http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psDTiUV0PNI
I already talked about coming back from the trip and this week has been about getting back into the author groove. The plan was to use Tuesday for a little R&R outlining for a future story. After that would be editing. Except ‘after that’ never happened and I designed every character and the plot outline. This means I’m set for when I’m sent out of the house to write for a few days. It also means I haven’t touched Windemere in a while and want to get back. That’s the plan for the week.
There’s something about creating a new idea and fresh characters that gives me a charge. I think I spent so many years doing only that, so it’s become second nature. Choosing a name is always the hardest part. From there, I just weave through the physical traits, personality, role in the story, quirks, and a bit of history. Some of my best subplots have come from these character bios. The only complication is that it means I have to read through a lot of notes when I sit down for the final outline. It’s very irksome when I have a great subplot in a character bio and forget to add it to the outline. You might think this is weird, but remember that my mind is playing with a lot at once. Main plot, subplots, character development, future installments, and world building are considered in the same sitting. The juggling can be exhaustive.
Speaking of frustration and fatigue, I’ve given up trying to figure out why Prodigy of Rainbow Tower and Allure of the Gypsies seem to have the worst sales luck. I promoted the former for most of a day and nothing happened. Tried that a few times with the other and nothing. Yet, Beginning of a Hero and volumes 4-7 do fairly well. I keep looking at these two to figure out what’s different about them. Family of the Tri-Rune is longer, so it isn’t that. Review percentages aren’t very different than the first book and pricing is same as the later ones. The only thing that has been pointed out as an obvious difference is utterly ridiculous. I’m a little worried to say it, but it was brought up in a conversation. These are the ‘female’ covers. Amazing covers, but they depict Nyx and Sari respectively while the others have Luke, Timoran, and landscapes. Again, this is a touchy thought to have and I’d like to think this isn’t a factor since both covers are gorgeous. Still the overall situation has me scratching my head.
In non-book news, I went to get my hair cut . . . repeatedly. I walked across town two times and they were closed. I think they were on vacation. Oops. I’ll try again this week and aim for a day that isn’t very humid. That’s really all there is for personal stuff since my son is back in school for half the day. After that is playing around and I’ve been saving errands for when he gets home because he likes helping. Really starting to wonder how I’m going to function when I’m sent away for 5-6 days (oops. wrote weeks before. Sorry!). Everyone tells me it’ll be great, but I’ve been doing this juggling act for years. The responsibility isn’t something I minded and it kept me aware of both time and progress. I got frustrated when I felt like nobody was taking anything off my shoulders or things got worse when others stepped in to help. Yet being away from it all puts me on a different kind of edge. This won’t happen until mid-August, so we’ll see what happens.
I plan on putting up a fun, interactive post tomorrow. August will be ‘character interview’ month to make things easier for me. I’ll be doing editing, hopefully promoting the new book, writing another, and my son is off from school for 3 weeks during that time. So these posts will be simple and fun to set up. It won’t be a live thing like I’ve done before, but I’ll explain more tomorrow.
What’s the plan for the week?
- Edit Merchant of Nevra Coil and contact Jason about cover progress.
- Edit The Mercenary Prince.
- Finish the outline for the post-apocalyptic action/comedy/whatever.
- Biking. Really need to get back to that.
- Haircut attempt.
- Play with the boy.
Legends of Windemere 
How sweet that you save your errands so your son can help. I love that 🙂 The editing sounds like it’s going to keep you busy, but you seem to have plans up your sleeve. I’ll look forward to the developments and your explanation tomorrow.
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It gets him out of the house too. Kind of doing it that my dad stays behind to turn the AC on, so we come back to a cooler place. Though the downside is that I can’t browse when the kid is around.
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It’s always easier to promote the first book in a series. That probable explains the sales, at least in part.
I love the concept of subplots that stem from character bios!
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Or the latest book. Yet, I can’t figure out why 4-6 always hold their own. They aren’t the first or the newest. Just 2 and 3 seem to be in the doghouse. Unless people are skipping, which somebody suggested.
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Strange, indeed. I often wish Amazon would let us contact our readers, say by providing us with their emails. Then again, I can easily see this being abused by authors…
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Yeah that would go wrong so quickly. It’s possible by creating a mailing list for publishing news as well as blogging. It’s rather easy to find out if a new book is out. Maybe Amazon could create something where you buy a book in a series and it gives you notification that a new one is out. This could help remind people that they have a book too.
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That sure would be nice!
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hey Charles, I don’t think the sales of books 2 & 3 have anything to do with having female Characters on the cover. I don’t know if it’s any less disconcerting, but I would suspect it is just readers who read book one and didn’t want to invest in the rest of the series. On the bright side the movement of book one and books 4-7 means a) you are still generating interest in the series and those that have read books two and three are invested for the long haul. Also since book one is still moving it might just be sitting in cue to be read. People will buy books with the intention of getting around to reading them and sometimes there is a delay between purchase and the time they actually get around to reading it.
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I kind of see that, but it’s still rather baffling that there’s a gap. I would think 4-7 would be suffering too if people simply weren’t continuing on with the series. Yet they remain rather constant while the 2 and 3 are barely alive blips at times. That’s why I wonder if people are skipping to 4 or something.
