Keep Writing
I am well into writing "America's Galactic Foreign Legion - Book 23 - Bandits." Why write such a long series? Why not write another series? I did write a vampire book and a zombie book, but they didn't sell. My science fiction sells. I can't put ideas to paper and computer fast enough.
The invention of Kindle E-books changed writing and publishing forever. Before Kindle, the Big Six New York publishers controlled what we were allowed to read and publish, rejecting 99 percent of all manuscripts submitted. Now, there are many small online publishers. If an author cannot find a publisher, he or she can self-publish. It's a great time to write. No author can be shut out.
Sort of. An author still needs to be noticed to make money. Online publishers and self-published authors have flooded the market with millions of books. Established publishers have converted their out-of-print backlists to E-books. How can an author with no New York connections ever hope to break through and be noticed in such an ocean of E-books? It's next to impossible.
An agent told me to not write just one book, that one-hit wonders cannot be easily marketed, especially in the science fiction genre. He said write a sequel, then another, and another. You'll gain credibility as you write. Hone your skills.
I cannot control whether a big publisher will publish my books. I cannot control whether readers will buy my books, or even like them. What can I control? I can keep writing no matter what. If I cannot write a million book best seller, I will at least write a science fiction series so long in cannot be ignored.
I am not getting rich. No one owes me a living. But, sales happen every day. That's good for a new author with no advertising budget. Will I stop at #23 in the series? Oh, hell no. Write long and prosper.
Walter Knight
www.waltknight.yolasite.com
My small publisher, Penumbra Publishing, rocks.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree they do, as does your afgl series, and am glad to see it continue on
ReplyDeleteNow it's time to find a movie agent.
ReplyDeleteYour "publishing company" stole MY review, removed the legal gpl3.0 license and put it up on their website, WITHOUT MY PERMISSION.
ReplyDeleteYou just went from an author that I enjoyed straight to my shitlist for such activities. I will be amending my previous reviews of your AGFL books to include this theft and will be rating and reviewing all the rest of your books with this in mind.
Dear Book Stooge, we have emailed you already and apologized for posting your review on our web site. We have agreed to remove all reference to the review on our web site. We have stated that we did not have access to licensing information that prohibits reposting your reviews. Since you have brought it to our attention, we are willing to comply with your wishes. However, penalizing the author with poor reviews for this unintended slight is not fair to the author because the reposting of your review on our site WITH attribution was an administrative decision not made by the author.
ReplyDeleteFacebook postings are shared all the time.
ReplyDelete"America's Galactic Foreign Legion - Book 23 - Bandits" about aliens outlaws on a planet far far away is now published. My latest book is self published because Penumbra Publishing is changing its business model as a royalty-sharing publisher. Penumbra was kind enough to do my cover art depicting alien bandits for free as a parting gift.
ReplyDeleteOn November 6, 2016 I self-published "America's Galactic Foreign Legion - Book 24 - Crimes Against the Galaxy." AGFL-24 is not as polished as a beautiful Penumbra book, and has no cover art, but I was able to continue the AGFL storyline. Sales continue. It is heart warming to know there is still interest in such a long science fiction series.
ReplyDelete"America's Galactic Foreign Legion - Book 25 - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder" is a work in progress, about half completed. I keep writing, even though Penumbra Publishing is out of business.
ReplyDelete