Wade impressed us so much with his hosting abilities we volunteered him to host the show again tonight, and possibly forever. đ
Now for the stories we have on the list for today’s show.
Amazon’s List of the bestselling books of 2013 http://www.thepassivevoice.com/12/2013/amazon-announces-best-selling-books-of-2013/
The books were calculated using both print and kindle sales. Dan Brownâs Inferno was the best selling adult book in 2013, Khaled Hosseiniâs And the Mountains Echoed came in second. Allegiant, book 3 in the Divergent series by Veronica Roth, is the best-selling Kids & Teens book, followed by The House of Hades by Rick Riordan. H.M. Ward’s Damaged, was the best selling self-published title.
Author Steena Holmes offers her sales data as a Hybrid author. Read about it here.
Author Collectives: The authors of Triskele Books offer advice on how to set up your own Author Collective.
Entitle a new eBook subscription service with a twist, readers will actually own the titles they choose.
The Indie Reader’s best self-published books of 2013 list. Here is the list. I only recognized ONE book on this list. Bad Trish!
The great battle of Genre vs Author Platform This was a very interesting experiment an author did to find out how much marketing and platform an author needed if they were writing in a hot niche market. The answer? Not much apparently.
And now for your entertainment we bring you two new hot industry stories! The first is a blog post on the Huffington post from Kensington Publishing’s CEO, Steven Zacharius about the Myths and Reality of Self-Publishing. Which honestly isn’t anything we haven’t heard before.
What we haven’t seen before is romance author Laura Kaye’s response. To which Steven Zacharius responded, which spurred a bunch of responses from unsatisfied Kensington authors. Very interesting read!
Books and Beer discuss a recent survey put out by Writers Digest.
You can find the actual survey they discuss here.
The link for Genre versus Author Platform doesn’t go to the right page.
Hello everyone!
Greetings!
If you refresh the post, the video link should show up now.
We’re almost there guys.
crissymoss Yay!
jlwardYes, sorry, I pasted in the wrong link. John posted the correct one.
crissymoss I think the countdown clock may be off a tad.
BuddyGott crissymoss just a tad
Live in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1….
Evening all.
Howdy
keithallenauthor Evening
sryeager Howdy, pard’ner!
I like Crissy’s lower third (said in a totally non-flirty way.)
Aren’t we all meeting at Dave’s house for Christmas?
BuddyGott Could you imagine the aneurym if we all showed up on Dave’s lawn and sing O Holy Night?
Hey everyone!
I watch all the Rocky movies on Boxing Day.
Where am I? Who are you people? JK, enjoying this very much.
This is like a five person Better Off UnDave
Sorry. Oh, THAT Carl. đ
When are you going to share your cookie recipes?
David, do you think it’s doable for others what Truant and Platt are doing? I think they said a million words a year?!?
CarlPlumer is what doable?
CarlPlumer I can’t pull it off..but its only 2700 words a day when you break it down.
I hope you know I paused Firefly for you guys. step it up. đ
RolandDenzel Remain calm…like a leaf on the wind.
I think amazon is free, at least for the amazon best novel award it is, anyway.
RolandDenzel Oh my… the pressure is on!
RolandDenzel I’m sorry we can’t live up to the captain. We’ll get our brown coats on!
crissymoss RolandDenzel You’re an ensemble cast, so the sum the parts and all…
Great point by Crissy….
CarlPlumer For sure…unless you are counting the “slush” file the stats don’t work.
If the contract was right I’d happily be a hybrid author. It seems like the best of both words. I don’t see why it has to be one or the other.
keithallenauthor CarlPlumer It’s only 2700 a day, easily doable.
keithallenauthor CarlPlumer We are actually running a 1 million word challenge for 2014.
Carl Sinclair keithallenauthor CarlPlumer There is one on kboards as well.
keithallenauthor My goal is to have a hybrid career. Totally doable.
keithallenauthorThat’s what I always say: If the contract and the money is right, I’ll happily become a sell-out.
keithallenauthorNot that hybrid authors are sell outs. I’m saying that I would sell out if there were enough decimal spots, but there would have to be a lot of them.
I’m late! I missed the first half. And I’m still working. I wanted to pop in and say hi. Going to watch the full episode a little later.
melissadonovan Hi Melissa!
BuddyGottmelissadonovanHi!
Poor Dave…that two-timing Platt.
melissadonovan HI!
keithallenauthor Carl Sinclair CarlPlumer Really? Where can I find details? That’s like a double Nano every month.
crissymossmelissadonovanHello!
The David Wright Experience
Sorry, David! I didn’t know!!! đ
shroudbetween Much like The Jimi Hendrix Experience.
melissadonovan Evening Melissa!
jlward keithallenauthor amen my friend.
In SPRT’s defense, this show has lasted longer than Firefly did.
BuddyGott But will lack the critical acclaim.
BuddyGott Boom!
