R.J. Blain's Blog, page 79

Multi-Services Review, Part 4: The Day After

When I went into my book tour extravaganza, I had high hopes–of course I did. I was investing a lot of time, money, and effort into making my book launch as successful as possible. I like to think I gave it my all, although I made some mistakes. Before I go into the successes and failures of my promotional efforts at the end of day 1, I want to talk about the things I didn’t get right:

Mistake 1: Scheduling and Proofing

Book blog tours require 4-8 weeks of advance scheduling. At that stage of the production process, while one editor had gone over the novel, the other two had not. The excerpts, as a result, were not the same as in the live book. Undoubtedly there were a few proofing errors that aren’t present in the official novel.

Lesson learned.

What I’ll never learn is whether or not the proofing errors or scheduling foopahs kicked my sales rate.

Mistake 2: Advanced buy links

Because I’m not an established, high-selling author, amazon doesn’t allow preorders. As a result, the story was on sale for two weeks prior to the official launch.

It is possible, if all of the sales I had with the initial burst of people noticing it was available to buy were to have bought it yesterday, I could have ranked far better than I did. That ranking could have let me get on a bestseller list for a competitive category.

But the sales were scattered, so I didn’t do better than 13,800 ranking… which is small fries in the category Inquisitor belongs to.

Mistake 3: What’s in a day?

Publishing houses release novels on Tuesday as a general rule. Mine released on a Friday. It was also my birthday, and my mother is due today for a visit from the US.

My attention was divided, unfortunately. While I did my best to make it fun and interesting, I don’t think I did enough.

There were other mistakes, but I’m not going to mention them–yet. They might not even be real mistakes. We’ll find out soon enough.

Campaign Performance

All Books on May 16, 2014: 38 bought units, 2 borrowed units. This is approximately $75 in royalties.

I spent a little over $500 on all of the promotional aspects of the launch day, including giveaway prizes and extras.

I had wanted $250.00 in royalties from Inquisitor alone. I didn’t come anywhere close to my baseline goal. Before I show the breakdown by book, I want to make a very important observation:

While I didn’t come close to my goal, I connected with new readers. That’s actually an accomplishment in and of itself. The promotion very likely helped boost the sales of my other two novels as well, which were available as countdown deal promotions.

I really have nothing to be disappointed about. I knew I was at a high risk of losing money when I went in. My backup goal (because I did anticipate a loss) is to make $250 in royalties within a week after the promotion went live. This is accounting for the fact that there is more value to running a promotion than just sales. Some people can’t afford to buy a book on the day it is promoted. In a few months — or even a year from now, they might remember my name the next time they see one of my books. This, in theory, could be a tipping point in whether or not they invest in a copy of one of my novels.

Which leads me to a very important point: I’m building an audience.

Let’s face it–most indie writers, like me, generally do not have that much extra cash to throw around willy-nilly. These people are my most common companions and associates. What we earn, we typically invest right back into our writing businesses. It’s a necessity. I am in a better position than many starting indie authors. I have an editorial job I can use to pay for all of my expenses–barely.

Back to the numbers:

On May 16:

Storm Without End sold 14 copies, for an estimated royalty of $14.

The Eye of God sold 10 copies with 1 borrowed unit, for an estimated royalty of $9.

Inquisitor sold 14 copies, with 1 borrowed unit, for an estimated royalty of $52.

Today is a new day. Tomorrow, too, will be a new day. Will I do another launch day extravaganza?

Possibly.

Will I use certain services for launch day boosts? Definitely.

Which ones?

That’s a post for another day… once I see how the next week pans out. There’s a lot of data to chase after, right along with the dream of magically becoming a runaway bestseller.

Giveaway #2 – $50 Amazon Gift Card or Cash (Paypal)

The second giveaway I’m featuring today for Inquisitor’s launch is a $50 gift card for amazon or cash via paypal. Check out I’m a reader, not a writer for more details!

Good luck, everyone!

The Storm Begins… Storm Surge Cover Art Reveal!

How else to celebrate my birthday by showing you something truly special?

I am proud to present Storm Surge’s cover, art by Chris Howard and typography by Brooke Johnson.

In November 2013, Storm Without End released. Now the journey continues, and the forecast is stormy. The brewing war is only the start of their problems.

The skreed are breeding.

Coming Soon. (2014)

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Storm Without End is on sale for US & UK residents–this week only!

Giveaway #1 – $50 Paypal or Amazon Gift Certificate

The first raffle up for grabs is a $50 paypal (cash) or amazon gift certificate.

