Michael W. Lucas's Blog, page 25

Selling Direct and Customer Support

I have my ebookshop at tiltedwindmillpress.com, and it’s a great defense against online retailers deciding that they don’t want my business. But sometimes it comes back to bite me.

I don’t want your personal information, unless things go wrong. But when it goes wrong, I have no way to contact you.

I got an email today from antonio@z*****.com, saying they hadn’t gotten the BookFunnel email for their purchase. They had received the receipt from me. It happens. I replied, and my maillog spat out:

M...

BSDCan 2023 Tutorial: OpenBSD Storage Management

I’ll be teaching a four-hour tutorial on OpenBSD storage management at BSDCan 2023. As you might imagine, it’s based on OpenBSD Mastery: Filesystems.

I am pleased to see BSDCan returning to meatspace. Yes, the pandemic is ongoing, and I don’t blame folks who decide not to attend. The main reason I chose to attend is that the concom (which I’m a member of) has chosen to enforce a stringent mask policy. Yes, I know you have the right to not wear a mask in public. BSDCan is a private event for a co...

Jan/Feb 2023 Column Out in the FreeBSD Journal

Somehow, I’ve written 28 “We Get Letters” columns for the FreeBSD Journal. The latest is out. I’m amazed that they haven’t given me the boot yet, especially as I’m attempting to channel Michael Bywater’s brilliant “Bargepole” column from the unforgivably murdered weekly “Punch.” At best I’ve achieved a tenth of Bargepole’s vitriolic geezerliciousness, but seeing as Bargepole contained enough vitriol to kill a beluga whale I expected them to ban me years ago.

You can get all the columns for free ...

New Short Story: “The Rats’ Man’s Lackey and the Half Gallon of Christmas Miracle”

Me in 2014: “Okay, you’ve published post-apocalyptic sci-fi novels. Stay in that genre, don’t dilute your brand.”

Me in 2015: “Okay, you’ve published post-apocalyptic sci-fi novels and bright future sci-fi. That’s not bad.”

Me in 2016: “Okay, you’ve published post-apocalyptic sci-fi novels, bright future sci-fi, and crime thrillers. They’re all exciting stuff, but focus on the types of things you’ve published. You aren’t Iain M Banks, even if a W looks like an upside-down M.”

Me in 2017: “You do...

Comparing Kickstarters

Comparing how two different books sell is foolish. Books are not fungible. Comparing how two different marketing campaigns do is likewise foolish. Neither marketing, nor readers, nor economic conditions are interchangeable.

But bear with me for a moment while I do it anyway.

The Kickstarter campaign for the Prohibition Orcs duology brought in about $11,000. Which, while not Brandon Sanderson’s millions, was way cool.

I intended to use the Devotion and Corrosion campaign to compare “Kickstarter w...

“Devotion and Corrosion” Kickstarter now live

The Kickstarter for my new collection, Devotion and Corrosion, is live. It funded in twenty minutes and broke the first stretch goal in two hours, which means I get to use ZZ Claybourne’s fantastic foreword.

When I write something, I have no idea if it works as I intended until it bounces off another person. ZZ’s foreword says that not only does the book work, it works as I hoped it would.

If you want signed copies of this book, this is how you get them.

If you’re looking deals on other books, ...

Triple Threat February: Cheap Orcs, Reading, and Kicking

If you’re looking for a deal on my first Prohibition Orcs book, check out the Fantasy Steampunk bundle. You can get ten excellent books for as little as $20, and help out AbleGamers while you’re at it.

I regularly read all of the authors, and they reliably put out top-tier words. I’ve even read several of these books, and they were fantastic. I read Collins’ bundle-exclusive Clockwork Princess before it was published, and immediately demanded the sequel. You will too.

This bundle particularly e...

Online Public Reading, 9 Big-Name Writers and Me

Sunday, February 5, 7pm-8:30pm EST, I’ll be one of ten authors doing a live online reading. Roaring Back at the Lion of Winter is free, but you need to register beforehand. Why require registration if it’s free? It helps keep the trolls out. The Door Goon will be checking names off the attendee list before admitting folks, just like any other exclusive gathering of cultural elites.

Why is it exclusive? Well, here’s the other authors.

Zig Zag Claybourne, Linda Addison, Charlie Jane Anders, Martha...

Shipping OMF

I spent today dealing with the “OpenBSD Mastery: Filesystems” sponsor, Patronizer, and pre-order shipments.

The first lesson I’ve learned is, I was too flexible for someone so easily perplexed. If I do pre-orders again folks will get the option to buy just the one book, in paperback or hardcover. That’s it. Checking and double-checking all the possible option takes up a lot of brain space.

More annoyingly, I’ve had to delay a full third of my non-US #omfilesystems preorders, and a few of the US ...

“OpenBSD Mastery: Filesystems” hardcovers are here

By “here,” I mean “in my living room.

64 of them. A nice even number!

I’ll be packing Patronizer and sponsor books first, then complicated preorders, then single-copy preorders. I don’t know if I’ll have them all done today. I might. Paperbacks arrive tomorrow, so I hope so.

You know, maybe one of these days I can do some writing? Sigh…