Do I Stll Have Time to Read?

Of the many maxims that are proclaimed as being essential for success as an indie author, few are as commonly accepted as this: You need to write and publish a lot. 

Of course, that's a general statement, which means it will hold true for the vast majority of self- published writers. Naturally, there will be outliers, but few of us can count on being the next Andy 

  Weir and hitting it out of the park with a debut novel like The Martian. (And it looks like it's going to be a fantastic movie!) So where does that leave the rest of us?  Sitting in front of our computer screens, of course, banging away on the keyboard.

The thing is, though, none of us write in a vacuum.  The world doesn't stop spinning, time doesn't come to a halt, our lives aren't put on pause just because we're working on the Next Great American Novel.  That being the case, you have to accept the fact that you may have to miss some things.  Or more to the point, give up some things.  For me, it was television.

I freely admit it: I'm a TV junkie.  Even 10 or so years ago, when I had 300 channels and there was almost nothing good on, I was addicted to TV.  I've still got 300 channels, but now there's almost too much good stuff available to watch.  And I love it all, everything from Storage Wars to The Walking Dead, from Episodes to Game of Thrones.  And yet, I've essentially given it up.

I previously posted on this blog about how to become more productive, and one of the things I noted then was that the average American watches 34 hours of television per week.  It's essentially a second job. Thus, when I looked at where I could carve out more time for writing, easing up on my television habit was one of the first things to jump out at me. It wasn't easy, and sometimes - like now, during football season - it's still painful.  (My football viewing these days mainly consists of refreshing the Yahoo Sports page in order to update my fantasy football stats.) However, I think it's a worthwhile trade.  

Nevertheless, despite my noble sacrifice of the tube, it still feels like I should be finding more time to write.  But where to get it?  I've still got the day job, which I actually like and am well-compensated for (and that's a rare combination).  I've got a house full of kids doing various things: sports, scouting, music, etc. I've got a spouse who's made it clear that if I plan on staying married (at least to her), then there are going to be limits to how much of my day gets devoted to being an author.  Thus, after analyzing everything, it seems like the one area in which I've got disposable time, so to speak, is my leisure reading, 

Needless to say, I am loathe to give this up.  Reading has been one of my favorite pastimes for as long as I can remember. More to the point, my love of reading is one of the factors the motivated me to try my hand at writing (and also, in my opinion, one of the elements that has influenced my success).  So the question is: am I willing to give up my reading - even temporarily - in order to write more?  Or, put another way, given the volume of work I'd like to produce, do I still have time to read?

There's an old adage that I like to say to my wife whenever she mentions wanting to spend money on something we don't need: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.  Like the goose that laid the golden eggs, the current system is working for me, and leisure reading is a part of that system.  That being the case, I'm a little wary of changing it.  Sure, I could probably crank out more books if I spent a little less time engrossed in page-turners, but there's something to be said for stopping to smell the roses every now and then.  I really like writing, and I've been blessed to enjoy a small dollop of success as an author, but I feel that it's important to find and maintain a certain amount of equilibrium - a balance - between cranking out novels and engaging in the other things that bring me joy.  Ergo, with that in mind, I think I'll have to continue making time to read. I may write less than I would otherwise, but I believe I'll enjoy my success as a writer more in that scenario.

On a side note, I mentioned the television show Episodes above, but I'm well aware that many people may not have heard of it.  It's a hilarious send-up of Hollywood and the television industry, and if you've never seen it you are missing a rare treat.  Although not exactly the center of the story, Matt LeBlanc is absolutely hysterical as a fictionalized version of himself.  Here's a clip of him deciding to cut his father off financially:

My Kindle Unlimted 2.0 Results

I haven't been shy about voicing the fact that - when it comes to self-publishing - I'm not a fan of exclusivity.  I think that, in order to reach the largest audience possible, authors generally need to publish on as many platforms as they can.  Thus, I detest the fact that Amazon requires authors to unpublish their work from all other venues (at least the ebook versions) in order to participate in certain programs, like Kindle Unlimited (KU).  I think it's a completely unnecessary requirement.

For the uninitiated, KU is Amazon's subscription service for books.  For $9.99 per month, readers can enjoy access to millions of titles. For authors, having your books in KU means they can't be available for sale, in ebook form, anywhere else.  (At least this is the case for most authors; apparently, a select few - top sellers, to be precise - are exempt from this exclusivity mandate.)  

During the first iteration of KU, authors were paid whenever their books were borrowed and at least 10% of the book was read.  I believe the monthly payout generally fluctuated between about $1.30 - $1.50 per book.  Moreover, you got the same amount per borrow, regardless of whether your title was a 10-page erotic romance or a 600-page fantasy epic. Finally, titles in KU are given credit (in terms of ranking) for borrows.  As a result, titles outside of KU have greater difficulty achieving rank in the Kindle store.

