Filed under: Art, Failure, Feedback, Mark Twain, Marketing, NPR, Promotion, Publishing, Scott Simon, Writing stuff | Tags: jim downey, literature, NPR, promotion, Scott Simon, writing
While I’m on a bit of vacation, I have decided to re-post some items from the first year of this blog (2007). This item first ran on July 1, 2007.
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There was a very good segment on this morning’s Weekend Edition Sunday with Jon Clinch, the author of the novel Finn. Clinch talks about his experience in working on several prior novels, none of which were satisfactory to him, before embarking on Finn. It is interesting that he used the web to first promote himself, then land an agent, then get a publisher for the novel – the same kind of thing I am attempting to do with this site and Communion of Dreams.
But even more interesting was the business with his attitude towards his previous novels, which he thought were important in helping him as a writer, even though they were “failed” projects ultimately in terms of artistic satisfaction (and not being published.) I think we tend to underestimate the value of failure, in our focus on success. I have lots of what would conventionally be characterized as “failures” in my life, but each one was an experience which helped lead me to new understanding about myself and the world. Basically, I’m of the opinion that if a failure doesn’t kill you, it isn’t really a failure. And since none of us gets out of this life alive, anyway, we’re all doomed to “failure”.
The most interesting people I know are not the ones who have only succeeded in everything they’ve tried – that type is either too self-satisfied to be interesting, or so unambitious to have never pushed themselves. Give me people who go too far, who push themselves in what they do past their abilities, who are ambitious enough to want to Paint the Moon. Those are the people who are interesting.
Communion was not my first novel. No, during college I wrote one, another near-term speculative novel, once again based on the notion that a pandemic had caused a general societal collapse. I think it is stuck away in a box someplace in the attic. Even though post college I spent several months trying to rewrite it, it is fairly dreadful, and deserves banishment to the attic. But it helped me learn a *lot* about writing a novel, and allowed me to work out a number of themes and ideas which I then used in Communion to much better effect. So that book (titled Equipoise) was not entirely a failure. And I’d bet that most ‘successful’ authors have one or more such books tucked away in a box somewhere, if you can only get them to admit it.
Anyway, I enjoyed the interview with Clinch, and will have to look up his book one of these days.
Jim Downey
Filed under: Alzheimer's, Amazon, Feedback, Health, Hospice, Kindle, Marketing, Promotion, Publishing, Society | Tags: Alzheimer's, Amazon, blogging, care-giving, direct publishing, free, health, hospice, jim downey, John Bourke, Kindle, memoir, promotion, reviews
Happy anniversary!
This is the one-year anniversary of when Her Final Year was first published. The culmination of years of writing & editing, and many more years of experience caring for Martha Sr and Georgia, interest has been building in this book since we first released it into the wild. The reviews (13 as I am writing this) have all been 5-star and very touching. Here’s an excerpt from one of the recent reviews:
A must-read for anyone dealing with a family member suffering from Alzheimer’s/dementia. Easy read, no holds barred memoir. Saw so much of my own mother, now in moderate-severe stage. Much good info and ideas. Suddenly I don’t feel so alone.
And today it is free to download. Yes – the Kindle edition of the book will be available all day for free to anyone who wants to get it. You don’t even need a Kindle to read it in this version – Amazon has a free Kindle emulator/app for virtually all computers, laptops, and mobile devices.
Do yourself and your family a favor. Download this book. Share it with others. Care-giving is something all of us will probably have to face, one way or another: this book helps.
Thanks.
Jim Downey
Filed under: Alzheimer's, Amazon, Feedback, Health, Hospice, Kindle, Marketing, Promotion, Publishing, Science Fiction, Travel | Tags: Alzheimer's, Amazon, blogging, care-giving, direct publishing, free, health, hospice, jim downey, John Bourke, Kindle, literature, memoir, promotion, reviews, Science Fiction
Quick note to share two new reviews, both of them fairly short and both of them 5-star. One for Communion of Dreams:
I do not read a lot of science fiction – I just have not been drawn to it. I picked up this book for my kindle on a whim as it looked interesting. I am blown away! What a unique story! Loved all the science based info and loved the element of divine as well. Give this book a chance – you won’t be disappointed. I look forward to reading more from this author…..
