R.J. Blain's Blog, page 68

A Letter to Me: Building Towards the Future

Hello, Me.

There are a lot of things we want to do in the near future. We want to finish the main four-book series of Witch & Wolf. We want to release two science fiction novels. We want to make a career out of writing.

It’s been busy.

But, things are crazy lately. We’ve produced a lot of books this year. Storm Surge flopped; I’m glad we wrote it, and we’ll continue to series, but we haven’t broken even on investment costs on that novel yet. Blood Diamond did well–we’re actually making money instead of losing it on that one. Tales of the Winter Wolf isn’t doing bad either; we’re in the black there, too.

Here’s the thing. We’re moving soon, and winter is a good month for pure drafting. Beneath a Blood Moon nears completion.

Once we’re finished that book, we are going to go into full draft mode.

Fans, readers, loved ones–anyone who cares, this part of the letter is for you.

I will likely not be releasing another novel after Beneath a Blood Moon for a year or more. I’ll be writing, and I’ll be writing a lot, but I’ve decided I will not be producing titles. I’ll be working on them, self-editing, and preparing them for publication, but I want to be able to go on a drafting frenzy.

Editing takes a lot out of me, and once I get into an editing groove, it’s difficult for me to break out of it. So, this comes with a silver lining.

2017 or 2018 will see a lot of titles from me. I fully intend on releasing a novel once every month or two for several months once I finish my drafting cycle. There are several reasons for this.

At the top of the list is money. Right below money is my upcoming move to the United States. I need to be able to focus on my real life and my family, and moving to a different country is very difficult–and stressful!

So, I’m writing. I’ll still be blogging, but I won’t be publishing for a while. I need the time to write without worrying about crippling my creativity with editing. I need the time to do other things.

Here are the books I hope to release in 2017/2018, once i have some money for the editorial work (and other things.)

Silver Bullet (Conclusion of Witch & Wolf)
The Tides of War (Requiem for the Rift King Book 3)
Project Zeta (Science Fiction)
Zero (Science Fiction)
City of Clocks
Rider of the Sun Horse
Royal Slaves (The Fall of Erelith Book 2.)

Many of these novels already have their cover work–or it is on the way. This was a hard decision to make, but I think my writing will be better for having the opportunity to spend a year simply writing for the love of writing.

I considered a crowdfund, but I decided against it. Instead, I will be saving the royalties from the books I already have out and using those funds to continue my writing career.

Thanks for bearing with me, folks. I really appreciate. I may not be producing novels for a year and a half, but hey… if George R R Martin can go six years between books, I can go a year and a half.

Sorry for the delays, folks, but this is for the better–for all of us.

Readers, Writers, and Literary Prejudices

Recently, I was blessed to become friends and acquaintances with a few other SFWA and RWA authors who have been around the block. These ladies were in the industry as professionals–with livable careers–long before self-publishing came along. These ladies have been published by the big houses–and most of them still are with the big houses.

While I have traditionally published a short story, I”m a self-publishing author. I started from the ground and worked my way up, learning the ins and outs of publishing from bitter sweet experience. I didn’t have an agent to hold my hand–I don’t have one to hold my hand. Some days, I wish I did.

But my interactions with these individuals has made me think about writers, readers, and literary prejudices. What, exactly, is a literary prejudice?

In my opinion and experience, literary prejudice is a mindset where readers expect a certain thing. If they do not get said thing, the author is ostracized. For example: A romance author who typically writes happily ever after endings will be harnessed into always writing happily ever after endings because this is expected of him or her.

She s/he stray from this path, the readers’ literary prejudice kicks in, resulting in a mass exodus of fans/buyers. It’s not something as easily defined as racism, sexism, or some other form of common prejudice. It’s something that goes deeper.

Once an author finds their niche, literary prejudice is what happens if the author decides to write something different that falls outside of the ‘comfort zone’ of their basic readership.

Some readers will simply ignore the ‘straying’ title. Others will ostracize the author completely. Depending on the originating genre of the author, this may result in the reader never buying any more titles by that author.

I am actually experiencing this to a certain degree, although I simply do not have the readership to see as staggering of an affect as the large-house, traditional authors.

The first novel I released was a dark–a very dark–traditional fantasy. It is edgy, and it takes a plunge into subject matter many dislike discussing. The Fall of Erelith is a very difficult series for me to write. I’ve been working on book 2, Royal Slaves, in fits and bursts since I finished The Eye of God, but it’s a story that’s very hard for me to tell. (It is also not a profitable story, which doesn’t help matters any for me.)

The second novel I released was a dark epic fantasy. It doesn’t challenge as many things, focusing instead on the action and adventure I love in fantasy. I wrote Storm Without End for me as much as I wrote it for others. I broke loads of rules, learning a lot about my identity as an author.

With these two books, I started setting myself up for the niche I would fit in: dark, edgy, and intense fantasy fiction.

The trend continued with Inquisitor. It is as much of a thriller as it is an urban fantasy, and once again, I broke loads of rules while learning more about my identity as an author.

Winter Wolf followed suit, and I dug the trench deeper, delving into some of the darker aspects of humanity. Dark, dark, dark.

None of these novels have a lot of romance in them.

In Blood Diamond, I started to break out of the shell I had created for myself with my previous novels. Romance became a minor theme–minor compared to true ‘romance’ authors. The dark and the unpleasant sides of humanity remain in Blood Diamond, playing to my love of thrillers and suspense. I stay true to my action/adventure roots.

Then I made a mistake. I was interested in finding out the depth of love Richard Murphy had for Nicolina Desmond before the events of Winter Wolf. I knew some of it–how they fought, some of their circumstances, and some of the games they played. But, I didn’t know the whole story.

I wanted to tell that story. I wanted to know what kind of woman Nicolina had been before she had lost her memories. I wanted to know what kind of man Richard had been before tragedy stole away the most precious thing in his life.

I wanted to find out the depth of Richard’s love that would drive him into doing so much for a woman who remembered nothing about him.

