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Kevin Fraleigh
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I am at another decision point in my writing!
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Hi Kevin. I'll answer, though more because I am in a boat next to you, not because I know what to do.People often tell you to split your work up in such circumstances and I can see why you did. I sort of chose not to. To give the figures, mine are 210,000 and 240,000 and God knows what for the unwritten third.
You say you'd try a trad publisher with the single work. But agents told me a publisher wouldn't look at my size from a first-timer, and I had to split my first in half to send to agents. From my experiences... you'd have to.
Now, indies tell us to split them up too, um, I think because 'people with a lot of books out sell more'. But once I went indie, with these things up to me and with the beauty of ebooks where size doesn't matter, I made them the size they 'ought to be', the original size... and you say in your post, you think your book's right size is as the single work of 300,000.
My own feelings are that I want a whole book, as a reader, and as a writer, I want to give a whole book - not 'instalments' as a deliberate strategy. You seem to feel your parts don't stand alone, and in that case, I'd encourage you to do as the book tells you. But that's me. I've been out two months, and I am more likely to shoot myself in the foot than 'sell myself'.
Still, I had a fellow-feeling, so I answered.
PS. I've just had a browse at your book on Smashwords. I'm only one person, but... if this were a single book, I'd be intrigued enough to sample, and your size - as an unusual factor - would make me think you brave, and definitely non-exploitative (since instalments to sell more books, I'm sorry, have the exploitative air to me). I'd think, there's a lot here, it's value. No doubt I'm prejudiced in favour of big books. But I don't want to see them get rare, or non-existent in indie.Do you want a bit of feedback on your book descriptions? I had a thought, and you mention the pain of them on your blog.
Bryn, Thanks for the great feedback, I really appreciate it. One of the best points for sequels is that you can offer each installment cheaper than one big book. I'd feel really bad about selling 300K words for $1.99! And I agree with you that sequels can appear exploitative. And, certainly, any feedback on the book descriptions is certainly welcome.Thanks again!
As far as e-books go, isn't it easy to do what they always do with books like Lord of the Rings? It's always available as either three separate books or one volume. That way readers can choose which version they'd prefer. By offering both options it would also give you a way of measuring which format is more successful.I've been wondering about making my first and second books available as a single volume. The second book is getting much better reviews than the first and I'm wondering if I am losing sales because the first one in the series is putting them off.
It's a tough decision because either way you have the potential of losing readers. I'm leaning strongly towards having the book available in both versions. Good luck on your writing.
Kevin wrote: "I'd feel really bad about selling 300K words for $1.99!"Oh, I'd be upset if you did. Put a decent/fair price on it. It's taken years? Attach a value to that, I have to urge; it's too heartbreaking for an author otherwise.
I've seen a lot of 'omnibuses' where authors now offer together what they once offered apart. To do both and give the option seems like an excellent solution.
I'll come back about the book descriptions.
Cheers.
Thanks, Bryn. I look forward to your further comments.
Paul wrote: "As far as e-books go, isn't it easy to do what they always do with books like Lord of the Rings? It's always available as either three separate books or one volume. That way readers can choose whic..."Hi Paul, Couldn't it be that your first book has actually helped the sale of your second?
Paul: that means they're going on to read your second. Me, I proved by experience the truism that we learn as we go. My 1st was so inferior to my 2nd that I went back and wrote the 1st again almost from scratch (this has left me with the new problem that my 1st is better-written than my 2nd - because we get better as we go). Would you consider a revisit of your first, or don't you go there?Kevin, I'm hesitant now, but, feedback is almost never without value to us indies. This is just me, but...
I'd put your biographical bit at the end, not at the start. In your case - unlike most - you have biography that matters and is worth inclusion. Readers often see only the short description and I'd spend that on your story.
And forgive me if I add another reaction I had. In trad-published books the marketers put on the back, 'well-crafted, tightly-written' and so on. Perhaps it's unfair if we indies can't do likewise. But I can't help but feel, with indies, it backfires, because the writer has written it. I've seen this said often enough.
I just read your 'sex, violence and physics' tag. That's catchy. Thought of that in your short description?
It looks to me like you have an unusual work - not your average thriller? more ambitious than that? If you do the unusual with selling your book, too, that suits. Even catches the eye. Be as bold as your book. I'm making up slogans now.
Thanks, that really helps. You know, in the various forums I've placed this same question, you might be the only one who actually went out to look at the description or has any idea what I've written about. The extra effort means a lot, thanks.
Happy to and glad you didn't mind my answers. I've gotten quite interested in your book along the way and sampled of course.
If you like my books, tell your friends and neighbors.
Pletcha wrote: "Hi Paul, Couldn't it be that your first book has actually helped the sale of your second? "I am absolutely certain that it has. I believe that almost all the sales of book 2 are due to book 1. My whole marketing plan to date has been focused on my first book, with the idea that people will (hopefully) like that and then go on to buy the 2nd, 3rd etc.
I'll be releasing the 3rd book soon. My fear is that my marketing plan is flawed as the first book just isn't as good as the others. People won't ever read the following books if the first isn't a good example of my writing. If I continue to focus my efforts on book 1, then it really has to be a good advert for my other books and, so far, I'm not convinced.
Kevin wrote: "If you like my books, tell your friends and neighbors."Word of mouth promotion is one of the best, if not the best, form of promotion.
I have some thoughts on this, especially since I tend to write in trilogies and grapple with similar concerns. Firstly, I'm not sure what your sales were or I'd you are a debut author, boot book sales have a long tail and the more books you put out the higher your plateau of sales becomes. One of the challenges you cite is that you have to market each book. I'd submit that's the whole point in doing it. Each book had its own product cycle and marketing campaign. Each book is launched, submitted for book reviews, pushed out to consumers each in their turn. You've built three years worth of excuses to talk about you, your books and your brand. If its only one book, you only get one chance to build the brand.
I also respectfully disagree that releasing a book in installments is exploitive. We are in the business of selling books and the more titles we have the more consumers take us seriously. Book buyers are used to stories in multiple books and in some genres expect it. As a book buyer I personally prefer it to having a huge book to muddle through.
That said, the books should stand alone, but be unavoidably connected, I wouldnt expect readers to enter sideways and read only one of them, but I wouldn't expect them to read them back to back either. End each book by resolving the arcs and conflicts of that book but end parked downhill so that readers are forced by curiosity to pick up the next book. Game of Thrones and Hunger Games are good examples of that.
(punched this out on my iPhone sorry for typos)
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