I think you're right with your "derivative works" policy - if I have some spare time this weekend (which is by no means likely much of this weekend is geared up to running a Call of Cthulhu game, and I really need to find some time to write some more for Sorrel Snowbound) I might try doing an image based on the crash-scene in the novel. (Don't hold your breath!)
*snaps whip*
Get back to writing Sorrel Snowbound this very minute, sir!
*snaps whip*
Get back to writing Sorrel Snowbound this very minute, sir!
Yes sir! At once, sir!
I need prodding sometimes, but I am making progress. I'd done about 20000 words in November by the beginning of this week just gone, but the last few days have been hectic with real life (and Call of Cthulhu) getting in the way. I'm back to the plot again today - I'd written 3100 words this afternoon, before seeing your post!
I just did a relatively accurate word count and astonished myself that I had reached 63500 words (my mental estimate had been about 55000). Means the likely total wordcount is going to be about 110-120,000, so I am comfortably over half way through the first draft. With a bit of luck and some more prompting I'd hope to do another 20,000 by the end of November, and the last 30,000 in December, and then start rewrites and editing in January.
Realistically, target release date is going to be the beginning of May.
i probably have atleast a good 30,000 words done in my novel as well. however that is all hand-written stuff in my notebooks. i have been trying to transfer stuff over onto the computer, but i only have an hour or so a day available for that so it is slow going.
__________________
"let our mercy, as deep as the feitas, and our auhority, as powerful as the sun, be revealed to the entire world!"
"Damn! I gotta say, you just let down every man in Falena..."
... I might try doing an image based on the crash-scene in the novel. (Don't hold your breath!)
Finally experimented with it. This is just a mock-up, playing about with Poser to create an image and seeing what worked. I think Derek's armour is supposed to be black, but that made it very dark and made his figure less clear. You can't see Micah's eyepatch. Thoughts welcomed - this is quite capable of amendment or re-rendering (I wondered about doing it from Derek's perspective, but then I lost the presence of the ship - I know the ship is the wrong shape, but I didn't have a Poser ship that was right).
Spoiler
oh - and don't worry, Thiago, I also did another 1200 words yesterday!
It's...at least fourteen times the quality of anything I've been able to come up with. There are a few issues but they're individually minor.
As you said, I usually picture Derek's suit darker, often black, dark grey, or dark blue. I suspect that it wouldn't be quite as flattering on him - still good looking but less 'superhero spandex'.
Mycah looks pretty close to spot-on as far as how she'd look from behind. Mousy brown hair, cut fairly short, wearing traveling leather that's partially armor. The sword's a little big for her fighting style but isn't too bad. By the time Derek was able to stand, she'd put her weapon away, but again, minor nitpick.
As far as the ship's shape, recall that the front end of the ship is buried in its crater. That'd just be the tail end of the ship sticking out, perhaps one half of a wing section (the wings failed to deploy in the crash, also) so really, not a big deal.
But. I have the visual aesthetic sense of a plaid dishrag. So since I have to go to sleep now, I'm leaving this open for my wife to comment on before she goes off to work, if she sees fit:
The overall layout looks good (as far as where everything is placed in relation to each other), but it does seem like Mycah's fading into the background a little. Which, narratively speaking, sort of works- this is her world, and Derek is the one who's supposed to be sticking out like a sore thumb. Still, it seems like a little more red in her outfit (not have her wearing red, but maybe some red accents- something to make her pop out from the background a little more).
On the flipside, Derek seems really shiny. I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or not ! I really like how unnatural he looks- bright blue against the natural browns and oranges- so I don't think the color is an issue. (I also like how it coordinates with the text.) Since the rest of it is in more realistic shades, though, the shininess of the suit does make him seem a little too obviously a 3D rendering, if that makes sense. Maybe make the suit a little more matte, or add in some details in a more subtle color to break it up a little?
Other than that, the only thing I might add would be a little debris around the ship to make it more obvious that it was a crash. Plus, y'know, nothing like flaming rubble to scream ADVENTURE! Not sure about the limitations of the program you're using though...