It’s romance. This is far outside of the dark fantasies I had spent so much time focusing on. It’s not intense romance, not in the way a good romance writer handles it. There’s still plenty of darkness, action, and adventure, but the lighter side of their love often comes up. There’s a good amount of humor in it as well.

I escaped the mold of my normal writing and–heaven forbid–tried something new.

I expanded my boundaries, perhaps not as well as I could have, but I’ve learned something sad about the reading industry:

Literary prejudice is alive and well.

It’s the same mentality of critics who attack other readers for enjoying a novel like Twilight, though I’m far from ever reaching that level personally. Readers get set in their expectations, and when their expectations are not met–or worse, they’re challenged–bad things happen to the author who simply wanted to tell a story in the way they wanted to tell the story.

My readers and fans, many of whom enjoyed The Fall of Erelith, Witch & Wolf, and Requiem novels, are finding my detour into this new project disconcerting.

Will all of my future books be romance drivels? Will I leave the dark fantasy niche for fluffy romance where no one of importance is permitted to die? These sort of things begin to haunt me.

Beneath a Blood Moon is as much dark fantasy as it is romance; some parts of it explore the emotions of love. Others delve into the bleaker aspects of humanity. In a way, yes, I will stray from the utter dark of my beginning novels. There’s a reason for that.

Without light, there are no shadows.

Without those lighter elements, without that romance, love, and friendship between characters, the darkness is a pale shade of gray. It lacks the utter blackness of true despair because there’s nothing to contrast it with.

In a way, I hope by exploring more of the good parts of life, I can make the darker elements stronger. I hope I can make the action and adventure more intense. I want people to care about my characters–all aspects of them.

In my first novel, the lighter side of humanity, including love and romance, is a far-off dream: a desire held by the characters out of their reach. Acceptance, freedom, and the basic rights to a humane existence are also stakes. The Eye of God’s culture and society is an oppressive place.

The story isn’t about the contrasts between good and evil, light and darkness. It’s a story about finding out how deep the rabbit hole goes and learning there is a sky with a sun out there.

The world starts in that bleary gray, and the characters must overcome all that stands before them in order to find that light. That contrast is their goal and destination instead of the medium used to paint the piece.

As the story progresses, the darkness with get darker, but that’s because the characters grow to have things to lose–and things to gain. For women, if they find the courage, the strength, and determination, they have a chance to become equals and break free of the patriarchy binding them as slaves to their men. For men, it is breaking free of the rigid structure controlling every aspect of their lives.

For slaves, it’s about becoming human in the eyes of others.

Every novel I write is different, and that may ultimately become my undoing.

I don’t want to be an author readers go to for a safe expectation of content. I want each book to be a surprise. Will there be a romance tucked between the sheets of a dark action adventure? Will there be humor in the dark, epic fantasy?

It may cost me my career and brand, but if it means I must fall victim to the literary prejudice game, that’s okay.

 

Literary value is overrated anyway. Read what you love to read.

The instant you fall in love with a book is the instant it has the greatest literary value on Earth, no matter what the critics may say. So yes, while I tease and taunt Fifty Shades of Grey/Gray (How is his name spelled again?!), while I have my opinions on it, if that book makes you want to read, it’s a great book.

Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise or make you ashamed of your enjoyment of reading a book–any book, even one ‘society’ deems is horrible. If you love it, it’s a great book.

Literary prejudice can go suck a lemon.

 

Read what you love reading, and don’t let anyone take that away from you. Just remember, literary prejudice is a bad thing… and your favorite authors might feel trapped by the graves they have dug for themselves in their efforts to maintain a living for themselves. (It’s okay to dislike a book or series an author writes–don’t turn your back on them completely just because a few books aren’t up your alley. Remember, authors love variety, too. They want to write what they love to read… and many authors have a broad variety of loves and interests. I know I do.

Thanks for reading.

New & Upcoming Releases

I’ve been off the radar lately. I’ve been busy trying to release a bunch of stories. Writing is such a hard career, but the further I delve into it, the more I realize I simply don’t want another career. Sure, I’d likely be a lot more successful financially doing something else, but I’m a storyteller.

Authors are told to be humble, don’t beg, and so on, but I’m going to overstep my bounds and be upfront and honest with you: there are lots of ways you can help support authors, but buying our books is the most important thing you can do. If you see a book that catches your eye, please consider buying a copy or gifting one to a friend. (My cats thank you for your contribution to their food fund.)

Like my books? Please consider leaving a review on amazon telling other readers what you liked about the titles! Every little bit helps. Thank you so much!

New & Upcoming Releases

June 2015

Blood Diamond, Witch & Wolf #3

The world is full of corpses, and Jackson knows them by name. When a group strives to destroy the Inquisition, his powers may be all standing between the supernaturals and extinction.

However, when he learns the truth behind the deaths of his wife and unborn daughter, Jackson may prove to be the greatest threat of all to the survival of mankind…

July 2015

Tales of the Winter Wolf ( Volume One & Volume Two )

Long before Nicolina Desmond manifested her powers as a wizard, she was a Normal girl with extraordinary circumstances. In order to prove herself and escape her father’s chokehold on her life, she’s determined to get on the fast track towards an independent life.

However, she never anticipated how meeting Richard Murphy would change her life…

Tales of the Winter Wolf follows the adventures of Nicole and Richard, predominant characters from Witch & Wolf #2, Winter Wolf. Spoilers for the novel are contained within!

August 2015

Tales of the Winter Wolf ( Volume Three & Volume Four )

September 2015

Tales of the Winter Wolf ( Volume Five )

Omnibus – Tales of the Winter Wolf ( Volumes 1-5 )

Long before Nicolina Desmond manifested her powers as a wizard, she was a Normal girl with extraordinary circumstances. In order to prove herself and escape her father’s chokehold on her life, she’s determined to get on the fast track towards an independent life.

However, she never anticipated how meeting Richard Murphy would change her life…

Tales of the Winter Wolf follows the adventures of Nicole and Richard. These short stories and novellas contain spoilers for Witch & Wolf #2, Winter Wolf.

Purchasing the Omnibus is cheaper than acquiring all of the volumes individually. ($6.99 for the omnibus compared to $9.95 if you buy them all individually.)

