Being Self-Published

The more I read on forums, articles, and blog posts, the more I realize just how difficult it is to shake the stigma of self-publishing.

To put it bluntly, self-publishing is the straight-to-video of the book world. Your wife might have a cousin who has a friend whose spouse enjoyed a straight-to-video release once, but you've sure never heard of it. Compared to the Hollywood premiers and blockbusters, straight-to-video films probably garner about 1% of the attention, budget, and accolades.

Does that mean less work went into these self-made projects? Sometimes, yes. I'm willing to admit that a lot of the self-published titles I've perused (on Amazon and elsewhere) have lame cover art or abysmal plot summaries... and I'm not so blindly egocentric as to think my own book is immune to this lens.

No amount of protestation, however, would be sufficient to convince someone to the contrary. If a self-published author merely opens their mouth against the flood tide of inflammatory rhetoric, they are dismissed as "protesting too much."

This is an odd position to be in, as the publishing world changes around us. Should a potential author merely hold their piece in hand after receiving numerous rejections, rather than utilize its potential while they work on further projects? Does self-publishing relegate them to eternal damnation in the eye of the consumer?

No matter how much I want people to buy/read my story, it is intimidating to have to qualify yourself as "self-published." Your friends and family may not notice or care about the difference, but people who have no ties to you will take a more objective point of view.

I continue to wonder whether attempting to be successful (however you define/quantify that) as a self-published author really is fighting against human nature. It's an uphill battle.

Getting Attention

What do I have to do to get some attention around here?

Again, I missed my scheduled posting date yesterday... mostly because of work. I'm having a couple of minor struggles on my Podiobooks presentation. My episode 01 was rough and had a mixing issue, but has since been replaced. The volume is a little lower, but less rough at least. I recorded an episode 07 yesterday, but episode 06 looks like it did not post on schedule. Quite a few people have subscribed to the feed, which I'm glad for, but so far the only feedback was a low rating and complaint on episode 01. Not very good for the attention-getting.

Tia at Fantasy Debut posted about "Avatar" on this past weekend's Discovery Showcase (an opportunity to see self- or un-published books and "preview" them) and the jury's still out on how much attention that's created.

I guess, at this point, I'm learning that there's no merit in discounting an actual marketing plan. Word of mouth is still the best way to go, but is there a more professional way to get attention without begging for it?

Thoughts??

First Week Public

This week has been a whirlwind of activity for me. I've been patiently waiting for another "shipment" of my books to arrive from CreateSpace to fill all of the pre-orders from the Release Party, and it should get here today. While that's been going on, the audio version of my book released to Podiobooks.com with mixed sentiment. So far, I've been getting quite a few subscriptions but I think the poor audio quality of my first episode hindered me a bit. There's a poor rating (the only rating, I think) already though I had already commented that I was re-recording the first episode and re-posting it. It's not up yet, just so you know, but hopefully it rectifies the problem. Kind of harsh criticism, but fair -- especially seeing some of the production values on some of the other audio books on the site. People have expectations, and I'm still new here. I don't have the best voice, or the best equipment, but hopefully people can look past those things and enjoy the story anyway.

I really wanted to start writing again on SOTS (or anything, actually) this week but still have not gotten to it. Pretty sure this weekend is going to be busy enough as it is, what with my return to Writer's Group after a little time off and Micah being in Vegas leaving me to play PS3 and eat cheetos to my heart's content... well, not quite. We'll see what happens -- I'm excited about where that particular story is going, I just need to remind myself that I'm the only person who can take it there.

One of the swag winners from the party sent me a nice email this morning, and I just had to share his contented expression with all of you. Have a great weekend.

Pictured here: Steve, one of the "Avatar" coffee mugs
(used with permission)

The Ninth Avatar now available on Podiobooks.com

Not only is today Earth Day, but it is also the release date of the free serial audio version of The Ninth Avatar at Podiobooks.com! Read the official "release" post here!

Subscribe here!

New episodes will be released on a weekly basis, or as quickly as I can get them recorded and uploaded. Any questions, comments, concerns, or ratings? Post here or there!


I've also made the feed available through iTunes for all you Apple folks -- just search for the title.

Thanks for reading... err, listening!

"Avatar" Release Party draws capacity crowd

Okay, so I embellished the title a little, but we did fill up the clubhouse at my apartment. I just wanted to share some pictures and say thanks to everyone who made it for sharing a moment with me.

