Self-Publishing Goons: Yep, people buy it!

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > Creative Convention > Self-Publishing Goons: Yep, people buy it!

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KrunkMcGrunk: Jul 2, 2007; Sometimes I sit and think, and sometimes I just sit.

So I don't know how many people here are in the 20books group on Facebook, but its Overlord, Michael Anderle, recently announced his plans to publish 10,000 books in a year, using AI. Sharing of that plan with the general public went over about as well as one would expect, and to be fair, it is a bonkers idea that has some pretty awful implications. Granted, it's not 10,000 original(?) works, but like 2,000-3,000 originals a day, plus translations, so, you know, just 5-10 new books released every day. No biggie.

I'm off-put by this idea, if you couldn't tell. Anderle says he's going to sell these direct, so they won't overwhelm a bunch of subcats in the Kindle store, but what if he changes his mind? Also, how many copycat dipshits are going to do the same thing and suffocate discoverability through the Kindle store? I'm sure it'll be more than zero, because if there's one thing I've learned over 8 years in this industry, it's that every half-decent idea is copied to the point of absurdity.

I did find it funny that a bunch of his co-authors are defending him in the comments. Apparently they haven't realized they're the first to get the axe under Anderle's new, bold scheme.

Anyway, I hope this poo poo fizzles out and amounts to nothing, and Anderle looks like a complete dipshit in the process and loses his cult of personality, but I'm a dreamer, and I hope for a lot of things that probably won't happen...

KrunkMcGrunk fucked around with this message at 16:41 on Apr 21, 2023

# ¿ Apr 21, 2023 16:37

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# ¿ May 12, 2024 03:33

KrunkMcGrunk: Jul 2, 2007; Sometimes I sit and think, and sometimes I just sit.

Ehhh, I'm not so sure of the things Anderle has "done for publishing," I've been a member of 20books FB group since at least 2017, and all the stuff I see there seems to be centered on the Martelle/Anderle cult of personality, and the way they scoop up co-authors feels exploitative from the outside. For a long time, that group has felt like a virtual Mary Kay seminar.

But, to poke holes in my own post, Anderle hasn't actually done what he said he wanted to do yet, and I'm guessing, even with AI assistance, publishing 8 or 10 books a day is still near impossible.

KrunkMcGrunk fucked around with this message at 21:24 on Apr 26, 2023

# ¿ Apr 26, 2023 21:19

KrunkMcGrunk: Jul 2, 2007; Sometimes I sit and think, and sometimes I just sit.

I'm about to find out what happens when you put new covers on an old series. I've heard it can revitalize sales, and maybe it's true--certainly I've got a little more dough to spend on attractive covers than I did seven years ago, and it never hurts to have a better cover. In case it doesn't, I'm planning on launching a three book box set, which will probably be treated better by the Amazon algo than a series published years ago.

KrunkMcGrunk fucked around with this message at 01:54 on Apr 29, 2023

# ¿ Apr 29, 2023 01:27

KrunkMcGrunk: Jul 2, 2007; Sometimes I sit and think, and sometimes I just sit.

Captain Log posted:

- Easy Question Number One - At 175k words, I know a real editor will be able to shave it down by some amount. Regardless of the prospect, would a first time author do better with three 50k word novels in a series, or a two novels coming in closer to 70-80k words?

Financially speaking, you're far better off having three books to sell. This allows you to make your first book a loss leader, which makes it an easier sell for marketing purposes and it will do a better job of enticing readers who may be on the fence about picking up a book by an unproven author. If they love your first book, they're in for buying books 2 & 3 at a higher price. I'm not sure how much research you've done into marketing, but you'll see people refer to this as "sell-through," and it's the driving principle behind book series.

Having a 175k manuscript can work out to your advantage. If you can divide it up into 3 satisfying books with a beginning, middle, and end (avoid cliffhangers!) you'll be in a great position when you go to release. I'd suggest finishing them all off, then launching the first book with a pre-order to the second book already in place, then launch that second book a month or two after the first. When book two launches, have a pre-order for book three in place, and a release date for the same amount of time as you had between books 1 and 2.

