Filed under: Art, Book Conservation, Humor, New Zealand, Society, Travel, Writing stuff | Tags: art, blogging, history, humor, Italy, jim downey, Latin, literature, Rome, travel, writing
Slightly cool and breezy this morning, the light rain we’d had having just moved out of our area. The dog trotted ahead, checking all the usual places for ‘messages’ left by other dogs.
“Oh, look!” My wife paused a moment, bent over and picked up a penny. It was shiny from having been rubbed on the road surface by passing cars.
* * * * * * *
So, somewhat surprisingly, and definitely suddenly, I’m going to Rome in a couple of weeks.
Yeah, Rome. As in Italy. And to environs thereabout.
You’re right – I haven’t mentioned this before. No long lead-up, as with our trip to New Zealand last fall. That’s because it just happened. Like three days ago.
So, here’s the story: A good friend is a professor of classics at a major university. He’s well known in the field, has written books and everything. Anyway, most summers he takes one or more groups over to Italy for various seminars and teaching sessions. Sometimes it’s a bunch of students from his school, gaining some extra credit/experience. Sometimes it’s high school instructors in Latin and history. It always sounds like he has a good time, and I’ve enjoyed his stories from some of these trips.
Well, as sometimes happens, at the last minute there’s an opening in the trip he’s taking next month. Since they’re committed to having a certain number of people along . . . you can see where this is headed.
Consequently, in exchange for being a warm body and helping out with some minor ‘roadie’ duties, I get to take the open seat on the bus, as it were. Minimal cost to me (which is a good thing, given how things have gone the last couple of years). Sometimes there are advantages to being self-employed: it was easy for me to convince my boss to give me some time off at such short notice.
So, yeah, Rome. With a truly expert guide to show me (and the rest of the group) the sights. Granted, I don’t really have the knowledge base to get the most out of this particular Workshop, but hey, I’m a quick study.
And while the teachers are spending time on the hardcore history stuff, I’ll have time to explore, learn, write. Such a trip will provide plenty of fodder for me to draw on for future novels.
* * * * * * *
Slightly cool and breezy this morning, the light rain we’d had having just moved out of our area. The dog trotted ahead, checking all the usual places for ‘messages’ left by other dogs.
“Oh, look!” My wife paused a moment, bent over and picked up a penny. It was shiny from having been rubbed on the road surface by passing cars. She stuck it in her pocket.
“I still do that,” I said, nodding to her pocket where the penny had disappeared.
“Pick up pennies?”
I chuckled. “Nah. Toss them out now and then. I figure others will pick them up, and for a moment feel lucky. We all need a bright spot now and again, and I figure it helps my karma.”
The dog, turning from his latest message-spot, looked back at us as if to say “C’mon guys, let’s get going.”
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
Filed under: Alzheimer's, Amazon, Feedback, Health, Hospice, Kindle, Marketing, Privacy, Promotion, Publishing, Science Fiction, Society | Tags: Alzheimer's, Amazon, blogging, care-giving, direct publishing, free, friendship, health, hospice, jim downey, John Bourke, Kindle, literature, memoir, reviews, Science Fiction
This man beside us also has a hard fight with an unfavouring world, with strong temptations, with doubts and fears, with wounds of the past which have skinned over, but which smart when they are touched. It is a fact, however surprising. And when this occurs to us we are moved to deal kindly with him, to bid him be of good cheer, to let him understand that we are also fighting a battle; we are bound not to irritate him, nor press hardly upon him nor help his lower self.
* * * * * * *
I tend to not be shy about what is going on in my life. I’m probably a little more open and honest about my emotional states, about the trials and tribulations, than most folks are. To a certain extent, it goes with the territory of being a writer. And it is one of the things which gives power to Her Final Year, as I keep seeing in the reviews and feedback on that book. People welcome the honest emotion, even if the rawness of it sometimes makes them uncomfortable.
It makes them uncomfortable because most people don’t wear their heart so much on their sleeve. I was rather forcefully reminded of this by something which happened with a friend. A friend who was in a great deal of emotional turmoil and pain, but who had been hiding their struggle until it almost consumed them.
* * * * * * *
This man beside us also has a hard fight with an unfavouring world, with strong temptations, with doubts and fears, with wounds of the past which have skinned over, but which smart when they are touched. It is a fact, however surprising. And when this occurs to us we are moved to deal kindly with him, to bid him be of good cheer, to let him understand that we are also fighting a battle; we are bound not to irritate him, nor press hardly upon him nor help his lower self.
That’s probably more familiar as this aphorism:
Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.