This omnibus contains the following stories:

Volume One

Hunted

The Scent of Guilt

Firecracker

Glitter

Volume Two

Charmed

Crash and Burn

Wild Wolf

Volume Three

The Silvered Wolf

The Games Wolves Play

Volume Four

Tangles

Witch

Striking a Deal

In Hot Water

Breaking Point

Volume Five

The Power of a Word

Bonds

The Value of a Life

Shattered

November 2015

Beneath a Blood Moon

Sara’s life turns upside down when someone leaves her funerary urns, black roses, and death threats on her doorstep. Fearing her work as a stripper and showgirl has put her in the sights of a demented stalker, she turns to her best friend and fellow dancer for help.

Instead of a safe haven, all Sara finds is betrayal. Hunted by creatures she once believed were stories meant to frighten children, she is given a choice: become one of them, or die.

Forced to share her skin with a voracious carnivore and driven by instincts and desires too strong to resist, Sara must adapt to the changes in her life or be destroyed by them. Finding a mate is her wolf’s top priority.

If she doesn’t want to become another prostitute in a city full of them, Sara must learn to control the beast within. With a hungry wolf to feed and an empty bank account, selling herself to the highest bidder may be the only way she has to prevent becoming a monster driven to eat anything—or anyone—unfortunate enough to cross her path.

Tentative Releases (2016)

This list includes the books I hope to release in 2016. They’re all in various stages of completion, so I’d like to get them produced!

Project Zeta (Space Opera/Science Fantasy)
City of Clocks (Traditional Fantasy with Steampunk elements)
Royal Slaves (Fall of Erelith Book 2)
Zero (Science Fiction/Science Fantasy)

Thanks for your support!!

Beneath a Blood Moon

I have been pretty quiet on social media lately. I’ve been working on a new book. Beneath a Blood Moon is an urban fantasy romance/action adventure/thriller/mystery. It started its life as a romance, got lost along the way, and ended up an action/adventure starring a cast of romantics incapable of keeping their pants on in the presence of their beloved. (It’s not erotica. It’s all fade-to-black. Your imaginations are better than my pitiable attempts at smut, so I will never force you to endure that horror.)

There’s just a little bit of steam. Just a little.

About the Book

Sara’s life turns upside down when someone leaves her funerary urns, black roses, and death threats on her doorstep. Fearing her work as a stripper and showgirl has put her in the sights of a demented stalker, she turns to her best friend and fellow dancer for help.

Instead of a safe haven, all Sara finds is betrayal. Hunted by creatures she once believed were stories meant to frighten children, she is given a choice: become one of them, or die.

Forced to share her skin with a voracious carnivore and driven by instincts and desires too strong to resist, Sara must adapt to the changes in her life or be destroyed by them. Finding a mate is her wolf’s top priority.

If she doesn’t want to become another prostitute in a city full of them, Sara must learn to control the beast within. With a hungry wolf to feed and an empty bank account, selling herself to the highest bidder may be the only way she has to prevent becoming a monster driven to eat anything—or anyone—unfortunate enough to cross her path.

Yet Another Look at KDP Select, the July 2015 Edition

I finally have a full month of data on KDP Select’s new Pay per Page scheme. I’ve discussed this before. I’m discussing it again because I feel it is important to be open about my career–or partial lack of one.

In July 2015, I almost made minimum wage on my writing work. I may have leaked a little. I’m not quite there, and I acknowledge it is only one month. If I count conversion rate to my currency, I did make minimum wage. (Because I’m judgmental, especially towards myself, I’m eyeballing my new home for minimum wage.)

Oh, by the way, unless something drastic happens, I’m moving to California! So many of my problems will be solved!! I won’t be restricted by all of the not-available-to-Residents-of-Quebec rulings any longer!

I made you a fancy chart to show you how my works performed in July 2015, using estimates. Until August 15, I won’t have the official numbers. All Pay per Page royalties are calculated at 0.0058.

The first chart is simple. It shows the novel, the amount paid out in Pay per Read Royalties, the amount paid out in normal sales royalties, and the totals.

Note: All figures are estimates.

Title
Pay Per Read
Sales
Total


Blood Diamond
$181.37
$151.34
$332.71


Inquisitor
$114.17
$72.72
$186.89


Storm Surge
$21.18
$34.20
$55.38


Storm Without End
$17.21
$4.65
$21.86


TotWW 1
$14.14
$18.63
$32.77


TotWW 2
$0.01
$12.42
$12.43


The Eye of God
$0.02
$0.00
$0.02


Winter Wolf
$115.52
$36.90
$152.42


Totals
$463.62
$330.86
$794.48

To give you an idea of how much of a difference the new payment method has made, I made $249.63 in June 2015. That is a 3.1x increase between June and July. While the new releases of Blood Diamond and TotWW helped, it’s worth pointing out I still made more excluding those titles–and June had a week of Blood Diamond sales, which made up a substantial chunk of my income for June.

In the previous method of payment, I only got paid when a reader reached 10% of a novel. I write longer books, although Tales of the Winter Wolf are shorter compilations of stories about two characters. The novels are definitely paying out more, but it’s worth noting even the short fiction is doing fine under the new scheme.

The following chart assumes everyone reads the title (which is totally not accurate!) This is just a demonstration to get an idea of how many people read over the month.

Something of note: The 2 pages of Tales of the Winter Wolf volume 2 counted in right before the month switched over. The reader finished the book after the month cut off. (How do I know this? Exact match of pages in the title matched the stats in the morning. The reader started reading right before the time switched over in the system and finished in the same sitting.) There’s something interesting about this I should also point out.

The total number of pages read is affected by the front matter/end matter. I include samples of my other books in the backs of my titles. Sometimes readers look them over, sometimes they don’t. These count for Amazon’s system, but they skew the total reads.

Looking at how the stats have flowed over the month, with the exception of my debut novel, most readers seem to be finishing my books.

(I may have leaked a little when the realization sank in.)

