Glamour of the God-Touched Announcement

[roncollins]

Indeed, I do love real books, too. I've come to build a bit of affinity to the feel of a Kindle, but a book has a unique physicality to it that cannot be replicated. :)

Everything seems to be rolling out now, too. E-books and P-books. Very exciting. :)

[John]

Cool. Just ordered Glamour and the two PEBA books. I love real books.

Ditto on both points! I don't yet have an e-reader (someday ...), so this really isn't a debate for me: it has to be physical all the way. My estimated day of arrival is two weeks from today. Glamour of the God-Touched will jump to the top of my reading pile when it arrives.

[Mike Dunn]

Arrived!

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Great beach reading ahead, even if its in the 20s here .

[roncollins]

Mike -- You are my hero. :)

I'm pleased to report that GGT has been in the top 40-50 of Amazon's "short reads" SF/F since last Thursday...so I'm hoping you like it. It actually has been in and out of the Literature and Dark Fantasy top 100 lists, too. So ... it's been much fun.

EDIT - If you like it, your review can really help.

[Mike Dunn]

Yes, I'll post drooling honest reviews of all three once I'm done.

I'm curious about the differences in the printings between the PEBA novels and GoTG -- specifically the finish of the cover (glossy vs matte?) and the paper quality. Are these options within CreateSpace?

Also curious about your decision to essentially serialize GoTG vs a single novel. I like the concept, but why did you decide on that format?

[roncollins]

Glossy and matte options are provided in CreateSpace. I chose matte finish for GGT because I thought it gave a grittier feeling. i really like how it turned out.

As far as why I serialized, here's a little thing from something I posted earlier today (as a writer, you might be interested in the whole thing).

As it turns out, Amy’s post has things almost right when it comes to Glamour of the God-Touched (and the whole SGTM series) in that it had a many-twisted path to its birthing. I originally envisioned them years ago as a series of novellas, but I wrote them as novels because that’s what I thought I needed to do to be “commercial.” I wrote on them, and wrote on them, and wrote on them. For years, actually. But they didn’t breathe right, and when I would talk to publishers about them, and the editors or agents would get excited, but then kind of scratch their heads and go other directions. Truthfully, I don’t think that even I liked them in that format. But that’s what I thought they needed to be to “sell.” But, after years of setting the story aside, and then trying it out again, and setting it aside, I finally decided to do it the way I originally envisioned them. Suddenly they spoke to me again. I know what I want to say with them, you know? They pulled at things inside me. And when I put them together the way I originally envisioned them, I knew I was in the right space. I’m proud of them.

and ...

For example, when I pitched SGTM as serial fantasy novellas to editors and agents in the traditional markets (which I did), they all just kinda grinned and said “we can’t sell novellas.” Which is marketing speak for “we don’t see sales opportunity out there.” And, for the way they market, they are probably right. Or at least, they can make more money if they spend their capital on art products that will have a better “hit rate” with the reading public.
Hence, it was either find very small press, or do it through Skyfox. Ten years ago, that wouldn’t have been an option, but now it is. And so that’s what I’ve done.

[roncollins]

Fun fact of the night...Glamour of the God-Touched is in the top 20 in the UK Dark Fantasy List! (#19 ... if you catch it quick!).

[John]

Fun fact of the night...Glamour of the God-Touched is in the top 20 in the UK Dark Fantasy List! (#19 ... if you catch it quick!).

You're going global, Ron!

... And I just received my copy today! Woo hoo!

[roncollins]

Good to hear. Hope you like it. :)

[Mike Dunn]

Fun fact of the night...Glamour of the God-Touched is in the top 20 in the UK Dark Fantasy List! (#19 ... if you catch it quick!).

I just read a timely post from another self-publishing writer: "When you are on a top 100 best amazon list, Amazon's algorithms kick in and you get more exposure." So this is the sort of thing that snowballs.

[roncollins]

It can. That is why early sales velocity and early reviews are so valuable.

[roncollins]

In other words... A sale or review in week one or week two can create more sales than a sale or review in week six or week seven. If you want to support your favorite authors (not just me!), early action always beats waiting.

[John]

In other words... A sale or review in week one or week two can create more sales than a sale or review in week six or week seven. If you want to support your favorite authors (not just me!), early action always beats waiting.

Which is exactly why I'll have my Amazon review in this coming week.

[roncollins]

Advance notice to some of my print peeps. In order to ensure the book is available at various sites on "launch day" (11/30) I've made the print version of volume 2, Trail of the Torean available now. It's just a tad pricier than #1, but it's three times the physical size. :)

For those keeping score, Glamour has been as high as #3 in the UK dark fantasy list, and #23 in the US short reads SF/F list (can't seem to break into the top 20 there...so close. :) ). I really do appreciate all your support! It's been fun to watch it all unfold so far.

[Mike Dunn]

In order to ensure the book is available at various sites on "launch day" (11/30) I've made the print version of volume 2, Trail of the Torean available now.

Questions: by this do you mean that you need to have the book available first on Createspace in order for it to be listed as the paperback option on Amazon and other sites when the e-book launches?

Also, curious about the $8.99 price point. This strikes me as potentially off-putting for a novella-length piece. And a big jump from the $2.99 of the first. What led you to that price? (Not being critical, just curious).

Finally, I frankly am surprised that your Createspace bio lists the PEBA novels above your Analog/Asimov credits. With all due respect to PEBA, I'd think these should be highlighted first. And why no mention of the Picasso collection?

Congrats on the success of Glamour so far.