Yeah. It also pays to remember that you don’t have to fight those battles alone. If you’re hurting, if you feel lost, confused, reach out to a friend. Let them know. My recent experience has reminded me just how much of a compliment it is to be a friend to someone who needs it.
Jim Downey
(Oh, yeah, the Kindle editions of Her Final Year and Communion of Dreams are both free today. Be kind to yourself, and me, and go download them. Thanks.)
Filed under: Alzheimer's, Amazon, Book Conservation, Feedback, Hospice, Kindle, Marketing, Promotion, Publishing, Science Fiction, Society, tech | Tags: Alzheimer's, Amazon, blogging, care-giving, direct publishing, free, health, hospice, jim downey, John Bourke, Kindle, literature, memoir, Mother's Day, Science Fiction, technology
There’s been a lot of chatter about this, and several people have mentioned it to me:
Amazon’s markup of digital delivery to indie authors is ~129,000%
It’s a good article, all in all, as it goes into some of the nuts & bolts of being an independent writer trying to make a living self-publishing in some of the different electronic formats. And yes, according to his numbers, Amazon (through their Kindle program) is making a chunk of money for the transfer of his digital files.
Because of this, as I said, a couple of people have mentioned this to me, and have wondered whether it meant we were getting screwed the same way.
Nope.
The main thing is file size. I just checked again, and the cost to transfer the digital file for Communion of Dreams is a whopping 9 cents. And for Her Final Year it’s 17 cents. That’s because there are very few images in either book — they’re primarily just text.
And yeah, that does come out of our royalties for each book. But as you can see, it’s a small amount, and just a cost of doing business. I honestly haven’t given it a second thought since we set up to self publish these books, since I knew about the charges, knew they were going to be pretty small, and was used to having such expenses from having been in business for myself for 20 years now.
One more thing — we don’t have to pay these digital transfer fees for the promotional copies which are given away. Which is good, because if so I’d still be in the hole for the cost of giving away both books. All that it costs is a potential sale — but I think of this as just a form of advertising, necessary to promote awareness of the book. Yeah, sure, it’s a potential lost sale/royalty, and if that bugs you feel free to either go ahead and buy the book or send me a small donation, if it’ll make you feel better.
And speaking of free Kindle edition promotions, this Sunday — Father’s Day (here in the US, anyway) — will be another promotional day for both Communion of Dreams and Her Final Year, and both books will be free to download that day. Hey, we did it for Mother’s Day, and we don’t want to short-shrift the Dads out there. So even though we just had a successful promotion, we’re going to do it again this Sunday! If you’re someone who got a copy of either book last weekend, and you’ve been enjoying it, please tell others about this upcoming promotion!
Am I a nice guy, or what?
Jim Downey
Filed under: Alzheimer's, Amazon, Health, Kindle, Marketing, Promotion, Publishing, Science Fiction | Tags: Alzheimer's, Amazon, blogging, care-giving, direct publishing, free, health, hospice, jim downey, John Bourke, Kindle, memoir, Science Fiction
Quick recap of yesterday’s Kindle promotion…
Again, Her Final Year beat out Communion of Dreams, but this time the difference wasn’t as great.
There were a total of 2,757 downloads of Her Final Year, and the best ranking I saw in the course of the day was it hitting #41 overall in the free Kindle store. In addition, it sat at #1 in a number of categories related to aging and care-giving. Excellent!
Communion of Dreams also had a good day. A total of 1,993 downloads, hitting #144 in the overall ranking as well as #4 in “High Tech Science Fiction”. I’m going to have to go back and get a total count, but I think that puts us within spitting distance of 19,000 copies of this edition of the book being out there. Combine that with approximately 35,000 downloads of the earlier .pdf, and I think it is quite impressive. What’s really cool is that the 35,000 number was reached in about 5 years, whereas the Kindle edition number is for just 5 months.
I’m currently planning on doing another promotional weekend soon — details will be forthcoming. But in the meantime, please feel free to go ahead and promote the book to friends and forums — at $4.95, it’s still a real bargain.
As always, thanks to one and all who helped make this another successful promotion!
Jim Downey
(Cross posted to the HFY blog.)
Filed under: Alzheimer's, Amazon, Bipolar, Connections, Diane Rehm, Failure, Feedback, Health, Hospice, Humor, Kindle, Marketing, Music, NPR, Promotion, Publishing, Science, Science Fiction, Writing stuff | Tags: Alzheimer's, Amazon, blogging, care-giving, Diane Rehm, direct publishing, free, health, hospice, humor, jim downey, John Bourke, literature, memoir, music, NPR, science, Science Fiction, Scott O'Neill, Shawn Colvin, writing
“Now, you would normally expect to pay $16.95 for a book of this size and quality! Just look at it! 420 pages full of the touching story of caring for a loved one! And those aren’t little trade paperback pages, either, but memoir-sized pages, each one charged with honest emotion and providing insight into one of the most challenging — and rewarding — experiences in life!”