BuddyGott And boom goes the dynamite.
shroudbetween BuddyGott Yeah, eat a bag of dicks Whedon
CarlPlumer keithallenauthor Carl Sinclair  Here’s the Kboards one:
http://www.kboards.com/index.php?topic=169793.0
keithallenauthor CarlPlumer Carl Sinclair Thanks, Keith. I need a kick in the pants now that Nano is over…
This is the most on topic show ever!
The Dungeon Collective would be a great name for a rock band.
Nice call back, David
There’s no cheering in Cricket
Hello all
David Anson Hi David
keithallenauthor Just a slow clap
keithallenauthor with tea and scones
David Anson Howdy sir
War atrocities…classic ep
BuddyGott I play the triangle
Carl Sinclair keithallenauthor of a respectful size and temperature
Sean and Johnny were also speechless when Carl guested on BOU.
BuddyGott Best. Episode. Ever.
So what have I missed, besides Dave’s masterbation stories?
David Anson Nothing.
David Anson That about sums it up.
I was hoping you guys would talk about this one…thought provoking. Not sure how I felt about it.
David Anson The highlight tonight, really.
shroudbetween David Anson Don’t forget everyone’s christmas plans.
keithallenauthor I 100% agree you write to market. Still write what you like, but it has to be to a market that sells. That is if you want to make a solid living.
Carl Sinclair keithallenauthor The bit that got me wondering was the deconstruction of a minor genre and then it sold like vegamite. Not sure I could write in a genre I couldn’t give a shat about.
keithallenauthor Carl Sinclair You would have to enjoy it or it wouldn’t be fun. But plenty of people do and make crazy money.
What is a “new adult”..college punks?
keithallenauthor Early twenties female POV. Kind of like the 50 Shades crew.
Carl Sinclair keithallenauthor I do like crazy money…
keithallenauthor Are there lists and charts of which genres are doing well?
keithallenauthor The main theme is a girl who fixes a bad boy who she heals and he falls head over heels in love with her.
keithallenauthor Not that I know anything about New Adult…
Carl Sinclair keithallenauthor my autobiography?
Carl Sinclair keithallenauthor Sounds like my last few relationships.
BuddyGott Carl Sinclair keithallenauthor Buddy, you’re such a bad boy…
succubi western
New adult western dino “active romance” novels
shroudbetweenBuddyGottCarl SinclairkeithallenauthorWhile I would most definitely agree that Buddy is a broken boy, I’m not sure we could classify him as a bad boy… not with those sparkling eyes and that winsome smile.
shroudbetween Where witches “ride” the dinosaurs…instant millions
jlward shroudbetween BuddyGott Carl Sinclair keithallenauthor John Ward: my new best friend!
Vampire western, zombie western, witch western. It’s wide open
Geez….
RolandDenzel That’s what SHE said
RolandDenzel Whimsical witches. I’m telling you.
Thanks, pals. Checks are in the mail!
Carl Sinclair RolandDenzel You beat it out
BuddyGottjlwardshroudbetweenCarl SinclairkeithallenauthorI’m just hoping you’ll be the cover model for my forthcoming New Adult book… oh, wait. You might be too old to fit the New Adult demographic. Oh well. Looks like I’ll have to use shroudbetweeninstead.
I think the link to “The great battle of Genre vs Author Platform” is wrong. It’s leading to the ebook service, not the western romance story
jlward BuddyGott shroudbetween Carl Sinclair keithallenauthor He is sort of dashing.
BuddyGott jlward shroudbetween Carl Sinclair keithallenauthor To tear a page from Buddy’s book: Thanks guys. Checks are in the mail.
RolandDenzelIf you scroll down to the very first comment on this show, I posted a correction to the link, but since I still have the article up on my screen, let me give you the right link here. Here you go: http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2013/12/genre-v-platform-cs-lakin/
gotta run! off for some pho. Nice hanging with you all.
jlward RolandDenzel thanks!
RolandDenzel Carl Sinclair I’ll beat it out over some whimsical witches.
Wait, WHAT? I’m not selling ANYTHING (and yes, I can write). I would LOVE 200 books a year, let alone a day!
Carl Sinclair RolandDenzel That’s why he used to watch Sabrina The Teenage Witch every week.
It’s any employer. You don’t discuss your salary with your co-workers.
BuddyGott Carl Sinclair RolandDenzel You shut your mouth! Melissa Joan Hart is a SAINT!
shroudbetween I do it all the time. It causes conflict, which I feed off.
Dave Wright rocks. That is all.
Carl Sinclair shroudbetween Most people talk about their wages, and there is a reason why we do. We just want to know we aren’t being screwed over.
crissymoss Carl Sinclair shroudbetween Few years ago this came up when I worked in private industry. A guy had been in my company, doing my job for 12 years. I was making 20k more a year than he was. The entire office went batshit crazy when everyone started sharing their earnings. I was just better at selling myself and forcing pay increases etc. Plus showing that my work was vital to the company, where he sat there quietly and did his job, nobody remembered him. It happens.
crissymoss Carl Sinclair shroudbetween Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you SHOULDN’T. I’m just saying it’s a common rule. It helps the employer screw over whoever they can. Plus it avoids an uncomfortable work environment when someone finds out the office idiot is making $3 more an hour than they are simply because they know how to negotiate better.
