Congratulations Tallima.

A novel? That's some serious dedication, kudos.

I'll be picking it up when I have some cash, if I enjoy the preview, that is! Nonetheless, good luck on getting this book noticed and whatever you'll do next.

I look forward to reading the free chapters once I finish my backlog of 2 Pratchett books. Well done on finishing - I have never been able to write more than a single chapter so I envy those with the storytelling art!

Thanks for the congrats, guys. It was a lot of work, but I describe it as deriving the same pleasure as playing an RPG. Next time you feel like getting an RPG fix, try to write some crazy fantasy.

I must say (no rudeness intended, by the way) I've been on Amazon's fantasy discussion forum for awhile, and I've never seen a newcomer's book priced at $8.99 go anywhere. Most people say that you should go $0.99 or people won't be willing to give it a chance. $8.99 is a paperback price.

Edit: I want to say twice that I mean no rudeness, because I really mean it. Just from reading your posts, I know you know more about publishing than me.

Good job on the book getting done! If I wasn't stuck with finals and a huge backlog of stuff from various mediums I would pick it up.

Congrats on the novel!

The best price points are between 2.99 and 5.99 for sales (if memory serves me correctly -- I remember the cap was 5.99). For my earlier novellas, I sold almost nothing at 99 cents. At 2.99, I sell them regularly.

My objective was to start at 8.99 and drop the price as sales declined down to the 5.99 mark. That way, I could get a better feeling for the marketability of the book.

But you really got me thinking. I feel like the price will drop steadily in just a short amount of time and my customers might feel screwed. I don't want that. So I'll set it at the price point I think is fair and marketable (5.99) and see how the market behaves.

Thanks for your insight.

Any DRM on the book? Or can it be converted to be read on other devices?

The Kindle version has DRM.

The Lulu version does not have DRM.

The lulu version uses epub format which is usable on iPhone/iPad and Nook and PC (using an Adobe program).

The Kindle version is for Kindle and Kindle apps.

Thanks for the info! That's pretty interesting, that .99 cents doesn't sell.
I actually want to see how yours turns out, because I just did National Novel Writing month, and while I wouldn't publish the novel I just wrote, it gave me a feeling that maybe, just maybe, someday I could write some non-garbage and publish it on Kindle. You know, like if I took more than a month to write it.

PS: How many words is it? What would you say is the right amount for the indie fantasy market? A lot of the indie fantasies I've seen on Amazon have been really small (not that there's anything wrong with that, but I believe in today's physical market, "epic fat fantasy" is the way to go).

There was a guy who would plug and plug and plug his novel on the forum (which isn't allowed anymore, probably because of people like him), who had written something called Epic: The Novel. He had written himself a good many 5-star reviews, but then the real reviews started coming in. The "book" was, if I recall, three pages long, and he sold it for $3. It's still up. 4 stars, based on 10 reviews! He even posted reviews by "Publishers Monthly". It's pretty hilarious, or would be, if people weren't being ripped off.

Actually, I don't recall where but some book authors (technical and fiction) have blogged about the 99 cent price point being overlooked by a lot of buyers. To be fair, some have said at 99 cents they laugh their way to the bank.

Doesn't Amazon take a bigger cut if you price above or below their preferred range? I thought their lowest percentage was if you priced between 2.99 and 9.99 or so. That's a pretty strong incentive to not do the 99 cent thing right there.

I did the same thing. I wrote something for NaNoWriMo. I wrote a lot. My fingers hurt. But I discovered that if I really focused on the task at hand, I could really get a novel done. So I started writing a new one around January or so after the NaNoWriMo. And that was what became The Darkest Wand.

In the process, I also finished writing Memoirs from Special Education and wrote Father Pimp -- those are 100 page novellas. It's 50 times easier to write a 100 page book than a 300 page book. The editing and revision process is very fast b/c you can keep the book in your head easier, re-reads are quick and there's just less complexity. For instance, in The Darkest Wand, the main character started as an archer. Then she wasn't. Then she was. Then she wasn't. Revising just that simple trait in the book probably took more time than writing half of Father Pimp.