Title
Pages Read
Total Reads


Blood Diamond
31,270
37.86


Inquisitor
19,685
32.38


Storm Surge
3,652
4.88


Storm Without End
2,967
4.87


Tales of the Winter Wolf, Vol. 1
2,438
11.34


Tales of the Winter Wolf, Vol. 2
2
0.01


The Eye of God
3
0.01


Winter Wolf
19,917
28.01


Grand Total
79,934
119.35

Here’s where things start getting really interesting. I sell my books between $1.99 (Tales of the Winter Wolf) to $4.99 (Blood Diamond.) In order to demonstrate how the KDP Select system is currently advantageous to me, here are my sales figures for July 2015.

Title
Copies Sold


Blood Diamond
46


Inquisitor
36


Storm Surge
10


Storm Without End
3


Tales of the Winter Wolf, Vol. 1
27


Tales of the Winter Wolf, Vol. 2
18


The Eye of God
0


Winter Wolf
15


Grand Total
155

I had more sales than I had estimated reads, but because of how KDP Select is paying out, I made more from KDP Select’s Pay per Read scheme than traditional sales.

In order to make the same royalties as the Pay per Read scheme, I would have had to charge the following for my books:

Note: Because Tales of the Winter Wolf is sold at a 35% royalty rate, I set the rate to $2.99, the amount needed to earn 70%. Any title with a calculated sales $ per book below $2.99 was set to $2.99 for this reason. There’s no way to realistically reach the royalty earnings for these titles because of how royalty payments actually work.

Title
Royalty Per Title
Sales $ Per Book


Blood Diamond
$4.79
$6.23


Inquisitor
$3.53
$4.58


Storm Surge
$4.34
$5.65


Storm Without End
$3.53
$4.59


Tales of the Winter Wolf, Vol. 1
$1.25
$2.99


Tales of the Winter Wolf, Vol. 2
$1.14
$2.99


The Eye of God
$2.23
$2.99


Winter Wolf
$4.12
$5.36

No, I won’t be changing how I price things to match KDP Select’s new system. I want my books to be affordable. The only titles I foresee selling at higher than $4.99 are my omnibuses or exceptionally long titles–by that, I mean titles exceeding 150,000 words by a notable margin. (Blood Diamond is a 150,000 word monster.)

I am undecided what I’ll charge for books longer than that. I don’t even know if I’ll write titles longer than that! I expect Silver Bullet will be a monster, but we’ll see when I get to actively writing it.

I’ll let the numbers do the talking for me. KDP Select exclusivity is working for me, and until the other marketplaces can offer something equally competitive, I’ll probably be staying.

Don’t make the mistake of believing I’m an Amazon fangirl. I’m going to be brutally honest here:

I go with the money. I’ve tried ePub marketplaces, and being blunt once more, I simply didn’t make the necessary amount of money. (And it was not for lack of effort and investment in the marketplace. I simply connect easier and better with readers who use Amazon.)

So, there you have it. July 2015’s estimated figures.

P.S.: The image above is the progress on Project Zeta’s cover.

12 Days Later: A Second Look at Amazon’s Exclusive Royalty System

I wrote about how I was really liking the payment per page model Amazon released on July 1, 2015. I did a rundown of how it was performing for me in the opening days.

I chose today to do another look because it’s one day prior to a new release. (Shameless plug: Like my blog? My royalties help pay for it. Don’t be shy, buy a book. Winter Wolf is still available for free today and Tales Vol 1 drops tomorrow.)

Shameless plug out of the way, let’s get to the nitty-gritty and talk some numbers.

I really like the changes to Amazon’s exclusive royalty system. I have created two tables to help demonstrate why this system is beneficial to authors who are telling good, engaging stories.

That doesn’t mean page turners. It means just what I said: good stories. Engaging stories. Stories people finish. Stories people want to read.

The author was always responsible for writing engaging stories. Now we have to put up or shut up. I’m okay with that. I know lots aren’t–it’s harder to write good stories. Skilled authors should be able to have a better chance of success, in my opinion.

Anyone, onto the numbers.

This chart shows my current regular, paid sales for Amazon.com.

Title
Copies Sold
Royalty
Royalty Per Book


Blood Diamond
19
$61.95
$3.26


Inquisitor
18
$36.72
$2.04


Storm Surge
6
$20.52
$3.42


Storm Without End
2
$3.09
$1.55


Winter Wolf
3
$8.18
$2.73


Totals
48
$130.46
$2.72

 

Unfortunately, I have zero way of showing comparison data for sales; Blood Diamond is a new release, but I didn’t have it launched 12 full days in June, so I can’t use last month’s numbers.

This chart shows page data for these titles. This will take a bit of explaining, so please bear with me.

Pages read is the number of pages readers collectively read. I do not receive data on the number of readers. Pay per page is the estimated royalty figures Amazon will be paying out.

PP Royalties is Pay Per Page Royalties; it is calculated by multiplying pages read and the pay per page. # Pages is from Amazon’s back end. Estimated # of reads is simply the total pages and the number of pages divided. This is an inaccurate number. I have no way of knowing how many people have actually read the book. But, if I assume that every reader reads the entire book, that’s the number of reads. Let’s face it, that’s not the case. I’m hoping to get a number of readers figure from amazon but I wouldn’t count it.

Finally, Per Page Roy / Book is the Royalties I receive per book.

Title
Pages Read
Pay / Page
PP Royalties
# Pages
Est # of Reads
Per Page Roy / Book


Blood Diamond
10904
0.0058
$63.24
826
13.20
$4.79


Inquisitor
7266
0.0058
$42.14
608
11.95
$3.53


Storm Surge
748
0.0058
$4.34
749
1.00
$4.34


Storm Without End
1169
0.0058
$6.78
609
1.92
$3.53


Winter Wolf
5573
0.0058
$32.32
711
7.84
$4.12


Totals
25660
0.0058
$148.83
700.6
36.63
$4.06

So, in short… I am currently making substantially more in the KDP Select exclusive system per book than I am from regular sales–even at the $4.99 price point. (See Blood Diamond.) I am actually making a dollar more per full read in the new system. I’m also making more in the new system than I am from actual sales.

To give you an idea of the old system, here are my numbers for the entirety of May. (This only includes earnings for loaned books.)

