Games - The Ally to Science Fiction and Fantasy

This year I'm going once again to Wondercon... And this time I'm not getting a booth.  Nor am I sharing a booth with anyone else.  Instead I'm getting a table in the gaming area and I'm going to hand out information there.  The reason is because most of the audience in sci fi and fantasy crosses over into games.

The reason I initially started developing games for Relic Worlds is because I knew it would be a way to interact with potential fans.  With books, I'm constantly pushing for them to purchase something.  With games, I could actually play with them; interact with them as they learn how to play.  They also get to step into the roles of the characters from the series, which makes them all the more curious to read about them.

Once the game is made, (which, thus far, I have also self-published like the books,) I can take it to game conventions in addition to sci fi conventions, and present it to a whole new, yet cross-over, audience.  I bring flyers for the books so people learn about it after playing.

I actually first learned about Game of Thrones from a board game.  I had no idea it was a book series until one of the players started saying, "that's what happened in the book!"  Of course, then I got interested and started reading it.  Since then, there have been more games about it that came out well before the show, which grew the audience faster than if it had just been a book series.

The game can also be visually pleasing.  In my case, the first game is a miniatures game, so I developed a large volcano, which my girlfriend jokingly calls "Breakup Mountain" because it almost led to that.  But it gets people's attention with its size and colorful orange and red lava pouring down the side; not to mention the fog that pours out the top when you pour dry ice inside.

We'll see what kind of crowd it can draw at Wondercon this year.  The entire intention is just to draw attention to the series.  I can't sell anything at the game table, but that's all right with me as even when I had my own booth, there were very few sales.  It was mostly about getting people to know about the series.

If you're there on March 23, come on by the gaming area.  We'll be easy to find.

Comparing the Publishing Industry to the Movie Industry

I've worked in both the film industry and the publishing industry, and I've found it striking how similar they are in terms of their various levels.  What's especially striking is how few people in those industries seem to recognize this similarity, or perhaps how much they're in denial, particularly in the publishing end.

Here are the different levels at which these industries connect:

Movie studios are the equivalent of major publishing houses
Independent movie studios are the equivalent of smaller publishing businesses
Youtube is the equivalent to self-publishing

People who work in publishing, especially those in major publishing houses, would be appalled to hear one say they operate like the film industry, and will deny it until they're blue in the face.  But it doesn't make it any less true.  If you want to get your script seen by a studio, you have to go through an agent who has the right connections.  If you want to get your manuscript read at a major publishing house, you need an agent with the right connections.  Often these agents work in the same office, and are sometimes the same person!  And while publishers will act like their work is superior to films, the agents who will get you to them will all say that they're only interested in a book that can get made into a movie.  To say that you're trying to write a book for the sake of a book will get you laughed at by the very people who smugly act like they're better than the film industry.  There's really no difference.

The benefit you'll get from a studio is huge amounts of publicity and large payment.  The drawback is you'll have to do everything their way.  This is the same with publishing with major publishing houses.  Their editors will tell you how they want you to do it.  These decisions will often be based on the same politics and financial analytics that studio executives deal with.

To get into an independent movie studio takes having a connection to them.  This doesn't always have to be an agent; you just have to have made the right connection to finagle your way in.  This connection can often be made at a film festival if you're not hanging around the right crowds.  This is also true of small publishing companies, like university presses.  You can often make those connections at book fairs if you're not hanging around the right circles.

The benefit you'll get from an independent studio is you'll get exposed to all the art audiences and the festival circuits, as well as you'll have a short run in theaters and on TV.  The drawback is that you won't get as much traction as you would out of a major studio and when it's done, the production company owns it, not you; even if it barely got shown and you know how it could get better exposure.  When they're done with it, it's done.  This is the same with a small book company.  They'll release it to all the book festivals and to a number of independent bookstores... Maybe you'll get on the shelves of select Barnes & Nobles stores and it'll probably be available on Amazon for a time.  But when the company is done with it, they're done, and you no longer have the rights.

Producing for Youtube is literally the same thing as self-publishing a book.  When you press "upload" you are literally self-publishing.  I emphasize this because it's shocking how few Youtubers seem to understand this.  Luminaries in their field like John Green self-publish amazing Youtube videos, then put down self-publishing books.  Booktubers who review all sorts of mainstream books by huge publishing houses refuse to look at self-published works, all the while not acknowledging the fact that they themselves self-publish their videos.  Their similarities here should be self-evident, even though it's gone over the heads of so many in the Youtube world.

