by john | Jan 18, 2012 | Appearances, Business of publishing, Real Life, Travel
I got my schedule for Chattacon this weekend – I’m on two panels and have a table in the dealer’s room. So if you’re in Chattanooga come on by the ChooChoo and say hello!
Saturday at noon I’m on a panel called “Out of the Closet and Onto the Page:Self Publishing” with Alan Gilbreath from Kerlak Publishing. As two of the most out-of-the-closet and out-of-bounds panelists in the building all weekend, it oughta be fun. Alan is a good panelist, he has opinions on everything, has experience in the publishing biz, is witty and articulate. And he’s fun to drink with. So I expect us to have fun there.
Saturday at 2PM I’m on “Technology – Help or Hindrance for Writers?” with Mark Van Name and Stephen D. Rogers. Mark is a best-seller for Baen Books, and Stephen has a bunch of books out and teaches workshops on writing and publishing, so that should be fun. I’ve never met either of these guys before, but that’s pretty common for panels.
I’m still looking for a Con Assistant – and I’m willing to take on multiples for different cons. My friend Melissa has already volunteered to minion for me at ConCarolinas and DragonCon because I hang with the other authors she minions for, so adding one more kitten to herd isn’t that tough. Suzy will be my minion at MidSouth Con and Fandom Fest, and I’m sharing a table with folks at Heroes Con, so I really only need a minion at a couple of events. I can’t offer money, but I’ll cover your con costs and most if not all of your food for the weekend. You’re probably going to have to ride with me to the con to keep costs down, but if you already live where I’m coming for a con, then it’ll be easy!
Here’s where I’ll be and when –
March 2-4 – High Point, NC – StellarCon
July 20-22 – Chattanooga – LibertyCon (unconfirmed)
August 3-5 – Columbia, SC – RoundCon (unconfirmed)
Hmm, looks like I need less minioning than I thought – excellent! I knew I got married for something other than love and laundry.
Sales are going awesome so far this month – the Bubba the Monster Hunter Collection Monsters Beware is doing very well. I think it might have dipped into the individual short story sales a little, but since I make more on one collection than I make on all four short stories put together, I’m pretty happy with that.
Doesn’t make sense? Here’s the math – I sell the collection for $2.99, which qualifies for Amazon’s 70% royalty, so I get $2.04 per copy sold. Each individual short story sells for $.99, which qualifies for Amazon’s 35% royalty rate. So I get $.35 for each short story sold. There are four shorts, so $1.40 for each set of four short stories. $2.04 is better than $1.40, so I’m better off selling the collections. Of course, my hope it that someone buys (or freebies) the first one, then buys the collection, so I double-dip for an extra $.35. I know, thirty-five cents is less than a pack of gum, but in multiples of a hundred it adds up. I’m still not making Konrath money, but I’m making decent cash, enough so that I can still plan on quitting my day job in March.
Livin’ the dream, baby. Livin’ the dream. See you out on the road!
by john | Jan 16, 2012 | Business of publishing
Here’s an idea – because I don’t have enough to do, I’ll publish an anthology. This year. With an exclusive short story.
Yeah, I’m not too bright. But I want to write a story about a bad vampire. You know, the kind of guy who just does what he wants and damn the consequences. No angst, just fangs. Since I want to write this story, I of course think people will want to read it. Since I think people want to read one story about a bad guy, I think they might want to read a whole anthology of stories about bad guys.
So here it comes – The Big Bad – an anthology of evil
Send me your best short story (6,000 words max, if it has to be longer contact me first) that features a bad guy or evil character as the protagonist. It can be fantasy, urban fantasy, superhero, horror, whatever. Just send me your best bad guy story. I’m taking twenty.
I’m paying $50 for one year’s exclusive electronic and print rights plus two contributor’s copies. After that we retain rights to publish electronically in the anthology only, and in print in this anthology only, but you can take it and sell it somewhere else, or sell it yourself as a standalone.
Deadline is July 31,2012.
by john | Jan 6, 2012 | Business of publishing, Writing
So 2011 was my first year really working at the self-publishing thing. And it was a big year for a lot of people in my situation. Here are some overall numbers that might be of interest to folks starting out on their publishing journey. Feel free to take them wildly out of context to prove whatever point you’d like to prove.
$40,000 – roughly what I made last year as a writer. That’s a pretty good nut, considering things didn’t take off for me until April. It’s not quite enough to support me and Suzy, but when you consider that this year I’m staying in the day job for the first quarter of the year, I think we’ll muddle through.