If you have bought a copy of Inquisitor, you can score 10 entries–all you need to do is provide the transaction ID from Amazon.

Lots of ways to win, and who doesn’t like $50 free bucks?

Inquisitor Release Day Shenanigans – Participants!

Thanks for stopping by my little oasis on the internet. Today’s the official release of my newest novel, Inquisitor!

Thanks for stopping by. There is a lot of things going on all over the internet relating to the book release. This is your one-stop shop so you can find your way to all of the participating sites. There are quite a few giveaways to be found, including not one, but two $50 gift certificates, as well as some smaller ones as well.

Inquisitor Buy Links by Country:

 

US | IN | UK | DE | FR | ES | IT | BR | CA | MX | AU | JP

Note: As the day progresses, I’ll be making changes to the participant list, so keep an eye out! New blogs will be added as I get links. In the morning, all blogs will link to their main page. As I get individual post links, I’ll be swapping them for your convenience.

I have no control on when blogs will post for the day, so some posts may not be live, especially early in the morning.

I will be linking to the individual giveaways sometime in the afternoon.

Countdown Deal for Storm Without End and The Eye of God

Don’t think all of these cool blogs is enough of a party? My first two novels are on countdown deals for US and UK residents starting at Midnight PST.

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Storm Without End

US | UK

The Eye of God

US | UK

 Participating Blogs



Reading Addiction Blog Tours
fang-tasticbooks


Simplistic Reviews
Andi’s book reviews


Paranormal Romance and Authors That Rock
Roxanne’s Realm 


Bookahlic Fairies
pembrokesinclair


Pure Jonel
dianes-book


Words, Words, Words
wormyhole


Mythical Books
creativelygreen 


My Reading Addiction
DebSanders 


A Life Through Books
shutupandreadgroup


Texas Book Nook
toreadisdivine


Steamy Side
corazones-literarios


Avid Book Collector
bookishlover


Clutter Your Kindle
cbybookclub


Toots Book Reviews
3partnersinshopping


D’eBook Sharing Reviews
authorkarenswart


Book Lovers Life
totaleclipsereviews


 Indie Authors You Want To Read
darkestcravings


Corey’s Book Reviews
moonlightlibrary


The Indie Express
the-avidreader


Andi’s Book Reviews
thereadershollow


Books A to Z
saphsbookblog


Lov Liv Life Reviews
booksbooksthemagicalfruit


Wicca Witch 4
Fantastic Indie Authors (Interview)


Queen of the Night Reviews
Stop 2 Indy Book Fairy


This Girl Reads a Lot
A Little Bit of R&R (Guest Post)


Books and Tales
Stop 2 Coffee & Books & Art (Guest Post)


One Was a Book Thief, the Other Stole the Sky
Literary Chanteuse


Life’s Unfiltered Ramblings
Stop 2 Cryptic Reads (Review)


Read it Write
Cherry Mischievous


Lovely Reads
Bestselling Books


Kelly’s Thoughts on Things
Sun Mountain Reviews (Guest Post)