The latest version of KU (affectionately referred to here as KU 2.0) went into effect in July 2015 and is a bit fairer in my opinion, as authors are now paid by pages read. By way of example, if a KU subscriber reads the aforementioned 600-page fantasy title in its entirety, that author will make a lot more than the writer whose 10-page erotic romance was also read. That to me is a more equitable system.

Against my better judgment, I went ahead and went all in with Kindle Unlimited around the end of July, putting my scifi and fantasy novels into the program.  I had various reasons for doing so (despite my dislike of exclusivity), but one of them was the simple fact that it's become incredibly difficult - at least for me - to maintain the level of visibility that I'd like for my work outside KU. Amazon's algorithms just aren't having it.  (And, frankly speaking, I'm sure that surprises no one.)  However, what I did find surprising were the results.

I spent about 5 days in KU 2.0 at the end of July.  During that time, I amassed almost 138,000 page reads.  It certainly sounds like a lot, but what does that amount to in cold, hard cash?  According to Amazon, July page reads are worth $.005779 per page.  So, for those 5 days in July, I earned about $797.00.  Not bad - especially when you consider that was just from KU; it doesn't take any sales into account.  

Over my first 10 days in the program, page reads totaled approximately 292,000.  At the July payout rate, this would amount to earnings of roughly $1,687.00.  Again, this is pretty decent scratch.

All things considered, KU 2.0 definitely shows promise - although the exclusivity requirement is still galling.  However, if you can swallow that without choking, there is some definite upside to being in the program. Personally, I can't say that I'm in it for the long haul at this point, but I can certainly stick it out for a trial run.

He Who Hesitates...

If you visit any number of writing forums, you'll eventually come across several posts - usually from new authors - asking about when they should publish. Typically, these authors have at least one novel finished and are contemplating holding back on publication until they have the sequel (or first three books) finished.  To me, the answer is basically a no-brainer: you publish asap.

In my mind, a finished book is like an ambassador that you send out into the world to entice people to your cause (that is, you're trying to find readers).  An unpublished manuscript isn't going to do that for you.  It's not bringing any readers into the fold, accumulating any sales, building your brand, etc.  All it does is gather dust, when it could be working for you.

I know that there are those who advocate a strategy of holding back until perhaps you finish two or three books and then publishing them - maybe all at once, maybe several weeks apart.  I certainly understand the logic there, especially if the algorithms on platforms like Amazon end up giving you a boost because of the shortened length of time between publication dates.  (Or if you're writing serials, where each episode ends in a cliffhanger.  That may be an occasion when you wait to publish, so that you'll be able to satisfy the reader's curiosity as to what happens next.)

However, most of us are going to require time to become successful.  Time to find a niche, time to build a fan base, time to become established in our genres.  Every second your book isn't out there is lost time - and possibly lost opportunity.  I think you need to give readers as much time as possible to find you.  Sure, you books can sit out there forever waiting to be discovered, but - all other things being equal - forever and a day just gives you that much more of an edge.

Getting Paid as a Writer - Are Free Books Poisoning the Well?

At some juncture last year, I came across the following clip (entitled "Pay the Writer") from a film about sci-fi icon Harlan Ellison: 

In it, as suggested by the title, Ellison talks about writers getting paid for what they do. Despite being only a few minutes long, the clip is laugh-out-loud funny in certain areas.  However, one of the the things that struck me is Ellison's statement that writers should get paid for everything they do.  (For instance, the clip starts off with Ellison providing an anecdote of someone wanting to use an interview he did for the television show Babylon 5. However, they want to use the interview for free; Ellison insists on being paid.)  Ellison states that it's the amateurs out there doing everything for free that make it so hard for the professionals, who understand that they shouldn't be doing anything without getting paid.

Ellison's comment puts me in mind of the current state of indie publishing, wherein many authors will offer their work for free.  Of course, the logic behind free is fairly straightforward: readers might take a chance on an otherwise unknown author if his work is free, whereas they might pass if they have to pay for it.  Hopefully those who obtain the book for free will read it and become fans, such that they might thereafter be willing to pay cold hard cash for future material by that particular author.

It's a strategy that has worked for a number of highly successful indie authors, but is it in fact poisoning the well?  Is "free" conditioning a certain segment of the reading population to only want to read books that don't cost them anything?  I remember a few years back reading a statement by Joe Konrath (who is clearly an indie publishing success story) that he planned to eventually rotate all of his books in and out of free.  One of the comments to that statement was from a reader who essentially said he'd never buy another Konrath book, because now he knew that - at some juncture - he'd be able to get every one of them for free.

From all accounts, Joe Konrath is still doing quite well, so maybe the number of readers willing to wait until all of his books are eventually free is minuscule. (And maybe that's the case across the board.)  Still, it's troubling to think that maybe free books are sending the wrong message to potential readers.  After all, Stephen King, James Patterson, Danielle Steel and others never had to start out offering books for free (at least not that I'm aware of).  That said, the advent of self-publishing has undoubtedly crowded the marketplace, making it harder than ever to get noticed.   