I have seen many authors use this method of pre-writing books and launching them close together with pre-orders to great success. So much so that I'm planning on doing it with the series I'm currently working on, which is a big change compared to how I've launched my books in the past.

quote:

Harder Question Number Two - Bear with me on this one, it's hard for me to state concisely. I've taken to heart the advice in this thread, especially about knowing your market. I call what I'm writing, "Lower Case H Horror." It's not meant to hold a scare every ten pages, with a lot more focus on characters while saving the monsters for bigger conflicts. It's closer in spirit to Stephen King than Clive Barker.

That said, my monsters are also not easily categorized. If I had to put their description in a sentence, it would be, "Corpses of men ranging from a week to multiple centuries old, warped into shambling tree monsters that protect the balance of nature." But I've been told they fall closer to the category of "cryptids", which I thought applied to Bigfoot and Sea Monsters.

When your work doesn't easily slot into one category, what do you find to be the best practice? Pick one, and make it fit with a sledgehammer? Or just get a finished product, then worry about genre?

I've learned the hard way that if I want to write a book that sells, I have to build that book from the hook out. That is, I have to come with an interesting, marketable premise then create everything which would make that premise work. In your case, it may not be a bad thing to have a unique monster as part of the book, because you want to be memorable, but you may also want to include something that has cultural short-hand (vampire, werewolf, zombie, etc) because people know what those things are, and if they like those things and your book has them, your audience will buy your book.

KrunkMcGrunk fucked around with this message at 16:25 on May 4, 2023

# ¿ May 4, 2023 16:19

KrunkMcGrunk: Jul 2, 2007; Sometimes I sit and think, and sometimes I just sit.

Captain Log posted:

Thank you both for the excellent insight into how I should proceed.

I'm 110% focusing on just getting through the drat thing, having never done the rough to first draft thing in the five novels I've written in the past three-ish years. It's certainly a completely different skillset. But it's also revealing that I'd be a complete rear end in a top hat to expect anyone to read the rough draft who isn't outright asking to do so. I cannot believe some of the simple mistakes, while be largely happy I've only run into one or two minor plot holes I created. The story is sound, but it needs a coat of paint.

Truth be told, I'm less concerned with initial financial success than I am with making something that gets some readers. I'd be absolutely fine if these just paid for themselves, if it helped create an audience for my writing. However, I'd be lying to say I've considered the marketing angles.

Financial success and finding readers are one in the same--one will follow the other. Also, there's no shame in going after financial success. Why sell your book in an online store front, otherwise?

quote:

One question - Why no cliffhangers? I'm thirty-eight, and always loved cliffhangers growing up. But I always read about people younger than me being pissed at any cliffhangers in television.

Cliffhangers are fine when used wisely. My personal opinion is if I am introducing myself to a new audience, I should strive to give a complete story in the first book so people don't feel like I've cheated them out of an ending in order to get them to buy the next book. I wouldn't want to make a bad first impression!

# ¿ May 5, 2023 15:35

KrunkMcGrunk: Jul 2, 2007; Sometimes I sit and think, and sometimes I just sit.

Damonza is great - I don't think I've ever not liked a cover they've done

# ¿ May 10, 2023 13:45

KrunkMcGrunk: Jul 2, 2007; Sometimes I sit and think, and sometimes I just sit.

The AI scammers have claimed rank 30+ in the teen contemporary romance subcat

https://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/7006648011?fbclid=IwAR1HyBGNM4M3_62whm33cxUi97OXLV7W9_Yd5P9Vaf2bizWpb1nY8huXL_s

I, for one, can't wait to read the unputdownable teen romance "Department of Vinh Du stands in front of his parents' tombstone"

# ¿ Jun 27, 2023 20:02

KrunkMcGrunk: Jul 2, 2007; Sometimes I sit and think, and sometimes I just sit.

divabot posted:

lol, came here just to post that

the use case for AI is spam generators

that's certainly all I've seen thus far!

# ¿ Jun 28, 2023 17:13

KrunkMcGrunk: Jul 2, 2007; Sometimes I sit and think, and sometimes I just sit.

