Sarah Biglow's Blog, page 5
December 12, 2015
The Cold Hard Facts: Unplanned sale
Before I did the sale, I'd done a little reading on the best length of time to run a paid discount versus free. The number I had seen was 5 days. So, I set the sale for December 7-11. I took a couple of small paid promotional ads (I didn't make it into the BookBub club this time) so I had a small amount to earn back. I suppose in theory I could have said "forget it" about trying to make sure I covered promo costs and just been happy with whatever I earned.
So, the results:
Total copies sold: 64
Total made: $40.96
Net profit after promo: $15.46
It isn't huge numbers by any means but considering up until that point my royalty rate had been $10, I was happy.
The bigger thing I saw during the sale that I wasn't expecting was the number page reads in Kindle Unlimited. I'd placed Unplanned in KDP Select in late October and had seen some spike in reads around Thanksgiving time but during the span of the sale I had almost 2200 pages read (roughly the equivalent of another 5 people reading my entire book.
I will admit I am very happy with how the sale turned out, especially given I didn't have a big promo platform like BookBub behind me. We managed to get into the Top 10 (peaked at #6) in the LGBT Literary Fiction Best Seller list and I also landed around #86 on the Women's Fiction Top 100 Best Seller list.
I do have some takeaways from seeing the sale run it's course though and I think I would change a few things if I did another sale.
1. Spread the paid promo out over the life of the sale.
I had everything go out on the 7th which sawthe biggest amount of sales (obviously) but then things petered out very quickly. I think if I had done each thing on a different day I might have see steadier sales or at the very least not quite as steep a decline.
2. Run the sale for less time.
Having run the sale for 5 days and seeing how few sales there were by days 4 and 5, I think I would have been better served to run the sale for only 3 days. I think this strategy coupled with spreading out the paid promotions could still yield a stronger sale in the future.
Overall, I am pleased with the sale and I look forward to running another one in the future.
September 28, 2015
Accepting Limitations
I don't advertise it in relation to my writing often but I am visually impaired. In large part due to the support of my parents and the excellent assistance I had growing up, I've adapted very well to the world around me. I'm able to function in it without use of a guide dog or cane (please note: using either of these things should ever be viewed as a negative thing) and thanks to the wonder of tablets and e-readers, I can read with ease.
Without getting too much into party affiliations and what not, I had planned to attend a political rally this coming weekend. It would have been a first for ne and a very exciting milestone. However, the more i looked into trying to secure seating accommodations, the more it became clear this just wasn't going to work out. Five days before the event and logistics weren't set up yet. They couldn't be sure there'd be an area for disability seating. They were expecting 14,000 people and I wasn't going with anyone I knew.
All of that on top of the fact the rally was to take place in an area I'm not 100% familiar with and even less so after dark. it appeared my best intentions were to be thwarted.
But that's okay. I've been able to overcome a lot in my life (become a writer and a lawyer with a successful career). I was raised with the mentality that I could do anything if I put my mind to it. My disability would not hold me back. But roughly a week after my 28th birthday, I've realized that there are some things I can't do. And maybe can't isn't the right word. There are things I shouldn't do. I know myself in crowds (I am not a big fan) and the thought of trying to navigate all of those people in that type of situation terrified me. Yes, I could have tried to do it but it really isn't worth my safety or my sanity. I have to accept that there are just some things I'm better off leaving to other people so I can go on living my life to best of my ability.
August 9, 2015
Spot the Bottle Episode
I’m cross-posting this little piece I put up on the TV recap blog that my friend Jen and I run.
If you watch a lot of TV like I do, you’ll start to pick up on the way shows are filmed and structured. Thanks to a rather informative DVD commentary on Leverage season 2, I learned that most shows will likely have what’s called a “bottle” episode during their run. In short, a bottle episode is a story told on a fairly self-contained shooting location such as a pre-existing set. This means you don’t have to spend money on scouting locations or paying to film at actual places. It’s the big money saver for a show inching too close to being over-budget. More often than not, the shows that tend to do bottle episodes are ones that have bigger need for special effects like genre shows. Sometimes, too, it’s because the show has spent too much money on other locations or guest casting. Since these types of episodes can be good for character studies, I thought I would discuss a few episodes from brand new shows and the one that started it all.
