Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Three and Box Sets

We interrupt the ongoing guest blogs for a bit of talk about Amazon Publishing and collaboration.

If you've missed the last few guest blogs, they are worth reading and the comments are still open:

You can read Marcus Sakey talking about cover art here: http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2013/06/guest-post-by-marcus-sakey.html

You can read Dakota Madison talking about finding success as a romance writer here: http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2013/06/guest-post-by-dakota-madison.html

You can read CG Cooper talking about his Rule of Three here: http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2013/06/guest-post-by-carlos-cooper.html

You can read Todd Travis talking about fear here: http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2013/06/gust-post-by-todd-travis.html

Today, the Thomas and Mercer imprint of Amazon Publishing is launching two books by me and Ann Voss Peterson.

The first is THREE, the third novel in the Codename: Chandler trilogy. THREE is a sequel to FLEE and SPREE, and it's about a female operative who works as an assassin for the US government. We wanted to do an updated, American version of James Bond, where a woman was the lead. Like Bond, she thwarts plots by evil super villains who want to take over the world, she has lots of cool gadgets, there are many over-the-top action set-pieces, and she seduces men to complete her missions.

While we aren't the first to create a female super spy, I'm incredibly pleased with the way these books have turned out. So much so that we wrote two prequels, HIT and EXPOSED, and Chandler will also be in my next Jack Daniels novel (LAST CALL with Blake Crouch, coming soon).

If you've read FLEE and SPREE, you should pick up THREE. It's my longest book (Ann and I had so much story to tell this wound up an whopping 150,000 words long--and trust me, it's all action) and it also is a nice end to the trilogy. All three of the main characters have full arcs (thank you Joseph Campbell) and it functions as an epic as all of the books take place during a single week. And what a violent, sexy, funny, insane week it is.

But if you haven't read the Chandler novels, don't buy the individual ebooks yet.

You read that right. I'm asking you to not buy my ebooks. Because Thomas and Mercer, in their willingness to listen to my ideas, has done something both unusual and innovative.

First, some background.

Way, way back in ancient history, authors vied for shelf space in brick and mortar bookstores. Bestsellers got the most. Publishers paid coop money to have these books featured on the new release table, in large numbers and at a 40% discount. They also paid to have them prominently placed throughout the store; face-out on end caps, in the store window, near the check-out registers, on kiosks and promo tables, and multiple copies (usually of the author's entire backlist) in section.

I had eight books published by major NY publishers. When they were published, the bookstores only carried a handful of copies, spine-out in section, no discount, no promo. There were some exceptions (I've made some terrific bookseller friends who kept my books stocked and hand sold lots of them), but for the most part I'd maybe have three books on the shelf compared to three hundred by James Patterson.

I couldn't find readers, because they couldn't find my books.

Then this Kindle thing came along, and shelf space changed. Rather than having multiple copies of bestselling new releases stacked to the ceiling, commanding attention, every ebook has a single page. And that page is forever. It doesn't get sold and disappear, hoping to be restocked.

In other words, it was no longer about how many copies of a single title an author had. It was about how many titles an author had.

Virtual shelf space is all about how many pages you have on Amazon.com, not about how many physical books are on the shelf.

I first started experimenting with this by publishing three short story collections, JACK DANIELS STORIES, HORROR STORIES, and CRIME STORIES. I combined all of these into 65 PROOF, an omnibus of all my shorts up to that point. Then I pubbed some of the stories individually. I was using the same content to maximize shelf space.

Blake and I did this with our Lucy and Donaldson stories. We did SERIAL, then SERIAL UNCUT (with more story added), then KILLERS and BIRDS OF PREY, then KILLERS UNCUT (which is KILLERS plus BIRDS OF PREY), and finally SERIAL KILLERS UNCUT which combined everything into one massive tome.

One work became six different ebooks, all with their own Amazon page, their own reviews, and potential to hook different customers, demographics, and genre readers.

We maximized shelf space on a single property.

When I got the rights to AFRAID back, I combined with with my other two Kilborn novels, TRAPPED and ENDURANCE, and sold it as a trilogy for a discounted price.