Selkie Myth posted:

Alrighty then!

My climb from 0 to full time author, in one handy chart!
Note that I took the entire month of July off in order to do a big move, so my income took a significant dip.

The big chart of numbers:
https://imgur.com/HE7ywgA

The graph

https://imgur.com/YQUqHPZ

This is all off a single series that has been, by every metric, wildly popular. I expect the rest of the year to be more like April or May numbers, with a large spike in Nov or Dec as I release the latest book. I'd really like this month to be a big one - if it's closer to June I break 7 figures off this series - but realistically I'm going to fall a little short. Unless I count the podium numbers that I haven't gotten yet.

I've been doing this for 8 years, and I've seen a lot of breakdowns of revenue. This is seriously loving impressive!

How much are you typically spending on monthly advertising?

e: So the thrust of your business model is posting 3 chapters a week on Patreon/Royal Road and then formatting those chapters into complete books to sell on KDP? Do you have to do much paid advertising to keep your patreon going?

Also, how far ahead of your posts are you writing? Are you, for instance, writing entire works, then posting chapters to your patreon after it is finished?

KrunkMcGrunk fucked around with this message at 17:14 on Aug 24, 2023

# ¿ Aug 24, 2023 16:35

KrunkMcGrunk: Jul 2, 2007; Sometimes I sit and think, and sometimes I just sit.

Selkie Myth posted:

My monthly ad spend keeps jumping around. My current 30 day ad spend is ~$1400, although I've killed the expensive underperforming ad and I'm narrowing down to 'only' $800 in the last 30 days. With $1150 in direct sales + KENP to show for it, which is more like $1k after factoring in royalties, not sales. This doesn't include read-through or patreon conversions, and I'm very happy to have a strong positive ROI on my ads. It's definitely a case of 'the rich get richer' when ads become profitable. I'm *trying* to spend $80/day on the profitable campaign, but I'm only succeeding to the tune of about $20/day.

Yeah, the model is basically "3 chapters a week on RR and Patreon, wrap it up and stick a bow on it when they're a 'book'." I do no paid advertising to keep my patreon going, namely because I stick a gigantic banner ad at the bottom of all of my free chapters saying "SIGN UP FOR MY PATREON!" (Beach Babe Elaine is the single most profitable piece of marketing I have ever done.)

I'm +25 chapters on my Patreon (AKA 8 weeks ahead of RR), and I try to have an additional +10 chapters in my backlog. When I write very short books, that's an entire book ahead of RR. When the books are longer, I'm only half a book or so ahead of RR. It just depends what the story needs.

Man, that is an excellent ROI on your ads!

It sounds like you keep your Patreon going through discoverability on RR alone? Do I have that right? If so, that's really... astounding. I would kill for a platform like RR that catered to mystery/thriller books.

Speaking of, what's the audience like on RR? I glanced over it yesterday, and most of the works listed in trending seemed to be Lit RPGs--is that accurate? Is RR friendly to any non-fantasy genres? Scifi maybe?

e: Sorry for the million questions. Like I said, I've been in the ebook game for a while, and I had zero clue about RR, or that Patreon could be as lucrative as it is for you. I feel like the Earth is shifting under my feet!

KrunkMcGrunk fucked around with this message at 15:14 on Aug 25, 2023

# ¿ Aug 25, 2023 15:00

KrunkMcGrunk: Jul 2, 2007; Sometimes I sit and think, and sometimes I just sit.

Man, I have completely dug into LitRPGs now, and I am absolutely loving Dungeon Crawler Carl. I'm feeling like my life-long loves of video games, RPGs, and writing are all converging together. I don't know why I didn't take this genre more seriously when I heard about it years ago.

# ¿ Aug 30, 2023 13:45

KrunkMcGrunk: Jul 2, 2007; Sometimes I sit and think, and sometimes I just sit.

Are there any discords or Facebook groups or the like where LitRPG authors hang out?

# ¿ Aug 30, 2023 16:01

KrunkMcGrunk: Jul 2, 2007; Sometimes I sit and think, and sometimes I just sit.

