Category: Self-Publishing

To sign or not to sign with a small publishing house

I share a situation that may be happening in the future with a small publishing house, and my thoughts on whether to sign or not should an offer be forthcoming.


Hi everyone,

As many of you may know, Brass Legionnaire recently won the EPIC eBook Award for Best Action Adventure Novel. And I get an awesome new little award thingie to put on my blog and my book website! Yay! 2013_EBook_WINNER-smWhat I didn’t add earlier is that while at the conference, I was approached by an editor at a small independent publisher. She was very interested in my book, and the award made the series more attractive. She asked me to email her when I got home, so I did. She recently got back to me, and was very interested to read more, so I sent her the entirely finished first and second books of the Steam Empire Chronicles, plus Roma Aeronautica, the short story that I’ve been working on.

I’ll admit, I’m feeling a tad bit nervous. One of the best things that self-published authors have is control. Control over editing, cover art, interior illustrations, when to publish, even deadlines. With a publisher, any publisher, you lose that. I was also worried because of my Kickstarter. Companies don’t like it when you give their stuff away for free (although in this case, the people have ‘technically’ paid for it, and saved the publishing house money as they won’t need to spend as much time editing or revising the novel – theoretically). I’ve also been looking at some of their writer’s work on the computer, and while it has some good reviews, they don’t seem to have a ton of downloads, which worries me to another degree.

The end result is what to do? I’m not sure. I’m going to hold off posting this until I hear some feedback from her. Here’s what I’d love to ‘get’ out of this situation.

  1. I want to keep my cover artist and interior artist because I believe consistency is CRITICAL with a series.
  2. I want flexible deadlines because I’m a teacher and can’t crank sh…er… stuff… out at a ridiculously fast pace.
  3. Money! (duh, but really, a healthy percentage cut or something…)
  4. Marketing assistance – I can do some, more in the summer, but not a lot due to my day job. I’d love some help.

What I don’t want

  1. Going back into edits on both novels
  2. Arguments over illustrations or cover (MY BOOK = MY COVER)
  3. For someone to get me to sign it over then sit on it.
  4. Changing the character/nature of the novel
  5. Being hung out to dry
  6. Watching my sales stagnate.

Let me add some caveats – I’m not a control freak, not am I a crazy person to work with. Just ask my editor, cover artist, formatter, etc. I’ve very low maintenance, but I do want to be listened to and included in the conversation. I don’t want to be talked down to, but I am willing to listen to constructive criticism. I know that Self-Published authors get a lot of flak for being difficult to work with or unprofessional, but I think that publishers often think that their work is superior in all ways, and that they don’t have to listen to people. I’ve found plenty of typos in major publishing house’s work before, so that’s not an issue with just one publisher. I also don’t think the stereotypes about either side are true, as I met absolutely wonderful people at EPICon who would fit either of those categories. I’ve also been looking up and doing my research, and I noticed that this particular publisher was relatively low on the Alexa score rankings, (type in Alexa Rankings and you can type in any website and see their traffic information). So I’m still torn.

Of course, nothing has been offered and therefore this could all be moot!

Lots to think about I suppose.

 

Copper Centurion Release Date Announced!

The release date for Copper Centurion has been announced! Click to learn about prize winning opportunities!


Greetings to all my readers and fans!!Copper Centurion 800 Cover reveal and Promotional

I am extremely excited to announce that Copper Centurion will be released on May 1, 2013. This full-length novel has roughly 80,000 and will be on sale for $3.99 on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, the iStore, Kobo, and all other platforms through Smashwords. There will also be a print version available on the same day.

I am currently looking for the following…

  1. 7-10 people willing to read ARC copies of the novel.
  2. 10-15 people willing to host me for a blog tour in May.
  3. 2-3 people to be on my ‘street team’ – requesting the book at your local library, leaving the promotional posters at the local independent book store/library if possible, generally promoting it on twitter, goodreads, etc.

If you’d like to do any of these (or just want to know more) email me at daniel(dot)ottalini(at)gmail.com.

If you’re nice enough to help me make this book release a blast, you’ll get some awesomely exciting prizes.

  1. An electronic copy of both Copper Centurion and Brass Legionnaire (If you don’t already have the first one)
  2. A digital arts booklet featuring all the illustrations from the series (so far) plus never-before seen concept designs and rough sketches.
  3. Your name in a drawing to win a Nook/Kindle (Haven’t decided yet!)