Logikal Blog
Book Freebies Contests Sweepstakes and Giveaways


Chuckles Book Cave
Stop 2 Urban Fantasy Series Recommendations


Let’s Get Booked
Laurie’s Thoughts and Reviews


Gothic Moms
I’m an Eclectic Reader


Deal Sharing Aunt
I Heart Reading


Bound 2 Escape
Bookish Madness


Pieces of Whimsy
The Single Librarian


Always Jo Art
Deal Sharing Aunt


Books and Other Spells
Cassidy Crimson’s Blog


RABT Reviews
Penny for Them


May 17 - Reading Addiction Blog Tours - Kick Off
Editor Charlene’s Blog


May 18 –  Book Junky Girls
Tome Tender


May 19 - Must Read Faster
Endazzled Reading


May 20 - Kindle Obsessed - Review
Forever Book Lover


May 21 - Simplistic Reviews
The Book Daily


May 22 - Bookaholic Fairies
All Sorts of Books


May 23 - Pure Jonel
sweet southern home


May 24 - Paranormal Romance and Authors That Rock
chelseas reading adventures


May 25 - Rhythem Poets
backporchervations


May 26 - Queen of the Night Reviews
in-our-spare-time


May 28 - D’eBook Sharing Reviews
tiffyfit


May 29 - I’m a Voracious Reader
portiabridget


May 30 - RABT Reviews
coffeeplush


May 18 –  Book Junky Girls
selenityjadebooks


May 19 - Must Read Faster
24th May – Gentleman Reads


May 20 - Kindle Obsessed
31st May – Kindle Nook Books


May 21 - Simplistic Reviews
7th May – Book Professor


May 22 - Bookaholic Fairies
14th June – Top Shelf Books


16th May - Peace from Pieces
22nd May - Blog-A-Licious Authors


20th May – Mommy Adventures
23rd May – Author’s Friend


21st May - The Reading Cat
5th July – Quality Reads UK


Happy Tails and Tales
Inside the Mind of a Bibliophile


Ishari’s Bookshelf
Tales from Far Manor


Unexplored Boundaries
C.M. Skiera’s Blog


 AJ Maguire’s blog

The Final Hours Before the Official Release of Inquisitor

Exhaustion is my companion today. I can’t even calculate the number of hours I’ve invested preparing for Inquisitor’s official launch. While the book has been on amazon for a while, because self-published authors can’t use amazon’s pre-order tools, tomorrow my real efforts bear fruit–or don’t.

We’ll find out tomorrow, I guess.

Let the festivities begin. Really, if you’ve been waiting to buy a copy of the book, you can start now. It’s Friday somewhere. Sounds like a reason to celebrate to me!!

At midnight PST, Storm Without End and The Eye of God go on sale with a countdown deal in the UK and US.

I still have an unholy number of guest posts to write and send out for tomorrow. Two groups needed last minute posts.

It’s an enforced break from cleaning at least… which I needed.

On a bit of a dare, if I become a bestseller tomorrow, I’ve promised to dance around my kitchen while mopping the floor with my feet, singing and dancing to Shakira’s Waka Waka.

/gulp.

Back to work.

Random Rambles: Life, The Universe, and Cleaning… and Books.

As I begin writing this post, my back is starting it’s rather loud protests at the amount of physical work I’ve done today. I’m not a physical person. I have several issues that prevent me from being a physical person. I have done an excessive amount today, pushing far beyond my normal boundaries.

For that, I’m excessive proud of myself. But I’m paying a price for it, in a mixture of pure pain, shortness of breath, and shaking. Head to toe shaking, as my muscles try to figure out what I expected them to do and why they actually did it.

I had to take medication. I have a stiff vertebrae in my spine. C5, I believe is the one in question. It’s located a little north of smack dab between my shoulder blades where the spine connects with the shoulders. Fun stuff. Essentially, what it means, is because this specific vertebrae is stiff, it doesn’t move as well as 4 and 6. When that happens, the muscles freak out.

It triggers migraines as 1-4 stiffen and lock up. Muscle relaxers counter this, which is my saving grace. If I take one (or two depending on the severity) I can completely bypass the migraines. If I don’t, I lose most of the mobility in my neck, and my shoulders ache a lot.

The body is a connected series of awesome, and due to the location of this horror show, even walking can trigger things if I’m not careful.

That’s not even counting my circulatory system, which is not in an ideal state, for reasons.

I haven’t been careful today. I hauled logs. I dug out a flower bed–two, actually–and I have been cleaning my bathroom. I did dishes.

I’ve been working in 10-20 minute bursts with long stretches between, but I’m making those 10-20 minutes count, pushing myself to my absolute limits.

My first two sessions were closer to 30 minutes as I hacked and dug my way through old weeds.

This is the result of my efforts, herbs, peppers, and tomato plants, growing in my raised flower bed!

Husband said I can get 2-3 more plants to fill in the spaces. The logs are holding the weed-preventing liner down until I can get proper mulch or gravel or whatever I decide to use for the top layer.

I’ll pick up (and plant) my new babies tomorrow. I’m thinking rosemary and thyme, because I enjoy making spaghetti.

I have to do the cleanup, but I couldn’t handle it today. It was just too much for me. I’ll load up the loose dirt and tossed-away plant matter another day, when I feel a little better.

My mother is coming to my house, and I want to have the entire place cleaned up by Thursday or Friday. She arrives Saturday.

It’s intense.

Switching subjects, I’ve finished re-reading most of The Dresden Files preparing for the next novel. Sad I’ve re-read most of them now. Gotta start going through review copies of novels I have on my kindle. That should be fun, got a few really interesting books.

Will have those for review in not too terribly long. Okay, one is in a longish while, because I grabbed my review copy as soon as they were available and it doesn’t release for like a month and a half. I think the other one is a shorter time, but that’s quite okay.

One is a military thriller and the other is a contemporary fantasy.

Switching gears again (I wrote swiffering gears… yeah. I’m not to the swiffering phase yet, me…) I’m going to be so happy when Friday comes around. It’ll be a huge load off. This week, I need to get a lot of client editorial done, which means I won’t be doing nearly as much drafting or editorial work on my stuff as I want. I have to finish all of my updates and things for my release day shenanigans. I’m almost done. I have a couple of guest posts to write, and I need to email people things like the buy links for the book.