Yeah, that was way longer than I intended. Gotta say, it looks good. I think you picked the perfect moment from the book for the cover. There's something about the way they're both just staring at each other going "Welp, here we are. So... now what?"
__________________
You may think of me as:
Struggling amateur author #3284728
Book one is on the Kindle now. It's a mix of hard science fiction and fantasy. How's that work? Surprisingly well.
It's...at least fourteen times the quality of anything I've been able to come up with. There are a few issues but they're individually minor.
As you said, I usually picture Derek's suit darker, often black, dark grey, or dark blue. I suspect that it wouldn't be quite as flattering on him - still good looking but less 'superhero spandex'.
My second attempt - dulled down the armour and added more substance to it so it's less superhero-ish.
Quote:
Mycah looks pretty close to spot-on as far as how she'd look from behind. Mousy brown hair, cut fairly short, wearing traveling leather that's partially armor. The sword's a little big for her fighting style but isn't too bad. By the time Derek was able to stand, she'd put her weapon away, but again, minor nitpick.
Sword reduced, but left in her hand - it looks odd with her holding nothing.
Quote:
As far as the ship's shape, recall that the front end of the ship is buried in its crater. That'd just be the tail end of the ship sticking out, perhaps one half of a wing section (the wings failed to deploy in the crash, also) so really, not a big deal.
I found another ship - see what you think.
Quote:
Derek is the one who's supposed to be sticking out like a sore thumb. Still, it seems like a little more red in her outfit (not have her wearing red, but maybe some red accents- something to make her pop out from the background a little more).
Yes - I wanted Derek to stand out, hence the blue not black, and why he is the only blue object in the picture. I've altered the colours on Mycah so she is more prominent but still matches the main palette.
Quote:
On the flipside, Derek seems really shiny. I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or not ! I really like how unnatural he looks- bright blue against the natural browns and oranges- so I don't think the color is an issue. (I also like how it coordinates with the text.) Since the rest of it is in more realistic shades, though, the shininess of the suit does make him seem a little too obviously a 3D rendering, if that makes sense. Maybe make the suit a little more matte, or add in some details in a more subtle color to break it up a little?
Both done.
Quote:
Other than that, the only thing I might add would be a little debris around the ship to make it more obvious that it was a crash. Plus, y'know, nothing like flaming rubble to scream ADVENTURE! Not sure about the limitations of the program you're using though...
Debris is tricky, but some flames have appeared.
Quote:
I think you picked the perfect moment from the book for the cover. There's something about the way they're both just staring at each other going "Welp, here we are. So... now what?"
I thought it was the best moment from the early part - I wondered about Derek on the bridge or when he is fighting the orc over the bodies (too bloody). I also wondered about when he was showing his skills at making clothing, but concluded that would be X-rated...
Thoughts welcomed - I hope you don't think I'm out of line putting this forward.
I've finished Chains of Loss (the title makes perfect sense, now!) and really enjoyed it - expect a review shortly.
Out of line? You kidding? I've been at a loss for weeks. No idea how I'd get a decent cover, just a few vague hopes.
Again, going to bed and leaving this open for my wife's comments:
Honestly, I love Derek's suit now, the new ship looks way better (though it seems like it should be shinier, if that's something you can adjust), and you added just enough debris/ flames/ scorching to make it obvious that this was a crash landing.
The only thing that still bothers me is Mycah, and only because it looks like when you changed her color scheme, you lost some of the detail on the clothing that was there before. Also, the red doesn't help her stand out as much as I thought it would (which is my bad, not yours ).
Looking at it again, it seems like what stands out most on her is her bare skin and the buckles on her shoes (which may be new? I don't remember them from the last version). Perhaps if she had some silver/ metal embellishments? Maybe add the shoulder armor back in from the last version as well (those maybe it more obvious that she was wearing partial armor and not just generic leather, I think). I do really like the detail you've added to the gauntlets.
But yeah, massive improvements on what was already a nifty design!
Edit: Free promo day today. For about twelve more hours, the ebook is free. My wife would like to point out that the last guy who read it felt compelled to create the cover up above. Doesn't that make you curious?