In short, I have almost made as much as I did in May in the first 13 days of July.

Inquisitor
$50.34


Storm Surge
$34.78


Storm Without End
$27.39


The Eye of God
$5.42


Winter Wolf
$37.61


Grand Total
$155.54

I understand why short story authors are up in arms over the changes, but there’s something to be said for equality–and if the short story authors are telling good stories, they aren’t going to suffer. People will read all of their stories if they’re engaging their reader.

But that’s the thing:

Authors are now required to perform, not just have a title that catches their eye. The traditional folks may not like this either, because it puts the onus on us, as authors, to entertain our readers–we are no longer living in a world where we get paid whether or not our fans and readers actually read the book.

Now we have to tell stories people want to read.

That’s great for readers. That’s really great for readers. That’s fabulous for readers. It encourages us authors to go above and beyond and really aim to make our words the best they can be, and I like that.

It’ll be hard work, but it’s already hard work I’m willing to invest. For some, that may be a bitter pill to swallow.

Personally, I’ll jump at any chance I can get to make my writing career financially viable.

Winter Wolf Available for Free (July 9-13), Tales Releases Tuesday!

To celebrate Tales of the Winter Wolf (Vol. 1)’s upcoming release, I have made Winter Wolf available for free between today, July 9, 2015 to July 13, 2015. If you want to be able to read the novel that spawned the short stories, here’s your chance!

As I mentioned in a previous blog post, Winter Wolf (the novel) has intentional inconsistencies due to the main character’s circumstances.

Nothing is as it seems, and the truth is often held in the eyes of the beholder.

The Hunted Wizard

When Nicole dabbled in the occult, she lost it all: Her voice, her family, and her name. Now on the run from the Inquisition, she must prove to herself—and the world—that not all wizards are too dangerous to let live.

The savage murder of a bookstore employee throws Nicole into the middle of Inquisition business, like it or not. Driven by her inability to save the young man’s life, she decides to hunt the killer on her own. Using forbidden magic to investigate the past, she learns that the murderer is in fact a disease that could kill the entire werewolf race.

Forced to choose between saving lives and preserving her own, Nicole embraces the magic that sent her into exile. Without werewolves, the power of the Inquisition would dwindle, and she could live without being hunted.

Nicole’s only hope for success lies in the hands of the werewolves she hates and the Inquisition she fears, but finding someone to trust is only the beginning of her problems. There are those who want to ensure that the werewolves go extinct and that the Inquisition falls.

But, if she fails to find a cure, her family—including her twin sister—will perish…

Seriously, yo. It’s free. Come to the dark side.

And if you’re curious about Tales of the Winter Wolf, why yes, I’m happy to provide links and pretty pictures and an idea of what stories await. Unlike my other stories, Tales of the Winter Wolf is more short-story centric; in a way, each story is a chapter of the lives of Richard and Nicole.

Long before Nicolina Desmond manifested her powers as a wizard, she was a Normal girl with extraordinary circumstances. In order to prove herself and escape her father’s chokehold on her life, she’s determined to get on the fast track towards an independent life.

However, she never anticipated how meeting Richard Murphy would change her life…

Tales of the Winter Wolf follows the adventures of Nicole and Richard, predominant characters from Witch & Wolf #2, Winter Wolf. Spoilers for the novel are contained within!

Volume One contains the following stories:

Hunted

Nicolina Desmond should have known that her twin’s overly friendly behavior with the eligible Fenerec males would land her in trouble, but she never expected how far young, single werewolves would go to secure a mate.

The Scent of Guilt

When Richard is invited to hunt Nicolina’s kidnappers with her father, he jumps at the chance. With Desmond lusting for blood and violence, Richard is forced to toe the line between mercy, justice, and revenge.

Firecracker

Charles Desmond’s influence isn’t enough to stop those who are determined to take Richard’s rank through force. With Nicolina Desmond out on the hunt to kill him once and for all, he’ll need a lot more than luck to survive his stay with the Desmonds.

Glitter

Richard Murphy has many sides, and Nicolina Desmond is dismayed to discover that he truly has the patience of a hunting wolf and his pranks are just as nefarious as hers. When the bodies of Fenerec turn up in her back yard, however, she might have to kill again, and her target is none other than Yellowknife’s injured Alpha.

I hope you have as much fun reading these stories as I have had writing them! Tales of the Winter Wolf Vol 1 is available for preorder and drops on Tuesday, July 14, 2015.

Amazon Wages War on Reviews… Again.

There has been quite a bit of news about Amazon lately. Some of it has been good. Some of it hasn’t been so good. While I’m absolutely loving the changes to Amazon’s exclusive program, the rumors of changes to their reviewing platform (leaked by top 500 reviewers from a message sent by amazon) has me absolutely hating what they’re up to.

It’s hard enough to get honest, legitimate reviews. Sure, in theory, honest retailers (and authors) should have an easier time having their products seen. However, there are two substantial issues with this, in my opinion.

Non-verified reviews (IE, ARC copies) will be given a negative modifier.
Older reviews will be given a negative modifier.

On the flip side, there are benefits to this:

Helpful reviews will have more weight (positive modifier.)
Newer reviews will have more weight (positive modifier, current reviews of a product.)

However, there are some even bigger issues outside of this change that I feel will really, really hurt authors–a huge driving force of Amazon’s sales. I’m an honest author. If I acquire book reviews, they are a part of a blog-based book tour, where the reviewers are required to be honest by their touring groups. Many of these people are Vine reviewers–or have high amazon review rankings. These individuals don’t lie about how they feel about books.

I do not buy reviews, nor will I buy reviews.

However, this makes it very difficult to get reviews.

To set the scene for this post, I want to discuss Amazon’s current practices. Some of these rules will take you by surprise.

The Good:

Anyone can review. (Non-verified reviews.)
Five star ranking system. (I like five stars because it’s a good range, with a very obvious ‘middle ground.’) Even-numbered star review systems hurt me.
Flat algorithm; it’s easy to know why a book is ranked as it is, just by looking at the reviews.

