Q&A with Josh Lanyon discussion
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Writing Questions for Josh
OK, now I'm about ready to crawl into a hole because I just found out I did a major screw-up with the Life Lessons short story. After about 300 people have read it (!) someone pointed out that I changed a character's name for 5 paragraphs in the middle of the story. Aaargh. She was right. Fixed the Smashwords, Goodreads and blog versions, but I have yet to tackle Amazon which involves some conversion. And now I'm feeling really bad about people having the old version. Except those 300 people never said a word about it. I'm so mad at myself; should have had someone beta read it. Except at that time I didn't know anyone I could ask but still, may I repeat...Aaargh!
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The one about the dollar bill? No, I just wrote that as a demonstration. Although the character in the story I'm writing now is a former chef... And come to think of it, most of the scenes take place in restaurants. But I think that's more because I've spent thousands of hours of my life working in restaurants so that setting comes very naturally to me.
Nicole wrote: "Anne wrote: "Is that an original or did you hear it elsewhere?"Aw, thanks, Anne. I think that one might be an original--mainly because it would be like me to state the obvious. (ha!)"
The obvious is usually the thing most in need of being stated. LOL You're welcome. :-)
Jordan wrote: "I agree that when you're reading something you know about, you start to pay more attention to the little details and less to the overall story. It's definitely something you'd need to pull back fro..."I should be talking about this in the what else are you reading thread, but I have to say I really admire Damon Suede's style. I'm reading Hot Head, and instead of nit-picking the firefighter details (which yes, I've done some of, but he is right on the money) I'm getting pulled into the story. I would love to have that kind of story-telling juju.
Kaje wrote: "OK, now I'm about ready to crawl into a hole because I just found out I did a major screw-up with the Life Lessons short story. After about 300 people have read it (!) someone pointed out that I c..."Oh, Kaje! That sucks. :-( But you know, most people are pretty forgiving about stuff like that. And at least you have the option of fixing it since it's electronic. Do something nice for yourself when you're done.
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Most customers will not directly complain about a product that turns out to have even gratuitous errors. It's kind of like how most people will not send food back at a restaurant, no matter how revolting that food is. As with the restaurant, they just leave and never come back again. They might make the effort to tell their friends about their bad experience, but they rarely tell the chef.
I'm not trying to be hard on you here, but if you are going to put out your own stuff, you need to know that you should not rely on customers to find errors for you. Because when they find errors themselves it devalues the product in their minds.
When we, as authors, cut out the middle man and take on the role of publisher, that means taking on the responsibilities of the publisher as well--and that, in turn, means paying for proofreading.
On the bright side, that payout is deductible as a business expense (in most countries) so keep your receipt. You should also factor in the cost of proofreading and other production concerns, such as cover art, when setting the cover price.
Speaking of cover price--did you charge money for this story, or was it free? I assumed that you charged for it, since it was on amazon.com, but if it was free then you can just chalk the proofreading errors up to experience with no harm done.
Nicole wrote: "Speaking of cover price--did you charge money for this story, or was it free? I assumed that you charged for it, since it was on amazon.com, but if it was free then you can just chalk the proofreading errors up to experience with no harm done. ..."It was a free story everywhere except Amazon. There it was .99 because they wouldn't let me post it for free, but I'm donating the .34 I make off each copy to charity and said so. I was just trying to put the story out and not ask anybody for help. Didn't even know it was something I could pay for.
Yeah, I screwed up.
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Yeah, I screwed up. "
But there's still a chance to save it. What I would do is go immediately to amazon and take the story down until you can fix the file. It's better to have it unavailable for a short time than to sell something that you know contains that kind of error. If you want to talk about proofreading message me privately. I might be able to set you up with an inexpensive option (and by inexpensive, I mean a dollar per double-spaced MS page.)
BTW-When you're talking about publishing like this it might help you to not take the attitude that you are a writer asking for help, so much as a publisher paying for services to produce your product. It makes the relationship & transaction a little more clear.
Okay, I think I did that. I'm no longer sure what's happening on Amazon. They say "Click this to download your file for content corrections" but then the "This" button doesn't exist (even my computer programmer husband couldn't find it). So I think the new content is there (at least it was in the preview I looked at). But where the file actually is in the process God only knows. I would just scrap the thing except readers on Amazon have commented about it being good to have the bridge between the two books so...all this for twelve words. I'm still such a freaking newbie, and at the time I wrote this I was still in the doing-it-for-fun mode. I'll go off and have a nice cry now. Werewolves can wait.
