A. Lopez Jr.'s Blog, page 2
April 28, 2013
My Interview at Fate Books
I was interviewed at Author, Y. Correa’s website and blog, Fate Books. Plenty of questions and insight to what makes me tick. Thanks go out to Fate Books and Y. Correa for the interview and the time!
http://ycorreafb.blogspot.com/
http://ycorreafb.blogspot.com/
April 17, 2013
Exclusive... To Be or Not To Be?
To be exclusive or not to be?
That’s a question that has been floating around the self-publishing world for some time now. Many blogs and articles have been written on this front. It seems that every few months, either because of technology – or just because of the powers-that-be move forward with a new idea – things change and a new way of thinking must be incorporated into the self-publisher’s mind. The question for authors who do not have a traditional publishing deal, is deciding which way to go – exclusive or non-exclusive.
I’ve been writing for three years and self-published my first book, Purgatory, in November of 2011. A year later, I put up my second piece of work, Night Dreams. From late 2011 until now, 18 months have passed, and I have calculated my sales over that time. Although it is a short period of time, it is enough of a sample-size for me to conquer the question mentioned above, as it pertains to my sales.
Amazon is king for just about every author’s sales, and for some, it grabs a much higher percentage than the other ebook stores, and sometimes more than the others combined. Amazon’s KDP Select is enticing to many because of the various perks that are included with it, along with five days where you can put your book up for free. KDP Select is the big arm that Amazon has extended to authors. It’s hard to blame any author for giving it a spin in their strategy to generate more recognition and or sales for their book. Author, Joe Konrath has blogged about this many times. To each his own, and more power to you if you make it work for you. After all, we are all in it because we love to write. Getting your work recognized is what comes next.
In calculating my sales, I looked at percentages. It better represents an overview of where my books are being bought, and gives a clear view of what my future strategy may be. The numbers break down like this…
Over the past 18 months, Amazon leads my sales at 36%. Following them at second and third in my sales are Barnes and Noble with 25% and Apple with 22%. That adds up to 83% of my total sales. The Big 3 are holding their own in my sales. The last two rounding out my total sales are Sony with 10% and Kobo with 7%. While those numbers are a little lower, my foreign sales have come mainly through Kobo. (Apple comes in right behind them) Kobo’s reach outside the US is significant and getting stronger. Plus, they have just released their new HD reader, Aura. Only time will tell if that picks up their business, and if it affects their percentage within my sales.
As a side-note, my last few sales have come from Kobo and Apple, and those particular sales have been outside of the US. At any rate, the numbers are the numbers and it bears out the fact that it’s a pretty even “selling field” for me.
What does it all mean? My sales, in the overall scheme of things, really don’t mean anything to anyone but me. But, it did answer my question – to be exclusive or not to be?
Answer: I’ll remain in a monogamous relationship with all of the ebook retailers . . . for now, anyway!
~ALJ~
That’s a question that has been floating around the self-publishing world for some time now. Many blogs and articles have been written on this front. It seems that every few months, either because of technology – or just because of the powers-that-be move forward with a new idea – things change and a new way of thinking must be incorporated into the self-publisher’s mind. The question for authors who do not have a traditional publishing deal, is deciding which way to go – exclusive or non-exclusive.
I’ve been writing for three years and self-published my first book, Purgatory, in November of 2011. A year later, I put up my second piece of work, Night Dreams. From late 2011 until now, 18 months have passed, and I have calculated my sales over that time. Although it is a short period of time, it is enough of a sample-size for me to conquer the question mentioned above, as it pertains to my sales.
Amazon is king for just about every author’s sales, and for some, it grabs a much higher percentage than the other ebook stores, and sometimes more than the others combined. Amazon’s KDP Select is enticing to many because of the various perks that are included with it, along with five days where you can put your book up for free. KDP Select is the big arm that Amazon has extended to authors. It’s hard to blame any author for giving it a spin in their strategy to generate more recognition and or sales for their book. Author, Joe Konrath has blogged about this many times. To each his own, and more power to you if you make it work for you. After all, we are all in it because we love to write. Getting your work recognized is what comes next.
In calculating my sales, I looked at percentages. It better represents an overview of where my books are being bought, and gives a clear view of what my future strategy may be. The numbers break down like this…
Over the past 18 months, Amazon leads my sales at 36%. Following them at second and third in my sales are Barnes and Noble with 25% and Apple with 22%. That adds up to 83% of my total sales. The Big 3 are holding their own in my sales. The last two rounding out my total sales are Sony with 10% and Kobo with 7%. While those numbers are a little lower, my foreign sales have come mainly through Kobo. (Apple comes in right behind them) Kobo’s reach outside the US is significant and getting stronger. Plus, they have just released their new HD reader, Aura. Only time will tell if that picks up their business, and if it affects their percentage within my sales.
