Michael Whetzel's Blog, page 4
February 7, 2013
iFiction! rolling along, CUBE update, and other tidbits....
Sorry it has been such a while since the last post. I have been working hard on CUBE and several other projects that have needed my attention. But more on that in a bit.
I just want to say one thing to start off: Screw you, typos!
There I said it. I feel a bit better. And I'm sorry I subjected you to that. But you see....typos are the bane of self publishing.
You have to remember, when someone decides to self publish, they are making a decision to replace the large support system and many resources a publishing company has to offer with.....well, themselves.
That means no professional editing service, no professional copy for the cover, no professional artwork, no professional agent/representation, and no money for marketing and touring and printing, and no money for distribution. It's just you, a computer, spellcheck, royalty free stock photos, Webster's dictionary, and a whole lot of nerve. And it takes a whole lot of nerve.
I compare it to Robert Rodriquez and the art of guerrilla film making. He made El Mariachi on $7000 budget. He did everything himself and even though it shows in the final product, its still a hell of a movie. (Side note: He's got plenty of money and still does everything himself, even performing and recording the soundtrack. That is something I can def admire.)
I am fortunate enough to have a very successful graphic artist in the family to help with artwork, and I know other graphic artists with a vast array of skills. That part is covered.
I learned formatting for the different platforms on my own. But now that I have made a few bucks I can stop skimping on a couple things, like paperback formatting. I decided to have both Black Rain books formatted by a pro and hired Rebecca at IndieMobi to do it. She was awesome and fast, and the result is a book interior that looks high quality. Well worth the investment.
But editing, oh editing. What a challenge. With the past few works I've managed to find someone I trust to place eyes on the finished project and take a red pen to it. She does a hell of a better job then I could ever do, and I do not mind paying her for the service. Professional editing is expensive, and independents usually sacrifice that part of the process, not because they want to, but because they can't afford it.
We do our best. We read and re-read and re-read again until we end up hating the work. We have others read it and help us find the errors and re-read it again after that.
But we are human, and even professionally published works have been known to have a typo or two.
What I'm saying is, if you want to support independent creativity and purchase self-published work, that's great. Kudos to you. And if you spot a typo, let me know. I want to know. But please be understanding about it. I do my best to produce the best work I can. And I'm still finding errors. It's the nature of the beast. And the beast can be an unforgiving pain in my rear.
Of course, I could just be a blathering, whiny idiot about the whole thing. But unfortunately my publishing company is not Random House or Simon & Schuster, it's Michael Whetzel. Unknown and looking to break in. So he can hire some professional editing. (Not a jab at you, Laura. You rock and I appreciate everything you do for me.)
On with the show....
iFiction! is up and running! No Quarter is out. What is it? Ok, I'll remind you. It's Everette Bell's first release for the imprint.
Bell describes it as "a homage to '70s exploitation films." If that doesn't get your juices running then obviously you hate the '70s. Which is just sad. I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but I did download the sample, and I blushed while reading it. Seems Bell has got a knack for using swear words. I thought I was bad in BOOM and BANDWIDTH, but Yowza. He's actually one-upped me. Which actually pisses me off. That does it. I'm off to write a prison thriller set in a zombie post-apocalyptic third world country. That'll show him.
Grab No Quarter here.
Here's the offical blurb:
A hard hitting story of two men, two warriors on opposite ends of the spectrum of law. But mirror images in spirit. Juice and James are desperate men, criminal and cop, hurled against each other in circumstances neither has chosen, but each has no choice but to face.
James is a twenty year veteran on the Bowling Green police force who struggles to keep inexperienced officers from turning their back on the law for total vengeance. Juice and his sociopath partners, Cuz and Ace, have taken refuge and hostages in Carter's Tattoo. Juice does his best to keep the slaughter under control.
No Quarter is a relentless, page-turning novella from Everete Bell, unapologetically harsh as the lives it describes.
John Fulk makes his iFiction!/kindle/writing/self-publishing debut tomorrow with Abaddon!.
And it will be FREE FREE FREE through Sunday!!!!!
Come see Fulk's twisted take on the Aladdin legend as only iFiction! can bring it to you.
Grab here for FREE tomorrow.
Mature reader. Contains adult language and adult situations. Chris is a down-on-his-luck pizza delivery driver. One day when the owner of a antique store stiffs him on a tip, Chris steals something from the store: an old oil lamp. Of course he's got to clean it up and when a mysterious stranger appears offering three wishes, Chris' humdrum life is turned upside down. Will all his dreams become reality or does the age old adage of "Be careful what you wish for" hold true for Chris? Find out in ABADDON, the debut novella from John Fulk.
CUBE, from yours truly, is late of course. But take a look at the word counter up there on the right. The original goal was 16,000+ words, the same length as Pied Piped of the Undead. We passed that a long time ago. I'm thinking it could actually hit close to 25,000. The story keeps growing and growing. And I like all the extra stuff. So it stays. I am aiming to have it complete this weekend and out in time for my birthday, the 12th. (I like money, blu-rays, and rare works of art, if you were wondering.) It is a pretty ambitious story, and I hope you enjoy it.
The first week of March will see me at James Madison University's annual Science Fiction/Fantasy convention. I will have paperback copies of the first two Black Rain books available as well as a new short story collection that will include all of the iFiction! stories from myself, including The Pied Piper of the Undead. I have the cover finished and printer waiting patiently. As soon as CUBE is complete, it will be available as an ebook collection too.
And last but not least, I intended to include a new Black Rain chapter with CUBE's release, but will delay that for the short story collection instead. CUBE is looking like an all-ages story. I did not want to exclude a younger audience from enjoying it because of the added bonus content. We are talking Day 1 of Tina's story here (and if you have read Black Rain, you know Tina is not for an all-ages group.)
That's it for now. I hope to have a blog discussing the ideas and decisions that went into the first 2 Black Rain books and what is coming up for the third. Also hope to have some audiobook news coming soon, and Blood Will Run details.
Enjoy the week,
Screw typos!
Mike
I just want to say one thing to start off: Screw you, typos!
There I said it. I feel a bit better. And I'm sorry I subjected you to that. But you see....typos are the bane of self publishing.
You have to remember, when someone decides to self publish, they are making a decision to replace the large support system and many resources a publishing company has to offer with.....well, themselves.
That means no professional editing service, no professional copy for the cover, no professional artwork, no professional agent/representation, and no money for marketing and touring and printing, and no money for distribution. It's just you, a computer, spellcheck, royalty free stock photos, Webster's dictionary, and a whole lot of nerve. And it takes a whole lot of nerve.
I compare it to Robert Rodriquez and the art of guerrilla film making. He made El Mariachi on $7000 budget. He did everything himself and even though it shows in the final product, its still a hell of a movie. (Side note: He's got plenty of money and still does everything himself, even performing and recording the soundtrack. That is something I can def admire.)
I am fortunate enough to have a very successful graphic artist in the family to help with artwork, and I know other graphic artists with a vast array of skills. That part is covered.