Nicole wrote: "I might be able to set you up with an inexpensive option (and by inexpensive, I mean a dollar per double-spaced MS page.)..."That's very kind, and I may take you up on it, although I have no intention of self-pubbing stuff for money. It was just supposed to be to put out free content for fun, like a bonus. Still, I suppose a pro edit is now good public relations since I'm supposed to be a pro. Thanks for all your advice.
Kaje, have you noticed on Author Central you can set up your author page to get feeds from your blog? I've been thinking if I set it up, I could blog about the story being free and in mobi on ARe, and then maybe not need to charge anyone the $0.99. Or put a notice up saying free story available in mobi, contact me at my blog.
Ugh, Kaje that sucks! I also just found a punctuation mistake on the story I just submitted to a publisher (yes, that one) and I've been fretting if that'll be the deal breaker. Oh, and of course I am in the hate stage again to my story.
Anne wrote: "Kaje, have you noticed on Author Central you can set up your author page to get feeds from your blog? I've been thinking if I set it up, I could blog about the story being free and in mobi on ARe,..."Don't think it is on ARe. What you could do would be go on the book page for ATAAGN and click the "tell us about a lower price" link. It's free on Smashwords. Maybe if they get some notices of that they will discount it to free (I did one but maybe they want more than one). I've seen other Smashwords stuff on Amazon discounted to free.
Although the Aliveness Project is already making $50 bucks out of this, so I'm slightly torn.
Kaje, it was a mistake, but we all make mistakes. Only thing we can do is take whatever lumps come our way, fix what's fixable and learn from it.Anne, I get hits on my site from Amazon so yeah, do set up your streaming for your blog. You might run into trouble keeping what amounts to an advertisement on your blog stream for a freebie of a book you're charging for on Amazon, though, especially if it directs customers to another vendor. IMO (and only IMO), that doesn't look good. I wouldn't do it.
Kari wrote: "Kaje, it was a mistake, but we all make mistakes. Only thing we can do is take whatever lumps come our way, fix what's fixable and learn from it.Anne, I get hits on my site from Amazon so yeah, d..."
My opinion too. If we can get Amazon to discount it then that would be more ethical.
Cleon wrote: "Ugh, Kaje that sucks! I also just found a punctuation mistake on the story I just submitted to a publisher (yes, that one) and I've been fretting if that'll be the deal breaker. Oh, and of course I..."I imagine most publishers are not going to care about a punctuation error in the unpublished manuscript, unless it alters the sense of the writing and jolts them out of the story. They will proof it down the road anyway, and editing may change the sentence before then. If they like the story, I doubt that will make a difference. (But we can commiserate together on being less than perfect.)
Kaje wrote: "Cleon wrote: "Ugh, Kaje that sucks! I also just found a punctuation mistake on the story I just submitted to a publisher (yes, that one) and I've been fretting if that'll be the deal breaker. Oh, a..."We can use some chocolate. LOL.
Anyway, what is the usual process for anthology stories? The last time I submitted my story and got accepted, they never sent me back their proof of my story. Until today, I have no idea how my story turns out on the anthology. (They supposedly have sent me the book by mail, but I don't know if the Custom has confiscated it. I just never got it.)
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Perhaps t..."
All the painting and mixing of paints was straight out of an art book. It was a very different approach than I usually use, but I felt like it worked because it was so intrinsic to the character. He saw everything in terms of color and shadow and how he would paint it. Even his emotions, really.
Cleon wrote: "Anyway, what is the usual process for anthology stories? The last time I submitted my story and got accepted, they never sent me back their proof of my story. Until today, I have no idea how my story turns out on the anthology. (They supposedly have sent me the book by mail, but I don't know if the Custom has confiscated it. I just never got it.) ..."Someone more experienced will have to tell you about anthologies but if you tell us the name and publisher of yours, maybe one of us can get hold of it and send it to you (one way or another.) Must be so hard not to know how it turned out. Did you get paid?
Kaje wrote: "Cleon wrote: "Anyway, what is the usual process for anthology stories? The last time I submitted my story and got accepted, they never sent me back their proof of my story. Until today, I have no i..."Yes, I got paid. I got the contract and everything. The publisher is a friend of mine and she just started the erotica line. That is not my best story, so it can wait. And I am worried the Custom will just confiscate it anyway because of the cover.
Cleon wrote: "Kaje wrote: "Cleon wrote: "Anyway, what is the usual process for anthology stories? The last time I submitted my story and got accepted, they never sent me back their proof of my story. Until today..."If she's a friend, could she at least e-mail you the file of the final version? Oh well, you know how much you want to pursue it. But I guarantee you that most publishers will want you to approve their editing and proofing in the final version before printing. Maybe even have a couple of rounds of editing.