25,000+ – The number of books I sold or gave away last year. My numbers aren’t perfect, but they’re pretty close, and I think I broke through the 25K number sometime in December. That would be a decent print run for one traditionally published genre fiction novel by an unknown author. I sold that many, but that’s across a dozen or so titles. Still, I’m pretty happy with those numbers, because it certainly proves that more people are buying my books than just friends and family. I’m a helluva guy, but I don’t have that many friends.
10,000+ – Number of copies Hard Day’s Knight sold last year. By far my biggest seller, with the sequels holding the #2 and #3 spots, in order of release. All in all, the Black Knight series accounts for over 17,000 of my books sold.
45 – Number of books I sold in January. I had two books out at that point, Hard Day’s Knight and The Chosen. Things really didn’t take off for me until I released Back in Black, underscoring the importance of continuity for continued sales.
4300 – Number of books I sold in August, the release month for Knight Moves. I had eight books out at that point, some of then only selling a handful per month. This further underscores the concept that a series sells itself. It doesn’t, but it sure is easier to get people to take a look when you’re selling a handful of titles instead of just one.
4 – books in the deal I signed with BellBridge books. They bought the omnibus edition to The Black Knight Chronicles, along with books 4-6. We haven’t really gotten cooking on things yet, but I think it’s going to be a good fit. They’ve got a lot of good plans for making my titles discoverable, and a good track record, so I’m excited.
1 – Book deal I signed in 2011. It may be the only deal I sign for a while, but I plan to keep my options open. I think BellBridge can do some good things for me, and I think I can make us both some money. If another company comes along with a deal that makes sense, I’ll talk to them, but I’m not out looking.
These numbers aren’t meant as a (total) brag post. There are a bunch of self-published authors out there doing as well as or better than me. It’s more to let you know that the midlist does still exist, and there are new voices on it, and you can be one too. Because gods know, if I’ve managed to find some level of success in this wild world of publishing, it’s proof that the sun really does shine on every dog’s ass at some point.
by john | Jan 4, 2012 | Book Spotlight, Business of publishing, Vampires, Writing
I’ve known today’s guest blogger longer than I’ve known any of the other writer friends in the fantasy world. We met long, long ago in another life, in another state, and before a couple more careers for both of us. We reconnected through Facebook and realized that we’re chasing the same dream. Her first book, The Betrayal, came out late last year. Give it a look at Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
GO FORTH!
Anyone who loves acting or directing, dreams of working on Broadway.
Anyone who loves dancing ballet, dreams of dancing at Lincoln Center.
Anyone who loves painting, dreams of having their work in a gallery in Paris, London or NYC.
What about writers? Well, many dream of being published.
When you’re about to be forty there’s really no more lying to yourself. I looked at what I’d been doing and realized that there was no way with my current lifestyle I was ever going to be a well known director. In order to really do that I needed to have a flexible job and I work in an office. It’s a good job. I like it. It pays well and gives me insurance. To walk away from that would be stupid. But if I wanted to really have the freedom to be a director I needed to be able to travel and be flexible. I could do neither. So it was apparent to me that staying in theatre for me was just me spinning my wheels. I wasn’t going to move up any higher than I already was at. And to be honest, I wasn’t happy with that.
I thought of my first love, writing, and weighed that against what I was doing. The answer was very clear. I wanted to write more than I wanted to keep plugging away at directing/producing. Hell, the idea of even attending an Off Off Broadway show made me want to squirm. I swore if I saw one more experimental artsy performance I’d shoot the cast and walk out with a clear conscious. So I hunted for the book I’d started writing in college, loaded it up and finished the damn thing.
I hate to even type this…but it was Twilight that made me do this. DON’T SHOOT ME! Let me explain! It’s not the reason you think.
To be honest, I was suddenly afraid someone was going to write/publish my story. No, Twilight is NOTHING like my series (unless you count the word “vampire” as a connection) but it made me go, “Get off your ass, girl, and get it done!” So, though I’m not a huge fan of the series, I thank the powers that be for putting a foot on my ass.
So, book is finished. Now what? Get an agent…right? Then they’d get me a publisher and so on and so forth. Little did I know how much the publishing world was changing. I don’t think I really understood until I owned a Kindle. I was buying books right and left on that thing. So when a writing pal of mine emailed me a link to an e-publisher looking for Fantasy Novels I thought, what the hell, why not?