I learned formatting for the different platforms on my own. But now that I have made a few bucks I can stop skimping on a couple things, like paperback formatting. I decided to have both Black Rain books formatted by a pro and hired Rebecca at IndieMobi to do it. She was awesome and fast, and the result is a book interior that looks high quality. Well worth the investment.
But editing, oh editing. What a challenge. With the past few works I've managed to find someone I trust to place eyes on the finished project and take a red pen to it. She does a hell of a better job then I could ever do, and I do not mind paying her for the service. Professional editing is expensive, and independents usually sacrifice that part of the process, not because they want to, but because they can't afford it.
We do our best. We read and re-read and re-read again until we end up hating the work. We have others read it and help us find the errors and re-read it again after that.
But we are human, and even professionally published works have been known to have a typo or two.
What I'm saying is, if you want to support independent creativity and purchase self-published work, that's great. Kudos to you. And if you spot a typo, let me know. I want to know. But please be understanding about it. I do my best to produce the best work I can. And I'm still finding errors. It's the nature of the beast. And the beast can be an unforgiving pain in my rear.
Of course, I could just be a blathering, whiny idiot about the whole thing. But unfortunately my publishing company is not Random House or Simon & Schuster, it's Michael Whetzel. Unknown and looking to break in. So he can hire some professional editing. (Not a jab at you, Laura. You rock and I appreciate everything you do for me.)
On with the show....
iFiction! is up and running! No Quarter is out. What is it? Ok, I'll remind you. It's Everette Bell's first release for the imprint.
Bell describes it as "a homage to '70s exploitation films." If that doesn't get your juices running then obviously you hate the '70s. Which is just sad. I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but I did download the sample, and I blushed while reading it. Seems Bell has got a knack for using swear words. I thought I was bad in BOOM and BANDWIDTH, but Yowza. He's actually one-upped me. Which actually pisses me off. That does it. I'm off to write a prison thriller set in a zombie post-apocalyptic third world country. That'll show him. Grab No Quarter here.
Here's the offical blurb:
A hard hitting story of two men, two warriors on opposite ends of the spectrum of law. But mirror images in spirit. Juice and James are desperate men, criminal and cop, hurled against each other in circumstances neither has chosen, but each has no choice but to face.
James is a twenty year veteran on the Bowling Green police force who struggles to keep inexperienced officers from turning their back on the law for total vengeance. Juice and his sociopath partners, Cuz and Ace, have taken refuge and hostages in Carter's Tattoo. Juice does his best to keep the slaughter under control.
No Quarter is a relentless, page-turning novella from Everete Bell, unapologetically harsh as the lives it describes.
John Fulk makes his iFiction!/kindle/writing/self-publishing debut tomorrow with Abaddon!. And it will be FREE FREE FREE through Sunday!!!!!
Come see Fulk's twisted take on the Aladdin legend as only iFiction! can bring it to you.
Grab here for FREE tomorrow.
Mature reader. Contains adult language and adult situations. Chris is a down-on-his-luck pizza delivery driver. One day when the owner of a antique store stiffs him on a tip, Chris steals something from the store: an old oil lamp. Of course he's got to clean it up and when a mysterious stranger appears offering three wishes, Chris' humdrum life is turned upside down. Will all his dreams become reality or does the age old adage of "Be careful what you wish for" hold true for Chris? Find out in ABADDON, the debut novella from John Fulk.
CUBE, from yours truly, is late of course. But take a look at the word counter up there on the right. The original goal was 16,000+ words, the same length as Pied Piped of the Undead. We passed that a long time ago. I'm thinking it could actually hit close to 25,000. The story keeps growing and growing. And I like all the extra stuff. So it stays. I am aiming to have it complete this weekend and out in time for my birthday, the 12th. (I like money, blu-rays, and rare works of art, if you were wondering.) It is a pretty ambitious story, and I hope you enjoy it.
The first week of March will see me at James Madison University's annual Science Fiction/Fantasy convention. I will have paperback copies of the first two Black Rain books available as well as a new short story collection that will include all of the iFiction! stories from myself, including The Pied Piper of the Undead. I have the cover finished and printer waiting patiently. As soon as CUBE is complete, it will be available as an ebook collection too.
And last but not least, I intended to include a new Black Rain chapter with CUBE's release, but will delay that for the short story collection instead. CUBE is looking like an all-ages story. I did not want to exclude a younger audience from enjoying it because of the added bonus content. We are talking Day 1 of Tina's story here (and if you have read Black Rain, you know Tina is not for an all-ages group.)
That's it for now. I hope to have a blog discussing the ideas and decisions that went into the first 2 Black Rain books and what is coming up for the third. Also hope to have some audiobook news coming soon, and Blood Will Run details.
Enjoy the week,
Screw typos!
Mike
January 21, 2013
iFiction! news, title changes, and more....
I can now announce that Black Rain 2 had a very stellar debut. After the FREE run for Book 1, I dropped the price on it to $1 and it will stay there for the duration at the special price.
More than half the readers who purchased Black Rain 1 also bought Black Rain 2, which is right on course with series' selling numbers. Many will wait for Black Rain 3 before purchasing the first book, and more will wait until the series is complete before buying anything. It is now a six book series and I foresee each new book getting longer and longer as we delve closer and closer to the final act. More discussions on that in future posts.
Now for some iFiction! news:
CUBE is set for release at the end of the month. Here's the tentative blurb:
Curtis and his beagle, Ammo, are out hunting squirrels when they stumble upon a strange object: a small white cube. Enamored with his new find, Curtis brings the object home and begins an amazing journey through time, space, and parallel worlds. What are the secrets of the CUBE and what does it hold for Curtis and Ammo? Find out in the newest novella from iFiction's Michael Whetzel.
RED MAGUS is the followup to CUBE and will mark the first serialized work to come through iFiction! But I am changing the name to BLOOD WILL RUN and it will mark my first foray into crime fiction. BLOOD WILL RUN will be a three episode series that dovetails into an ongoing crime serial later this year.
When I first announced iFiction!, there was a miniseries titled MINER 36 on the schedule. This was going to be the first serial to debut but after seeing how the market is responding I decided to go with my crime story. The majority of my work has been in sci-fi horror. MINER 36 would have been more of the same. Crime sells remarkably well and to help garner further attention to the label I chose the more popular genre. More details on BLOOD WILL RUN coming next month.
Now for some iFiction! news from the other members of the team:
Everette Bell makes his label debut with NO QUARTER:
A hard hitting story of two men, two warriors on opposite ends of the spectrum of law. but mirror images in spirit. Juice and James are desperate men, criminal and cop, hurled against each other in circumstances neither has chosen, but each has no choice but to face.
James is a twenty year veteran on the Bowling Green police force who struggles to keep inexperienced officers from turning their back on the law for total vengeance. Juice and his sociopath partners, Cuz and Ace, have taken refuge and hostages in Carter's Tattoo. Juice does his best to keep the slaughter under control.