Friends, family, friends of friends, and family of friends showed up. Luckily, no complete strangers wandered in. The party started on time and people trickled in throughout the night. Here's a nice shot of me introducing the "swag":

Swag included stickers, pins, a hoodie, two coffee mugs, and (the grand prize) a free copy of The Ninth Avatar with a t-shirt and coffee mug. Four people from the Boulder Writers Meetup Group came to share my moment (and, actually, toast me at one point), so a special thanks go out to Ben, Jay, Yvette, and Jayme.

Double-thanks to Yvette for posting this picture to Facebook so fast that I could use it for a blog post. Jayme's holding up her copy of "Avatar" so you can get a little view of it. There were only nine for-sale copies to go around, so we took "pre-orders" and I signed all of the ones that people bought. Here's one last shot of me with the book.

There's just one more thing left to talk about, and that's the after-party. Corwin, Jill, Kevin, Karla, Phill, and Megan all joined me and Micah for some karaoke action at a place up the street. The DJ girl even announced when I arrived that a published author was within the midst, and it garnered me a few "woo"s. I sang a Beastie Boys tune, and actually lost my voice from all the talking from earlier that night.


It's Monday morning, and my voice still hasn't returned, but I wouldn't trade my release party for anything. To those who pre-ordered, thanks again and you should be receiving your copy this week. For everyone else, there's Amazon, the Createspace store, or you an email me for a signed copy with free shipping! Woo!

"Avatar" Podiobooks.com release date

Hey, I just wanted to let all of you know that the "official" release date for The Ninth Avatar in serial, podcast form is April 22nd, 2009. I will post the link as soon as it's live.

In the meantime, why not check out some other titles available on Podiobooks.com? They're free, and have around 300 titles to choose from!

The problem(?) with being a writer

Last night, I was watching one of my favorite new History Channel shows, Battles BC. At first, I didn't think I would actually like the show because it basically blatantly rips off the art style and themes from my favorite movie, 300. After watching a few episodes, however, I became hooked on how well it talks about the strategies involved in pre-Jesus warfare.

This most recent episode was about Moses and the Exodus story. While Battles does take opportunities to quote Bible verses, the experts they interview are very clear in saying they are looking at Exodus from a military perspective rather than supernatural. I was pretty enthralled through the whole episode, I must say, as I never thought of Old Testament figures as great military leaders... but many of them are very John Connor-esque, in their own ways.

The "problem," as it were, came when I had a spark of "inspiration." I realized that the Bible, told as strictly a military campaign, would probably be even more interesting than as a cultural piece. And, of course, since I write Fantasy, my mind instantly began to visualize how I would tell a similar story of a people starting from nothing and advancing through the centuries in the face of tremendous adversity.

In short, I came up with a story idea.

This doesn't happen incredibly often, but it happens quicker than I can actually finish one project and move onto the next. So, as I began to type up some summarized ideas for the story, I began to laugh at the same time. More ideas than my writing hands can keep up with? What a problem to have!

Whether it's an "original idea" or not, since depending on who you ask there's no such thing anymore, if it gives birth to an original story then I'll be happy. Unfortunately, while I continue to come up with ideas, I still have numerous projects partially started that I really want to complete. But, in all honesty, it's a lot better than writer's block.

---

On the Ninth Avatar front, I got some link attention yesterday from a couple of blogs. I have recorded the necessary amount of episodes to debut on Podiobooks.com, so I will post links as soon as that becomes active. My Release Party is in 2 days, and I am just about prepared for that. I will definitely be posting about it on Monday, with pictures, so keep your eyes peeled.

Thanks, again, to everyone for your support.

The Ninth Avatar - now available on Kindle!

Update on the release front. The Ninth Avatar can now be purchased for the Kindle reading device via Amazon.com!

The listing can be found here.

Press release posted on FantasyBookReview.co.uk

The word is getting out already!

Link here:
http://www.fantasybookreview.co.uk/blog/2009/04/13/californian-author-self-publishes-new-epic-fantasy-novel/

The Ninth Avatar is here!

Even though the "official" release date is April 18th, the book is available for purchase now!


I will provide the purchase links below for CreateSpace and Amazon but, if you're interested in a signed copy (and free shipping!), please email me directly at initialdraft@gmail.com.

