Category Archives: Blog Post
Daily Update: The writing on Of Gnomes and Dwarves begins
Yesterday was a good writing day. Almost 2000 words written. I like days like that. I got a tiny tiny start on Of Gnomes and Dwarves, but stopped. As soon as I realized that I didn’t want to main city to be named Wellshire anymore, I got a tiny bit stuck. So I’m going to spend a little time getting the names all in place, but the character descriptions filled out, make sure I have everything in place that might slow me down. I know the plot very well for the story.
Of Gnomes and Dwarves was the first book I had ever written. I started it in 1988 and had many false starts with it until 1997 when I actually got it done. Then I spent a couple years revising that story. It was a painfully long time to write a book, but I didn’t have the level of commitment that I have now. I also didn’t have the writing skill that I have now. I’ve written so many more words and I feel that I can now write the story that I always intended to write.
Maus, Willie, and Slick will finally see life. Reeg, Dorg, Hermin, and the entire cast of characters are just waiting for me to put pen to paper and write once more. When I had written these books (yes books) before I had written them at break-neck speed. I didn’t get them out they way I wanted. The characters took shape, yes. The story took shape, yes. But my voice wasn’t there. My storytelling wasn’t at the level I needed it to be to tell the story in the way that I wanted to tell it.
I feel I’m there now.
It’s not that I’ve run out of ideas. It’s not that I think Of Gnomes and Dwarves will be a multi-billion dollar best seller. It’s that this story is a very personal journey. I know I’ve got a great concept for the story. I’ve got fun characters. The pacing will be appropriate. I’m better at showing vs telling (something I still see in novels that will drive me nuts). I know now how to avoid the data dumps and tell the story that will provide the background of the characters. I’ll be able to get inside their heads as much as they’ve been inside my head over the years.
For 25 years I’ve had them all running around inside my head screaming, yelling, fighting, and waiting for their story to be told. I have a good idea how many books it will span. I have a majority of the storyline already plotted out for the books. I’ve got backgrounds for each character. Each event will build on a past that I’ve already laid out in my notes and build on the future of the characters. It’s all primed and ready for me to go.
So what’s been the hold up?
All these years I’ve listened to the saying “Don’t write about your D&D characters and adventures.” I’m breaking that rule now only in the fact that I’m putting my D&D Characters into a story. Not just a story, but a fantasy novel. The novel could happen with any group of characters. The fact that I already have personalities for my characters will just give the story that little bit of life that it has been lacking. Knowing how to get inside the characters heads and tell third person focused narrative will allow me to let the characters tell the story instead of me telling the story with the characters. I want to become invisible and let the story come through.
To say I’m a little bit excited about this project is an understatement. I’m convinced that I will finally be able to get this story out of my head. After all these years and all this time I’ve spent writing I will be revisiting a world that I left behind and haven’t visited in nearly fifteen years. I wrote four books and trunked them all. They’re now out of the trunk and will serve as notes, a plot outline, a guide. Little else. The writing isn’t terrible, but it’s not the voice I want to use to tell these stories. I can do better. I will be better. And the stories will be better for it.
I’m off to play softball today. I did start collecting duck pictures. I’ll get to posting those as soon as I write my duck post.
Until Tomorrow!
WOO WOO!
Daily Update: Organization
I’m not the most organized person in the world. I let my personal inbox overflow (I think I have over 2700 emails in there). Tools can be found in drawers, bowls, and boxes. My workspace is cluttered with things that I rarely use and somehow just never put away. My clothes rarely find the laundry basket and instead reside on my closet floor (the laundry basket is in my wife’s closet).
But not when it comes to my work files. I’m almost annoyingly organized. I have two hundred emails in my inbox, but only because I haven’t gone through them in a couple months. I could easily reduce this down to 50 in a matter of minutes, I just need to move emails into the proper folders for the given project. All of my programming files are organized into folders for different file types, related sites, and on and on.
I’ve taken some of this organization to my writing files as well and Scrivener has done wonders to help be be even more organized. Rather than have a folder with all my short stories, I have one scrivener file. Rather than have multiple books in a series in a folder. I have one Scrivener file. Rather than have one huge file with all my chapters in it, a separate file for notes, research, character sketches…Yes, I have one Scrivener file.