I did the same with my Jack Daniels series, making ebook sets out of the first three books in the series, and the second three books in the series. For the curious, the first set has sold 371 copies this month at $9.99, and the second set has sold 1117 copies--proof that readers hooked on a series will seek out a bargain and happily buy a box set.

So if you haven't bought any of the original Chandler novels, don't. Because Amazon released the CODENAME: CHANDLER COLLECTION as a box set.

That's a 350,000 word epic filled with sex and action and cameos by some of our older characters (Jack Daniels, Harry McGlade, Tequila, Val Ryker, David Lund) for less than the price of a paperback.

I believe this is one of the first compilations Thomas and Mercer has done, and it is currently discounted--priced to sell at only $4.99.

But it's more than simply a bargain. Three ebooks now are four ebooks, maximizing shelf space, which improves exposure, which increases the chances of one of these titles being discovered.

The more titles you have, the more chances you have to be seen and bought. The more you are seen and bought, the more you'll be read. The more you'll read, the more fans you'll accrue who seek your books out.

It's like a big pyramid scheme, at a global scale, lasting for eternity. The more ebooks you have available, the likelier your chance of success.

You can combine stories or books into a single volume, split off stories and books into separate volumes, and even join forces with other authors. If you've never started my Jack Daniels series, or Blake Crouch's Luther Kite series (they finally meet in STIRRED) then you can get the first book in each of our series as a double novel called BEGINNINGS: DESERT PLACES & WHISKEY SOUR.

A brick and mortar bookstore has a limited amount of real estate. If major NYT bestsellers take up 40% of the shelf space, it's hard for browsers to find your books among all the multiple discounted copies. Even more challenging, paper books have expiration dates. If your book doesn't sell within a few months, it gets returned.

But a virtual bookstore has infinite shelf space, and eternal sales potential. One title = one web page. The more titles you have, the more chances for browsers to find you. Use different BISEC categories and different keywords to maximize searching potential.

Just remember that readers HATE to buy the same title multiple times, so make sure your product descriptions are clear and don't purposely try to confuse.

The more titles you have, the better off you'll do. It's fine to have one title selling two hundred a month. But having ten titles selling thirty a month is better for your pocketbook, and your future (the more titles, the more visibility, the more potential fans).

Success involves luck. Luck is all about odds. You can't force success, but you can increase your odds.

I've heard writers bemoan the fact that this new ebook revolution favors those who can write quickly.

If you can't write quickly, learn to. No one owes you a living. No one said life was fair, fun, or easy. And no one is forcing you to be a writer. If you can't write fast, then in all likelihood you won't make as much money as those who do. That kind of complaint is akin to, "But I can't hit a slider or a curve ball, so Major League Baseball won't hire me!"

We all have real lives that interfere with our writing time. We all write at different speeds. We all have challenges to overcome. But here is something I don't say enough, but every writer needs to know:

The ebook revolution has made publishing a lot easier. But it hasn't necessarily made success a lot easier.

In the past, to break into legacy publishing and make a living, you had to bust your ass. You STILL have to bust your ass.

So go bust it. And if this blog has helped you, support me and my guest bloggers by buying our books. It's always cool to pay it forward.

53 comments:

  1. Well said, Joe. Your posts are if nothing else, always thought-provoking. Thanks for sharing your experience. Writerly Blessings! Angela

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  2. I put my 5 sf novels into THE COMPLETE LaNAGUE and my 3 medical thrillers into CALLING DR. DEATH. They've sold very well, but to my surprise, the single novels keep selling as well. (???)

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  3. Always spot on, and of course, thanks for sharing.

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  4. If you can't write quickly, learn to.

    It's amazing how much faster I can write when the food starts getting low.

    $4.99 is a great deal for all three of the Chandler books. Maybe I'll see if T&M will do something similar with a bundle of Nicholas Colt books.

    As always, thanks for the post and for the innovative ideas, Joe.

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  5. TheSFReader2:07 PM

    Any way to buy it without giving a cent to Amazon ?