“That’s right – you would expect to pay $16.95 for such a book – and it would be a fair deal. A modest price in exchange for access to the innermost thoughts and feelings of four people, each on a personal journey of love and self-discovery.”
“But you don’t have to pay $16.95. No you don’t. Why you can get the whole book — containing every single word, every single lesson learned — in Kindle format for the low, low price of JUST $8.99. That’s right — a huge savings, including no shipping or handling fees!”
“But Wait! There’s More!”
* * * * * * *
Shawn Colvin has a new book out, and has been doing the promotional circuit. I had the pleasure of hearing most of an hour-long interview with her this morning on the Diane Rehm show.
Colvin is just a couple of years older than I am. I can’t say that I have been a huge fan of hers, but I have been aware of her for a long time, and have always appreciated her talents. And Diane Rehm is one of the best in the business. As noted, I’d love to have a chance to have her interview me. The interview was engaging, and touching.
Because Colvin’s book is a memoir. No, not of care-giving. Not care-giving for someone else, anyway. Rather, it was about her own path to deal with her own demons. Depression. Substance abuse. Bad relationships. Anorexia. Toss in the usual professional stresses and failures, and it makes for a compelling story.
* * * * * * *
“That’s right, friend, there’s more: a *LOT* more.”
“Because not only can you get Her Final Year for the low, low price of just $8.99, but you can ALSO get this incredible companion volume: Communion of Dreams! That’s right — James Downey, one of the co-authors of Her Final Year, has also written a novel. And not just any novel — a work of speculative fiction which has fired the imagination of thousands, and prompted dozens of 5-star reviews on Amazon!”
“For such a work you would expect to pay at least $11.95 for the 350 page paperback! But it is available in the Kindle edition for just $4.95. That’s fight, LESS THAN one thin five-dollar bill. Such A Deal!!”
“But Wait! There’s More!”
* * * * * * *
Fascinating story this morning about efforts to stop the spread of Dengue Fever on NPR. The basic idea was to use a known effect where mosquitoes infected with a naturally-occurring bacteria are unable to transmit the virus which causes Dengue Fever. The science in the story was good, but what really caught my attention was how the effort to get this idea to work had been a *very* long and frustrating quest for the scientist behind it.
See, Scott O’Neill had been working on this project for some 20 years. The biggest problem was technical — it is phenomenally difficult to infect living mosquitoes with the bacteria. It takes thousands and thousands of attempts, working at a microscopic level, to inject the necessary bacteria into a mosquito egg, and then having said egg develop to adulthood and actually *have* the disease. Failure is a constant companion.
And so this is what caught my ear when I heard it:
Take the day in 2006, when one of Scott’s graduate students told him he thought he’d finally succeed in infecting a dengue mosquito with Wolbachia.
I figured this must have been a red-letter day for Scott, a day of sheer elation. Scott told me looking back on it, it was. But at the time it didn’t seem that way.
“Because you’re so used to failure that you don’t believe anything when you see it,” he says. “And so you can think back to when there was a Eureka moment, but at the time, you’re probably, ‘this looks good but I’ve been burnt thousands of times before. Let’s go and do it again, and the do it another time, and check and check and make sure it’s actually real.’ “
* * * * * * *
“That’s right, friend, there’s more: a *LOT* more.”
“Because while you would think that just $8.99 for Her Final Year or only $4.95 for Communion of Dreams would be a STEAL — and you would be correct to think that! — you can get *BOTH* of these books for FREE this Saturday!”
“That’s right, I said FREE, friend. As in beer! The Kindle edition of each book will be completely and totally FREE all day Saturday! All you have to do is just go and download it. Why, you do not even need to own a Kindle in order to take advantage of this phenomenal offer! That’s right, you can get a FREE Kindle app for almost every computer, tablet, or mobile device known to man!”
“But Wait! There’s More!”
* * * * * * *
I sometimes wonder whether I shouldn’t play up my own “demons” more.
Now, I haven’t been shy about talking about them. Anyone who has read my stuff for any length of time knows this. I’m honest about my background (orphaned at 13), my failures (both recent and older ones), and my own struggles with mild bipolar disorder and health problems. Talking about these aspects of my life helps to provide some context for the things I think and do — it is all part of who I am and why I see the world as I do.