And one for Her Final Year:
Excellent account for anyone facing the time with a parent going through Alzheimer’s. I bought it to read myself and got another copy for my mother who is dealing with my dad now. It really was an excellent resource.
Two other news notes:
This coming Saturday, the 14th, will be a free Kindle edition promotion for Her Final Year. Yup, that means that HFY will be free all day for anyone who wants to download the Kindle version.
And I have loaded a dozen blog posts from the first year I maintained this blog — 2007 — which most people have not seen. These will be posting about one a day while I am traveling. A little bit of this and that which I thought would be fun to revisit. If you ‘follow’ the blog, you’ll get notice of these posts, but otherwise pop by now and then to take a look.
Well, I still have a lot to get done today. Cheers!
Jim Downey
Filed under: Alzheimer's, Amazon, Connections, Feedback, General Musings, Guns, Hobbits, Hospice, Kindle, Marketing, Politics, Predictions, Promotion, Publishing, Science Fiction, Society, Writing stuff | Tags: Amazon, birthday, blogging, direct publishing, free, Grackles, Hobbits, jim downey, Kindle, literature, politics, predictions, promotion, Science Fiction, writing
And then the Grackles came. As Grackles do.
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Yesterday’s “Hobbit’s Birthday” Kindle promotion was something of a bust. While an appropriate eleventy-one people downloaded Communion of Dreams here in the U.S. (no, really, 111 did), that number is miniscule in comparison to previous promotions. Another 10 downloads went through the Amazon.UK portal, and 4 through Amazon.DE.
It’s hard to be sure what conclusions to draw from this. It could be to not do a promotion on a major national holiday. It could be that the market is saturated. It could be something else entirely.
But I think I’ll hold off for a couple of months before running a promotion again.
* * * * * * *
I enjoy blogging. It allows me to keep tabs on my emotional state, share bits of perspective and odd thoughts. It also keeps my writing skills sharp when I don’t have an ostensible goal I am working towards. That advice everyone hears in writing classes to “just write” really is true — writing regularly makes a huge difference.
But there are different kinds of writing. In the 5.5 years I’ve had this blog up, and through the 1324 blog posts, I’ve probably written something over half a million words. Add in some 160 articles/reviews for Guns.com, the 150,000 words initially in Communion of Dreams and the 140,000 in Her Final Year (not all of which were mine, of course), along with other various articles and whatnot, and I’ve probably written/re-written a million words in the last 6 years. But all of that is a real mixed bag, written for different purposes and different audiences.
One of the things I noticed a couple months back was that I was starting to layer meaning in some of my blog posts. And I *know* what conclusion to draw from that: my subconscious is starting to practice for writing the next novel. For the most part this isn’t something that most people would notice — I’m building in these layers of meaning for my own amusement/practice. The surface of each piece needs to still communicate directly with the reader, just as the surface story of Communion of Dreams is an enjoyable tale without demanding a lot of thought. Accomplishing that while building in other stories and ideas in the subtext is what is hard, and it requires practice.
* * * * * * *
I spent part of the morning filling the bird feeders, each according to their type, and dusting the seed first with cayenne pepper powder to dissuade the squirrels and deer. Black oil sunflower seed for the cardinals and jays. Fresh syrup for the hummingbirds. Suet block for the woodpeckers. Cracked safflower for the finches (thistle is also good for them, but dealing with the damned thistle plants which result is a pain). And a “mixed songbird feed” for everyone else.
And I thoroughly scrubbed and then refilled the birdbath. With our current moderate drought conditions and high temps, it has been getting a lot of use.
I’d barely gotten back inside before all the bird varieties were populating the feeders. There was some squabbling between the sparrows, and the jays were being their usual bossy selves, but mostly everyone got along.
And then the Grackles came. As Grackles do. They’re not that much more violent than other birds. I honestly think jays are tougher. But the Grackles don’t just show up by ones and twos. They show up in a mass, making a ruckus, demanding that everyone do things their way. They eat, squawk, and shit. Until they are satisfied that everything is in a sufficient state of chaos.