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  6. Joe, you should write the 3rd Timecaster book asap, then bundle them all together for a single release. This will increase their visibility and help them find the audience they really deserve.

    I'm sure that's already your plan...but make that 3rd one a priority!

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  7. David2:15 PM

    Weird, it says 10.48 for the trilogy. Not discounted yet?

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  8. You're probably looking at the audio box set, David. The Kindle book is $4.99.

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  9. I've heard it before, but a reminder to build that virtual shelf space is never wrong.

    Love the cover!

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  10. David3:24 PM

    Thx, Ann. No, it's the Kindle version, I just followed Jason's link, but it maybe because I'm accessing the amazon.com-site from Germany. Weird, though, never had that before. Same on the German site. Anyway, thx for the help.

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  11. For me, the problem with writing faster is my quality goes down.

    My first novel took me a year and a half, during which time I always had the story in mind. I kept polishing it, and I think I ended up with a gem.

    I've been working on my second novel for about a month, and I'm already halfway through. Since the start I've made it a goal to finish the book quickly, and so far it looks like I'll be successful with that goal. But I'm pretty sure that this novel won't be the gem that the first novel was.

    I write speculative fiction and fantasy, and many of the books I've admired most took the authors years to produce. George R.R. Martin has been working on his A Song of Ice and Fire series since before 1996. Patrick Rothfuss took twelve years to complete his novel The Name of the Wind.

    They're both publishing through legacy publishers, and they seem to have had the rare luck to get plenty of support from their publishers. Consequently, they make a good living despite how long it takes them to produce work. Rothfuss, for example, has a grand total of two novels to his name, but those two novels have provided him with a full career.

    I know it's all a crapshoot in the end, but I'm wondering if there's a way to emulate their success as a self-publisher. I want to write the best books I can, but I also want to be able to make a living.

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  12. Huh. It must not show the discount in Germany even on the .com website. Sorry, David. :(

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  13. @David : it does the same in France ($10,77 for the kindle edition, and 10,67$ for the audio book).

    I'm also going to release soon my trilogy in one ebook, to increase my virtual shelf space.

    But I won't release it on Amazon. Why ? Because the maximum threshold in order to gain 70% of the list price is too weak with Amazon.

    I won't sell a 440 000 words trilogy for €9,99. Sure, I can do promotions for it, but my minimum threshold for that kind of work is 12,49.

    Joe could sell all his Jack Daniel ebooks in one ebook, but he prefers to sell them by three, because he would lose money if he did differently.

    Amazon has to be more supple with the 70% deal with trilogies or longer series.

    Other retailers like Kobo or Apple are more generous, but they also need to improve in this regard.

    It's great Thomas & Mercer imprint does combined ebooks... as long as they do not try to compress the price of ebooks more than they already are.

    And yes, I know the argument of the value of the ebook being how many you sell, not its price. Sorry, I don't buy it.

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  14. Anonymous5:19 PM

    "M.F. Soriano said...
    I know it's all a crapshoot in the end, but I'm wondering if there's a way to emulate their success as a self-publisher."

    Everybody has to start somewhere.

    How do "no-name" authors become superstar bestsellers cranking out blockbuster novels?

    Of course a superstar bestselling author's name after they get famous helps them out tremendously.

    But what was it that changed them from a "no-name" into a superstar blockbuster in the first place?

    Was it just plain dumb luck?

    Or was sheer talent, beautiful creativity, and oustanding skill?

    If it's a choice between quantity and quality, personally I'd pick quality. If I'm gonna play the lottery, I wanna go for the biggest jackpot.

    But hey, why go for both quantity and quality? If you got what it takes, you prolly already know it.

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  15. Anonymous5:24 PM


    (fixing typos)

    Or was it sheer talent, beautiful creativity, and oustanding skill?

    If it's a choice between quantity and quality, personally I'd pick quality. If I'm gonna play the lottery, I wanna go for the biggest jackpot.

    But hey, why not go for both quantity and quality? If ya got what it takes, you prolly already know it.

