Cris Game

I was on one of the author boards recently, and - as will happen from time to time - another writer was complaining about the inability to afford some of the "basics" of self-publishing: cover art, editing, and so on.  Now, it's no secret that selling books is difficult, and a lot of the essential elements that go into a good book (e.g., a good cover) aren't exactly cheap.  However, rather than find a way to scrape together the cash, some authors would rather publish a book with a bad cover, no editing, etc. (To me, that's like an auto manufacturer deciding to only put three wheels on a car because they couldn't afford the fourth.) I'm always disappointed by this type of passivity, because in my opinion it shows an extreme lack of hustle. Unfortunately, thanks to The Hustler - a famous film starring Paul Newman - terms like "hustle" and "hustler"have gotten a bad rap.  Today, when people hear "hustler," they often think of so...

So I was just sitting here thinking about my upcoming writing schedule (ie, the order in which I'm going to write the next few books, when they'll be released, etc.), and it suddenly occurred to me that I had just passed my 3-year self-publishing anniversary. Yep, it's been three years since I launched my scifi/fantasy writing career (some time around end of April/beginning of May - I don't remember exactly), and I have to say it's been a blast. First of all, readers have been great. They have warmly embraced both me and my books with an enthusiasm that was unexpected but incredibly rewarding, as evidenced by the reception that my most recent release, Coronation , enjoyed: Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #257 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store) #1 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy > Superhero #1 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy > Superheroes #1 in Kindle Store > Kindle eB...

It's hard to sell books. That's a simple truth.  You can do everything right in terms of genre tropes, expectations, etc., and still have a dud. In some cases, it's a true mystery: the author will have a well-written story, a fantastic cover and a killer blurb...and the book won't sell a single copy.  It's a real head-scratcher. In other instances, however, it's plain as day why the book is struggling: the author will have done a terrible job on all three fronts - cover, blurb, and story - but will marvel at the injustice in the universe when readers fail to fight tooth and nail to purchase copies.  In those instances, the author can come across as somewhat delusional in terms of both their sales expectations and how readers will react to their work.  By way of example: I have a friend who has written a book. I offered to help them with the self-publishing process since they had never done it before. I also offered to help edit it so that they wouldn't have ...