When The Ending Doesn’t Feel Right

I was reading Parallax again (yes, I read my own books) and something about the ending didn’t sit right with me. Not the last scene, mind you, I liked that.

I typed “End of Book 1″…

I mean, what is that? Yes, it’s a trilogy, it says so on the cover. It also states that Parallax is Book 1 but did I really need to specifically state it on the last page? I probably didn’t, hence the conundrum between deciding between “End of Book 1” and “The End”.

Createspace takes around 24 hours to do their file review for any changes involving the interior file so I had to really think if it was worth holding up potential publishing time for two letters. Also, any changes to Createspace have to be duplicated on Amazon so that’s at least another 12 hours after approval.

Obviously, I went with “The End” because, in my mind, that should have been the way to go in the first place.

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Parallax: New Developments

I’ve learned a lot about self-publishing over the past year and I found a large portion of it to be disillusioning, to say the least. Book Covers, Promoting, when to give it away and how much to charge. But that’s the sandbox I’ve chosen to play in and as the saying goes, when in Rome…

I love all my books, but Parallax holds a special place in my heart because of all the stories I’ve yet to work on, it was the biggest joy and pain in the butt that I ever dealt with in my creative writing history. So many starts and stops before everything came together in its current form. An evolution, really, and I’ve learned from each misstep that I’ve taken along the way and become a better writer and publisher because of it.

A major sticking point with putting Parallax out there was the pricing. How much to charge for the novel? I remember batting around a wide range of prices before initially settling on $4.99 for the Kindle Version. $1 for each 100 pages seemed fair at the time, but I’ve noticed a slump in sales which has forced me to reevaluate that number.

So, in honor of Parallax’s new cover, I decided to drop the price for the Kindle Version to $2.99 for the rest of its lifespan, however long that may be. I know it probably seems low for a 400-page novel, but honestly, I’m not in this purely for the money. If lowering the price means getting it in more hands to be read and reviewed, then so be it. Everything I do in this endeavor is in essence, an experiment. If it works, then I’m doing it right. If not, then another re-evaluation might be in order. I’m a writer, not a salesman.

The next development I am considering is paid advertising. I know, right? I’m putting out feelers to different areas to see what it may cost to run ads. Yes, I believe in Parallax that much to be investing so heavily in its success. It’s a great story that deserves to be read.

In any case, my online time will certainly not be boring for a while. 🙂

Four Books, Three Different Universes

While I was working on The Book Redesign Project, I took a moment to analyze what I’ve created thus far in terms of where they fit in their respective story universes. What I discovered was interesting, but not surprising in retrospect.

Corona, The Three Safeties:

Both of these books exist in The Falling Stars Universe (Falling Stars isn’t finished yet, but I have every intention of knocking it out one of these days. It’s one of those books that I always wanted to write, but have been delayed for one reason or another. A lot like how Parallax evolved to be.)

Vessel:

It occupies its own pocket universe, one that I’ve thought about revisiting but have shied away from because when your choices are War and War, it doesn’t leave much wiggle room. Apologies if I’ve inadvertently given out a plot spoiler.

Parallax:

The Flagship novel that established its own story universe. I’m working on the first of two sequels, Parallax: Genesis, as part of an overall book trilogy that I am thinking of expanding into a new series that will pick up where Parallax: Darkfall (as yet unwritten) leaves off.

All of these books are currently available through Amazon.com in both Kindle and Print formats. There is a link to my Amazon Author Page in the “About” Section of the Blog.

Corona Print Cover Reveal

Man, talk about a busy blogging day!

I finally got the finished print cover for Corona earlier and I’m back to share it with you while the friendly folks at Createspace chew on it for a while. In addition, I received some promotional graphics that I thought would be fun to include. Enjoy. 🙂

Parallax Free Ebook Promo? Maybe…

I’ve been considering doing a free ebook promotion for Parallax for some time now. The book came out last September and though I’ve had high hopes for it, the sales haven’t been exactly blowing the doors off the literary public. Don’t get me wrong, I love the book and the feedback I’ve gotten on it has been great but I feel that I should be doing more to promote it. In fact, I KNOW I should be doing more to promote it but I’d rather use my time to write and publish than knock on doors to sell.

What do you all think? Is it time to consider running a promotion or keep my focus on Lights and Shadows?

Tuesday Stuff

Apparently yesterday I had one of those long overdue moments of insecurity where I felt I needed to vent. Thankfully, those moments don’t happen very often and today I am back to my usual cheerful and fairly optimistic self. Let’s blame yesterday on Monday and move on, yes?

Welcome to Tuesday, the end result of when Monday finally gets its act together and goes with the program. I have a number of things planned today and getting up early goes a long way toward making it a productive day.

A sleepless night of fussing and fretting jogged some interesting scene ideas loose for Lights and Shadows so I’m incorporating them into Chapter 9. Yes, I’m still working on wrapping up Number 9 but it’s looking really well and the story is moving forward again.

I’ve decided that I will be taking a break after all, but at the end of December after Lights and Shadows is edited, rewritten, and released on Amazon hopefully with a snazzy new cover that better fits the story. I’ve also been reminded that worrying too much does little to solve any given situation and the best remedy is to simply roll up your sleeves and get down to it.

On the Sales Situation, I really can’t do much more than I currently am with regard to generating interest so I’m going to stick with I do best: writing kickass SciFi/Adventure that I’m proud to share with you all. As long as I don’t give up, the good stuff will come with time and that’s all any of us can ask for.

I had some time to think about my Writing Schedule, so here’s a brief listing. This is a preliminary schedule so it’s possible that adjustments may be made, but I wouldn’t worry about that too much:

1. Lights and Shadows: On track for early December 2015 release. The story’s been planned and plotted already so I just have to write it.

2. Parallax: Genesis: Book #2 of the Parallax Trilogy will be written during the First Quarter 2016 and released by March 2016. This installment will continue Pratt and Dubois’ adventures and will feature a glimpse of 2223 Earth. Should be an interesting time.

3. Future Finders: A standalone book that is set in The Present and will center around Michael Grey, a young playboy who is forced to grow up and assume some new responsibilities when he inherits more than his industrialist father. The novel will feature secret societies and an ancient enemy out for revenge. This book is planned for Second Quarter 2016 and should be available by June 2016.

4. Parallax: Darkfall: The final book in the Parallax Trilogy, where Pratt finally confronts the aliens that have made his life SO much of a laugh fest up to this point. This will be written during the Third Quarter 2016 and should be available by September 2016.

5. Falling Stars: Another story that I have been trying to finish for a VERY long time. All I will say about this one is that it involves time travel and is set within the same world as my novelettes, Corona, and The Three Safeties, but different locations and  with different characters and situations. In fact, this story is the one that inspired both Corona and The Three Safeties in the first place even though they were ultimately finished first. Funny how these things happen.

6. Past Prologue: This is a planned sequel to Falling Stars that will finish out the Last Quarter 2016 and I anticipate having it out by December 2016. Yes, I am ambitious but Life without something to strive for isn’t much of a Life. So kick it in the butt.

Anyway, that’s where I am on this Tuesday. As always, thank you for being patient readers and loyal blog followers and I will endeavor to keep from disappointing. Have a great day and a creative week. 🙂