This will be done on a first come, first serve basis, so sign up for your slot today!

What my Characters do on their Birthdays

A birthday interview of two characters from Brass Legionnaire!


Hi all, Modern Papyrus here, interviewing all your favorite book characters to see what they are up to on their birthday, since they all seem to (strangely enough) have the same birthday!

Julius Brutus Caesar – You know, ever since I’ve joined the legions, I’ve sort of forgotten when it is my birthday because I lost track of time. Oh it is today? I suppose I’ll be doing some guard duty, then perhaps going out to the local tavern. My favorite drink? A good old mug of local beer. Unless it’s that North African stuff. No beer from there please. (Lowers voice conspiratorially) Actually, the centurion over in 6th cohort brews up some ridiculously strong ale. I swear, last time I had a pint I (Censored by order of FCC) and then we all (censored) but then the Tribune showed up and we had to (censored). Now that is a beer any god would be proud of!

Senatora Octavia Pelia – My birthday? Why yes it is thank you. Did you get me anything? An interview? That’s not very considerate of you. Don’t you know I hate interviews?
MP: But you’re a senator, you should love interviews.
OP: And? I greatly dislike them. Waste of time. Anyways, I’ll most likely be enjoying the comforts of home, having a few of my friends over and engaging in a wonderous evening of political talk and chat. Definitely excited to have a few very important guests coming over.
MP: Such as?
OP: Oh you know, head of the Foreign Relations Committee, the Head of the Palace Guard, Legion Commander Appius. It will be a ball!
MP: Any comment on the word that you and the commander are courting.
OP: (Icy Stare)
MP: Nevermind! On to the next interview!

I’ll be interviewing Junior Centurion Gwendyrn and Captain Alexandros, along with everyone’s favorite Legion Commander this week! Have a wonderful day!

 

EPICon Day 3

An overview of Day 3 of EPICon and the top mistakes authors make when trying to get published.


Howdy all,
This will be my second posting about EPICon 2013 in Vancouver, Washington. Day three came early and dreary, as the near constant grey skies and overcast weather constantly seemed to try and intrude upon our learning adventure.

Day three focused on self-publishing and traditional publishing strategies. It also included an awesome eFiesta! Readers’ luncheon and Book Fair. Then the awards banquet that evening. So a very busy day!

As far as the self-publishing strategies and tips/tricks, I got a lot of very useful information from Ms. Kate Richards of Wizards in Publishing. She shared how critical it was that self-published authors find peer groups in their local areas to review and critique their work. As a self-published author, I can say that this is so critical for us. Self-published books get a bad name because there are people who don’t bother to make their book look, and read, well…professional. Critique groups and a healthy amount of beta readers can make any novel sound and flow better, before and after it is written. A good editor and a good cover artist are also important. And with editing, 99& of the time you get what you pay for. A cheap edit will frequently be a bad edit. Several writers at the convention shared horror stories about bad edits.

But Daniel, you cry, I don’t want to go broke with my editing! – That is where good critique groups and beta readers come in. They will help eliminate many of the more common issues before sending it to an editor. You shouldn’t need the most expensive editor out there, but someone who has experience (preferably with your genre) and an interest in your novel. Also look into contests that give critiques out as they can be exceptionally valuable too!

By the way, there was also an editors/publisher panel where people asked questions and shared tidbits about each publishing house and their submissions policy. They all agreed that the biggest mistake people make when submitting a book is to a.) not follow guidelines and b.) Not follow guidelines by sending it to the wrong person or not sending their book at all!

Alright, more later! Have a great day! (My spring break starts today!) If you’re on spring break also and looking for a good read, check out my Award Winning novel! (I can say that now, still makes me smile with happiness!) for Kindle, Nook, or any of the other major platforms. Enjoy!

 

EPICON 2013 – Days One and Two

A Brief Overview of Days One & Two of the Electronic Publishing Industry Coalition’s 2013 Conference in Vancouver, Washington.


Greetings all!

I’m here at the Electronic Publishing Industry Coalitions’ Conference (EPICon) in beautiful Vancouver, Oregon. For those of you know don’t know where Vancouver (No, not the one in Canada) is, if you cross the stream from Portland, you’re in Vancouver. So far, it’s been quite awesome.