As a side-note, my last few sales have come from Kobo and Apple, and those particular sales have been outside of the US. At any rate, the numbers are the numbers and it bears out the fact that it’s a pretty even “selling field” for me.
What does it all mean? My sales, in the overall scheme of things, really don’t mean anything to anyone but me. But, it did answer my question – to be exclusive or not to be?
Answer: I’ll remain in a monogamous relationship with all of the ebook retailers . . . for now, anyway!
~ALJ~
April 14, 2013
January 8, 2013
Giveaway Done ... And
Starting Out
2013 has arrived and already is moving into its second week. I wanted to start 2013 with a Giveaway on Goodreads for Episode #1 of Night Dreams. 761 souls signed up for a chance to win 3 copies, and I appreciate everyone for their interest and their time, to sign up. The three paperback copies were mailed out today, and I hope to hear back from the winners at some point after reading it.
Short-Range Goals
If you write and take it seriously, then you know goals have to be set. They have to be not only set, but those goals (self-imposed deadlines) have to be reached. Reached, if you want to make progress in your projects, books, and goals. My first goal this year is to finish my novella Floor Four. If you are a self-publisher, then you know just writing and finishing the story is not the end of it. 1st draft, 2nd draft … editing, beta-readers, and formatting (ebook & print). It’s a non-stop process that many of you know well.
After that is done I will put the finishing touches on Episode #2 of Night Dreams – Andrea’s Demon. I’m setting my short-range goals in 2-month blocks. So every two months I will have completed 1/6 of my overall (yearly) goal.
For me, that is how 2013 will start. Along with the previously mentioned projects, there are plenty of leftovers from 2012 to be finished. (I guess my goals for 2012 didn’t all get done as planned!)
It’s never-ending, but you really gotta love what you do to continue the fight.
~ALJ~
2013 has arrived and already is moving into its second week. I wanted to start 2013 with a Giveaway on Goodreads for Episode #1 of Night Dreams. 761 souls signed up for a chance to win 3 copies, and I appreciate everyone for their interest and their time, to sign up. The three paperback copies were mailed out today, and I hope to hear back from the winners at some point after reading it.
Short-Range Goals
If you write and take it seriously, then you know goals have to be set. They have to be not only set, but those goals (self-imposed deadlines) have to be reached. Reached, if you want to make progress in your projects, books, and goals. My first goal this year is to finish my novella Floor Four. If you are a self-publisher, then you know just writing and finishing the story is not the end of it. 1st draft, 2nd draft … editing, beta-readers, and formatting (ebook & print). It’s a non-stop process that many of you know well.
After that is done I will put the finishing touches on Episode #2 of Night Dreams – Andrea’s Demon. I’m setting my short-range goals in 2-month blocks. So every two months I will have completed 1/6 of my overall (yearly) goal.
For me, that is how 2013 will start. Along with the previously mentioned projects, there are plenty of leftovers from 2012 to be finished. (I guess my goals for 2012 didn’t all get done as planned!)
It’s never-ending, but you really gotta love what you do to continue the fight.
~ALJ~
December 21, 2012
Night Dreams Giveaway
I hope the Holidays are going well for everyone. Through the Goodreads Giveaway Program, I am doing my third giveaway since joining. This one is for the 1st episode in my
Night Dreams
series.
The Beginning
is the title of the first installment. It runs just over 24,000 words and centers around a Dream Psychologist's secret gift to listen to his patient's nightmares and enter their dreams, thus finding the way for them deal with their increasing horror and inevitable death. His gift gives him the ability to change the outcome by living/dreaming it as them. For more info on the giveaway, click
here
.
Thank you, and Good Luck!
~ALJ~
Thank you, and Good Luck!
~ALJ~
December 8, 2012
End Of Year Is Here
With Thanksgiving coming and going before we knew it, December is here and moving fast. From a writing perspective, setting goals and self-imposed deadlines, and keeping them, is a task, with everything else going on during the holidays. For me, getting the print copy of Night Dreams-E1 The Beginning, proofed and edited (formatting), has taken the biggest amount of time. Hoping to get that out to family and friends for Christmas. Goodreads and WordPress giveaways to follow soon after…stay tuned.
I am also finishing up my novella Floor Four (part of Purgatory-13 Tales of the Macabre). It is coming along nicely and will easily be over 20,000 words when all is said and done. Details on that to follow soon.
So, with my plate full going into the end-of-the-year rush, I’ll be keeping busy, and looking forward to hearing how your writing, and or reading, is going?