Kaje wrote: "Anne wrote: "Kaje, have you noticed on Author Central you can set up your author page to get feeds from your blog? I've been thinking if I set it up, I could blog about the story being free and in..."What isn't on ARe? You can offer mobi or prc on ARe. I haven't done Smashwords, yet.
Kari wrote: "Kaje, it was a mistake, but we all make mistakes. Only thing we can do is take whatever lumps come our way, fix what's fixable and learn from it.Anne, I get hits on my site from Amazon so yeah, d..."
I can't help but wonder how much worse it looks if someone pays 99 cents for it on Amazon, then goes to ARe and finds it's free.
Kaje wrote: "Cleon wrote: "Kaje wrote: "Cleon wrote: "Anyway, what is the usual process for anthology stories? The last time I submitted my story and got accepted, they never sent me back their proof of my stor..."She has serious health problem. Serious like must be in oxygen mask 24/7, at least for now. She's also very busy because she basically does everything by herself. I might email her about it one day, but not until she gets better. I know certainly won't publish with her again unless I have a story to spare, but I owed her to publish my story so I can get publishing credit at least.
Anne, that is why I hesitate to put my story up on Amazon.
Anne wrote: "What isn't on ARe?..."I meant that story isn't on ARe. I started on Smashwords and that seemed sufficient.
I can't help but wonder how much worse it looks if someone pays 99 cents for it on Amazon, then goes to ARe and finds it's free.
I agonized over that one too, but there seem to be a lot of people who buy from Amazon who don't look elsewhere on the web. So in the end I set the price as low as I could, wrote it in as a charity donation, checked the "tell us about a lower price" and hoped for the best. I still keep hoping Amazon will go for the discount to free. I don't know. Would you rather pay .99 for a short in a series you like or never know it existed? It's not published by MLR so I can't mention it in the existing books or their blurbs.
Heck, it's not that special. Maybe I should just pull it off Amazon.
Anne wrote: "I can't help but wonder how much worse it looks if someone pays 99 cents for it on Amazon, then goes to ARe and finds it's free."I agree that readers paying for a story then finding that same story offered for free elsewhere looks bad. I simply don't agree that steering people to other vendors in your blogstream at Amazon as a form of advertisement looks particularly professional, either. JMO, of course.
Kaje wrote: "Anne wrote: "What isn't on ARe?..."I meant that story isn't on ARe. I started on Smashwords and that seemed sufficient.
I can't help but wonder how much worse it looks if someone pays 99 cents ..."
Speaking strictly for myself, I don't view 99c as a real price. I'd treat it as the equivalent of the author making it as close to free as possible. I've paid 99c for stuff that's free elsewhere to get it from Amazon, rather than register elsewhere.
Kari wrote: "I simply don't agree that steering people to other vendors in your blogstream at Amazon as a form of advertisement looks particularly professional, either. JMO, of course. "Yep, that's the issue. I'd also read Amazon's policy agreements very closely indeed, as I recall something that indicated it would violate their user agreement to do the above.
If you guys all go click the "lower price elsewhere" thing for me the next time you're on Amazon, maybe the issue will go away. I'm kind of sick of beating myself up over decisions I made in good faith and to the best of my ability here, so I'm gonna hope the story texts are fixed, I'm gonna leave Amazon alone other than clicking that button on my second online account too. Then I'm gonna go read Spin Out which I've been saving for a day I needed a lift. And if people get mad at me for irresponsible editing or unacceptable greed, I guess I'll live with it. They don't have to buy my books if they don't want to.
Kaje wrote: "If you guys all go click the "lower price elsewhere" thing for me the next time you're on Amazon, maybe the issue will go away. I'm kind of sick of beating myself up over decisions I made in good ..."Oh, Kaje. *hugs* Amazon's policy to make it difficult to post free stories are not your fault. I do understand that they might be worried about spam or false advertisement masked as free books.
We've all been there about editing issues. Even some publishers release books that are well... less than stellar.
Have fun with Spin Out though.
Cleon wrote: "Oh, Kaje. *hugs* ..."Thanks!
Kari wrote: "Anne wrote: "I can't help but wonder how much worse it looks if someone pays 99 cents for it on Amazon, then goes to ARe and finds it's free."I agree that readers paying for a story then finding ..."
I agree, that's why I'm still thinking about it. It's sort of one of those damned if you do, damned if you don't situations.
Kaje wrote: "Anne wrote: "What isn't on ARe?..."I meant that story isn't on ARe. I started on Smashwords and that seemed sufficient.
I can't help but wonder how much worse it looks if someone pays 99 cents ..."