I’ve said before that Scrivener has changed how I write. I still type like a madman and let the story drag me along for the ride, but I know have an easier way to keep track of characters, places, events, personal items. I can set a word target for a chapter or scene and see if I get there. I’ve had a blast keeping track of all sorts of different things.
I’ve also got my spread sheet that I just love. I’ve organized my daily word counts broken down by blog posts and fiction. I can see at a glance how I’m doing. Where I’m at with my goal. How many days ahead or behind am I. How many words ahead or behind am I (for the record, I’m 20 days ahead of schedule for 2012). I’ve plotted out fiction word counts for JuNoWriMo and NaNoWriMo. I’ve plotted out how many words I need to write a day to hit my annual goal.
I had decided that at the beginning of the year I needed to treat my writing more as a part time job rather than just a “Hey, I think I should write something” and I’ve written nearly 200,000 words so far. I’ve done that by organizing my writing life rather than letting it just be like the clothes on my closet floor; something I’ll get to later. I’ve made myself accountable to more people than just myself. There are a lot more words to come out of me. Not because I want to be a writer or even want to be a published author. That’ll happen in its own time. But because I feel the need to create. And not just create stories. That’s the easy part. But to create stories that people want to read. Stories that keep people coming back. Told in a manner that people can appreciate.
Getting organized has helped me in getting a lot of words written not because I created a spreadsheet or started using scrivener. Rather because I could now see where I wanted to take my writing beyond the story.It’s made me open my eyes and see that I can write a lot more than I ever thought I could if I just got myself organized, sat down, and wrote.
Sure I get distracted by shiny things (like yesterday’s post about a new mouse I’ll be purchasing soon). That’s going to happen. The trick is to try and free yourself of the guilt and know that you have a job to do and you need to get yourself to sit down and actually do it. I also have a job, a kid in volleyball, a wife, friends. I do a lot of other things besides writing, but I make time to get the words out.
I’ve organized myself so that when I sit down to write, it’s as simple as opening scrivener and BAM! Start typing. I’ve got my notes, my character specs, my plot outline all in one, easy-to-reach place. No more looking through notebooks, folders, files, or even scrolling through the WIP trying to find that name, the color of the dress, or anything like that. I know where it all is and it’s drastically sped up the process.
Sure it took some getting used to. Everything does. But now that I’m five months into 2012, I’ve done a little house cleaning every day to get to where I am and now writing isn’t a chore that I do once in a while. It’s a joy I do every day. Yes, I said a joy not a job. I still treat it like a part-time job insofar as I need to sit every day possible ans write something, but it’s not a labor it once was.
Take a little time to get organized. I’ll go find some pictures of ducks to start posting. Then I’ll write about ducks.
Until Tomorrow!
WOO WOO!
Daily Update: Mouse Hunt 2012
As I said yesterday I’m on a mouse hunt. This will be a reward for getting to the halfway point of my goal for the year (225,000 words is the halfway point). Not only that, I’m currently 20 days ahead of schedule. I’m very proud of that. This mouse hunt is to make my right hand more productive. I want/need more buttons than my current mouse offers to allow me more flexibility and to one click tasks that currently require multiple keystrokes and mouse click combinations. As any good gamer knows, the less clicks, the quicker you can get things done.
This will be my initial thoughts on a new mouse I will be purchasing. If you have feedback on any of these mice, I’d be glad to hear them. If you’re not interested in mice at all, you may want to skip this post. There will be more tomorrow on me, my writing, and ducks.