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  16. Any way to buy it without giving a cent to Amazon?

    Not at the moment. While I respect your right to dislike retailers, Amazon has saved my career, and the careers of thousands of other authors.

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  17. Joe, you should write the 3rd Timecaster book asap

    It's on my list. But my other books make so much more money, it's tough to justify the time.

    I'll get to it, though, probably in 2014.

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  18. And yes, I know the argument of the value of the ebook being how many you sell, not its price. Sorry, I don't buy it.

    Why not?

    Wouldn't you rather sell a million ebooks at 99 cents than ten thousand at $5.99?

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  19. PJ Reynolds6:22 PM

    Joe, Ann

    Just bought the new collection. Hope the numbers are clocking up nicely - let us know! And, congratulations to you both!

    Talking of experiments, and compilations, I've a serial story out - a thriller - and it has been interesting to look at responses to different marketing offerings of the episodes.

    There are eight episodes (each about 20k words, or 85-90 pages long; ebook only) and I've made them available on Select in various ways at different times, eg one per day (8 day run), double episodes per day (4 day run), and intermittent spreads over a few days. Also offered 'all at once'. And, at this stage, while not yet exploring Bookbub, it is an experience, and education perhaps, to see how far unflagged and unexpected things pick up.

    Also, while there are serial episodes this is a first (large) story; there is no cross-over uplift from other titles in the series or by me (yet! - they're coming, and in different genres).

    So, what am I seeing?

    Most downloads are clearly responding more to the 'all at once' offering - Episodes 1-8. Even though all need clicked separately, the margin is notable.

    As ever, most activity is in .com, and then .co.uk which can be 1/3 to 1/10 the numbers in .com. All others are smaller again by an order of magnitude. Those ratios hold whichever marketing offering is made. But, for sure, what gets almost all regions to download is the 'all at once' offering.

    Even then, though, not everyone downloads every episode although most do!

    A further option for readers is the entire collection, available as a single book - THE EYEWITNESS PROTOCOLS, by PJ Reynolds.

    This, by far, shows the greatest numbers of downloads during free sales.

    Outside the free sale periods the episodes do sell, and not always in sequence, and occasionally some are rented under Prime - even though the full collection is inexpensively available. So, interesting, indeed.

    A bit of an after-bounce follows the free sales, and is channelled most into purchases of the collection.

    Today all eight episodes are available for free - THE EYEWITNESS PROTOCOLS, Episode 1, etc. The download numbers are nowhere what Bookbub appears to bring, but every time I use the free marketing, in the different tests, I am constantly amazed that there are more people out there...the sub-niche audiences (e.g., Spies & Intrigue under Thrillers) is bigger than I do, and possibly can, appreciate. Different people are always coming by, and at different times there are always possibilities, and interest...and what luck may arise?

    I hope some blog readers might drop by and give THE EYEWITNESS PROTOCOLS and the episodes a look today, as my marketing experiment - and learning - continues...

    Best wishes to all writers (write more, Joe? - me too!) and self-publishers (play more - me too!), and thanks again Joe for this blog. I look forward to reading the Chandler Collection.

    best, Pat

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  20. Joe said: "Amazon has saved my career, and the careers of thousands of other authors."

    A-fucking-men. Saved my sanity as well.

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  21. While we're on the subject of experimentation, you might want to check out SILK, the little story that mega-successful indie author Hugh Howey calls, "The funniest thing I've ever read."

    It's my first attempt at straight-up comedy, a parody of Hugh's bestselling story WOOL (Part One).

    It's selling pretty well (over 600 copies in nine days), and it was probably the most fun I've ever had writing anything.

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  22. Box sets are of course a great idea, but I just wish more writers did straight-up covers of the omnibus like the ones you have here rather than those godawful "three dimensional" box sets. They're even more ridiculous-looking when there are 4+ books shown. Of course, just my two cents.

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  23. @Jude : congrats !

    @Joe : wouldn't I rather sell a million ebooks at 99 cents than ten thousand at $5.99?

