Publish and Control

A couple of topics today.  First, a quick status on my publishing efforts.  The Fifth Age, the final book in the core nine volume series is back in the hands of Lulu to make final edit corrections.  I expect to have the final design back next week.  Unless something unexpected happens I will approve the final design by the end of next week.  I would then expect the softcover to available at Lulu sometime after June 6th.  The eBook version should follow about a couple of weeks after that.

That will complete the journey I dreamed about almost forty years ago and the publishing effort I started ten years ago.  The story is good.  As I did a final read-through of the 9th book I was amazed at how good it was.  Did I write this?  It really doesn't matter what anyone else thinks, it will always be the ultimate epic story to me.

Now what's this about control?  For anyone new to the series there is a common theme that runs through the books and serves as a source of motivation for many of the characters, it's called "control".  One premise of the series is that what drives people is a need to control their environment...control their lives...control their destiny.  Those who seek power are doing so in order to force others to their will and thus control the lives around them.  This allows them to live in a world they choose...a world they control.  Those who seek wealth do so in order to be able to buy the world they choose.  Again, it's about having the ability to choose and control their life and not have others control it for them.

Again, those who seek immortality do so in order to control how long they live and how much of life they can experience.  They want control over when they live and when or if they die.  Those who seek beauty are doing so in order to give them more choices and more control over who they love and who will desire them in return.  It allows them more control over their relationships.  It all comes back to people being able to choose the way they live and those choices provide them control.  Power, wealth, immortality, beauty are all means to an end and that end is control.  There are many themes in the series, but that is certainly one of the common ones.

As always, if you want the softcover version and be able to gaze at Amy's amazing covers first-hand, then buy the books at Lulu.com.  You will not find a cheaper site.  Watch for their specials.  Often I will tweet the codes, but they are usually only good for a day or two.  Just have patience.  If you want an eBook copy, you can find those reasonably priced at all the usual sites (Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, etc).  Give the series a try.  I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Follow the Magic

What do you think?  I've been using "follow the magic" as a tag line on some of my promotions.  Does is it help?  Hurt?  Probably no difference?

So...it's been a little while since I blogged.  I've been very, very busy with the "day job", but by no means am I ignoring The Verdan Chronicles.  I did submit my manuscript and cover art for the 9th book.  It passed Lulu's content review and is currently in the hands of the design team.  I expect to see their results as early as the end of this week (perhaps any day now).  Then, if I can find the time to do a final reread I can sign off and we could see this final book in the core series available by the end of the month.

I'm not sure how I'm supposed to feel about that.  It's the completion of a forty year dream and a major item off my "bucket list".  But there are new stories fermenting in my head that I think would be very interesting to tell and hopefully very interesting to read.  That is if anyone ever reads them.

Yeah, that last comment is tinged with a little sadness as it doesn't feel like the series is ever going to make much of a dent in the world's literary awareness.  I keep saying "that's ok", and it is, but I also daydream now and then about how cool it would be to have readers with which to discuss some of the aspects of the book.

As usual, the challenge is to get the horses to drink the water.  Those that have drunk from The Chronicles have generally said it tastes sweet, but then there are so many other sources of water that not too many horses are finding their way to my trough.  Sorry, I just felt another analogy coming on.

Back to the news.  I'm doing a second Kindle giveaway on Amazon.  It ends this Thursday and already has 500 entrants.  I wish them luck and hope more of you enter.  That will make 30 copies of The Fourth Age that have been given away this year.  I can only hope some of those 30 actually read the book.  On Goodreads I still have about 480 people who put the first book on their "to read" list, but all that really means is that it is still on their "to" read list and not their "have" read list.

I'm up to 4 reviews on Goodreads and averaging a score of 4.5 out of 5.  That's pretty amazing and while I don't expect it to stay there, it's sort of funny to note that Game of Thrones (4.4) and Lord of the Rings (4.3) are currently ranked behind my first book.  Yes, there is no way it will end up that way.  Those are classic books that well-deserve their high scores.  But now I can always say "well, there was that time when my review scores were averaging higher than..."  In truth, a lot of books I absolutely loved average in the 3s and I'd be honored if I ended up among them.

By the way, if you do take the time to write a nice, thoughtful review and leave contact information, I may decide reach out to see if you'd accept a free copy of the next book.  Yes, I've done that.  Reviews, especially well worded positive reviews, are the life-blood of an independent author who has no marketing team to call upon.  I can spend the next ten years telling you how great my books are (and they are), but having other people say nice things means a lot more.

What do you think?  I've been contemplating a limited kindle giveaway of my second book.  An associate and good friend recommended I stick to focusing on my first book.  It's probably good advice, but part of me still wants to give it a try.  I honestly believe my books and the story get stronger as the reader gets deeper into the series.  I think the series becomes amazing in the final three books, but have to wonder if anyone will ever get that far.

Ok, final thought for today.  I've been catching up on some reading.  I had little time to read while writing and wanted to get some more perspective.  I've noticed that some of the popular books can get very descriptive of the world they created.  I mean like ten pages of description around matters that seem pretty obvious.  I guess my point is this, many of the more critically acclaimed books are where the author can paint a detailed picture for the reader. 