Onto the Mice:
My current mouse is the iHome Five-Button Cordless Laser Mouse. This is a great mouse. I’ve had no complains. The battery life is incredible. It has an on/off switch. It’s got the (now standard) five button cifiguration (actually 6, but one is hard to press on the fly) plus a DPI switch from lots of DPI to little DPI. It also has some nice software to configure all the buttons except for the wheel tilt. I’ve reprogrammed two of the buttons but would like more flexibility with my mouse. http://www.amazon.com/iHome-Five-Button-Cordless-Laser-IH-M827ZB/dp/B0046XVW7C/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1337271201&sr=1-1
Fist up (and probably my favorite choice) is the SteelSeries WoW Cataclysm. This thing has a whole lot of programmable buttons. It’s got five thumb buttons, three index finger buttons, three middle finger buttons, one ring finger button, DPI button, and the mouse wheel plus click. I’m not sure if it has tilt click or not. It also allows you to take multiple configurations as well as onboard memory to save the current configuration. That means I could drag this thing from one computer to another and not have to have a profile on each computer. I really like that. Only complaint I’ve seen about this one is the size and looking at the videos I don’t really think that’ll be an issue. http://www.amazon.com/SteelSeries-World-Warcraft-Cataclysm-Gaming/dp/B004GZ2RCY/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1337271538&sr=1-1
Next is the SteelSeries World of Warcraft Legendary. This is considered the smaller brother to the Cataclysm. It has a couple fewer buttons, but to be honest, I’m not a fan of the look of the mouse. I’m sure it works great, but the big old WoW logo on it is a turn off for me. I don’t think I’d want to look at that all day while I’m working (like I said, I want this mouse for work AND play). It’s got a similar layout to the Cataclysm and is slightly cheaper. http://www.amazon.com/SteelSeries-World-Warcraft-Legendary-Gaming/dp/B005L38QHA/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1337271538&sr=1-3
The Cyborg R.A.T. 7 (or 9 if you want wireless). This one looks to be a highly configurable mouse with so many options, styles, adjustments. I could probably spend a week just getting used to all the different ways to attach all the pieces and weights. The software to program it looks easy to use. It’s got a scroll wheel and a thumb wheel as well. This one looks weird and I love that about it. This thing looks CRAZY! It’s also highly customizable, but with fewer buttons. http://www.amazon.com/Cyborg-T-7-Gaming-Mouse-MAC/dp/B003CP0BHM/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1337271735&sr=1-1
The Cyborg M.M.O. 7. This thing is intended for MMO players. It’s got a LOT of buttons just like the Cataclysm. It’s also higlhy modifiable just like the R.A.T 7. The biggest difference? The price. It’s nearly twice the price as the Cataclysm. Other than the price, I love everything about this one. If it were a tad cheaper it’d be a top contender. Heck, it still might be. We’ll just have to wait and see. http://www.amazon.com/Cyborg-M-M-O-7-Gaming-CCB437130002-04/dp/B006LVZEN0/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1337271921&sr=1-1
The Corsair Vengeance M90 looks to be good competition for the Cataclysm based on stats alone. The biggest downside I see is that a majority of the buttons are thumb buttons. The layout looks better than other mice with multiple thumb buttons, but I’m a ‘claw’ mouser so I don’t want to have to rely on my thumb agility for every mouse click. It does look like a great mouse though. http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-Performance-Gaming-CH-9000002-NA/dp/B005QUQP8A/ref=sr_1_23?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1337272045&sr=1-23
The Logitech G500 looks like it could be a good, solid mouse. I’m sure it is. It doesn’t have as many buttons as I’m looking fro though. That’s the only draw back I see. http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-G500-Programmable-Gaming-Mouse/dp/B002J9GDXI/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1337272188&sr=1-1
The Logitech G700, on the other hand, has more buttons and is wireless. Both pluses. I’m sure I could get used to the button placement. It’s also a very nice looking mouse. It has five more buttons than my current mouse (possibly six more). I’ll need to read more about this one before I make a final decision. http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Wireless-Gaming-Mouse-G700/dp/B003VAM32E/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1337272188&sr=1-3
On first glance the Razer Naga looks like it’s be perfect for me. It has a 12 key keypad on the thumb. That should be great, right? Like I said about the M90, I’m a claw mouser and I don’t think that many thumb buttons will work for me. I love the grid, it’s be great to program it, but in real world use, I don’t think this would work out for me. I like the G700 and the Cataclysm where the buttons are more spread out. http://www.amazon.com/Razer-Naga-Special-Molten-RZ01-00280500-R3/dp/B004AM5RAW/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1337272376&sr=1-2
Finally there is the Razer Naga Hex. Much like the Razer Naga, a majority of the buttons are thumb buttons, but in a much better layout. I like that. This makes it far more desirable than the Naga as I would get confused with a grid layout of buttons. A nice looking mouse as well and I’m sure it’s quite comfortable. http://www.amazon.com/Razer-RZ01-00750100-R3U1-Naga-Hex-Gaming/dp/B006W3ZXEW/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1337272376&sr=1-4
So I’ve got a LOT to think about. I know that no matter which mouse I choose, I’ll be getting a batter mouse than the one I currently have. It’s a lot to think about and if you have thoughts, feel free to drop them into the comments. Help me figure out what prize I’ll get for hitting 225,000 words this year.
