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?
A lot of agent- and publisher-hunting authors have a 15-second elevator pitch prepared for their novels. Should they ever corner an agent in the bathroom or have the opportunity to leap out at an editor from behind a potted ficus, they are ready to rattle that pitch off. An enticing little tidbit designed to sell the novel.