Fate Accomplice posted:

also what're the best introductions to the genre? if I want to read 3-5 to understand it, where do I begin?

I've been poking around the litRPG subreddit and some facebook groups, and the books I see recommended over and over again are Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman, He Who Fights With Monsters by Shirtaloon, System Change by SunriseCV, and Brightblade by Jez Cajiao.

No idea if that list is representative of the genre as a whole - I get the impression there are a ton of subgenres that appeal to different readers, and people are picky about what books are categorized where. I would expect no less for nerdy hobby.

e: I think, also, reading random stuff on Royal Road will give a good sense of what the genre conventions are.

KrunkMcGrunk fucked around with this message at 17:19 on Aug 30, 2023

# ¿ Aug 30, 2023 17:17

KrunkMcGrunk: Jul 2, 2007; Sometimes I sit and think, and sometimes I just sit.

Selkie Myth posted:

Sooo many. For Authors, discord's big. Silver Pen, litRPG Forum, Progression/litRPG Fantasy, Progression Fantasy, Guild of Progression Fantasy Authors, my discord.

Can I get an invite to your discord?

# ¿ Aug 31, 2023 14:02

KrunkMcGrunk: Jul 2, 2007; Sometimes I sit and think, and sometimes I just sit.

freebooter posted:

Anybody had a book in Amazon Prime Reading before? Amazon offered me a spot for the first in a series for a 3-month period, September through December.

As far as I can tell it's sort of like another Kindle Unlimited subscription with the difference that the author only gets paid in exposure...?

It's a moot point since I've accepted it anyway, on the reasoning that any publicity for book 1 of a series is good publicity, just curious if anyone else has experience with it.

I did a number of years ago, also on a first in series, and, yeah your reasoning is right on the mark.

Also congrats!

# ¿ Sep 1, 2023 03:34

KrunkMcGrunk: Jul 2, 2007; Sometimes I sit and think, and sometimes I just sit.

Milkfred E. Moore posted:

Yeah, I came here to basically post this.

Agreed.

Writing thrillers and mystery books wasn't my first choice, but I happened to fall in with lots of successful people who do write that genre, and they offered me help, so that's where I went when I started out. Not that I dislike the genre (I love interwar noir books, and their immediate children), but reading LitRPGs and researching the genre has been like finally finding that group of friends you just click with, ya know?

I think there's something to that, and I hope it shows through in the stuff I'm putting together now.

# ¿ Sep 1, 2023 15:36

KrunkMcGrunk: Jul 2, 2007; Sometimes I sit and think, and sometimes I just sit.

Post on kboards circa 2014!

But seriously, just hanging out in online places where you can get to know other authors helps you network, and from there, you never know what opportunities might pop up. Over the years I have become friends with many different authors in many different genres, simply because I like them as people. And, really, I don't know what the future holds, but being helpful and nice to people has always seemed to come back to me in unexpected ways.

e: An Example of being helpful

I've been taking notes on LitRPG books, paying attention to common tropes, settings, character archetypes, plot structure, etc etc. I found out yesterday that an author friend of mine is doing the same thing, so I've been sending him some of the research I've done and picking his brain for what he's seen which opens up dialogue between us and makes the work feel a lot less lonely and daunting for both of us, I think. People appreciate that kind of stuff, especially in an industry like this where the rules are not clear, best practices are extremely murky, and the farther up you go, the more guarded and competitive some people can be. Maybe we'll cross promo our books later, maybe not! Who knows?

I'm not saying you should immediately blast any and every passerby with "helpful" tidbits, but being social with other authors, hanging out online around them, and being open with your methods and business practices can really go a long way toward opening doors that may help you in the future. Or may not! Sometimes its nice to talk to people who have also read the latest uber-online indie author gossip and poke fun at the weirdos out there.

KrunkMcGrunk fucked around with this message at 20:35 on Sep 1, 2023

# ¿ Sep 1, 2023 16:58

KrunkMcGrunk: Jul 2, 2007; Sometimes I sit and think, and sometimes I just sit.