And then they left, as Grackles do. Leaving the others to pick over what they didn’t want. Leaving me to clean up the mess.
Jim Downey
Filed under: Amazon, Humor, Kindle, Marketing, Music, Predictions, Promotion, Publishing, Quantum mechanics, Science, Science Fiction, YouTube | Tags: Amazon, animation, direct publishing, free, Higgs, humor, jim downey, Kindle, literature, music, predictions, promotion, science, Science Fiction, technology, The Beatles, video, www youtube, Zombies
Confused about what the announcement of the “Higgs Boson” means? Did the Wikipedia article about the theoretical properties of the Higgs make your eyes glaze over? Then, my friend, you should check out this explanation using Zombie particles: Closing in on the God(damn it, Jim! I’m a physicist, not a priest!) particle
(Seriously, it’s a good explanation for the non-sciency folks.)
OK, now, here’s a little reminder of something:
Yup, it’s my birthday. And that means it is time for you to get a gift. A wonderful gift. A momentous gift. The gift of a much larger universe than you ever thought possible. In other words, it is time for you to go download the Kindle edition of my novel, Communion of Dreams. For free. Yup. Absolutely free. You don’t even need a Kindle to enjoy it, because there is a free Kindle emulator/app for just about every computer/tablet/mobile device out there.
Oh, and if you want to give me a little something in return? Just tell others to download the book. Seriously, that helps a huge amount. It gives me a better ranking. Builds mass and momentum. Gathers Zombie particles to me, as it were. And we all know how popular Zombies are, right?
Right.
Jim Downey
Filed under: Amazon, Kindle, Marketing, Music, Predictions, Promotion, Publishing, Science Fiction, tech | Tags: Amazon, birthday, direct publishing, Europe, free, Hobbits, jim downey, Kindle, literature, promotion, Science Fiction, technology
Tomorrow’s my birthday. And as noted, I’ll be giving away copies of Communion of Dreams to one and all! No purchase necessary — just go to Amazon and download the Kindle edition for free. You don’t even need to own a Kindle, since Amazon has a free Kindle emulator/app for just about every variety of computer/tablet/mobile device out there.
And even better, I’m also going to be holding a drawing for a free signed paperback copy of Communion of Dreams. All the details are in Sunday’s blog post. Be sure to get your entries in by Thursday morning!
One more bit of news: we’ve just enabled print-on-demand for Amazon Europe. Soon you’ll be able to order a paperback copy through any of the Amazon sites there (Amazon.uk, Amazon.de, et cetera). Previously getting a paperback copy in Europe was a logistical mess, but soon that should no longer be the case. For readers & fans in Europe this is good news — and if you’re over there and would like to have a ‘signed’ card to insert into your book, just drop me an email and we can make the arrangements.
So, see you tomorrow!
Jim Downey
Filed under: Alzheimer's, Amazon, Feedback, Health, Hobbits, Hospice, Kindle, Marketing, Promotion, Publishing, Science Fiction, Tolkien, Travel | Tags: Alzheimer's, Amazon, birthday, care-giving, direct publishing, free, health, Hobbits, hospice, jim downey, John Bourke, JRR Tollkien, Kindle, literature, LOTR, promotion, reviews, Science Fiction, travel
“Our Sam says that everyone’s going to be invited to the party, and there’s going to be presents, mark you, presents for all — this very month as is.”
Indeed, presents for all. This Wednesday. July 4th. My birthday, as it happens. In keeping with fine Hobbit tradition (though I am by no means a small person), I’ve scheduled that a promotion day — when everyone can download the Kindle edition of Communion of Dreams for free. My gift to you.
And if you can identify the speaker of the above quote (without cheating and looking it up) and send me an email, I’ll put your name in a drawing for a free signed paperback copy of Communion. Don’t post your answer in a comment — that’d give away the answer — just send it to me at jim@communionofdreams.com before July 5th.
