tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post8935483871373318310..comments2024-03-28T02:00:11.260-05:00Comments on A Newbie's Guide to Publishing: Guest Post by Patrick BalesterJA Konrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08778324558755151986noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-74274447749402279082013-06-28T17:22:32.235-05:002013-06-28T17:22:32.235-05:00Thanks Nancy,
No, I haven't checked out Dean W...Thanks Nancy,<br />No, I haven't checked out Dean Wesley Smith's website, but I will. I'm still going through the comments. Glad to hear other people's take on this. Picks by Pathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03210946161490466694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-33762862027611085732013-06-28T11:29:23.796-05:002013-06-28T11:29:23.796-05:00Patrick,
I agree with what Joe says - go the self...Patrick,<br /><br />I agree with what Joe says - go the self pub/indie route; then the publishers will come your way.<br /><br />Have you ever checked out Dean Wesley Smith's site? http://www.deanwesleysmith.com. He has an excellent series about thinking like a publisher - you should read that and other things he has there.<br /><br />BTW, if you aren't sure about setting up the ebook, cover, etc., you can try a place like Lucky Bat Books, which has a menu of options you can choose from. You can have just a cover done, for instance, or choose a bunch of other things. You pay once, and that's it. :-)<br /><br />Publishing contracts are esp. egregious now, so if you're still determined to go that route, IMHO you should get an IP lawyer instead of an agent. A lot of agents do NOT have legal backgrounds, and you might get royally screwed if the agent doesn't truly know the legalese of the publishing contracts that are out there now. (See Dean's site or even The Passive Voice's site for more info on that.)<br /><br />I've been on a mystery kick for most of this year (taking time off for Jude Hardin's Nicholas Colt thriller series :-)), so it was nice to see a mystery author represented here! Your sense of humore struck a nice chord, so although I'm sampling first (force of habit), I'll probably end up buying it anyway.<br /><br />Good luck to you! :-)Nancy Beckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06214579721075450777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-32025554431239391922013-06-28T10:51:13.875-05:002013-06-28T10:51:13.875-05:00so far I've given away 61,000 books and change...<i>so far I've given away 61,000 books and change...</i><br /><br />That's terrific, Todd. Congrats.<br /><br /><br />JA Konrathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08778324558755151986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-52191634147798210452013-06-28T09:10:49.474-05:002013-06-28T09:10:49.474-05:00So glad I decided to stop drafts of my query lette...So glad I decided to stop drafts of my query letter and self pub my thriller two years ago. Had I gone the traditional route, it might have been published this year. <br /><br />A friend of mine just announced last month he signed a deal for his first book to be published sometime 2014 by a small press. While I was happy for him, I was thinking "there goes 18 months of sales". <br /><br />We're all on a different path. I'm glad I chose the one I did. Douglas Dorowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10626666935442821895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-56071084149959855992013-06-28T08:13:54.543-05:002013-06-28T08:13:54.543-05:00Joe, my book CREATURES OF APPETITE is now currentl...Joe, my book CREATURES OF APPETITE is now currently at number nine overall and the number two download in suspense thrillers, second only to THE LIST... which tops both lists at number one ... congrats!<br /><br />I couldn't be happier to follow in your stead... <br /><br />I loved THE LIST, btw, great read. <br /><br />Todd TravisAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-85956303596363853482013-06-27T22:04:19.516-05:002013-06-27T22:04:19.516-05:00Great guest posts, and great guests in general! I...Great guest posts, and great guests in general! It's wonderful to read diverse voices here.<br /><br />I'm a big enthusiast of "git her uploaded" publishing. I've been publishing a novella per month for the last four, and reaping the profits. Even a difference of a day means a couple dozen more sales. It also makes the writing go more quickly and more easily when constant new books are the norm. Takes the fear factor way down. Just jump in and do it! It's not brain surgery. <br /><br />Each book teaches you to be a better writer and gets you more readers.Patrice Fitzgeraldhttp://www.patricefitzgerald.