A brief update – I’m alive!
Hi everyone,
I just wanted to post briefly to let people know that a.) I’m alive and b.) I’m still typing. I finished up an entire chapter featuring everyone’s favorite bad guy/assassin/mechawolf thief. Now I’m typing up the end of a chapter introducing the newly handicapped but no less iron-willed Octavia.
By the way, the winner of the poster contest from my last couple of posts was Mrs. Judy Stone! Congrats! Your posters will be in the mail by Friday. Woo! Enjoy!
Five great tips for self-publishing support staff – editors, illustrators, small publishers, etc. Keep your sanity while keeping your clients happy and coming back for more!
By Daniel Ottalini
Hi all, this is a companion piece to my earlier article on how to make sure that your freelancers/self-publishing helpers do their best for you. But what about the flip side? What can you, as a freelance/small business editor, cover artist, etc., do to make sure that you give your customers what they want, keep them coming back, but also make money and keep your dignity in the process? Continue reading “Five Ways to Keep Your Self-Publishing Clients Happy & Coming Back for More”
Musings on creating a non-fiction style history book to go with the Steam Empire Chronicles
I had a thought. Maybe people would be interested if I wrote a non-fiction style history as an accompaniment to the rest of the novels. Something like “A Roman’s Guide to Modern History: The Roman Empire in the 18th Century.”
Thoughts? Would you buy it?
I go back and revisit the idea of novellas, Part One! Check it out!
Part 1
About a year or so ago, I posted this article on Novellas and the self-published author. I’ve put the original article on the bottom of this post for your enjoyment. I’ve now published two novellas, one through my traditional self-publishing system, and one through a small publisher, to try and see which approach I like more. I figured it would be beneficial to share my new insights and thoughts.
Continue reading “Novellas and the Self Published Author: Remix Part 1”
Roma Aeronautica on Sale the Entire Month of March! Get your copy today!
ROMA AERONAUTICA IS ON SALE FOR THE ENTIRE MONTH OF MARCH!
Only 99 cents for a great, fast paced novella. Perfect for an afternoon or late night read-a-thon!
Want to learn more about Rufius Alexandros, captain of the airship Scioparto and loyal follower of Constantine, heir to the Empire? Check out his backstory in Roma Aeronautica! You’ll also get a sneak peak at some future characters making their way into other novellas and novels in the Steam Empire Chronicles. Don’t miss out!
Roma Aeronautica is available on sale through Kindle and Nook!
Grab your copy today!
Tax help for the Self-Published or Soon to be Self-Published Author
Before I begin, let me state that I am not a tax pro, CPA, etc etc. These are just tips I’ve accumulated over the years.
By Daniel Ottalini
Are you a writer? Got a brand new novel out and selling tons of copies! Wonderful! Uncle Sam would like some of your money!
Bummer. Here’s some things to do to ensure you get the most out of your self-publishing career.
1.) Keep records of all your expenditures. Did you have someone edit your book? Format it? Design a cover? A webpage? Did you pay for web hosting services? Great! You can write all that off against the income you made from your book! For example, this year I had Copper Centurion edited, formatted, had a cover made for it and Antioch Burns, along with Roma Aeronautica. All the money I spent on those I can write off against the income I made from the books. Be wary, depending on how much you spent, you may need to send some additional tax forms, but I have yet to have that happen to me.
2.) Don’t file until you have all your information. Make sure you have all your 1098-MISC forms before submitting your taxes, and if you use something like TurboTax, that keeps track from year to year, make sure you check the names on the MISC forms, as some have changed, such as Amazon, which has changed the name of Createspace and some other platforms a few times.
3.) Remember Home Office, Travel, and Professional Dues credits/deductions – This year I traveled to Portland, Oregon as part of the EPIC Convention. I could deduct a lot of the expenses I had there. Some people would say you could deduct everything, and that may be true, but you really need very good receipt tracking and book keeping for that. As far as home office goes, remember that you’re supposed to use the home office only for your ‘official’ work. So your generic home computer really doesn’t fly. BUT postage for kickstarter items, car rental for the convention, that does work! (And when I get a fancy new laptop, hint hint birthday genie, I may be able to write that off as well (provided I purchase it)).
4.) Realize you should have done a much better job of book keeping this year and resolve to do it better next year.
5.) Create a checking account you use just for book-related purchases and such, that way you can keep personal and ‘self-published’ things separate. Then stick to it!
6.) When all else fails, hire a professional.
❤ Ciao!
Thinking about a change in jobs to help my writing
Hi everyone,
So I’ve been really thinking these last few weeks about looking for a new job, either within my local school system or elsewhere nearby. Part of me simply wants something new, something that I can see with fresh eyes. I would really like something different because I would hopefully be able to write more. In the past few months I have felt very unproductive as I have not typed as much as I wish I could have. School pressures and requirements have been very heavy and constant, so perhaps something different will let me be more creative at home.