__________________
You may think of me as:
Struggling amateur author #3284728
Book one is on the Kindle now. It's a mix of hard science fiction and fantasy. How's that work? Surprisingly well.
Out of line? You kidding? I've been at a loss for weeks. No idea how I'd get a decent cover, just a few vague hopes.
Again, going to bed and leaving this open for my wife's comments:
Honestly, I love Derek's suit now, the new ship looks way better (though it seems like it should be shinier, if that's something you can adjust), and you added just enough debris/ flames/ scorching to make it obvious that this was a crash landing.
I've tried to make it a bit shinier - see what you think.
Quote:
The only thing that still bothers me is Mycah, and only because it looks like when you changed her color scheme, you lost some of the detail on the clothing that was there before. Also, the red doesn't help her stand out as much as I thought it would (which is my bad, not yours ).
Looking at it again, it seems like what stands out most on her is her bare skin and the buckles on her shoes (which may be new? I don't remember them from the last version). Perhaps if she had some silver/ metal embellishments? Maybe add the shoulder armor back in from the last version as well (those maybe it more obvious that she was wearing partial armor and not just generic leather, I think). I do really like the detail you've added to the gauntlets.
I've actually to some extent gone back to the old texture map, but with bare arms and a slight change to the bracers on the forearms. I think this is probably as good as I can get her.
Quote:
But yeah, massive improvements on what was already a nifty design!
Flattery will get you everywhere.
Spoiler
Quote:
Edit: Free promo day today. For about twelve more hours, the ebook is free. My wife would like to point out that the last guy who read it felt compelled to create the cover up above. Doesn't that make you curious?
The bad news is that said "last guy" is going to start bullying you to know when the sequel is being released...
The bad news is that said "last guy" is going to start bullying you to know when the sequel is being released...
How's that bad news? I could use the occasional kick in the butt to get me writing more frequently.
Also, as of this writing, there's about an hour left in the promo and it's #56 in the Sci Fi Adventure category. It's not likely to break the top 10, though - it'd have to beat A Dance With Dragons.
__________________
You may think of me as:
Struggling amateur author #3284728
Book one is on the Kindle now. It's a mix of hard science fiction and fantasy. How's that work? Surprisingly well.
There's about an hour left in the promo and it's #56 in the Sci Fi Adventure category. It's not likely to break the top 10, though - it'd have to beat A Dance With Dragons.
That's pretty good going - well done. The interesting question will be how many sales you get after that.
I'm still deep in Sorrel Snowbound, and I also need kicking regularly. Did 2500 words tonight - still got a long way to go.
You're still working faster than I am. Please, don't ask how far I am - but understand that you may wind up getting invited to a google document when I have enough to be worth critiquing.
Sales right before the promo were stronger than they've ever been - four books in a week, two ebook and two hard copy. Also, Amazon finally got back to me after a couple months, acknowledging that they think that I might be right. I told them that the authors of my hard copy (Robert Sier) and my ebook (Robert J Sier) were possibly the same guy and they might look into consolidating the two listings, offering the hard copy to ebook purchasers and vice versa.
Also, the nice shiny cover pictures disappeared - are you having webpage troubles?
__________________
You may think of me as:
Struggling amateur author #3284728
Book one is on the Kindle now. It's a mix of hard science fiction and fantasy. How's that work? Surprisingly well.
You're still working faster than I am. Please, don't ask how far I am - but understand that you may wind up getting invited to a google document when I have enough to be worth critiquing.
Very happy to do so if you want to risk my clumsy efforts at assistance.
Quote:
Sales right before the promo were stronger than they've ever been - four books in a week, two ebook and two hard copy.
Rather suggests the advertising did some good. I suspect I ought to try it.
Quote:
Also, Amazon finally got back to me after a couple months, acknowledging that they think that I might be right. I told them that the authors of my hard copy (Robert Sier) and my ebook (Robert J Sier) were possibly the same guy and they might look into consolidating the two listings, offering the hard copy to ebook purchasers and vice versa.
Amazon seem really slow in responding - I suspect they are inundated with queries and don't have enough people to cope.
Quote:
Also, the nice shiny cover pictures disappeared - are you having webpage troubles?
