Bryan Thomas Schmidt

Write Tip: The Importance Of Distance

Published on January 26, 2012March 9, 2020 by Bryan3 Comments

I know it’s not obvious but I’m not a patient person. I hate waiting. I hate lines. The only form of delay I enjoy is procrastination. I’m awesome with that one. But because of this problems have developed from time to time. I always heard people talk about how important it was to get distance from your work before doing second drafts, etc. I always struggled. So excited about it, caught up. It was hell to put it aside for two or three days, let alone a month or two. And I think some of the criticisms I got in reviews for The Worker Prince reflects that struggle. I see little things I could done better. I know, authors always do that. But I see a few bigger things, too. (Oh, you say, that never happens to me.) Okay. I’m not perfect. Is that what you needed to hear? Feeling good about yourself?

In early November though, I turned in The Returning, my sequel to The Worker Prince, and my publisher was busy with another novel release and I launched immediately into a sword & sorcery book I was chomping at the bit to write. And somehow, I didn’t look at The Returning again until early January, when we started editing it. My beta reader’s feedback had already been incorporated before the publisher got it. So I was feeling pretty confident it was a better book than The Worker Prince. (My goal in life is to improve, just saying). But nonetheless, before I cracked the pages, I compiled a chart of all the negatives from the good reviews The Worker Prince has received and decided to make sure none of them repeated in the sequel.

As I began to go back through, it was fun to rediscover my book. It had been written over nine hellish months during which my now ex was hospitalized five times for mental illness, I lost my part time job, went through divorce, came close to bankruptcy, etc. In other words, a period where I had weeks, even a whole month, of no writing. So I wrote in total chaos. To make matters worse, the plot was complicated and I had fifteen Point of View characters. By the time I was done, I was totally struggling to remember what I’d done earlier. I was sure the book was a complete mess. My beta readers, however, raved and, upon reading The Worker Prince (which I refused to let them do until they were well into The Returning), assurred me this book was better. I didn’t really find it that easy to believe. Until I started back through.

Not saying it’s genius. Not saying it’s Twain. But I did find the book a lot better than I remembered. I also found a lot of conflicting plot holes and repetition and other items needing fixing. Things I didn’t catch on my second pass with beta reader’s notes. Things they didn’t catch. I’m pretty confident I wouldn’t have caught them without that distance. So, yeah, I’m starting to believe even more than I did before that good distance is vital to better writing.

For example, descriptions are a weakness for me. I come from a screenwriting and journalism background so having to wax poetic about setting and emotions is hard for me. I didn’t practice it much until I started with fiction. Much of my rewrites involve looking for opportunities to do this. In fact, I found that I had not even described the various vehicles in my story. Everybody knows what they are from book 1, right? Ha! Never assume. I’ve striven very hard to make book 2 a standalone entry for the series, not requiring people to go back to the first book unless they want to. (I hope they will, I need the sales and it has its own charms, I swear). That was why I wanted betas who hadn’t read the first book. So here I was leaving out vital description. How embarrassing would it have been to leave that out?

Other examples, I found repeated scenes where I did the same thing twice in separate settings. I found extraneous dialogue to cut. I found repetitive word choices. All things it’s so much easier to see with fresh eyes. Fresh eyes also helps me see character arcs and themes better. I find motifs and other elements I can repeat or use to add depth to the story and characters as well.

So, yes, I do believe distancing yourself from your work is vital to good fiction writing. And I think we do ourselves a favor when we force patience and take time away. After all, it writing is an art (and I do strive for it to be), part of the artistic process is seeking excellence. Anything one can do to get better perspective and improve is worth doing. Don’t you think?

What are your experiences with taking time away? Do you have a set period? Do you ignore the advice? Has it helped you? Hindered you? Frustrated you? I’d love to discuss it more in comments. I’m sure there’s a lot more to say but those are my thoughts for now. For what it’s worth…

Bryan Thomas Schmidt is the author of the space opera novel The Worker Prince, a Barnes & Noble Best SF Releases of 2011 Honorable Mention, the collection The North Star Serial, Part 1, and has several short stories forthcoming in anthologies and magazines. His second novel, The Returning, is forthcoming from Diminished Media Group in 2012. He’s also the host of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer’s Chatevery Wednesday at 9 pm EST on Twitter, where he interviews people like Mike Resnick, AC Crispin, Kevin J. Anderson and Kristine Kathryn Rusch. A frequent contributor to Adventures In SF Publishing, Grasping For The Wind and SF Signal, he can be found online as @BryanThomasS on Twitter or via his website. Excerpts from The Worker Prince can be found on his blog.‎ Bryan is an affiliate member of the SFWA.

4 5-star & 12 4-star reviews THE WORKER PRINCE $4.99 Kindle http://amzn.to/pnxaNm or Nook http://bit.ly/ni9OFh $14.99 tpb http://bit.ly/qIJCkS.

The Versatile Blogger Award, Hugos, and My 2012 Forthcoming Books

Published on January 20, 2012March 9, 2020 by Bryan4 Comments

Well, it’s award season, so it’s obligatory to let you know that The Worker Prince is eligible for Hugo nominations. I suppose I’m also eligible for the Best New Writer Award. But far more important, if you ask me, SFFWRTCHT and the column interviews are eligible for Hugos in Best Fan Writer. Please keep this in mind if you feel it’s worthy. I certainly understand if you don’t though, because I’m just getting started here.

Speaking of awards, though, my blog has been nominated for:

The Versatile Blogger Award!!

The very kind J.C. Piech nominated me. I’d never read his blog before, so I so appreciate his nominating me, not only because it was very kind of him, but also because I can now follow his blog.

My nominess and an explanation of this award are below. Please consider these also nominations for Hugo consideration. I think most of those listed are qualified and all are deserving for Best Fan Writer and some as well for Best Fanzine. They are quality blogs and fan writers all.

But before I list all that, here’s my forthcoming published works for 2012. All of these will be out by year’s end.

101 More Dinosaur Jokes For Kids (final title pending), joke book, nonfiction ebook, Delabarre Publishing LLC, my first kids’ book and published nonfiction book. A sequel to a previous successful joke book. Release date: March 2012

Space Battles: Full Throttle Space Tales #6, Flying Pen Press, anthology, edited by Bryan Thomas Schmidt, featuring Mike Resnick & Brad Torgersen, Jean Johnson, Matt Cook, David Lee Summers, Patrick Hester, Dana Bell, Jaleta Clegg, Grace Bridges & more (including a new sequel Davi Rhii story) Release date: April 18, 2012.

