Brian McClellan's Blog, page 33

Printing and Distributing a Hardcover as an Author

Ever since I self-published the first powder mage short story as an ebook, I've had people asking me if there will be print versions of my short fiction for their bookshelves. From the beginning, I kind of waved it off as something I'd like to do eventually but which sounded like a giant pain in the butt. I had novels to write, after all, and I don't like to spend more than 2 weeks worth of work time on any of my short fiction.

I went on writing more, and longer, short fiction, and I'd still get the question about print versions rather frequently. It was pretty easy to brush off over Twitter or Facebook. Then I went to Salt Lake Comic Con, where I sold a lot of books and interacted with a lot of fans and was asked about the short fiction way more than I had ever been online.

I was sharing a booth with Schlock Mercenary and was able to talk with Howard and Sandra Taylor about self-publishing print books. That made the whole idea sound way less intimidating so when I got home, I started to figure out what needed to be done.

My first decision was what, exactly, to publish. At this point I had three short stories and two novellas out. The short stories were too short to print individually. I didn't like the idea of an anthology because I enjoy putting out short fiction set whenever and wherever I feel like in the Powder Mage Universe, and I felt that an anthology should have some sort of theme or set or be providing closure to a particular time period. Basically, I want each story to still be read on it's own (some of you may find this reasoning stupid, but it's how I feel for now). But I realized the two novellas (Forsworn and Servant of the Crown) are each just big enough to make cool little chapbook-type things.

I did a little informal polling on twitter and got some initial cost estimates from online printers and decided to do go with a more expensive, but nicer and more collectible, hardcover.

I met with a locally-headquartered printer that I happened to have a personal connection to (HF Group, who I recommend) and talked through some of my concerns about quality control. Feeling good about the process, I emailed with their production people. I found out what they'd need from me and the printing costs involved.

We had to turn the ebook cover on the left into a print cover on the right.

At this point I had a formatted ebook and an ebook cover. I needed to get both of these turned into print-ready PDFs. Maybe I could have done that on my own, but I don't hate myself so I contracted it out to people who did this kind of thing professionally. That process took a week or two.

The printer took my files and sent me a proof of each book. This showed me what they'd look like, and I was able to see for myself the pros and cons of glossy vinyl versus matte covers (I went with matte). I talked through a couple of changes with them, and the books were sent to final printing.

Once I had proofs (and not before), I felt pretty confident about taking orders on the novellas. I was selling signed, dated, and numbered editions for the first hundred so I sold them in a bundle to make my life easier. Luckily, I already had a store set up to sell print copies of my novels and ebooks of my short fiction.

The ordering was a bit hectic. I ran a small advertising campaign on Facebook and Twitter (nothing paid, just outreach to fans), and sent out a newsletter. The numbered editions sold out in two days, which was a way better response than I'd expected. Fans asked a lot of questions during the process.

Printing had a few kinks, which we managed to work out but that set shipping back by an extra week. That meant answering several emails about when the books would be sent out.

Then came the shipping. Oh, the shipping.

Signing around 250 books and personalizing about fifty of those, and then packaging and addressing them took almost as much of my time as the entire rest of the project together. I'll admit I could streamline the process quite a bit - for instance, I had to hand address every package because Squarespace's system was being a jerk with every label printing software I tried.

Finally, the post office. I had to eat some extra cost on several international shipments because I was an idiot. And I couldn't figure out how to get a ship-from-home option to work for media mail so I wound up spending an hour checking out at the post office.

Some things I discovered:

Everyone I had working on the different aspects of the hardcovers were people I already had personal or profession relationships with. That made the entire thing SO much easier (and cheaper) than it would have been.Selling via Amazon just wrecks the profit margins on these. I still haven't decided whether to put them up there or not. Increased visibility versus losing the majority of the profit on each book. Also, I'm required to buy an ISBN which I don't need for the ebook. Amazon still hasn't answered several inquiries about getting an exemption.I should have bit the bullet and paid for a membership to Stamps.com to aid with shipping. I learned this too late for my first shipment, but I'll use it in the future. More intuitive than the USPS option and lets me select media mail.You have to decide where you draw the line at pleasing fans/providing something cool and unique versus convenience for yourself. The numbered copies were fun and I think people really enjoyed them, but making sure I had them all stacked and organized and paired properly took a ton of time and energy. And people will want their matching numbers for future novellas.

