|
moana posted:It's no more than what most of the successful people in this thread are doing, really, that's 2-3 hours of writing per day. I quit my day job last year. The whole write/edit timeline is usually a month and a half, but I publish every month. You are a machine. I say this in all jealousy. I mean honesty.
|
#
¿
May 7, 2015 00:24
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 8, 2024 13:23 |
|
|
ravenkult posted:Running another 50% sale. Same bat website (https://www.store.ravenkult.com), same bat code (FIFTY).
|
|
#
¿
May 10, 2015 15:40
|
|
|
EngineerSean posted:You never go full Moana Not without lube, a dental dam, and a warm speculum.
|
|
#
¿
May 20, 2015 19:23
|
|
|
Jalumibnkrayal posted:You're doing it wrong. You're supposed to argue with the thread while humble bragging about your innate talent. Throw the combined knowledge of our bestselling authors back in their face and poo poo all over their recommendations about "genre". Buy a brand new retina MacBook Pro, install Scrivener and Vellum, then never write a word and never come back to the thread. Oh I see how it is. I mean -- sure. You're right. But... that's not my point.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 4, 2015 15:04
|
|
|
After going back to the drawing board a dozen times, and then giving up, and then coming back again, I've redone my cover, thanks to a lot of great feedback in here. I also just saw ravenkult's two articles on book design - extremely helpful stuff, thanks for that. Should I block out "POLAROID" since that's a brand? 
|
|
#
¿
Jul 1, 2015 18:54
|
|
|
Thanks for the feedback. I'm still wrestling with the author name. And trying to ignore the fake-as-hell blood. I know I've got to resolve it somehow.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 1, 2015 19:32
|
|
|
Hey @#$% you people I meant struggling with how big to make my name. and yes, Steven Kang is a placeholder/stab at humor. Still waiting to see if the humor registers, and/or desperately seeking a real person named Steven Kang to say "Incredible Horror" about my book. Although I'd settle for Edgar Alan Po or Clive Barken. magnificent7 fucked around with this message at 20:30 on Jul 1, 2015 |
|
#
¿
Jul 1, 2015 20:21
|
|
|
Toaster Beef posted:Reconsider. 'Steven Kang' is some Sideways Stories from Wayside School poo poo on an otherwise fantastic cover. I'm wrestling with the blood splatters. I hate it when I get an idea SO drat close to what I imagine, then want to re-do it even better, and can't even come close.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 1, 2015 20:58
|
|
|
I updated stuffs. Author name pops, removed my sophomoric inside joke. Accepted that cheeze blood spatter works. 
|
|
#
¿
Jul 1, 2015 22:54
|
|
|
Bobby Deluxe posted:E: just looking at it, try making the top / bottom margins about double the size of the side margins. I think you'd have it then.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 2, 2015 00:08
|
|
|
Sulla-Marius 88 posted:Amazon's ideal self-pub author relationship seems to be "you type in words for us and only us, if we like it we'll sell it, if we make enough money we'll throw you a little bit to keep you writing". Is there some way to just publish one thing on there, and then direct people to go get the rest of your work at your own site? Or some other more lucrative site? (this is posted from almost complete ignorance of the business).
|
|
#
¿
Jul 3, 2015 17:06
|
|
|
I would like your thoughts on my blurb. I've written two version, one from the protagonist's perspective, the other from the antagonists. PROTAG version: quote:KATE HILL’S GRANDFATHER IS A SERIAL KILLER. ANTAG version: quote:Killing vagrants used to give Marvin Hill a sense of accomplishment—not that anybody ever thanked him. He didn't mind. Keeping the streets of Marietta, GA safe from bums and riff raff was all the thanks he ever needed. I love the first one, but it leaves out the whole crazy killer/ghost lady angle. Think of her as Norman Bates' mother in Psycho... not the main character, but a pretty interesting part of the tale. Do you think the first blurb will work without having to bring up the old lady? And then there's this - I'm going to start promoting the book on facebook so I'm making a series of posters. 
|
|
#
¿
Aug 30, 2015 19:24
|
|
|
Ghostwoods posted:Your protag blurb ends really abruptly. There's no hook at the end, so it feels as if there's a line that got cut off. It's making my teeth itch. The antag blurb is much stronger in that sense. But no, I don't think you need the crazy/ghost thing overt in the blurb. The concept is strong enough without it. Thanks. Yes. That protag blurb just kind of gets up to use the bathroom or some poo poo. I just didn't want to end on a WILL KATE SURVIVE? TUNE IN! Is there a secret handshake to blurb endings? Some way to leave the tension there?
