The Journal of Spartan_Warrior

[riparian]

I've seen that pricing structure advised elsewhere. I guess it must be working for some people, but it's the opposite of what would work for my books. My first book has great rank and sales, and people buy it no matter what. My second book does pretty well. The third (and end of the series) not so much. When people click on any of your books they'll naturally click through and start with the first, so it will always have the most sales and rank. You're giving up a lot of money if you drop it's price below 2.99.

It is totally all marketing, and in my experience the release matters the most and can predict the future of the book. Are you building an email list? That's what you need for good releases.

So, I saw in another thread you write policy. Can I PM you for advice about that?

[Spartan_Warrior]

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[javengreen]

Instead of offering a free book, can you offer and advertise a couple of free chapters? Maybe this is already available? I like the idea of a prequel or short story to really get the reader wanting to continue.

[jennypenny]

Since Spartan didn't post about his new book release, I will.

His latest book came out last week, completing his first series. It's the prequel to the So Damn Beautiful trilogy.

So Damn Beautiful: Prelude (free right now)

So Damn Beautiful: The Lonely One (book 1)

So Damn Beautiful: Children's Home 5 (book 2)

So Damn Beautiful: Lost Sanctum (book 3)


I've worked with several wannabe authors, but Spartan's the real deal. You'll all be able to say you knew him when ...

[workathome]

Cool! I've missed seeing any updates to this journal. How is the job going?

[Chad]

Holy shit! I screwed up and missed giving a rating on #2 and now #3 is already out.

[Spartan_Warrior]

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[Chad]

No, I'm just an idiot. Sorry about that.

[Spartan_Warrior]

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[C40]

Hi Spartan! It is WONDERFUL to hear about how much your work situation has improved! How did you swing the working from home arrangement?

I've had a similar impact to a hobby income stream. One swing of the tail of a big company can have such a huge impact on individuals using that company's infrastructure for income.

[Spartan_Warrior]

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[Dragline]

It's good to hear that things have improved for you, SW. You seem to be zigging and zagging quite well, all things considered.

[Chad]

About a month or so ago, as I start to research keywords for the book on Amazon, I discover that some (vastly more successful) author has a book on pre-order with the IDENTICAL TITLE and a NEAR-IDENTICAL PREMISE. I mean, it's unbelievable. His blurb could basically describe my book, to the point where he kinda took the blurb right out of my mouth--I had trouble coming up with something unique that still described my story effectively.

Wouldn't you know it--someone else just happens to be writing almost the exact same book I spent the last half a year writing.

His book is due out at the end of the month, and I'm finally just about ready to publish mine, basically at the same time. I've been trying to release mine first, at the least. Not that this will make much difference, lol.

Did he steal my idea? I don't think so. I think I may have mentioned my idea on a private writing forum in enough detail that someone could have arrived at the same premise, but I'm not sure. The earliest mention I can find of him announcing his book on his blog was in November; I have project announcements dating to at least September.

But I believe it was an honest coincidence. Apparently, writers pitching near-identical scripts or writing near-identical manuscripts without knowing it happens fairly often--you just never think it'll happen to you until it does. I kinda suspect he just watched the same Ghost Adventurers episode (or whatever it was) that I did and was inspired to write about the same real world place. His book is even part of a series based on "real life" locations.

I've been listening to some of Brian Koppleman's (Rounders writer) podcast and I think it was his interview with Ed Burns, where Burns talks about a similar situation when he was starting out. He scraped the story, but kept the characters and they ended up in one of his more successful movies.

This podcast might be something for you to listen to right now, as it focuses on Burns' career nose dive and it's resurrection through a different strategy. Just a thought. This may or may not be up your alley.

[Spartan_Warrior]

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[Spartan_Warrior]

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[Tyler9000]

I don't feel much more free now that I'm working from home full-time, although I suppose I am. I have my usual small (2-6 hours/wk usually) workload and I have to be around in case anyone calls or emails, but in many ways I suppose this is a preview of what retirement will be like. I'm not sure if that's encouraging or not.

With this free time and nothing to occupy it, I think I've developed a bit of an internet addiction (or I'm overfeeding an existing one).