No Quarter is a relentless, page-turning novella from Everete Bell, unapologetically harsh as the lives it describes.
NO QUARTER is set for release sometime this week. I will post as soon as it hits the web.
John Fulk is readying his KINDLE debut with ABADDON:
Chris is a down-on-his-luck pizza delivery driver. One night when the owner of a antique store stiffs him on a tip, Chris steals something from the store: an old oil lamp. Of course he's got to clean it up and when the mysterious stranger appears offering three wishes, Chris' humdrum life is turned upside down. Will all his dreams become reality or does the age old adage of "Be careful what you wish for" hold true for Chris? Find out in ABADDON, the debut novella from John Fulk.
John is still polishing up the final product. ABADDON is set for release towards the end of the month.
WOW! That's a ton of new releases heading your way. Good news.
I will announce release dates as they hit both here and on my FACEBOOK page. If you have not LIKED the page, hit the link up above on the right hand side. I post almost daily on the page.
Next official Blog post we will discuss Black Rain notes and some of the ideas that went into making the first two books and also the future of the series. We also will talk about the Madicon and the upcoming short story collection.
See you later,
Mike
More than half the readers who purchased Black Rain 1 also bought Black Rain 2, which is right on course with series' selling numbers. Many will wait for Black Rain 3 before purchasing the first book, and more will wait until the series is complete before buying anything. It is now a six book series and I foresee each new book getting longer and longer as we delve closer and closer to the final act. More discussions on that in future posts.
Now for some iFiction! news:
CUBE is set for release at the end of the month. Here's the tentative blurb:
Curtis and his beagle, Ammo, are out hunting squirrels when they stumble upon a strange object: a small white cube. Enamored with his new find, Curtis brings the object home and begins an amazing journey through time, space, and parallel worlds. What are the secrets of the CUBE and what does it hold for Curtis and Ammo? Find out in the newest novella from iFiction's Michael Whetzel.
RED MAGUS is the followup to CUBE and will mark the first serialized work to come through iFiction! But I am changing the name to BLOOD WILL RUN and it will mark my first foray into crime fiction. BLOOD WILL RUN will be a three episode series that dovetails into an ongoing crime serial later this year.
When I first announced iFiction!, there was a miniseries titled MINER 36 on the schedule. This was going to be the first serial to debut but after seeing how the market is responding I decided to go with my crime story. The majority of my work has been in sci-fi horror. MINER 36 would have been more of the same. Crime sells remarkably well and to help garner further attention to the label I chose the more popular genre. More details on BLOOD WILL RUN coming next month.
Now for some iFiction! news from the other members of the team:
Everette Bell makes his label debut with NO QUARTER:
A hard hitting story of two men, two warriors on opposite ends of the spectrum of law. but mirror images in spirit. Juice and James are desperate men, criminal and cop, hurled against each other in circumstances neither has chosen, but each has no choice but to face.James is a twenty year veteran on the Bowling Green police force who struggles to keep inexperienced officers from turning their back on the law for total vengeance. Juice and his sociopath partners, Cuz and Ace, have taken refuge and hostages in Carter's Tattoo. Juice does his best to keep the slaughter under control.
No Quarter is a relentless, page-turning novella from Everete Bell, unapologetically harsh as the lives it describes.
NO QUARTER is set for release sometime this week. I will post as soon as it hits the web.
John Fulk is readying his KINDLE debut with ABADDON:
Chris is a down-on-his-luck pizza delivery driver. One night when the owner of a antique store stiffs him on a tip, Chris steals something from the store: an old oil lamp. Of course he's got to clean it up and when the mysterious stranger appears offering three wishes, Chris' humdrum life is turned upside down. Will all his dreams become reality or does the age old adage of "Be careful what you wish for" hold true for Chris? Find out in ABADDON, the debut novella from John Fulk.John is still polishing up the final product. ABADDON is set for release towards the end of the month.
WOW! That's a ton of new releases heading your way. Good news.
I will announce release dates as they hit both here and on my FACEBOOK page. If you have not LIKED the page, hit the link up above on the right hand side. I post almost daily on the page.
Next official Blog post we will discuss Black Rain notes and some of the ideas that went into making the first two books and also the future of the series. We also will talk about the Madicon and the upcoming short story collection.
See you later,
Mike
January 3, 2013
The Year in Review!!!! Goodbye 2012...
Hello good people,
First if you have not heard, Black Rain 2 is out. And Black Rain 1 is FREE for a limited time!!!
It's time to take a look at the past year and share success stories and failures. And see what we learned and what is coming up for 2013!!!!
I made the decision to embark on the self-publishing journey in September of 2011. Over a five month span I began work on writing what would become the first book in a sprawling science fiction series called the Black Rain Journals. The book was titled The Voice and featured a unique episodic structure and relied heavily on character development. Black Rain is in essence my War of the Worlds, a homage to HG Wells, Close Encounters, and all those awesome old alien sci-fi movies.
On January 18, 2012, I uploaded The Voice to Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing Service. The rest is as they say history or will be some day.
Since then I have published 4 more books including the second book in Black Rain: The Widow and The Orphan.
The Pied Piper of the Undead was a zombie short story that debuted in March and was followed by BOOM in May.
December saw Bandwidth join the list with Black Rain 2 ringing in the New Year.
There were several things that happened in the course of the year that affected how I shaped what would become my publishing platform. The first was Amazon's new KDP Select Program. Select called for authors to enlist their books exclusively on a 90 day contract. In exchange, the titles would be included in Amazon's Lending Library which allowed Prime Members to "borrow" one book a month. Amazon dedicated a set amount of funds each month to pay authors a set amount per borrow depending on the library's activity for that month. Authors were also given "marketing" days in which they could set the price of their book to FREE and have promotional giveaways.
Since it's formation, Select has been a very polarizing program, with some loving the benefits of exclusivity while others opted out after their first go around and vowed never to return. For me Select has been a valuable tool in gaining critical exposure in a steadily growing marketplace.
Another thing that happened this year was my idea to partner up with other writers in an attempt to pool our resources and collectively build a larger market presence by supporting/marketing our titles under an umbrella imprint. The imprint is called iFiction! I invited another self published author, Everette Bell, and a close friend, John Fulk, to join. Under the imprint,we will focus on shorter stories and serialized fiction. We will also be open to co-writing some projects. Two titles have made their iFiction! debut and more are following throughout 2013. The imprint is still in its early stages, but I believe it can be a nice marketing tool as long as the members all work together to produce quality work and share net resources. I've got some good guys on board, so hopefully we gain some ground on the bestsellers.
Of course the biggest event of 2012 was the diagnosis of my son with leukemia on July 5th. He is well on the way to recovery but the treatment has been a long road. With the hospital visits and chemotherapy, writing was put on hold from July until October, a large part of the year. But things have really turned around for my son, and I hunkered down and really focused on iFiction! and releasing more titles for the end of the year and have been in a writing zone since early November with no sign of slowdown.
