There’s Power in Numbers

It’s been a rough week for me. My book sales have slumped considerably. Oh, I’m not distraught or feeling like the end is near – but it is disheartening. Depressing even, when coupled with the volume of difficulties my day job has been presenting me with lately. But depression isn’t productive, therefore I crawl right back out of the bottle of Jim Beam and get to work on the next project!

In the meantime, I thought I should share some of this on my blog. Firstly about reviews – I’ve gotten a lot of lackluster reviews on my Vitalis series lately because of the length of the stories. Almost every review cites how enjoyable the story and the characters are, then they blast me for the length and assume I’m a greedy bastard for charging $.99 for them. I’ve gotten a larger amount of fan mail telling me how much the stories were enjoyed by readers, but alas the reviews paint a negative picture and may very well be scaring would-be readers away. I even had one guy complain that my Vitalis omnibus edition was only 1/3 as long as a proper book should be. Really? One third? It’s approximately 440 pages. I can’t recall very many books that I’ve read that were anywhere near that long. Perhaps some Terry Goodkind and definitely Terry Brooks, The Sword of Shannara. Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time books felt like they were seventeen times that many pages, but that’s just my personal take on them. My point is quite the opposite. If people read my books and they went fast, it’s not because they are less than a chapter or shorter than a short story (each one is a novella in length, average at or over 20,000 words. A short story typically maxes out at 5000 words). Perhaps it’s because they liked what they were reading so much they flew through them and, because they lacked the thickness of a paperback book, they assumed that must mean it was short.

So, to jump on the bandwagon many of my fellow writers have already boarded, it’s time for me to ask readers to help a brother out. Leave a review. It can be quick and easy. If you liked it, just share that with the world. Preferably on the Amazon page for the book (or Barnes and Noble, or Smashwords, or iTunes, or wherever), but sending out a tweet or a Facebook status update is mighty groovy too! “I just read (insert book name here) by (insert author name here, preferably mine) and I liked / loved / wallowed in it!” There, that’s a suitable review. It doesn’t need to be drawn out and complicated. Just a little something pointing out that you liked it. It helps me stay in the business of writing, and that means I’ll get more books for you to enjoy out there. There are countless stories yet to be told, whether they’re in the Vitalis world or one of my many other settings.

Okay, I said my piece and added my voice to the power of others who cry out for the same sense of justice, now I can move on. But what am I moving on too? Well my friends, I have a new Voidhawk book coming out very soon (Lost Soul). Like all of the others I have to say I think it’s my favorite one in the series. Take that for what you will. My current project is a new stand alone novel that is different than my usual stories. This one is not filled with fantasy or science fiction – it’s got romance and a love triangle, as well as some danger and thrills. And there’s some naughty stuff in it too. Oh yes, I mustn’t forget to mention the naughty parts. Sadly, I’m halfway through it or more but I don’t have a name yet. Stay tuned, as soon as I figure out the name and get it finished, I’ll be sure to share it! Then it’s off on my next project, either another independent book or perhaps the eighth part of my Vitalis series.

To learn more about Jason Halstead, visit his website to learn about him, his books, sign up for his newsletter, or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com.