Today I popped in to Apex Book Company and talked about my new story entitled “Tailfeather,” which was written for Apexology: Science Fiction & Fantasy. As I was writing the story, several themes emerged between the paragraphs.
When I sat down to write Tailfeather I did not craft the tale with these themes in mind. I imagined a place where there are so many people the food has to be rationed. I pictured a world where some societies have split in two, where half their population operates at night and the other half during the day. I thought about what people — women, especially — would to do survive. What would they be willing to do for food? Shelter? Love? — SOURCE: Dystopia and Cybernetic Birds in TAILFEATHER for Apexology
I hope you will do we the honor of giving the essay a read. If you’re interested in the anthology, it’s only $2.99 in digital and contains several stories.
I am thrilled to announce the debut of my dystopian science fiction story entitled Tailfeather in Apexology: Science Fiction and Fantasy. Set in a far-flung future, you learn why Maria undergoes a series of invasive surgeries to become a cybernetic bird for the U.F.S. military. This is the second story that has been published in my ever-expansive setting and I’m happy to be a part of this collection. You can read a little more about the setting’s high concepts in my post entitled Writing the Future, the Slow Creep of Ages.
I hope you will do me the honor of supporting my work.
Special thanks go out to fellow author Stephen Blackmoore whose dark fantasy novel City of the Lost debuts in January 2012 from DAW.
Take a peek at the table of contents below! Happy reading!
Apexology: Science Fiction and Fantasy Table of Contents
Dedalus and the Labyrinth – J.M. McDermott The Imagination Hospital – Guy Hasson Ride of a Lifetime – Patrick S. Tomlinson The Komastu – Jennifer Brozek Stinker City – George R. Galuschak Tailfeather – Monica Valentinelli Temple of Regrets – Maurice Broaddus Haunted Empire – Deanna Knippling And Night Swallowed the World – Paul Jessup BollyWorld Gods, Bubonic Men, and the Cyberpunk Samurai – O.M.R. Anwar and M. Zak Anwar Coming Home – Gene O’Neill Extremum – R. Thomas Riley and Roy C. Booth Ride the Wild Wind – Gill Ainsworth In Her Image – Michael A. Burstein Unicorn Gold – Alethea Kontis Gemphalon – Elizabeth Engstrom G-O-O-D-B-Y-E – Nick Mamatas Covenant – Lavie Tidhar
It’s been a little over a year since I announced the The Queen of Crows debut, so I thought it’d be a good time to take a look back and share with you some of the highlights and low points from releasing it.
The full color edition was first published on DriveThruHorror.com in early March 2010. Released as an e-book, we designed it in a PDF format because that allowed us the flexibility to provide a full color illustration from Leanne Buckley, period artwork, and a magazine-style layout. We did not release a low-res version for the Kindle or the Nook, in part because we had to reformat the entire piece and strip out all the images. That heavily influenced where the book was going to be available for purchase; DriveThru simply allowed me the opportunity to do what no other site would.
The Price of Innovation
I went back and forth about pursuing the black-and-white, low-res edition, but at the time it felt like an afterthought, so I waited until this Fall to put it out. The novelty of the book, which was a selling point for a few reviewers, decreased significantly when I eventually formatted it for the Nook and the Kindle. The Queen of Crows at Amazon.com fared better than the version of The Queen of Crows at Barnes and Noble, but not by much.
Combined, I feel that the release of The Queen of Crows pre-dated “what e-books can do” in both the minds of readers and leveraging new technology by a year, maybe even two or three. Remember, at the time the iPad and the Nook Color wasn’t even out yet. So people weren’t thinking about enhanced e-books at the time, not until highly experimental things like the Alice in Wonderland iPad app came out. The lesson I learned was that while e-books and e-book readers continue to evolve, what can be done with an e-book far exceeds the technology at this time. e-book publishing still, even with what’s available now, has a long ways to go.
The Importance of Reviews
Reviews and interviews did help out tremendously getting the word out about The Queen of Crows. I’ve included a list of what’s out there at the moment at the bottom of this post so you can see the evolution. Unfortunately, I haven’t gotten many reviews on Amazon or Barnes and Noble, which I know has affected the sales.