Until Tomorrow!
WOO WOO!
Daily Update: I feel like I’m running out of things to say.
Today I sit here looking at a blank page. Words escape me. Some would call this writer’s block. I just feel like my brain is empty. It’s not that I don’t want to write, it’s that I’m not able to think of what to type. I figured I’d type up a daily update and see if words begin to flow. Some times that’s all it takes is a little kick to get things moving. Ignore email for a moment. Ignore the twitter feed for a moment. Look away from the comments on those blog posts.
It’s not that I haven’t been writing words. I’ve done a great deal of work today. I took a break intending to write this blog post and perhaps get a little written in Golden West and all I could do was stare at the screen and wait for something to fall out of my brain.
I’m pushing 200,000 words on the year. When I hit 225,000 I’m going to get myself a techy gift. I like to do this for myself and I feel the halfway point is a good time to do that. You may ask yourself what I’m thinking about getting. I’ve been asking myself the same thing.
I’m a mouse fan. I’m not a big fan of ‘hotkeys’ of key combinations. Yes, I know them. Yes, I use them. But I want a mouse with a lot of buttons. One that’ll allow me to do multiple things with my right hand instead of typing. Yes, I currently have a mouse with two regular buttons, a scroll wheel (that clicks and tilts), the back and forward buttons and even a button above the scroll wheel. There is a DPI button but I cannot modify that one. The mouse I have is the iHome (I forget the model) and it was $40. It’s a very nice mouse. Lightweight, cordless. It’s a good mouse.
I want something better. So I’ve been on the hunt for a mouse with multiple buttons. Yes, more buttons. I want a mouse I can program so rather than do all the hotkey combinations I need to do, I can just click and go. I know having a mouse with more buttons will take some getting used to, but I’m prepared for the challenge. I have a few I’m looking at, but rather than cloud your thinking with that I’m looking at, I’m curious what others who have multi-button mouses are using and why. I’m a programmer, not a gamer, but I’d like a mouse that would work for both (eventually)
If you aren’t using a standard mouse and you have one with more than your normal share of buttons, what is it and why did you chose the one you have? How do you like it? Would you suggest that mouse? Does it have multiple profiles available? It is easily programmable? Are the keys easy to get to? Is there a steep learning curve or can you just plug, program, and go? Can I easily program a macro ‘on the fly’?
Like I said, I’m at 192,000 words and when I get to 225,000 I’m going to be getting a new mouse. I’ll take pictures, leave a review, post my thoughts and opinions on it. It’ll be just like a book review. What I like and why, what I don’t like and why. This is a present to myself. I’m not shy about price if the product is a good fit for what I’m looking for.
Are you a mouse manufacturer? I’d be happy to do a review (I can also do a video review) if you send me a mouse. Again, I’m not an avid gamer, but I’d find a lot of other uses for a mouse being that I’m a programmer and speed is the key. How quickly and efficiently can it assist me with tasks I do over and over in a given day.
See, I’m now primed and ready to do more. I knew once I got started I’d be able to pound out some words. I think I’ll go pound out some more.
I didn’t post about ducks yet, did I?
Until Tomorrow!
WOO WOO!
Daily Update: A good day.
Yesterday I got some good writing done on Golden West. I’m only 1/3 of the way through the episode and already I know it’s going to be a great cliffhanger. With three under my belt, the episodes are off and writing themselves. In my mind I’m already thinking through the next episode as well as the next season.
This is something I brought up with Mike when he thought that perhaps Boyscouts of the Apocalypse might not go for a second season. We discussed that it would be find to change it out for another story. The same would work for Scott if he feels that his story doesn’t continue into a second season. Perhaps he can use the same universe with a new character. The three of us will have to have a meeting soon and talk.
Speaking of talking, Mike and I did talk last night. As I’ve done to him many times he had to delay, delay, and delay some more. I’ve done that to him more than once. I took advantage of the time and got my writing done. I managed nearly 2500 words yesterday even through multiple interruptions. I’m going to try that again today though I doubt it’ll happen. Tonight I have a lacrosse game for the Millican’s son to go to as well as my favorite daughter having volleyball practice. Both are at the same school so I’ll be bopping back and forth between the two. It’ll be a hoot.