But I try not to dwell on such things. I have never considered myself a tragic figure or particularly burdened. Whether or not it was Plato who actually said “be kind, everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle” that aphorism is still very true, and my own battle hasn’t been especially more difficult than the one many people fight. In very many ways I have been extremely fortunate, and I know that. And I’m thankful for it.
But still, there is no denying that tragedy sells.
* * * * * * *
“More? How can there be More? The Kindle edition of both books are already FREE — what more could any reasonable person ask for???”
“Well, I’ll tell you what. How about a *signed* copy of the paperback edition of each book? For FREE!”
“That’s right. FREE!”
“All you gotta do is post a comment here. Or on our Facebook page. Or send a Tweet. Do any of these things between now and Sunday morning, and your name will be entered into a drawing for a FREE signed copy of the paperback! You can enter once for each book at each venue — a possibility of 6 chances in total! What more could you possible ask for?”
“So, don’t delay — enter your name, today! And remember to download your FREE copy of the Kindle edition of Her Final Year and Communion of Dreams this coming Saturday!”
Jim Downey
(Cross posted to the Her Final Year blog.)
Filed under: Alzheimer's, BoingBoing, Connections, Failure, General Musings, Genetic Testing, Health, Hospice, Marketing, Music, Promotion, Publishing, Science, Science Fiction, Society, Survival, tech, Violence, Writing stuff, YouTube | Tags: Alzheimer's, Amazon, blogging, BoingBoing, care-giving, direct publishing, free, genetics, health, hospice, jim downey, John Bourke, Kindle, literature, memoir, music, predictions, Queen, science, Science Fiction, technology, writing, www youtube
From BoingBoing here’s an embedded video of a long (90 minutes) but *really* fascinating discussion on the topic of why homo sapiens is the sole surviving member of our genus, and what that might tell us about ourselves. What I very much enjoyed was the way the different disciplines brought their own perspective to the question, and how each different perspective tends to reinforce the science of the others.
Today, we’re the only living member of the genus Homo and the only living member of the subtribe Hominina. Along with chimpanzees and bonobos, we’re all that remains of the tribe Hominini.
But the fossil record tells us that wasn’t always the case. There were, for instance, at least eight other species of Homo running around this planet at one time. So what happened to them? What makes us so special that we’re still here?
* * * * * * *
From Chapter 5:
Navarr turned and looked at Jon. “Any indication from the medical report what the genetic changes mean functionally?”
“No, not yet. The way that the genetic manipulation will play out is very difficult to predict, since that is a subtle and complex dance over time. They have simulations running now, and we may have an idea in a few days.”
* * * * * * *
I don’t want to give away too much, but there are other intimations in Communion of Dreams on this topic, since it is one which has long intrigued me. And while I am nowhere near knowledgeable enough to get too far into the molecular genetics, the current state of the science is such that there is room for plausible speculation.
And again, without giving too much away, I can say that this is something which will be one of the themes in St. Cybi’s Well.
* * * * * * *
Speaking of giving things away: next Saturday, June 9th, will be a Kindle promotional day for both Communion of Dreams and Her Final Year. As previously, the Kindle edition of each book will be available for free download all day, and you don’t even need to own a Kindle to get & read your free copy, as there is a free emulator app for just about every computer/tablet/mobile device out there.
In addition, I will be offering a signed paperback copy of each book as a prize — details to be announced in a couple of days!
Jim Downey
*of course.
Filed under: Amazon, Connections, Feedback, Health, Kindle, Marketing, Promotion, Publishing, Science Fiction, Writing stuff | Tags: Amazon, blogging, direct publishing, Habaneros, health, jim downey, Kindle, literature, lucid dreaming, Science Fiction, writing
There’s a new review up on Amazon.
* * * * * * *
I woke from a *very* strange dream about 2:00 this morning. It was a partially lucid dream, where the awake part of my brain kept trying to re-arrange the dream components to solve a problem.
The problem? How to coordinate and communicate with a very large workforce in the basement of a huge construction site. For whatever reason, the foundation of the building had been put into place, but there were huge piles of random junk all throughout the various compartments of the basement. Each time I tried to come up with a way to make sure that everyone did what they needed to do, and was accounted for (in terms of safety and actually working), the size of the basement grew, as did the piles of junk to be dealt with.
* * * * * * *
I’ve posted a fair number of items to the blog this week, but all of it has been quick links to videos I found of interest, or the sort of simple status updates I like to share about how the book is doing. There are all kinds of reasons why I post this stuff. It’s good to have these benchmarks noted on the blog for archive purposes, and people enjoy the oddball vids I come across. But these sorts of posts don’t require a lot of mental effort on my part, and when I post a string of them it usually indicates that something else is going on.
