of people quickly.  The download is immediate, and so the reader can begin reading immediately.  Don't have to wait months for production, don't have to wait days for shipping, or pay for it, either.  One click, and you're reading.
I don't spend the next three months figuring out how to program my personal iTunes sort of page where people can pay and download my writing with one click.  I'm a writer, not a programmer.  For a reason.  For several reasons, actually, and they all have to do with my personal competencies.  Or lack thereof.
I get to start writing the sequel to "Flesh Wound" by October 1, which is my personal deadline.  I'm very antsy to start writing the sequel, and the sooner I can get to it, the happier I'll be.

Another potential upside for me?  "Creatures" gets read by lots of people who then donate $$$ that helps keep me afloat financially while I write the sequel to "Flesh Wound".

What are the downsides of this approach for me?  Well, I suppose lots of people could read "Creatures" and I wouldn't make any money from it.  If that happens, I wouldn't be any worse off than I am now, and more people would have read my writing.  That isn't a bad downside.

So here we go!  By no later than September 30, and hopefully sooner, I will be posting the chapters from "All The Creatures Were Stirring" on this website for free, with the "Donate" button beneath them.

Tell me what you think of this approach!  I'm curious.  Look for more fun things to happen here as I begin writing the sequel to "Flesh Wound".  I plan on taking you through the process of writing a novel.  Then, the process of sending it out to agents and publishers.  And hopefully, what it's like to get a book deal.  Or who knows?  Maybe I'll just post it here for you to read for free. 

Have a terrific day, and I'll be talking to you soon!  In the meantime, read Chapter 1 of "Creatures" and get ready for more!  -Jon

"All The Creatures Were Stirring" Chapter 1 – Available Now For Free!

I discovered a few things about designing and updating this website in the last couple of days, but before I get to that I've got some good news!  The first chapter of "All The Creatures Were Stirring", the prequel to "Flesh Wound" is now available to read right on this website – for free! To find it, hover over the 'Novels' tab, and click on the submenu 'All The Creatures Were Stirring'.  There you'll find a brief synopsis of the novel, and about halfway down the page you'll see the link to Chapter 1.  Click on it, and you'll be reading the opening chapter of the novel!  In the next week, I'll be adding the rest of the novel to this website for your immediate purchase, either in its entirety or by a group of four chapters at a time.  Happy reading!

So this morning I sat down, ready to create the pages for this website that will contain the chapters for "Creatures", and discovered that I was unable to log in to the site to do the work.  The server dropped the connection every time I tried, so I went and did something else for a couple of hours.  When I came back and tried it again, the same thing happened – I couldn't get in to the site to edit it.  All I could imagine was that there was so much traffic on the WordPress site (or hopefully on JonSay.com!), that it wasn't possible for me to access the site.  I spent the rest of the day researching my next book and taking care of the myriad of things that make up modern life, and then sat down again about 30 minutes ago and tried to get in to the site.  Voila – no problems, and very fast response time.  So, either it was a cyber traffic jam or maybe something was up with WordPress, but I may find myself updating my blog after hours.  So be it!

You'll notice a couple of changes to the site. First, I've changed the order of the items that appear on the right hand side.  I moved the items I thought were most important or useful to the top slots.  Second, I've added a "Login" window at the top of the right side of the site.  This will give anyone who visits the site a chance to create a login ID that will make it easier to leave comments on my blog entries.  I am hoping that by registering, you will be notified via email of updates to the site and of new blog entries, but I am still testing that and I'll let you know what I find.  So enjoy the new changes to the site!

FInally, the latest count of people on LibraryThing (sswww.librarything.com) who have signed up for a free copy of "Flesh Wound" has risen to 139!  Each of those readers will have a chance to win one of 15 free copies of "Flesh Wound" in a drawing that will take place next week.  Hopefully they will like it and leave a review of it on LibraryThing as well as Amazon.com!

Enjoy your weekend!  Fall is here and it is a spectacular time of year to find a sunny spot in a local park and escape with a good book for a while.  I'm going to be finishing "The Thieves of Manhattan" by Adam Langer, and I'll leave a review of it here next week.   Until then, read something that brings you a sense of wonder!  -Jon

Experiment: My New Serial Novel (Or You Can Just Get The Entire Thing)

Now that I've finished the final revisions to my novel "All The Creatures Were Stirring", the prequel to "Flesh Wound", I am going to experiment with the release of the book.