Final thoughts: Stretched over the course of about about two months, the whole project took me the equivalent of around four working days to research and coordinate the printing and then to do all the signing and shipping. That might not sound like much time in total, but It's a lot of logistical stuff to keep track of for one person and many uncounted hours of agonizing over little tiny things. In the end it was worth it. Fans have received their books and seem to really love them.

On a purely mercenary level, I made enough money for me to do it again, and having extra things to sell at conventions will be very nice. I already have the cover and print-ready PDF prepared for the printer for the next Powder Mage novella, Murder at the Kinnen Hotel. Pre-orders for that should be up mid-December.

Proof for the next Powder Mage Novella hardcover, out by the end of the year. In ebook now.

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Murder at the Kinnen Hotel

The newest powder mage novella is now on sale! Here's the cover copy:

Special Detective Constable Adamat may be the most capable young investigator in all of Adopest. He's sharp, thoughtful, and his particular sorcery gives him a flawless memory. A transfer to the First Precinct seems like the perfect opportunity to showcase his abilities and advance his career.

But things work differently in the First Precinct. The murder of a businessman's mistress quickly pulls Adamat into an unexpected world of conspiracy and politics where he's forced to use all his wits to stay one step ahead of unseen enemies and keep his friends—and himself—from the guillotine.

Occurs twenty-two years before the events in Promise of Blood.

United States 

Direct (All Countries)AmazonNookKoboiBooks

United Kingdom

Amazon.co.ukNook.com/gb

Other

Amazon.inAmazon.deAmazon.frAmazon.esAmazon.itAmazon.co.jpAmazon.com.brAmazon.caAmazon.com.au

Audio

AudibleiTunes

Murder at the Kinnen Hotel + Black Powder Friday

Want to get a jump on holiday gifts? Here are two coupon codes for my store for the next two weeks:

blackpowderfriday : 30% off any signed Promise of Blood blackpowder10 : 10% off any order over $49

The newest powder mage novella is now on sale! Here's the cover copy:

Special Detective Constable Adamat may be the most capable young investigator in all of Adopest. He's sharp, thoughtful, and his particular sorcery gives him a flawless memory. A transfer to the First Precinct seems like the perfect opportunity to showcase his abilities and advance his career.

But things work differently in the First Precinct. The murder of a businessman's mistress quickly pulls Adamat into an unexpected world of conspiracy and politics where he's forced to use all his wits to stay one step ahead of unseen enemies and keep his friends—and himself—from the guillotine.

Occurs twenty-two years before the events in Promise of Blood.

As usual, coordinating the publication dates across all ebook platforms is a bit of a pain because some process the ebook almost immediately and others take as much as three to four days. The "official" launch date is Monday, November 24th. You can pre-order on Amazon for it to be available that morning, or you can order it directly from me to have it right now. I'll add the rest of the buy links below as they become available.

United States 

Direct (All Countries)AmazonNookKoboiBooks

United Kingdom

Amazon.co.ukNook.com/gb

Other

Amazon.inAmazon.deAmazon.frAmazon.esAmazon.itAmazon.co.jpAmazon.com.brAmazon.caAmazon.com.au

Audio

AudibleiTunes

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An End to Every Kerfluffle

As many of you have heard, it was announced yesterday that Amazon and Hachette (my publisher) have finally come to an agreement that will end months of bickering.

This is a huge relief to myself, as well as the other authors published by Hachette, and takes a giant weight off my shoulders going into the holiday (ie, selling) season.

For those wondering how this changes things for the reader:

The Autumn Republic  is now available for pre-order through Amazon US.Prices on the ebooks and paperbacks of Promise of Blood have droppedPrices on the ebooks and hardcovers of Crimson Campaign have dropped

The price drops, at least for now, are rather significant and I suspect will result in a reasonable jump in interest for the series over the holidays. More importantly, pre-orders on Autumn Republic will likely make a huge difference for how well the book launches come February 10th.

Thanks to all my awesome readers, and to the people at Amazon and Hachette for finally getting this thing hammered out!

 

Update

Quick update on the status of the novella hardbacks:

There was an issue at the printer where the art on the cover of Servant of the Crown did not align with the spine. They're reprinting the covers and they plan on having the books to me by early-to-mid next week. Forsworn was fine and should arrive this afternoon.

I'm hoping to have everyone's books, including the signed Promise of Blood and Crimson Campaign copies you ordered, by the end of next week.