Stitchers
“Stitchers” is one of ABC Family’s new shows and has become one of my favorite summer shows this year. It centers on a young woman, Kirsten, who has a rather unique medical condition which makes her have no sense of time or emotion. This allows her to be able to insert her consciousness into the recently dead to try and solve cases. If you haven’t already guessed it is a procedural with a genre twist which is something I really enjoy. The episode in question finds Kirsten and the team quarantined in the lab after a scientist who had been testing a deadly disease on herself gets loose.
This episode really screamed “bottle” to me. Even from the trailers I could see that it was going to be in one location and give the characters a chance to really dive deep into their relationships. We see Cameron come clean to Kirsten about his past (including that he had heart surgery and his parents always worried about him). We see Linus (one of the other tech guys) try to keep calm while saying goodbye to his parents. And we see Kirsten, who has recently been proposed to, make the choice not to call her possible fiancé amidst the crisis. This episode definitely felt the most character-driven of the season and while it didn’t push the overall plot forward in the same way that the finale did, it gave us more insight into the people we see each week.
Killjoys
“Killjoys” is another new summer show that I’ve really come to enjoy. Set in the future, it follows bounty hunters as they work their warrants and deal with their pasts catching up to them. This is pure science fiction and it makes me long for the days of “Firefly”. Although, to be honest I think I enjoy this more than “Firefly” some days. This show’s bottle episode I think was the strongest of them all. It leads directly from the prior episode and does a lot to fill in some blanks and set up the overall plot that’s been slowly looming over our characters’ heads since the start of the show. After one of the team, D’Avin, gets activated as a sleeper soldier and hurts his team, he and Dutch (the leader of the team) get stuck on their ship while Johnny is down on one of the planets holed up as a violent storm passes through.
Not only do we get more backstory on our characters but they are also forced to confront the drama going on at present. Thanks to Dutch and D’Avin sleeping together, things are not working with the trio and Johnny sets out to fix it. But along the way, as he deals with a crisis of his own, he realizes he needs to stop fixing things for other people. They need to take responsibility for themselves. Another aspect of this episode I felt was strong was how it relied on several supporting characters to move the action forward. And they were all characters we met in the pilot. We even got a little backstory on a couple of these lesser players which should prove to come back into play later on in the series. The producers and writers of this episode really used the fact that they didn’t need to use new sets to dig into the meat of our characters.
Leverage
Season 2’s “The Bottle Job” is what started it all for me. It’s set in primarily one locations (McRory’s Bar) during an Irish wake at which the team has to run at least 3 cons in the span of the episode. The team manages to run the Wire compressed into a couple of hours as well as conning the mark into staying put thanks to snow. Finally, the gang ends up conning the mark out of all his money and making him confess to several crimes to the local law enforcement frequenting the bar in a card game.
Much like other bottle episodes, we get some new pieces of information about characters and plot that set up the back half of the season very nicely. This episode shows us the beginning of Nate’s downward spiral into alcoholism which ultimately leads to a rather nasty result come season’s end. It was also fun to see the team work in such a confined space. They had to make sure they didn’t blow their covers since they were in such close proximity to the mark. And I loved how we got to see the team integrate people we hadn’t necessarily seen before within the cons themselves such as the local cops involved in the card game.
For me, at least, having a little bit more insight into how a show is put together and structured makes it more enjoyable. Sure it means that the show in question has to pinch pennies but it often times results in a lot of fun and some very nice character beats that you wouldn’t otherwise see. So next time you’re watching one of your favorites, pay a little bit closer attention and you might just spot the bottle episode amongst the run-of-the-mill.
August 7, 2015
Archangel Rising Goodreads Giveaway!
To drum up a little interest in my new short story collection, I’m running a GoodReads Giveaway. Here’s eerything you need to know!
When: August 7-21, 2015
What: Win 1 of 2 signed print copies of Archangel Rising Volume 1.