So how do the numbers look for 2012? I'll break it down by title with a little note on the book's performance, sales numbers, borrow numbers, FREE copies, and then end with # of reviews and overall rating on Amazon.com.
Black Rain: The Voice
First books in epic series normally do not do well on the ebook platform. Many readers wait until multiple books have been released before starting a series. Overall, I believe The Voice did well even with this mark against it.
SOLD 72 + 9 paperbacks
BORROWS 4
FREE 970
RATING- 4.6 on 8 reviews
The Pied Piper of the Undead
Zombies sell. That's the bottom line. This was far and away my top title. So much so that due to demand I am working on sequels. I also think it is one of my best so far.
SOLD 588 + 37 audiobooks
BORROWS 193
FREE 5502(!)
RATING- 4.3 on 26 reviews (more reviews = a more balanced rating)
BOOM
BOOM was a very unique story. I dubbed it a psycho-thriller. After release it flopped and I considered it a failure. But Select has helped it gain exposure and it has done well in the library the past 3 months.
SOLD 29
BORROWS 48
FREE 555
RATING- 4.4 on 5 reviews
Bandwidth
Still too soon to see how overall reception has been. So far the reviews are split. It is a wild, weird story. There are two versions. The second version is what was published. On hindsight, I wonder if the first one was the superior one.
SOLD 7
BORROWS 2
FREE 370
RATING- 2.5 on 2 reviews
So let's see, carry the 2 and add that and.....overall I sold 989 total books over 3 different platforms and gave away 7397 copies during release promos. Not epic numbers compared with the people who write full time but respectable for a first year writer.
A study said that self published authors who sell through the Kindle AVERAGE $500 of total income during their careers. I more than doubled that amount in the first year. I'll take that as affirmation.
SOOOOOOO.......where does that leave 2013? Well for starters, my son is entering the calmer maintenance phase of his treatment. Because he will not have to visit the hospital weekly, I am looking for a job to help with our overall income. But writing will be a part time job for me. I am confident I can still get a good number of projects finished in the upcoming year.
In March, I have Madicon at James Madison University. Madicon is the university's annual Science Fiction and Fantasy Covention. I will be selling Black Rain paperbacks and I want to have a short story collection available.
The collection will have the above shorts plus one or two more. So really most of the book is already done. With an eye towards the short story paperback, I have tweaked the upcoming schedule:
BLISS is halfway finished.
RED MAGUS is the first "mini serial" from iFiction! 2 to 3 episodes. It leads into a larger serial. It is my first foray into the crime genre and I will include it with the collection.
Paperback for BLACK RAIN 2 is coming end of the month.
After that PIED PIPER OF THE UNDEAD 2 is coming this summer. I have it all mapped out and the third book in prelim stages.
BLACK RAIN 3 will be started in the summer. Hopefully for a late summer release. THE TOWN is going to finish off the first half of the series.
Looking at audiobooks for BOOM and BANDWIDTH.
And that is all I am going to announce. Anything else depends on how much extra time I have or what the market is asking for.
I write every day and if I can't write, I am thinking about what I am going to write. I hope to make great gains in 2013 with an eye on one day becoming a full-time writer.
Thank you all for a super year. It's surreal to know I actually have fans not only in the States but in the UK, India, Central America and all over. I love hearing from each and every one of you. Never be afraid to ask a question or share your opinion. Or just stop by and say hello.
Special thanks to Laura Gaylord, Laura Clark Smith, John Fulk, Wartooth Ebooks, Book Reviews by DC, my market friend Rhonda, and my little bro, Chris Whetzel. Your support is much appreciated.
peace,
Mike
First if you have not heard, Black Rain 2 is out. And Black Rain 1 is FREE for a limited time!!!
It's time to take a look at the past year and share success stories and failures. And see what we learned and what is coming up for 2013!!!!
I made the decision to embark on the self-publishing journey in September of 2011. Over a five month span I began work on writing what would become the first book in a sprawling science fiction series called the Black Rain Journals. The book was titled The Voice and featured a unique episodic structure and relied heavily on character development. Black Rain is in essence my War of the Worlds, a homage to HG Wells, Close Encounters, and all those awesome old alien sci-fi movies.
On January 18, 2012, I uploaded The Voice to Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing Service. The rest is as they say history or will be some day.
Since then I have published 4 more books including the second book in Black Rain: The Widow and The Orphan.
The Pied Piper of the Undead was a zombie short story that debuted in March and was followed by BOOM in May.
December saw Bandwidth join the list with Black Rain 2 ringing in the New Year.
There were several things that happened in the course of the year that affected how I shaped what would become my publishing platform. The first was Amazon's new KDP Select Program. Select called for authors to enlist their books exclusively on a 90 day contract. In exchange, the titles would be included in Amazon's Lending Library which allowed Prime Members to "borrow" one book a month. Amazon dedicated a set amount of funds each month to pay authors a set amount per borrow depending on the library's activity for that month. Authors were also given "marketing" days in which they could set the price of their book to FREE and have promotional giveaways.
Since it's formation, Select has been a very polarizing program, with some loving the benefits of exclusivity while others opted out after their first go around and vowed never to return. For me Select has been a valuable tool in gaining critical exposure in a steadily growing marketplace.
Another thing that happened this year was my idea to partner up with other writers in an attempt to pool our resources and collectively build a larger market presence by supporting/marketing our titles under an umbrella imprint. The imprint is called iFiction! I invited another self published author, Everette Bell, and a close friend, John Fulk, to join. Under the imprint,we will focus on shorter stories and serialized fiction. We will also be open to co-writing some projects. Two titles have made their iFiction! debut and more are following throughout 2013. The imprint is still in its early stages, but I believe it can be a nice marketing tool as long as the members all work together to produce quality work and share net resources. I've got some good guys on board, so hopefully we gain some ground on the bestsellers.
Of course the biggest event of 2012 was the diagnosis of my son with leukemia on July 5th. He is well on the way to recovery but the treatment has been a long road. With the hospital visits and chemotherapy, writing was put on hold from July until October, a large part of the year. But things have really turned around for my son, and I hunkered down and really focused on iFiction! and releasing more titles for the end of the year and have been in a writing zone since early November with no sign of slowdown.
So how do the numbers look for 2012? I'll break it down by title with a little note on the book's performance, sales numbers, borrow numbers, FREE copies, and then end with # of reviews and overall rating on Amazon.com.
Black Rain: The Voice
First books in epic series normally do not do well on the ebook platform. Many readers wait until multiple books have been released before starting a series. Overall, I believe The Voice did well even with this mark against it.
SOLD 72 + 9 paperbacks
BORROWS 4
FREE 970
RATING- 4.6 on 8 reviews
The Pied Piper of the Undead
Zombies sell. That's the bottom line. This was far and away my top title. So much so that due to demand I am working on sequels. I also think it is one of my best so far.