I get it. I pubbed on ARe because formatting for Smashwords seemed like a nightmare. Not that I actually got around to trying it, it just seemed like a nightmare.
Kaje wrote: "If you guys all go click the "lower price elsewhere" thing for me the next time you're on Amazon, maybe the issue will go away. I'm kind of sick of beating myself up over decisions I made in good ..."Good point. :-) Go have some ice cream and screw it. That's what I'm going to do.
Anne wrote: "Josh wrote: "Please just stay away from redheads! No sexual appeal at all! IMHO. I usually opt for a tactful "chestnut" or "sorrel." But Tucker, in Fair Game, is red-headed."
What????!!
He is, ..."
I loved that Tucker was red-headed and had freckles. I also loved that Jake was blond. It's almost like their softer side showing through the tough exterior by way of their hair coloring. Who expects tough guys to have freckles? And the lighter hair usually belongs on the more fragile partner. By the way, I think Jake is probably the sharpest mental image of a fictional character I've ever had. The scene in DoaPK where he and Adrien have lunch and as Adrien pulls out of the parking lot he looks back and sees Jake standing there by himself like a blond toy soldier or something is as crisp and clear in my mind as a photograph.
Anne wrote: "I agree, that's why I'm still thinking about it. It's sort of one of those damned if you do, damned if you don't situations."Yeah. I've never self-pubbed (too early in my career, too many tasks not in my skills set, lol) so I'm not sure exactly what Amazon's TOS says. I vaguely recall discussions about it being a no-no, FWIW, but since I'm years away from worrying about it, I wasn't paying a lot of attention. If it would break Amazon's TOS, I'd tread warily, though. Fo sho.
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I have bought books from other websites, but I try not to just because it's easier for me if I can just buy a bunch of books every once and awhile from one place. And, Amazon does give free shipping, which is always a plus, since I love print, even if print is more expensive. Having free shipping balances it out a little.
Anyway, that's my two cents.
Maybe having a disclaimer at the first page of the book proclaiming that all the profit from the sale is going to a charity will balance it out.
Josh wrote: "He saw everything in terms of color and shadow and how he would paint it. Even his emotions, really."I need to read this again and just feel it. Like looking at a painting.
Jordan wrote: "Someone mentioned it, and it is true, that there are a lot of people who go to Amazon and nowhere else. I'd rather pay the dollar and know it exists. Of course, if you were my favorite author, chan..."I've been with Amazon for many years but now with my e-reader I can't use their kindle. So I have visited other sites now to order books. But I still use Amazon for browsing or ordering books and also giving reviews.
I am using 'allromance' more but sometimes it is difficult to navigate as 'goodreads is too'
So I will never give up Amazon for ease of browsing and navigating.
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Later in the year I'll be putting The French Have a Name for It up on Amazon at .99 Readers have been begging me to make it available again, and it's been long enough that I feel I can do that without seeming unfair to the folks who got it as a freebie for buying Strange Fortune.
There is still a freebie version of it floating out there, but the vast, vast majority of readers will not be bothered hunting it down -- which is why they keep pushing me to make it available on Amazon.
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What a great insight.
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Embarrassing for all concerned, but there it is. And there it continues to be.
Josh wrote: "It's almost like their softer side showing through the tough exterior by way of their hair coloring.What a great insight."
Wasn't it? :)
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I think that's definitely enough time. I'd charge 1.49 for it, though. People just don't value stuff that costs less than a dollar for some reason...
RE: Wacky World of Amazon. I haven't read it for a while but I'm pretty sure that the amazon agreement states that you will not make an item available for sale a lower cover price on a competing retail site. So you're not supposed to make it available for, like, .89 on ARE or on your own website if it's 1.99 on amazon. I'm not sure if they would consider putting a story up for free on a competing retail site like ARE to be in violation of that agreement or not. A piece that was a freebie download with another purchase would definitely not fall into the category of "for sale on a competing site" though, so you're in the clear there, I think.
Josh wrote: "I can tell you that as I venture into self-publishing next year I will hire a content editor, a copy-editor, and a cover artist. It is worth the money, even if there is little money to be had, to m..."Good luck, Josh.
On lighter note... talk about irony, one of my favorite blogs, who post pictures about cake related disasters (including misspellings) talks about the book they just launch, with a misspelling. LOL . http://cakewrecks.squarespace.com/hom...
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What, you don't want to buy a wacom pad and master adobe creative suite 5 all on your own? I can't imagine why not. It's so, so, easy. :)
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Q&A with Josh Lanyon
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So true, Nicole. Starting is..."
Will that paragraph be on your next book? *hint hint nudge nudge*