These Certain Musings

Breath of Stone, the second novel of Desert Rising, is available now!

Bone returns to silt and sand,
Blood to salt and water,
Breath to wind and stone,
Soul to sun and storm.
The desert consumes us all.

( Read more... )

Thanks to the wonderful work of Cabil Services, we have the perfect cover for Breath of Stone.

I love it.  I love, love, love it.  And I totally love how the two covers work together.

Now: One of the most wonderful comments a writer can hear from readers is, “I hope there’s a sequel!”  And I do a happy dance of joy for each reader who said that after reading Sand of Bone.

I so wanted to have that sequel, Breath of Stone, completed for you by the end of April.  Alas, it simply isn’t going to happen without sacrificing quality (and sleep, and sanity, and paying my electric bill…).  In the spirit of total honesty, I confess I both greatly overestimated what I could accomplish in the time available to me and greatly underestimated the number of life events that would demand my time and emotional energy.

I hope to do better on both in the future, and apologize for the delay.

The revised target date is July 2015.  The additional time will make it a better story.

See, the thing is, I’m really excited about the story Breath of Stone is shaping up to be.  There’s all the action and intrigue of Bone, but the stakes are higher, the choices more brutal, and the characters more demanding of their own dwindling faith.  No one reaches the end unscathed.

Actually, no one reaches the halfway point unscathed.

But for all the darkness, there is hope and devotion and deserved loyalty as well.

And though Breath of Stone completes the major story arcs set forth in Sand of Bone, there are plenty of openings for another pair of novels if y’all tell me, “I hope there’s a sequel!” again.

So.  July.

Thank you for understanding, my darlings.  I intend to give you a story worth the wait.  You deserve nothing less.

And if you want to be among the first to access Breath of Stone, receive a free ebook of Serpent Heart, and have input on future projects, consider signing up for the Sand and Stone Newsletter.

Do reviews matter?

The answer depends on who you ask, how you define “reviews,” and what you mean by “matter.”

Ask a trade-published writer, and you’ll likely learn a review is first and foremost something written by a pro or semi-pro reviewer that will appear in an industry-supported or industry-centric publication.  That sort of review is expected to (fingers crossed!) boost enough interest and offer enough praise to filter down to the general readership in time to impact sales in the first week (or month, on the outside) after publication.

Ask a self-published writer, and you’ll likely learn a review is first and foremost something written by a reader, directed at other readers, that will appear on the online retailer’s sales page for the book or (second best) on a site like Goodreads.  That sort of review is expected to (fingers crossed!) boost enough interest and offer enough legitimacy to immediately impact the reader’s purchasing decision in the first week, the first month, the first year, and far beyond.

But no matter who you ask, the truthful answers all share one critical element:

Fingers crossed!

Like most other authors, I cross my fingers a great deal (when not using them to, y’know, write).  That’s why I put Sand of Bone in the Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off hopper.

We know visibility impacts sales.  But visibility doesn’t create sales.  That takes a connection between what the reader is looking for and how the reviewer expresses herself.  Seemingly neutral words can make all the difference.  Describing a novel as having “humor mixed with the action” gives the reader a different impression than “action-packed, madcap adventure.”  I’d investigate the first one and ignore the second one, even though both phrases could accurately describe the same novel.  I’m convinced the seemingly random impact of reviews on sales is due less to a positive or negative review and more to the language it uses.

For example, after its inclusion in StoryBundle, Sand of Bone began to be described by reviewers as military fantasy as well as dark fantasy.  I haven’t noticed a big difference in sales, but I’ve noticed a sharp rise in reader engagement—the critical foundation to any writing career because an engaged readership is more likely to purchase your next book.  The words a reviewer used connected me to a different segment of fantasy readers, and those connections were the best thing to come out of my StoryBundle participation.  (The money certainly wasn’t bad, either! :) )

In Bloggers: Wind or Windsock?, author Mark Lawrence speaks to the question of how much blogger reviews might impact sales.  (Truly, it’s difficult for the trade-published to know.  They lack direct and immediate access to the majority of sales data.  Me, I can immediately see the impact or lack thereof because my sales data is mine to access at any moment.  But I digress.)  He puts some numbers behind his observations, but still comes up with the answer of, “Maybe it helps!  Fingers crossed!”