The Returning, Saga of Davi Rhii Book 2, Diminished Media Group, my second novel, continuing where The Worker Prince left off. Release date: June 2012

The North Star Serial, an episodic novel, Diminished Media Group, a polished version of the North Star serial flash fiction series culled into a short, episodic novel, each episode being a chapter. 25 total, with polishes and revisions to make the standalone stories flow better as an episodic complete cycle. Release date: Fall 2012

Who knows what else may develop but I’m pretty pleased to have this much coming out to look forward to in 2012. I also have my first print magazine sale coming in this summers Tales Of The Talisman, “La Migra,” my short story, as well as a story coming in the anthology Wandering Weeds: Tales of Rabid Vegetation from Hall Brothers Entertainment.

Looking forward to a great 2012!

So how does this ‘ere Versatile Blogger Award-thingy work? Here’s the rules!

1. Nominate 15 fellow bloggers for The Versatile Blogger Award.

2. Add an image of the Versatile Blogger Award.
3. In the same post, thank the blogger who nominated you in a post with a link back to their blog.
4. In the same post, share 7 completely random pieces of information about yourself.
5. In the same post, include this set of rules.
6. Inform each nominated blogger of their nomination by posting a comment on each of their blogs.

So, here are my nominees:

1. Jamie Todd Rubin for his blog http://www.jamierubin.net/
2. KM Weiland for Wordplay
3. Charles A. Tan for Bibliophile Stalker
4. John Anealio and Patrick Hester for Functional Nerds
5. John DeNardo for SFSignal
6. John Ottinger for Grasping For The Wind
7. Sarah Chorn for Bookworm Blues
8. Matt Staggs for http://www.mattstaggs.com/category/matts-blog/
9. Livia Blackburne for A Brain Scientist’s Take On Writing
10. Shaun Farrell for Adventures In SF Publishing
11. Patty Jansen for Must Use Bigger Elephants
12. Damyanti with her blog Writing On Writing
13. Alex J. Cavanaugh for his blog http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/
14. Anthony Cardno for his blog Rambling On
15. Howard Andrew Jones for his blog http://www.howardandrewjones.com/ which is filled with well researched entries on sword and sorcery and more.

Now for 7 random as hell pieces of information about myself:

1. I love travelling to unusual places to study the culture.
2. I chew pens. It’s an addiction.
3. I love the Rocky Mountains. I’ve always wanted to live there.
4. I love the Florida Keys. I’ve always wanted to live there.
5. In addition to English, I speak Brazilian Portuguese and know some Spanish, Ewe and Twi (Ghanaian languages)
6. Cats are my first love but right now I have no cats and two dogs.
7. I’m a bit old fashioned.

4 5-star & 11 4-star reviews THE WORKER PRINCE $4.99 Kindle http://amzn.to/pnxaNm or Nook http://bit.ly/ni9OFh $14.99 tpb http://bit.ly/qIJCkS.

Write Tip: Five Tips For Social Media Promotion Success

Published on January 19, 2012March 9, 2020 by Bryan5 Comments

This post originally ran as part of the blog tour for my debut novel, The Worker Prince, at the blog of Patty Jansen.

Social Media has taken over the world, or at least parts of it. Its rise in popularity has been stunning. It’s literally changed the way most of us use the web forever. And that’s no exaggeration. Of course, along with it, Social Media has risen to be one of the most important tools for promotion, especially self-promotion. Yet a challenge remains: finding a delicate balance between self-promotion and alienation. How can you promote yourself well and still keep followers happy? How can you avoid being obnoxious? Here’s some suggestions from one who’s spent a lot of time and effort studying that very thing.

First, Social Media is called Social for a reason. Your focus needs to be on socializing not selling. The key to Social Media success, no matter what you do with it, is networking and relationships. When authors ask me when to start Social Media so they can promote their forthcoming book, my response is: you haven’t already? I started two years before my book came out. And I had almost no work to promote. Instead, I built friendships, learned who was out there, what people were doing, and supported and promoted them. My focus was not on me, it was on others. And that’s key to Social Media success. Making it all about you is the quickest route to obnoxious failure. Making it about community is the quickest route to success.

Second, Social Media sites are communities. Yep, I repeated myself. That’s okay, because this point is important. The key to Social Media success is providing useful content people will enjoy and value. The quickest route to that, before you’ve found your own niche, is to retweet the links and content of others. If you read it, and it’s valuable to you, share it. If someone’s doing something cool, let people know. Take the time to pass it on. People will remember. And they will reciprocate. And if you have established a history and reputation for supporting your community, your community will support you.

Third, support people with praise. If someone succeeds at something, congratulate them. It takes seconds to do it. It feels good. You’ve been on the receiving end, right? So I don’t have to tell you. Let people know you care what’s happening with them by responding with support. If they’re having a hard time, encourage them. If they’re succeeding, congratulate them. If they write something cool or send something useful, pass it on. It’s all about community.

Fourth, self-promote with care. I send out the same self-promotion tweet no more than twice a day. This may be supplemented by Retweeting or posting something someone else says, yes. But that’s them tooting my horn, not me. If I have several things to promote (I run more than one blog, for example), I will still only do two a day per item I am promoting. I do once in the morning and once at night to catch both crowds. I cross post from Twitter to Facebook, Google+ and LinkedIn and that’s it. The rest of my Social Media day is spent either encouraging, supporting or spreading the word as described in the points above. It’s not all about me. It’s not obnoxious. My friends know I have projects I am excited about. Many of them are in the same position and doing similar promotion. Being with a small press, they also know I may tweet a bit more about it than they do. It’s okay. Small measure is fine. Posting twelve or fifteen times a day about it, that’s obnoxious.

Fifth, wording matters. Use your sense of humor. Use humility. Don’t be pushy. When you do self-promote, do it in a way that’s not obnoxious in presentation. People don’t mind you letting them know your stuff exists. You have a right to be proud of your accomplishments. You have a right to want to share it. But if you’re obnoxious about it, they will mind. Most won’t even bother with it.

Okay, so there you have five tips for Social Media Self-Promotion success. Really, five tips for Social Media success, I hope. I wish you the greatest success in your Social Media endeavors. And hey, in case you’re interested, I wrote a book.

4 5-star & 11 4-star reviews THE WORKER PRINCE $4.99 Kindle http://amzn.to/pnxaNm or Nook http://bit.ly/ni9OFh $14.99 tpb http://bit.ly/qIJCkS.

Books Read In 2011 Per Goodreads

Published on January 18, 2012March 9, 2020 by Bryan1 Comment

Supervolcano: Eruption by Turtledove, Harry

Pathfinder Tales: Death’s Heretic by Sutter, James L.

Firebird (Alex Benedict, #6) by McDevitt, Jack

Anniversary Day ( A Retrieval Artist Novel, #8) by Rusch, Kristine Katherine

Owl Dance by Summers, David Lee *

Blood and Other Cravings ed. Datlow, Ellen

Downpour (Greywalker, #6) by Richardson, Kat

Greywalker by Richardson, Kat

The Flying Machine (Society of Steam, #1) by Mayer, Andrew P.