    That's theory. There's 999 chances out of 1000 I will not sell a million ebooks at 99 cents (I do sell some short stories at 99 cents, by the way). You know, I'm one among thousands of authors who sell by very small numbers.

    If I devalue my work, it will benefit Amazon. Not me.

    And it won't be very good for other self-pub authors either. You don't want to play in a race for the bottom. There's a fine line between competing against prices outrageously high by the big publishers and discounting to the bone your product.

    If the self-pub authors want to improve their image and credibility, they have to stand on their legs, and practice reasonable prices.

    It doesn't prevent occasional promotions, or even making some work perma-free for more visibility.

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  24. Anonymous7:01 AM

    Kind of off topic but:

    In the past 9 months I have done the monthly Bookbub and had several books go through Select. During that time sign-ups to my Newsletter New Release list have increased from a total of 250 to over 1,000.

    Now every time I release a new work, I sell much more (roughly 5,000 copies in first week.
    Marketing is a long term proposition, don't focus simply on the short term bump in sales when calculating ROI.

    Some indie author somewhere, perhaps John Locke, claims that when your email distribution list reaches 2,000 - you are golden.

    Facebook, when I have my birthday now I get over 1,000 well wishes from readers - 2 years ago that number was in the dozens - another sign of slow, steady progress - and ever increasing audience size.

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  25. Downloaded. I have the first in the Chandler series and loved it. Fantastic!

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  26. "While I respect your right to dislike retailers, Amazon has saved my career, and the careers of thousands of other authors."

    Yep.

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  27. I gotta say, I'm a little disappointed at the daily stream of guest blogs. I used to get excited when a shiny new post from Joe greeted me in the morning but now I feel the value has gone down because it's just a daily plug for somebody else's work.

    That being said, I know it's only temporary and it's because people donated to a good cause so I can't complaint too hard. Just wondering if anybody else feels the same way.

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  28. A reminder:

    Anonymous comments are for those who either want to take cowardly potshots at me, or have a true need to remain anonymous because of potential repercussions from the publishing industry.

    They are not for taking shots at other commentors.

    If you want to engage another commentor in debate because you disagree, be civil and sign your name to it, or I'll delete you again.

    Nuff said. I despise playing hall monitor for trolls.

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  29. If I devalue my work, it will benefit Amazon. Not me.

    It benefits Amazon for authors to make the most money possible, Alan.

    I've blogged about this many times. Readers set the ideal price for an ebook, not Amazon. KDP authors need to experiment to find the sweet spot between sales and profits in order to maximize both.

    My ebooks have fluctuated between 99 cents and $9.99, and I still have those price points, plus many in-between,

    The race to the bottom is an unproven, untested meme that hasn't happened. In fact, my novels have gone from $2.99 to $3.99 in the past 13 months, and I'm making more money than ever before.

    You gotta keep writing, keep experimenting, and focus on data, not unsubstantiated bias. Not that I'm saying your bias is unsubstantiated (we all have bias BTW, it's another name for opinion, and I am biased by my own experience and actions). But if you steadfastly refuse to experiment with pricing because you are concerned about devaluing the work, you may be missing out on sales, readers, and fans, as well as more money.

    My 2 cents, for what it's worth. YMMV. But there are no absolutes in this biz, so be wary of the "devaluing" argument. Especially since I've seen authors get really rich on the 99 cent novel model.

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  30. I used to get excited when a shiny new post from Joe greeted me in the morning but now I feel the value has gone down because it's just a daily plug for somebody else's work.

    I can see where you're coming from, but I politely disagree.

    If you're a long time follower of this blog, you know the reason I started doing it.

    1. To share what I've learned.
    2. To learn from other authors.

    Many writers have said they learn a lot from the comments. I've found the guest blogs so far to be interesting, and insightful. Sure, they contain links to books (this current blog, while trying to inform, contains a dozen links to my own books), but they also contain some knowledge and experience that is helpful to writers, me included.

    Also, I comment at the end, so technically I'm doing more blogging than I have in a while, since I've slowed down a lot this year.

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  31. Thanks for the reply, Joe. I see where you're coming from as well.

