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Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Real Talk on FM7

As some know, I considered splitting FM6 in two due to its size.  The reality of the marketplace is that more releases = better, and bigger books = largely punished.  If you study which authors dominate the sales charts, it's the ones who put out a 200-300 page book every other month, even every month.  Push that product, make sure you're constantly on the new release lists, etc.

I'm not saying I'd ever go that far or even could, but splitting FM6 into two was probably the smartest economic move, even if the mid story cliffhanger would have been annoying for some.  (It would have split when KH grabbed Ceinwyn and teleported to the Geo Realm so...yeah, just a little cliffhanger...)  In the end, I decided not to and instead just raised the price by a dollar.

In retrospect, probably a huge mistake.  Not only did I lose out on the multiple new release bumps, I also still undervalued my work.  The only way Amazon actually rewards large novels is that they changed Amazon Unlimited payouts to be per page.  As such you can get an idea on how Amazon values output.  I priced FM6 at $4.99, earning a 70% royalty around $3.40.  Conversely, Amazon paid me a whole $7 each time someone borrowed and read the book.  According to Amazon, I should have split the book in two AND charged a dollar extra for each, or split it into three parts at my original price.

Now, the be fair, sometimes that goes into my favor.  FM6.5, I get $2 for each sale, while borrow-wise I don't even make $1.50 on it, so as Amazon sees it, I'm slightly overcharging.  Of course if I was only after the money I wouldn't be a man writing a male character in a genre dominated by women writing female characters, or have a rated-r character VERY not fit for broadcast television at that.  But, as much as I hate that it can't all be about the story, business is part of it and these are the facts.

There's also the smaller point of print on demand to consider.  Anyone who has picked up a print copy of FM6 knows it is stretching the laws of pyshics and that it can be used as a blunt weapon to kill skeleton warriors.  Splitting in two would save you lot on arm injuries.

So, all of these are reasons why FM7 likely will be split into two.  It sucks, it does, but...my bad for wanting to write epic stories that really dig into character motivations and who knew two timelines could get so difficult...right?

To me, the most important aspect is the new release list problem.  New releases mean new fans and I want as many people enjoying King Henry as possible.  Money is nice and all, but that's what's most important to me.  FM6 struggled massively on that front, I'd like to correct that.

The question I'm working through is:  how should FM7 be split?  There are two options.

Option A:  Straight down the middle.  The books would release as The Runaway Rumble and the Most Obvious Trap.  Each would contain 4 chapters of school story and about 12 chapters of mainline.  There's a natural cut off point in the story.  Plenty happens in each haf although I admit part 2 will be one of the craziest books I've ever written.  You would hopefully get the first part around a year from now and part 2 later in 2019.

Option B:  Split school and mainline.  School would come first, released as The War to End All Wars.  Maybe even this year.  Next year, The Runaway Rumble would release as the first school story-less FM book.  My biggest fear with this option is that those who don't visit the blog or keep up to date with whats going on will see that FM7 tag, buy it, and be extremely pissed to only be getting a school focused book.

So that's where we stand.  As always I try to be completely open about my process, both ups and downs.  I feel authors hiding progress or roadblocks from fans leads to resentment and VERY UGLY situations.  In addition to keeping you informed, please go ahead and give your thoughts if you'd like.

Just don't riot, okay?

24 comments:

  1. I prefer option A - I like the mix of school and main plot in each box. However, from an economic perspective, option B makes a lot more sense IMHO

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  2. Straight split. I like how the events tie together, the school part is a nice way to do background info and learn more about the nuances of the Mancy/ culture. That said, I hope the volumes come out relatively close to each other. It would stink to have a cliffhanger like you mentioned with the Geo Realm and have to wait 6 months to find out whats up.

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    1. Either way, the school half is getting written first and I imagine I'd work some on part 2 before thinking of publishing part 1. 3 to 4 months gap would be the goal.

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    2. Well, as long as that is the case I have no strong preference.

      Well... I would wish for an audio version. But for this particular situation I would trust your authors intuition.

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  3. The straight split seems more appropriate to me. The handoff between the school story and the 'main' story has been a theme throughout the series - breaking it for convenience would be kind of jarring.

    However, if you'd actually stopped right when Ceinwyn got taken to the Geo Realm in KH6, I would have been very disappointed. One book being all setup, while the next is all resolution, just doesn't work well at all. I've seen other authors do it, and it always seems to leave a foul taste after reading it.

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    1. A theme, yes, but whatever I decide here, this is the last school story to tell. So it's coming to an end and FM8 will be 100% mainline regardless. There's also an argument to be made that 6 half/half, 1 final school, 6 books only mainline also has the better symmetry.

      And if we did it that way, you wouldn't be disappointed by the obvious setup/resolution issue.

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  4. Straight split.

    Also, don't feel bad about also keeping yourself solvent. I'd be willing to bet a great deal of money that us, your fans, would prefer that you were able to keep writing than have to stop in order to make a living doing something else.