Work might actual have a slow period. That’ll be a plus before things ramp back up next week and the week after. I’ll be installing one project, ramping up for a new project, continuing with some lease roll projects. All this project management has helped me get a better focus of my time and usually helps with planning out my day and even when interrupted, getting back on the horse where I was and continue. Be it with a piece of code, a piece of story, of just getting a thought completed.
I know for some writers interruptions can be the death of flow. Last night I had many such occasions, but I’ve gotten to the point where I can brush them off and dive back in. It’s sort of like when someone wakes me up from a dead sleep. I can wake up quickly, do something, lay back down and I’m asleep before you know it. Others get woken up at night and have difficulty getting back to sleep. The same thing seems to work with my flow. As I’m typing this post, my favorite daughter it telling me about her day. I’ll stop, look at her. Listen. Then go back to my post. Sure it’s distracting, but life won’t always give you a quiet three hours a day to sit and get your writing done.
I’m going to try and take advantage of a little of this quiet time and get some more done on Golden West before practice and the lacrosse game. Last time we went to the game ducks flew over our heads and it reminded me that I need to get that duck post written. Soon. Very Soon.
Until Tomorrow!
WOO WOO!
Daily Update: What a weekend.
This weekend was Mother’s day. I called my mom and we talked for a good long time. My mom owns a bar in the back woods on Minnesota so if you live in that area, let me know and I can tell you how to get there. She is AWESOME! My brother brought friends home from the Navy and she had the distinct pleasure of making sailors blush. She is a woman who’ll say what’s on her mind and not hold back. Ever. She might bite her lip or wish she’d not said something once its out, but she’s not going to hold back. You want her opinion, just ask.
I called my step-mom. She is also an amazing woman. Her and my father started up Murdock Laboratory twice. They moved from Minnesota, to Colorado, back to Minnesota, back to Colorado where she now resides. Since my father passed away she has taken on the running of the household and business on her own. The strength she’s had to continue I find admirable. When I used to call home I’d talk to my dad and I never really got to know her. I’m glad to say that I’ve not allowed her to unnoticed, but I have let her know that I’m sorry if she ever felt unappreciated by me. Since my father’s passing we’ve become much closer and I’m glad for that.
I also called my brother’s wife. He was in school on Mother’s day so they had celebrated the night before. She is also an amazing woman. My brother met her in Japan on one of his many tours over there. She made the difficult decision to come back to the United States to be with him leaving her family back in Japan. She’ll be taking a 10 hour flight back there for a month visit with their two children. I don’t know if I could do a 10 hour flight with a 6 year old boy and a 3 year old girl. She is a brave, brave woman.
Saturday we went with the Millicans to Old Town. We had a great time going through a little market that had one of the side streets closed off. I wanted to buy a Godzilla sculpture made from wire, gears, chains, and spark plugs. I wish I had gotten a picture of it. The artist had a number of other cool sculptures also made from similar items, but none as cool as Godzila.
We ate at the Old Town Cafe. A wonderful place to eat. I had lunch there with CJ and Debbie when they came to town last year for Comic Con. I’ve never had a bad meal there. The hand made tortillas are just incredible. A little butter and yum yum yum.
Sunday was spent with the wife’s family. It was pot luck. We brought clam chowder (and didn’t bring any leftovers back home). There was a lot of food and we only got a little left over chicken to bring back home. Everyone showed up and it was great. I had a beer for the first time in months. My mother-in-law (another incredible woman who raised 7 children) was doing great. All my wife’s sisters (and their children and grand children) all came over. Yes, great grand kids were there.So we had four generations from my wife’s family there. It’s impressive when everyone shows up.
I had no intention of doing any writing this weekend. None at all. I did my very short blog posts and that was it. I did get some reading done and I need to do a review of Flash Gold. I picked up this novella for free. I’ve only read a few free books I’ve picked up and this one was great! Watch for the review in the coming days. I also picked up The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories(http://www.amazon.com/The-Weird-Compendium-Strange-ebook/dp/B006TXZD3G/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2). This is 750,000 words of fiction goodness that I’ll be dipping into time and again over a very long period of time. Definitely not something I’ll get through in one sitting. I also picked up a few more books. I’ll have to post what I have on my kindle app one day.
I did also get through a terrible free story that I picked up. I would review it, but it was just awful and I have no desire to admit that I’d actually read the entire thing. It was a short story, but between the bad writing, the foul language on every page, and a story that really didn’t get me to like any of the characters, I don’t think this one deserves my time to review.
