Upon the Wings of Greater Things
The creative endeavours of Starla Huchton
I know I said I was going to talk about editing next time, but after thinking about it for a few days, I thought there might still be some questions regarding hiring someone to do a cover for you. In the last post, I gave some tips on how to make the DIY method cheaper, but I felt like I needed to go into a little more detail about the process of working with someone else for the cover, especially for those just starting out.
Hey, guys! I’m very excited to be participating in the book tour for Pippa Jay’s When Dark Falls today. I know it’s been a while since I’ve given you a superhero fix, so if you’re looking for one, your search is over! Check this out: [Read more…]
Glad to see you guys are still with me! Today, in this little series on the cost/recoup of indie writing, we’re tackling covers. If you’re not sure what this is about, I’d suggest going back to the introduction of this series, and following up with the one I published last week.
So I introduced this series a little over a week ago, and I’m coming back to you with some preliminary data from my cost/recoup survey. Keep in mind that I’m pulling from a relatively small cross-section of the publishing writer population, so I don’t have access to huge amounts of data. For that, you should look up the Author Earnings Report headed by Hugh Howey, or look at findings from Digital Book World’s articles on past surveys they’ve conducted (they’re in the midst of collecting survey data again for those interested). I did take the DBW survey this morning, and after answering the questions, I was able to get a look at the collected responses, so I’ll include some of that here.
The last week I’ve had a Facebook feed filled with authors responding to/venting about complaints they’ve received in reviews or emails from readers. To add to that, I’ve gotten many messages or questions over the last year asking about why I write and advice for someone just starting out.
I think I’ve come up with a way to address some of these things, but I can’t do it all in one post. So, I’m going to start a little series of helpful (I hope) blog posts talking about things people should know before diving into this business (or looking down on indie authors).
Since the release of Shadows on Snow, one person after another has poked at me, asking to see a bit of the world through the lens of Leo’s perspective.
Well, I listened. I took suggestions from readers, narrowed it down to three choices, and set it to a vote. And then, I flipped the chosen scene.
So here it is, fresh from my fingertips for your eyeballs. Be warned: if you have not yet read Shadows on Snow, this will be spoilery for you. Go no further in this post unless you’re at least half-way through the book. If you like being spoiled, well, keep reading, I guess. Just don’t say that I didn’t warn you.
Catch you after the jump!
Wanna hear something cool? Shadows on Snow is still ranking, 10 days after release, in three different categories on Amazon. While that’s not long-term results, it’s a big thing for me. To date, my new releases have gotten a big bump on release day, then tend to fall away after three days or so. Yay for progress!
But that’s not really what this post is about, although it is related. How? I’m getting there.
I’m firmly convinced that the only reason this book has done so much is because of the people around me that have supported, shared, or otherwise helped out with Shadows on Snow. Today, I’m going to talk about that a little.
No, not THAT ‘F’ word.
The ‘F’ word that I’m talking about is one that appears in my Facebook and Twitter feeds every single day. It’s a word that polarizes, one that invokes revulsion and sometimes disturbingly violent behavior. It’s a word that makes people uncomfortable. It’s a powerful word. It’s a scary word.
It’s here! It’s here! OMG it’s release day!
Lots of awesome stuff is happening today. Ebooks are magically appearing on Kindles everywhere. The big Release Day Celebration is going to be a blast. And, of course, it’s blog tour time!