There’s an algorithm, though. You can pretty well figure out what people are making (ballpark) based on their books’ amazon ranking.
CarlPlumer More than ballpark. you can work it out almost do the dollar if you know what you’re doing.
25 shows? Way to go guys.
“Allow” is a loose term, Dave
If you want an afterparty hangout – here.
keithallenauthorI know! Who would have guessed we’d make it that far?
Carl Sinclair Me, please.
Carl Sinclair anyone else?
Carl Sinclair I’m down
BuddyGott Carl Sinclair invites sent.
Thank you, everyone for your support. Happy SPRTing holidays! đ
CarlPlumerThere are several ranking charts, Theresa Regan just updated hers. But I’m doing an updated one as well, off the numbers we’re collecting on the Kindle Boards, as well as numbers we’ve collected privately. We’ll post a sales to rank chart here once we get all the values filled in.
RolandDenzelWitchy Western for the win. Lots of potential there. đ
shroudbetweenI believe the dino “active romance” niche sub-genre is being well served. O-O
jlwardshroudbetweenBuddyGottCarl SinclairkeithallenauthorBuddy is broken? *mad face* Okay! Who broke Buddy?
keithallenauthorCarl SinclairI think most people would have to write in a genre they enjoyed. I have a hard enough time writing books from a genre I love. It would be torture to try to write in a genre I didn’t like.
Late to the party as always. Great show everyone.
RolandDenzel Whimsical Witch Western – sounds a winner.
shroudbetween BuddyGott Carl Sinclair RolandDenzel I’m starting to think that shit might really be a witch. I saw her the other day, she hasn’t aged. At all. Not a tiny bit. She still looks exactly like she did when she was 16….
Trish McCallan RolandDenzel  I finally got around to reading that article by Susanna Lakin. There sure are a lot of bitter, angry people commenting over there…
Where are these people coming up with these ‘made up’ categories. Sweet Western Romance is a category where? It’s not a searchable category, which makes me think it’s reader generated slang.Â
How would a reader even FIND that stuff if the author doesn’t put ‘sweet western romance’ in the description?
What over ‘made up’ categories are out there? How do we find them? There’s interesting data somewhere…
Trish McCallan RolandDenzel Carl Sinclair crissymoss Do you know there’s a ‘sweet historical mail order bride’ sub-genre?
RolandDenzelTrish McCallan
I just went over there and looked, and yeah– responders did turn nasty. Some of what they said were valid, some weren’t. Most weren’t really. Anyway- what she is talking about is keywords more than categories. For example “sweet” is a term for romances that don’t have any sex in them- where the romantic development is all emotional and the physical is left behind closed doors. Romance readers know that “sweet” means no sex, no swearing, no graphic situations or violence. They are sanitized.Â
So there are no categories for “Sweet romances.” but if an author tags her book with sweet and western in the keywords, anytime someone does a search in the search bar for sweet westerns- their book will be one of those displayed.Â
The readers of the sweet romances, or sometimes called christian romances know these are tags to find the kinds of books they are looking for.Â
Think of it like this, my books are SEAL books-this is a niche category in itself. But there is no SEAL category. Closest is the new category military romance. So I put my books in romantic suspense and military romance for my two categories. But I tag them with the following key words, SEAL, SEALs, Warriors, Warrior brotherhoods, Alpha heroes, Alpha hero brotherhoods
My readers search for books by these keywords, so if they type these words into the search bar my books will be among the ones that Amazon will display.
You have to know your genre, to know what keywords your readers use when searching for books in that particular genre
RolandDenzelTrish McCallanCarl SinclaircrissymossThere are all sorts of niche sub-genres in westerns.
RolandDenzelTrish McCallanCarl SinclaircrissymossRoland, Carl Sinclairis living life as a sweet historical mail order male bride… eh, groom.
Trish McCallan RolandDenzel thanks! I’ll have to do some niche investigations and see what’s out there.Â
Some of those sweet books even use the keywords in the title, which Amazon says is a no no.
Trish McCallan RolandDenzel Some of the authors over there are ‘purists’ it seems. There are plenty of good reasons to want to figure out what categories sell. What if you have 100 ideas for books, and that helps you choose your next work? What if you loved romance but thought it was a dead end and never even tried?Â
For that matter, some people just love writing, and want to write just to write. Is ghost writing selling out, too? What about being hired to write a story? Screen writers are often hired to write or rewrite specific scripts, but that’s hardly selling out. I have a good friend who writes for Men’s Health, and only about 10% of the stories are of his choosing. He loves writing about fitness, and ends up interested in most stories once his research phase is going.