Aaaargh! I am blaspheming at Demon Internet at the moment - their webhosting service has disappeared into a deep black hole. I hope to have an advert appearing in an e-magazine at the end of this week, pointing at the webpage, and it has vanished. I hope it will reappear in the next day or so, and at least the most recent version of the cover should reappear with it.
Edit: and Demon have finally sorted themselves out, albeit a bit late. The latest image is back - I'll need to check back on the earlier ones and see what's become of them.
would anyone here like to sort of review the 1st chapter or 2 of the novel I'm working on? Its nowhere near done yet but I would sorta just like to know how it is so far in terms of grammer, story, etc, etc...Its a little rough, but IMO it is quite a bit better written than rough-draft(not saying much at all). I suppose if anyone is interested shoot me an email, which can be found on my profile page...
Thanks in advance!
__________________
"let our mercy, as deep as the feitas, and our auhority, as powerful as the sun, be revealed to the entire world!"
"Damn! I gotta say, you just let down every man in Falena..."
Oblivion, I sent you a message, but haven't received a response yet.
Otherwise, I've updated my ebook and hard copy to have the new cover in its current form. Also, a coworker has offered to stake me by buying $200 worth of copies for me to sell, but I'm not sure I can pay him back before January, when he moves away.
Sales have still been strong, and I'm experimenting with dropping the ebook price to 99 cents. That does drop my share from $2 to about 25 cents, but we'll see if it results in more exposure.
__________________
You may think of me as:
Struggling amateur author #3284728
Book one is on the Kindle now. It's a mix of hard science fiction and fantasy. How's that work? Surprisingly well.
So, I got bored, recognized Lensman's name, and wandered in here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Talanic
I only received one sale during the period of advertising, which may or may not have been linked to the ad. It's possible that I needed a better advertisement, but this is all I managed to come up with.
Spoiler
Yeah, your ad definitely needs something more. The picture and everything to the left works find, but the other text....
"It's a fantasy/sci fi novel" That's a huge area, only some of which I like. If you're going to give a genre, make it as specific as possible.
"from a new author." You could be an amazing author, but billing yourself as a new author doesn't really inspire confidence.
"First twenty pages are free." Maybe I'm old fashioned, but this makes me think of the "coming directly to video" movies that you know will be crap. I don't really know why it does, but it does. Perhaps a better way to phrase it would be "free preview available" (or maybe I'm the only one who feels this way and you can safely ignore me ).
"Why not check it out?" Never give your readers a chance to snarkily answer 'where do I even begin' and ignore the ad (which is what I did when your ad was running ).
"Hard science fiction." Whoa, what? I thought you said it was sci fi/fantasy -- one of the things I associate with hard science fiction is a lack of fantasy elements.
"Plus magic, etc, etc, etc" While the trailing off for effect is a good idea, this is quite literally the only part of your ad that gives me any clue what your book is about. Not a good thing to be making unreadable!
If you want to convince me to read a book, it's got to have a good pitch. Ignore the genre, author, free pages, etc, bits and tell me what your book is about. I'll figure out the genre from that, and if I'm interested enough to go to your site, I'll figure out the rest. Look at the back/inside cover of lots of books (heck, look at opening sentences!) to see what grabs you attention and makes you go "I have to read this book!" That's what you want on the text for your ad. Remember also that this is my first opportunity to experience your writing -- make it exciting!
So, I got bored, recognized Lensman's name, and wandered in here.
Welcome to the thread!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Savannah
"It's a fantasy/sci fi novel" That's a huge area, only some of which I like. If you're going to give a genre, make it as specific as possible.
"Hard science fiction." Whoa, what? I thought you said it was sci fi/fantasy -- one of the things I associate with hard science fiction is a lack of fantasy elements.
"Plus magic, etc, etc, etc" While the trailing off for effect is a good idea, this is quite literally the only part of your ad that gives me any clue what your book is about. Not a good thing to be making unreadable!
That was an attempt to be as specific as possible, but I see how I failed to communicate. It's not a science fiction OR fantasy novel; it's a science fiction AND fantasy novel. As in, a post-singularity cyborg winds up fighting orcs. No, seriously.