So why am I here? First off, as a new writer, I’ve been looking for an opportunity to network and expand my contacts of different industry participants – editors, publishers, other writers, cover artists, etc. – and a conference is a great chance to do so. Secondly, I entered Brass Legionnaire in their EPIC awards in the Action Adventure category, and was named a finalist! *Check it out here if you’ve never read it before!* Woo hoo! It was truly an honor to be nominated, but I’d love to win! The conference lasts for three days, and I’ve already met some wonderful people.

 

So far, in the last two days, I’ve learned a ton about marketing strategies and creating effective query letters. I also had the opportunity to observe a panel of publishers discuss different query letters and give their opinions about the book idea. So what did I learn already?

 

 

Marketing – I need to come up with a plan that includes…

 

1.) Specific Target Audience – Men ages 18-35 just isn’t good enough, I have to be more specific.

 

2.) Press Kit – I didn’t do this for the last book, definitely a must have for this one!

 

3.) Time & Research – I need to identify several steampunk or alternative history magazines (Or sci-fi/speculative fiction) to send said press releases to. Anyone out in the blogosphere know of any good ones before I get down to researching?

 

4.) Review my notes and come up with more information for you all to benefit from!

 

5.) Join Tribes for Twitter. Definitely a must do.

 

6.) Enjoy more Portland Breweries. Also a must.

 

I’ll be sure to write up another post about EPICon 2013. P.S. if you want to join me next year, I’m going to go to EPICon 2014 in San Antonio, Texas, March 13-15th. Here is the EPIC website for you to explore. They’ve got a great program for young authors (11-18) as well! Check it out!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Radio Interview up on Youtube!

Check out the radio interview up on Youtube, and a call for ARC readers of Copper Centurion. Freebies to be had! Check out more in today’s posting.


Hi all,

After fiddling with iMovie and Youtube, I’ve successfully placed the radio interview I did with Global Talk Radio on youtube. If you have a moment, pop over and listen to it!

Also, I’m currently in the hunt for some advanced review copy readers for Copper Centurion. If you’re interested in getting a free book, plus an awesome free digital booklet of all the Steam Empire Chronicles artwork, leave me a message and I’ll deliver it right to your door! If you like it, I’d love for you to review the novel and tell the world about it on Amazon, Apple, B&N, your choice 🙂

As soon as I get word back from my illustrators that the illustrations are ready to be inserted into the novel, I’ll be asking for some people willing to do a book tour (I’m thinking April, so keep your schedules open, te-he!)

I’ll be back with more soon,

Ciao!

– Daniel

Looking for a few good readers

I’m looking for a few good Readers to do some reviews! Read more to learn about this great opportunity!


Hi everyone! Happy Saturday!

I’m looking for a few good readers to read and review some Advanced Reader Copies of Copper Centurion. I’ve got the entire novel ready to go, with the exception of the illustrations, and would like to send it out for people to review prior to it’s drop date. If you’re interested, send me a message or leave a comment with your email below! I’d be willing to give out up to ten digital copies of my novel, so get them before they are gone!

Ciao!

Turning your story into a community experience

Turning my novel into a community experience.


Hi all,

As many people may know from my recent kickstarter, I offered the opportunity for readers and contributors to create a character for inclusion into Iron Tribune, the third novel in the Steam Empire Chronicles. I know that this can be considered a strange idea. After all, as a self-published author, didn’t I go this route precisely because I wanted more control?

Yes. And No.

As an author, I want to engage people. My goal is to get people to buy my books, enjoy reading them, and tell other people to buy my books because they enjoy them. What better way to encourage people to share the news about my net novel than to let them have a hand in building it? Or at least a part of it?

As a result of the kickstarter, I’ll be introducing four new characters into my story. While I have some inkling of how to introduce them, I still don’t know much about the specifics yet! I have to see what their creators would like to include. That being said, I’m still the author, so I still get to make tweaks as necessary. The characters must fit the story, not the other way around.

I think of this as a professional challenge and opportunity. It’s pushing me to expand my story and not get ‘too comfortable’ so to speak. It is also making me plan my story to a much greater degree, as I’ll have to incorporate new characters and new situations.

What do you think fellow authors? Would you include reader generated characters into your stories? And readers, would you be more likely to read a story you had input into, either character or event wise?

Respond in the comments below! 🙂

Radio Interview Link & Last Day for Kickstarter!