Thanks everyone for your patience, and if you'd like to pre-order the novellas we still have some available here.

The Economics of a Book Fair from an Author's Perspective

A couple of days ago, I spent the better part of the morning and afternoon at the Buckeye Book Fair in Wooster, Ohio. I did a lot of smiling and hand shaking, and spent a lot of time tweeting about the way old people tend to nod condescendingly when you tell them that you write epic fantasy.

See, I have a love-hate relationship with book fairs. I spend most of my professional life chained to my office chair, hammering away at the keyboard, so when there's a book fair or I'm invited for a signing or some such thing, I tend not to stop and wonder if it's really worth my time. I get excited and go and pitch my book to strangers and, quicker than I care to admit, my patience for telling middle-aged men that no, it's not a historical novel about the Civil War tends to wear thin.

By the time the book fair is over, I'm tired and I don't sell that many books so I tell myself there's no way I'm coming back next year. Then next year rolls around and I remember the tasty free lunch and the way it felt when I did successfully pitch my book, so I sign up to do it again.

On the way home from Wooster this year I began to think about the economics of the book fair. Forgetting the positive or negative emotional impact, I wanted to take a look at whether this was actually paying for itself for me, the author.

First, a couple thoughts.

I don't think Adult SFF is a best-selling genre at these book fairs. I've noticed that the big sellers tend to be inspirational, local non-fiction, mystery, and sports. Even better if the books hit more than one category. YA also sells fantastic, but that's it's own beast. So if you write one of those (or even if you write SFF) your experience may vary WILDLY.Book fairs will likely be different depending on where they're located. This one is out in farm country Ohio, so local non-fiction and sports are the headliners. I did quite a bit better at Books by the Banks in downtown Cincinnati last year.I don't have solid numbers on attendance at this book fair, but I'd guess a couple thousand readers and (I was told) around 85 authors of all genres.

Next, the numbers:

This year, I sold eighteen books. Fourteen of those were Promise of Blood in trade paperback and four of those were Crimson Campaign in hardcover. I make 7.5% of the cover price of trade paperbacks and 10% for hardcovers. Let's ignore the fact that these are royalties against an advance, which I've already been paid and will not earn out for a while. Our math will be percent times cover price times units sold.

.075 x 16 x 14 = $16.80.1 x 26 x 4 = $10.40Total royalties: $27.80

The event itself was six and a half hours, and we were asked to be there a half hour early. The drive from my house was an hour and a half each way. That's ten hours of my time. It was a 78 mile drive each way, at an assumed 25MPG, at an assumed $3/gallon of gas for a cost of $18.72 in gas money (which is tax deductible).

I made $9.08 in profit over ten hours. $.91 an hour. So, uh, not looking so good for the use of our time is it?

Let's take this a bit further. I'm going to share a few anecdotes:

I had three people come up and tell me they had my books on ebook and loved my work and didn't know I was here and would look for me next year for a copy of Autumn Republic.I had one guy come up who bought Promise of Blood as a gift for his son when he attended last year. He said that he was going to buy Crimson Campaign this year but noticed just that morning that his son had already bought and read it on his own. We chatted and I told him he could pre-order Autumn Republic and he picked up a signed book plate.I had two people who bought the book this year that remembered seeing me last year, being interested, but not having the money.Of the half dozen or so people who came by that had already read my books, every one of them mentioned how they had been telling their family and friends about me. Several had hooked at least one other person on the series.

What I'm getting from all this is that these book fairs, beyond the cold sale of eighteen copies, have a ripple effect that is utterly impossible to predict. Adult SFF, perhaps even beyond other genres, depends on word of mouth to create a successful novel.

I don't think I'm exaggerating to say that those eighteen sales could very well, over the next year, result in another forty or more sales. In fact, let's say that's the case. Assuming an average royalty of $1.75 a book times 40 books, I'll add another $70 to our $9.08 for a profit of $79.08 or $7.91/hr in royalties.

Ew. That's still not looking that great.

Okay. So book fairs are, financially speaking, not that awesome of a time investment. At least not for me. I could have made a lot more money staying at home and working on the next powder mage novella. The only thing I can do is file that financial report away in my brain next to all my other experiences and impressions from the book fair and look at them all in one big lump to decide whether it was actually worth my time.