The benefit of self-publishing is that you have the freedom to tell the story the way you want to.  You don't have to alter your vision based on what some executive thinks is in vogue, and you'll be able to keep pushing the book long after the initial six months after release are over, (the time that most publishers give up on a book.)  You can also sell on Amazon, the top seller of all books.  Hell, they'll even help you publish it.  The drawback, of course, is you're in charge of everything.  You have to buy the artwork for the cover.  You have to get the editor, (and yes, you need one.)  You then have to promote it, and believe me, most other people in self-publishing won't help you.  Youtubers obliviously consider self-publishing to be unimportant, (even though THEY are self-publishers,) and many, many blog reviewers say in their terms, "no self-published works".  This is, of course, the height of hypocrisy, but that's the sort of uphill road you have to traverse when you're self-published.  And it is VERY hard to get noticed through all the noise.

Serializing My Stories

Relic Worlds is supposed to have the feel of serialized stories.  Its original influences, Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark, were themselves inspired by serialized stories.  That format has come alive again on TV in the form of Netflix and Amazon series where episodes tend to end on a cliffhanger, or leaving the viewer begging to know what happens next.  This is the source of "binge watching".

I've therefore been wanting to do that with Relic Worlds for a while, but I finally got pushed into it when book 3 wasn't getting done in time, so I decided to release "part 1" in March, then parts 2 and 3 will come in 6 month increments.

From that, I got inspired to do the same thing with books 1 and 2.  Book 2 had had this problem on Amazon where the wrong file had been attached, so I needed to get the correct story out to people anyway, so it's perfect timing for me to do a type of re-release.  This gives it a chance to be presented in a format that's very appropriate for the type of story it is.

Also, being that there are six weeks until book 3, part 1 releases, it's also perfect timing for me to release one part of each of the first two books each week, because they're each in 3 parts.  This leaves a proverbial trail of breadcrumbs right up to the next book.

Each part is available for 99 cents, and the full books are available for 2.99 on Kindle.  The paperbacks are the same.  Book 3 will only release in paperback once the entire story is done.  I'm hoping to do it this way from now on.  We'll see how it works out.

Using Games to Promote my Books

I've noticed an interesting dynamic ever since I've been running a gaming channel; it's been easier for me to promote my games than it's been to promote my books.  I have often felt bad about this as books should be my higher priority.  That is my primary career after all.

However, I find that when I go to book sites on Facebook, Google +, forums and other locations, it tends to be "beggars begging from beggars."  What I mean by that is it's writers and self-publishers trying only to promote their books.  Everyone seems to be a promoter and no one seems to be the audience.

Writers are, of course, readers as well, and that's the presumption.  But it comes across as a sea of everyone doing what you're doing, and it's hard to stand out.

What has been a bit more successful for me, however, is when I do a video about an RPG game that we've played, and I post it on Youtube, then Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.  Suddenly all the gamers get sucked into the story and want to see more.  It's unique and interesting, and I don't look quite so desperate to sell something.  When I finally come around to telling everyone, hey, by the way, I have a book, they're much more receptive.  They haven't been bombarded with 30 other books in the past hour.

For instance, I have a show called RPG Storytime where I take the story from an RPG story and I tell it in a video with miniatures using narration, sound effects, etc. to tell the tale.  Other people who play that game watch the show, ostensibly get interested in my writing, and hopefully they'll check out my original works.  This is also beneficial because the games are often from worlds like Star Wars, so I can interest people who are fans of that, even if they're not gamers.  You can click below to see some of these webisodes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVxssH4-QqA&list=PLJ55yyr7uUQAAXRGrng3rX3fRsigvVavS

This would most likely be successful in other types of sites other than gaming as the primary ingredient here is the fact that it's away from the crowd of other authors hawking their wares.  However, I like that community partly because it's something I really enjoy, and it's also a very interactive medium since everyone is looking to play with one another.

#writing #gaming #starwars

My Book Reviews

            When I tried to get my books reviewed, some of the first places I thought to go to were blogs and Youtube book reviewers.  They were the logical choice considering the fact that they were themselves self-publishers.  I was shocked and amazed at how many of them refused to review self-published materials, never recognizing their own hypocrisy.

            I’m a believer in putting your effort where your mouth is, so I did a Youtube book review show where I only reviewed independently published books.  It was the only one on Youtube of its kind.  I was proud of it, and I mixed it with doing my weight loss as I would read the books while out on walks, and check my weight after doing the reviews.

            What was frustrating was that the views never got to be very high.  I would get the people whose books I was reviewing, some of their readers and friends, then I would get completely different viewers the next week.  None of them were watching other reviews, supporting other independently published authors.

            It’s frustrating seeing this sort of every man and woman for him and her self.  This whole industry is very difficult already, and we’re competing with large corporations that have many employees.  The best thing we can do for ourselves is to band together and help each other.

            I want to go back to reviewing these books.  I feel strongly about independent publishing, and I want to help others as I want to be helped as well.  But I’ve been taking a break from it for now as the effort was going to waste while I was ignoring my own projects.  Hopefully that will change.