The Bad:

Very easy to post abusive reviews and have them hold weight.
Anyone associated with the author can have their review yanked. Including fans.
Easy to buy reviews.

This is a very short list. I could come up with a lot more, but I feel these are the important ones. Now, before I pick up my pitchfork, I want to mention a few things.

The new system isn’t all bad. However, considering that fans who follow authors on Facebook have been having their reviews removed for ‘having an association with the author,’ there are substantial problems.

Authors rely on their fans to post reviews. I’m not different. It’s very hard to get reviews when you’re honest. You rely on your fans and readers to do it.

I don’t like chasing fans and readers for reviews. It’s not comfortable for me. I really hope my fans/readers love my books enough to want to leave a positive, honest review about what they loved.

Dishonest authors simply buy those reviews. I refuse to do this. Reviews help, but I simply won’t stoop to that level.

But with Amazon attempting to identify fans/readers and punishing them for following their favorite authors on Facebook, things are even harder.

I’ve had this happen to me before–not as the reviewer, but as the author. I’m adamantly against fans and readers who reach out to authors to connect being punished because they enjoy reading books.

Being an author requires a social media presence. Otherwise, all I’m doing is shooting in the dark and hoping I get lucky. I’m not lucky. We’ve established this!

How much of an Effect?

This is what we simply don’t know yet. We don’t know when the changes took place. So far, I haven’t noticed a huge change on my books–but I don’t buy reviews. (In theory, this is what should happen.) Unfortunately, I don’t know the numbers of any authors who bought reviews showcasing the before and after.

That’s a problem.

I can only hope that because I’m honest I won’t be hit hard by this.

Authors need you more than ever, Readers.

I’ve said it. Readers, authors like me are utterly reliant on you. Because you read, we eat. (And my cats eat, they really appreciate eating. They also appreciate the kitty toys we bring home for them. And the cat nip…)

If you love a book, please stop and take the time to review it. We need you.

If you love a book, please stop and take the time to mark reviews as helpful. We need you.

If you love a book, please share it with your friends. We need you.

If you love a book, please keep reading. We need you.

We need you now more than ever.

Thanks for reading.

Reading Material

I’ve compiled a short list of articles I’ve read about the changes to Amazon’s reviewing process. This is a mix of the good, the bad, and the ugly.

1: Haden Interactive on Amazon’s Review Changes (Vine Reviewer)

2: Teleread Article (Industry Discussion)

3: Tech Investor News Article (Industry Study.)

 

The New KDP Select System – Numbers, Performance, and Thoughts: Day 2

Today signifies the second day of KDP Select’s new system. We have a shiny new interface, and I totally love it. Let me show it to you.

I normally cut out the browser crap, but hey. You now know I am on a mac, I keep google+ and Facebook open, and that I have very writer-oriented doc. Okay, anyway, back to business. I did close my email tabs because I like my privacy. Sorry!

Day 1 of the new KDP Select system saw me miss 2,000 pages read on the opening salvo by a very small margin. (I think it was something like 24 pages.) Anyway, for the sake of simplicity, I am going to say I had 2,000 pages read. Today, at the time of this posting, 500 pages were read of my titles. (It works out where combined, I’m at 2,450 for both days combined so far.)

Before I dig into the numbers, I want to address a few things.

Short Story Authors

One of the complaints I’ve been hearing is that the new ruling will really cut the earnings of short story authors.

Yes, short story authors will no longer get $1.60 (approximately) or someone reading 1-10 pages of their stories. (In the old system, KDP Select would pay out $1.60 (approx) for 10% of a story read.)

However, if short story authors are continuously producing content that readers are consuming, they shouldn’t see pay decreases. Why?

The system is rigged to pay $1.00 for every (approximately) 175 pages read. If readers are reading, writers are getting paid.

Most authors I know charge approximately $2.99 for a novel–that could be up to 600 pages of delicious book.

In the current system, an author will receive $2.88 for a 500 page novel. Amazon charges 70% royalties.

In short, if you’re writing stories readers like, you’re making more money than a standard $2.99 royalty.

Good authors are being rewarded in this system.

Look, I empathize with short story authors to a certain degree. You had it really nice. However, if you’re telling good stories, you still have it really nice. Your work is still paying off.

The only difference is… readers are directly telling you how good of an author you are. Focus on telling stories readers love and you’ll be okay. Really!

Yes, the onus is on you to tell better stories, but it’s on everybody. If you have 500 pages of short stories and your readers love them and read them, you’re getting paid the same amount as the author who decided to write a single novel of that length.

Everyone benefits equally.

Novel Authors…

You spent months if not years writing your book. Yes, I know how much work it is to produce a book. I live it!

You don’t deserve any higher payment than the short story authors. You deserve the exact same as them. You’re both working the same amount.

You just choose to work in a different way than them, and that’s fine.

You just worry about telling stories your readers love, and you’ll be okay too. (And you get paid better in this model.)

Seriously, we can all get along.

Gaming the System

One legitimate concern is how people will try to game the system. How will people change their writing habits? The current theory is that people will start writing page turners to encourage readership.

Here’s the problem with that.

Not all readers want page turners, man. Not all readers want erotic romance. Not all readers want clean fantasy and science fiction. Not all readers want chick lit. Not all readers want fast-paced YA.

Readers want different things. If you try to game the system writing page turners, you’ll lose the readers who want that stoic, thought-provoking literature piece. Gaming the system might be possible, but readers like what readers like.

Don’t insult them. Find your audience by writing good books and making efforts to get your books in front of them.

We all struggle, except for those who got really lucky. I haven’t. I struggle.

The Numbers

Before I begin the number crunching, here’s the important information:

 As measured using KENPC, during the month of June, KU and KOLL customers read nearly 1.9 billion Kindle Edition Normalized Pages (KENPs) of KDP Select books.

– From Amazon Newsletter Regarding KDP Select Titles

In mid-July, we will post results for the fund in June, expected to be at least $11M, making June the largest monthly payout so far. As previously announced, the KDP Select fund for July and August will also be at least $11M.

– Also from Amazon Newsletter Regarding KDP Select Titles

I’m using June’s numbers (1.9 billion pages, 11 million pot) to demonstrate this in action.