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  32. PJ Reynolds10:41 AM

    Hi Joe

    In your conversation with Robert you noted "...I've slowed down a lot this year."

    Would be interesting to hear more - both from the perspective of the well-taken advice to writers to be prolific and get more books out (the best marketing!?), and to get an idea what is slower in your world!

    Has it being easy to do...or not, but must be done. A shift of gears, or perhaps more? I'm trying to gear up!

    best wishes, Pat

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  33. I'm getting a lot out of the guest posts, Joe's comments, and the replies the visitors leave.

    I'm thrilled that there is more activity here because I find so much inspiration and motivation when I visit.

    Thank you all around!

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  34. Jude...

    I didn't know that was you! That's awesome. Congrats man.

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  35. Jude...

    I didn't know that was you! That's awesome. Congrats man.


    Thanks. Hugh thought it might be cool if I kept my identity a secret for a while, so I did. The reception has been pretty amazing.

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  36. Awesome Joe, Thanks for sharing!

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  37. Funny thing about busting your ass — when you're doing something you love — the more you do it, the more enjoyable it becomes. And when you're in the flow, the pages just fly from the keyboard to the screen and before long to your readers.

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  38. People make excuses all the time. No time to write, no one understands what I write, etc. Bad luck, whatever.

    Thank you for all the encouragement and advices. Excited to read your books!

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  39. Has it being easy to do...or not, but must be done. A shift of gears, or perhaps more?

    Good question, Pat.

    I've spent the last few years trying to lead a revolution. My reasons were both personal and altruistic.

    I wanted to show other authors what was possible without needing an agent or a NY publishing contract. Like many authors of my generation, I grew up thinking the only path to success was legacy publishing. So I spent 20 years trying to break into legacy publishing and find success, working harder than any living writer to do so, and my efforts were in vain.

    When I discovered self-pubbing, I felt I owed it to my peers to show them a better way, so they didn't have to go through what I had gone through.

    Personally, I wanted to prove to myself that the years I spent toiling weren't a waste. I needed to prove to myself that my writing and efforts weren't what kept me from finding a large readership--it was the way the industry works that prevented it.

    So I ground my axe and gnashed my teeth and did my part in holding up a giant mirror to the publishing industry, showing it how poorly run, archaic, and ultimately evil it actually is.

    Then I got all of my rights back, and once I was no longer at the mercy of a bunch of fools I no longer felt the need to take the industry on. Plus, other authors have taken up the charge, and they are more than capable of showing that success is possible without New York Publishing, and that groups like the Author's Guild and the AAR are in fact on New York Publishing's side.

    I could have written four novels in all the time I spent blogging, doing interviews, and speaking to authors.

    Now I'm so far outside legacy publishing, I no longer have any interest in it. So I spend my time and energy writing fiction.

    No interviews. No traveling. No conferences. No fisking industry pinheads. And no stress.

    I've spent 20 years fighting to succeed. And I finally have. I'll leave the fighting to others from now on.

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  40. I hope you are right! About the number game I mean. My 13-year-old son and I just self-published our first novel. We have 3 more in the works and plans for spin off series.

    Here's to your success! Thanks for paving the way!

    Anyone interested in an adventure. Check out our middle grade urban fantasy. My son was only 10 at the time we wrote it.

    https://www.createspace.com/4190049
    http://www.amazon.com/dp/0989098605

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  41. No interviews. No traveling. No conferences. No fisking industry pinheads. And no stress.

    No stress is good. I'm stressing out big time right now because KEY DEATH, my Thomas and Mercer title released yesterday, is majorly under-performing compared to my first two books with them. And this one has better reviews and, in my opinion, a nicer cover than the other two. I don't know what's going on, but it's driving me nuts.

    So I'm self-medicating, and hoping things will look better in the morning...

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  42. Hairhead1:49 AM

    Just let me add my vote of approval for the current and upcoming new voices of authors and would-be authors. There have been several good suggestions already and I look forward to many more in the future.

    I'm already building a file of all the suggestions: writing techniques, marketing strategies, adjustments to mental attitude, dealing with fear, etc.