The book is 104,000 words. According to Elizabeth Lyon, from her "The Sell Your Novel Tool Kit" book (highly recommended -- she'll give you the ins and outs of the biz), she recommended (if memory serves me correctly) that a first fantasy novel should be 90,000-110,000 words if you're trying to get it published in a physical form.

The reason is that book stores make money by how many books they sell, not how many inches of space a book takes up. So if your book is an awesome 500,000 word epic that the world will love, nobody will give you a chance b/c nobody knows if you'll sell. And they could sell 5 books from a variety of authors and make about 5x more money for every one book of yours.

So for fantasy, 90k - 110k seems to be a magic number where fantasy readers want to buy it b/c it's not too thin and bookstores will put it up b/c it's not too fat.

Once established, you can take up lots more space b/c the books will leave the shelves quickly and regularly.

Nook and Kindle are certainly changing that dynamic. Now it doesn't take up any more space to have a 1500 page monster. And you can set your own price. If it's good, people will read it, review it and buy it.

If you want to write, I would strongly suggest:
Elizabeth Lyon's The Sell Your Novel Toolkit -- teach about the biz and strengthening writing

Christopher Leland's The Art of Compelling Fiction - more macro topics are covered like developing relatable characters and entertaining the reader's sense, and then providing opportunities to practice those macro topics on the micro-scale of paragraphs

Joseph Williams Style: Toward Clarity and Grace (I read this version, he's got a newer one call Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace. I bet it's as good or better) -- this book will help your write phrases, sentences and then paragraphs better. Clarity is the focus, but you'll learn interesting things about language and its effect on the reader and listener.

Yes. Amazon will pay 70% of royalties for prices between 2.99 and 9.99. It's only 35% if it's more or less. There are other stipulations, too. For instance, you have to sell in all regions, you can't sell a physical copy for a certain price above the Kindle price and you can't sell for lower anywhere else in the world.

Those are show-stoppers for a lot of people with amazing books.

I think that the market will fluctuate. As crappy books end up in the 2.99 market more and more, some people might try to shine with other tactics. We're already seeing tons of people listing the first of a series for free with subsequent books in a higher category (like the 7.99 range or so).

Some good news:

#1: The Darkest Wand is now in the Amazon Prime system so that you can check it out if you're a member of Amazon Prime.

#2: I'm having a Merry Christmas promotion. On Dec 25 and 26, you can buy a copy of The Darkest Wand for free for the Amazon Kindle!

Merry Christmas GOG!


P.S. One of my other books, Memoirs from Special Education, will be free those days as well. It's well-worth a read.

First of all, congrats to Tallima for doing what so many others dream of, but never get done.

Well, the reality is that people need to make a living. They need some sort of income so just giving everything away for free is not an option (if they want to keep clothes on their body, a roof over their head and eat).

I would have thought that now would actually be a pretty exciting time for authors.

Sure, virtual copies introduce its own set of nightmares (mostly piracy), but I think GOG has shown that there are enough people willing to purchase a legitimate copy to make it worth someone's while if the price is reasonable.

I think thus far, the main drain on authors has been publishers for physical actually.

I mean, those guys are restrictive in several ways:

1) They are the gatekeepers that will block your work if it does not appeal to a lucrative (by the standards of a big corporation accustomed to making tons of money) mainstream.

2) They are overpricing your work and giving you a pittance out of it.

I mean, lets say you get 1$ per copy sold and they are keeping 10$.

First of all, you make 10% of the revenue, which is further diluted by the price driving some buyers away.

Now, if the author could just sell the book for a flat 2$, they`d more than double their profits. I mean, their revenue per book would double and they'd be selling a lot more books based on the fact that the retail price for it is 2$, not 10$.

Anyways, that is my take on it. The faster the current publishing infrastructure can be done away with, the better for both the authors and the end consumer.