Sometimes I’m aware of what that “something else” is, sometimes it is only obvious in hindsight.
* * * * * * *
I’ve been fighting a sore throat for more than a week. Nothing too bad, started out as just an ache. I figured at first it was probably just due to allergies and a little drainage. Then I figured I had a mild virus (there’s always something going around). But it persisted. Yesterday morning I took a look in the mirror, and saw that my uvula was just about the size, shape, and color of a very ripe habanero.
Charming.
I had planned to ride out the weekend, then if my throat was still bugging me to see my usual doc sometime. Instead, I popped over to the clinic. Saw the doc on call. She took one look at my throat, prescribed antibiotics, told me to take it easy.
* * * * * * *
I knew that I was just spinning my wheels last week. I didn’t feel all that well. But I was getting some good work done in the bindery, and more or less kept forward momentum going on marketing & promotion, other things.
More importantly, I’ve been doing a *lot* of thinking about St. Cybi’s Well, the prequel to Communion of Dreams which I have mentioned often, but for which I have very little to show at this point.
It is hard to explain how this process works sometimes. But the conscious part of my brain recognized what was happening in my dream last night. How even though the foundation of the book may be laid, it is still necessary to get a handle on all the many different elements I need to work together to complete the thing. Oh, some of the details will sort themselves out as you go along — characters will take on ‘life’ and become real, a metaphor will become clear, that sort of thing — but you have to at least get the major elements in place, or you can never hope to build the book.
And just when you think you have things sorted out, you realize that the task before you is even larger than you realized. There are more factors to consider. More characters to understand.
It’s frustrating. And exciting. And exhausting.
* * * * * * *
There’s a new review up on Amazon. Here’s part of it:
I highly recommend this book. It’s exciting, thought provoking, and entertaining. I hope Mr. Downey continues to produce science fiction of such high caliber.
That helps. Thanks.
Jim Downey
Filed under: Amazon, Feedback, Kindle, Marketing, Predictions, Promotion, Publishing, Science Fiction | Tags: Amazon, blogging, direct publishing, free, jim downey, Kindle, reviews, Science Fiction
Well, let’s look back at April…
All in all, it was a good month for Communion of Dreams. Perhaps the least impressive statistic is the number of visitors to the website for the book: only about 1,000. But that’s OK, because a lot more people went directly to the Amazon pages for the book (Kindle and paperback), and actual sales were right at 275 over the course of the month.
I just checked the numbers for May, and guess what? A total of 553 sales/loans. Didn’t break the 600 level as I hoped, but this is still twice the total sales/loans as April. Excellent! Thanks, everyone, for your support & reviews!
In terms of visits to the site, that number was just a tad under 1,200. A similar number of visitors to this blog over the course of the month.
I’m still sorting out the details, but there will be at least one promotional day this month — when anyone can download the Kindle edition of Communion of Dreams for free. In addition, I will hold some kind of drawing to send out a signed copy of the paperback edition — watch for details!
Happy June, everyone!
Jim Downey
Filed under: Amazon, Feedback, Kindle, Marketing, Promotion, Publishing, Science Fiction | Tags: Amazon, blogging, direct publishing, free, jim downey, Kindle, literature, reviews, Science Fiction
No, not that 538. Though this does have to do with statistics of a sort: that’s the number of total sales & loans of Communion of Dreams so far this month. (Loans are included, since under the Amazon Prime system I get paid almost as much royalty for a loan as I do for an outright sale of the book).
Everything was plugging along just grand until the end of last week, when sales decided to slow down considerably. Went from about 25 a day to under 10, and the ranking slipped from about 2,000 overall to the current 12,427.
These kinds of fluctuations happen, and I’m not worried about the overall trend — but it would still be nice if we could break 600 total sales for the entire month. So I’m asking for a little help: if you know someone who might enjoy Communion of Dreams, but isn’t usually a science-fiction reader, give the book a plug. Reviews have consistently shown that it has appeal beyond just the genre, and in fact the formal review I linked to earlier this month summed up his recommendation this way: “A solid read that may have greater appeal to individuals who are not fans of the genre than by aficionados.”
Now, if someone’s in a bit of a cash bind, don’t bug them about buying the book. I’ll be running another “free promotion day” for the Kindle edition here in June, and they can get it then. But otherwise, please help spread the word.
Thanks!
Jim Downey
Communion Of Dreams 