Tag: musings

Done, and reflecting over writer growth

On By mikaelalindIn Writing

I finished the first draft of Cauldron Born today. It isn’t perfect, but I’m proud of it. Cauldron Born was originally written for an anthology, as a historical fantasy short story featuring undead. Except as I finished the first draft of that story, I knew I had left a lot of the story untold. So I let it sit, with the vague plan of rewriting it, and change the setting to Ireland or the British Isles.

Fast forward, a couple of years. I’m revising the Daughter of the Dark, when I have a lightbulb moments. Set the story during the Clan Wars. Which I decided to do.

And this mental journey is a sign of how I have grown as a writer. When I started writing, setting was set. It was the thing that I couldn’t change, or the story would be gone for me.

To be honest, I’m glad that has changed. Since sometimes, stories need a different setting. And that isn’t the only thing that have changed. When I outlined this story, I outlined it in less than 1 hour. More, I trusted myself to write the portions that I wasn’t sure about. And I succeeded. Granted, this was a straightforward story, and not as complex as some of the stories I’ve written previously.

But I’m happy with it. And I’m especially proud of the fact that I wrote it in 3 weeks, despite the fact it was christmas and New Years. I also feel ready to tackle some of those more complex stories later this year. First on the list is the sequel to The Demonlord’s Escape, previously known as Angel among Demons. .The new title fits beautifully, since a big part of the plot is pulled by Lucifer’s wish to escape from Hell. I’ll probably start writing the Heaven and Hell #2 some time this summer, since I have Cauldron 2 to write first, and also a prequel to Daughter of the Dark. ( Which will hopefully be a short story.)

But now, I’m off to enjoy my weekend off, since I’m not even thinking about writing until Monday.

My expectations about Selfpublishing

On By MikaelaIn Writing

Right now, I’m editing Daughter of the Dark, before I send it to a friend who has promised to crit it. ( Actually, I sent her an earlier version, but this one is much better.) Moira Rogers wrote a blogpost about quiet success recently, and after I read it I started to think about what expectations I had.

I’ll be frank. As much as I like Daughter of the Dark, I don’t think it will sell a lot. Why? Because that is more realistic than expecting it to be hugely successful.

My goal is to sell 100 copies per month, at Smashwords ( incl. the 12 stores they distributes to) and Amazon.

In more concrete terms, I expect to sell roughly 5 books/ retailer each month. (For simplicity’s sake, I’m counting Kobo and Itunes as one retail channel each, despite the fact they distribute to multiple stores.)

This is extremely low sales, and I know that it is likely I’ll sell a bit more than that. But even those low sales would earn me roughly 200 dollars in a month.  Which, considering the very limited budget I’m living on, would be very welcome.

One side effect of  aiming for low sales in different stores,  is that I can take into account the fact that there will be days when I sell zero copies. Or just one.

Heck, there will probably be months when I just sell one book at some retailers. Like the libraries that Smashwords distribute to, but I still plan to tick that box, since I like libraries. :).

You know you are a bookaholic when…

On By MikaelaIn Book Recommendations

You know you are a bookaholic when….

… You cheer over the fact that you got an e-reader since it is much easier to pack for vacations, but you still pack 5 massmarkets to read on the plane and at the beach.

…. You think a TBR pile that only contains 15 book is managable.

…. You have the outlet for the charger to the e-reader close to the bed so that you can keep on reading when the battery is low.

…. You cannot go into a bookstore without buying at least one book.

….. You only adds books to your christmas/ birthday wishlist

… You spends almost as much money on books as you do on food.

….. You cannot see what’s so odd with reading at least 200 books per year

What makes a book successful?

On By MikaelaIn musings

Reading about the success of 50 Shades Of Grey made think about what makes a book wildly popular. 

I have read a lot of books, that have had  engaging characters, fast paced plots, and fascinating settings.  Yet  they aren’t up and fighting on the bestseller lists. So why is they plodding along? I think part of it is that they are missing that  extra”something.” The something that keeps the reader coming back again and again.
Let’s take Amanda Hocking.  She is wildly successful, at least  when  she was an indie author ( I have no idea how her print books sell).  I picked up Hollowland awhile ago. Even though I never finished, which was more because of me than the book,  I could see why she was so popular.  Her author’s voice had that something.  

SB Sarah points out that some authors are just cracktastic.  I can see that. I have some authors that I love, despite a part of me whispering I shouldn’t.  Grace Burrowes are one of them.  I love, love her books.  Despite the fact that her books borders on viginettes. Yet there is something with her books that makes me gobble them up.  ( But I still got huffy when I realised that Lady Sophia’s Christmas Wish were released before The Virtuso, but chronologically took place after.) 
Thea Harrison is another. I gobble down her books, despite the fact that the headhopping drives me insane.  I cannot help myself. I have buy her books.

Then there is the authors I love, but who release books with 3-4 years gaps.   Lorna Freeman is one of them. I love her books.  The problem is that since there are so long gaps between books, her earlier books are starting go out of print, and isn’t available as e-books.   Even though I am annoyed, I’ll still buy the next book.  Wen Spencer is another author. I love, love her books.  It is a mix of fantasy, science fiction with a dash of romance that just works for me.   Still, her last book was out in 2009 I think.   But, just like with Lorna Freeman I’ll buy it when it is out in July.

All right. This might have gotten a bit rambling.  Let’s see if I can tie it together.
What makes a book  successful is having that ”something” and reader loyality.  The problem is in today’s publishing that most authors don’t have the time to get the reader loyality, unless their books are successful from the start.  

So, which authors do you want to soar onto the bestseller lists?