So it was a great weekend. I hope you and your family had a great weekend as well. I hope you called your mom (if she’s still with us).
I need to get to some more editing and some more writing. New stories should be coming from me soon! I’ll write about ducks tomorrow if I can find the time.
Until Tomorrow!
WOO WOO!
Daily Update: Mother’s Day
Today was an awesome day spent with family. I called my mom, step-mom, and sister-in-law then spent the rest of the day with the wife’s family. It was great to see everyone there.
Very short post again today as I ate too much and I am crazy sleepy.
Until Tomorrow!
WOO WOO!
Daily Update: Jack Kane Edits are done
Last night I had a marathon of editing and I got through the rest of Jack Kane. I got through the last third of the book and my oh my does my brain still feel like mush. Not in a bad way. More like the way when you decide to walk for the first time in months and you feel wiped out but there’s the surge of endorphins that makes you feel elated. I’m riding that kind of high today.
What Mike and I created together is a fun, fast-paced book. It’s still got a couple of holes that Mike and I will likely pass back and forth and fill in, but over all it’s a fun story. A little more polish and we’ll get it sent off to beta readers, some editing friends, and then it’ll be the big agent hunt. Our intention is to find an agent or publisher for this book. We’ve already talked that one through.
We’ve both read and re-read all the talk of going Indie, contracts, royalty rates, and the like. At this point in our careers it’s a matter of gaining momentum. Once we have that momentum, there’s nothing wrong with creating another property and going Indie. It’s a matter of keeping an eye on the contracts to make sure all the clauses are in order. I also have friends that know contracts and have offered to give them the once over to make sure we’re not signing over rights that we should retain.
I was going to write a long post about “To Indie or Not to Indie” but I will write that when my brain isn’t as mushy as it currently is. I tried to read a little before I went to bed and I could barely keep my eyes open. I also slept in until nearly 9AM. That hasn’t happened in a long time and it felt great. Nearly 12 hours of sleep. After the week I had and getting through the edits of Jack Kane, I think I earned that little nap.
Tomorrow is Mother’s Day. I don’t know when I’ll get around to my daily update so Happy Mother’s day to all you moms out there. I hope someone special in your life makes the day extra special for you.
Today is too beautiful of a day to stay inside. Tomorrow I’ll write about Mother’s Day. And Ducks.
Until Tomorrow!
WOO WOO!
Daily Update: The ebook pricing debate
It seems that every couple of months (sometimes monthly) a battle will rage about the pricing of ebooks. Because of the Department of Justice stepping in claiming that the Big 6 are doing bad things, price fixing, the agency model, and so many other terms, the internet is abuzz with information right now. Everyone has an opinion. Everyone is claiming that people want cheaper ebooks. People want to spend less money on books than what the Big 6 is charging. I keep hearing all this noise.
I’m subscribed to a lot of blogs and have done enough reading to formulate an opinion. I’ve even given myself time to digest all of this information to be able to form a coherent thought about all of this. Being that I’ve bought books for a good majority of my adult life (and enough of my teen life) I know enough about books and how much they cost. Do you want to know what I think about all of this?
People will pay what they’re going to pay.
It really is that simple. It doesn’t matter if an ebook is $14.99 or if it’s .99. It really doesn’t matter. People will pay what they’re going to pay. Let me explain
I’ve bought a lot of books. Boxes and boxes of books. I love to read. There are some authors (like Tad Williams) that I will buy the hardcover as soon as it is out and devour it. I’ve paid as much as $29.99 for a hard cover novel. It never bothered me. Other authors, let’s just take Piers Anthony as an example, I’ll pick up his books in trade paper back. The most I’ve paid for a Piers Anthony novel is around $6.99 or $7.99. The point is, the price isn’t what got me to make the purchase. The author is what got me to make the purchase.
But that’s physical books. Perhaps I’ve put more worth on having a physical copy, right? Well, let’s look at my buying as of late.
I’ve picked up a lot of free ebooks. I’ve read a couple. They’re alright. I’ve picked up a large number of .99 books. I’ve read a few. They’re also alright. I haven’t picked up a stinker of a .99 book yet because I’m picky. I’ve picked up a few stinker free ebooks and I can see why the person is giving them away. These make up less than half of what’s on my ereader at the moment. Most of what’s on my ereader? Samples and books over $4.99.
