Writer Wednesday

I shall open this post with Kris Rusch analysis of the publishing world in her excellent post about Scarcity and Abundance. I think there is abundance indeed, which is good for readers, but can be very frustrating for writers. A Goodreads author "retires" from the marketplace after four books on KDP, burned out by his marketing efforts – who can blame him? Although he was brave to put out those four titles, but then he wasn't very patient, having burned out after only eight months.

I still think we should diversify and don't let all the eggs in one basked – specifically Amazon's. Not because Amazon is Eeeviiil (like Scott Turow insists on saying rebutted again by Joe Konrath), but because the more wide-spread is the title, the better it is for the author. I haven't sold any copies of SKYBAND on Lulu in two years, and when I uploaded the PDFs to DriveThruComics, I sold one copy after a couple of months.

As for 2011 sales (and I mean actual sales, not free review copies, ebook weeks or giveaways), I had 11 on Smashwords and 18 on KDP vs. 4 all-time sales on Lulu – which, by the way, seems to have been kicked out of Amazon. Glad I didn't pay the MarketplaceReach for all my titles, although I'll probably have to make new editions on CreateSpace, sigh. Anyway, they said I should have received emails about the change, but I didn't. Oh, well, I will sort it out some other time – I don't feel the pressure to have print versions, considering I haven't sold any in the past two years. Oh, yeah, I sold 2 out of the 4 Lulu sales.

This year (two months and a half in) 8 sales on Smashwords, 7 on KDP and 1 on DriveThruComics. See how slow is the growth? I'm happy with these numbers, but I understand someone doing it in the hope of getting rich quick might be frustrated. I'm in for the long run. I'll celebrate in April when I'll get my first Smashwords payment (minimum for Paypal payments is 10$ and I closed 2011 with 9$ and change…) – one year since I started this adventure (and as the minimum for the Amazon check is 100$, who knows when I'll see that one! Maybe I should try to get into the Kindle Singles…).

So what? It's a 5 year plan. I'm not panicking yet (OK, I panicked last December, but now I'm happy again). I won't be able to quit DayJob this year nor the next, but I hope to get the first 100 fans (95 to go, yay!) by December. They might be spread throughout three pen names, but I don't care – OK, I'll be jealous if B.G.Hope sells more than Barbara G.Tarn, but that would only prove the point: no need to have marketing burn out!

I don't Tweet (under any pen name) and B.G.Hope has no official blog nor Facebook page – and she doesn't have a novel out yet. But she tackles a more popular genre – contemporary fiction probably has a wider readership than adult fantasy, so she might sell more, eventually. Time will tell.

I'll just keep writing and looking for alpha/beta readers – and if you want to know what I'm really looking for, please check this post (thanks, Stephen, for the link) and also how other writers such as Michelle take the feedback (I follow the Stephen King rule mentioned in her post). Oh, and even Blood Red Pencil has a post on beta reading.

Now there's this Meme going around, I saw it on Loralie and Viv's blogs, they haven't specifically tagged me, but said I could pick it up and pass it on. So here are the rules.

Go to page 77 of your current MS.
Go to line 7.
Copy down the next 7 lines – sentences or paragraphs – and post them as they're written. No cheating.
Tag 7 authors.

I'm posting an excerpt of CVE – The Left-handed Warrior, soon to be revised for publication (so this is the pre-editing version of p.77 from line 7 the 7 paragraphs).

They materialized on the battlefield – or the place of the carnage. The caravan of wagons was already in sight of Hurlevent, where a ship awaited them, but the attack had stopped them.

Sunray started shooting arrows, never missing his target, while Blondsun concentrated on his power. Balls of energy started hitting Humans, setting them on fire.

It didn't take long. Sunray and Blondsun went closer to check the survivors: some Genn children hidden in the luggage, two women and a boy who stared at them with green eyes filled with terror.

Blondsun rushed to his brother's cart, knowing it was too late for Silverstar. His body had already vanished, leaving Penelope alone on the seat, with her throat cut open.

Blondsun's tears choked him. Silverstar was with Ether, but Penny needed to be buried. He took her in his arms as if she was asleep. Now he knew the same fury and hatred that had pushed Kurt to seek revenge. The Emperor would pay.

***

Vario X woke up with a start. He felt a presence near his bed. He saw a shadow standing next to him, the curtains open on the darkness of the night.

Vario opened his mouth, but no sound came out. His mistress slept, unnaturally still. The silence was overwhelming.

Like they did, I won't tag anyone in particular. But if you're a writer and want to participate, leave a comment so we can check your entry! Happy writing! Oh, and… happy spring (if you're in the northern hemisphere, that is! For my Australian friends, don't worry, the heat is almost over! )