Posted recently about the new Audible Plus subscription service. Also posted about hitting a new milestone: 20,000 Audiobooks Sold.
Posted recently about the new Audible Plus subscription service. Also posted about hitting a new milestone: 20,000 Audiobooks Sold.
No updates since Sept 24th between 2 websites. Do we have to pay you via patreon for updates now too?
ReplyDeleteIt's not an unfair question, but the answer is a resounding "No" - there's no need to "pay" for updates. However, I do need to qualify my response.
ReplyDeleteWhen I started on Patreon, one of the things I committed to was exclusive content for those who support me there. Ergo, there is material on my Patreon page which isn't available on my website(s). Tying into that equation is the fact that my titles are in Kindle Select. That means that the ebook can't be sold anywhere other than Amazon, and no more than 10% of the material can be posted online.
As you can imagine, this creates a bit of a quandary: If I post chapters from a work-in-progress on Patreon, I can't also post those on my website. In addition, I have to make sure that posting other material from that same WIP doesn't violate Amazon's 10% rule. (Trust me, I've gotten one of those nasty-grams from Amazon about [allegedly] violating Select terms, and they are no fun.)
Now, of course, if it's a WIP, it hasn't been published yet, so technically there's no violation of Select's terms. That said, I don't like the notion of having to go back later and delete posts in order to come into compliance. To me, that results in a website that looks odd, populated by a bunch of articles that consist solely of "Post Deleted by Author."
Also, I now find myself playing the role of comment-cop more and more. Basically, any halfway decent website is apparently a magnet for spam. I don't think visitors to the site see it, but I now get a ton of spammy comments - people posting about everything from vaping to CBD supplements to life-size "dolls" that you can "do anything with." Of course, I understand what they're doing - they're attempting to manipulate SEO algorithms and such. However, it leaves me with the unenviable task of going through all those comments and deleting them. (Today, for instance, there were over 400 of them that had piled up over the past few weeks.) And to be clear, I at least look at them all, because occasionally - buried in the middle - is a legitimate comment from a reader that warrants a response.
The easiet solution to that problem is to turn comments off. However, I love that readers have the ability to engage with me on the site, so that's not a viable option. Thus, for now, I'll suffer through, but it does take away from my ability to do other things.
In retrospect, I admittedly have been posting more to my Patreon page. However, I do intend to continue posting on my website(s), but - as noted above - there's more cherry-picking involved in that effort now than in the past, there's more work involved in keeping the site "clean" so-to-speak, and there are actually a lot of other moving parts that I haven't gone into because the discussion would take all day. Regardless, your question is timely in that I do have an excerpt that I had intended to post a few days ago, but time got away from me. We'll see if I can get an opportunity to post it today...
I'm not talking about an excerpt. I'm talking about just an update. What are you writing right now? How far along are you? When do you expect it to be done? Published?
DeleteYou want to give the excerpts only to the foolish people who wanna pay you for existing, fine. But I think those of us who actually support you by buying every book you put on Amazon deserve at least a 5 minute update post at least once a month right?
I appreciate your passion and candor, but I’d argue vehemently that no one supports me merely “for existing.” If you look at history, everyone from Shakespeare to Da Vinci had patrons, and it’s because of that patronage that we currently enjoy some of the greatest masterpieces of art and literature. Now, am I saying that I’m going to produce something on the level of The Bard, or the literary equivalent of the Mona Lisa? Not at all. But no one knew at the time that Shakespeare, Da Vinci, Michelangelo, etc. would create timeless classics. However, it wasn’t foolish for those who admired their work to offer them support, so I take issue with that label being applied to those who support me or any creator out there, because one of those people currently receiving patronage definitely IS the next iteration of Shakespeare or the Old Masters, and they deserve any support they’re given.
DeleteAs to updates, I’ve probably commented on my writing style before before, but it’s probably worth mentioning again. Writers typically fall into one of two categories when it comes to storytelling: plotters and pantsers. Plotters usually outline the entire story first, from beginning to end. Pantsers, on the other hand, kind of fly by the seat of their pants – they create the story as they go. I’m a pantser.
That said, I usually have a good deal of the story laid out in my head; however, as I’m writing, I usually get a myriad of ideas in terms of things to do with the plot, characters, and so on. As a result, the story often changes, sometimes drastically. Case in point: the first Kid Sensation book, “Sensation” – in its final form – is absolutely NOTHING like the story I initially intended to tell. If I could put them side-by-side, you would say they are two completely different books. Basically, the story often changes as I write it. But the final determinant as to what goes into a book usually depends on one question: Does this make the story better?
As to how this relates to updates, imagine that I say that a book is 80% complete, then a month later it’s still at 80%. On the surface, it sounds like I didn’t do anything. In truth, however, I might have incorporated some new ideas that make the book longer, or had to scrap/replace some scenes, and so on. In short, I’ve thought about stuff like having progress bars and such before, but – among other things – I’ve never been sure of how meaningful they are given my writing system. Nevertheless, you are correct in that I could undoubtedly do more from the standpoint of updates, and I’ll make a concerted effort in that regard.
Finally, thanks for being a reader. Please know that I’m grateful for your support, and – while we may be at odds on the subject of patronage – I was being sincere when I said that I appreciate your passion and candor.