But what about an agent? I was trying but I wasn’t getting anywhere fast. I’d been submitting to literary agents for a year and a half and nada. Zip. Zero. Zilch. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I caught the eye of some of them and they asked to read it, but then they would disappear off the planet. Or as I had reached the point of saying, “They fell into a ditch and they swallowed their laptop and forgot how to check their email.” Yeah, I’m a little bitter. I’m working on it.
Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, the link my friend had sent me was to Eirelander Publishing. I researched them and submitted. By that Saturday I had an offer in my email. I was shocked. I was in tears. I was leery. It shouldn’t be this easy, right? Then I thought, “Easy? I’ve been bustin’ my ass for a year and a half to get someone to give me a chance!” And when you write vampire novels and your publisher/editor’s name is Buffi, how can you not see it as “meant to be”?
For you see, I started to try and sell the first book of The Living Dead Girl Saga in December of 2009. I told myself if I’d not found an agent by December 2011 I would start considering going to Grad School (somewhere warm ‘cause NYC weather really bites). But, on October 14, 2011 that book was released by Eirelander Publishing in e-book format. We hope to see it hit Amazon Print on Demand early in 2012.
For me, two of my dreams have come true. I’ve worked successfully in the indie-theatre world of NYC and now, I am published. To be honest, the latter really hasn’t sunk in fully. I think that’s because it’s so new and because I’m still a tiny fish in a big pond.
But I will push forth! Book Two, called Shattered, in the Living Dead Girl Saga, has been requested by my publisher so if you’ve read Book One, The Betrayal, and enjoyed it, the next one will be out in 2012!
For more information on me and my books, visit me at www.tamsinsilver.com . Once there you can find links to purchase my book in e-format (Amazon and B&N) as well as a PDF form through my publisher. You’ll also find cool things like pictures of my characters, videos from the photo-shoots, and if you hit the October entries of my blog there are character profiles for most everyone in the LDG Saga. Or, if you want…here are links:
Photos: http://is.gd/nD6rd7
Videos: http://is.gd/tYJbJ7
Character Profiles: http://is.gd/r2Pixg
I hope you are following your dreams. If you’re not, stop making excuses and GO FORTH! Jump on the ambition train and make it happen. You won’t regret it. Honestly, even if I’d not gotten published yet, I’d not regret my decision. I’ve met so many great people doing National Novel Writer Month and getting involved with a writing group here in NYC, that I feel suddenly like I’m on the right path. I just wish I’d not avoided that path for ten years due to my fears.
So go forth, and good luck! Cheers! -Tamsin
by john | Dec 30, 2011 | Business of publishing, Poetry, Real Life, Weight Loss, Writing
Let’s make goals instead. I suck at resolutions, but somehow manage to be pretty goal-oriented. So here are my goals for 2012. At some point I’ll take a look back at last year’s goals and see where I succeeded (number of novels written) and where I failed horribly (weight loss), but this is not that post.
1) Words per day – I’m quitting my day job, so there’s no reason not to ratchet up my productivity. My current goal is 2,000 words per day, or 10,000 words per week. That equates to half a million words in a year, which should give me plenty of fodder to do the 2 Black Knight books I’m contracted to turn in this year, finish the Return to Eden trilogy this year, and work on something else (maybe a fairy tale, maybe a straight thriller). That also leaves a lot of words on the table for short stories, because my books are short, usually under 75,000 words. So I should be able to crank out a lot of product this year, which is pretty key to putting food on the table.
2) Solicit more paid work – not just fiction, but I’m a pretty good non-fiction writer, too. I’ve still got a few contacts in the poker world I can ring up, plus there are several entertainment industry publications that are interested in having me write for them. I’d like to get a couple of articles each month out in the world to help out in the slow months when the fiction dollars aren’t cranking.
3) Return to writing poetry – I haven’t done much poetry in a year or so, but re-launching Red Dirt Review has me itching to write more literary fiction and poetry, so I need to re-train my mind for those particular backflips. And if you haven’t check out the Review yet, give it a shot. There’s some work over there by some amazing poets and short story writers. And submissions are always open.
4) Work on my photography – I got a new camera, now I need to learn how to use it. I want to learn about filmmaking with a DSLR, and I want to learn more about photography, too. My years in lighting design and stage direction have given me a pretty good sense of composition, I just need to get a better handle on the technology.