I also need to do the updated production copies of the ebooks for my two first novels so the indiegogo people have the copies. That’ll happen later in the week.

Going to probably go insane before Saturday arrives, along with my mother.

Now I’m going to sit here and pretend I’m being productive, because I’m too tired to think clearly, let alone do anything.

But I persevered, even though I’m paying for it right now. Ouch.

Inquisitor Signed Paperback Giveaway – Ends May 15. Winners announced May 16.

 

Celebrating the official launch of Inquisitor, I am giving away two signed paperback copies through goodreads. Winners will be selected on May 15, 2014, and will be announced on my blog of May 16, 2014.

Good luck!

Goodreads Book Giveaway



Inquisitor
by R.J. Blain

Giveaway ends May 15, 2014.

See the giveaway details

at Goodreads.

Enter to win

An Editor’s Perspective: Plotters vs Pantsers

(c) Jon Gosier – CC (Flickr)

This post needs some warnings. Maybe I’m insecure, or maybe I’m just aware that I’m about to stir a bee’s nest, but I’m going to post warnings.

Warning #1: These are my observations after working with a lot of clients. Some are plotters, some are pantsers, some fall somewhere between the two, taking advantage of the best of both worlds. These are also my observations after working with a lot of people from varying critique groups.

Warning #2: These are my opinions. It’s not fact. It’s not law. It’s nothing more than me expressing my thoughts. You don’t have to agree with them. Feel free to disagree in the comments–just take it that second step and explain why you disagree. We may not agree at the end, but the discussion is fun.

Warning #3: I’m not out to offend anyone, but I expect I will ruffle feathers with my stance on this issue.

Now with the warnings out of the way, there are a few definitions I want to cover before I talk about this subject.

Plotters: These are people who, to some degree or another, plot their novels out before they start writing. For the sake of this discussion, plotters refers to people who do more than a very brief book blurb or mini outline of the novel. This is referring to those who will plot each chapter or scene of the entire novel before they write. Plotters will also detail their characters far in advance of writing.

(c) kdinuraj (CC – Flickr)

Pantsers: These people are those who sit down and write. They do very little preparation before they start writing. They may take a few notes about the characters or general concepts of what they are going to do in the novel, but they do not take detailed notes prior to writing.

These individuals may take notes after they write though.

Pantsers may also take notes in their head as they write.

The Median Crowd: These are people who are both plotters and pantsers. They may only plan a chapter ahead, or they may only keep notes for certain things. Their characters are often not outlined extensively in advance, though some do. These people borrow from both categories. And yes, you can do this. This is my method of writing currently.

I fall somewhere between plotter and pantser. I don’t plan far ahead, but I know where I’m going in the novel. I may have certain scenes planned out before I write. But I am constantly replotting what I do because of the pantsing element.

I will often start a project with little to no preparation and plot it as characters make decisions.

But since this isn’t about me, I’m going to start with my observations regarding my clients.

Most of my clients are plotters. While I have a few pantsers in the lot, most of them like knowing where they are going when they write a novel.

Many of them have had middling to moderate issues with characterization in their novels. This can range from the character just not being sympathetic to the characters making decisions that are so outside of their normal operative that it makes them look really unrealistic. Characters make or break a novel, in my opinion. They are why we read.

We don’t read for plot. We read for characters. We want to read about people. The plot can take our breaths away–if harnessed to a character who makes the plot feel real. The plot, in my opinion, is the consequence of choices made by all characters involved in the story.

Some plotters can manage to develop their characters as they plot in realistic fashions.

Many don’t.

This is a generalization, but bear with me a moment: Inexperienced plotters often have really poor character development.

This is a generalization, but bear with me a moment: Inexperienced pantsers often have really poor plot development.

Well, well. What do we have here? A mirror image of flaws? Yep. Plotters often have really strong plot lines, with stories that could have the potential to carry through from the first page to the end–if those blasted characters didn’t feel so flat or like they existed for the sake of the plot.

Pantsers often have these amazing characters who naturally develop through the course of a story, but the plot often has more holes than Swiss cheese.

Now, of course there are exceptions to this. Experienced plotters can manage to somehow (through magic, I’m convinced it is through magic) capture character development and plot. They create really strong stories. From what I know of them, James Patterson and Brandon Sanderson are two plotters I know of who have this magical ability.

(I have a serious amount of respect for both of those men.)