Overall, I sold to new fans and connected with current ones and deepened my impression on the reading community, which can't really be quantified.

The final question is whether I should go back next year and I'll be honest: I have no idea. It'll probably depend on what kind of mood I'm in when registration opens up because I'm an author, damn it, and I'm fickle as hell.

A last anecdote: it was around 12PM, less than half way through the day, and I was already tired and grumpy. Then a girl shows up and begins to absolutely bubble about my books. She adored Promise of Blood, I'm up there with GRRM in her mind, she's part way through Crimson Campaign. She's wore a cool Adran uniform-esque jacket just to meet me and she wants a picture.

It made the whole trip worth it.

Novella Hardcovers

Orders are now open for the limited run hardcovers of both powder mage novellas, Forsworn and Servant of the Crown. They will be numbered (1-100), signed, and dated. Orders are open as a bundle first.

I will try to accommodate requests for particular numbered copies in the comments below or on your order form, but they are not guaranteed.

Get them while they last! For more information, read below the cut.

For those of you that follow me on Twitter, I've been talking about turning the novellas into hardcovers ever since Salt Lake Comic Con, where I received a huge number of requests for physical copies. Well, the proofs have finally landed on my desk!

In the above picture, Servant of the Crown is a textured glossy and Forsworn is matte. I like the feel of the glossy, but it shows imperfections easily and it's already showing a crack along the spine, so the final of both books will be matte.

Weekend Buys 10/17/2014

“Each weekend I recommend three books. Some are books I’ve read and some are books I want to read. Some have been written by my friends. Or maybe I’ll just post a good deal I saw online. Just a little something to expose you to the kind of books that interest me.”

My current read is a book called How We Got to Now: Six Innovations that Made the Modern World by Steven Johnson. I'll start out by saying that I've only read the first section (on glass), and I paid for the hardcover, and I already feel like I got my money's worth.

It's truly fascinating and will appeal greatly to the type of people who like to watch Dirty Jobs or How It's Made and other fascinating "behind the scenes" kind of science and industry. As I said, the hardcover is well worth it--but the ebook is also only $4.99 right now, so yeah. Grab it.

 

 

You know how I'm always going on about my "to read" list? Well, here's another that's been on it for quite a while. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin has been heaped with all sorts of awesome praise. It's on sale for $1.99 right now, and we share a publisher which is always fun. For an extra bonus, the entire trilogy is finished already. You can get The Broken Kingdoms and The Kingdom of Gods without having to wait for release dates.

 

 

I think I've visited Terry Pratchett before on Weekend Buys, but you know what? It's my website, I'll do it again if I want. The first Pratchett book I ever read (and still one of my very favorites) is Mort. It's the story of a hapless young man who becomes apprenticed to Death. It's hilarious, I think a great entry into the Discworld books if you've never read them.

t's just $3.79 right now and it appears that many of the other Discworld ebooks are also sitting at bargain price. Two of my favorites are Going Postal and Night Watch.

 

Novella Giveaway!

Been a while since we had a giveaway around these parts, and I woke up feeling like this would be a good week for it. So here's what we have for today:

Forsworn is the first of two novellas I've written in the Powder Mage Universe (the second being Servant of the Crown). It follows the plight of a young Kez powder mage about thirty-five years before the beginning of Promise of Blood. Here's the cover copy:

Erika ja Leora is a powder mage in northern Kez, a place where that particular sorcery is punishable by death. She is only protected by her family name and her position as heir to a duchy. 

When she decides to help a young commoner—a powder mage marked for death, fugitive from the law—she puts her life and family reputation at risk and sets off to deliver her new ward to the safety of Adro while playing cat and mouse with the king's own mage hunters and their captain, Duke Nikslaus.

 

You can download a zip file of the novella that includes a PDF, mobi, and epub, by clicking RIGHT HERE. I'll leave the download up through this Saturday, the 18th.

If you'd like to go ahead and purchase Forsworn, just follow this link. You can also get your hands on Servant of the Crown and the rest of the Powder Mage short stories including "The Girl of Hrusch Avenue," "Hope's End," and "Face in the Window."

Oh, and what the heck. Here's a coupon for 10% off signed and dated copies of Promise of Blood in my store. Just use the code FG1014.

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Dungeon Crawlers Radio Interview

Back at Salt Lake Comic Con, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Daniel Swenson of Dungeon Crawler Radio. You can watch that interview now!