5) Work out and lose weight – I’m not real healthy right now, and I’ve got to make time to get some of the weight off. It needs to be higher on this list, but whatever switch in my head that makes me want to get up and work out every day hasn’t flipped yet. I did get a couple of workouts in during my week off, but not as many as I would have liked.
That’s what we’re going to start with – what are your goals for the new year?
by john | Nov 23, 2011 | Business of publishing, Promos/Giveaways
It’s the hottest new toy for the holidays, it’s the Kindle Fire! And I’m giving away not one, but TWO of them! Yep, two lucky winners will get a Kindle Fire this holiday season, and it’s 100% free to enter and win!
Yep, this is how I’m using the last of my marketing budget for the year!
It might be free, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be simple – there are LOTS of ways to gain entries, and if I’m gonna drop $400 on electronics, you better believe I have a plan to sell a few books in the process.
I’ll even go you one better. If any of my books hits the Kindle Top 100 at any point during the contest, I’ll add in a third Kindle! So the more books I move in the next month, the better your chance to win a Kindle!
Here’s how you can win -There might be even more ways to win coming soon, so keep checking back here –
Here are the rules for the contest –
Contest runs through 11PM EST, November 23, 2011, to 5PM EST, December 19, 2011. That should give me enough time to order the kindles and get them shipped to people for Christmas delivery (I’ve got Prime, so it’ll be 2-day delivery). There’s no purchase necessary, and all the ways to earn entries are listed below.
You get one entry for commenting on this blog post. That’s all it takes – one comment that says “I wanna win!” or something to that effect.
You get one entry for signing up for my email newsletter – click the box on the right-hand side of the page
You get one entry for following me on Twitter – @johnhartness
You get one entry for “liking” my Facebook Author page
You get one entry for Following this blog using Google Friend Connect (also in the right sidebar for the folks in RSS reader-land)
You get one entry for following my Ebook promo site – Ebook Deals Today – on Twitter – @ebookdeals2day
You get one entry for “liking” Ebook Deals Today on Facebook
You get one entry for every Facebook post that links to one of my book or Ebook Deals Today.
You get one entry for every tweet that links to one of my books (and includes my twitter handle so I can find it!) or Ebook Deals Today. Retweets count!
If you have a blog, you get one entry for every time you link to this blog, EbookDealsToday.com, or one of my books on your blog.
Take a picture of yourself reading one of my books somewhere interesting, or holding up a sign promo’ing my books somewhere interesting, post it to Facebook, and I’ll give you one entry per photo.
And if you come up with some other type of crazy creative marketing stunt that might result in a few sales for me, let me know and I’ll give you an entry for that, too!
Those are all ways to win without buying anything. No BS, and it only takes one entry to win.
But if you want to max out your chances, you might want to buy a book or two. This is a sales/promo contest, after all.
You get 10 entries for every book of mine you buy between now (11/23/11) and the end of the contest – 5PM on 12/19/11 – you have to email me a receipt (please black out personal info like credit card data) or buy the books through PayPal here on the site.
You can also get 10 entries for every book you buy from me in print form – just order them here on the site or pick them up at one of my live events.
You get 5 entries for every book you buy that is a featured Ebook Deal of the Day on EbookDealsToday.com. These books all have positive reviews and all are under $6.99.
You get 5 entries for every review you write of one of my books on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes. And the reviews should be honest. If you think my writing is crap on toast (pop quiz, which urban fantasy author did I steal that phrase from – worth another entry to the first correct commenter) then you should say so. If you hate it and give it a review (must be at least 100 words, and no bs like “I hated it” 34 times) I’ll give you two entries. That’s two entries per book reviewed, so the more reviews you write, the more entries you get. Obviously you can only review each book once, because to do anything else skews the review process. So no sock puppet reviews, no multiple reviews, and please don’t slag another book in a positive review for mine (or vice versa).
So there’s the plan – and if you have other things that you can do to promote my site or my books, then you’ll get extra entries for it and I’ll post those methods here so everybody can get the same benefit. YouTube videos featuring my books, getting my book covers on an episode of Vampire Diaries (it shoots in Atlanta, it could be done!), whatever you can do to become my street team and promo my books here at the holidays will earn you entries.
And remember, if any one of my books reaches the Kindle Top 100, I’ll give away a third Kindle Fire!
Please email any questions or entries to johnhartness AT gmail DOT com. You know what to do with that address.
UPDATE – Suzanne gets the bonus entry for knowing that crap on toast is from Kim Harrison’s Hollows series. I love those books. A bunch.