Regardless, I feel like I need a new project, but I don't know what it should be. I'm kind of interested in getting more into homesteading and gardening stuff, maybe owning chickens, etc, but at the same time I feel like I always have one foot out the door here and don't want to settle my roots too deep. Is that an ordinary "wanderer" (vs. homesteader) trait?

I know that feeling. In my experience, one potential negative with alternative work arrangements (part time, working from home, etc.) is a resulting lack of "flow". The extra flexibility makes it too easy to get distracted from work, and even infrequent responsibilities are still enough to also zap motiviation to embrace new challenges outside of work. So even with all that extra time, you fall into a perpetual state of distraction.

The good news is that once you retire, that cycle is easier to break (after a period of adjustment) and you can fully dig in on new interests. In the meantime, I'd recommend setting interim goals to help cultivate focus. What can you learn about homesteading and gardening today to build towards your future goals?

[GandK]

Never really got back into writing erotica, or anything else. I still have plenty of ideas for various projects, but no incentive to work on any of them. The effort to reward ratio just seems hopelessly skewed, and not even just financially. My last book may end up being my last book. It's sad because being a writer/storyteller has always been both my driving goal and part of my self-identity, but the reality hasn't lived up to the dream.

You may find that this changes when you no longer (try to) connect money to these stories. Also, if your life is very vanilla right now, you may find yourself with nothing much to say. The things that people respond to most strongly in my writing are invariably the things that were based, if only in metaphor since I write fantasy, on my own IRL experiences. Go have an adventure, and you may find you have a lot more to say when you sit down in front of the keyboard.

Lately, my project has been politics, but that project "failed" as well. I was very excited and invested in the presidential primary, with Bernie Sanders redefining what a politician could be for me. I've shared my thoughts on this election frequently in the respective Clinton and Trump threads here, so I won't go into it any further. Suffice it to say I'm exhausted and my morale is fairly beat.

You didn't fail there, either. I was inspired by your activism even if I didn't agree with all your points. I bet several others were, too. And this movement is far from dead. It will continue to churn because the underlying issues have not been addressed.

In somewhat related news, I've been thinking more about whether I want children or not lately, and I think I'm slowly realizing I may never want them after all. I think this idea upsets my GF, but I'm not sure how much.

Red alert! Talk through this. Not sure about her age, but the average woman has about an 18-year window to either have a kid or freeze her eggs, and if she's in her mid-20's, she's nearly halfway through that time frame already. Most women don't wrap their heads around this until their thirties, when most of their fertility is already gone. So for her sake, speak up soon. Don't let someone that you care about meander into a situation where her most important life choices are not hers to make any more.

Regardless, I feel like I need a new project, but I don't know what it should be. I'm kind of interested in getting more into homesteading and gardening stuff, maybe owning chickens, etc, but at the same time I feel like I always have one foot out the door here and don't want to settle my roots too deep. Is that an ordinary "wanderer" (vs. homesteader) trait?

I don't know. G's a nomad, and I'm a homesteader. I think the real difference is that he has a deep need for physical novelty that I don't have. We both want to hit the road when he retires and live in an RV for a while. But I want to use that time to find the ideal location to buy land and settle. Personally, I don't think I can effectively flower and "bear fruit" in the Christian/service to humanity sense if I'm moving around constantly. And to the degree that I want novelty, I seem to be able to generate enough of it in my own imagination or find it in my various relationships that it's not on my radar of needs at all. I don't know if that means I'm self-actualized or just boring. But G wants to keep moving indefinitely. He craves those new beginnings, or rather (I believe) the adrenaline rush that they provide. I'm not sure how this will play out for our family in the end. I wish he'd just go skydiving periodically or go renew his pilot's license or something. Find some other way to produce that chemical reaction he needs that won't involve constantly uprooting me and, for the next 13 years, our youngest son.

[Spartan_Warrior]

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[Spartan_Warrior]

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[Dragline]

Happy Birthday!

On your frustrations with politics, you may take heart that all the demographic trends point in the general direction of your preferences. As an historical mirror, Reaganism was "dangerous and outside the mainstream" in 1976, acceptable enough but still "voodoo economics" in Bush's words in 1980, and the American Way by 1984. Reagan didn't change, but the electorate did via deaths and replacements. Same thing is happening in a different direction right now.