Might the numbers Lawrence uses in his blogpost be more indicative of reader engagement than reviewer connections?  Maybe.  For those who are prevented by a blogger’s or industry publication’s policy from accessing many review venues, the answer is, “Fingers crossed!”

And that’s why I wanted Sand of Bone to be part of the Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off.  Not because I think there’s a straight line between trade-publishing and reviewers and immediate sales and fame, but because I know visibility does the workaday job of increasing the likelihood a reader who likes what I write will find me.

But there is a second reason, and it’s a tiny tad more altruistic: I want the artificial barriers between trade-published books and self-published books to be smudged by the Blog-Off.

I will never forget the puzzlement of a genre professional first hearing the name “Hugh Howey.”  Howey had at the time sold more copies of a single book than most genre writers will sell in their lifetime, but those who prided themselves in knowing everything about the industry had no idea who he was.  Me, I would have been troubled to discover I’d not known about the work and writers who were impacting—and changing—the industry I worked within.  Alas, what I saw immediately following the revelation was a doubling-down on the separation that left many readers understanding they had to access different sources to find complete news.

As I discussed in Women, Reviews, and Self-Publishing, the lamenting of diversity in industry-centric forums that pointedly exclude all self-published works frustrate me to no end.  A large number of writers who have been shut out of the industry due to the documented biases in the industry are now self-publishing.  Writers who didn’t even want to deal with those controversies opted to go directly to self-publishing.  Writers who were tired of dealing with abuse within the industry decided to self-publish.

So anything that connects industry-centric sources, reviewers, and publications with the growing self-publishing community is a win in my book.  After all, readers are purchasing, enjoying, and discussing self-published works from writers many industry sources haven’t even heard of, and the number of readers discovering self-published works is growing.  Certainly self-published writers will benefit from connecting with an audience that looks almost solely to industry-centric reviewers to provide information on worthwhile reads.  But the reviewer will also benefit from expanding her reading experience, sharing her discoveries, and connecting with readers who are largely ignored by many of the industry’s supporting resources.

SFWA recently enacted its policy to expand membership qualifications to include self-publishing income.  As a SFWA member who watched the internal and public debate on the matter, I knew there were far more self-publishing writers who’d meet the income guidelines than most trade-published members believed, but also suspected the desire of self-published writers to join the organization was vastly exaggerated by those same members.  It turns out both of us were right and wrong.  Yes, the flood of self-published applicants surprised existing members with their sales numbers.  Yes, the flood of self-published applicants who wanted to be in SFWA surprised me.

But one of the things I most remember is Locus Magazine’s reporting that SFWA  “favored loosening membership standards by more than six to one.”

First, there is a load of bias in the phrase, “loosening membership standards.”  There is no byline for the item, so I don’t know who wrote it, but do indeed know the genre readership has moved beyond that person’s knowledge and understanding.  Just as I’d rather get my tech advice from folks who can tell me about cutting edge computing rather than the TRS-80, I’d rather get my industry news from folks who understand publishing opportunities that have been around for quite a few years now.

Second, take note of the phrase, “six to one.”  I’m no math person, but I’m fairly certain that translates to around 85% of SFWA’s voting membership who approved of admitted self-published writers under earning standards equal to trade-published writers.  Isn’t 85% a fairly significant majority?  Isn’t a significant majority a fair reflection of prevailing opinion?

So if readers are purchasing enough self-published genre books to make writing them lucrative for many authors, and genre writers want self-publishers acknowledged as professionals alongside trade-published writers, it makes sense that reviewers would want to be part of the transition, if not on its leading edge.

Believe me—I get that reviewing is time consuming.  After all, I’m a single mother who homeschools her teenage son, runs two businesses (one of which includes teaching karate four to six days a week), and sill wants to write stories.

So what might help bridge the transition?  What might help connect up-and-coming writers outside the industry to reviewers within it?