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  5. Hi mate,

    I hear you, and you make a valid argument.
    Please just keep in mind that if you outprice it, we stop reading it.
    So those 250-300 bubblegum pieces for 2,99 - when they become 3,99 or 4,99 most of the reader base find another author.
    It saddens me to say it, but I WILL NEVER buy a book if it is priced more than 6,99. That is more than a paper book.

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    1. First, where are you located that you can get a paper book that cheap? :)

      Second, we're still only talking 3.99 for 400 to 500 page books here (assming option A). Just not the 1000 pages for 4.99 I gave you last time around, which you have to admit was quite a steal.

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  6. Will be buying them either way...

    Do what you need to!

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  7. Will be reading them regardless of course, but personally i like Option B. I tend not to like breaking up the story. In fact a few times for your novels i have literally read through the mainline, then gone back and read through the school story to avoid jumping back and forth... Actually the last reread i did i read through all of the school stories in a row then read through all of the mainlines afterword lol.

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  8. I prefer the split myself. The most important thing to me is that we get a complete book. We don't really know all the content you have planned out in your mind, but I think you could make a complete novel and just extend the series by a few more. The Cat killing coyotes was a great read and it was super trim compared to FM6.

    As far as pricing goes I guess its tough to satisfy everyone right. These days the the big name new releases get up to 13.99 so considering how much I've enjoyed the King Henry compared to most books in that price range I've always personally felt you were under pricing yourself.

    I'm not a big fan of novellas. I buy yours because I like the character and series enough.

    A 300ish page novel is worth 7.99 to me for sure.

    Random feedback...

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  9. I appreciate your candor (and reward it by buying all your writing). Transparency and candor are rare for writers. The last time I criticized an author for her lack of it, she tossed me under the bus to her sycophants. Please keep up the great work.

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  10. Ugh, everything about your post sickens my soul!!!! All those monthly releases are just the worst. Like for real, the worst!!! Not even good enough to be brain candy, just childish monthly incoherent ramblings... they all wrote a good 1st book then like fish in a net they two you behind the boat.
    Personally I love a club a baby seal to death, thick novel. But the reality is you need to get paid, and as long as you don't Martin or rothfuss me I'm going to buy it and continue to be pumped. So you do you.

    But if I had to choose, do A.

    Quick question though. I do have the Amazon rental option. Are you saying you make more if I just borrow it? I've been buying, both out of support and because I want to keep copies... Can you double dip? For instance, I borrow 1st and then buy?

    Tell me what to do.... lol

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    1. Having just had a very bad writing year in 2017, going 5+ like those two would drive me into a sanatorium, so no worries there.

      As for rental vs purchase... As I said in the post, it depends on size. So, FM5 and FM6 I make more on rental, but others I make more if you buy. No idea what happens if you try to double dip. I imagine Amazon has it all figured out though.

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  11. I'd say definitely option A. I like the mix of school and post-school stuff and would miss it if you went with option B.

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  12. I'd instinctively say option A, as (like the others) I think the mix works well, and generally the main stories have seemed stronger than the school ones. While I love the school stories for the background, I'm not so sure they would stand up too well on their own.

    That said, the final Winter War is something I've been looking forward to for yonks, so please go ahead and prove me wrong!

    Also, as others have said, I think if FM6 was split where you mentioned it would have been a bit of a let-down - you can't give us that much build-up and then leave us hanging!

    Regarding pricing, I will pretty much pay whatever you charge, and rob old ladies to do so like the dirty crack-whore you've made me. But, I'm guessing pricier tomes would risk putting off new readers, so again the split probably makes sense.

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  13. Do what you need to do. Like others have said, I'll buy it either way.

    My vote would be for the straight split.

    (Incidentally, thank you SO MUCH for being an outlier for the genre. I mourned the day that urban fantasy became all-but synonymous with paranormal romance. And I say this as a female reader.... So anyway, thank you for keeping my hope alive for the genre.)

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  14. First of all, Deadpool is R-rated and male and doing just dandy. Every time I reread KH all I can keep thinking is that this seriously needs to be a movie!!!

    Second of all, I like option B. Doesn't matter to me if we get straight school story. And price wise, I am in the crack whore camp. I will keep paying.

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    1. (Edited)I personally enjoy the way you break down the books between school/ adulthood. Separating the stories to me would ruin the flow the series has so far. As much as I hate cliffhangers I would rather have half of one of your books, which are already long so not a loss there. I would likely not bother with a school story if split into its own.

      Option A is preferred for me.

      As far as pricing goes my max for E-books is 8.99, above that I very rarely purchase (Book habits are expensive). It's really hard to justify the higher price when i'll read 10+ books in a month.

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  16. If I was to do a cost benefit analysis of the amount of enjoyment I get out of your books versus how much they cost, I'm fairly certain I'd feel like I'm stealing them from you.

    If you're going to split them, I'd prefer option A.

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  18. Kind of late, but I'd like option A. Also, I think a dollar per 100 pages is how I think. There should be an option on Amazon to overpay for a book. Thanks for the great stories!

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