SOLD 588 + 37 audiobooks
BORROWS 193
FREE 5502(!)
RATING- 4.3 on 26 reviews (more reviews = a more balanced rating)
BOOM
BOOM was a very unique story. I dubbed it a psycho-thriller. After release it flopped and I considered it a failure. But Select has helped it gain exposure and it has done well in the library the past 3 months.
SOLD 29
BORROWS 48
FREE 555
RATING- 4.4 on 5 reviews
Bandwidth
Still too soon to see how overall reception has been. So far the reviews are split. It is a wild, weird story. There are two versions. The second version is what was published. On hindsight, I wonder if the first one was the superior one.
SOLD 7
BORROWS 2
FREE 370
RATING- 2.5 on 2 reviews
So let's see, carry the 2 and add that and.....overall I sold 989 total books over 3 different platforms and gave away 7397 copies during release promos. Not epic numbers compared with the people who write full time but respectable for a first year writer.
A study said that self published authors who sell through the Kindle AVERAGE $500 of total income during their careers. I more than doubled that amount in the first year. I'll take that as affirmation.
SOOOOOOO.......where does that leave 2013? Well for starters, my son is entering the calmer maintenance phase of his treatment. Because he will not have to visit the hospital weekly, I am looking for a job to help with our overall income. But writing will be a part time job for me. I am confident I can still get a good number of projects finished in the upcoming year.
In March, I have Madicon at James Madison University. Madicon is the university's annual Science Fiction and Fantasy Covention. I will be selling Black Rain paperbacks and I want to have a short story collection available.
The collection will have the above shorts plus one or two more. So really most of the book is already done. With an eye towards the short story paperback, I have tweaked the upcoming schedule:
BLISS is halfway finished.
RED MAGUS is the first "mini serial" from iFiction! 2 to 3 episodes. It leads into a larger serial. It is my first foray into the crime genre and I will include it with the collection.
Paperback for BLACK RAIN 2 is coming end of the month.
After that PIED PIPER OF THE UNDEAD 2 is coming this summer. I have it all mapped out and the third book in prelim stages.
BLACK RAIN 3 will be started in the summer. Hopefully for a late summer release. THE TOWN is going to finish off the first half of the series.
Looking at audiobooks for BOOM and BANDWIDTH.
And that is all I am going to announce. Anything else depends on how much extra time I have or what the market is asking for.
I write every day and if I can't write, I am thinking about what I am going to write. I hope to make great gains in 2013 with an eye on one day becoming a full-time writer.
Thank you all for a super year. It's surreal to know I actually have fans not only in the States but in the UK, India, Central America and all over. I love hearing from each and every one of you. Never be afraid to ask a question or share your opinion. Or just stop by and say hello.
Special thanks to Laura Gaylord, Laura Clark Smith, John Fulk, Wartooth Ebooks, Book Reviews by DC, my market friend Rhonda, and my little bro, Chris Whetzel. Your support is much appreciated.
peace,
Mike
The Secret is Out!
Under the cover of darkness last night, I dressed in my ninja suit and secretly hacked the laptop here and secretly uploaded the The Widow and The Orphan aka Black Rain 2.
Then I secretly hit publish!
After covering my escape with some well thrown shuriken and using my climbing gear to scale the couch in the living room, I also hacked the same laptop and made Black Rain 1: The Voice FREE FREE FREE for the next five days!!!!
If you have not got your copy of Book 1 this is your chance. And Book 2 is out!!!
Click here to choose your poison, made with my ninja skills
Then I secretly hit publish!
After covering my escape with some well thrown shuriken and using my climbing gear to scale the couch in the living room, I also hacked the same laptop and made Black Rain 1: The Voice FREE FREE FREE for the next five days!!!!
If you have not got your copy of Book 1 this is your chance. And Book 2 is out!!!
Click here to choose your poison, made with my ninja skills
January 1, 2013
Black Rain 2 is complete!
Just a quick update to let you guys know that Black Rain 2: The Widow and the Orphan is finished. Finally after months of delay and wicked battles with the story I have finally come to the end of this part of the Black Rain journey. Hopefully, you will find the wait worth it. There are events in the story that even surprised me, that I had no intention of doing, but seemed to come from no where as I worked to uncover the full story.
I am proud of this work. It came at a time when my life was going through some rough waters with my son and my family, and this book kept me grounded.
and
I hated this book too. I've spent so much energy and time on it that I almost gave up the whole series. But it's done. And I've fallen in love with the story all over again.
I feel this is one of the best things I have ever written, It certainly is the longest.
Need to wait for final edit and proof to come back and then I need a day to format. Then we're ready to go.
It's the middle chapter of what is Act 1 of the Journals. I've already started prelim notes for Book 3: The Town.
Be back later with my end of the year thoughts and what to look forward to for 2013.
peace and thanks for the support. There are quite a few of you that I can really call fans. I'm glad your there for me and I appreciate each and every one of you.
Happy New Year slackers.
Mike
I am proud of this work. It came at a time when my life was going through some rough waters with my son and my family, and this book kept me grounded.
and
I hated this book too. I've spent so much energy and time on it that I almost gave up the whole series. But it's done. And I've fallen in love with the story all over again.
I feel this is one of the best things I have ever written, It certainly is the longest.
Need to wait for final edit and proof to come back and then I need a day to format. Then we're ready to go.
It's the middle chapter of what is Act 1 of the Journals. I've already started prelim notes for Book 3: The Town.
Be back later with my end of the year thoughts and what to look forward to for 2013.
peace and thanks for the support. There are quite a few of you that I can really call fans. I'm glad your there for me and I appreciate each and every one of you.
Happy New Year slackers.
Mike
December 26, 2012
December 19, 2012
iFiction! is here....
It's the soft launch of the new iFiction! creative co-op! You've heard me write about it, now it's here and to start things off, it's your good old blog host.
To begin with, BOOM becomes the first title under the iFiction! umbrella! Enter "iFiction!" in the kindle search engine of amazon.com and the first thing you see is this:
Yeah, I know, it's the same old cover but why mess with a good thing. I love this cover. So what is different you ask? Well, besides being tagged iFiction! and with assorted blurbs inside the book and on the amazon home page, BOOM contains this: 
PUNCHY is a brand new short debuting in the back of the re-released BOOM. It's a totally original tale, but makes a nice companion piece to Jeffrey Walls' story of comeuppance. (I'm really proud of the elevator fight scene.)
But Mike, I already downloaded BOOM and now there's an extra story? Not fair. No problem, send me a copy of your receipt for BOOM and I'll send you the mobi file of PUNCHY for your kindle for FREE! Because fairness is a good quality to have.
But wait there is more! iFiction! title #2 follows next week. Debuting on Christmas Eve, BANDWIDTH is the new title from yours truly and is full of crazy action and killer psuedo-zombies and more. It tells the story of Wayne Collins, a soldier surviving in an underground bunker on an overrun military base. Overrun with what? Victims of a virus that causes the person to go batshit crazy. And then they start laughing. And then they want to commit murder. And Wayne is out of food and needs to go outside. Probably not good.
