The promo price for Child of Fire finally reaches the B&N website (for all you Amazon.com haters).
harvest of fire
Why make a book trailer?
StandardAs promised, here’s a quick note about why I made the trailer, (Vimeo | YouTube) then I’ll let it lie for a bit. But first!
A big “thank you” to everyone who helped spread the word about the 99 cent promo price for Child of Fire. Yesterday was pretty great, and the book climbed to #159 on the Paid Kindle list, was #16 in Fantasy overall and made it to #3 in Contemporary Fantasy. In fact, it’s still #3 as I write this even as the main Kindle List sales ranking has slipped back. Now it’s up to word of mouth and momentum.
Anyway, I’m tremendously grateful, to the point that I’m a little befuddled by it all. It’s always difficult for me to ask favors, and now I find myself full of gratitude, and… that’s difficult. I don’t want to gush. I don’t want to be standoffish or brusque. Maybe if I’d been more in the habit of asking favors I’d have worked this out by now.
Trailer! Here’s the thing: Trailers are terrible for promoting books. Seriously, I have never bought a book because of a trailer, and I’ll bet you haven’t either. So why make one? Most importantly, why spend just shy of five grand on it?
Well, it’s not for the promotion, clearly.
But what if you knew someone who was an amazing painter, and you wanted to hang their work in your home? What if your friends were accomplished musicians and you wanted to commission a song? Wouldn’t it be cool to let them run with it?
Well, my friends are filmmakers–good ones, too. Everyone who’s seen LOVECRAFT, FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN knows that. So when I got a little unexpected money (French and German foreign sales) I thought Why buy a car? This will last longer and won’t make me fat(ter).
At first I considered asking them to make a short film–pick a scene from one of the books, dramatize it, the whole deal. But when I sat down to think about it, I was paralyzed with options. Which scene would be doable? How would we deal with stunts? How do we handle exposition?
I could have done the opening to Child of Fire, but there was some stuff there that wouldn’t translate well to film. So I decided to ask them for a book trailer.
And of course I’m treating it as though it’s a book promotion; that makes it tax deductible. Still, to me, it’s about hiring my friends to make something cool for me, about them showcasing what they can do (and maybe get some work out of it), about seeing Ray and Annalise onscreen, and sharing that with all of you guys.
Because you know what? A lot about this industry is changing, and people who think they know everything about it or think they can predict what is the right /wrong move to make are kidding themselves. It seems to me that the best thing to do is whatever seems cool. That’s what I take away from the way others have found success: they had their interests and obsessions, and they didn’t “promote” so much as create stuff they thought was cool.
Okay, I think I’m done talking about the teaser trailer for a while. Back to the usual natter later.
Didn’t I promise a teaser trailer today?
StandardWell, I have it right here and ready for you. What’s more, I promised that there would be a cool announcement to go with it, didn’t I?
First, here’s the teaser trailer:
Twenty Palaces Teaser Trailer (not HD) from Harry Connolly on Vimeo.
That one isn’t HD, but if your connection can handle it and you want to go full screen, there’s a High Def version as well.
Honest to Pikachu, I love this teaser trailer. It’s gorgeous and gory, just as my editor said. What’s more, from what I’ve seen of the full trailer, it’s going to be even more incredible. The guys at Wyrd are doing a fantastic job. (The sound effects make my hair stand on end!)
What about that announcement? Well, now that my editor has dropped the announcement over at Suvudu, I feel fine posting it here: As a short-term promotion for my upcoming Circle of Enemies, Del Rey has dropped the price for the Kindle edition of Child of Fire to only 99 cents!
That’s right. For a limited time (don’t ask me how limited because I’m not at all certain) Child of Fire will be available for just one dollar. What’s more, Game of Cages has had two dollars knocked off the ebook price.
As I write this, prices in Apple’s iBookstore and Sony eReader have been changed, but I can’t link to them. Google Bookstore is more accomodating. Child of Fire | Game of Cages. Unfortunately, as I write this, Barnes & Noble hadn’t implemented the price change yet. B&N, why do you have to be so hard on me?
Two more things to say: First of all, this isn’t the last cool thing happening today. See next rock.