1,900,000,000 Pages Read
11,000,000 Dollar Pot
$0.0058 Per Page

To get this figure, simply divide 11 million by 1.9 billion. This is $0.0058.

Since I have no shame, here are the exact numbers for my KDP Select pages read, current as of 12:30 pm EST on July 2, 2015.

Blood Diamond
598
$0.0058
$3.46


Inquisitor
1,143
$0.0058
$6.62


Winter Wolf
712
$0.0058
$4.12


Totals
2,453
$0.0058
$14.20

Things of importance: I do not know how many pages Amazon believes my books are. This is a private number. It doesn’t match what Amazon’s estimated page count (print) on the books are. How do I know this?

Blood Diamond is substantially longer than Winter Wolf, but Winter Wolf has a higher page count on Amazon’s pages. The pages are standardized in their system, so… it’s anyone’s guess on what it is. I estimate my novels range between 400-600 pages, but that’s just a guess. I have no proof.

For sake of simplicity, I’m going to assign Inquisitor a page count of 425, Winter Wolf 450, and Blood Diamond 500. This is approximately the difference in pages considering their word counts. (It’s not exact. It’s just a ballpark figure. Roll with it, roll with it!)

Using some fancy math (Pages per book multiplied by payout per page) I came up with the following figures. This is done making the following assumptions:

I am assuming the reader paid for the book as they would a regular sale. I took the payout for the book (as calculated above) and gave it a 70% royalty figure, as titles over $2.99 would have in the KDP Select program.

Title
Royalty
Sales Price


Blood Diamond
$2.89
$3.76


Inquisitor
$2.46
$3.20


Winter Wolf
$2.61
$3.39

In short, making the assumption that a 150,000 word novel equates 500 pages, Amazon is paying out $2.89 for the entire book. If I were being paid a 70% royalty rate, the book would have been on sale on Amazon for $3.76. This is a curiosity number; in short, because I can’t prove how many pages Amazon believes my title is, I can’t confirm it. That said, this is a really fair figure.

In the old system, if I was receiving $1.60 for the 500 page book, I was in good shape.

Now, here’s the deal. Before, I was only getting paid if someone read 40-60 pages of the book. I calculate, factoring people who are slow readers (nothing wrong with that!! nothing wrong with that!!) and those who just didn’t like the book, I’ll be making approximately 3x the amount I was in the old system.

Assuming I consistently get 2,000 pages a day in reads (probably not happening…) my KDP Select royalties from this program would be ~$358.

To give you an idea of the significance of the change, in May, (a new release month…) I made $382, all sales included.

If that were to pan out, I would be crying. Literally. Crying all of the happy tears of joy.

Writing in the exclusive system, I feel, has taken a turn for the better–a turn that means authors have to concentrate on writing good content instead of as much content as possible.

What do these numbers mean in the long run? I have no idea.

If this proves close to reality, which I won’t know until August 15, I will be a very, very happy author. It’ll change how money is distributed, but royalties for long novels will be fair. Royalties for short stories will be fair.

It’s fair.

Thank you, Amazon.

Now all you need to do is set a permanent value per page and unlock the pot. Then you’d guarantee authors get fair compensation. But, I understand the business side and why you control the pot. I don’t necessarily like that the pot has a lid, but… if numbers continue to be fair, I can live with that.

New Data

Thanks to Lorraine for tipping me off where to find the KENPC (Kindle standardized page counts) so I could put together what my royalties would be if a reader makes it through my books. It is located under Bookshelf. Click “Promote and Advertise” and scroll to the Benefits of KDP Select section.

This is what it looks like:

Earn royalties from the KDP Select Global Fund

Earn your share of the KDP Select Global Fund when customers read your books from Kindle Unlimited and the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library. You’ll be paid for each page individual customers read of your book, the first time they read it. To determine a book’s page count in a way that works across genres and devices, we’ve developed the Kindle Edition Normalized Page Count (KENPC) v1.0. \n Kindle Edition Normalized Page Count (KENPC) v1.0\n \n \n We calculate KENPC using standard settings (e.g. font, line height, line spacing, etc.), and we\u2019ll use KENPC to measure the number of pages customers read in your book, starting with the Start Reading Location (SRL) to the end of your book. Click Total Royalty


Blood Diamond
826
$0.0058
$4.79


Inquisitor
608
$0.0058
$3.53


Winter Wolf
711
$0.0058
$4.12

Intentional and Unintentional Inconsistencies in the Witch & Wolf Novels

As I’ve been preparing to release Tales of the Winter Wolf, I have had to check over and confirm the intentional inconsistencies between those stories and the events in Winter Wolf. When I typically write a novel, there are several ways I handle ‘plot holes’ — I use the quotes for one simple reason.

Not all inconsistencies are unintentional. (I found one in Winter Wolf so far that was an oops on my part, which is being corrected in Winter Wolf. In short, in Winter Wolf, Richard went to San Francisco for pack business instead of Seattle. While Richard does go to San Francisco for pack business, when he met Nicole, it was in Seattle–but yes, it was for pack business.)

However, there are other inconsistencies that are intentional. I’m going to give some very minor spoilers for both the novel and the short stories, but they’re minor, so please bear with me.

I want to discuss these inconsistencies for several reasons, which I feel will help other writers learn to make conscious decisions on when to purposefully create an inconsistency.

Amnesia

Nicole Thomas suffers from a form of post-traumatic amnesia. This is something revealed in Winter Wolf.

Many of the inconsistencies in Winter Wolf are created due to her amnesia. When she doesn’t remember things, it’s a mental safeguard to fill in the blanks. In short, Nicole’s memory is incorrect compared to reality, something that is compounded by the fact that those who love her purposefully go along with the inconsistencies in order to spare her from remembering things that are painful.

So, you can view Winter Wolf as a bit of a game compared to Tales of the Winter Wolf. What memories did Nicole falsify?

There are a few legitimate times I did a whoops! and left it–I’ll just have to figure out how to write my way out of those whoopsies when Tales of the Winter Wolf begins covering what happens after Winter Wolf.

