Don’t panic. There’s nothing bad in this post at all.
Due to USA Today’s bestseller list going defunct (on hiatus, with an update coming in 2023), I’ve made the decision I will not be deliberately attempting to make this list if it DOES come back. (You all were amazing, and you crushed it in May of 2022, when Plaidypus hit the list as a full-priced new release.) Sure, I could do better and aim for #1 (AHAHAHA, I would only need like 20,000 more readers to have a chance) but I won’t be doing it. At least on purpose.
It’s the end of an era for me, and honestly, it’s a relief.
So, here is the primary change:
Instead of releasing books on Tuesday, I will be releasing books on Friday. This will not change the release dates for the Vampire of Montana or Doggone Mess. Those are set for release on my birthday.
My birthday books, as a result of this change, will just release on my birthday, whichever day of the week that happens to fall on. I won’t do any double features if it lands on a Tuesday again, though. (This is the last time I’ll be doing a double feature. Double features are STRESSFUL.)
So, I’m going to be spending the next few days evaluating my work schedule. Without the competitive nature of USA Today driving me, I’m going to figure out how to balance “doing things leisurely” versus “keeping the deadlines needed to make certain I FINISH things” which is really really really REALLY important.
I thrive with deadlines. I play World of Warcraft without them. And I mean, I LOVE World of Warcraft, but I need to work.
2022 was a year of recovery. It was hard, but I gave myself a chance to breathe. There were fewer books. (And lesser income as a result.) But I breathed. Breathing is important.
Now, with change looming around the corner, I’m going to decide just how I want to make the rest of my career happen.
Currently, this is how it works:
Patreon is where the die hard fans go for behind the scenes stuff. To get the books, you need to be a little tech savvy. If you are not tech savvy, please stick to retail. I, personally, cannot customer service your stuff if you can’t figure out how to get the books off Patreon and onto your e-readers. I AM working on a guide to help people figure it out, but I do not have the energy to be a customer service agent. (And Bookfunnel had even MORE problems than just attaching the files to Patreon posts. And it’s hugely time consuming to set up properly.)
Books are priced $5.99 over on Patreon.
Retail will remain the same as always, with new full-length novels being priced at $6.99. Minimum length of a full-length novel is now 80kish. (Which is a chunky little book.) Most of my books are 90-100k.
Retail will be the ONLY place to get anthologies or collections of any sort. I can’t adjust the prices on the per novel patreon realistically.
The short story patreon is a “as I have the emotional energy to do them” sort of thing.
Audiobooks are going to be done the same as usual, although I am trying to get them released closer to the ebook’s first adventure into the wilds. Same with print.
At this time, I’m still not distributing to Amazon’s audible program due to their return policies. I recommend Chirp if you want to get your hands on my audiobooks at a reasonable price. (And it’s typically cheaper than an audible credit anyway, so you save money.)
Yes, there will be trade editions available moving forward, for those who participated in the kickstarter, but they will be printed over at Amazon, which has… issues.
Ingram will not let me do both editions through them, sorry.
(And I need to use ingram for library access, as Amazon’s library access is laughable at best.)
So, yeah. Fridays for future book releases, so you can have a good weekend.
I hope you all are having a great day. Here’s a picture from my Death Valley trip. I will do a trip post when I feel a little better. I can has a sick. (I’m negative for COVID. It’s probably a sinus infection due to allergies. But there’s still plenty of time to catch COVID from my trip I’m sure. lololol)
Love the Friday release! I had no idea that Tuesday release day was controlled by MSM lists. I don’t look at lists cuz my favorite books and authors aren’t usually on them.
I just order or pre-order when the release comes out and do not even notice the date. “A new book, cool, write it down on excel sheet with order date, and hit get the book!”
Groovy. And regarding needed tech skills, this old fogy downloaded (and really liked) the last ones.
I am not minding the Friday release. The Tuesday release was hard because I became a zombie on Wednesday due to lack of sleep from reading the book late into the morning or at my desk cause I have no will power to put it down. I have been know to give my students review work so that I could continue reading.
Please keep giving yourself “me” time. Stress will kill you and then how will we get our fix of wonderful books?
PS I love looking at the pictures of your trips!
Thank you for the warning. I am NOT tech savvy so will stay buying everything you write from B & N. Love your books.
As long as I can eventually get excited over a new book of yours, the day they come out has no actual bearing whatsoever so please do what makes life easier for you!
Where can I find audiobook versions of your books?
Chirp Books is the easiest way to get audiobooks, plus they frequently have discounted deals, so you can get aux for as little as $0.99.
World of Warcraft is a valid way to not work! I had to stop playing so I could afford your books, but I am very happy with the results. Take the time you need for you as a happy authour writes better stories! ?
Take care, hope you are better soon, happy holidays to you, hubby and the fur family
2022 was a year of recovery for me as well, and for a lot of people around me. I am so glad you took the time, the energy to redraw your boundaries, safeguard yourself and prioritize your mental health. You being honest about it – and sharing to the degree you are comfortable to do so – is a great example, and I thank you for it.
I love the Patreon solution, since it means I get the books I love ‘automatically’. I’d appreciate if you made a special note of when non-patreon anthologies etc. are being released, on Patreon too, so I know to pay attention and buy it retail!
Wish you the best holidays, light up your lights and feel the love your readers are sending to you!
As long as you keep writing, I’ll be happy. Can’t afford to do Patreon, so I’ll wait for the digital releases.