Second of all, I’m tremendously happy that Del Rey (and everyone at Random House, too) chose my books for this promotion. Really, they could have given this push to any number of authors, and it shows their confidence in the Twenty Palaces books that it’s happening to me.
So, if you wouldn’t mind maybe spreading the word a little bit? It’s only a short time offer, but poor Ray Lilly could use a couple extra readers before book three comes out.
Added later: It seems that only the U.S. version of Amazon.com that have lowered the prices. Readers outside the U.S. should check that Google link, though. It might be what you’re looking for.
Five things make a Sunday post
Standard1) Curious about the plot of Twenty Palaces, the prequel to Child of Fire? Well, some years ago I ran the query past Evil Editor for their advice way back in 2006. Over the weekend, EE brought it back as an Evil Editor Classic. (Here’s the original, with amused commenters.)
It’s interesting to note that I’ve cut 9K words since then, but that query most definitely sums up the plot of book zero.
2) So! Authors have a lot of outlets to obsess over their sales, but one of the ones I like is the Random House website. See, I can go there, click on “Science fiction/fantasy” on the left sidebar, and it will show you a list of their available books, sorted by how well they sell.
I know, right?
Well, today, for the first time ever (not that I check often, but still) Circle of Enemies was the first book listed. The ebook, actually. Can I say “Yay!” For the series to continue, CoE is going to have to do quite well, and I’m tentatively taking this as a hopeful sign.
3) How is THE DARK KNIGHT rated PG-13? Jesus, but it was dismal, disturbing, and intensely violent–all things I like, mind you, but I’ve taken my son to a couple of PG-13 movies, and I think this one would have been a bit much.
4) However, as this is the summer of my son’s ninth year, I’m back to seeing films in the theater again. We saw KUNG FU PANDA 2, and yeah, it was just as great as you’ve heard. PIRATES 4 was a complete mess, though. When the main villain, Blackbeard, is introduced, he magically ties up a big crowd of mutineers, then stops himself from punishing them because his daughter asks him to. Nothing like a villain not acting villainous to win the audience over.
Then there was the “SHE HAS A NAME!” thing, which confused me at first because I thought the mermaid really did have a name. Turns out it didn’t matter if she did or not, or what it might have been, because the supposed good guy hangs one on her himself without caring one whit how she felt about it.
Finally, it turns out that Barbossa got a peg leg because he’s too much like the KGBeast. You know, the next time I get some tape stuck on my finger, I’m just going to cut off that finger.
5) I still have a lot to do to prep for my trip to NY, so off I go.
“They’re so funny. They use the subjunctive when they ought to use the nupative.”
StandardLet’s make this a quick list of items of interest, okay?
First of all: Hey New Yorkers! I’m going to be in New York City next week, visiting Manhattan with my wife and son. Yes, I’m also going to meet up with my agent (first time face to face) and my editor (not first time). And others, too, if things go well.
Publishing people! Who use the subjunctive correctly! And who probably also know how to use the nupative, even though that doesn’t even exist, except in last night’s dream about condescending NY grammar fundamentalists. (See subject header)
Anyway, I’m also planning to attend the KGB Fantastic Fiction Reading Series on June 15th. I don’t know either of the authors who’ll be reading there, but that just makes it more exciting.
Are you in New York? I’d like to meet there, and maybe do something after. I look like this. If you see me there, don’t hesitate to introduce yourself.
Second: I mentioned this on Twitter last week, but haven’t here; Twenty Palaces, the prequel to Child of Fire, is 100% done! Well, unless Del Rey buys it and my editor has notes. And except for the copy edits. And galleys. And another polish, if I want to give it one, (and I always do).
Still: One. Hundred. Percent. Done. I’m back at work on A Key, An Egg, An Unfortunate Remark (aka: The Auntie Mame Files). I like this book, although I suspect it’s going to be a stand alone. We’ll see.
Third: On the advice of a friend, I’ve started polishing up some old short stories to self-publish them. I mean, why not? Several have been published before and several will need substantial rewriting, but it will be nice to have something new to put out into the world.
Fourth: Look what came in the mail over the weekend?