And then just in time for the New Year:
BLACK RAIN 2:
THE WIDOW & THE ORPHAN!
Yeah yeah I know. You're thinking that's what you've been saying for awhile. But it's coming, I promise.
January sees the release of John Fulk's Abaddon. This is John's first foray into the world of self-publishing and I know he is working hard on making it a good debut.
And Everette Bell? That guy seems to be writing 17 different things at any one time. As soon as I have something concrete, you'll be the first to know.
2012 has been a super year. 2013 should be even better! Here's a preview of what's to come:
ALSO:
MINER 36!
PIED PIPER OF THE UNDEAD 2 & 3!
BLACK RAIN 3!
RAW FEED SHORT STORY COLLECTION!
AUDIOBOOKS GALORE!
MILITIA!
and much much more!
Merry Christmas everyone!!!!!
Don't forget what the holiday means!
peace
Mike
To begin with, BOOM becomes the first title under the iFiction! umbrella! Enter "iFiction!" in the kindle search engine of amazon.com and the first thing you see is this:
Yeah, I know, it's the same old cover but why mess with a good thing. I love this cover. So what is different you ask? Well, besides being tagged iFiction! and with assorted blurbs inside the book and on the amazon home page, BOOM contains this: PUNCHY is a brand new short debuting in the back of the re-released BOOM. It's a totally original tale, but makes a nice companion piece to Jeffrey Walls' story of comeuppance. (I'm really proud of the elevator fight scene.) But Mike, I already downloaded BOOM and now there's an extra story? Not fair. No problem, send me a copy of your receipt for BOOM and I'll send you the mobi file of PUNCHY for your kindle for FREE! Because fairness is a good quality to have.
But wait there is more! iFiction! title #2 follows next week. Debuting on Christmas Eve, BANDWIDTH is the new title from yours truly and is full of crazy action and killer psuedo-zombies and more. It tells the story of Wayne Collins, a soldier surviving in an underground bunker on an overrun military base. Overrun with what? Victims of a virus that causes the person to go batshit crazy. And then they start laughing. And then they want to commit murder. And Wayne is out of food and needs to go outside. Probably not good.
And then just in time for the New Year:BLACK RAIN 2:
THE WIDOW & THE ORPHAN!
Yeah yeah I know. You're thinking that's what you've been saying for awhile. But it's coming, I promise.
January sees the release of John Fulk's Abaddon. This is John's first foray into the world of self-publishing and I know he is working hard on making it a good debut.
And Everette Bell? That guy seems to be writing 17 different things at any one time. As soon as I have something concrete, you'll be the first to know.
2012 has been a super year. 2013 should be even better! Here's a preview of what's to come:
ALSO:MINER 36!
PIED PIPER OF THE UNDEAD 2 & 3!
BLACK RAIN 3!
RAW FEED SHORT STORY COLLECTION!
AUDIOBOOKS GALORE!
MILITIA!
and much much more!
Merry Christmas everyone!!!!!
Don't forget what the holiday means!
peace
Mike
December 4, 2012
The Final Push......
It's coming. Black Rain 2: The Widow and The Orphan is almost here. It's so close. Here are some details:
It will clock in at right around 300 pages, making it the longest work I have written yet.
The paperback copy will be available two weeks after the Kindle edition hits. It will be exclusive to the Kindle and the Amazon Lending Library. No Kindle, no problem. Download the kindle app and enjoy tons of books. But really, no kindle?. what are you waiting for....
It is broken down into three main parts:
Part 1 - The Widow
Part 2 - The Orphan
Part 3 - The Dam
It begins with another prologue that re-visits Day 1.
It will have 2 (!) different epilogues, one sets up the third book, The Town, and the other sets up a new character we have not seen yet.
It overlaps with Book 1. Yes, you will have to be familiar with book 1 . These first three books fit together like one of those 3D puzzles. They share parts and overlap time frames. But if you want to cheat, revisit the Orphan, Widow, Pro, and Town chapters of the first book.
And that is that for now. No more tidbits. I just hope you enjoy Tina as much as i do. I will announce it everywhere once it is released. I just need to get this final stretch run finished.
The Pied Piper of the Undead audiobook has gotten off to a great start. I have to admit, I had no idea what the market for audiobooks was. I was hoping to sell 5 copies before the end of the year, at most. So far in just a couple of weeks, we've moved almost 30 copies with no slowdown in sight. It's been such a nice little addition to the platform that I am making steps to release BOOM as the next audiobook. I can't wait to hear that tick tick ticking counting down.
iFiction! releases are rolling along. Bandwidth is coming along nicely. I am waiting for cover roughs to arrive soon. Bandwidth will kick off the launch with the re-release of BOOM. BOOM will be branded with the iFiction! label in it's description/interior and will contain a bonus short entitled Punchy and sneak peeks at upcoming releases from John Fulk, Everette Bell, and myself.
Then it's a free-for-all after that.
I just recently purchased a cover for my short story collection that will be released in both ebook and paperback the first quarter of 2013. It will collect all the shorts so far including BOOM, Bandwidth, and my other forthcoming iFiction! shorts. Not sure if it will contain The Pied Piper of the Undead yet. As Piper will be a trilogy (gasp!) after all is said and done.
That's all I have for now. Sorry it took so long for an update this time.
peace,
Mike
It will clock in at right around 300 pages, making it the longest work I have written yet.
The paperback copy will be available two weeks after the Kindle edition hits. It will be exclusive to the Kindle and the Amazon Lending Library. No Kindle, no problem. Download the kindle app and enjoy tons of books. But really, no kindle?. what are you waiting for....
It is broken down into three main parts:
Part 1 - The Widow
Part 2 - The Orphan
Part 3 - The Dam
It begins with another prologue that re-visits Day 1.
It will have 2 (!) different epilogues, one sets up the third book, The Town, and the other sets up a new character we have not seen yet.
It overlaps with Book 1. Yes, you will have to be familiar with book 1 . These first three books fit together like one of those 3D puzzles. They share parts and overlap time frames. But if you want to cheat, revisit the Orphan, Widow, Pro, and Town chapters of the first book.
And that is that for now. No more tidbits. I just hope you enjoy Tina as much as i do. I will announce it everywhere once it is released. I just need to get this final stretch run finished.
The Pied Piper of the Undead audiobook has gotten off to a great start. I have to admit, I had no idea what the market for audiobooks was. I was hoping to sell 5 copies before the end of the year, at most. So far in just a couple of weeks, we've moved almost 30 copies with no slowdown in sight. It's been such a nice little addition to the platform that I am making steps to release BOOM as the next audiobook. I can't wait to hear that tick tick ticking counting down.
iFiction! releases are rolling along. Bandwidth is coming along nicely. I am waiting for cover roughs to arrive soon. Bandwidth will kick off the launch with the re-release of BOOM. BOOM will be branded with the iFiction! label in it's description/interior and will contain a bonus short entitled Punchy and sneak peeks at upcoming releases from John Fulk, Everette Bell, and myself.