If you would like to give a gift to me in return, all I ask is that you help spread the news of the promotion. I’d like to bump up awareness of Communion of Dreams before I leave on my trip. In spite of the many excellent reviews, sales and promotional efforts last month have slipped. I only managed to give away 2,351 copies of the book, and sold (or had borrowed through the KDP Select program) 259 copies. As a result, the Amazon ranking for the Kindle edition has hovered around 20,000 most of the month, and this morning was #21,932. It’d be great if we could push those numbers back into the low “a few thousand” range.
Likewise, Her Final Year only keeps plodding along, again in spite of excellent reviews. We managed to give away more copies of that book — 2,986 — but only sold 32. And consequently the Amazon ranking has largely been stuck around 200,000 most of the month. There will be a free promotion day on July 14 for HFY — in observation of the first anniversary, or ‘birthday’, of the book being published. Something else to look forward to!
So, happy July, everyone! Be sure to email your answers about the mystery quote soon!
Jim Downey
Filed under: Amazon, Arthur C. Clarke, Connections, Feedback, General Musings, Kindle, Marketing, Promotion, Publishing, Science Fiction, Travel, Writing stuff | Tags: Amazon, Arthur C. Clarke, blogging, direct publishing, jim downey, Kindle, literature, marketing, pets, reviews, sales, Science Fiction, writing
Mel, our new cat, has settled in nicely. Well, nicely as far as she’s concerned. Our older cat, Hil, has a different perception of the matter.
That’s because Hil has largely been supplanted by this young upstart, who is a bit bigger, a lot stronger, and somewhat more aggressive. Hil hasn’t taken to cowering, exactly, but she has kept a lower profile and tends to avoid Mel.
Mostly.
* * * * * * *
People keep saying things like this:
The storyline itself I would put on a par with some of the best SF I have ever read. I felt much the same at the end as I did 50 or so years ago when I finished “Childhood’s End”.
And this:
This book is an unapologetic homage to the “hard science fiction” style of writing and to Arthur C. Clarke himself.
* * * * * * *
It’s not surprising that people see this, since from the very beginning I have been pretty open about both my intent and source material. I mean, here’s what it says on the Communion of Dreams homepage:
Welcome to Communion of Dreams. You’ll probably find that it is closest in flavor to the works of Arthur C. Clarke and the late Carl Sagan, two authors from whom I draw inspiration.
And there’s this passage from Chapter 6:
“Here’s what our artifact makes me think of,” Ng laughed. Slowly the artifact image started to change in a more pronounced way, becoming taller, narrower, and losing the hexagonal shape. The mottling drifted away, replaced by a hard, black, shiny surface. It was the iconic monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey.
* * * * * * *
Things change. Last month I sold 550 copies of Communion of Dreams. As I noted a couple of days ago, this month it’s dropped off, and will likely end up somewhere around what the April total was (about 275).
Sure, I wish that the numbers had just kept climbing. They had been basically doubling each month. But these things have a natural ebb & flow to them sometimes. Right now other books are getting the attention, getting the reviews, getting talked about. I haven’t spent as much time & energy promoting the book this month, and next month will probably be even worse since I’ll be overseas for much of it.
Still, we’ll see. You can help, if you want, by contributing your own review, by spreading the word to friends and forums. We all need to watch out for one another in this world. Whether you take that as a warning or a comfort, I’ll leave that up to you.
* * * * * * *
Mel, our new cat, has settled in nicely. Well, nicely as far as she’s concerned. Our older cat, Hil, has a different perception of the matter.
That’s because Hil has largely been supplanted by this young upstart, who is a bit bigger, a lot stronger, and somewhat more aggressive. Hil hasn’t taken to cowering, exactly, but she has kept a lower profile and tends to avoid Mel.
Mostly.
See, Hil has long been comfortable going outside. For Mel, “outside” was a New And Scary experience (her previous owners told us she’d never been out). We started going out with her for short periods, letting her know that we were there and she was OK. And then progressed to leaving the back door propped open a bit, so that she could go out on her own, but come running back inside when she got overwhelmed. Finally, we started letting her out and then closing the door behind her.
But only when Hil was outside.
Because, for all that Mel seems to dominate inside, she wants to have Hil around outside. And Hil, with remarkable kindness, stays with Mel, watching over her. If Hil comes in, Mel does too. If Hil comes in without Mel noticing, as soon as Mel does notice she’s howling at the back door.