Here's the background:  I wrote "Creatures" about eight years ago, long before I conceived of "Flesh Wound".  I'd already written other stories with Max Chandler as my lead protagonist, and Danni McCullough had appeared in those stories as well.  "Creatures" takes place over the Christmas holiday, just two months after the armed robbery when Max was shot.  Claire has filed for divorce, and Max has moved out.  The wounds are still very fresh.  For more on the story, hover over the "Novels" tab on this site and you'll see a submenu with "All The Creatures Were Stirring" pop up.  Click on it, and you'll get the skinny on what happens in the novel.

I originally published "Creatures" on Amazon.com's Digital Text Platform, a self-publishing site that allows people with Kindle readers to download copies of the novel for their Kindle device.  To date, several dozen copies of the book have sold via that route.  I pulled "Creatures" off Amazon.com recently, and rewrote some of it to make it a better fit with the circumstances and timeline in "Flesh Wound".  This rewrite did not affect the murder mystery plot of the story at all.

Publishing on the DTP did require me to purchase an ISBN (International Standard Book Number) for "Creatures".  The ISBN identifies the title to which it is assigned as well as the publisher to be contacted for ordering purposes.  Since "Creatures" already has an ISBN and I still own the publishing rights for it, I'm not going to send it out to publishers for consideration.  What I'm going to do instead is offer it for sale directly from my website in two different ways:  as an entire E-novel, or as a serial E-novel.

How will this work?  Glad you asked!  First, I'm going to offer Chapter 1 of "Creatures" for free on the "Creatures" page of this website.  Anyone can read it via PDF file on their computer screen.  If they want to read more, they'll have two options.

ENTIRE NOVEL: The entire novel in PDF file format will can be purchased for $8.99 from this website (via PayPal – you can use a credit card if you do not have a PayPal account).  The PDF file will be downloaded to your PC, and you can sync it with your Kindle reader, print it out, and/or read it on your PC screen.

SERIAL NOVEL: Starting with Chapter 2, files containing four chapters each will be available for purchase for $0.99 apiece.  So, if someone reads Chapter 1 and likes it, but doesn't want to shell out $8.99 for the entire novel, they can get Chapters 2, 3, 4, and 5 for $0.99.  They will be in PDF file format, downloaded to their PC, and can then be synced with their Kindle reader, printed, and/or read on their PC screen.  If they want to keep reading after Chapter 5, they can come back to this site and purchase Chapters 6, 7, 8, and 9 for another $0.99.  And so on, until they've got the entire novel.

I'm good enough with numbers to have figured out that if someone wants to read the entire novel as a serial, ordering all 10 chapter bundles will cost them $9.90.  That is an entire 91 cents more than if they'd have just purchased the entire novel up front.  Still, I think it will be a good way for someone to invest less than $8.99 all at once if they want to be sure they'll enjoy the story before getting the whole thing.

To be honest, this is an experiment.  I want to find out a couple of things.  First, do people have an appetite for novels in serial format?  Second, will people go to the "Creatures" page on this website to check out the book, and be willing to purchase it directly from there?

Keep in mind, there is no hard copy of this novel in existence.  This is only an e-book at this point.  I suppose it is possible that sometime down the road a publisher may want to pull the e-book off the internet and publish a hard copy.  God bless them if they do, but that time is not now.

I have talked to people who have read "Creatures", and they like it.  If you read "Flesh Wound", you'll recognize Max, Danni, and her brother Mike.

I am planning to have "Creatures" up on this site and available for sale by October 1!  I will keep you all posted on the exact date.  Until then, have a spectacular day and read something that makes you think!  Like "Flesh Wound", lol.    -Jon

LibraryThing – Ever Heard Of It?

Neither had I, until a fellow author friend asked me if I "was going to put "Flesh Wound" on there to get some reviews".  So I went to the site sswww.librarything.com (and don't forget the 'ss' before the 'www' or you won't get anywhere) and discovered that it is a well-established social networking site for people who love books.  They have over 1,000,000 members, and once you've joined you can enter all the books in your personal library, reviews of them, and join groups to talk about them, much like Facebook or MySpace.

The site specifically caters to readers (rather than editors or publishers, which is a welcome and interesting development in how readers are able to connect with authors – suddenly, there is no behemoth corporate middle man), and if you are a published author you can register on the site as such.  This entitles you to a shiny yellow symbol on your home page with "LT Author" emblazoned across it, as well as two very interesting opportunities.