Black Blade Blues by Pitts, John A.

The Goblin Corps by Marmell, Ari

The Black God’s War (Splendor and Ruin, #1) by III, Moses Siregar

The Boy at the End of the World by Eekhout, Greg Van

Sword of the Gods (Forgotten Realms) by Cordell, Bruce R.

of Fur and Fire ed. Wacks, Peter J. & Bell, Dana

The Unremembered (The Vault of Heaven, #1) by Orullian, Peter

Black Halo (Aeons’ Gate, #2) by Sykes, Sam

Teeth: Vampire Tales ed. by Datlow, Ellen

Pathfinder Tales: Plague of Shadows by Jones, Howard Andrew

Artic Rising by Buckell, Tobias

Predators I Have Known by Foster, Alan Dean

The Desert of Souls by Jones, Howard Andrew

Low Town by Polansky, Daniel

The Horns of Ruin by Akers, Tim

Hellhole (Hell Hole, #1) by Herbert, Brian

The Black God’s War: A Novella Introducing a new Epic Fantasy by III, Moses Siregar

Shades of Milk and Honey by Kowal, Mary Robinette

Who Fears Death by Okorafor, Nnedi

Deceived (Star Wars: The Old Republic, #2) (Star Wars: The Old Republic, #2) by Kemp, Paul S.

King Maker (Knights of Breton Court, #1) by Broaddus, Maurice

The Black Prism (Lightbringer, #1) by Weeks, Brent

Diving into the Wreck by Rusch, Kristine Kathryn

The Disappeared by Rusch, Kristine Kathryn

Consequences by Rusch, Kristine Kathryn

Soulless (Parasol Protectorate, #1) by Carriger, Gail

Rage of the Behemoth ed. by Waltz, Jason M.

Space Grunts ed. by Ward, Dayton

Write Tip: How To Get The Most Out Of Your Book Sell Sheets

Published on January 16, 2012March 9, 2020 by Bryan

In our previous Write Tips post, we talked about Why Your Book Needs A Sell Sheet How To Make One. This time, let’s focus on how to use the Sell Sheets once you have one.

Right off the bat, here are some ways you can put Sell Sheets to work:

1) Market To Bookstores — When given to bookstores and libraries, Sell Sheets help get your books on their shelves. That’s their purpose. And by creating one for each book and describing the book in context of your qualifications and publishing experience, you are selling yourself along with your book. It’s about credibility. And professional marketing materials add a lot to credibility. Every bookstore that I approached with Sell Sheet in hand was willing to discuss ordering my books and doing signings. I have yet to encounter one who didn’t take me seriously after seeing my Sell Sheet for The Worker Prince. They knew I was professional and taking it seriously and those are the kind of authors they want to do business with.

Adonna spoke with a bookstore manager to get an opinion from the other side of the counter for us. “According to a large independent bookstore manager that I interviewed for this post, he felt that the sell sheet gave him something in hand to refer to later when he had the time to consider whether or not to carry the book. Remember, the employees can be busy doing any number of things when you walk in and may not have half an hour to discuss your title with you. *You*, however, came prepared because you have in hand the very thing they will need later when making their purchase decisions – all of the information about your title on a neat and handy little paper. The manager stated that the first two things he looks for are the book’s cover (attractive? appealing? sellable?) and if the book would be available through his current book distributors (Ingram, etc.). Overall, he felt that unknown books that had a sell sheet with all of the pertinent information on it received more consideration than ones that did not.”

2) Market To Libraries — As mentioned by Librarian John Klima in our write tip on How To Get Your Book Noticed By Librarians Or Not, getting a library to buy your books is tough. Sell Sheets are a great tool to make them aware of your books value for them and their community. They’re something you can give to them as you stop by to introduce yourself and offer to do events if they ever need local authors. And something you can leave behind to remind them when they’re thinking about making the next book order. Remember, don’t hand them the book itself. Don’t ask them to evaluate it on the spot. As John told us, if you make them aware of the reviews and other information in a non-pressure way, it’s much more effective. Your word isn’t enough. Your being nice isn’t either. And it’s even better if you can do it at a ALA meeting or outside the library. Because they get way too many authors walking in trying to get libraries to stock their books already and most of them are crap. Don’t throw on the sales pitch either. Talk to them like a person. Relate to them. Share their love of books. Find out what they like in books. Find out what they like in having authors visit the library. But be subtle. Not pushy.

3) Increase Author Appearances — You can use Sell Sheets to get more opportunities for readings, book signings, lectures and other author appearances. Sell Sheets can showcase your qualifications and experiences to conference planners, event organizers, stores and media and that gets you noticed when those people are looking for speakers and presenters. Make sure that if you are available for those that you explicitly say so on the sheet and remember to put your direct contact info.

According to Adonna, “Go ahead and ask the bookstore manager when you talk with them about your book (with sell sheets and a copy of the book in hand of course) if they currently allow book signings in their store. Find out what requirements they have for those and how far out they are booked up. If they do let you have a signing, expect to help promote it in within your community and on local event calendars and such. In any case, make sure that you leave a copy of your sell sheet behind with the employee that you spoke with.”

4) Sell More Books To Readers – Many authors attend fan cons, book conventions and author events every year but what do you do when the people that are passing by your table aren’t ready (for whatever reason) to buy your book at that time? Adonna suggests: “Hand them your sell sheet while you tell them about it. Flip it over and write something on it that relates to what they have discussed with you (perhaps another book or con that you’ve recommended, the name of a section on your website they may be interested in, etc..) People have a tendency to hang on to things that have human (that’s you) writing on them. See there? Your autograph is good for something important already!”

Note: Take the time to reformat your sell sheet beforehand to remove book distributors, etc. as this wouldn’t apply to marketing directly to readers.

5) Sell Products and Services — If you’re not just an author but an editor or teacher, etc., Sell Sheets are quite cost effective ways to get the word out. You can print them as you need them, customize them for specific markets/audiences, and you can distribute them across a broad base by carrying them with you wherever you go.

6) To Inform The Media — Adonna had some advice for us here. “If you do approach the media regarding your title, a copy of your sell sheet is a great thing to send to them along with a handwritten thank you note for taking the time to speak with you. It will help them to remember your title and more importantly – YOU – for the next time that you are in touch with them. Never underestimate the power of reaching out the old fashioned way, especially in the digital age.”

Additional Tips:

** Book Sell Sheets are best delivered by hand. YOU are part of what helps to sell a buyer on an unknown book: your very own sales force and book cheerleader.

** Try posting them on bulletin boards on college campuses. College students read a lot and if the book looks appealing, they might just pick one up, especially if you modify your Sell Sheet to let them know where to find it.