Libbie hawker had a good blurb explainer on YouTube. I haven't seen it in years, but let me find it...

E: I can't find it.

However! I always set my blurbs at that transition between Act 1 and Act 2 when the main character has just been pushed out of their comfortable, familiar life and is now faced with the bigger problem they must solve, then I close with the stakes. What happens if the MC fails? Embarrassment? Death? Losing their front tooth?

So, paragraph 1 is introducing the MC, what they want, who they are, etc.

Paragraph 2 is when the MC learns of the main problem, and any unexpected complications (sometimes this takes 2 paragraphs to get right).

Paragraph 3 is the stakes - what does the MC gain/lose if they succeed/fail. In mysteries and thrillers, this is almost always "the MC dies" which is kinda boring, but ya gotta give the people what they want.

Here's an example from one of my books

quote:

Cready Marsen wants two things in life: South Florida Sunshine and a mountain of money. Living on his forty-seven foot trawler at Dinner Key Marina gets him sunshine, and his work as a private investigator brings in cash, but it requires every bit of Cready�s skill, guts, and questionable morals.

When a scummy businessman offers Cready work with a big payout, he happily accepts. The job�s tricky, but nothing he can�t handle. At least, until his client�s daughter gets involved. She�s doe-eyed, gorgeous, and runs with bad company.

Cready�s job gets complicated, and deadly, in a hurry. He�ll have to think fast and act faster if he�s going to outwit the assassins and thieves after his client's property, because if he fails, he�ll lose everything he holds dear�including his life.

In my example, you learn a little about Cready (and get a sense for the genre/setting) in paragraph 1. Paragraph 2 is all about the Act 1 -> Act 2 transition, where Cready is faced with his problem. Paragraph 3 is purely about stakes.

e2: re-reading your blurb, you seem to follow this, generally. I think the problem lies more in language choice and sentence structure, and things could be a bit snappier. I'd suggest cutting it down to three paragraphs, and, specifically, getting rid of paragraph 2 as much as you possibly can.

KrunkMcGrunk fucked around with this message at 18:12 on Sep 4, 2023

# ¿ Sep 4, 2023 17:45

KrunkMcGrunk: Jul 2, 2007; Sometimes I sit and think, and sometimes I just sit.

Blurbs are, by far, the hardest part of any book. It's crazy how much time I've spent revising like, a hundred words, and still, I've never felt totally confident in any blurb I've ever written.

# ¿ Sep 4, 2023 19:06

KrunkMcGrunk: Jul 2, 2007; Sometimes I sit and think, and sometimes I just sit.

SimonChris posted:

I love how you gave me all that great advice and still can't figure it out yourself . Man, I expected blurb writing to be harder than I expected, and it is still harder than I expected.

Have you been able to work on a revised blurb yet? Mind posting it?

# ¿ Sep 5, 2023 13:41

KrunkMcGrunk: Jul 2, 2007; Sometimes I sit and think, and sometimes I just sit.

Amazon is now asking if books contain AI-generated content during the creation process on KDP. No idea if it'll actually do anything since, ya know, lying exists, but it's nice to think maybe Amazon is concerned about the market being flooded with a mass of AI-produced books.

# ¿ Sep 7, 2023 13:25

KrunkMcGrunk: Jul 2, 2007; Sometimes I sit and think, and sometimes I just sit.

Sundae posted:

Given they didn't care about the mass flood of paraphrased books back in 2014 or so, I'm guessing they don't give a poo poo apart from it being a "lol you answered yes" sort of question. Maybe some sort of Section 230 thing, where they claim you lied to them so it's not their problem?

I'm thinking it's a CYA clause. If you checked "no" and their AI detection tools determine that to be a lie, Amazon can throw you out on your ear for it.

I am not optimistic about Amazon's willingness to actually address a problem, but a zillion AI gobbledy-gook books will probably erode consumer trust and turn their Kindle division into a ghost town, because who in their right mind would want to wade through a sea of nonsense books to actually find something to read?

Kindle/Amazon built their empire on showing people what they'd want to buy, and if something seriously threatens that, Amazon would have to do something about it? Wouldn't they?