Then it's a free-for-all after that.
I just recently purchased a cover for my short story collection that will be released in both ebook and paperback the first quarter of 2013. It will collect all the shorts so far including BOOM, Bandwidth, and my other forthcoming iFiction! shorts. Not sure if it will contain The Pied Piper of the Undead yet. As Piper will be a trilogy (gasp!) after all is said and done.
That's all I have for now. Sorry it took so long for an update this time.
peace,
Mike
November 14, 2012
Audiobook!
The Pied Piper of the Undead audiobook is out on Amazon, Audible.com and iTunes. Grab your copy here. 
November 11, 2012
iFiction! introductions part 3: Your freindly host, Mike Whetzel. Also included-the pains of writing a series...
Since I made both John and Chris suffer through the introduction questions, I guess it's my turn now.
-Who are you and why should we care?
Well, if you are reading this blog, there is a good chance you already know who I am. I'm Mike, and this is my place, on the web so to speak. I'm a father of three, a husband, a housekeeper, and a writer. And you should care because Jesus said so.
-What books have you written?
My first published book was The Voice, the first book in the sci-fi epic Black Rain Journals. I followed that up with two novellas. The first, BOOM, follows a young man who finally decides to "explode" and take control of his life. The second is the immensly popular The Pied Piper of the Undead. It's a zombie story about a young boy surviving on his own in a small mid-west town. It will be released as an audiobook as soon as ACX finishes its auditing process.
-What are your aspirations/goals as a writer?
To be accepted as a quality writer. There are two sides to this question. The first is a creative answer. I want to build exciting, entertaining worlds and invite you to share them with me. And I don't want it to be the same old stuff we always see (are you listening Hollywood?) but new things with new twists and new interpretations. On the other side, how cool would it be to say I pay my bills by writing genre fiction? Very cool.
-What projects are you bringing to iFiction!? What other projects are you working on?
I seem to be always busy with something. And new ideas spring up almost every day.
For iFiction!, I'll be re-releasing BOOM under the new imprint with a short flash fiction piece called Punchy and previews of more iFiction! works. At the same time another short novella, Bandwidth, will be released. Then we drop the first serialized mini-series for iFiction!, Miner 36, which is based on a concept by Chris Whetzel and will be 5 to 6 episodes long and hit sometime in January. And then look for many other shorts and minis coming throughout 2013.
For myself, I am wrapping up book 2 in the Black Rain Journals called The Widow and The Orphan. Then it's preliminary work on Book 3: The Town. I also have a sequel in store for The Pied Piper of the Undead and will be working on a stand alone novel entitled, Firecracker, which has been in development for quite some time.
-Who are your main influences/favorite authors?
There are so many but it starts with one person: Stephen King. Not just the master of horror, but a great craftsman of story and fiction. Other authors include Ernest Hemingway, F Scott Fitzgerald, Michael Chabon, Warren Ellis, Robert Cormier, Grant Morrison, Joe Lansdale, JRR Tolkein, Neil Gaiman, HG Wells, Robert Heinlein, and the great Ray Bradbury.
Outside the word world, influences include Robert Rodriquez, Steven Speilberg, Joss Whedon, JJ Abrams, Guillermo Del Toro, Ridley Scott, Chris Nolan, Joseph Gordon Leavitt, Coen Brothers, Coheed & Cambria, Pink Floyd, Bill Watterson, and the list goes on and on and on....
-What is your favorite book?
Whoa, that's a tough one. I have to go with IT by King. I read this in middle school and, even though I did not understand everything in it, this book forever changed the way I would view fiction. Gone were the "safe" worlds of The Hardy Boys and The Three Investigators. Nope, King changed all of that. I've since read IT over 10 times and come away even more mesmerized than before.
Robert McCammon's Boy's Life was also a great book I have read over and over again. And Hemingway's Islands in the Stream is my favorite of his. The Great Gatsby is also a perrenial favorite.
As you can tell, it's hard for me to just pick one.
-How do we follow/reach you?
I update this blog weekly (or at least try to). You can contact me through here or email me at michaelwhetzel@gmail.com. If you look above on the right side of the screen my twitter and facebook feeds are available. I'm on facebook a lot so LIKE my page and you can get daily updates and such.
Now enough questions, let's talk about writing......
Writing the Black Rain Journals as a series.
If I had it all to do over again, I would have never chosen to make my first foray into self-publishing the first book in a series. Knowing what I know now, the time and effort required to complete Black Rain will not begin to see any fruition until at the earliest the thrid book of the series. That means I am probably not going to make any headway in sales until around year 2 of the project. Why is this you ask?
Simply because I am still an unknown. Readers will not take a risk on starting a series until they see several books already completed. No one wants to buy book 1 from a self published writer, not knowing if their time and money investment will be rewarded with the rest of the series. You see, a lot of self published series for ereaders, are never finished. They're half formed ideas that are thrown away when sales are not good or the writer grows bored with the characters/story. A reader gets pretty angry when they feel left hanging and a writer should know better before making that commitment. I say that, but then I sure didn't know enough before making that decision myself.
There have been numerous times I almost un-published The Voice. Why bother spending so much time on one big story when I could write several stand alone stories and garner better sales. The numbers don't lie. I sell more copies of The Pied Piper of the Undead than The Voice at a ratio of almost 80:1. The money is there and the readers lean towards the single stories too. So what are the benefits of continuiing a series under such circumstances?
The one thing that comes to mind is the power of the epic. Think how many times you have finished a really good novel and wished there was more to read. Or you wanted a sequel to that really cool movie. We like extended stories. I would much rather read the Dark Tower, or A Song of Fire and Ice, or Harry Potter than just one good book. I actively seek out a good series, looking for the next epic story I can jump into. Because if a world is creatively good, readers don't want to leave it. They want to continue to explore it and watch its characters grow and evolve.
The other thing that a series can help with is maintaining an author's platform, or branding. I think authors with a successful series under their belt have greater name recognition over their peers. It is a lot of work, designing the world and rules, creating the characters and setting the story beats over the course of several books. But in the end, if the story is good and readers continue to follow it, I have gotten them to commit not to one peice of work, but several. The more time a reader invests in reading my story, the more time they invest in me.
There is one drawback to the way I am writing Black Rain though. With a series, self published authors have learned that getting them out as quickly as possible helps the series find better success. Readers don't want to wait. Unless you are Stephen King or George RR Martin, that is. So authors churn out the books back to back to back in order to get the whole story out quickly. I am not able to do this. As much as I love the world I am creating within the pages of Black Rain, from a creative standpoint, it is taxing to stay there for an extended period of time. I put breaks in between the Black Rain books to work on other stories, and recharge my batteries so to speak. In this way, I will not burn out on the world and characters I am creating, and maintain a fresh perspective whenever I am working on them. I have set a pace of 2 Black Rain books a year and feel that is almost pushing it. I'm taking my time growing this series in the hopes that readers will find it worth the wait. I guess I won't know until around book 3 or 4.