The hard science fiction component is that every aspect of the science fiction sections of the book are as scientifically accurate as I can make them, although I try not to go into too much detail. There is not a single word of technobabble in my writing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Savannah
If you want to convince me to read a book, it's got to have a good pitch. Ignore the genre, author, free pages, etc, bits and tell me what your book is about. I'll figure out the genre from that, and if I'm interested enough to go to your site, I'll figure out the rest. Look at the back/inside cover of lots of books (heck, look at opening sentences!) to see what grabs you attention and makes you go "I have to read this book!" That's what you want on the text for your ad. Remember also that this is my first opportunity to experience your writing -- make it exciting!
Hope this helps!
Your response makes me suspect that my first ad image might have been a better idea.
Spoiler
I backed off from this one because it almost seems like throwing nerdy buzzwords out at random, but it is accurate.
Perhaps the biggest problem with trying to advertise my book is that I'm trying to buckle down and get myself to stop talking ABOUT the book and instead write more of the sequel.
__________________
You may think of me as:
Struggling amateur author #3284728
Book one is on the Kindle now. It's a mix of hard science fiction and fantasy. How's that work? Surprisingly well.
That was an attempt to be as specific as possible, but I see how I failed to communicate. It's not a science fiction OR fantasy novel; it's a science fiction AND fantasy novel. As in, a post-singularity cyborg winds up fighting orcs. No, seriously.
I kinda figured you meant the two together, but the problem is that both of those genres have massive numbers of subgenres. You can imagine how a time-travel/sword and sorcery novel would be different from a post-apocalyptic/epic fantasy novel which would be different from a cyberpunk/dark fantasy novel.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Talanic
Your response makes me suspect that my first ad image might have been a better idea.
Spoiler
I backed off from this one because it almost seems like throwing nerdy buzzwords out at random, but it is accurate.
I do think that's better, but it still doesn't tell me what the cyborg is doing there (trying to get back to his time? fighting to save humanity? trying to avoid creating a paradox? ...assuming I'm correct in inferring that he's a time traveler).
I think what I'm trying to say is that if you needed to describe, say, The Hunger Games in very little space, you could say "A girl lives in a dystopian post-apocalyptic USA in this new novel" or you could say "Winning means fame and fortune. Losing means certain death. The Hunger Games have begun..." (from the back of the book). Despite not even describing the protagonist or the world, the second tells more about the story and just sounds more exciting -- that's the sort of thing you want to intrigue a potential reader.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Talanic
Perhaps the biggest problem with trying to advertise my book is that I'm trying to buckle down and get myself to stop talking ABOUT the book and instead write more of the sequel.
Not sure if 'schmuck' works, though. He's actually too nice for his own good.
Edit: I'm wondering. If I offered the ebook free to the next 10 people to PM me about it on the condition that they review it and consider putting a plug for it in their signature, would I get a response?
__________________
You may think of me as:
Struggling amateur author #3284728
Book one is on the Kindle now. It's a mix of hard science fiction and fantasy. How's that work? Surprisingly well.
I'm very envious - my sales have flatlined in the last couple of weeks. I need to try some more publicity - I'll try the ad in the forum in the next couple of days.
In the meantime I'm adding a signature bar for Sorrel (which I ought to have done weeks ago!).
Remember, though, strong sales is still a relative term.
Eight sales in November, two of hard copies, the rest of ebooks, is the strongest month I've had since starting this business. The bulk of those were after the advertising.
That doesn't count the hard copies that I personally sold or distributed to family members, all of which happened around the start of this month as well.
Edit: I just got up this morning. December has already seen one sale. Looks like it could be a good month.
Edit2: If you'd like, feedback on this would be welcome:
Spoiler
__________________
You may think of me as:
Struggling amateur author #3284728
Book one is on the Kindle now. It's a mix of hard science fiction and fantasy. How's that work? Surprisingly well.
I increased my Nov. sales 6X by making both books Kindle exclusive and dropping the price to $0.99 and advertising this via various social media as a sale.