I've even seen them A/B test bringing back Also-Boughts, so I'm hopeful they have a good sense of what a good user experience actually is and what will keep people buying books.

KrunkMcGrunk fucked around with this message at 17:23 on Sep 8, 2023

# ¿ Sep 8, 2023 17:02

KrunkMcGrunk: Jul 2, 2007; Sometimes I sit and think, and sometimes I just sit.

Sundae posted:

On the other hand, look at how bad their website is for everything else with counterfeit/knockoff versions of regular goods obliterating visibility on the stuff people are actually looking for? I don't know how much they actually care about the physical-sales storefronts or books anymore. (I really have no idea. I'm purely guessing.)

Oh, I agree entirely. The last few years have been absolute poo poo-show for discoverability through Amazon. Changing also-boughts into a PPC ad spot was a tremendous mistake, and I'm hopeful that the possible return of also-boughts means they've realized this.

However, the one thing I've learned through the publishing game is Amazon's next move is inscrutable, and as long as the money faucet stays on, they don't give a gently caress about anything.

# ¿ Sep 8, 2023 22:00

KrunkMcGrunk: Jul 2, 2007; Sometimes I sit and think, and sometimes I just sit.

Megazver posted:

Guys, for YEARS now I've had no one to talk to about how much I HATE the also boughts disappearing

I hate it so much

My goon, you are not alone. I can't think of a single author I know who doesn't miss also boughts!

# ¿ Sep 9, 2023 02:38

KrunkMcGrunk: Jul 2, 2007; Sometimes I sit and think, and sometimes I just sit.

I'm not a lawyer, but I've personally never done that

# ¿ Sep 18, 2023 19:15

KrunkMcGrunk: Jul 2, 2007; Sometimes I sit and think, and sometimes I just sit.

Megazver posted:

People have discussed publishing on RoyalRoad a few pages ago. A successful RR author just posted a pretty good guide on the subject:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ProgressionFantasy/comments/16mdl4s/how_to_become_successful_on_royalroad_part_1/

https://www.reddit.com/r/ProgressionFantasy/comments/16mrn0i/how_to_become_successful_on_royalroad_part_2/

https://www.reddit.com/r/ProgressionFantasy/comments/16nj6ww/how_to_become_successful_on_royalroad_part_3/

And here's a couple more useful guides:

https://www.royalroad.com/forums/thread/116847
https://www.webnovel.com/book/book-of-authors_10589139205070105

thank you goon friend!

# ¿ Sep 20, 2023 18:23

KrunkMcGrunk: Jul 2, 2007; Sometimes I sit and think, and sometimes I just sit.

Bright Bart posted:

Is that even feasible? Authors with traditional publishers whose books are in hundreds or thousands of bookstores, with an established fanbase, and on bestseller lists in their genre can sell just around 1,000 copies per week on a nice week. When BookTok propelled an author to 4,000 copies per week for a couple of weeks it made the news. So is she selling eBooks for $10 to ~450 people per week or making that much profit on ~300 print copies per week?

I may be talking complete rubbish and actually hope I am. I'm phrasing it this way to be easily refutable if it can be refuted.

Self-pubbed authors can definitely move that many copies in a week. Probably only 1% of authors can do it regularly, but it is certainly more common than one may assume. And somebody moving that many copies in a week as a one-off occurrence happens fairly often.

In my experience, the same is also true of Trad authors--there is a small percentage at the top making an absolute killing, but the vast majority of trad authors probably don't earn out their advances. Publishing is a hit-or-miss business.

# ¿ Sep 21, 2023 20:37

KrunkMcGrunk: Jul 2, 2007; Sometimes I sit and think, and sometimes I just sit.

I've never tried IG/TikTok ads, but know people who have used them to great success. My go-to was always some combo of FB and AMS ads, but both of those have been huge duds for me this year, which is part of the reason why I'm thinking about a genre that can monetize through Patreon

# ¿ Sep 22, 2023 18:22

KrunkMcGrunk: Jul 2, 2007; Sometimes I sit and think, and sometimes I just sit.