Using a Mailing List

            As time has gone by I’ve been hearing more and more how important a mailing list is.  I disregarded its importance as I felt that emailing people was more of a nuisance to both me and the people I’d be emailing, and I didn’t see how it would be effective.  I figured that if someone was interested enough to give me their email address, they were already looking at my work, and they didn’t need me to bother them with reminders about it.

            However, I heard about mailing lists being important enough that I finally looked into it, and I began to see the value.  First, it’s really only helpful if you are regularly coming out with material.  So if you have a mailing list for you as a writer, then you need to regularly be coming out with books or other written materials.  If the mailing list is about a series, then you need to be regularly coming out with written materials for that series.

            The problem with the former is that your list will likely be made up of people who became interested in your writing because of one specific book.  So you’re going to need to stay within that genre in order to keep their interest.  If your newsletters become about a subject they’re not interested in, they’ll unsubscribe, even if you’re just taking a short break from that type of writing.

            So it’s best to focus on a particular series and collect names and addresses of people who want to follow along.  For me, that’s been Relic Worlds because not only is it a series, but it’s a series with a lot of ancillary elements.  There are short stories, games, a comic book, etc.  There’s something to talk about every month, and more material to release, so the newsletters have material and aren’t just empty ramblings of me saying, “something more is coming sometime, I promise!”

            I’ve found that there are two methods to build the mailing list that work the best, conventions and giveaways.  At conventions, you’re trying to get people to look at your books, but they’re not sure whether they’re ready to commit to buying or even reading them yet.  So a mailing list is a good way to get a taste without a commitment.  It’s also a way to remind them that you exist, as opposed to a flyer which will likely get thrown away once they’re home, no matter how interested they are in your product.

            Giveaways are the way to do it from home.  You need to get a prize people will want, and it’s a great idea to get something that matches what you’re selling.  In my case, I gave away a Kindle Fire and I included one of the Relic Worlds books.  That way they not only get a prize they want, they also have a means for which to read my books, and a starter.  But the real prize for me was all the email addresses that people had to give in order to enter the raffle.

            Now, I don’t want lists of people who won’t be interested in my series.  That wastes everyone’s time.  Even once I have their email addresses, when I send them a newsletter, they’ll just unsubscribe because they’re not interested.  Or, worse yet, they won’t unsubscribe and I’ll continue to send them information that’s useless to both them and me.  So I promote it on sites where I think my readership will go, and I make sure keywords are always included that have scifi, adventure, books, etc.

            I use Shortstack as my sweepstakes provider.  They help collect all the email addresses, and provide a means by which to make a good looking sweepstakes page.  I might switch this out as I wasn’t extremely impressed with their service considering the cost.  But it wasn’t bad.  They’re at: http://www.shortstack.com/

            I use Mailchimp to create and send the newsletters.  They’ve been fantastic.  They’re at: http://mailchimp.com/

Book Talks

            I’ll be traveling around the Midwest and Texas in October giving talks at Rotary clubs and libraries.  I’d put the tour list here, but it’s long, and would take a lot of time for me to look up all the addresses and/or contact information, and no one goes to these events based on this blog, so I’m not going to take the time to list them now.

            Instead I’m going to talk about why I go to these clubs and give these talks.  I have found Rotary clubs, and groups like it, to be an invaluable tool for independent non-fiction promotion.  The organizers of these clubs need to find a new speaker every single week, and they’re trying to find subjects interesting enough to keep their members coming back.  Having a true story to tell is a blessing for them, as long as it’s an interesting one.  While I struggled for years to get bookstores to let me do signings, clubs that need regular speakers have been more than willing to accept me.  And some have even contacted me and asked me to come to their organization to speak, saving me the time of having to go to them.

            I haven’t been charging for these events as I want to get into as many as possible.  I make money by selling copies of my books at them, and sometimes I make a couple hundred at a single event.  It’s not enough to live on as the work required to set it up and to travel there winds up being inefficient.  However, it spreads the word of the book and of me as an author.  I often make friends and contacts who later join me on social media, and they see what else I’m writing.  Like most things in independent publishing, it pays to have a number of titles so each individual event doesn’t wind up being your only trick.

            I approach these organizations by looking them up, finding out who would be in charge of booking guests, (if I can’t find that, I just find the president or whomever is in charge,) and I email them.  I tell them what the story is and I provide a link to the web page where the information is listed.  I also mention anything that is sellable about the story.  (In the case of Two Gun Hart I tell them that it’s the first time a lot of information about the Capones has ever been revealed.)  And I make sure to mention anything that’s relevant to their area, as sometimes clubs prefer stories with a local connection.  (Oddly enough, most of the ones in Iowa wouldn’t have me as a guest unless I could show a local connection.)

            This doesn’t work so well when it comes to fiction because typically the best you can do is say you have a story you’ve made up.  The problem is, everyone has a story they’ve made up, and they don’t know why yours is extra special.  And besides, people at events like these usually want to hear about something that’s true.  They’re fascinated by true stories and will gladly invite authors with great true stories to their events.