So get those Book Sell Sheets together and let people know about them. Good luck! We hope these tips were helpful. Big thanks to Adonna Pruette for her help and advice and be sure and remember to check out her special offer below. And please post links to your finished Sell Sheets in the comments so we can all learn from you and see how you did, ok? For what it’s worth…

Exclusive Offer:

Adonna has agreed to a special offer exclusively for the visitors here.
PR Quick Check $35 – Adonna will check your current sell sheet offering general guidelines as well as give you tips for how to revise and improve it yourself to increase it’s marketing value for bookstores.
PR Sell Sheet Review – If your sheet needs more than just a few tips, she can fix it up for you for a range from $50 – $150 depending on how much work is needed. You will be given a quote before any work is completed.
Custom Book Sell Sheet – Created for your book from scratch for $200 (which is $100 off of the normal fee for this type of detailed service). Contact her at [email protected] to get started. From DIY help to full service PR, there’s something for everyone in there. You must mention this site in your email to her to get these discounts! Enjoy!

Bio:

Adonna Pruette is a freelance professional publicist that works with fiction authors and publishers to create digital PR as well as traditional media outreach. Her clients range from well known writers like urban fantasy author Faith Hunter (www.faithhunter.net) to debut authors such as Lillian Archer (Twitter: @LilliansBooks). Her online home at TheAuthorPro.com (http://www.TheAuthorPro.com) is her current WIP. You can contact her at adonna AT theauthorpro.com or connect with her on Twitter @PassionMuse.

Contact details:

Website: http://www.theauthorpro.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authorpro

Twitter: @PassionMuse https://twitter.com/#!/passionmuse

Google +: http://bit.ly/Ar7hzi

4 5-star & 11 4-star reviews THE WORKER PRINCE $3.99 Kindlehttp://amzn.to/pnxaNm or Nook http://bit.ly/ni9OFh $14.99 tpb http://bit.ly/qIJCkS.

Write Tip: Why Your Book Needs A Sell Sheet & How To Make One

Published on January 11, 2012March 9, 2020 by Bryan5 Comments

Book sell sheets are a key component of publicity for books in traditional publishing. Having a professional sell sheet can help distinguish your book from thousands of others and really help it get noticed. It’s important that it stand out from the crowd, because a mid-size bookstore can receive a hundred or more sell sheets a year. For your book to get noticed, you need to distinguish yourself and your book from the crowd. A professional presentation, careful selection of items to include, and proper placement of wording can make all the difference in the hands of the bookstore’s buyer on the other end.

Although you can do one book sell sheet for whole series, typically a sell sheet exists for each book you release.

Professional book publicist Adonna Pruette explains: “When you are making efforts to promote your new novel, you want to walk into the bookstore with at least two things in hand – your books (buy some to take with you!) and your sell sheet. You want to be able to hand the manager, owner, or book buyer an attractive sheet that will act as an actual sales piece after you leave. It’s wise to spend some time reading up on the basic rules of effective sales copy to make sure that your sell sheet makes the grade. You want to present your book (and yourself) well on paper so that your book can get it’s foot in the door at that bookstore.

“Please remember while you are designing your sell sheet to try and make it as quickly scannable as possible. You aren’t trying to bog them down with a full page of paragraphs. Use color, lists, and boxes where possible and effective to make it a quick read with all of the info that the store needs. The person that you hand this sheet too will read it just as you would – they are going to quickly scan it from top to bottom with their eye stopping briefly on focal points on the way down.”

Let’s cover the basic information suggested or expected, look at some examples, and then talk about how to make your own, okay?

This is the sell sheet for my novel The Worker Prince. It’s probably easier to just click on it and open a separate screen so you can view it as I go through the elements. I have marked them on the sheet for visual reference. But here’s a breakdown:

1. Book title. Make it big, use the font from the cover and put it at the top. The title of your book is the most important thing on the page. Try the squint test. Look at your sell sheet and squint. Can you see the title really well? Make sure the font is very readable. If not, try adding spacing between the letters o u t just a bit. If that still doesn’t help, then change the font to something similar but more readable than what is on the cover of your book.

2. Sub-title (if you have one). Not as large as the title though.

3. Next, a brief book teaser description. Two paragraphs max. Don’t tell the whole story. Keep it open ended so they want to find out what happens. Leave them with questions they just have to get answered! Get a friend or fiction loving neighbor to read over your description and see if they want to know more about your book after reading it. Do they start to ask you questions about it? That’s a good tip off for you that it is “just right”.

4. Basic data: book categories, include the number of pages, ISBN (this is super important), all formats available, pricing per format, and publication info. (Stores will use this to look it up right away.)

5. Special honors, especially national ones come next, followed by blurbs or excerpts from reviews which demonstrate your book’s quality or appeal. Use the more well known reviewers or larger book blog review snippets toward the top of your reviews section. You will bold the reviewer’s name or site name to make it stand out more than the review itself usually. This practice will make your sell sheet a much more scannable read.

6. Which book distributors can your book be ordered from, if any? Two of the largest are Ingram Book Company (http://www.ingrambook.com ) and Baker & Taylor ( http://www.btol.com ). Adonna says that the store will want to know if your book can be ordered along with the normal book order that they place to their suppliers. If not, make sure that complete ordering info is on your sell sheet: Publisher’s name, web address, phone number, and email.

In cases of nonfiction, you may wish to bullet point your platform and what you offer as a speaker and expert here. Why should you be chosen? What do you offer which no one else can? What distinguishes you?

7. CALL THEM TO ACTION: Ask them to order copies and give them the info to do it NOW!

8. Sell yourself, not just the book, with a brief bio and contact info, including 1 or 2 (max) social media accounts. Make it easy to go directly to you. You’re the one with whom they want a personal relationship. Not just an order desk.

9. If you can’t give them an ARC (they cost money, of course), then tell them how to get a peek inside right now. Tell them where they can read an excerpt in big, bold, colored letters that say FREE. This also gives them a good reason to hold on to the sell sheet. If they’re intrigued by all of the rest, they’ll look into it.

10. Always include the publisher’s logo, if you have one, and the book cover shot and your photo. Be professional. If your book is traditionally published, even by a small press, this helps it to stand out as gatekeepers have approved it.

Here are links to sample sell sheets. One covers a series, the others individual books.

http://www.iuniverse.com/uploadedFiles/iUniverse/Expert_Advice/Selling_Your_Book/Make_a_Sell_Sheet/iU_LoveWhatYouDo_Sell%20Sheet%208%2028%202009.pdf — Here’s one for a Nonfiction book from iUniverse.

http://www.captainwrite.com/SalesSheet.pdf — This series one was created by my friend, graphic designer Jeana Clark (@jeana_with_a_j on Twitter.)

http://www.beaverspondpress.com/assets/files/Johnson_Sellsheet.pdf — another nonfiction example

http://www.beaverspondpress.com/assets/files/sickbug_sellsheet.pdf — this is fiction

You can create these Sell Sheets in Microsoft Word or Microsoft Publisher fairly easily. Having a publicist create your sell sheet isn’t a necessity but it can be helpful if you still feel lost or unsure about your sell sheet. In my case, publicist Adonna Pruette looked mine over for tweaks after the fact. She also suggested this alternate layout as yet another option:

My version was created using Publisher and Adonna’s using Word. Either way, text and photo boxes and other tools, it’s fairly easy to create one.