That’s right. I only have a few books in the $2.99 – $4.99 range. Why? I really like the authors and I wanted to get their novels. I will always buy a Stephen King novel. I love his writing even if Under the Dome left me underwhelmed with the ending. I still loved the characters, the incidents, the mystery. The ending just sucked but I still got my money’s worth. I’ve picked up 11.22.63 and the Wind Through the Keyhole. It doesn’t matter what the price it. I’ve got a few Mike Stackpole novels on there as well. Again, I’ll buy whatever he produces because I really enjoy his style of writing.
But let’s look at the samples. Do I only pick big 6 books? NO! I’ve got a lot of Nightshade books (bought some of them outright), I’ve got Apex books, Edge/Tesseracts, Pyr, and I do also have some Big 6 books. The publisher isn’t what’s driven me to purchase the books. It’s the author being out there, talking about their book. It’s me getting to know the person that wrote the novel, looking at the first few chapters in the sample and I’ll buy a copy. I’ve got Skalzi’s Redshirts on my reader. Fun stuff. I’ll be buying the book when it comes out. Doesn’t matter what the price is. I know I want to read this book. I’ve done this with many authors.
Beyond that, I’ve got Chuck Wendig’s Blackbirds also. Why? I’ve read his blog. I enjoy his writing style. I will pick up the next book I know even though I haven’t read the first. It didn’t matter what the price was. I wanted the book, I bought it.
You may think, “Well you must have a lot of extra money to buy all these books.” Not really. I don’t spend as much on books as you might think. I’ve gotten some book that I was waiting on when they were suddenly free on the Kindle. I’ve won a couple in giveaways. Some were dropped to .99 and I couldn’t pass up on that deal. I’ve even gotten a couple free because I blog and every once in a while I’ll do a book review. Give me a free book, I’ll review it. It’s the least I can do.
But my point is I’ve only a few times in my life cringed at book prices. You want to charge me $21.99 for an ebook? That’s pushing the limit a little too far. Unless it’s an omnibus with three or four novels. Then I’ll pick it up. I bought the Stieg Larsson books for $29.99. Why not. That’s three books. They’re getting great reviews. They seem to be worth the price. I’ve also picked up a trilogy for $2.99 because the premise sounded interesting.
I’ve bought books from people I follow on twitter. Why? They seems like interesting people and I like to support interesting people.I’ve got a few Scott Roche books on my ereader and I do need to get through them and review them. Same with Justin Macumber and Zoe Winters.
So where do I think books should be priced? Well, I think that depends. If you’re an indie author who’s got one or two books out, I wouldn’t hesitate to pick them up for .99. If you’ve got several books out then I wouldn’t be surprised to see them at $2.99 as I would think you’ve got more books out, you’re good at this writing thing. If you’re doing this for a living and making money and you’ve got a proven track record, I’d be more than happy to pay $5.99 and up for one of your works.
My point is it’s not the price that’s important or at stake here. It’s the author. Price for me depends on how established you are. Do I like what you’re doing and I’ll be willing to pay $12.99 or more for your new novel (like the next Wheel of Time book) or are you a brand new author who I’m willing to take a chance on? It’s not a hard and fast rule. You can’t put a line in the sand and say “No one will ever pay more than this” because you’ll be wrong. Sales figures prove that. Look at the Amazon top 100 and you’ll see prices all over the map. It’s something personal and something that each author needs to figure out for themselves. Just because J.A Konrath says “$2.99 is the golden price point for a book.” Doesn’t make it true. It only makes it true for him. It makes it true for people who’ve set their price at that level and had success.
What are your thoughts on ebook pricing? Let me know. I’d love to hear from you.
Tomorrow I’ll write about ducks
Until Tomorrow!
WOO WOO!
Daily Update: Feliz dia de las Madres
Today is Mother’s Day in Mexico. Yes, it’s not the same day as Mother’s Day in the US. It always catches me by surprise. If you’re Mexican (and you know it) I hope you had an awesome day!
My favorite daughter had her first day back at practice. You wouldn’t know that she missed three weeks of practice. She was back swinging and jumping and doing great!
Me? yeah, I’ll talk about me more tomorrow (and ducks).
Until Tomorrow!
WOO WOO!
