Lily Neon Vagabond's Blog, page 15

Cottonseeds, Issue No. 1

I'm excited and exhausted, but mostly excited to announce Cottonseeds will be available very soon. I estimate about a week. The artwork is finished (FINALLY). I need to put together a copyright page but that will be dead easy and take no time at all. I'm also waiting for the ISBN that should be sent to me within a week. Well, hopefully.

The issue will be available as a free download for the first 24 hours in the online store, after that, 99 cents. If you want to know the exact moment it's available, sign up for the newletter.

Hold on to your hats, we're real close now!

Lily's Online Store

After a lot of ups and downs I've decided to create an online store and sell my own digital products.  I can easily create all digital content myself, and I'd rather do that than jump through so many impossible hoops. First, my graphic novels, then, I'll go from there. I'm not able to provide print versions yet, but I'll let you know.

Keep an eye on this page, a work in progress.

Decisions

I've decided to throw schedules out the window. Updates for the graphic novels will happen whenever they happen. I've also decided to not update until I have at least half an issue. So, longer wait, but more satisfication in the end.

I'll continue with video teasers in the between space in time.

Speaking of which, here's the video for Cottonseeds, Issue 2.

Smokin' Video

The Ash Garden, Chapter 3 poem page has been uploaded. View it here.

I highly recommend subscribing to the newsletters if you want to know about updates right away. Otherwise, no guarantees.

Newsletters

In the meantime, I'm sighing in relief. I've eliminated a lot of pressure. Who knows? I just might update faster now that all the pressure is gone. After all, I'm doing this for free. No need to pressure myself about anything.

And anyone who tries to pressure me, go to hell and I mean that in the nicest way possible. Enjoy the new material!

Graphic Novels - here, there, and everywhere.

Wow, it's been a while.

If you're not following me on my Facebook Author page or Tumblr (why aren't you following me there? Why?), there's been a few updates.

5 new pages have been added to Cottonseeds, see them here.

Second Cottonseeds trailer video here.

The Ash Garden, Chapter 2, is now available here.

In other news, the other day I came up with an idea to help indie authors. Find out the genre of your book! It would go something like this:

Is there romance?

Yes - Romance genre


Are there 2 or more sex scences?

Yes - Erotica

Are there sex scenes in every chapter?

Yes - Porn. You wrote porn. Deal with it.

I thought it would be fun to do this, a diagram or something, for all genres. But then I got bored and moved on.

Update and Apology

This blog is linked to my author FB page, and for some reason I can't unlink. I've tried everything. So, there will be duplicate posts as I post updates with all of my social media accounts. I'll try to mix it up so it's not too tedius.


Moving on. The first 14 pages of Chapter 2 are now available. Check it out!

The Chapter 2 video is also available. Watch it now!

Full Chapter 1 for The Ash Garden

The full Chapter 1 is now available.

http://lilyauthor.com/ashgarden/

Watch the full trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyfGP-VOM1g&feature=em-upload_owner#action=share

Chapter 2 will be coming in January.

I'm now in the process of pursuing publishing. I will contiue posting pages on my website.

Enjoy!

The Fine Print of Online Publishing

I go through phases every time I encounter yet another false statement on the internet about publishing. First, anger. How dare you say something so ignorant! Second, bargaining. Please, Look at these links of important articles that prove what you said is wrong! Last, sadness. I find it unfortunate you must insist on this false statement, I guess there isn't a choice.
I usually keep the first two phases in my head. After all, I'm not god. I'm not some kind of supreme expert on everything and don't have the right to verbally dump on anyone. More often than not, I grit my teeth while counting to five, then move on to the last phase. Of course, if you catch me at the wrong moment you will see my wrath.
I've thought about writing an article about the history of publishing many times, with the perspective of online publishing, in hopes of getting online authors to understand. Each time I thought about it, I would change my mind. What's the point? I would ask myself. Some people get it, and some just don't. Book spammers will spam, trolls will be trolls, haters will hate. Why bother?
Well, today, I've decided to post an article. I don't expect to revolutionize the world. At the very least, all facts are compiled in one article. It's the least I can do.
I realize this is a long article (three pages) but I hope you'll read everything.
History of Printing and Publishing Houses
The first movable type European printer was invented by Johannes Gutenberg in 1439. Americans and the Brittish were the only ones who had any interest in profiting from printed books. Publishing houses popped up in the very early 20th century, after the industrial revolution changed the face of printing. Authors paid printers themselves for over 400years before the first publishing house existed.
Self-publishing gave birth to publishing houses. Traditional publishing would not exist today if it weren't for 400 years' worth of self-published authors.
If an author who had paid a printer found they couldn't sell any copies, mainly because it was a bad book that no one wanted to read, then they didn't pay for another print-run, because they didn't make a profit. That bad book was forgotten and lost in history.
Traditional Publishing
Penguin Books was the first traditional publisher to do a print-run of paperback books in 1935 and revolutionized the concept of publishing for commercial profit. Traditional publishing, in the course of printing history, is brand-new. Some publishers are older, and many are very young. Either way, it's traditional publishing that's new.
Traditional publishing is based on a specific model, or formula if you will, that became commercial fiction. While I have read, and continue to read, many good commercial fiction books, I also see the disadvantage of using commercial fiction as a business model. It's been too long, using the same formulas over and over. Stuck in rut. Each book utterly predictable. Readers just aren't buying it anymore. Unable to change because they don't know how to make money using any other business model. Authors losing money and support.
In many ways, I feel sorry for those involved in traditional publishing. Things will have to change, but there's no way change can happen, at this point in time, without a massive financial loss. Of course, the ideal saving grace would be to start accepting totally different books that already have an established fanbase guaranteed to buy millions of copies.