Adonna has some final thoughts:

“Your sell sheet is an actual marketing piece. It’s not just a piece of paper that you should throw together haphazardly. After you’re gone, a store employee may see it on the counter three hours later, check out your book info, read it, and then ask the manager to order in a few. This is marketing material will be used over and over again to sell your book to the book buyers. Take your time pulling your sheet together. Make sure it looks really nice. No typos! Color printed (if color adds to your layout). Attention to detail matters here and it just may sell you quite a few books.”

Ok, once you have a Sell Sheet, what do you do with it? Well, that’s what we’ll talk about Monday in Part 2: How To Get The Most Out Of Your Book Sell Sheets. So meantime, get to work on those Sell Sheets. OMG Blogging guy just gave me homework! Why yes, yes, I did.

For what it’s worth…

Additional Resources:

Here’s what Absolute Write says about Sell Sheets: http://absolutewrite.com/novels/sell_sheets.htm. Independent Book Publisher’s Association offers another resource: http://www.ibpa-online.org/publishers/flyer.aspx. Check http://www.fedex.com/us/office/templates/sellsheets.html for templates.

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4 5-star & 11 4-star reviews THE WORKER PRINCE $3.99 Kindlehttp://amzn.to/pnxaNm or Nook http://bit.ly/ni9OFh $14.99 tpb http://bit.ly/qIJCkS.

For further help, please see https://bryanthomasschmidt.net/write-tip-how-to-get-the-most-out-of-your-book-sell-sheets/How To Get The Most Out of Your Sell Sheets.

Write Tip: Thoughts On Choosing Point Of View

Published on January 5, 2012March 9, 2020 by Bryan1 Comment

There are many decisions one makes when writing fiction. One of the most important is the choice of POV character and whether it’s first person or third. Often, when dealing with multiple POV characters, the choice is based on who has the most to lose or gain in a particular scene. But sometimes other factors can be useful.

In The Returning, my forthcoming sequel to The Worker Prince, I found it advantageous to tell a scene from the POV of an antagonist despite the fact the focus of the scene was a subplot of the romance between the protagonist and another character. In doing so, I was able to up the tension beyond the drama of the moment. While Davi and Tela are having a fight and their relationship is jeopardized, the scene becomes more powerful because Davi’s rival, bent on killing him in revenge for past slights, is stalking them during the scene. Thus, not only is their relationship in danger, but their very lives. It wound up becoming one of my favorite scenes because of that.

A further advantage was that several subplots are advanced in the process–the Davi-Tela love story, the Bordox revenge plot, and the main story about attacks on Davi’s Vertullian people are all advanced in this scene. Having Davi’s rival, whose hatred for Davi seethes throughout the book, see Davi in a humiliating fight with his girlfriend also serves to make Davi’s situation more sympathetic. It’s bad enough he’s messing up his relationship, it’s bad enough some of that conflict is based on misunderstanding each other, but now his life’s in danger and he’s been humiliated in front of Bordox. It just adds layers of dynamics to the scene which up the pace, the tension, and the stakes all at the same time. When you add to that the fact that this encounter was coincidence–Bordox was there for other reasons and just stumbles upon them–it’s all the more dramatic.

Below is the scene from my third draft so you can see how it plays out. Remember: Bordox is working for a group trying to unseat the government and reenslave the Vertullians, ancient enemies. He’s Davi’s Academy rival and his family are the rivals of Davi’s for the leadership of the Borali Alliance. Tela is Davi’s former trainee, fiancee and a fellow Vertullian pilot. The romance that started in The Worker Prince is facing new pressures and their relationship is strained because of it.

As you read, consider the POV choice. How does it work for you? Would you have chosen differently? What are the questions you ask when deciding which POV to use in scenes? Feel free to discuss it in the comments. I’d love to hear your thoughts on choosing POV.

***

Bordox fought his every instinct as he stepped off the shuttle into the starport landing bay on Legon. His mission required stealth yet he stiffened at having to sneak around a place he’d once walked freely—admired and respected. Here he was, less than a year later, hiding in shadows like a wanted man. And there was only one person to blame: Davi Rhii!

He made his way through the pedestrian corridors and deliberately avoided areas frequented by pilots and maintenance crews with the hopes he’d be less likely to be recognized. The datacard in his pocket pressed against his leg with every step. He just needed to get to the flight data booths and insert it. The program it contained would do the rest, drawing out the desired intel from the systems, and he’d be on his way again.

“What’s keeping you so quiet?”

He knew that voice, stopping to listen as it came from around the corner ahead of him.

“Nothing. I’m fine.” A woman’s voice answered. One he didn’t recognize. He heard footsteps approaching and shrunk back into a shadowed doorway. “Just let me check the shuttle maintenance records for Aron and we’ll be on our way.”

“I know you, Tela. Something’s upsetting you.”

Rhii! Bordox gritted his teeth. His old enemy, the idiot who’d ruined his life, was coming toward him. What was he doing here this time of night? Last he’d heard Davi was a squadron commander. Military pilots didn’t casually walk around this side of the starport.

Davi and the woman appeared around the corner and stopped as Davi jumped into her path so they were face to face. The woman was medium height, shorter than Davi, with long brown hair and sparkling blue eyes. Her pleasing curves stiffened in anger as Davi blocked her way. Both wore Borali Alliance flight uniforms with rank insignia on their shoulders and blasters holstered at their sides. Seeing Davi in uniform just launched him into a rage. Rhii had the career Bordox deserved.

“I know you, Tela,” Davi said. “Why won’t you talk to me about it?”

“Because it won’t make any difference. We’ve tried before.”

She stepped around him and continued down the corridor as he hurried after her.

“So it’s about me then? What did I do?”

The woman, Tela, sighed. “I am not some delicate damsel in distress, Davi Rhii. I’m a fully qualified Borali officer, just like you.”

Davi looked confused. “Of course you are. What are you talking about?”

She stopped and whirled to face him, arms on her hips. Her eyes narrowed with annoyance. “You had me taken out of your squadron rotation. You got me in a lighter flight duty assignment. I keep finding myself not chosen for any risky missions—”

“There haven’t exactly been a lot of risky missions lately, and your reassignment was required by military rules. Couples can’t fly together.”

Tela growled. “A convenient excuse.”

“It’s true. I can show you the memo the commander sent asking me to sign the transfer paperwork.”