The first is setting up author chats.  You set up a two-week window of time where you, as the author, vow to check in to LibraryThing daily (at least) and answer questions via blog or live chat that are posed by any other members of LibraryThing.  It's like doing a virtual reading, or having a virtual book club.  Current and prospective readers get answers right from the author.  I will be signing up for this as soon as I have taken advantage of the other opportunity for authors on LibraryThing, which is…

… member giveaways.  Here, an author provides free copies of their book for LibraryThing members to review.  Here's how it works.  As the author, I register for a Member Giveaway on the site and specify how many copies of my book I want to give away.  I've chosen 15.  Then, LibraryThing members have two weeks to read a short blurb about the book, an even shorter message from me, and decide that yes, they would like a free copy of my book.  In return, they promise to post a review of the book, either on LibraryThing or on amazon.com, where the book is available.  If more than 15 members say they want a free review copy of Flesh Wound, there is a random drawing held by LibraryThing and 15 members are chosen to receive the book.  Those names and addresses are forwarded to me, and I am responsible for mailing them a copy of Flesh Wound.

I signed up Flesh Wound for this member giveaway on 9/8, and so far 92 members have said they want a copy!  After looking at the other books in the giveaway, the ratio of 15 books offered to 92 requested, with nine days left for members to request the book, is pretty good!  So I'll be curious to see how many have requested the book by the time 9/22 rolls around, the date the giveaway request period for FW ends.

After some of the reviews on FW start rolling in, I'll sign up for an author chat.  That will be fascinating – I can't wait to see what people who I don't know at all have to say/ask about Flesh Wound.

Have a terrific week!  I'm going back to revising "All the Creatures Were Stirring", which ought to be done by the end of this week.  In the meantime, read something today that makes you forget where you are!  -Jon

OK, I Made The Newspaper… Now What?

Yesterday was a fun day.  I opened the NOW section of the daily paper to page three and there was the story on Jon Say.  (see pic at left)  I read it, of course, and it was very odd to read a story in my daily newspaper and have it be about me.  It was like seeing something you recognize in a place you'd never expect it to be, like walking down a beach in Barbados and seeing your next door neighbor walking towards you.  I was thrilled that they ran a picture of the cover of the book as well.  I think that looked a lot better than the picture of me!

Speaking of which, in case you were curious, now you can put a face with my name. 

OK, so the article was great and all that, but now what?  PR is a funny thing – you get really excited when the news comes out and you know people are seeing it, but then there is really nothing else to do.  You hope people are now aware of you and go to your website, or to amazon.com and buy your book, but that is sort of it.  I'm not at the stage yet where there is a big book tour to look forward to and plan, so I have to choose what I'm going to do next.

Luckily for writers, there is always the welcome escape and task of writing.  I've spent this week reviewing the prequel to "Flesh Wound", titled "All The Creatures Were Stirring".  Longtime Jon Say fans will recognize this Max Chandler novel from several years ago, and in fact it was available for Kindle on amazon.com for a long time under my given name up until recently.  I am revising this novel to be a formal prequel to Flesh Wound.  All this means is that I'm changing some details for continuity purposes – such as including Sam, Max' daughter, in the book, as well as altering some scenes so that people who have read Flesh Wound will understand the relationships in Creatures.  Danni McCullough, Max' partner from Homicide, and her brother Michael play central roles in Creatures.  I want readers to recognize them whether they read Creatures prior to Flesh Wound or vice versa.

I expect this revision work to be completed in two weeks.  Then I will write a killer cover letter and send it out to agents, looking to get representation.  After all that is done, it's time to start the sequel to Flesh Wound.  That is something I cannot wait to get after!

Have a terrific weekend!  Take some time for yourself and discover an entirely different world in a great story!  -Jon

Newspaper Story on Jon Say Now Available Online

True to their word, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has posted the article about me on the Hales Corners NOW website.  The link to the article is shown below.  You can either cut and paste it into your browser to see the article, or you can click on the link on the right hand side of this page, under the "Follow Jon Say Here" heading.

http://www.myhalescornersnow.com/news...

Final Cover for Flesh Wound

For those of you who are first time visitors to my website, welcome!  The "Short Stories" tab is where you'll find several of the stories I've written, including two that have been published this year.  Click on any of the links to read them for free!  Under the "Novels" tab you will find a link to Chapter 1 of "Flesh Wound", and if you like it and want to read more you will find the link to purchase "Flesh Wound" from Amazon.com and other online retailers on the right hand side of every page of the site.

Thanks for visiting, and I hope you enjoy the writing here!  Feel free to leave comments here or email me at jon@jonsay.com.  Have a great day!  -Jon