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-85985557178883677522013-06-27T21:55:53.964-05:002013-06-27T21:55:53.964-05:00Loving the guest posts, with many different paths ...Loving the guest posts, with many different paths to many different goals of this writing journey. Thank you.Jill Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10754506629717417267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-27977060012918466742013-06-27T19:32:46.538-05:002013-06-27T19:32:46.538-05:00I wish money started pouring in the instant I self...I wish money started pouring in the instant I self-published. Hasn't been the case, for me. I don't regret forgoing the traditional route--the experience I had publishing stories with magazines was frustrating enough--but I do sympathize with Patrick Balester's words: "I know I could take the self-publishing route, but I won't...not yet. Joe can do it, because he's paid his dues, he's a top professional, and knows how to edit his own work. I'm not at that level. Maybe someday I will be."<br /><br />Still, finding an agent takes work, too, and I'd rather use that time and energy trying to spread the word about my book.M.F. Sorianohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07701702635814547705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-70767385541170779652013-06-27T19:13:59.742-05:002013-06-27T19:13:59.742-05:00I like that, someone admitting his mistakes. Glad...I like that, someone admitting his mistakes. Glad you fixed the errors and reuploaded a new version.<br /><br />About the paycheck, so true. And bad sales hurt motivation. :/<br /><br />Anyway, good luck on your books (but it seems you've had a lot of downloads, awesome)!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16552077491765836943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-37278648121916492252013-06-27T18:41:05.825-05:002013-06-27T18:41:05.825-05:00Joe,
so far I've given away 61,000 books and...Joe, <br /><br />so far I've given away 61,000 books and change... still a day to go, but downloads are starting to level off, it's dropped to number 7 overall and number 2 in thrillers, but things are slowing, which is to be expected, of course... (Tues and Wed were crazy in terms of download numbers)... hopefully I'll hit 65 or 66 k by Friday night. <br /><br />My other book's sales have picked up nicely, and readers seem to really like both.<br /><br />I'm very pleased with how it's gone so far... <br /><br />I will give you a full update when it's complete... <br /><br />Todd TravisAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-12014835690943665382013-06-27T16:35:48.587-05:002013-06-27T16:35:48.587-05:00I love the helpful synergy of these guest posts--J...I love the helpful synergy of these guest posts--Joe helps the Alzheimer's fundraiser, the guest posters help their books, and the posts help us!<br /><br />BTW Joe, is there a way for us future guest posters to know if we succeeded in reserving our "day" without making you write hundreds of emails? Sorry to be a pest but I worry about hungry spam filters and things...sabrinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00126159757444060210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-71661820494329541522013-06-27T16:35:26.530-05:002013-06-27T16:35:26.530-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.sabrinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00126159757444060210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-69123101393644542692013-06-27T16:08:48.498-05:002013-06-27T16:08:48.498-05:00Hey Joe,
Writing as DB Morgan, my suspense novel,...Hey Joe,<br /><br />Writing as DB Morgan, my suspense novel, ICED, was overall #1 Free on Amazon most of April 6 & 7 of this year. I gave away 52, 574 copies in the US.<br /><br />Hope that helps!<br /><br />Tim Myers (DB Morgan)Tim Myershttp://www.timmyers.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-5772431217455088872013-06-27T14:26:49.373-05:002013-06-27T14:26:49.373-05:00You're right about one mistake not sinking you...You're right about one mistake not sinking you. Dean W Smith wrote about this as well in his Myths series.<br /><br />At the end of the day, no one remembers (or cares) who you are. People who live in fear, constantly watching their step so that they don't make a mistake, are losing out. <br /><br />While you must ensure your work is the best you can make it, given whatever constraints of time/money there are, you have to take the jump in sometime.Shantnu Tiwarihttp://shantnutiwari.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-32899490719068814042013-06-27T14:17:21.351-05:002013-06-27T14:17:21.351-05:00I think I saw a link that GalleyCat now tracks the...I think I saw a link that GalleyCat now tracks the top 100 self published books, so the pub world is really changing faster than I realized. Thanks for all the tips.Picks by Pathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03210946161490466694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-76276197019064819492013-06-27T12:58:22.443-05:002013-06-27T12:58:22.443-05:00Nice post, Patrick.