“You don’t get it! I am not going to be the girl who sits at home and pines after you. I want to do my duty like anyone else. I don’t want to be protected.”

“I’m not protecting you.”

“Yes you are!”

She whirled and started up the corridor toward Bordox again. He slipped further back into the shadows, sliding his hood up over his head as he enjoyed the show. They were so distracted with each other he doubted they’d even notice him. Bordox began to relax from his rage a bit as he watched Davi Rhii get put in his place by a woman. The only thing better would be the day he did it himself. Like instinct, his hand felt for the blaster at his hip, closing around the handle, he squeezed it. All he had to do was draw and shoot and Rhii would be dead. They would never see it coming, totally taken by surprise. His fist clenched and unclenched around the handle as he fought the urge. He’d blow his mission. But he might never get a chance like this. The feel of the cold steel of the blaster against his palm got his adrenaline pumping.

“Okay, maybe I didn’t argue.” Davi smiled as if that alone would charm her. Bordox wanted to step out and wipe that smarmy grin off his face with a fist but he swallowed, silent and hard, and stayed frozen in place. Or maybe I should blast it off. “Look, I love you, okay? Guilty! It’s my instinct to want to protect you.”

“We fought side by side in the Resistance. Why can’t we do that now?”

“Well, there’s not really any enemies at the moment for one. And we were just getting into things then. Now we’re together.”

“So I’m supposed to sit at home and worry about you while you get to relax and know I’m safe? That’s fair.”

Davi grinned and shrugged. “I’d feel good about it.”

Tela groaned and punched him hard in the arm. “Well, I don’t.” She turned and marched on down and through the door into the landing bay as Davi raced to catch her.

Bordox paused a moment, tempted to follow, but shook it off, remembering his mission and slid on down the corridor the way they’d come. There was more at stake. He had to remember that. Rhii’s day would come. Just not today. In less than two minutes, he’d stepped into the data center and selected a private booth. He slipped the datacard from his pocket and inserted it into the terminal then watched as the screen exploded in thousands of numbers moving and changing at a pace so fast his eyes could barely recognize them. After another minute, the terminal beeped and the datacard ejected. He returned it to his pocket then slipped out and headed back the way he’d come.

Bryan Thomas Schmidt is the author of the space opera novel The Worker Prince, a Barnes & Noble Best SF Releases of 2011 Honorable Mention, the collection The North Star Serial, Part 1, and has several short stories forthcoming in anthologies and magazines. His second novel, The Returning, is forthcoming from Diminished Media Group in 2012. He’s also the host of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer’s Chatevery Wednesday at 9 pm EST on Twitter, where he interviews people like Mike Resnick, AC Crispin, Kevin J. Anderson and Kristine Kathryn Rusch. He can be found online as @BryanThomasS on Twitter or via his website. Excerpts from The Worker Prince can be found on his blog.‎ Bryan is an affiliate member of the SFWA.

4 5-star & 11 4-star reviews THE WORKER PRINCE $3.99 Kindlehttp://amzn.to/pnxaNm or Nook http://bit.ly/ni9OFh $14.99 tpb http://bit.ly/qIJCkS.

Life, Death and Other Ruminations (Thoughts On Suicide & Depression)

Published on January 2, 2012March 9, 2020 by Bryan

Okay, it’s Write Tips day, I know. Mondays I always post them. But this week I don’t have one ready, and part of the reason is that I just can’t get suicide off my mind. I got news yesterday that takes me back to a dark time in my own life.

When I was in my teens, I once sat with my dad’s Army reserve pistol in my mouth, aching to pull the trigger. The barrel was cold against my lips, the gun heavy–it shot .22 caliber but weighed like a .55 (he was a military doctor and didn’t need or want real firepower). I’d loaded it, because I had done so many times using it for target practice in the fields on my Grandpa’s old farm. I don’t remember why I didn’t want to live. I just remember wanting the pain to stop–pain of rejection, not fitting in, no one understanding me, feeling so alone. I also remember picturing pieces of my head all over the wall and my mom’s face as she had to kneel down and clean it up. (She probably wouldn’t have had to do it herself but that never occured to me.) I just couldn’t do that to her, so I put the gun away and left their room and went on to live another day.

Since that time I’ve toyed with the idea a couple times when I was depressed or down, but never seriously thought of suicide again. Not to the point of acting on it or even planning it. But a high school classmate’s older brother, who was a family friend, killed himself when we were in high school. He ate a shotgun in a Kansas field, and so I can’t help, as I watch another family go through this nightmare, thinking about that day and wondering what was in my friend, Todd’s, mind all those years ago, which made him pass that point of no return.

Most people have a really hard time understanding suicide. Most people just don’t get why anyone would do it. Oh they joke about people who had nothing to live for or this and that, but when it really comes down to it, they just can’t imagine. But for those of us who have had serious depression, it’s easier to contemplate. Because being in that deep, dark place is a very dangerous place to be and it feeds on itself in its attempts to defeat you. No one’s told me the specific circumstances of my latest friend’s actual death, but he had to have been depressed. Happy people don’t take their lives. Happy people have hope. Deeply depressed people couldn’t find hope if it stared them in the face.

How is this possible?

Depression is such a deep darkness and sadness that literally it’s impossible to believe at the time that you could ever get out. God can’t even reach you there, and, if you believe in a God who’s everywhere, that’s devastating. People may know you’re down and say encouraging things but they just bounce off the surface, never sinking in. Because people always do that for those they care about but you know the truth of your own real patheticness and worthlessness. They’re just being kind but you know they can see. Your life isn’t worth a thing and you’re just a burden one everyone. Eventually you reach a point of such anger at yourself for wasting everyone’s time and emotions and energy on your worthless self that, frankly, relieving them of the burden seems the only kind thing you can do. Enter suicide.

Most people don’t want to be a burden. Especially to those we love. Even if we don’t really believe they can truly love us or understand why. We don’t want that delusion to be a burden so it’s our fault for deceiving them or sucking up all that energy and if we die, they’ll be better off. Oh it may hurt in the short run, but they’ll eventually realize we were holding them down and be so glad we’re gone. So relieved the burden is over.

Sounds nuts? Well, it’s not right thinking. But that is somewhat what it’s like to be depressed and suicidal. It’s hard to explain to someone who’s never lived it. In any case, it’s truly a tragedy when someone goes there and doesn’t find the way out.

The M*A*S*H* theme song went: “Suicide is painless. It brings on many changes. And I can take or leave it if I please.” But the song is, frankly, entirely bullshit. Suicide is not painless and you either take it or you don’t. It’s final. It’s permanent. And the changes mostly come for the pained people you leave behind. Most families live with that pain the rest of their lives. Parents may divorce after the suicide of a child. The burden is just too much to bear and they wind up taking it out on each other. Siblings may follow in the suicidal footsteps, especially if one is close to the dead sibling. Or they may engage in other dangerous behaviors from drinking to promiscuous sex, etc. Whatever the details, suicide absolutely is NOT painless. It’s devastating. It’s not a gift to a family. It’s one of the most selfish, cruel acts known to man. Killing one’s self is never the right thing for anyone but you. And only in your mind is it right for you.