Who: US citizens 18 years or older (sorry international folks but since I’m footing the shipping bill, I’m keeping it domestic this time)
Where: Enter here for a chance to win!
And as always, even if you don’t win, I’d really appreciate it if you checked it out and if you read it, leave a review. Much obliged!
July 24, 2015
In Review: Go Set a Watchman
In case you hadn’t heard, Harper Lee (author of To Kill a Mockingbird) has put out a new novel. It is a sequel of sorts to her earlier work. Now, early reviews were mixed and many said the writing was weak and the story shallow. Naturally, I wanted to find out for myself so I sat down this week and read it.
Title: Go Set a Watchman
Author: Harper Lee
Rating: 2
I believe this is the lowest rating I’ve ever given to a book. To Kill a Mockingbird was one of my favorite books in high school and I’m at least happy to say reading this didn’t ruin that book for me. But it was evident that this publication was not about creating more great literature. It was about the money.
Right from the get go, I was distracted by the clunky and sloppy writing. I’ve heard that Ms. Lee didn’t want the manuscript touched by an editor and honestly, that makes me sad. Not just as a writer myself but because it could have been so much better if she’d let someone else take a look before sending it out into the world. There’s likely a reason that the editor back in the day told Ms. Lee that what became To Kill a Mockingbird was the real story. There were many times during the story where Scout (narrating in 3rd person) would flip to 1st person for internal thoughts and dialogue. There was nothing to signal the change in narrative style was coming and it was often distracting and pulled me out of the story. There was an entire chapter mid-way through where it was impossible to figure who she was talking to.
Plot-wise, the story was shallow. The theme of growing up and realizing that the people you held on a pedestal aren’t who you thought they were and that everyone has flaws is a good theme. I wasn’t concerned that Atticus suddenly seemed to harbor such racial animosity. After all, Scout was six during To Kill a Mockingbird. She idolized her father and only saw the good in him. But the resolution to the story seemed not only rushed but clumsy. Maybe it was the writing that got in the way of what the characters were trying to say or maybe it’s just that the sentiments in the last ’40s and early ’50s aren’t something I fully grasp being a millennial. But the way the story ended just didn’t work for me. It could have been much more powerful.
Honestly, the entire novel read like a first draft and I think that’s my biggest criticism. But, I’ve read it and formed my own opinion (even if it does echo many other reviewers out there). As I said, my memory of To Kill a Mockingbird isn’t ruined or tarnished. I just wish some more effort had been put into this novel to make it really shine.
July 20, 2015
Archangel Rising: Volume 1 for Sale
So, I know I haven’t talked much about it but last year I did some write-for-hire short stories. I’ve since gotten the rights back to the material and so I decided to publish it on my own (and under my own name rather than a pseudonym). It is available in print and ebook and is quite different from Unplanned. It’s a foray into the world of urban fantasy and angels.
You can find information, including buy links, on the Archangel Rising page. In the near future I will likely be doing a giveaway with this book via Amazon and possibly Goodreads (if I can figure that part out).
As always, I would really appreciate reviews if you pick up a copy!
June 20, 2015
In Review: Discount Armageddon
So this summer I plan on doing a lot of reading as we have some big life changes in my household (namely moving at the end of August). As such, I wanted to share my thoughts on a new series I just started reading last week. I’m always up for finding new series and this one happens to be by an author I already enjoy.
Title: Discount Armageddon
Author: Seanan McGuire
Rating: 4.5
So if you couldn’t tell I’m a big fan of urban fantasy. I would say about 90-95% of what I read falls into that category. I just love getting swept away by the fantastical. Author Seanan McGuire is good at that and has been doing so with her October Daye series for quite a while. I am a big fan of that series and so I decided to check out her other seires, InCryptid. The first book introduces us to Verity Price and her family of cryptozoologists who study and try to protect the creepy crawlies of the world (or in Very’s case Manhattan). Because of a generations-old blood feud with a group called The Covenant, Verity and her family are in hiding and can’t draw too much attention to themselves. Enter hot Covenant guy Dominic De Luca and things just go from bad to insane.