To purchase from CreateSpace: https://www.createspace.com/3364237
To purchase from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Ninth-Avatar-Todd-Newton/dp/1441403620/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239635620&sr=8-2

For more information, visit: http://tdnewton.wordpress.com/books/theninthavatar

So close

Wow, the release date has really crept up on me. Despite all the things I should have done to be ready for it (e.g. finished edits sooner, spellchecked a fourth time sooner, scrutinized the cover again sooner), I am scrambling a little bit to make sure I will have copies in hand for the party. If I don't, well, you'll just have to forgive me and enjoy my company anyway. The process isn't as quick as I wanted (as far as approval) and, again, the flurry of activity in the past 2 weeks has not been enough to come in comfortably safe with days to buffer. I'm going to be crossing my fingers and holding my breath that the book copies arrive in time for the party.

Past all that negativity, I haven't started feeling the vacuum that follows the completion of a project just yet. I wrote up a press release this week, did some work to prepare for my Podiobooks.com debut (had to wait until final edits were complete), and other than some small adjustments I've mostly been keeping my mind off the book rather than obsessing over it. I want people to enjoy it, of course, but not at the [further] cost of my own sanity.

Right now I'm just reflecting on how much I've learned from this entire process. How much work actually goes into a book, from end to end, and all that. I can't help but marvel that I've come this far, but I still have so much further to go.

The Ninth Avatar - Promo Sample

I've updated the "sample" link on the sidebar with a new file. This will be the final version of the opening chapters of The Ninth Avatar, and is available for free download.

Download link here.

Any comments/questions welcome!

The Ninth Avatar is coming

It is official, I am done with edits. The new cover file and MS file have been submitted, so all that is left there is to order one last proof copy and approve it.

If you haven't already, go here to Become a Fan of The Ninth Avatar on Facebook!

April 18th, 2009 is the official release date. Purchase links will be posted when available and expect a bit of an update to the sidebar.

Thanks again to everyone who contributed to the efforts and supported me during this project.

Powerless

I woke up this morning at 5am.

Stumbled out of bed, gawked at the lack of snow (as we were supposed to get a foot and got maybe an inch) and made my way to the kitchen. I turned on my laptop and made myself a semi-fancy egg sandwich. Poured a cup of coffee, the first of many I had planned until leaving for BWMG, and carried laptop & foodstuffs over to the couch to resume editing The Ninth Avatar.

A precisely 5:17am, the electricity died.
For my entire apartment complex (and one lonely stoplight).

I lit the only candle I could and pressed on with my edits while trying to enjoy breakfast and placate the needing-to-pee dogs with their "bones" (aka cow hooves). At just before 7, the power flickered on and off, as if some child were flipping a global breaker. In a panic for my costly electronics, I rushed to disable the power strip (knowing all the while I was creating a frustrating situation for Micah when she woke up) and unplugged the wireless router, coffee maker, and anything else I could reach.

With no other recourse, I made ready and left for BWMG early. Worked on edits. Pondered the future.

Had more coffee.

Observations, Demetri Martin style

1) I wish "Out of Order" signs had more attitude. Like, "Out of FUCKING Order, BITCH!" That way, you definitely wouldn't try to use the machine. Possibly ever again.

2) Standing up to urinate is like having a really short one-sided conversation.

3) Sitting down on a warm toilet seat, unless you're in Japan, is like buying a sandwich with a big bite already taken out of it.

4) I've always thought that the staple remover was the angriest looking piece of office equipment. Seriously, the person who invented that thing had issues.

5) Ferris wheels may seem benign, but to some they are an advanced form of torture akin to waterboarding.

Back in the "habit"

As you might have noticed, I haven't stuck to my regular schedule in the past week-and-a-half. This is because of vacation, catch-up, and because I bought THE BEST VIDEO GAME EVER while I was in Japan. I still have edits and cover work to do, so this week has been absolutely insane.

First, I'll say that taking a vacation (while not the most productive thing) was just what I needed. I had to get away from the computer screens and the email, and it was a double-bonus that I got to spend a week in Japan. I've always wanted to go there and it was worth every second.

Aside from the usual "vacation" stuff (e.g. shopping and visiting of historical/cultural attractions), I did finish reading 2 entire books last week. What can I say, it was a long flight and the jetlag gave me some late nights/early mornings with nothing else to do but read. While The Way of Shadows (Brent Weeks) was a "good" book, and worth reading, I would definitely say that The Warded Man (Peter V. Brett) is the best book I've read lately. So far this year, anyway, and probably some of the best writing I've seen since GRRM. High accolades, I know, but there you have it.

So it's back to the grindstone for me. Lots of email still to catch up on. Expect a news post around Monday on the status of the book and be looking for the links when it goes up for sale. Those of you coming to the release party, start getting excited!