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it could be they are, but I know several people who have downloaded my first book and still haven’t read it. Also some people will only buy one book and don’t buy another until they have finished or very near finished and everyone reads at different rates some people taking a year to read a book So even if everyone that bought book one invested in the entire series you could still see this phenomenon with books two and three. I think the thing to keep in mind is the other books are moving and we are entering slow months… if the trend continue into the fall and winter there may be an issue, but I’ve read book two and I thoroughly enjoyed it and once I get my taxes straightened out and I will have the money to buy the others. Although I will have to re-read 1 & 2 first to re-immerse myself in the story. I still stand by my opinion that it has nothing to do with the covers.
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The slow period is why I’m hoping to release the next book soon. Give me a recharge after the harsh times like a monsoon or something. That analogy kind of failed. I’m guessing if anybody has issues with the covers being female-oriented then they’re a minority. So guess we’ll just see what happens. Good luck with the taxes. That stuff is such a headache.
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I have four years filed now, only 6 more years to get done… and then I will have gone back as far as they permit for back taxes… You are a fantastic Author, I wouldn’t worry… just keep doing what you’re doing, everything will come out in the wash…
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Thanks. Hope you get those 6 years done without a problem.
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I would be interested to see if you could release another with two different covers… It would require two different e-pages and they aren’t Really different at all… But you know. Hommes-scentric and femmes-scentric. See what happens. Sometimes such complication decreses sales while with physical books it creates more by those who must have both. Because that’s a thing.
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Releasing another copy would cause a lot of confusion. That and I wouldn’t want to bug my cover artist with this experiment since he’s very busy. The odd thing is that the covers are perfect for the story since it depicts the heroes who debut in the associated book. Then again, I really hope it isn’t the female-focused cover that is causing trouble.
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… How much more popular are you becoming over time? On the blog in particular.
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I couldn’t really say. Late last year and earlier this year, I saw a big drop in support and interaction. Yet I get new followers every day. On the other hand, I think I’m losing followers too. Probably treading water in terms of blogging since I can’t figure out what people want. The one thing I hear most often is ‘personal stories’, but that causes friction in my non-computer life. I do know that the summer (July and August in particular) are terrible sales month unless you’re romance, erotica, or just released a highly promoted book. That might be all there is to this.
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So I had a little look. Went into amazon from a different account (I have the books on kindle already). I searched your name, then the Windermere. Under algorithm book 1 pops up first and the list that follows shows the most recent book first. Therefore running backwards down to two.
If you have become more popular, got new traction through blog etc., people (at least on amazon) will find book 1 and then the most recent thereafter. It is possible they think the relevancy shows some popularity figures and go for the later books. I think this may depend on when people have got on board as well as wanting to get to the most up-to-date parts sooner.
Had a looks at synopsis too and see no appreciable difference in styling; so it’s not as if the story of 2 and 3 sound less interesting.
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I rewrote all the blurbs at the same time to share the style. The cover style does change from 3 to 4, which caused some people to think 4 began a new series . . . with the same name.
The search results are interesting. I did it and got 1,6,7, and then 2. I recently changed the key words and phrases for 1-3, so maybe that will help. I could probably leap to guesses all day and not even come close in regards to that algorithm.
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… Which of these new characters is the most likely to fall in love? Quick! Write the short and have it on-e by next week! Vite! Vite!
lol
Well, you can send my well done to the illustrator. I think the colour is good on two and three.
Of course this post may then mean people start buying more two and three because you mentioned that there are story bits in there.
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I actually have the romances as subplots, so you’ll have to read the whole books to view them. 😉
The 2 and 3 covers were always eye-catching. 2 is still my favorite out of all of them because of the vivid eye-catching. Hopefully you’re right and some people decide to give the books a read. They’re both fun.
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I know I enjoyed the first book, but I have a hard time committing to series. I’m flighty between genres getting bored with conventions. I have five or six series that I’ve started and loved, but have gotten distracted from and never went back to see what else happens. I’m the same way about TV series that I love. Maybe it’s needing that sense of closure, but I’d rather read a good long stand alone or see a movie. I thrive on the satisfaction of outcomes.
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That’s understandable. Long series aren’t for everyone and they’re rather rare outside of the fantasy genre.
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There are lots in crime fiction also, but after I’ve seen how one detective and his/her league processes a crime, I want to move on and see someone else’s methods.
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They don’t vary a lot in the same series? I’ve never read a crime series, so I thought things different from case to case.
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Have a good week. The only answer I have is when you promote your latest those who would have started from one to work through the series probably jump to the most recent with the idea they will go back but don’t. That’s all I can figure. I am working through the series and still have to hold myself from jumping.
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Good point. People might think they know everything that happened or that it wasn’t important. Another downside to a long series, I guess. Have a good week yourself.
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I’m in it for the long haul. No jumping.
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It’s difficult for us caretaker sorts to get away – at least emotionally away. I actually get sad my first day away. Thanks for putting up the photograph. I can see why you’ll miss him.
Ellespeth
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You’re welcome. Though I have to admit that I won’t miss the tantrums that happen every night before bed.
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