Yes, you may take that as a confirmation that I will be telling Nicole and Richard stories after the events of Winter Wolf but before Blood Diamond–and you can also take it to mean that I will be covering some of the more amusing parts of Blood Diamond from their perspective.

Beliefs Regarding Fenerec

In Inquisitor, Winter Wolf, and Blood Diamond, the varying characters have different thoughts and opinions on how the Fenerec survive, form bonds, and generally operate. This is intentional.

Victoria grew up as a product of the Victorian Era. During her forming years as a Fenerec, they had a very different belief on how mating bonds were formed.

In that era, sex equaled bonded, and as such, it’s a self-fulfilling prophesy. During Winter Wolf, Blood Diamond, and Tales of the Winter Wolf, the Fenerec have evolved, and they have learned more about the nature of their bonds with their mates.

In short, the power of belief plays a huge role in how Fenerec view themselves, their packs, and their mates.

Some Fenerec, such as Charles and Wendy Desmond, have been around long enough to realize that not everything is as it appears, which is why they made the choices they have.

Alpha, Submissive, and Omega Fenerec

In Inquisitor, there is a notable intentional inconsistency. One of the characters is believed to be a True-born Omega. (Tiny spoiler alert.)

This is not true. This is a misconception and false belief by characters. True-born Omega Fenerec do not exist.

The character is something else, which you will learn more about in Silver Bullet, which I hope to write and release sometime next year.

Almost all True-born Fenerec are Alpha, but they can be Submissive. They can never be an Omega.

This is one of the harder rules in the world. You will never see an actual Omega True-born. Why?

Omega-traited children are always either human or wolf. They cannot be born both.

So, what is the deal with that character people believe is a True-born Omega? Well, you’ll find out in Silver Bullet. (Yes, Silver Bullet is from Victoria’s point of view, so the Omega in question is present.)

Actual Mistakes

There are legitimate mistakes in all three of the Witch & Wolf novels. I’m going to be fixing the ones I realistically can. I’m undecided if I’ll make an Errata for the series or not–I might. It could be an entertaining way to poke fun of myself while providing readers with a guide on the things I legitimately screwed up.

One notable actual mistake was Charles Desmond’s incredulous reaction to something Nicole did at the end of Winter Wolf. Now, I could just chalk it to his acting skills, following up with them protecting her from her own memories, but… at the time, it was legit. Now it’s just a mistake.

That said, it’s pretty minor, and I can easily write it away as Desmond purposefully acting that way to protect his daughter. Which is very true to his character.

So, it works.

Another notable actual mistake was mentioned earlier, where it references Richard as having met Nicole in San Francisco. Where did that error come from? Nicole goes to school near San Francisco, but they met over the holidays in Seattle. It’s just an error. (Which I’ll be correcting in Winter Wolf.)

Another ‘error’ which is a somewhat error is a reference to Nicole visiting Canada with her sister. Nicole actually goes to Canada quite a few times, but Lisa did not go to Canada until the events mentioned. The reasons given do still apply.

Funny Tidbit: At one point, Nicole refers to Richard as tall, dark, and handsome. He is darker (brown hair, brown eyes, medium tan…) but he isn’t tall. He’s actually pretty short for a man. Alex is taller than him by several inches.

However, it’s a Fenerec thing; wolves lower in rank will often slouch or keep a subdued stance. Also, Nicole is pretty short at five foot nothing, so everyone is tall compared to her.

But no, Richard isn’t tall. He’s actually pretty short. To Nicole, however… he feels tall to her. He’s not, really. Now Jackson, he’s just plain tall. It’s also worth noting that when she viewed him as tall, she was sitting on the ground. That helped with the illusion a bit.

It’s kinda an error but kinda not an error. Just let me have this one, please? Please?

The Relationship between Charles and Richard

In Tales of the Winter Wolf, you will notice a different vibe in the relationship between Charles and Richard compared to their relationship in Winter Wolf.

This is completely intentional.

An important thing of note, for those who do care about that specific relationship–don’t worry. They’re fine. You will see this in later volumes of Tales of the Winter Wolf. You’ll also learn the why of it in Tales of the Winter Wolf.

No, I am not writing Richard-centric stories for the events of Winter Wolf.

Tales of the Winter Wolf will span their relationship until the time before Winter Wolf begins and will resume after the events of Winter Wolf. The catalyst events of Winter Wolf will not be covered in Tales of the Winter Wolf.

This is a conscious decision. The last story pre-Winter Wolf will likely relate to Alex and Lisa’s choice, but will not go through the events.

Why?

The stories after Tales of the Winter Wolf will relate to Nicole’s amnesia, and I want to have the freedom to explore those events in the aftermath. I don’t think I’d have as much fun with it if I had to write it out twice.

I also have seen where authors have written it out twice, and ultimately ended up bored as a result. So, I will do it once–in the aftermath stories.

Silver Bullet

When I set out to write the Witch & Wolf series, I really only set out to write four books. Nicole and Richard were so much fun to write that I kept coming back to them, which ultimately spawned the Tales of the Winter Wolf set.

Jackson and Evelyn are very similar. They’re a fun pair to write, and after Silver Bullet’s conclusion, I could easily see doing a set of short stories and novellas relating to these two characters.

Victoria will not be getting her own short story and novella set, at least that’s not my current plan. While I like Vicky quite a bit, her story classifies as the harder to tell ones. I don’t enjoy writing or reading historical fantasy, which is what I would have to write in order to go into her backstory. I’m not writing Evelyn’s backstory for the same reason. (Jackson and Evelyn stories will occur between the events of Blood Diamond and Silver Bullet, as well as after Silver Bullet.)

I may do a spinoff series, but if I do… it will tie to the Science Fiction stories I’m working on.

I’ll just give you a hint: In Project Zeta, Fenerec and witches no longer exist on Earth.

There’s a reason for that, and yes, Vicky, Jackson, Nicole, and all of the others are neck deep involved in that reasoning.

And yes, Project Zeta does take place in the same sandbox as the Witch & Wolf stories.

I’ll just leave that for you to chew on and speculate about. For now, I have editing work for a client to do.