Reviews are becoming more and more crucial from a reader’s perspective because it helps get the word out about a book and ensures them that a product — in this case creator-owned — is a quality one. I’ve had several people tell me that this past weekend at OddCon. Which was bizarre, because some readers were saying that authors can just bypass a publisher directly and sell a thousand copies (not exaggerating on that number, by the way). Even if that were the case, priced at $4.99, an author would only make roughly $3,500 off of a book that sold that many copies. Remember, retailers get their cut, too, which right now teeters around the thirty percent mark. So in order to break poverty level, which is around $18,000 a year, an author would have to publish–not just write–six novels a year and expect they’ll sell that many copies. I know a lot of authors talk about word count and whatnot as a way of measuring scale, but remember authors aren’t robots. While we continue to write, it’s impossible for every author to maintain that frenetic pace and not have their work suffer as a result. Some authors are more prolific than others; some, like myself, don’t write the same word count every day. We’re all different and the answer to the publishing industry changes shouldn’t be to work harder and add marketing acumen on top of all of that, too.
Other readers were way more realistic and understanding, advocating that the publishing industry as a whole is still important to readers because of its ability to ensure a baseline of quality. With creator-owned publishing, there’s no guarantee the book won’t be rife with typos, grammatical errors and other issues.
Emotion Trumps “Buy My Book”
What fascinated me about these discussions, and I’ll talk about this more in an upcoming post, was that the readers were less likely to try any creator-owned product if they had a couple of bad experiences with self-publishing. I feel this dovetails into what I’ve been saying about book marketing all along; you can tell someone until you’re blue in the face how awesome your book is, but it’s not as powerful as when another reader shares their connection to the book in some way.
That emotional connection is what I had hoped to achieve with the book trailer for The Queen of Crows. The music was composed by James Semple, a professional in the entertainment industry who has scored movies and games. For example, James has composed soundtracks perfect for gaming including Four Shadows: Music for Trail of Cthulhu and Dissonance: Music for Esoterrorists through Pelgrane Press. In the video, which falls at the bottom of this post, I scripted the trailer to create that sense of identification with the main character, Tse. James breathed life into his plight with music.
Niche Product, Unique Genre
Mind you, the e-book incorporates the Native American Navajo from the 1860s, which is a niche for storytelling. It’s also one of the reasons why Lori Devoti recommended that I create an alternate cover for The Queen of Crows so that people aren’t turned off by the Native American theme before they open the book.
I knew that this project was going to be unique when I wrote it. To a point, I’m a big believer in market research. Here, I specifically created this e-book for a reason. The Queen of Crows is the origin story for Mahochepi, who is a central character in my modern urban fantasy novel, and it’s a preview of things to (hopefully) come. Yes, I have been revising my urban fantasy novel for a while now. Here’s why. First, I knew I was writing on spec, so I prioritized my life and career accordingly. Then, day job didn’t get in the way, but emotional mojo did. Now, I’m saying “Screw you, Mojo Jojo” and working on it regardless of what I’m doing and what schedule I have. I want, very much, to give an agent or editor the best story I possibly can. I want to pen a tale many people will love.
Look Back to See Ahead
And we’re back to the retrospective. One question that continues to come up from readers is: “I love the short story, could you please write a sequel?” I’ve thought about this a lot, because in my mind readers are the kings and queens of ages past. The short answer is that I want to, but I’m not sure if writing a trilogy of tales — which is what it would have to be — would be best for me right now. The bulk of the marketing has been on me for this project, and I’ve done a lot to spread the word, but now I need to scale back a bit. I have to focus on readers, not marketing, and to do that I need to write like hell, have fun, and hope something comes out of it. Offering another creator-owned property for me right now may not be the best route to go, but I’m not sure. For something like that, Kickstarter might come into play.
A sequel isn’t out of the picture, it’s just not something I plan on doing right now — unless a large portion of you storm this post and demand one. The funny thing is, the “Will there be a sequel?” question tends to pop up with a lot of my short stories. It certainly did with Pie in Buried Tales of Pinebox, Texas and it just did with Tomorrow’s Precious Lambs in The Zombie Feed, Volume 1. Um, yeah…and I expect that’ll happen with Fangs and Formaldehyde, too. These requests are awesome, because it tells me a reader wants more, more, more. Well, I’d like to fulfill that request. Plenty of new stories in the old noggin, so we shall see.