It had this in it:
I’m going to assume he meant “this book,” to mean “the book for Harry Connolly.” Seems obvious, right?
I sorta expect a significant proportion of this text to be right out of his LiveJournal, but with luck I’ll pick up some extra tips for writing short work for small checks, rather than doing these months-long projects on spec, which sucks.
Fourth: Is it completely ridiculous for me to record all the Bookscan numbers I get from Amazon.com into a spreadsheet? I mean, I can’t even keep my characters’ names straight, but I’m fastidious about this?
Fifth: I still have a lot to do before I head to NY. Good thing I finished those Dungeon Quest books (by Joe Daly). Now that the hilarity is over, I can get some shit done.
Eating 3.64 cookies
StandardFriday on Twitter, I joked that once Child of Fire received 300 ratings on Goodreads, I would eat 3.64 out of 5 cookies in celebration. Well what do you know. It happened! Last night I bought some Pepperidge Farm Nantuckets (no limericks, please) because I knew I wouldn’t have time for the preferred option, which was baking fresh.
And I took pictures:
Continue reading
Hello, startling numbers of new visitors
StandardMy Rapture prank post is bringing in a bunch of new people, so I’m going to take a moment to point out that I’m a novelist with two books out (so far). You can find out more about them under the “All About Me” section in the upper right part of this page, or you can go directly to the first chapter of my first book.
Make yourself at home and do come back again.
You guys, OMG
StandardI just watched a rough cut of the Twenty Palaces trailer (no, I will not share) and it looks fantastic!
There are no effects yet, and the cut is still rough, right? Obviously. But it looks fantastic.
Sooooo excited!
Added later: I watched it at home with the sound, and it’s 50x more awesome. You guys, seriously.
Fun with Bookscan
StandardDid you know that Amazon.com lets authors look at the Bookscan numbers for their books? Of course you did. Did you know that Bookscan, which shows a fair portion of an author’s sales, doesn’t show them all? Probably.
But it’s still fun to look, right? Especially if you’re on deadline and have a massive amount of writing to do, and even less time than usual to do it.
Anyway, for quite a while the sales of Game of Cages and Child of Fire were going along at a steady pace. The numbers weren’t fantastic; HBO isn’t going to dump that Martin guy’s show for something made from mine, but it was steady and–best of all–not declining.
Then I did that guest stint at Charles Stross’s blog and those Bookscan numbers really jumped… for the length of time I was blogging there. After, they sloped back down.
But lately they’ve risen again, fairly steadily. I mean, the numbers are much nicer than before.
And I have no idea why. Am I being hilarious on Twitter? (all the spambots following me think so) This blog isn’t getting significantly more hits, and Google Alerts isn’t pointing me at any new reviews.
Which just goes to demonstrate that it’s true that authors don’t have a lot of control over books sale. Guest blogging did pretty well for me. This second surge? No clue. As far as I can tell, it has nothing to do with me or anything I’m doing.
Five Things Make a Friday Post
Standard1) Quick question: Should I do another August book giveaway to promote Circle of Enemies? I’m not sure it did me any good last time, as far as drawing in new readers, but it was nice to give away cool stuff.
2) My wife and son are spending the day on their bikes, riding the Burke-Gilman trail as far as they can go. That means that, instead of spending the day writing at a Starbucks and the library, I’m going to work at home, sans interruptions. Kitchen floor: swept.
3) What have I been working on? I should be able to let you know very soon.
4) Taxes are nearly done. At this point it’s about printing them, e-filing and transferring the money to the correct account. Also, I was a complete idiot about them this year. Here’s why: I’d been stressing over the bill. Now, we had the money in savings, but I was stressing over it because it would cut quite deeply into our cushion. It was only last night, late, that I remembered that I had a CD with no early-withdrawal penalties set aside specifically for taxes–and it has triple what I need to cover the bill. Phew!
5) I’m not gluten-free anymore. I did lose a little weight, but it was mainly because we didn’t have food available when I was hungry. Me with low blood sugar? Not a good husband. Not a good parent. Besides, it’s unsustainable and unhealthy. Also, it didn’t stop the allergic reactions on my face. (This is an FYI: no diet advice, please.)