I’ve never had much interest in writing personal blogs (the ones that make me money are information/review/shopping types), but I’m planning to document my ebook-publishing journey on this one (the web address is my name, after all). So, I’ll start out answering a few questions my thus-far-imaginary readers might have:
What’s your project?
Hey, thanks for asking. For my first ebook, I’ll be putting together a collection of short stories that star a pair of goblin heroes, Malagach and Gortok. Their adventures are for middle-grade readers (the heroes themselves are ten and twelve), but a few adult readers have admitted to enjoying the stories (yeah, amazing, I know–and they’re not even related to me!).
Five of the seven stories I’m putting into the ebook are already up at my website, Goblin Brothers Short Stories, and there’s a free pdf version of them for anyone who signs up for the newsletter. I’m adding two new stories for the Kindle ebook version.
Do you think you’ll make any money?
I’m planning to sell the ebook for 99 cents, and I’ll get to keep about 30 cents of that (this is at Amazon–I haven’t checked out the other marketplaces yet), so the short answer is… no. I’ll be shocked if I earn back what I’m paying for a cover design.
This one isn’t about making money though. I’d actually list it for free in the Amazon store if I could, but apparently you have to be a somebody (i.e. have a publisher) to be able to swing that with the Amazon Gods. I wrote the short stories with the intent of introducing people to the characters. I’m planning to do a series of novels with these heroes (working on the first!), so I figure it couldn’t hurt to have some potential readers before the first novel comes out.
How much is it going to cost to put together your ebook?
Ebook vendors like Amazon and Smashmouth have made it easy to get an ebook out there without spending any money to get listed. If you have skills and/or know people with skills, you could theoretically publish an ebook for free.
I’m lacking in illustration skills and patience, so I’ll be paying for someone to design the cover and also to do the formatting so it’ll look professional. A lot of people learn to do the formatting themselves, or use programs that do it for you (sort of), but I’m a big fan of outsourcing anything that’s likely to make me pull hairs out.
Another thing some folks pay for is editing. I’ve run my stories through my critique group, so the typos, missing words, awkward sentences, etc. should be taken care of at this point. I’m sure a couple typos will still slip through (I always find them in the first printing of traditionally published books too–nobody’s perfect!), but I’m not going to pay for an editor for this one.
Ultimately, I’m expecting this to cost me a couple hundred dollars.
When will the ebook be published?
Soon! I’ve got someone lined up to do the formatting and someone else is working on the cover art. I’m hoping to have this live before Thanksgiving. So, if you want to give yourself the gift of goblins this holiday season, you’ll have the opportunity to do so. And for only 99 cents. Not bad, eh?
This is exciting, and it’s not even my work! You have to email your buddies when this is released. I am waiting in line!
From what I hear at the conventions, some authors do get noticed this way. And I think Steve Miller and Sharon Lee were one of the first to give this shot. Go Lindsay!
YAY! More Malagach and Gortok. (Yes, I’m one of the aforementioned adult readers.) Can’t wait to get the Kindle version. At that price I can gift it to a lot of people. 🙂
I’ve decided to go back to the very beginning, Lindsay, and see how your story progressed. Hopefully it’ll help me in shifting more books and creating a following as you have done 🙂
Hah, I see! Well, I think it’s all there on the blog somewhere. I started this about a month before publishing. 🙂
I was just going to do my children’s short stories but quickly decided to go full-steam ahead with everything (which is good because the adult fiction is a much easier sell on the Kindle!).
Exactly, and see how much success you’ve had!! So I thought I’d go back to the beginning, when you were a newbie like me, and find some hidden gems – of which I’m sure there are many that I’ve probably missed 🙂