Traditional publishing has been making the effort. Fifty Shades of Grey is traditionally published and it initially started with a massive fanbase. A brave attempt and a big gamble. The whole thing could have easily backfired and everyone involved would have been left with eggs on their faces. But that didn't happen. Instead, it worked and a lot of money was had.
It's not the first book. Traditional publishers have been “buying” fanfiction authors with an established fanbase for over five years now. I won't name anyone and I won't provide any links. That's up to the authors and it's none of my business. I'm only mentioning this fact in case anyone wondered where the influx of low quality traditional books came from. It's just marketing, designed to feed the fans. If the fans don't have standards, neither will the book. That influence has negatively affected many aspects of traditional publishing, and the readers see it.
I will, however, state for the record that just because an author starts out writing fanfiction does notautomatically make them a bad writer.
To be honest, I don't believe for one second that accepting derivative fiction inspired by fanfiction will save traditional publishing. I honestly feel that some of the supposed success stories we're seeing now are nothing more than the dying end of an era. Too many people scrambling around and throwing all eggs in one basket. It's guaranteed to implode, if it hasn't already, but perhaps it will last just barely long enough for people to enjoy it within their lifetime. Like watching a dying sunset.
I know that traditional publishing will always exist. There will always be people who try to make money from fictional stories on a commercial level. It's not an either/or situation. The idea of choosing this side over thatside is false. An illusion created by those who know nothing about the history of publishing. Traditional publishing just hasn't figured out a new model yet that would guarantee a specific long-lasting revenue in order to survive this century. Maybe 400 years from now things will be better.
Gatekeepers
A myth. There are no gatekeepers and there never were any gatekeepers. If your book doesn't fit that century old commercial fiction model, if you don't have connections or a fanbase, you will be rejected. Is this a bad thing? No. Traditional publishing has never been the only way to get a book out there and make money. It's just one way. It simply means the model isn't for your writing. Proceed to the next possible way of getting your book out there. There's always another way and always has been, ever since the first European printer was invented in 1439.
I cringe every time I see people moaning online about the mythical gatekeepers. I'm going to be brutally honest. The only gatekeepers I see are authors determined to sabotage themselves.
Print on Demand
Or POD, as many people call it. POD is the only thing that's new in publishing, for the first time in centuries. It's a good business model and it makes a lot of sense. Instead of paying a printer directly for a print-run of 5000 books, the cost of printing is deducted from the sale of each book. A fantastic business model. However...
Print on Demand is not self-publishing.
It's a tool, just like a printer is only a tool. How that tool is used is the sole responsibility of the author. Many vanity presses also use POD,  America Star Books formerly PublishAmerica being the prime example. Of course, that's a scam and no one deserves to be victimized by a vanity press. Regardless, POD will never do everything for an author. It's a tool to enable authors to share their work in a cost effective manner, in the exact same way a kitchen knife is a tool when preparing a dinner. But a kitchen knife will never cook a whole meal for you. POD is an aid, but it's by no means a substitute.
In early 2000, POD companies popped up online and authors started using these companies to publish their work.Lulu Press Inc. was one of the first. It was a difficult time. Uncommon and it wasn't taken seriously apart from authors' friends and family. Too new for school. Almost fifteen years later, it's not only become the norm, it's been completely misconstrued. I miss the time when authors would say, “I decided to publish my own book using this print on demand service.” Just like paying a printer. Self-publishing.
Contracts weren't involved back then. The author had full control over everything, ranging from cover design to prices. But they didn't have control over the online retailers. It was embarrassing for many and made it very obvious this is a self-published book. It made it look like it wasn't a real book. And of course, only friends and family would even consider buying a book that had nothing more than a grey background and a silhouette of a human head as a cover.
That problem doesn't seem to exist anymore. I couldn't even find an example. Things move really fast on the internet. It wasn't that long ago that google blogger didn't have a spellcheck.
The relationship between PODs and retailers remained tentative until Amazon and B&N started offering their own POD service. During this between time, those who had published with a POD company had to price their books very high to see any kind of royalty, after retail mark-up, taxes, cost of distribution, etc, etc. It wasn't until the Kindle was introduced in 2007, providing a means for retail distribution so the POD books could be read, that this relationship began to work. Not that long ago, all the things you can now get for free via CreateSpace, you had to pay for indiviually.
POD never saved publishing. It saved the online retailers.
Print on Demand is wonderful, but it has one fundamental flaw. There's no longer a deciding factor for bad books, indie or traditional, it doesn't matter, and they can't be forgotten anymore. The proof is in the pixel.
All Hope isn't Lost
Things are still changing. We all just have the unfortunate luck of existing right at that time, where we can watch the changes as it happen right this second.
Get informed. Learn the full history. Don't take anything for granted. Don't fall for online unsubstantiated rumors and misinformation. POD will continue to be a viable tool to publish a book and so will traditional publishing. Be smart. Get second opinions. Take full responsibility for yourself and your work, as an author.
Always read the fine print.

Trees

A couple of blocks away from my apartment building there was a massive tree whose root grew so big it broke apart the sidewalk. The broken section was like a pointed mountain, straight up and down. It was a serious hazard. Personally, I couldn't walk on that broken sidewalk at all. So I took the scenic route.

Instead of uprooting and destroying the tree, the city simply paved a smooth ramp over the root so the tree can now safely continue growing under the sidewalk.

There's always another way. No need for extremes. No need to scream any political agenda, no matter how well-intentioned that agenda might seem.

Don't scream. Whisper. Only then will the trees hear you.

Interview with a Lily

A fun interview I did recently with really good questions. Thanks, Justin!


Check it out: Interview

Ash Garden video #3

Latest video for the Ash Garden graphic novel. Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHaXk...

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