Context matters.
Jim Downey
Filed under: Amazon, Feedback, Kindle, Marketing, Preparedness, Promotion, Publishing, Science Fiction, Travel | Tags: Amazon, blogging, direct publishing, free, Italy, jim downey, Kindle, literature, reviews, Science Fiction, travel
Something of an update/status report…
The other day an acquaintance of my wife’s told her that her reading group was reading Communion of Dreams. I’ve heard from two other people locally that they are also in reading groups reading it. Two of the groups may actually be the same, but I’m pretty sure that not all three are.
It’s a bit weird to think that there are reading groups out there using my book as a topic. More than a bit weird, to be perfectly honest.
Sales keep plugging along, slow but steady, at about half the rate they did last month (but they’ll probably top April’s totals). Which isn’t bad, since I have been doing very little to promote the book recently — I’ve been preoccupied getting things ready for this unexpected trip to Italy in two weeks. There’s a new review up at Amazon, and obviously some people are still talking about it, but I would certainly encourage any additional reviews or ratings (hint, hint).
As noted, I will be gone July 10th through the 26th, but I’m going to dig back into the archives for some posts to re-run. The blog is now getting a lot more readership, and the chances are these older pieces will be new to most folks. If anyone has a theme or topic for me to work around, leave a comment.
Cheers!
Jim Downey
Filed under: Amazon, Feedback, James Burke, Marketing, Promotion, Publishing, Science, Science Fiction, Society, tech, Writing stuff | Tags: Amazon, blogging, direct publishing, free, jim downey, Kickstarter, Kindle, literature, predictions, publishing, science, Science Fiction, Seth Godin, technology, writing
Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions came out when I was only four years old, but the ideas it contained percolated through the culture I grew up with, having substantial impact on everything I read at a crucial point in my life. In many ways, the concept of paradigm shift was self-fulfilling, as it came to define and dominate a lot of the intellectual backdrop of my formative years. This in no small part will explain a *lot* of the ‘meaning’ of Communion of Dreams.
And, unsurprisingly, it still has a major influence on how I see the world. Which is why sometimes I am willing to try seemingly absurd things: not because I think that they will necessarily succeed, but because I am looking for an inflection point, a fulcrum, which will allow me to assess and perhaps change perspective.
One of those things has been playing with the idea of doing a Kickstarter in lieu of a conventional publishing deal, as I mentioned previously. Of course, I’m hardly the first writer to consider this, since it seems that Kickstarter-type crowdfunding of creative projects has started to take hold in our society.
Well, I just came across another one, something of a template by author Seth Godin. Here’s an excerpt from his blog about it yesterday:
My idea: Kickstart + bookstore + ebooks.
The publisher (my key to the bookstore) is only willing to go ahead with the rest of the plan if my Kickstarter works. No Kickstarter, no distribution, the stakes are high. (As you saw at the Domino Project, the ebook part is easy now, but the bookstore is still critical to reach the many readers who find and buy books in stores).
If the Kickstarter works, then all the funders will get to read the book before anyone else, plus there are bonuses and previews and special editions. A few weeks after the early funders (that would be you) get to read it, the book will be available to book buyers for purchase the traditional way (wherever fine books are sold in the US, including digital readers). Of course, the Kickstarter funders get a better price, get it first and get unique bonuses, plus the pleasure of being in early–and knowing that they made it happen. The only way this book becomes real is if my readers get behind it now.
This was outlining his project, basically starting it. For the experiment he set a goal of $40,000 on his Kickstarter, and had it running for four weeks to see if it was viable.
He met his goal in three hours. And it is currently funded at $194,873 – almost 500% of his goal.
Now, Godin is a published author and successful self-promoter. He has a real following. Most authors, myself included, have no where near his level of support going into such an effort.
But he has found his fulcrum. He has proven that this is possible, at least under some conditions.
Are there other fulcrums out there? Is it possible for other authors to succeed under different conditions?
Specifically, is it possible for me to do?
Your thoughts welcome.
Jim Downey
Communion Of Dreams 