|
|
#
¿
Aug 30, 2015 19:45
|
|
|
moana posted:Agreed on all counts, and get rid of the Mary characterization. It doesn't add anything. I love love love that tagline. Rewritten: Oh poo poo that's awesome. You should do this for a living or something.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 30, 2015 19:57
|
|
|
CommissarMega posted:Same here, that's some intriguing stuff. When in October is it coming out, exactly? Somewhere between 1 and 7. Probably closer to 7.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 31, 2015 13:39
|
|
|
Bobby Deluxe posted:Make sure you post in the thread when it's out.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 31, 2015 18:47
|
|
|
EngineerSean posted:Hey, there's another somewhat high-profile case of this so I thought I'd repost this. Don't use an image under "Creative Commons" for the cover image for your commercial projects. If you absolutely must, read the fine print and if possible, try and contact the person who originally took the picture to find out if it's okay if you use it on your erotica masterpiece. If you don't do this, and the person who either took the picture or is in the picture asks you to remove it, don't get technical on them. Amazon doesn't give a poo poo. You're going to lose that fight and get your dick slammed in the door, and I might personally be the person who is doing the dick slamming. oh poo poo wait what. I went back and found the photo online (from morguefile.com) and just emailed the photographer to let him know how I'm using it - sent him a link, etc. I read the usage guidelines, and everything is very clear-cut on usage: quote:You are allowed to copy, distribute, transmit the work and to adapt the work. Attribution is not required. You are prohibited from using this work in a stand alone manner. Am I setting myself up for a disaster? Crap, I'll need to go buy that camera and take my own photo pronto.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 2, 2015 17:26
|
|
|
That's a relief.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 2, 2015 17:59
|
|
|
Is the erotica genre filled with great titles like porn film titles? Beverly Hills Cocks, Missionary Impossible, Purple Taint, poo poo like that? Because I think I could make bank based on the titles alone.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 5, 2015 07:42
|
|
|
Do you guys do anything on Goodreads? What's that about?
|
|
#
¿
Sep 6, 2015 22:10
|
|
|
Thanks for the info.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 8, 2015 04:29
|
|
|
I know you can set targets for any chapter/sub document in Scrivener, and in one of the views, you can get a quick glimpse to see how well you're hitting that target: And that helps you if you're trying to keep on track, but it's not really progress over time... just, progress. It looks like Storyist does something like what you're looking for: http://storyist.com/support/howto/setup-storyist3-for-nanowrimo/ magnificent7 fucked around with this message at 15:02 on Sep 27, 2015 |
|
#
¿
Sep 27, 2015 14:59
|
|
|
Bardeh posted:Congrats, the cover looks great! I will say, though, that at $4.99 you're very unlikely to see many (if any) sales. I'd suggest enrolling it into KDP Select and lowering the price to $0.99, even if it's only temporary. You want to make sure you get as many eyeballs on it as possible in those all-important first 30 days. 99 cents means people will take a chance on it, which means a better ranking which means more visibility, which means more sales. People are pretty unlikely to take a chance on an unknown author for 5 bucks, but for 1, or for free with their Kindle Unlimited sub, why not? Great point - I think the cheapo price is going to happen next week, have to confirm with my team.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 2, 2015 18:29
|
|
|
Sundae posted:
It's not like the title was "children's songs from the forties" or something.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 6, 2015 15:13
|
|
|
HAHAHA wtf?
|
|
#
¿
Oct 6, 2015 15:35
|
|
|
I eagerly look forward to / loving dread reading any reviews of my book on amazon or goodreads. I hear those reviewers can go for the throat sometimes. But, that said, a blog posted a review of my book! Hot poo poo! http://escapepod.org/2015/10/05/book-review-snapshot-by-beau-hall/ It's from a friend, so it's maybe sugar-coated, but still looks pretty fair. How do you go about getting more blog reviews? Do you just start hounding people as you find them?