The link to the radio interview and a notice about the last day of my Kickstarter project!


Hi all,

As promised, here is the link to the Radio Interview that I just did. Since then, I’ve read a lot about how people think they are a scam and what not, but the way I see it, I’ve gained some confidence in myself, gained some practice at how to effectively talk about your story, and can now use this audio file to help expand my readership. I’m also going to turn it into a youtube video to provide another way for people to find me.

kickstarter logo
kickstarter logo (Photo credit: AslanMedia)

Also, the Kickstarter project for Copper Centurion is almost done! This is the LAST day for anyone to contribute to the cause! There are some awesome rewards available, such as a digital copy of all the artwork from books one and two, as well as getting a handwritten thank you note. Of course, my favorite is the one where you get to name your own character, but that is just me :-).

Ciao!

– Daniel

Radio Interview!

See the show notes from my five minute radio interview with Kevin from Global Talk Radio!


Hi All,

I recently did a radio interview with Kevin from Global Talk Radio after they had a promo for five minute radio interviews. What can I say, these guys were super nice and considerate. Because I live on the East Coast, it was sort of a challenge to match my schedule with theirs (west coast), but they made it happen. I’ve posted the questions and my answers below, and hope to be posting the actual radio episode later this week!

How did you get started being a writer?

I actually started as a writer in college, when I decided to write a story that used all of my friends as characters. I got about 7 or 8 chapters in, but then lost interest. For me, one of the hardest things about writing is being self-disciplined enough to actually finish the novel. When I wrote Brass Legionnaire, it helped that I actually wrote down the entire story in a journal I had lying around, rather than sit at the computer and start from scratch. The words seemed to flow more easily for me.

Why did you go the self-publishing route?

I’m impatient and like to be in control! Actually, I had been doing a lot of reading about self-publishing and it seemed to me like it was something that was more practical and doable then trying to get an agent and get my book published by a company. Brass Legionnaire is a good book, and I’ve found great people to back me up on it through my own research. That’s another important part. Instead of having my team picked for me, I could pick my team for the editing, cover art, illustrations, etc. I liked that level of control.

Why Roman Steampunk? 

It was actually an inside joke that took off. I’ve always loved Roman history, and studied aboard in Rome and Naples during college. I’m also a big fan of alternative history, and noticed that very few authors had examined how the world would have changed if the Roman Empire was still around, even though it very likely could have. Plus, I enjoyed novels with steampunk elements that are more realistic, so I used my own knowledge to try and create steampunk creations that would actually make sense in a Roman world. This isn’t Victorian steampunk, no canes and zombies or giant guns, but instead a focus more on animal-like machines and gunpowder loaded weaponry that could realistically evolve from the Romans of old. You’ll see the world really expand in Copper Centurion, my next novel.

What advice would you tell new authors?

Plan, save up, and write a lot! Plan out your novel, then your post-novel plan – who will edit, make cover art, format, and how will you publish. Will you go with Amazon KDP or for a more broad spectrum release with Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, iTunes, etc. Save up your money, because you can do it cheap, but in this case cheap is not always good. You want your editor to really help clean up your story, not just do a one time sweep for loose punctuation.

How do you keep in touch with fans?

I have a twitter – @Dottalini, a blog – danielottalini.com, and a Facebook page. I also created a book page – brasslegionnaire.com for my novels, since I sort of wanted to keep that series separate from my author blog when I start writing other novels that aren’t part of this series.

What was your biggest mistake and your greatest achievement (so far)?

So far, I would say my biggest mistake was not writing more. I wish I had been smarter and had at least two stories ready to go, instead of just the one. It would have been fast and simply to make a 10-15,000 word novella and pop that out really cheap next to my other novel, that way I could hook more readers with a low-priced introductory story. My greatest achievement is that my novel – Brass Legionnaire – has been nominated for an EPIC – Electronic Publishing Industry Coalition – eBook award – it’s a finalist (top three) for the action adventure category. That is insanely cool considering that Brass Legionnaire is my first novel.

Round Up: Copper Centurion is coming out this spring, and a short story – Roma Aeronautica, is also coming soon. I’ll be starting work on novel number three, Iron Tribune, next! My books are on sale on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, and Smashwords.

 

(P.S – in case you were wondering, this is not a paid advertisement or whatnot – did you really think I would do that? I paid for the interview and simply enjoyed the experience. Ciao!