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Sean Platt and David Wright led our first science fiction self-published bestsellers list with the serialized post-apocalyptic novel, Yesterday’s Gone.
Our weekly self-published bestsellers list is often dominated by the popular genres of romance and erotica. In an effort to help GalleyCat readers find other kinds of independent authors, we will offer regular genre-focused bestseller lists for other kinds of indie writers.
What other genres would you like us to analyze in future lists?
Fair warning: It's one of those "Big Experiment" posts.
I should have started this "indie publishing" thing six months ago. Am I going to retire soon? No, not at $0.35 a book, but my sales are definitely growing month to month. And when I write "sales" what I really mean is "potential readers". This week alone, I've seen more sales than the entire month of March. The Bottom Feederscontinues to be my bestselling book, with 22 copies and counting out the virtual door. Notice: I'm not selling a ridiculous amount of any one book, but several are selling modestly well. Each book is a potential reader--note I use the word potential. Do you read everything you buy?
Will the trend continue? I hope so. It's a pretty steep curve.
For the first time I feel like I might be able to actually contribute to my family through writing rather than taking away. Think about it: years spent banging at the keyboard when I could have been doing something else. I've taken myself away from my family for my fictional worlds. It isn't as simple as that, but the kernel of truth is there.
Look in the mirror, Aaron: You are not evil because you want to be compensated for your time and effort. Got it? Good.
Yes, I've been releasing e-books faster than Jerry puts the smack-down on Tom. I have a pool of over 100 published short stories, some of them smelly as last week's garbage (don't worry about seeing them again) and several unpublished shorts which were "that close". Why let them fester on my hard drive? It's taken me years to arrive at this point. Years and thousands upon thousands of words.
After my current round of edits on The Sons of Chaos and the Desert of the Dead, I'm going to put the finishing touches on Borrowed Saints for a May release. I'm toying with the idea of writing a House Eaters sequel this summer.
The bottom line: I want to be read. I might be able to spread some good fortune to my family. Sounds like goals are meeting reality, right?
I just wish I would have started six months ago.
What are you waiting for?
17 Comments on What I Should Have Done Six Months Ago, last added: 4/25/2011
Exactly! Congrats on making the decision. You're right - .35 a copy isn't much but it garners potential readers. Keep multiplying the novels and it builds. And no, I haven't waited. :) I've .35 my way to over $500 last year. That may be only a month's worth of groceries, but it's better than sitting on my hard drive.
Rings true enough. I'm slogging away in hopes of having something publishable. Don't dare rush into anything, as I'd hate to put out a shoddy piece of work or naively sabotage my efforts on a good piece of work.
Congrats on the sales! I hope they go up and up. Every time I think about self-publishing, I dread figuring out the formatting and covers and so forth. Other than that, I'm starting to think more kindly on it. It's certainly better than letting stuff sit on my hard-drive forever.
At the risk of sounding like a massive snob, you are precisely the person I want doing this, too. I keep trying to push the point (to the naysayers) that the independent spirit, the ability for authors who don't fit into some BOX to get their stuff out there is SO FUNDAMENTAL to the exchange of good ideas--fictional or otherwise (what's one but a way of exploring the other?).
I'm so, so happy to know that your sales are on the rise. Like, for you, for me, for the whole effing world of publishing. This is what it's about.
The greatest thing about the e-book revolution is that your stories never have to languish. Personally, I'm still pushing all my work at the traditional markets first; but with the knowledge and know-how to do it by myself if a particularly story runs out of markets.
Katey - Thanks, Katey. If all I do is stir the pot a little, I've done my job.
Thanks, Cate. (I try, too)
Daniel - The technology has really made it work. The best gatekeepers have always been readers.
Ben - And I encourage you to do so. I'm still trying the market for short stories. Most (75% or so) of my collections are previously published work. Kindle is just placing those stories in front of more eyeballs.
I can second that. While I don't think my numbers are rising as significantly as yours on a monthly basis, I can see a definite upward curve in week by week sales. I think your "experiment" back up Mr. Konrath's belief of success also hinging on how much virtual shelf space you are occupying. I have also started looking closely at a few things that were "that close" (including a novella) to try to take up some more of that same shelf space.
Ricky - I'll be following your journey as well--best of luck.
Barry - Bottom Feeders is at 26 copies for the month (as of just now). Not burning up the world, but I might hit 100 overall. I can't complain about that.
Every time I read one of your posts, I get a little kick in the ass to keep writing. If my ebook does half as well as your have, I'll be uber-impressed. It's all about gaining readers. After all, what is a writer creating if no one ever discovers it?
Here’s my selection of interesting (and sometimes amusing) posts about writing from the last week: Taking a Good Idea and Elevating It(Nathan Bransford) [Jon’s pick of the week]
If you want a glimpse into one possible future for LIS education, look no further than Scott Nicholson’s free Gaming in Libraries course, running now on a computer near you. It makes use of a fascinating mix of tools that together let anyone participate at whatever level works for them, even after this iteration ends.