Well, patience is a virtue.
So what about you? How do you feel about series vs single stories? And what are some of your favorites? Drop a line here and let us know.
Next blog I'll talk about the evolution of characters and the burden of continuity while writing the series. And we'll delve more into iFiction! projects as the launch date approaches. Where did this year go?
Mike
-Who are you and why should we care?
Well, if you are reading this blog, there is a good chance you already know who I am. I'm Mike, and this is my place, on the web so to speak. I'm a father of three, a husband, a housekeeper, and a writer. And you should care because Jesus said so.
-What books have you written?
My first published book was The Voice, the first book in the sci-fi epic Black Rain Journals. I followed that up with two novellas. The first, BOOM, follows a young man who finally decides to "explode" and take control of his life. The second is the immensly popular The Pied Piper of the Undead. It's a zombie story about a young boy surviving on his own in a small mid-west town. It will be released as an audiobook as soon as ACX finishes its auditing process.
-What are your aspirations/goals as a writer?
To be accepted as a quality writer. There are two sides to this question. The first is a creative answer. I want to build exciting, entertaining worlds and invite you to share them with me. And I don't want it to be the same old stuff we always see (are you listening Hollywood?) but new things with new twists and new interpretations. On the other side, how cool would it be to say I pay my bills by writing genre fiction? Very cool.
-What projects are you bringing to iFiction!? What other projects are you working on?
I seem to be always busy with something. And new ideas spring up almost every day.
For iFiction!, I'll be re-releasing BOOM under the new imprint with a short flash fiction piece called Punchy and previews of more iFiction! works. At the same time another short novella, Bandwidth, will be released. Then we drop the first serialized mini-series for iFiction!, Miner 36, which is based on a concept by Chris Whetzel and will be 5 to 6 episodes long and hit sometime in January. And then look for many other shorts and minis coming throughout 2013.
For myself, I am wrapping up book 2 in the Black Rain Journals called The Widow and The Orphan. Then it's preliminary work on Book 3: The Town. I also have a sequel in store for The Pied Piper of the Undead and will be working on a stand alone novel entitled, Firecracker, which has been in development for quite some time.
-Who are your main influences/favorite authors?
There are so many but it starts with one person: Stephen King. Not just the master of horror, but a great craftsman of story and fiction. Other authors include Ernest Hemingway, F Scott Fitzgerald, Michael Chabon, Warren Ellis, Robert Cormier, Grant Morrison, Joe Lansdale, JRR Tolkein, Neil Gaiman, HG Wells, Robert Heinlein, and the great Ray Bradbury.
Outside the word world, influences include Robert Rodriquez, Steven Speilberg, Joss Whedon, JJ Abrams, Guillermo Del Toro, Ridley Scott, Chris Nolan, Joseph Gordon Leavitt, Coen Brothers, Coheed & Cambria, Pink Floyd, Bill Watterson, and the list goes on and on and on....
-What is your favorite book?
Whoa, that's a tough one. I have to go with IT by King. I read this in middle school and, even though I did not understand everything in it, this book forever changed the way I would view fiction. Gone were the "safe" worlds of The Hardy Boys and The Three Investigators. Nope, King changed all of that. I've since read IT over 10 times and come away even more mesmerized than before.
Robert McCammon's Boy's Life was also a great book I have read over and over again. And Hemingway's Islands in the Stream is my favorite of his. The Great Gatsby is also a perrenial favorite.
As you can tell, it's hard for me to just pick one.
-How do we follow/reach you?
I update this blog weekly (or at least try to). You can contact me through here or email me at michaelwhetzel@gmail.com. If you look above on the right side of the screen my twitter and facebook feeds are available. I'm on facebook a lot so LIKE my page and you can get daily updates and such.
Now enough questions, let's talk about writing......
Writing the Black Rain Journals as a series.
If I had it all to do over again, I would have never chosen to make my first foray into self-publishing the first book in a series. Knowing what I know now, the time and effort required to complete Black Rain will not begin to see any fruition until at the earliest the thrid book of the series. That means I am probably not going to make any headway in sales until around year 2 of the project. Why is this you ask?
Simply because I am still an unknown. Readers will not take a risk on starting a series until they see several books already completed. No one wants to buy book 1 from a self published writer, not knowing if their time and money investment will be rewarded with the rest of the series. You see, a lot of self published series for ereaders, are never finished. They're half formed ideas that are thrown away when sales are not good or the writer grows bored with the characters/story. A reader gets pretty angry when they feel left hanging and a writer should know better before making that commitment. I say that, but then I sure didn't know enough before making that decision myself.
There have been numerous times I almost un-published The Voice. Why bother spending so much time on one big story when I could write several stand alone stories and garner better sales. The numbers don't lie. I sell more copies of The Pied Piper of the Undead than The Voice at a ratio of almost 80:1. The money is there and the readers lean towards the single stories too. So what are the benefits of continuiing a series under such circumstances?
The one thing that comes to mind is the power of the epic. Think how many times you have finished a really good novel and wished there was more to read. Or you wanted a sequel to that really cool movie. We like extended stories. I would much rather read the Dark Tower, or A Song of Fire and Ice, or Harry Potter than just one good book. I actively seek out a good series, looking for the next epic story I can jump into. Because if a world is creatively good, readers don't want to leave it. They want to continue to explore it and watch its characters grow and evolve.
The other thing that a series can help with is maintaining an author's platform, or branding. I think authors with a successful series under their belt have greater name recognition over their peers. It is a lot of work, designing the world and rules, creating the characters and setting the story beats over the course of several books. But in the end, if the story is good and readers continue to follow it, I have gotten them to commit not to one peice of work, but several. The more time a reader invests in reading my story, the more time they invest in me.
There is one drawback to the way I am writing Black Rain though. With a series, self published authors have learned that getting them out as quickly as possible helps the series find better success. Readers don't want to wait. Unless you are Stephen King or George RR Martin, that is. So authors churn out the books back to back to back in order to get the whole story out quickly. I am not able to do this. As much as I love the world I am creating within the pages of Black Rain, from a creative standpoint, it is taxing to stay there for an extended period of time. I put breaks in between the Black Rain books to work on other stories, and recharge my batteries so to speak. In this way, I will not burn out on the world and characters I am creating, and maintain a fresh perspective whenever I am working on them. I have set a pace of 2 Black Rain books a year and feel that is almost pushing it. I'm taking my time growing this series in the hopes that readers will find it worth the wait. I guess I won't know until around book 3 or 4.
Well, patience is a virtue.
So what about you? How do you feel about series vs single stories? And what are some of your favorites? Drop a line here and let us know.
Next blog I'll talk about the evolution of characters and the burden of continuity while writing the series. And we'll delve more into iFiction! projects as the launch date approaches. Where did this year go?
Mike