The Queen of Crows has taught me a lot. Timing is important, but so is a self-awareness of where you are as an author. Readers are royalty, no matter what anyone else says. Market research is crucial to understanding what your expectations should be. Collaboration, when done well, can turn out awesome and amazing things. New marketing campaigns for new books work better than existing ones, because people want the shiny.
And, of course, this experience has reaffirmed my faith in my own work. I’m a pragmatist by nature, but I have to tell you, I have dreams. Big dreams. No idea how or when or what or where, but it doesn’t matter. One day I believe I’ll get to where I want to go, even if it takes me a lifetime to do it.
Here’s hoping it doesn’t take that long.
A Word of Thanks
Before I leave you all, I would like to say a few words of “Thanks.” For everyone who purchased, reviewed, spread the word or interviewed one of us for The Queen of Crows, thank you. Thank you from the bottom of Mahochepi’s ancient and crusty heart. Your support is deeply appreciated.
Leanne, James, and Shari if you’re reading this post, know that I never forget a kindness. Ever. Hopefully I’ve made some headway in that regard. Matt? Thank you for helping me to continually move forward. It is your encouragement and faith in me that has allowed me to be who I am today and dig deep into my storytelling.
The PR Round-Up
Now that that’s over with, I leave you with a round-up of interviews, design notes, reviews and the trailer. Thanks for reading my one-year retrospective on The Queen of Crows. For those of you who haven’t picked it up, I hope you’ll do me the honor of reading it some day.
Review of THE QUEEN OF CROWS by Jason Thorson – “Valentinelli’s writing is well-researched and vividly executed. Her world pulls itself from the pages of history books and comes to life, fully realized and described in concrete detail.”
Review of THE QUEEN OF CROWS by Steven Dawes – “Anyone who purchases the Queen of Crows should be arrested for piracy. For all you get in this book, the measly price tag of five clams is plain stealing in my eyes!”
Review of THE QUEEN OF CROWS by Charlie Von Eschen – “I have spent a lot more money for stories that were much much less enjoyable. I recommend the Queen of Crows. And now I have to pay attention to the Violet War too.”
Review of THE QUEEN OF CROWS by Jess Hartley – “I’d recommend The Queen of Crows for anyone who has a soft spot for hard topics, who likes their historic fiction a bit on the dark-and-yet-beautiful side or who is looking for a glimpse into the creation process of a darned-good read.”
Review of THE QUEEN OF CROWS by Bill Bodden – “Buy this ebook for the story; you won’t be disappointed. Consider the additional features a very large bonus, making the pittance paid for this work seem trivial indeed.”
Review of THE QUEEN OF CROWS by Preston DuBose – “Having read the final (much different) original story, some readers will be fascinated to read the original and see how much has changed, while others will undoubtedly wonder why they’d be expected to read anything other than the final, most polished version. In other words, if you’re the kind of person who eagerly consumes all the bonus content on a DVD then you’re likely to enjoy this book. If not, you’ll still enjoy the short story but you’ll likely skim over the extra content.”
Review of THE QUEEN OF CROWS by Stephen Jarjoura – “This just screams “fearless author” to me, someone who’s not afraid to say “here’s my story, here’s my inspiration, here’s some character notes, and here’s an early draft so you can see how far it’s come.”
It’s the beginning of April. Cold. Biting cold here in the frozen tundra of the Midwest. Snow. No, really. Snow. Yet? I’m excited and that buzz, buzz, buzz is heating up my laptop. This year, Vampire the Masquerade is celebrating its twentieth anniversary.
But that’s not the only reason why I’m bouncy. My story begins with an e-mail from Eddy Webb, the World of Darkness Developer for White Wolf Publishing.
EDDY: How familiar are you with fiction for Vampire: the Masquerade?
ME: (Spacing) Duh… It’s been a while since I’ve read anything…
Several hours later.
ME: Oh, crap! I wonder if Eddy was asking me about a project. DOH!
And so, I ran over to my computer after reviewing the V:tM titles that grace my shelves and proudly declared via e-mail that while it has been a while, I have source material. Lots and lots of source material.