~ALJ~
I am also finishing up my novella Floor Four (part of Purgatory-13 Tales of the Macabre). It is coming along nicely and will easily be over 20,000 words when all is said and done. Details on that to follow soon.
So, with my plate full going into the end-of-the-year rush, I’ll be keeping busy, and looking forward to hearing how your writing, and or reading, is going?
~ALJ~
November 9, 2012
Pre-Halloween to Present...
It has been a busy time since just before Halloween, and continues on now, but I was able to get Episode One of my horror series Night Dreams, done. E1-The Beginning, takes Dr. Joseph Rickettes back in time to when he discovered his gift, and how it changed his life forever. The novella finished at just shy of 25,000 words.
After I was satisfied with the story, and after three drafts and editing, the formatting began for all of the various retailers, I was able to get the eBook in Amazon’s Kindle store by my self-imposed deadline of Halloween. Barnes & Noble’s Nook soon followed, with all of the other e-reading platforms soon to follow.
This was my first attempt at using Scrivener for the writing. With it being new to me, I made the most of it by using all of the needed functions to get the story done. There is a lot more to discover with the program, but I plan to continue using it alongside Microsoft Word for my future works. The conversion to mobi, epub, pdf…etc worked well for me, and as I get to know Scrivener more, I’m sure I will find more of the helpful features it has.
In all, the Night Dreams project was fun, and I find that setting those deadlines helps to keep you moving along in those times when you may not feel the writing-vibe hitting you. Episode Two – Andrea’s Demon, coming soon.
Hope your writing and reading are going well.
~ALJ~
After I was satisfied with the story, and after three drafts and editing, the formatting began for all of the various retailers, I was able to get the eBook in Amazon’s Kindle store by my self-imposed deadline of Halloween. Barnes & Noble’s Nook soon followed, with all of the other e-reading platforms soon to follow.
This was my first attempt at using Scrivener for the writing. With it being new to me, I made the most of it by using all of the needed functions to get the story done. There is a lot more to discover with the program, but I plan to continue using it alongside Microsoft Word for my future works. The conversion to mobi, epub, pdf…etc worked well for me, and as I get to know Scrivener more, I’m sure I will find more of the helpful features it has.
In all, the Night Dreams project was fun, and I find that setting those deadlines helps to keep you moving along in those times when you may not feel the writing-vibe hitting you. Episode Two – Andrea’s Demon, coming soon.
Hope your writing and reading are going well.
~ALJ~
October 19, 2012
"Night Dreams" Cover Unveil
I have completed the first story (episode 1) of my horror series
Night Dreams
. It checks in at over 22,000 words before editing, which is taking place right now. Episode 1 is titled The Beginning, and details, how it all started for Dream Psychologist Dr. Joseph Rickettes. I hope to have it available in eBook format by Halloween.
Here is a synopsis: Serialized fiction that follows a Dream Psychologist, Dr, Joseph Rickettes, who has no choice but to live out the nightmares of his patients in hopes of curing them of their demons. He is bound by the demons in their dreams, while he struggles to make sense of the nightmares that plague his own life.
I am working on Episode 2, yet to be titled, and plan on having that out soon.
I will be unveiling the cover art for the horror novella Floor Four within the next couple of weeks.
Here is a synopsis: Serialized fiction that follows a Dream Psychologist, Dr, Joseph Rickettes, who has no choice but to live out the nightmares of his patients in hopes of curing them of their demons. He is bound by the demons in their dreams, while he struggles to make sense of the nightmares that plague his own life.
I am working on Episode 2, yet to be titled, and plan on having that out soon.
I will be unveiling the cover art for the horror novella Floor Four within the next couple of weeks.
August 29, 2012
Update
It’s been awhile since I last ‘blogged’, which may make it look as if I haven’t been very busy. Even Twitter has suffered in the last couple of months. Aside from work and everyday life’s needs keeping me busy, I have been working on a couple of different projects that I hope to have done and out to the masses by Halloween, (we will see if that works out the way I hope).
I am working on three different writing projects personally, and I am also working with Kathryn Stelher, who is finishing her first romance novel Time Doesn’t Wait, to be published under the Ace-Hil-Ink brand. I’m not one for reading romance stories, but I do look forward to reading and helping with editing her final product. She plans on releasing it this December.
Of the projects that I am working on, the one that is taking a majority of my time is my Serialized Fiction Series Night Dreams. – A Dream-Psychologist takes in patients who are having horrific nightmares that feel so real and dangerous that they seek help in a psychologist who specializes in extreme nightmares. Dr. Rickettes has a talent, skill, or curse that helps him rid them of their nightmares - I plan for each episode to be in the short story/novella range of 15,000 to 20,000 words. The first one, yet to be sub-titled is already in the 13,000-word neighborhood.