My books usually provide enough description to give the reader a good idea of their surroundings and then let them fill in the blanks.  I could do it for them, but it's really not important to the story.  I'd rather let the reader color around the edges to make it seem more personal and comfortable to them.  That doesn't mean I don't describe things, but there usually is a purpose to every sentence and sometimes every word I write. 

I also feel sometimes like I've become so immersed in current visual arts (comics, TV, movies) that I write that way.  I feel a need to keep the story and the character development moving.  I don't want to spend ten pages describing the layout and contruction of a castle that is not relevant to where I'm going.  it's got twenty foot stone walls, four fifty foot towers on each corner, two smaller towers flank the sides of the main gate and it has an inner keep.  Now, let's get to the people who live in the castle.  It's the hero's interaction with them that's important.  Heck, the meeting could take place in an open field and it wouldn't matter to story, so why take all that time to describe something that doesn't matter?  Ok, enough of a rant on my feelings around that.  But yes, sometimes I do find myself talking outloud and wishing the author would move on.  That's what I like, so that's what I write (right or wrong).

Anyway, it's Monday and speaking of visual arts I need to make a decision on Supergirl vs Gotham, which one to watch live.  Thank the gods for DVRs.  Until next time, take care.

Thank You

Well, I survived my first foray into meeting the book reading public.  I spent three enjoyable hours at the West Allis Public Library where I got talk about my books to anyone who was interested.  I met a lot of really nice people, some of whom are aspiring writers of their own.  My only advice there is to keep writing and writing and writing.  Keep a journal.  Randomly blog like I do.  Whatever appeals to you, the more you write, the more you'll learn about what works and doesn't work for you.

For anyone who's thinking of doing this on their own; go ahead and give it a shot.  Other writers tend to be really nice people and willing to talk about what they love.  I was placed next to Sandy Goldsworth who writes paranormal romance novels.  Her books looked really interesting.  She told me these venues were mostly just about getting your name and books "out there" and if you sell 1 or 2 books you did ok.  Well, I sold one and had another 4 or 5 people look very interested in possibly buying them online.  So I guess it was a success.  I did overprepare and bring too many copies of my book.  That's a lesson learned for next time.

Back to the Verdan Chronicles.  I'm still over my head in work and struggling to stay caught up on my favorite television shows, let alone find time to write or publish.  Still, I managed to squeeze in one day at Heroes and Villains FanFest in Chicago.  I'm glad I did and got to spend a few minutes with two amazing people, Chloe Bennet and Katrina Law.  I even fulfilled my self-promise to wear my T-Shirt supporting Chloe's charity campaign "FightLikeaGirl".  Check out Chloe on twitter and you can find the link to help her cause.  You may even find my my photo op with Chloe while wearing the stylish shirt.

Work and activities aside, I'm always thinking about the next book and I'm still committed to getting the final book in the core series published in the next few months.  In the meantime, Blood and Magic is available on Amazon (but buy the softcover at Lulu.com).  The kindle version should be available in the next week or two.

Buy Lulu.com

The Wisconsin Author Festival is now less than a week away.  And I'm starting to get some feedback from my recent giveaways and the comments thus far are very positive.  So if anyone is interested in reading the series and you'd like to own the softcover versions.

PLEASE BUY FROM LULU

Just click on the word Lulu above.  Look, I love Amazon, Barnes and Noble and all the wonderful oniine retailers that even allow independent authors a place to sell their books.  I really do appreciate them.  Please show them some love too.  However, when I authorize Lulu to distribute my books through those channels I am not allowed to charge any price that is less than double the cost.  Thus, I landed on a price of $25.99, which generates about $1 in author revenue.  For Dark Passages I think the actual number is $0.97.

Now, Amazon does make my books available for PRIME shipping, so that can save a little money and get the book to you quickly.  From that aspect, it's less horrible.  But if you buy from Lulu I have more control over price and discount the books to $15.59.  On top of that Lulu runs special promotions almost every day which can include 10%, 20% or even 30% off that price and sometimes they offer free mail shipping.  You won't get the book in 2 days, but you'll save almost half the cost.

If you have any other questions about distribution, just let me know.  I want you to enjoy what I really believe is an entertaining series, but would like to help with cost as much as I can. 

Spring Ahead into the Magic of Verdan

Spring approaches.  The clocks move ahead (for most of us).  And there's more great news on the Verdan Chronicles front.

1. Blood and Magic edits are final.  I expect the book to be available at Lulu.com no later than March 18th (one short week away)
2. I've been playing with book pricing and have decided to lower the price of the softcover books.  It's a small $1 decrease, which results in even less of a decrease at Lulu.  But I hope it helps.  Guys, I don't even expect to break even against my publishing costs.  I'm just trying to do what I can to make the book available.  PLEASE, if you want the softcover, buy the book at Lulu.com and you will save at least $10 and even more if you look for their coupon codes.
3. For the first time ever I will be promoting my books at a public event.  I will be attending the 2nd Annual Wisconsin Authors Festival at the West Allis Public Library from 1pm to 4pm on March 25th.  I will have a limited number of books with me that I'll be selling at slightly under cost.

That's about it for now.  Still no feedback on how the giveaway promotions went as it takes me at least 4-6 weeks to see any sales results outside of Lulu.  I hope you're enjoying the weather and hope to see you in West Allis on the 25th.