Helloooo?

Yep, I'm still here. Got two timeclock jobs, but am getting on a schedule to get more done. Expecting to have some short stuff done soon. Wish me luck.

Long Time Coming

Time for an update.

An Embarrassment of Not Really Riches.
In the space of six weeks I went from having just the writing gig to two other timeclock jobs. It really helps for (almost) paying the bills, but combine those with the writing and the lawn work (I swear, I've watched the grass grow) and trying to figure out a crash helmet for our goldfish (another time), things are getting hectic. I will, however, endeavor to persevere.

So, Is the Book Selling?
No more sales, but a few more downloads of the free sample. If you've read it, let the folks at Smashwords.com know with a review! It's also available for your Nook from Barnes and Noble, so that's good news. Still waiting to hear from Amazon (for the Kindle) and Apple (for the iPad).

When Will the Next Turning Springs Material Be Out?
Wow, that is a great question. I'm hoping by the end of the summer for Project B, but I was hoping that would be finished by Memorial Day. I'm dividing my time between marketing Turning Springs, writing Project B, and writing a new short project I've entitled...wait for it now...Project C. I'm planning on releasing it as a freebie on Fanstory.com, if they'll let me.

Is It Worth It?
Absolutely. I know this will start selling better once I start advertising regularly. With the new schedule I'm putting myself on, it shouldn't take long at all. Watch this space for sparse updates (once per week, I hope).

That's all for now. Write me back!

How 'M I Doin'?

Just wanted to give my fans (and both of you know who you are) an update on the status of the e-book released on March 31 of this year. The experience thus far confirms what I've come to understand about publishing and about life in general: leave your expectations at the door, because you won't need them.

The Numbers

Okay, boring and revealing stuff first. Number of sales: 2. Number of downloads of the free sample: 4. I've placed an ad on craigslist for the Chicago area, but that didn't generate much more than free samples. I've sent out about ten freebie copies.

Before You Start Feeling Bad

Two weeks in, none of the above is bad news. It doesn't reflect on the quality of the work or the effort I put into it. I'm learning a great deal about a lot of different things.

For instance, I should have put my contact information at the bottom of the acknowledgment page instead of at the end of the book. The free sample is of the beginning of the book. No one who downloads the free sample gets my contact information unless they look at my profile page at Smashwords.com. Click (light bulb on over head).

I also don't have enough advertising out there. Few people besides friends and family know about this, so I need to get the word out better. I'm not happy with my craigslist ad, either with its scope or the ad copy. More ads, more ads. And better use of networking sites and other online presences.

So there's more I can do and want to do, time permitting. Got a job now. Takes up some time.

Not “Huh?”, but “Huh.”

I'm still enthused about all this, although I don't have enough time to devote to it. Much work to do to build a readership and I'm hoping that will happen sooner rather than later. Still, looking at the big picture, I've actually sold copies of my work. People have paid money for what I write. With money as tight as it is these days, that's a remarkable thing.

Hey, two people who bought the book? Thanks for that. Now let's turn you into a crowd.

Okay. Now.

My new book, and the first foray into the Turning Springs world, named appropriately Turning Springs, has been released. It's available at e-book distributor/publisher Smashwords.com. There is a large free sample available, but the full e-book will run you $3.00. It's about a traveling technician for a constructed servants company trying to stop one of the company's products from killing people in an old west town. I'm planning on doing many more e-books set in this same world, so step up and let me know what you think.

There's also a formal space for reviews on the download page at Smashwords if you wish, and I wish you would. I'll be advertising it every place that will let me do so for nothing, but word of mouth wouldn't hurt either. I don't insist on only good reviews being seen, although I do prefer them. I want to get better at this as time and effort goes on and the best way I can do that is to take the criticisms of experience and apply it to future work.

It's a good feeling to have it out in public where people can get to it. The hard work is just beginning. I'm looking forward to all the marketing and advertising aspects of this, but I'm making this up as I go along. Any advice any of you can give me would be welcome.

This Post's Question: how would you recommend I proceed to get my work read?

E-book? Why an E-book?

Who knew?

I first encountered Smashwords.com about a year ago. At the time, I thought it was an interesting concept. Anyone could submit something they had written to them and the site would publish it electronically, whether it be your effort at the Great American Novel or your non-fiction book about how squirrels are trying to take over the world. No paper was involved. You could charge whatever you wanted or nothing at all and the site would take fifteen percent of your sales if you had any. I looked at it as a big garage sale for literary works, but nothing I was going to attempt seriously. I wouldn't have a problem getting an agent or a publisher. And really, who reads on their computers?

I'll give you a minute to look up the answer. On your Kindle. Or your Nook. Or your netbook. Or your iPhone.

I knew, I just didn't know it

Smashwords hasn't changed their philosophy very much since then. What they have done is expanded the reach of their material. About a dozen formats are available for download and they are affiliated with many e-book publishers such as Barnes & Noble and Amazon. But what really sold me into working with them was a very simple concept that I totally ignored from the beginning.

I don't like most of the stuff on the best seller lists. And I don't read it. Why would anyone at one of those companies whose job it is to populate those lists think that what I was writing was worth their time? They wouldn't, because it's not what sells well for them.

And now that I do....

It occurred to me that selling directly to the people who like what I like was the answer. And Smashwords appears to be an excellent way to do that. With all their different formats and their acceptance of popular payment methods such as Paypal, and print-on-demand possibilities from their affiliate WordClay, this looks like a winner. Of course, I'll have to do all my own marketing and advertising, but I'd have to do a lot of that with a publisher anyway. I'm kind of stoked about it, to tell the truth. Who knew?

Have you bought anything from Smashwords.com? Are you going to? What was your impression of the quality of the work there?

Springpunk?

Yeah, springpunk. I can't take credit for creating that word, but I'll use it. It's got nothing to do with the (looooong overdue) changing of the seasons here in North America. It's also got nothing to do with water. It has everything to do with twisted pieces of metal and the work they can do.

You've probably heard of cyberpunk, in which computers and technology issues substantially impact and/or control peoples' lives, mostly in the future. Many of those works, movies and books, some of them quite extraordinary, are designed to deliver warnings about letting technology take too much control of our lives. Implants and cyborgs and alternate technological universes and highly imaginative violence. Dark. Really, really dark. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy most cyberpunk works because the world-building tends to be exquisite, but I like the sun, too. It can't be dark all the time.

You might have even heard of steampunk. Equipment and vehicles commonly electrically or gasoline powered now are redesigned to be steam-powered. Victorian settings are common. Flight is a popular aspect, either through zeppelins or ornithopters (flapping wing aircraft) or rockets or combinations. And goggles. And leather helmets. I've found much steampunk fiction thematically light: give your all for King and Country and don't swear in front of the ladies or they'll faint. We've been there and done that. The question I ask of the steampunk I read or watch is this: is this steam-powered gadget really necessary? Much of the time the answer is no. And leather helmets are hats, not helmets. No protection at all. Maybe I'm not reading the right stuff. Recommend more if you would. I think the genre has promise, but I'm just not seeing the production.

So, springpunk. A work in which wind-up servants substantially impact peoples' lives. Think of a machine that does the dangerous jobs that people shouldn't do. A toolbox that walks to a job site. A mechanical lumberjack. A mechanical farmhand. A mechanical bartender. Go ahead, make up your own. It can do whatever you want. Now figure out what its existence does to its world and the people in it. And what it might be able to do besides its assigned functions.

That effect on people and on the machines themselves what my e-books are about. I'll let you know when the first one comes out. It should be in a few days.