Now he’s one-upping himself and running a 30-day, introductory course about gaming in libraries. Syracuse and WISE consortium students can take the course for credit, but anyone, anywhere can watch the daily video lectures he’s posting on YouTube and discuss them in the class community on ALA Connect (you have to join the community to see the discussions, but anyone, including non-ALA members, can do that). The syllabus is available as a Google doc, and you can even download the videos from the Internet Archive to take them on the go. So far, the videos have ranged between about 5-17 minutes, so they’re easy to watch and digest.
He’s already up to video lecture #10 (I’ve been remiss in not posting about this before now), and you can join the other 66 participants in the Connect community to discuss your thoughts about the content, including some videos by guest lecturers. In fact, this is one of the most active communities on Connect right now since it’s such a hot topic.
In fact, now is a good time to jump in, because starting with lecture #9 (posted yesterday), Scott is breaking new ground by offering new insight and specific strategies for planning gaming programs in libraries.
“This is a new conceptual model I’ve developed over the last few months on how to look at the library gaming experience, and then I use that model to create five gaming archetypes, into which you can classify all (I hope) library gaming experiences. The archetypes then form a bridge between library goals and specific game choices.
Watch for yourself and see what you think. Whether you’re new to the topic or an expert advising others, the new model alone is worth it (I love that it’s called SNAKS). With a total cost of $0, you’ve got nothing to lose, and if your library’s gaming program is relatively young, the content from the course will be invaluable for you. I hope other LIS professors begin teaching Scott’s model when they talk about gaming, and libraries that use it should report back about how it works so that we can begin building resources around it. Luckily, Scott is writing a book that will include information about the model, but I’m sure he’ll be reporting further research around it via the Library Game Lab.
For the past two years, Dr. Scott Nicholson at the Syracuse iSchool has conducted an annual census to help us learn more about libraries offering gaming services. I can’t tell you how valuable that data has been when I get calls from reporters, so I’m hoping you’ll help us continue to build this archive of information.
If your library offered any type of gaming program last year (board games, video games, computer games, etc.), pleasefill out the survey before it closes on May 31. It’s open to all types of libraries, and Scott will publish the results for everyone, just as he’s done for the last two years.
This is an annual survey done by Dr. Scott Nicholson, associate professor at Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies, and is designed to collect information about gaming programs run in libraries in 2007. This can be any type of game (board, card, video, chess, puzzle) at any type of library (public, school, academic, or special). The focus is on gaming programs, where the libraries schedule an event of some type featuring games, and on gaming programs that were run sometime during the 2007 calendar year.
Questions? Contact Scott Nicholson at [email protected]. I can tell you that having this kind of data has been crucial when talking with reporters, so I hope you’ll help and fill out the form for this year’s survey. Thanks!
“[Scott] Nicholson, an associate professor in the School of Information Studies, recently received a $5,000 grant from Gaylord Brothers, a library supply company located in Syracuse, to begin building a portable library game lab. Money from the grant will specifically go toward purchasing projectors, consoles, screens, accessories and games, Nicholson said.
‘This was a great way for Gaylord to support Syracuse University, the community and gaming libraries in general,; said Henry Orr, director of business development at Gaylord. He also noted that the credit for the grant should go to Gaylord’s President and CEO Guy Marhewka….
Nicholson’s goal is to explore the implications of offering gaming as a library service. Additionally, he hopes to study the entire gaming experience and how gaming will change the attitudes of students toward the library.
‘Gaming activities are like the new coffee shop in Bird Library; it’s not about the coffee so much as the social atmosphere it creates,’ Nicholson said….
‘Gaming is currently the wild, wild west of libraries,’ Orr said….
The Library Game Lab project will occur in three main phases, depending on the availability of outside funding. Nicholson has been working on the first phase of the project for the past year, working with students to survey libraries and how they view gaming….
The project’s current phase, to create a portable library game lab, will be followed by the next phase, to increase awareness about the project.
‘With this project, I will travel to library conferences and expose librarians to the spectrum of games, talk about what types of games are best for certain demographic groups with libraries and collect more data about what is happening,’ Nicholson said.
The third and final phase of the project will be to set up research projects, which will explore how the different types of games relate to different types of people.
‘This will be the ongoing life of the lab - to analyze new games and game types, to recommend the best games for different goals and demographic groups and to work with industry to help them create gaming experiences more suited for a library/school setting,’ Nicholson said.
Nicholson said as soon as he is able to secure more funding to build the program, he hopes to start aggressively drawing in students to help with the project. So far he has relied heavily on volunteers to help with research and promoting the program. In addition, Nicholson is teaching a graduate-level iSchool class in May on gaming in libraries, and it has already received considerable student interest.