Things like the Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off.

Do I want Sand of Bone to fare well?  Of course.  Fuck yeah, I do.  I want everyone to say it’s the best novel EVAH.

But in all honesty, I want the participating reviewers to enjoy many of the novels.  I want them to be surprised by the stories and the production quality.  I want them to be intrigued. I want them to be excited. I want them to be so pleased they’ll from now on look at good books versus bad books rather than self-published books versus trade-published books.  I want their decisions to be difficult because of an abundance of good reads.

I would rather this open the door to increasing connections than be a token experience.

Yeah, I can be hopelessly unrealistic in my aspirations.

But, my darlings, this hope is totally reasonable.

***

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#SFWApro

Item the First: The membership of SFWA has spoken and, by a vote of 6-to-1 in favor, has changed their governing by-laws to allow writers whose success comes from independent publishing to qualify for membership.  Detailed procedural guidelines are being hammered out, and it looks like authors will be able to begin applying by March of this year.

Last summer, I had my own dilemma over whether I should join.  And after I joined, I had my own disagreements with some of the organization’s choices, and I seriously expect I’ll have a couple more in the months and years ahead.  Yet and still, I am so danged happy–relieved!–to see this vote go through.  The support of the voting membership was loud and clear.  I’ll be sticking around.

Anyone who has questions about it, feel free to ask.  If I don’t know the answer, we’ll see if we can find someone who does. :)

Item the Second: The Indie Fantasy Bundle is entering its final week!  At the bottom of this interview with Brad Beaulieu are links to all the other author interviews.  In them you’ll find talk about worldbuilding, alchemy, international relations, history, windships, subversive genre-play, wish fulfillment and more.  It’s a fascinating group of people, and their diverse works reflect that.

If you’ve already picked up the bundle, thank you so much for supporting the authors and the charities!  It’s a wonderful thing, knowing so many new readers are finding and enjoying our books!

Item the Third: The sequel to Sand of Bone is still moving forward apace.  Breath of Stone is currently slated for an April 2015 release.  If you want to be on the early warning list, sign up now for the Sand and Stone newsletter!

Item the Last: Sand of Bone received a marvelous review from The Book Adventures!  Happy writer!  In the current market, when there are so many more choices–quality choices, mind you–it means a great deal to not only be noticed, but to know the story was enjoyed.

#SFWApro

Getting away from phone calls, business, internet, and at-home reminders of everything I could (should?) do other than write was the motivation for the trip.  There have been far too many issues of late I've had to deal with--one of which resulted in me asking a past client if she often worked for free since she expected me to do so--and I needed to clear my head. I needed a break. I needed to be out of touch. I needed the peace to sweep away what I want to leave behind in order to make room for what I want to do.

  With all the other things happening these days, I was finding it impossible to wrap my head around how to make changes to Breath of Stone’s original outline that properly and deeply incorporated the seemingly small changes to Sand of Bone.  I had trouble keeping track of the diverging and converging plotlines.  And I had to figure out how to keep the character arcs I wanted while considerably shortening the action arcs.

I am happy to report it worked.  I read through piles of old material--deciding what would stay and what would go and what order the "staying" parts should be in. I shuffled Magic Index Cards. I got reacquainted with storylines and characters and intentions. I got my book back.

It did help that, due to my food-forgetting, my meal preparations were no more distracting than heating a boxed soup on a Sterno stove (and that little thing is awesome!) and opening bags of peanuts and dried fruit.

The remainder of today is for a little writing followed by necessary chores and teaching.  The rest of the week is for plowing ahead before I lose momentum.  While it would be awesome to say I can finish the draft by the end of October, thereby clearing the deck for a possible NaNoWriMo attempt, that would require consistent 5K-word days.  Since not showing up to teach and ignoring my son aren’t viable options, I’m going to say that October 31 finish date is out of the question.

One the other hand, finishing the draft by the end of November isn’t unrealistic.  Let’s give that a tentative shot, hmm?

Added note: Younger me would have been affronted at the shock others had to find a woman camping alone.  Current me finds it amusing.  Is it really such an odd thing?