State of the Series Address
So this isn't exactly the State of the Union, but I've been needing to give an update on the series for some time now, but I was waiting on a couple factors before I did so. Since those factors have been met, I give to you the December 11th State of the Series Address given before a joint session of... um... well definitely not Congress. Moving on.
The first thing I wanted to let everyone know that there is a forum set up on:
- my Facebook Author page and
- on Goodreads.com
for anyone who would like to discuss the world, the characters, nearly anything regarding The Children of Man series while they wait for Render to be released.
This next announcement is the one about which I'm probably the most excited. My debut novel, Shatter (The Children of Man, #1), has reached a milestone that I really never thought feasible for an unknown indie author like me. Shatter was published in print May 3, 2010. By the end of June, I made it available as an e-book. In that time Shatter has been either purchased or downloaded by over 50,000 individuals. In fact, it's actually closing in on 55,000 this week. Wow. I mean really. Just wow. Do you have any idea how improbable that is for an indie author within the first sixth month of publication much less AT ALL? It doesn't seem real to me honestly.
To give you some context for why this is so mind boggling for me, Publisher's Weekly in 2006 said that
“[o]f the 950,000 titles out of the 1.2 million tracked by Nielsen Bookscan sold fewer than 99 copies. Another 200,000 sold fewer than 1,000 copies. Only 25,000 sold more than 5,000 copies. The average book in America sells about 500 copies.”
-- Publisher’s Weekly, July 17, 2006
Granted, I realize that I've reached these numbers, because I've offered the book for free, however, it's just the first book in a series. Not only has Shatter been picked up by over 50,000 people, the reviews and comments I've received on the series have been overwhelming positive with some valid constructive criticism along the way. I am all about constructive criticism. Some people crave praise; I crave criticism. How else is an author supposed to improve?
Speaking of which here's a roundup of places to read reviews of Shatter:
- Amazon
- Amazon UK
- Goodreads
- Barnes & Noble
- Smashwords
- Musings of the Othar (Sci-fi & Fantasty Newsletter)
- Jendi's Journal
- The Children of Man Series Official Site
- My Facebook Page
Also, in exciting news, smashwords (my e-book distributor) has reached an agency model contract with the retailers to whom they distribute. This is a very good thing for indie authors, because this means that we can set the price for our titles, which means even more platforms are offering Shatter for free now. Regardless of which e-reader or e-reader application you have, there is a version of Shatter available for free. And the peasants rejoiced! Okay, so I rejoiced. There really isn't much of a difference, I promise.
On to the part that you all actually probably care about, the status of Render, the second book in the series. Just like last year, I took part in NaNoWriMo in November. I've passed the 100,000 mark for word count and draft zero of Render is shaping up to be around 150,000 words. I had hoped for a Winter/Spring release for it, but that just won't be feasible. I finished draft zero of Shatter on Christmas Eve last year and finishing Shatter at the end of December last year gave me a May release. There's no chance this draft will be finished by the end of December. I am not expecting, however, that the editing will take as much time with this draft. It won't need nearly the in-depth work that Shatter required. Having gone through this process once before, I have a much better idea of how to handle the drafting, the rewrites, and the edits this time around. Therefore, my new deadline will be a solid Summer 2011 release for Render. It's a priority to me to make sure that I don't rush to get the second book out before it's ready for public consumption, so that means you'll have to wait a little while longer for the next installment in the story.
Any way, I just wanted to thank you so much again to everyone out there who's picked up my book! Happy reading!
Comments
No pressure, welcome to the end of the Indieverse in which I drift. :D
Diana
I will also be buying the books when all three are out because I have a bookshelf full of equally accomplished writers that you deserve a place among.
Editing wise the first book is a little rough especially at the beginning when being introduced to a barrage of characters/storylines/locations that were hard to keep straight.
I really hope you give more background on the whole world/universe in general in the next book. Conflict/Cities/Governments/Types of Magic were mentioned but I never felt like I got a real grasp how the whole of them fit together.
That said Shatter rates up there with some of the better fantasy books I read recently.
So far, so great. Thanks for writing and making this book available for free. It's a great way to introduce your art to all of us.
I am most definitely planning on releasing the e-book version simultaneously with the print version. Kindle and smashwords have been very, very good to me. I'm also a big proponent of e-books and happen to be a complete technophile. So never fear, "Render" will be available on kindle asap.
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