The same also applies to pantsers, by the way. There are talented pantsers who can figure out the plots as they go, using the characters they have built to create strong plots from start to finish of a novel.

But there is one key point about both of these exceptions: These people are experienced.

Experience matters. Learning matters. Skill really matters.

You can argue pantser or plotter all day long, but both camps, I believe you are both wrong. There are weaknesses and advantages to both of your methods. There are weaknesses and advantages to taking the middle ground.

If there weren’t weaknesses, everyone would write books using the same method because that method would be the only viable one.

So instead of arguing that your way is the right way, take a close look at the inherent disadvantages of your way, and figure out how to fix them.

Until you do, you’ll end up as yet another manuscript on an editor’s desk (or an agent’s desk) riddled with stereotypical weaknesses because you aren’t experienced enough–or too set in your ways–to overcome the challenges of your writing style.

Characterization is hard for everyone.

So is plotting.

Specializing in characterization (pantsing) or plotting (plotters) can give your story great strength, but also great weakness.

You don’t need to change how you do things… but you should be aware of the risks your type of method has. And if you think your way has no disadvantages, you’re likely doing yourself–and your novel–severe injustice.

What is your method, and have you had similar experiences? Do you struggle with your characterization as a plotter? Do you struggle with your plots as a pantser?

How do you intend to address the inherent weaknesses of your method?

Random Rambles: I love and hate spring.

I have a love/hate relationship with spring. On one hand, it’s lovely. The sun is shining. I’m slowly pulling free of the grips of seasonal depression and mood swings. The first few excursions are bitterly painful. Instead of stabilizing mood, the overdose of sunlight makes it really hard for me. It enhances the depression, usually for a period of two or three weeks. (Don’t ask, it just does. Something about the sudden exposure to the burning daystar imbalances something.)

On the other hand, it means I have to do a lot of things.

It isn’t until now, right around pool opening time, that I’m actually able to go outside without high risk of going psycho.

Today the pool is being opened. This year, in the effort to try to establish some form of physical endurance, I’m hoping to be able to swim once every two or three days. Not every day. I can’t handle it, at least not yet.

I’m not normal. While I wouldn’t say I’m physically handicapped, I have issues with my circulatory system. So, when a ‘normal’ person goes on a walk, a trip around the block won’t exactly tire them out.

When I do? Yeah, let’s just say I have a very short distance I can go before it wipes me out for several hours.

I pushed it today. I was only in the yard for ten minutes, if that. I threw out some damaged flower pots. I walked around my yard. I installed the pool ladder. I dumped out a wheelbarrow. I checked on the various status of spring projects this year.

I’m exhausted. It’ll impact me, hard, for the rest of the day. I’ll have to go back out when the pool guys arrive to open the pool. They need paid! And I need to pray that all of the lines are fine from the vicious winter we had this year.

I took some photographs. Enjoy them. My back yard is a mess. We’re trying to make it not a mess this year. It’s going to be an excessive amount of work. The retaining wall and repair of the porch is going to be the biggest, most intensive job. It collapsed last year, but we couldn’t afford to fix it. I’ll be using the way-out-of-date engineering skills I have to start the repairs this year.

We’ll install a deck over the stone/dirt raised porch, and new steps.

My 35 foot or so long torture device will get used this year, because it won’t rain every day in the summer. Right, weather? You’re not going to rain and thunder and prevent us from swimming, right? I really need to be able to swim this year. I want to get healthy, and swimming is one of the few low-resistance exercises I can do.

I can only do it for a few minutes at a time between resting, but I can do it.

I’m hoping for a single 30 minute session every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. It’ll be hard. Really hard. The year before last, the most laps, at a reasonable pace, I managed to do in one session was 20.

My goal for this year will be 21. Just 1 lap better than the last time the pool was opened and usable.

For the record, I’ll probably start at being able to only do 3 or 4 laps total. A lap is to one end of the pool and back, by the way. To get up to 20 laps, I had to start at 3-4, take a 10 minute float-on-back break, then try again.

It took me the entire summer.

I’m weak. I can’t do physical work very well. Any job requiring standing for long times, or excessive walking, I can’t do. Maybe after this summer, I’ll be a little better conditioned to be able to.

As for walking, my record is 5 kilometers, and it knocked me out of the action for the rest of the day. It took me an hour and a half to walk that distance, and I felt like a train had run over me.

I’m not in shape. I won’t bore you to the details as to why, but the source was a childhood illness. Then it got hard. I’m just not as dedicated to my physical health as I am to my writing.

This year, I hope to change that.

I love you and hate you, spring.