There has been both support and criticism from the Syracuse community at large regarding the Library Game Lab, but Nicholson said the key is getting people to understand that this is not about ‘first person shooters,’ but rather about ‘understanding how gaming works as a service and how libraries and schools can be engaged.’ ” [The Daily Orange]
Don't ask me why I'm posting this here, rather than at my gardening blog, the Herbarium. But here it is. Today I needed to put together a riddle, which is a sort of filter for soil. You put coarse soil in the top, move it about a bit on a grating of a particular size, and the better material falls beneath. This one is made of an old wire fruit-gathering basket, with one-inch fence wire on top, and one-eighth inch hardware cloth upon that.
The fine hardware cloth on top can be removed to make a coarser or finer filter as needed. The upper level of cloth is held on with white duct tape--quick and easy. This size filter gives very nice soil for potting or any other garden use, though it takes a bit of time to get more than a gallon.
Today’s Useful Bit:What species of fish is a sardine?
Actually, there is no such fish as a sardine; the term refers only to an end-product, those little finned objects one finds in flat cans at the grocery.Sardine is a word for a processed product whose raw material is different kinds of fish, among them sprats, young European pilchards and round herrings.In other words, your sardine is just the name for one or another small-boned fish in oil (or mustard sauce—those are very good, too).The term is supposed to have arisen because it was first applied to the little fish caught off the isle of Sardinia, which, as you surely know, is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean, the first being another place entirely.
Important:Sardines are prone to despair if they are left alone.The CODEX STANDARD FOR CANNED SARDINES requires that at least two be put in each can, in order to qualify for legal sale.After all, nobody wants a depressed sardine in their lunch.
Sean Platt and David Wright led our first science fiction self-published bestsellers list with the serialized post-apocalyptic novel, Yesterday’s Gone..jpeg?picon=3626)
Exactly! Congrats on making the decision. You're right - .35 a copy isn't much but it garners potential readers. Keep multiplying the novels and it builds.
And no, I haven't waited. :) I've .35 my way to over $500 last year. That may be only a month's worth of groceries, but it's better than sitting on my hard drive.
Best post I've read, EVER, on self-publishing. Congratulations on all your success, Aaron! And you too, Laura - you both deserve it!
Congrats Laura! Yes, it's much better than gathering virtual dust.
Caty - I owe it all to Mr. Nicholson. ;) Thanks!
Rings true enough. I'm slogging away in hopes of having something publishable. Don't dare rush into anything, as I'd hate to put out a shoddy piece of work or naively sabotage my efforts on a good piece of work.
"What are you waiting for?"
Good question. Next week - edits. It's time for me to get something bigger than a short published.
Gef - There's some pretty lousy stuff out there that has, somehow, not sabotaged its author. I don't claim to understand it.
Natalie - The world is ready!
Congrats on the sales! I hope they go up and up. Every time I think about self-publishing, I dread figuring out the formatting and covers and so forth. Other than that, I'm starting to think more kindly on it. It's certainly better than letting stuff sit on my hard-drive forever.
Thanks, K.C. There are some really inspirational writers at Kindleboards. It's a different mindset--but, then again, it's a different world.
At the risk of sounding like a massive snob, you are precisely the person I want doing this, too. I keep trying to push the point (to the naysayers) that the independent spirit, the ability for authors who don't fit into some BOX to get their stuff out there is SO FUNDAMENTAL to the exchange of good ideas--fictional or otherwise (what's one but a way of exploring the other?).
I'm so, so happy to know that your sales are on the rise. Like, for you, for me, for the whole effing world of publishing. This is what it's about.
"Do you read everything you buy?" Not always all the way through, but I try everything--eventually.
So glad to hear your sales are on an upswing. :D
Hi Aaron,
Great to hear the units are shifting, as goes the lingo. I definitely agree with you--why wait when the technology is here, and will only improve?
Time to get some content out there...
The greatest thing about the e-book revolution is that your stories never have to languish. Personally, I'm still pushing all my work at the traditional markets first; but with the knowledge and know-how to do it by myself if a particularly story runs out of markets.
Katey - Thanks, Katey. If all I do is stir the pot a little, I've done my job.
Thanks, Cate. (I try, too)
Daniel - The technology has really made it work. The best gatekeepers have always been readers.
Ben - And I encourage you to do so. I'm still trying the market for short stories. Most (75% or so) of my collections are previously published work. Kindle is just placing those stories in front of more eyeballs.
That's the way to re-bound after our publisher went south. Good Luck To Ya.
I can second that. While I don't think my numbers are rising as significantly as yours on a monthly basis, I can see a definite upward curve in week by week sales. I think your "experiment" back up Mr. Konrath's belief of success also hinging on how much virtual shelf space you are occupying. I have also started looking closely at a few things that were "that close" (including a novella) to try to take up some more of that same shelf space.
Congrats on the sales! Onward and upwards!
Ricky - I'll be following your journey as well--best of luck.
Barry - Bottom Feeders is at 26 copies for the month (as of just now). Not burning up the world, but I might hit 100 overall. I can't complain about that.
Every time I read one of your posts, I get a little kick in the ass to keep writing. If my ebook does half as well as your have, I'll be uber-impressed. It's all about gaining readers. After all, what is a writer creating if no one ever discovers it?