Granted, my sales jumped from 1 copy as of 11/29 to 6 copies sold on 11/30, but that's still a 6X increase. I'm keeping the price for those two books down for the entire month of Dec. and will probably have a free day on Christmas (and possibly one on my wedding anniversary).
I hesitated to yank Wings of Twilight from DriveThru Fiction & Smashwords, but I have not seen any sales from either of those sources in months (at least 6 months at Smashwords), so I don't think I'm really hurting myself. The files are still available to anyone who already bought it at Smashwords anyway. Iron Fist of the Oroqs has only ever been on Amazon.
My next novel, Zack Jackson & The Cult of Athos (YA Sci-Fi) will come out in the next day or so. I'm curious to see how well that sells with Christmas coming up.
Remember, though, strong sales is still a relative term.
Eight sales in November, two of hard copies, the rest of ebooks, is the strongest month I've had since starting this business. The bulk of those were after the advertising.
That doesn't count the hard copies that I personally sold or distributed to family members, all of which happened around the start of this month as well.
Edit: I just got up this morning. December has already seen one sale. Looks like it could be a good month.
Edit2: If you'd like, feedback on this would be welcome:
Spoiler
Hmmm, I'd lose the last sentence from what is otherwise a very engaging pitch. Let the audience weigh up what they think of the character, rather than describing him as an average schmuck from the outset. :)
__________________
Proof that avataring standards in the Playground have reached an all-time low:
Edit2: If you'd like, feedback on this would be welcome:
Spoiler
I'm not a fan of having a bunch of phrases in bold. If you're going to use bold, I'd suggest limiting yourself to one or two phrases.
I agree with The Succubus about the last sentence. Personally, I'd use the line "He's Derek, and he really wants to know what's going on" instead -- I feel like the 'he really wants to know what's going on' gives the impression of just being an average guy without you explicitly saying so. Plus it's kinda funny.
I increased my Nov. sales 6X by making both books Kindle exclusive and dropping the price to $0.99 and advertising this via various social media as a sale.
Nice, nice. My Kindle exclusivity just expired and I'm not renewing. I think I may have messed up with my initial giveaway. It's recommended by some that you make your giveaway last all five days at once in order to build some steam on the first days, and don't go at the beginning of the month because that's when automatic promotions go into effect, drowning you out. I did one three-day chunk and two single days, and I got a lot more out of the three days than the two.
The biggest reason I'm not renewing is that people without a Kindle are less likely to buy it. My own mom has a Nook...you can just imagine what I've been hearing for the past few months. I'm cross listing on Barnes & Noble; that may be up soon.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JediSoth
My next novel, Zack Jackson & The Cult of Athos (YA Sci-Fi) will come out in the next day or so. I'm curious to see how well that sells with Christmas coming up.
Good luck!
Savannah and The Succubus -
Spoiler
Final sentence swapped out, bolding removed. I think I have it centered fairly well but have been wrong on that kind of judgment before.
__________________
You may think of me as:
Struggling amateur author #3284728
Book one is on the Kindle now. It's a mix of hard science fiction and fantasy. How's that work? Surprisingly well.
At the start, I was trying to avoid putting an ad in everyone's face - fortunately people have been good sports, and quite helpful. Later, it was just habit.
As far as the 'screaming for blood' thing, such a thing doesn't tend to require much translation to be understood in broad terms.
__________________
You may think of me as:
Struggling amateur author #3284728
Book one is on the Kindle now. It's a mix of hard science fiction and fantasy. How's that work? Surprisingly well.
RSS Feeds: 
Re: Ideas for marketing a Kindle novel?
much of this weekend is geared up to running a Call of Cthulhu game, and I really need to find some time to write some more for Sorrel Snowbound) I might try doing an image based on the crash-scene in the novel. (Don't hold your breath!)
I really like how unnatural he looks- bright blue against the natural browns and oranges- so I don't think the color is an issue. (I also like how it coordinates with the text.) Since the rest of it is in more realistic shades, though, the shininess of the suit does make him seem a little too obviously a 3D rendering, if that makes sense. Maybe make the suit a little more matte, or add in some details in a more subtle color to break it up a little?
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