The reason I gave this book 4 and a half stars instead of 5 is becuse there a few plot points that were just a little too predictable. But that may mean I read too much in this genre and epect things. But I have to say McGuire did a terrific job giving you just enough backstory on the characters to explain the tension between them but left things vague enough that you weren’t overwhelmed with info dump. The characters themselves were well drawn and distinctive and even if you didn’t see some of them for more than a scene or two you got a feel for what they were like.
The cryptid population of Manhattan consisted of a lot of myths and creatures that the general population had heard of before which made it easier to connect with and the ones you didn’t recognize were explained in such a way that made it interesting to imagine them.
I think my favorite aspect of the story though was Verity’s sense of humor. It’s sharp and witty and I found myself laughing out loud many times at her antics and reactions to situations. A good book should always make you laugh and I think McGuire succeeded in that regard 100%.
I’ve already started reading the second book in the series and can’t wait to see what mishaps Verity and her family find themselves in next!
June 8, 2015
Unplanned is back online!
I know I’m a little late in sharing this news (I had a busy weekend and then I got knocked out with a nasty cold) but Unplanned is officially back up for sale on various sites where ebooks are sold. I have added links to most of the sites on the page for Unplanned. I would be very grateful if you could leave a review if you purchase a copy.
I know I’ve been posting a lot about Unplanned lately and I promise I’ll be posting some varied content going forward.
May 21, 2015
Unplanned Gets New Cover Art
As I mentioned back in February, the rights to Unplanned have been reverted back to me. I’ve chosen to go forward and publish the second edition myself. The print and e-book versions should be live in the next 2-3 weeks and I will of course share more when that is available. I plan on running a Goodreads contest shortly after re-release, too.
But first, I thought I would share with you the new cover for UNPLANNED! I am extremely pleased with the new face of this empowering tale. I look forward to sharing it with the world again.
May 3, 2015
In Review: Witches of Echo Park
A lot of things have been going on in my writing world of late but I thought it was time to resurrect some book reviews. So for the rest of the summer I will be posting reviews of the books I read, along with a special post about series and where they can go wrong. As you probably can tell, I’m a huge urban fantasy lover and one of my favorite authors is the lovely Amber Benson. I was very excited to learn that she had a new series coming out this year about witches. So without further ado, here’s my review.
Title: Witches of Echo Park
Author: Amber Benson
Rating: 3
So I went into reading this book expecting it be on par with Amber’s Calliope Reaper-Jones series. It pains me to say that I was a bit disappointed. The story sounded great: a young woman who learns she is supposed to join a secret coven of witches and battle against epic evil. But really, most of that didn’t happen. I knew this was the first book in the series when I went in but honestly, the pacing felt way off. Lyse (our main protagonist) doesn’t even learn the truth about her destiny until well past the half-way mark. Even once Lyse finds out the truth and starts to accept it, not a whole lot happens. Yes, she faces off against an evil doer and wins but it wasn’t even really her own powers doing it. The story ended where I felt like we had only just started to get momentum. I am intrigued to see what happens next and I will of course be reading the rest of the series but as the first into Lyse’s journey, I didn’t feel it was as strong as it could have been.
All of that said, I did enjoy the characters Amber has created. She employed the rotating narrator approach which gave some good insight into characters that you wouldn’t have gotten had it been strictly from one point of view. As a writer, I tend to employ this narrative device myself and find it helps give the reader more than one connection to the story. Lyse grew on me as time passed and I liked some of the other members of the coven. There was Daniela who has some crazy empathic powers and Arrabelle who is an herbalist and poor young Lizbeth who doesn’t speak. As the story unfolded we gleaned bits and pieces about these characters and what made them tick.
Another point in Amber’s favor is she really set the scene. You could tell she either lived in the area at one point or did a lot of research because you could feel the authenticity of the setting from the start. The casual way she tossed in street names and different areas of the Echo Park neighborhood really gave the story a sense of place and grounded it even though it was about a group of witches with mystical abilities.
This novel wasn’t perfect but I did enjoy it and I look forward to seeing what happens next for Lyse and her blood sisters.