It’s so sad to think about anyone taking their lives, but especially the two young people I have known. The tragedy of a life cut short. A lost hope for victim and all who loved them. A lost future. A waste.

So my thoughts are on suicide and life and death and depression today. Don’t worry. I’m not suicidal. I’m just grieving the broken world in which such destruction of lives happens way too often to way too many good people.

If you have loved ones, give them a hug today. Tell them you love them. Tell them how much you look forward to every day with them and to the future, whatever comes, with them in it. Then think about my friends and their families and say a prayer. Both for comfort for them and for the blessings you have. None of us really deserve them. Whether you believe they’re from God or in God or not. Take the time to do this. Because life is precious and every moment counts.

For what it’s worth…

Bryan Thomas Schmidt is the author of the space opera novel The Worker Prince, a Barnes & Noble Best SF Releases of 2011 Honorable Mention, the collection The North Star Serial, Part 1, and has several short stories forthcoming in anthologies and magazines. His second novel, The Returning, is forthcoming from Diminished Media Group in 2012. He’s also the host of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer’s Chatevery Wednesday at 9 pm EST on Twitter, where he interviews people like Mike Resnick, AC Crispin, Kevin J. Anderson and Kristine Kathryn Rusch. He can be found online as @BryanThomasS on Twitter or via his website. Excerpts from The Worker Prince can be found on his blog.‎

4 5-star & 11 4-star reviews THE WORKER PRINCE $3.99 Kindlehttp://amzn.to/pnxaNm or Nook http://bit.ly/ni9OFh $14.99 tpb http://bit.ly/qIJCkS.

Hello 2012! Good Riddance 2011! (Predictions & Reflections)

Published on January 1, 2012March 9, 2020 by Bryan3 Comments

Well, 2011 is gone and I am as glad as anyone it will never return. I thought 2010 was a bad year but 2011 was so much worse. In may 2010, I lost my full time job. By the end of the year, my part time one also went away due to my out of state job search and their wanting continuity. Unemployment problems began. We made it through 2010 without a relapse of Bianca’s health issues, but in February, 2011, they came back with a vengeance, resulting in her spending most of February through May in various hospitals against her will and causing a great deal of financial and emotional stress for me. While I did sign my book contract at the end of 2010 and see my debut novel published to good reviews and even a B&N Book Clubs Honorable Mention on Years Best SF releases, overall, 2011 was pretty unhappy. I did complete a sequel to The Worker Prince and start a new heroic fantasy novel. I outlined some other ideas and I did see stories published. I made my first paid sale to Tales Of The Talisman early on but it won’t appear until Summer 2012. Residential Aliens finally bought my long standing Worker Prince prequel story, “Rivalry On A Sky Course” and published it a few days before the novel’s release. I also sold stories to the anthologies Of Fur and Fire and Wandering Weeds and got the editing assignment and completed Space Battles, which will feature yet another Worker Prince universe story. Both Wandering Weeds and Space Battles should appear in 2012 along with The Returning, book 2 in the Saga Of Davi Rhii and hopefully other things which have yet to materialize.

SFFWRTCHT became a major thing in 2011. I started it in Fall 2010 and it grew into a majorly respected interview series with a column, guest posts and much more. I got bigger name guests and publishers partnered with me to get me arcs of their books. I also started columns on the blog as well and am looking into a podcast.

My first book tour was a success and a lot of fun in 2011 and I plan another one for mid-2012 to promote both The Returning and Space Battles. I did my first podcast interviews, author interviews and guest posts all as part of this tour. Additionally, I attended my first Cons as a panelist and author guest. And moderated my first panels. I now do them a lot more often and am enjoying the opportunity to share my knowledge, vision and ideas with a larger audience and interact with them. I really feel like I got legitimized as a member of the professional SFF community this year and that’s a really good feeling. I also got my first reviews. Most were positive, thankfully. And I’ve learned as much as I can, applying it as we edit The Returning for its 2012 release.

As for 2012, after what I’ve been through, I’m hesitant to make too many prediction, and, frankly, not very optimistic. But based on the few positives from 2011, I can make a few guesses. I imagine SFFWRTCHT will continue to grow. If it’s approved, my membership in SFWA will commence as an affiliate member. I will have three more books published, two anthologies and one novel with my material. North Star Serial will finally come to ebook and I’ll be writing more episodes at some point. I also hope to make my first traditional publishing deal and get an agent. I really feel like those are the next steps in my career but we’ll see.

I have quite a few Con appearances and signings scheduled for 2012. My first signing was a success despite low attendance. I didn’t promote it well due to a date change and just not being on the ball. But we sold well above the statistical average number of books for a signing which I consider a huge success. I will be an Author Guest at Convergence and ConQuest. With Convergence having an average attendance of 5k, that’s a big deal and it will coincide with my having Space Battles and The Returning released, giving me five books with my work to sell. I also plan to attend ChiCon WorldCon and several more area cons and will aim for World Fantasy and GenCon as well.

I have to write book 3 in the Saga Of Davi Rhii, finish The Relic Of Aken, my heroic fantasy, and do draft two of Sandman, as well as write those North Star stories. I have two steampunk novel ideas and an urban fantasy I would like to get to. And I’d like to get back to short stories outside North Star despite my failure this year to do much with them. I really feel I am terrible with that area of craft but since novels are doing so well for me am focusing my attention there for now. The sole exception being North Star because the present run is almost exhausted and the zine wants more episodes to complete the cycle.

In any case, I also hope 2012 brings financial stability again, either through a book contract or a steady job or both. This living on the edge has been very devastating, causing me to have serious depression for the first time, gain a lot of weight, and have a lot of health issues. And getting back on a even keel would really change how I produce and enjoy life in 2012. With Congress playing games on unemployment extensions, my current account runs out in February and it’s uncertain how I’ll get by. My parents have strained their resources helping me and I don’t know how to burden them any further. Let’s hope 2012 is not my return to flipping burgers. That doesn’t seem like a good use of my Masters.

Anyway, there’s my reflections and predictions. I tried not to be too negative. Most of you have already seen my hard life posts so why rehash it. After all, isn’t the goal to predict a happier future?

In any case, I hope 2012 brings better times for all of us.