A week later I’m pouring through The Beast Within, which may just be the first-ever anthology published for Vampire the Masquerade. And then I’m watching the Kindred: the Embraced television show, and scanning through the supplements and…
Well, you get the idea.
Every year for April Fool’s, White Wolf offers fans something fun. This year, that stunt is Paths of Storytelling, a “long-forgotten” manuscript that was previously rejected by the good people at White Wolf Publishing due to its sacrilegious nature to their setting. Indeed, the company has taken what we (Jess Hartley, Kelley Barnes-Hermann and myself) wrote and has expressed its outrage at the way we treated this sanctified property.
Today, though, I get to announce I worked on this. For this super-fun project, I wrote and designed the Gangrel storyline. Does it have metaplot? YES, YES IT DOES! Signature characters? YES, YES IT DOES! A hedge maze? A cheesy meata-balla scene? Small woodland creatures?
Um, if I said “Yes!” would you hold that against me? *smiles sheepishly*
For Paths of Storytelling, we were asked to take the product seriously in that the story still has to make sense. Telling jokes and writing bad metaphors over and over again isn’t sustainable to any structure, so while the one-liners and horrible, awful scenes are there, I still had to focus on ensuring the character’s “path” was believable.
With that in mind, I chose to structure my storyline with an adventurous feel, focusing on more metaplot and introducing other signature characters the deeper you got into the story. Remember, I still had the challenge of explaining just enough Vampire: the Masquerade to both character and player. And there’s A LOT of ground to cover. Phew! Written in second person, you experience what it’s like to become a Gangrel by making appropriate choices that appeal to you. How does it end? Well, you’ll have to read it to find out.
Anyway, if you haven’t already downloaded it, I hope you take a moment to download Paths of Storytelling. White Wolf is offering multiple formats this time around including Paths of Storytelling in ePub and Paths of Storytelling for Kindle. In addition to the Gangrel storyline, you can also pick your path as a Malkavian or as a Toreador. I had an absolute blast writing this! If it weren’t for those pesky deadlines, I could have easily written a whole novel in this format.
Before I let you go, one last thing…
NO ONE DEFEATS EL DIABLO VERDE!
Okay, fine. One more last thing…
A Personal Message to Vampire: the Masquerade Fans
For those of you who are tried-and-true fans of Vampire: the Masquerade, I want you to know that I am also one of you. That’s the reason why I took a trip down memory lane pouring through books, shows, supplements, etc. Everything I wrote was done in the attempt to jog your memory, to remember what these characters and places are really like. Like every other joke White Wolf has done, some of you are going to laugh and others groan or get really upset. So I want you to know that I understand if you don’t like it and I respect your opinion. I appreciate you reading it, regardless.
It is, however, my deepest wish that after reading Paths of Storytelling, you re-read and/or play the game we loved for so many years. To not only remember the good times, but to bring them out of torpor and relive them.
Also, thank you so much to everyone who downloaded the ninety-nine cent version. As one of the contributors, I can now add best-selling author to my resume and for that, I bow mightily in your direction. It means a great deal.
Just wanted to pop in and offer a quick note today about my design notes for my short story entitled Tomorrow’s Precious Lambs, which is featured in The Zombie Feed, Volume 1. In the essay, I talked about how my blog exchange with Maurice Broaddus led to my memory of reading a book by James Baldwin, which inspired my main character’s backstory.
Here’s a quote:
In our blog exchange, one of the things Maurice asked me about was whether or not I’d be uncomfortable writing any particular areas of religion and spirituality. I talked about how I didn’t have any interest in sharing my personal views, but exploring that for a character was fair game. One book that has stuck with me through the years is entitled “Go Tell It on the Mountain” by James Baldwin; the powerful moments in it transformed the main character. Needless to say, I was inspired. –SOURCE: Beyond Survival: Living in a Zombie-Filled World
Confused? Well, you’ll have to read the essay to find out more. While I do cover a serious topic, I also spice it up some with a few dry humor references that’ll either make you groan or laugh out loud.
Today I popped in to Apex Book Company and talked about my new story entitled “Tailfeather,” which was written for Apexology: Science Fiction & Fantasy. As I was writing the story, several themes emerged between the paragraphs.