SimonChris posted:

Well, here is my first attempt at creating a TikTok promotional video. Let's see how viral it goes!

E: Nah, I'll let you know when I figure out something that works.

don't expect the first thing you make to blow up! treat it like a learning process, and keep in mind you're only going to get better as you do more of them!

# ¿ Sep 25, 2023 14:09

KrunkMcGrunk: Jul 2, 2007; Sometimes I sit and think, and sometimes I just sit.

SimonChris posted:

What's the best way to build a mailing list? Are there specific tools that people use, or do I just get people to send me their email addresses?

Edit: I am seeing recommendations for MailerLite and Mailchimp, but many of the posts are quite old. What are people using nowadays?

I would recommend checking out Newsletter Ninja by Tammi Labrecque. it's a great resource on all things newsletter, and Tammi has a newsletter of her own where she goes through different examples, techniques and best practices, in addition to an active facebook group full of cool, helpful people if you want something like that.

That said, I use Maillerlite, but I'm in a holding pattern where I'm waiting for something more affordable and easy to come along, much like Mailerlite did to Mailchimp a couple years back.

# ¿ Oct 2, 2023 20:50

KrunkMcGrunk: Jul 2, 2007; Sometimes I sit and think, and sometimes I just sit.

Alright, work is 99% done on my co-authored tropical mystery/thriller, so I'm moving on to my next project!

Work on the LitRPG begins in earnest today. After reading/participating in various communities around the internet, I'm a little nervous about launching on RR because of all the unknowns that can't really be quantified or planned for ahead of time, but I'm launching on RR anyhow! Hopefully the work will be good enough, and I can get connected with enough people, that the book hits rising stars at the appropriate time.

# ¿ Oct 23, 2023 17:00

KrunkMcGrunk: Jul 2, 2007; Sometimes I sit and think, and sometimes I just sit.

BARF

Invite-Only KDP Beta for Audiobooks

KDP posted:

We�re excited to announce the launch of an invitation-only U.S. beta that enables KDP authors to quickly and easily produce an audiobook version of their eBook using virtual voice narration, a synthetic speech technology. Authors will now be able to:

Create an audiobook from an eBook in just a few steps. To publish an audiobook, authors will first choose one of their eligible eBooks on KDP. From there, authors can sample voices, preview, and customize the audiobook. Authors can set a list price between $3.99 and $14.99 and will receive a 40% royalty. After publication, audiobooks will be live within 72 hours and distributed where Audible titles are sold. KDP authors can also choose to work with professional narrators and voice talent through ACX.

Reach new audiences. Customers can find and listen to audiobooks with virtual voice wherever Audible audiobooks are available today. Audiobooks created through KDP from eBooks in KDP Select will be included in the Audible Plus catalog and eligible for a share of the KDP Select Global Fund. Audiobooks created by virtual voice will be clearly labeled and, as with any audiobook, customers can listen to samples.

We plan to grow the beta over time and will share updates in the coming months as we have additional information. If you're interested in participating in the future, sign up for our email subscription list by following these instructions:

Sign in to KDP: kdp.amazon.com.
Click this link and follow the prompts.

Thanks for using Amazon KDP.

# ¿ Nov 1, 2023 18:56

KrunkMcGrunk: Jul 2, 2007; Sometimes I sit and think, and sometimes I just sit.

the scuttlebutt is KDP already agreed with SAG-AFTRA to *not* use AI narrators, so maybe there's a lawsuit coming.

I truly hope there is, and that KDP loses. I hate this race-to-the-bottom poo poo.

# ¿ Nov 2, 2023 14:24

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# ¿ May 12, 2024 03:33

KrunkMcGrunk: Jul 2, 2007; Sometimes I sit and think, and sometimes I just sit.

Robert Deadford posted:

I've recently self-published a novel and am trying to find sensible ways to market it.

I'll read back through the thread but does anyone have any hot tips on what actually works?

Commit a series of high-profile crimes which are related the plot of your book

# ¿ Dec 13, 2023 17:42

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > Creative Convention > Self-Publishing Goons: Yep, people buy it!

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