Joe's right. Self-publish...Nice post, Patrick.<br /><br />Joe's right. Self-publish as soon as you can. There's no reason not to.<br /><br />I've been publishing something about every two weeks now. Just loaded my latest to KDP this morning, and it should be live later today.<br /><br /><a href="http://judehardin.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">http://judehardin.blogspot.com/</a><br /><br />Jude Hardinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09994813046526310594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-89467827536168040432013-06-27T12:50:38.712-05:002013-06-27T12:50:38.712-05:00Todd, I noticed you hit #1 in the freebies. How ma...Todd, I noticed you hit #1 in the freebies. How many did you give away?JA Konrathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08778324558755151986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-13204146837285661852013-06-27T12:44:08.072-05:002013-06-27T12:44:08.072-05:00The first version of CREATURES OF APPETITE had sev...The first version of CREATURES OF APPETITE had several errors in it... it wasn't because I was too cheap to pay a professional proofer, it was rather that I was far too impatient... the proofer needed 2-3 weeks to schedule it, and I wanted to see my book up asap... <br /><br />so I proofed it myself, always a mistake, and when it went up, several reviewers noted errors and zipped me for it... <br /><br />So I had it professionally proofed, uploaded a new, updated version and told any of the previous readers that I'd be happy to gift them a copy of the clean version... <br /><br />It was a lot of work, but it had to be done... it was all my fault for being impatient... <br /><br />And I vowed never to make that mistake again... <br /><br />Todd TravisAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-21911648712814672712013-06-27T12:36:43.700-05:002013-06-27T12:36:43.700-05:00Nice post, Patrick.
And I think it's worth em...Nice post, Patrick.<br /><br />And I think it's worth emphasizing something Joe said. The traditional publishing paradigm is: LAUNCH the book and get as many sales in 4-6 week as possible, then forget about it unless you're a brand name bestseller. (Really. That's pretty much it). It could go out of print in anywhere from a couple months to never, but don't count on never.<br /><br />The new paradigm is, publish the book yourself and collect sales over infinity, it doesn't go out of print. Ever. (Or until some new publishing paradigm comes along and kills ebook publishing).Mark Terryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09410424046477699059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-65652119235378363392013-06-27T12:23:58.153-05:002013-06-27T12:23:58.153-05:00Patrick, listen to Joe!
Funny story about Haunted...Patrick, listen to Joe!<br /><br />Funny story about Haunted House. Every so often I pester Amazon to allow indie authors with decent, if not spectacular, sales to allow their books to be preordered, with a requirement being that they load the manuscript at the time a preorder date is entered (one to three weeks later) to prevent being caught without a product ready. Of course they always say no...so in the meantime I'm sticking to the publish-when-its-ready rule. bettye griffinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04457387770524295498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-23283955209923592182013-06-27T12:12:53.030-05:002013-06-27T12:12:53.030-05:00Patrick I'm not taking the test. Fear of failu...Patrick I'm not taking the test. Fear of failure,I suppose. <br />But my apology is more important, anyway. Your post made me laugh out loud and I'm off to buy your book.<br /><br />I am liking the guest posts, Joe. <br /><br />I'm working on the social media thing. I never realized how private writing is. I could be a hermit, without even trying. I even say that with pride. So social media is a PITB, but...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10405905419715528392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-51408815957625730212013-06-27T11:37:34.900-05:002013-06-27T11:37:34.900-05:00According to his test, my wife and mom aren't ...According to his test, my wife and mom aren't fans either. ;)JA Konrathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08778324558755151986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-76034176049406300242013-06-27T11:28:49.551-05:002013-06-27T11:28:49.551-05:00Fantastic post, Patrick. Welcome aboard! And we...Fantastic post, Patrick. Welcome aboard! And we'll be here still to help when you decide to self-publish. :-)<br /><br />Oh, and Joe - I'm sorry, but according to Patrick's test, I'm not really a fan of yours... :-)Andreahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05490759375036511747noreply@blogger.com