|
|
#
¿
Oct 6, 2015 19:32
|
|
|
Hahahah holy gently caress. Even better than reviews: Other books viewed.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 6, 2015 21:25
|
|
|
My book has been out for a month, I know I've sold a few copies, nothing astronomical, but there's no reviews on Amazon, no ratings. Do I just have to go out and beg people for reviews initially? I'm not assuming it's THAT good, but i am assuming that it's not so godawful that people aren't reading it at all. I dread shilling for reviews on amazon... it makes me feel like I'm tricking the system, like the lovely movies on Netflix that get 5-star reviews just to bump them up a little. When you publish your book, do you wait for Amazon ratings, or do you prompt people the minute it's up there? side note: I'm thrilled to see my prospective buyers are expanding their options for other material: 
|
|
#
¿
Oct 20, 2015 16:01
|
|
|
I wish I could tell you. They handled all of that, through my book manager, who I'm trying to contact now to determine next steps. I have no idea if I have any control over the book as it appears on Amazon... that's one of the things I'm trying to find out.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 20, 2015 17:35
|
|
|
Jalumibnkrayal posted:Everything Sean said is spot on. You seem to be paying multiple people to sink your book.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 20, 2015 20:53
|
|
|
They're a hybrid; you missed copy/pasting that quote as well when I was asking about them back in March or April. I opted for them because they'll help push me in the right direction but don't have any control over the contents of the book itself. Sure, I could've totally self-published the thing myself, but Booktrope offers a lot more, I'm just kind of baffled right now on what's my next steps on promoting the book. But thanks for making me feel like poo poo. Now excuse me, I'll go burn some toast for you. Not sure what the means, but I'm sure it's not high praise. edit - I know this reads like a big whiny baby but it's not. I think. magnificent7 fucked around with this message at 02:58 on Oct 21, 2015 |
|
#
¿
Oct 21, 2015 02:56
|
|
|
Okay. After Amazon/B&N take their cut, I get 40% BT gets 30% The book manager gets 30% I knew I was sacrificing a lot to launch my book this way, but the payoff has been worth it. I've got a dozen other plates spinning at once and after a year in this thread asking questions and getting great input, I decided there's no way I had the time/brainpower to launch my first book on my own, not without getting exhausted and just walking away from it once it launched. The book manager has been helping me a lot, up until about a week ago when he took on a whole lot of other projects. I'm trying to hold his feet to the fire right now. He's got a lot of experience self-pubbing his own books, and helped me strategize what to do... he's just been awol for a week or two. They have promotion strategies, and they have fantastic support, but a lot of it is up to me to execute, to educate myself on poo poo like getting amazon reviews. They say do NOT drop your price down to .99 or free until you've got some reviews posted, because people will take a chance on a cheap/free book, but they're more likely to take the one with reviews. And that makes sense. Which is why I popped in here to ask about amazon reviews. magnificent7 fucked around with this message at 17:16 on Oct 21, 2015 |
|
#
¿
Oct 21, 2015 17:10
|
|
|
EngineerSean posted:Somebody has to buy your book before it gets reviewed (unless you buy reviews (don't do this)). I think I'm asking questions now that I already know the answers to. Does it count as an ARC if the book is already out? Will most places see that, and decline the offer?
|
|
#
¿
Oct 21, 2015 17:19
|
|
|
EngineerSean posted:He doesn't have control over pricing.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 21, 2015 20:41
|
|
|
I think you guys are assuming a lot here, which isn't helped by my lazy/vague answers to specific questions. I don't feel like I'm being scammed. In my mind, a scam is when you pay for poo poo, and then you do not get poo poo in return. I haven't paid Booktrope a dime. The profits are split, so they're as motivated to move books as any of their members. Conversely, if I'm lazy as poo poo and don't do my part, (research, proper planning, paying more attention to your advice four months earlier), then my lack of sales reflects that. I got in touch with my BM, he contacted some blogs to get reviews, set up a couple of blog takeovers (what the hell is that?) and included me in a KDP promotion in November for the holidays, which includes marketing/publicity from Booktrope for all members taking part in it. They just delivered 25 promotional paperback copies to my door. Half of those are going out to local media for reviews as well as local libraries, since my story takes place around here and I've intended to market the book locally. I'm sorry I've been stupidly vague with my answers. TBH I've been focused on the book design's approval, the blurb, and going all out on social media to raise some interest in the thing. Getting the book launched was all I've been focusing on, to the point that I let a lot of next steps slide off my radar. The book definitely would've been more successful, (especially with Halloween coming up) if I'd done the right things at the right times. The good news is that I've been writing a blog documenting the vast number of things I've done wrong in publishing my book, called Write Wrong. Your input's really helping me with that. I appreciate all your input along my path, from my first questions, through to help with the cover and the blurb, all the way up to these latest idiot questions.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 21, 2015 21:55
|
|
|
Faded Mars posted:So you have promos set up AFTER the first 30 days? Ha ha that's funny the way you went for the doodoo joke.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 21, 2015 22:31
|
|
|
I did all the artwork on it. That's the previous version of the blurb, before it was retooled here. I'm not going to pull it and start all over. I'm going to continue going forward with this one, while I write my next book and make lots of notes on the better way to do the next one, which will hopefully drive more interest in this one when that one comes out, an idea that's been mentioned here a lot. magnificent7 fucked around with this message at 01:31 on Oct 22, 2015 |
|
#
¿
Oct 22, 2015 01:27
|
|
|
EngineerSean posted:A teachable moment is what they call this.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 22, 2015 02:05
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 8, 2024 13:23 |
|
|
Yooper posted:6:14 - Started KDP process. Filled in text, basics.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 22, 2015 18:05
|
|