    It looks like you're passing the torch, Konrath -- let us (new writers) hold it high!

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  43. Joe said : "It benefits Amazon for authors to make the most money possible, Alan."

    If that was truly the case, Amazon would at least align upon Kobo and Apple, adn allow authors to make more profit (70%) with 99 cents ebooks and ebooks in the 9,99-12,99 range.

    I'm not against Amazon. In fact, their website is way better than Kobo and Apple's one, and independant authors have greatly benefited from them.

    But if they truly consider authors as customers, they should improve, and they should know better about royalties for combined series. They would effectively make more money, and they interest can go on par with author's... if they really hear suggestions. It would give everybody more freedom in pricing and would allow more experiments, not less.

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  44. Alan Spade3:14 AM

    their interest, sorry for the typo.

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  45. So I'm self-medicating, and hoping things will look better in the morning...

    Jude, you're one of the reasons I love this blog. It's great to hear the success stories and the inspiration, but it's also nice to know that we're not alone in our uncertainty and worries.

    Don't know if you follow Russell Blake or not, but he had a great post a few weeks ago about happiness - it's worth a read.

    Blake really came out of nowhere and clawed his way to the top in a staggeringly short period of time. As salient as Joe's advice is, I take a lot from Blake's journey as well. I just wish my output was as great as his - he's written over twenty books in two years, and they're good.

    I work graveyard shift and write during my downtime, then go home and write some more. I'm trying to stay focused on creating more stories, and whatever happens, happens. But still, these are some long old nights. Sometimes, I need a little medication myself.

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  46. I have a question, because we are in last days of june, 2013 (sorry, not related to the main subject here).

    When one of you access Kobo website from the US, are there still ratings from Goodreads ?

    I have the impression past ratings and reviews with Goodreads stay, but they have removed all reference to the Goodreads website (because now, Goodreads is owned by Amazon).

    It will be interesting to see if the past partnership between Kobo and Goodreads subsist in the future (which was promised at the time of Amazon's acquisition, if my memory doesn't fail me), and if Kobo ebooks still have as many ratings than before.

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  47. Jude, you're one of the reasons I love this blog. It's great to hear the success stories and the inspiration, but it's also nice to know that we're not alone in our uncertainty and worries.

    Uncertainty and worries indeed. My sales are sucking ass and I want to know why.

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  48. Question: How many of you have been included in the "100 Kindle Books for $3.99 or Less" monthly promo on Amazon, and what kind of impact did it have on your sales? Would appreciate any input.

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  49. Anonymous1:31 AM

    "Jude Hardin said...
    Uncertainty and worries indeed. My sales are sucking ass and I want to know why."

    I like you Jude, you are one of Konrath's more dignified and friendly friends. Some of his other friends aren't so dignified and they are at times very rude.

    As to why your sales aren't doing so well, that's pretty easy to tell. It's the same reasons why Konrath never became a superstar and Stephen King did. I could explain the details, but I have no desire to help Konrath out as I have a low opinion of him.

    There's no way Konrath is on par with Stephen King, the empirical evidence proves it.

    If you're smart Jude, you can figure it out for yourself.

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  50. but I have no desire to help Konrath out as I have a low opinion of him.

    But please, I beg you, please help me! I've only made $600,000 this year! Tell me what I'm doing wrong! It is only with your cowardly anonymous advice that I might finally succeed!

    BTW, like you I also hang out on blogs where I have low opinions of the blogger.

    Oh... wait. I don't do that. Because that would make me a hypocritical pinhead without a life.

    Here's an idea: go play someplace else. And by "idea" I mean "order." You've lost your posting privileges. Don't come back.

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  51. "100 Kindle Books for $3.99 or Less" monthly promo on Amazon, and what kind of impact did it have on your sales? Would appreciate any input.

    If you are int he top row on the sale page, or if your book is featured int he email blast, the results can be impressive. At worst, you'll sell a few more ebooks than you did prior to the promo.

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Thanks for the comment! Joe will get back to you eventually. :)