In retrospect, I think Ellison makes a valid point: writers need to be aware of the value of their work  and not be afraid of asking that they be appropriately compensated for it.  At the same time, because of the ever-shifting landscape that is indie publishing, there is no doubt that "free" has its place. However, it's a tool that has to be used judiciously as part of an overall plan. It is not, in and of itself, an answer or a solution to the barriers indie authors face.

Some Thoughts on the Revamped Kindle Unlimited (KU 2.0)

As almost everyone knows by now, Amazon is now offering a revamped version of it's all-you-can-read buffet known as Kindle Unlimited.  Affectionately known as KU 2.0, this new offering is the same on the reader side of the equation ($9.99/month), but represents what could be a seismic shift on the author side.

I previously wrote about how the original KU offered tons of opportunities for unscrupulous behavior. However, for the purposes of this article, I will disregard the presence of scammers, con artists and the like and assume that every author with books in KU is honest.  

Basically, in its first iteration, authors in the program were paid whenever someone borrowed their books and read and least 10% of them.  Moreover, it didn't matter if your book was 10 pages in length or 10,000 - each borrow paid the same.  In other words, every author got the same buck-thirty (or whatever the monthly payout was) for each borrow, regardless of book length.  Great if you're the guy cranking out Penny Dreadfuls every couple of days; not so great if you're trying to be the next James Michener. 

However, under KU 2.0, authors won't simply be paid by the number of borrows but rather by the number of pages read.  In my book (no pun intended), that's a much fairer system. For instance, an author with books in KU 1.0 priced at $3.99 or more would really take a beating in terms of earnings each time a book was borrowed.  Now, being paid by the page, they at least have a chance of earning as much (or maybe even more) with a borrow.  In short, I think this is one that Amazon got right (or at least is headed in the right direction).

That said, let's not make the mistake of assuming that Amazon is instituting this change so that writers can be more fairly compensated.  Amazon is in the business of making money for Amazon; if authors just happen to benefit, that's merely a side effect. The whole point of KU, of course, is to put the squeeze on similar services, liked Scribd and Oyster.  KU 2.0 seems geared to attract many authors who may have stayed away from the program or opted out because the payout was so low - mostly those who write longer works as opposed to shorter ones.  And of course, the requirement for exclusivity - meaning that a book in KU can't be offered on another platform (e.g., Barnes & Noble) - would mean that authors opting in would have to remove their titles from other sales channels.  (Needless to say, the exclusivity requirement is overkill; Amazon is already the 800-pound gorilla in terms of book sales, so there's no need to crush all life out of the competition.  Besides, does Amazon really want to run the risk of there being an antitrust case down the road, with the company ultimately getting broken up like Ma Bell and Standard Oil?)

But back to the subject at hand, I would interpret Kindle 2.0 as a good thing.  (I know that many will disagree with that assessment, but it just strikes me as a more equitable system.) As to whether it will make me put my books back into KU, the jury is still out on that.  I'm really not a fan of exclusivity, and I like having my books available on as many platforms as possible.  (Moreover, if their goal is to make money, I think Amazon will earn a lot more of it by dropping the exclusivity requirement.)  So I'm still opting out for now, but maybe KU 3.0 will bait the hook with a more attractive lure. 

New Book Release: Revelation: A Kid Sensation Novel (Kid Sensation #4)

I am happy to announce that Revelation is now published! Needless to say, getting this one released has taken a lot longer than I ever imagined or intended, but - as they say - the best laid plans of mice and men...

As always, I've released both a paperback and an ebook version. (Again, releasing a paperback edition costs essentially nothing, so why not?)  At present, I believe Amazon shows it as having 309 pages, but it actually has 392.

Once again, the cover art was done by Isikol, who simply has a knack for capturing the image I have in my head. As is typical for me, I neglected to do a cover reveal, but I've never gotten a strong indication one way or another as to how readers feel about those.  (On the other hand, I did get a strong reaction to publishing an excerpt from the book, so maybe I'll pursue that option more often.)

Beyond that, let me say thanks once again to the many fans of this series.  I know that a lot of readers were eagerly awaiting the next installment, so thanks for your patience and I sincerely hope you enjoy the book.

"He's Dead, Jim..."

This is just for kicks and grins, but I somehow got onto the subject of catchphrases with my kids and decided to give them a perfect example of one: Dr. McCoy's famous - and famously parodied - line from the series Star Trek: "He's dead, Jim."   And it's perfectly captured in the clip below.

Frankly speaking, no matter how many times I watch this, it's still hilarious.  I often wonder if the writers would have changed that line if they could have seen into the future.  Regardless, I think it's great that their work gets to entertain us on two fronts: a show that's still fun to watch almost 50 years later, and a memorable catchphrase that's likely to live forever.