Back In The Game?

After your heart's been broken enough times, it just kind of stays that way, I think. It's dumb to wait around for it -- or even to just dialog with it -- when there's so much artwork to make.

So, it looks like despite--or perhaps because of--my better judgement, I am back in the art- and media- making game, as I simultaneously continue the internal work.

Wish me luck in hell.

(And buy some of our content so we don't all starve there.)

Words of Traitors and Nyssa 1, Love Notes To A Stranger

As many of you know, Words of Traitors is about ready to be unleashed in print. I hope that you are going to pick up a copy, because it's something not to be missed.

For those interested in only the Nyssa part of the book -- or who are can't afford to lay down the $30 a 120 page full color limited edition art book runs -- I am also going to be putting out just the Nyssa chapter as a stand-alone. This makes particular sense as it is just the first installment in what I hope to be many others.

Here's the rough draft of the Nyssa #1 cover:

Book marketing

A follow-up to my last post, just to further emphasize that my story is not an exception or unusual one. As I have said, the fact that the sales on some of my titles is in the top 1% of POD sales in their hot months is more a depressing factoid for any would-be author to consider rather than something I am particularly proud of.

A recent news piece in Forbes touched on the biggest pitfalls facing an aspiring author in this day and age. One of the hardest lessons to learn is that, no matter what kind of platform an author takes to publish their work, it is going to take a while until anything happens. And in some cases, such a long while that losing hope seems inevitable. The author, Suw Charman-Anderson, summed up both traditional and online forms of publishing as extreme versions of playing the waiting game, a game that can only be won with perseverance. Tons of it.
Citing a blog written by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Charman-Anderson stated that independent writers work relentlessly during the first month to boost sales, but once they become exhausted and sales drop, many lose hope and give up. With all this work for so little results, Rusch’s blog concluded that “Publicity doesn’t work for books. It really doesn’t. All it does is get your name in front of a reader who might then glance at your book. Or not.” Hard news to hear for anyone who has invested hours into the grind of promoting an e-book.

Read more: http://ebookpublishingreport.com/ebook-marketing-strategies-playing-the-waiting-game-as-an-indie-author/#ixzz2B3n6yStg  The Waiting Game.

What's the solution? There isn't one single solution. 

I think the first is to consider that each title is unique. This flies in the face of the very idea of genre, but considering the substantial signal to noise ratio that exists today, I think we need to consider every title a unique challenge or opportunity. At the same time, it remains the case that it will cost a substantial amount of time and money to get any headway-- and the latter part of this is often the greatest hurdle for independent artists and authors.

Whatever the solution is, I'm always open to talking to other indies, as we really need to work together, rather than against one another.