I am also working on finishing my novella Floor Four. This story was released in my book, Purgatory-13 Tales of the Macabre, last October. The abrupt ending, (no spoilers here), is what I am working on, to be released as a stand-alone story. It is by far the longest of the 13 stories in Purgatory and was originally planned to be its own novella. But as I was in the middle of writing it last year, I decided to put it in the book as a teaser. Again, I hope to have this out by Halloween.
My third project is a shift in genre. It is a baseball story that I am dedicating to my father. He taught me everything i know about the great sport. I have no deadline on this one as I am taking my time to take in all of the accounts of my personal experiences. It will be fiction with a lot of real life experiences mixed in.
That’s the update. I plan on posting more often. I hope your writing, reading, or whatever keeps you busy is going well!
~ALJ~
I am working on three different writing projects personally, and I am also working with Kathryn Stelher, who is finishing her first romance novel Time Doesn’t Wait, to be published under the Ace-Hil-Ink brand. I’m not one for reading romance stories, but I do look forward to reading and helping with editing her final product. She plans on releasing it this December.
Of the projects that I am working on, the one that is taking a majority of my time is my Serialized Fiction Series Night Dreams. – A Dream-Psychologist takes in patients who are having horrific nightmares that feel so real and dangerous that they seek help in a psychologist who specializes in extreme nightmares. Dr. Rickettes has a talent, skill, or curse that helps him rid them of their nightmares - I plan for each episode to be in the short story/novella range of 15,000 to 20,000 words. The first one, yet to be sub-titled is already in the 13,000-word neighborhood.
I am also working on finishing my novella Floor Four. This story was released in my book, Purgatory-13 Tales of the Macabre, last October. The abrupt ending, (no spoilers here), is what I am working on, to be released as a stand-alone story. It is by far the longest of the 13 stories in Purgatory and was originally planned to be its own novella. But as I was in the middle of writing it last year, I decided to put it in the book as a teaser. Again, I hope to have this out by Halloween.
My third project is a shift in genre. It is a baseball story that I am dedicating to my father. He taught me everything i know about the great sport. I have no deadline on this one as I am taking my time to take in all of the accounts of my personal experiences. It will be fiction with a lot of real life experiences mixed in.
That’s the update. I plan on posting more often. I hope your writing, reading, or whatever keeps you busy is going well!
~ALJ~
June 22, 2012
The Walking Dead or Falling Skies – By Land or By Sky
Being a fan of a few different television series, I found a similarity in two of them that I watch – The Walking Dead on AMC and Falling Skies on TNT. The former falls into the Zombie-Horror genre, while the latter is Sci-Fi. My first book, Purgatory, has 13 short stories and is my take on horror. None of the stories have a Zombie or Sci-Fi angle, but I plan to try my hand at those in the future.
The similarities between the two series are the, something has happened to our world theme, which is usually interesting if done right. The Walking Dead follows a group of survivors trying to find their way and learn more about what has happened and what their future holds. Falling Skies takes a similar path, only this time aliens are taking over. Groups of survivors are in the same situation of survival and learning how to defeat, what seems to be a superior enemy.
I am a fan of books, movies, and TV series that follow this trend. These two series, in my opinion, are done very well. The initial big-event happens, survivor groups are formed and the learning process begins. The stories then follow the main characters, and their own struggles and demons in dealing with, either a dead loved-one, or of them moving forward in the relationships that they forge with their fellow survivors.
As I said, I have not written a story in either genre, but they both appeal to me, so for any authors out there that have done work in either zombie-horror or sci-fi, what do you think of the two series I mentioned? (If you watch) And, if so, are they realistic from a writer’s point of view? What would you do differently if you wrote a story to base either series on?
~ALJ~
The similarities between the two series are the, something has happened to our world theme, which is usually interesting if done right. The Walking Dead follows a group of survivors trying to find their way and learn more about what has happened and what their future holds. Falling Skies takes a similar path, only this time aliens are taking over. Groups of survivors are in the same situation of survival and learning how to defeat, what seems to be a superior enemy.
I am a fan of books, movies, and TV series that follow this trend. These two series, in my opinion, are done very well. The initial big-event happens, survivor groups are formed and the learning process begins. The stories then follow the main characters, and their own struggles and demons in dealing with, either a dead loved-one, or of them moving forward in the relationships that they forge with their fellow survivors.
As I said, I have not written a story in either genre, but they both appeal to me, so for any authors out there that have done work in either zombie-horror or sci-fi, what do you think of the two series I mentioned? (If you watch) And, if so, are they realistic from a writer’s point of view? What would you do differently if you wrote a story to base either series on?
~ALJ~
