Stuff I mentioned:
The Cast and Characters page! (always available among “The Story” links on the right)
The Skyscraper Ad Contest – written details in the previous post
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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Stuff I mentioned: The Cast and Characters page! (always available among “The Story” links on the right) The Skyscraper Ad Contest – written details in the previous post Podcast: Play in new window | Download Win a free, gorgeous t-shirt from the new Cowry Catchers swag store. Or, you know, just buy one. To enter the contest, you need to create an ad 160 pixels wide by 600 pixels tall, using artwork from the books. It can be a JPG, PNG, or GIF. It can move if you wish, but it must be no bigger than 100K. Enter as many times as you like. I may use all ads, even those that don’t win, to promote CC. Post your entries in the forums or send them to me (hilton at fauness dot com). Contest ends Feb 1st. We will vote on the most provocative ad (most likely to make people click and stay) the following week. Also, if you want the piratey font that I use in the titles of my books, it’s Windlass. Examples of ad are here and here. The art above is by Jeff Mcdowall. It’s the wrong dimensions for this contest, but it’s a good example of a provocative idea with few words. And if you really want to make your own art for the ad, go ahead! Other important links: Cowry Catchers Book 1, the non-illustrated version – free on Smashwords My books on BN (They’ve currently got Prophet on sale for free. I have no idea why, but I’m not too worried about it.) I <3 your reviews! Podcast: Play in new window | Download I’m posting the PDF for the first 3 chapters of Book 3. That’s a sneak peek of the first episode (and a better stopping place than we’re currently at). Merry Christmas! Art by Jeff McDowall. E-Book PDF: Open in New Window | Download Hello, listeners! I guess you’re my readers today. I promised you a post-postmortem on my experiment with the Silveo story. It’s been up for about a quarter of a year, and although I see no reason to take it down, the bulk of the sales are definitely over. We’re in the trickle that is often called the “long tale” of publishing. For those of you who are unfamiliar with my work, here’s the background – I’ve been podcasting fiction for free since 2008. In April of this year, I tried selling a related short story for $2 on the website of a podcast novel that had already finished (The Prophet of Panamindorah). That experiment was moderately successful. I took what I learned from that, and in October, I offered a 3,000 word short story about a popular character from my current podcast series. I produced this story every way I could think of, because I wanted to know what people would buy. The top-tier cost $4.99. The lowest tier cost $0.99. I purchased artwork, and I pay my voice actors 25% of whatever Paypal gives me for the fullcast version. Recently, I took down the lower-priced options, because no one was buying them. I learned a lot from this experiment. I could ramble on about it, but I’ll give you the numbers, and you can draw your own conclusions. Numbers sold - Fullcast (plus everything else): 99 As near as I can tell from Paypal, my listeners are: Total Paid to Voice Actors: $116.08 My net income after all expenses (Paypal fees, VA’s, artwork): $310.58 Is short fiction dead? You tell me. I’ve never made a pro rate on fiction before. I doubt I could have sold this story to a magazine for $300 (plus whatever else I’ll make on it next year). In addition, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with many people saying they would like to buy more. However, this story wasn’t produced in isolation. It’s not worth $4.99 all by itself. It’s worth that to my listeners in the context of the larger (free) podcast. That is important to keep in mind if you’re a creative person looking at this and considering the possibilities. Aaaand just to put everything in perspective… My podcast and related projects were never intended to be money-making ventures. I just wanted an engaged audience and an excuse to keep telling stories. However, I’d also like to work part-time and write, so maybe I should start looking at this more like a business. I have not been trying to make money. I wonder what would happen if I actually tried… I guess we’ll find out, because I’m definitely treating the eBooks like a business. If you enjoy my work, this is all good. I plan to keep putting out a lot of free and inexpensive content. The podcast for Book 3 is coming along. I think 2011 will be a good year for Cowry Catchers and the rest of my stories. *Artwork is by Rah Cloutier.
Hi, guys! I have eBooks! For all kinds of eReaders! From now until Christmas, I’m doing a 2-for-the-price-of-one special. Listen to the podcast for details, and visit the store on the right to purchase. Podcast: Play in new window | Download This is my interview with Morchella’s voiceactor. She is the mastermind behind the Geek Pantheon and Your Moment of Kim, which is rumored to be backed by the notorious SSDWC (Secret Society for Delayed World Conquest). Shhh! Don’t tell! No, wait. Scratch that. Do tell! Tell everyone to go and listen! Here’s the direct iTunes link. Things we meantioned: Abbie on GetGlue (I just looked this up) Ragnell – Kim’s feminst comic book blogger sister. Podcast: Play in new window | Download This week, I did an interview with Chris Moody of Podiomedia Chat. The Tagging program I couldn’t remember is PBTagit by Bob Ranch. Podcast: Play in new window | Download This begins with about 28 minutes of feedback. If you just want the outtakes, skip to the last 12 minutes. Stuff I mentioned: Podcast: Play in new window | Download Chapter 32. Vicious and Deceitful Story-so-Far is by Christof Laputka of The Leviathan Chronicles. Voice Credits Nathan Lowell Sound Credits Beth Quist – Grace, Monsters, Q Song, Planet The illustration this week is by Sarah Cloutier. Podcast: Play in new window | Download Chapter 29. Gwain Story-so-Far is by Hatching Phoenix of The Way of the Buffalo Podcast. Voice Credits Nathan Lowell Sound Credits Kim Fortuner – All I Want The illustration this week is by Sarah Cloutier. Podcast: Play in new window | Download |
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