What do you all think? Do any of you have experience moving from Teaching into another field? And while I might wish it, I am not in a place to simply rely upon my writing income to support myself. Maybe in a couple of years 🙂
– Daniel
Updates for my novels and January’s Writing Goal!
Hi all,
Long time no post! I’ve been really busy (read lazy and unmotivated) in the doldrums of January. I continue to be finishing up the last edits to Antioch Burns, and have found two beta readers to double check the changes :-).
In addition, I’ve continued to work in a tiny amount on Iron Tribune, so here’s a tiny bit of what I’ve worked on!
“Oenipons Central Station! Oenipons Central Station! Train will depart in two hours.”
The young tribune shambled to his feet, shaking the sleep from his system. The cold air smelled of oil and grease, but still felt wondrous after enduring hours in the stuffy train car.
“Shoulda opened th’ darned window earlier.” Senior Centurion Gwendyrn grumbled as the noise of their arrival finally woke him. Legionnaires crowded into the passageway, making their way towards the platform. Voices raised in complaint in the passage provided early warning of a visitor.
“Sir, Tribune Caesar, sir?” The youthful voice announced the arrival of the XIII Germania’s newest officer, Nicephorus Theophilus. The junior tribune saluted briskly, unaware of the annoyed stares leveled at him as he blocked the hallway. His loud voice was especially unwelcome to the centurion, who was always slow to wake. Julius sighed inwardly as he set about soothing the youngest son of the Governor of Noricum.
So you can see I have been hard at work (sort of, maybe?)
Anywho, here’s the goal for the rest of January.
Finish edits to Antioch Burns.
Finish Chapter One of Iron Tribune.
I plan to create writing goals all year long. If I follow all my goals, I should have many more completed novels by the end, right?
Right?
Happy Thanksgiving! (Plus a Black Friday Announcement!)
From Our Family to yours, Happy mechanical turkey day! (Or Thanksgiving, in your neck of the woods!)Check back tomorrow for a Black Friday Sale! It is going to be huge!
Check out my Facebook or Twitter for more information! (And be sure to like/Follow me while you’re there!)
Ciao!
– Daniel, Julius, Constantine, Octavia, and the whole gang
My thoughts on Novellas & The Self Published Author
By Daniel Ottalini
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative normally longer than a short story but shorter than a novel. A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative normally longer than a short story but shorter than a novel.
There is undeniably something instinctively attractive about novellas for the self-published or small-published author. Think of it this way, a novella is faster to type, edit, format, and requires only an ebook cover, reducing costs and time in multiple areas, even with multiple checks and reviews.
So why novellas? Well, for one thing, exposure in this industry is key. You are more likely to catch more ‘browsing’ readers with five books out, even short novellas, than with two novels out. By reading one, you have a good chance of them reading more, especially if they are well done. You charge less, so people may be more willing to take a chance, especially on a 99 cent or free loss leader than on a $3.99 100,000 word novel. And they do work exceptionally well as loss leaders, bringing in new readers who, having identified the quality of your work, are willing to lay out money for your other written works.
But are they really worth it for a beginning author to write? As a self-published author, I’m struggling with this situation. First, time spent on novellas is time NOT spent on novel number three. Second, I am having a hard time mustering the effort to finish up the last leg of Antioch Burns. Having the cover ready (wow, that came faster than I thought!) has helped, but still, this hill seems extraordinarily difficult to climb. My first novella is only doing mediocre in sales. In some ways, I attribute this to the higher cost – $1.99 – rather than the more traditional $0.99 cents. I’ve also been forced to cut back on what little promotion I do, due to some other issues. I suppose that you must be prepared to offer your novella for a reduced price, or provide some other tantalizing tid-bit for readers in addition. Now these may be more personal components in some ways, but they are, in fact, a factor for many others. Burnout, exhaustion, weak story lines, all can reduce the effectiveness of a novella.
For example, the delay in Antioch Burns is actually a good thing at this point. This is the first I’m sharing with you, but the novella will be delayed until Spring, 2014. My publisher has some personal things to attend too, and currently I’m not quite happy with the novella. But this is good. Why? Because I can add that extra tid-bit into the novella, like the first chapter of Iron Tribune. Yes, exciting, isn’t it? Already, this is getting me into the mood.
So in the end, what’s my final opinion? Novellas are great, if you can commit to them and pump them out completely. In some ways, the smartest self-published author waits to publish book one until they have novella one or even book two. Just a thought, as I certainly didn’t begin that way.
What do you think? Novellas & Novels together? Novellas first? Or are they a waste of time?
Modern Papyrus 