Bryan Thomas Schmidt is the author of the space opera novel The Worker Prince, a Barnes & Noble Best SF Releases of 2011 Honorable Mention, the collection The North Star Serial, Part 1, and has several short stories forthcoming in anthologies and magazines. His second novel, The Returning, is forthcoming from Diminished Media Group in 2012. He’s also the host of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer’s Chatevery Wednesday at 9 pm EST on Twitter, where he interviews people like Mike Resnick, AC Crispin, Kevin J. Anderson and Kristine Kathryn Rusch. He can be found online as @BryanThomasS on Twitter or via his website. Excerpts from The Worker Prince can be found on his blog.‎

4 5-star & 11 4-star reviews THE WORKER PRINCE $3.99 Kindlehttp://amzn.to/pnxaNm or Nook http://bit.ly/ni9OFh $14.99 tpb http://bit.ly/qIJCkS.

Thoughts On The 99 Cent Pricing Debate

Published on December 30, 2011March 9, 2020 by Bryan16 Comments

Twice now I have explicitly told my publisher no 99 cent pricing. My book is worth more. And I don’t say it with arrogance. My book is not a self-published book. 4 editors worked on it. Two independent editors I paid before it sold at considerable cost and two at the publisher. I don’t want people lumping it in with the non-vetted crap that’s out there. While there are good books at .99, there’s also a ton of junk. My book is higher quality and we need to distinguish it. But at the same time, I’m still pretty unknown and new and people don’t know my work. They won’t pay the $9.99 or $16.99 major trade houses want for ebooks (which to me is asking a bit much even) so we’re at $3.99. We will do a one week $.99 sale to launch the new year but I feel comfortable with my position. And I think it’s dangerous to all of us in publishing who are professionals to allow our work to become devalued to the point where $.99 is the norm (if it hasn’t happened already) because that makes it really hard to make a living.

To me it smacks of a certain desperation. “Oh it’s working for some people. I can’t compete if I don’t do it.” But that’s ridiculous. There are plenty of proven cases of authors making money on ebooks at much higher prices. The harder reality is you have to sell a lot of books at $.99 with publishers or others taking a cut to make a decent living. You really have to have multiple successful books. And can you sustain that long term is a much more important question. Seriously. Tobias Buckell and others have done surveys and studiesshowing that books do sell at higher price points. In fact, Buckell convinced me $4.99 is a really good price point for novels. Mainstream publishers still can’t afford to price books that low but for those small presses and others who can, it’s not asking a whole lot. It’s close to half the price of a mass market paperback. We are, after all, talking about hours, months, years of someone’s labor most of the time. If you’re not spending that kind of time writing books, you’re in a different category and may well be writing stuff of the quality deserving of this low price point but most of of us labor hard and long through many drafts to get our work done and sell it and that has value. And people do consider price, quality of cover art, reputation, etc. when making buying decisions. I don’t feel uncomfortable at all with saying my work is of a certain quality and the price reflects that.

It worries me that we are letting the wrong motives control pricing. The music industry did that while fighting Napster and resisting ITunes and lost the battle. If we are more reasonable from the start but yet all work together to set fair prices, not greedy ones but fair ones, we will all be better off in the long run. And in the long run, we won’t lose sales. The market won’t go away. Trust me. If all people could find at $.99 was books of a lower quality or a few on special sales, they would jump to buy our $4.99 novels. It would not be an issue. They would not hesitate. People want to know they got something of value, even for $.99 and they prefer to be pleased rather than disappointed with what they get. If every author, self-published or not, priced books in the same range, the market would follow. There might be some resistance at first but people would get over it. And the people resisting are not the ones who really value your work anyway. Not the people you want to have controlling the cost of your labor. It’s really important to think about it.

Are we driving ourselves out of business if we let this pattern continue? Is it really worth it to have a sales boost now when you can never afford to live the real dream of writing full time? To me, it absolutely is not. And so I eschew such pricing schemes. If my book sells slower, which it is, so be it. My novel has gotten great reviews and some pretty high praise. I have yet to hear from a single person who read it and didn’t enjoy it. That is value. Doesn’t make me Mark Twain. Doesn’t make me an expert but I do feel professional. I am not Joe Blow offering you whatever rolled off my fingers into the keyboard that day. Neither are many authors who’ve surrender to this and I think that’s sad. It’s why we all really need to think about what’s going on and where we want to go with it and what it means. I wonder how many of those $.99 wonders are getting long term repeat business. How many are selling crap and having buyers never return? There’s also a little thing called value by association. It happens in real estate. People perceive a neighboring property to be of lower value and low and behold your property value decreases. The same thing happens with book pricing, believe me.

Another issue. Publishers are more and more counting on writers to do the legwork of promotion. I have spent 16 times my advance (which was admittedly a token) promoting my debut novel. The results are worth it: I got Honorable Mention on B&N Book Club’s Best SF Of 2011 and listed on Suvudu a few times, etc. But I will have a hard time recouping that, a fact I used to my advantage in negotiating my contract. Meanwhile, my publisher had authors lining up to sign with them because of the publicity I generated. So I bought them value. At 99 cents, I would be screwed at ever hoping to recover it. And that is becoming more a norm. Things like Cons, book fairs, etc. which you need to do to get out and meet readers, often don’t pay your way unless you’re invited and an elite pick. You pay those out of pocket and they are expensive. And then there’s the independent editors I hired before selling my novel whom I used to help me whip it into shape. Those don’t come cheap either. Add to that other costs of writing, time, etc. and it’s quite an investment. If we continue to underprice our labor and our costs, we will bankrupt ourselves.

In any case, I continue to be vehemently opposed to this model. I wish more people came alongside me on it, because I think a book which has been professionally edited and vetted by knowledgeable people has more value than a book someone did alone at home and threw on the market. I don’t appreciate it when I get a book that is not professional quality–filled with typos, bad prose, bad plotting, bad characterization, etc. I feel cheated. And I never want my readers to feel that way. It doesn’t mean my work is perfect or that there isn’t plenty of room to grow. It just means I am approaching it with a concern for delivering the best I can with people who help me achieve it. And that costs money to do. And it deserves to have a certain price. Period.

That’s my take on the whole phenomenon. For what it’s worth…

Bryan Thomas Schmidt is the author of the space opera novel The Worker Prince, a Barnes & Noble Best SF Releases of 2011 Honorable Mention, the collection The North Star Serial, Part 1, and has several short stories forthcoming in anthologies and magazines. His second novel, The Returning, is forthcoming from Diminished Media Group in 2012. He’s also the host of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer’s Chatevery Wednesday at 9 pm EST on Twitter, where he interviews people like Mike Resnick, AC Crispin, Kevin J. Anderson and Kristine Kathryn Rusch. He can be found online as @BryanThomasS on Twitter or via his website. Excerpts from The Worker Prince can be found on his blog.‎

4 5-star & 11 4-star reviews THE WORKER PRINCE $3.99 Kindlehttp://amzn.to/pnxaNm or Nook http://bit.ly/ni9OFh $14.99 tpb http://bit.ly/qIJCkS.