Jordan Summers

There are a lot of debates happening online over the self-publishing movement. Some people are screaming that the ebook bubble has burst because sales have flatlined for the first time in years. I don’t think so, but it will eventually…several years from now. Others are attacking the technology bringing readers ebooks. Talk about a lost cause. Then there’s the other side, the creator side of the coin. The most vocal of this particular group seems to be traditionally published authors. Their opponent isn’t the format or the tech. They fight is aimed at other traditionally published authors, who have ventured into self-publishing. Some of the traditional authors rallying have tried self-publishing without a lot of success. Some are too frightened to even consider it. I was one of those authors who thought I’d never try self-publishing. NEVER. Nine traditional books and nine epub books later, I’m finding it difficult to imagine ever going back.

Although self-publishing is a lot of work (i.e. covers, formatting, editing, isbn’s, etc.), I’m having the most fun writing that I’ve had in YEARS. Self-publishing has brought back my love of writing. I didn’t realize how much the traditional business end of publishing had interfered with that joy, until it was removed from the equation. Could I have self-published when I first started out? Yes, but for me, it would’ve been a BIG mistake. I didn’t understand how to write a book or edit a book. Heck, I’m still learning how. I needed the time I spent entering contests and submitting to epubs to learn the craft. Even now, I wouldn’t trust myself with editing anything over 30K. It’s just too easy to ‘miss’ mistakes and leave out important stuff that should be in the story. It’s why I intend to hire an editor for my longer works.

One of the things I’m seeing lately is frustration from a lot of traditionally published authors, who’ve released a self-published work (new and backlist). Their expectations are not being met. One commonality that all the authors seem to share is they haven’t given their releases enough time to catch on. They expected to have a nice income within a couple of months of their releases. They also haven’t released many books. Sometimes it doesn’t matter, but that hasn’t been the case for me. J.A. Konrath was right. You have to continue to release books to build up your ‘shelf space’. Two years ago, a writer could release an ebook and have a pretty good chance (if the book was decent) of hitting it out of the park. That was before the tsunami of self-published authors hit. Now, it takes time to find/build an audience.

I’m still working on building an audience. Like many of you remember from one of my earlier blog posts, I FINALLY had a jump in sales last November. It took me ten/eleven months to do so. Yep, nearly a year to ‘start’ finding my audience. Part of it is because of the minor popularity of a pre-existing series (thank you Phantom Warriors), but I believe most of it comes from releasing new work. I also believe it’s taken that long for readers to FIND me.

I have no doubt it is frustrating for traditionally published authors who’ve already established their reader base to have so-so ebook sales. I was frustrated in the beginning, too. And I was not working with a big reader base. It was made worse by knowing that my reader base like my writing is all over the place. (Yes, I love to write in multiple genres, so shoot me.) What the authors that aren’t already huge have to keep in mind is that building an online readership is a bit like starting over in the business. Sure, they may have heard your name before, but that doesn’t mean they’ve read any of your work. You have to ‘prove’ yourself to the new audience and that unfortunately takes time. So be patient and keep at it. The readers and the algorithms will eventually catch up.

Reviewing has always been a tricky thing. Like with any job, there are good reviewers and bad reviewers. I’ve been fortunate over the years to mainly have been exposed to good reviewers. This doesn’t mean that they’ve all liked my books. Far from it. Good reviewers give what I call fair impartial reviews. There are no personal attacks on the author/editor/publisher (i.e. I can’t believe anybody would publish this author. This author has no imagination and can’t write a sentence. An editor couldn’t have touched this book because of all the mistakes, the editor is an idiot for buying this book, etc.).

When you’re an author, you go into this ‘game’ knowing that your work will eventually be analyzed for review. (Far better to be destroyed on the field, than while sitting in the bleachers booing the game.) The experience of receiving your first few reviews is both exciting and painful. It hurts when someone doesn’t appreciate the hard work that you’ve put into a story. Anyone who’s ever written a book/painted a painting/recorded a CD knows how hard it is, even if the final outcome isn’t what you were aiming for. At the same time, we know that not everyone is going to like what we create. That’s okay. I don’t like everything that I read/view/listen to either. That’s just life.

Good reviewers know there are ways to review a book they dislike without making the author feel like they’re receiving a proctological exam by Captain Hook. When I see a review calling for a book to be destroyed or burned or buried, it becomes apparent that I’m not reading a professional review. I’m reading something by someone who is more interested in their own words, than what was found inside the book. When I say professional review/er, I’m not talking about someone who is paid for their work. I mean someone who spends all their time reviewing books. Most good reviewers avoid these types of land-mines. They are quite capable of writing reviews that are informative without becoming entranced by their own writing and veering off into personal attacks.

To be fair, I know there are authors who melt down if their books receive anything less than glowing reviews. We’ve all seen this online. It’s never pretty. I feel bad, watching them dig holes for themselves and their work. It’s never fun watching someone bury themselves alive. They haven’t been in the business long enough to grow a thick skin. It’ll come…or it won’t, depending on the personality. Some people never develop one. They tend to either always look up their reviews and make themselves miserable or they avoid reading reviews altogether. The latter is probably safer and less painful for this type of author.

When I was a new writer, it definitely hurt when I received a bad review. I knew that they were going to happen. You try to prepare the best you can, but ultimately it’s still painful. As time has gone by, I’ve paid less and less attention to my reviews. Sometimes I catch them in passing, which is always odd. I still occasionally get frustrated by them, but for the most part I try to ignore them. Not because I don’t think they’re important. Reviews ARE important. It’s just that they don’t ‘add’ anything to my life. It’s taken me a long time to realize that my target audience may read reviews, but they don’t tend to post reviews.

Which brings me to my final observation, there seems to be a new kind of reviewer these days. Well, ‘new’ is probably not correct. This type of reviewer has been around for years, but there seems to be more of them now. The type of reviewer I’m referring to is more interested in shredding work than they are in really reviewing the books. They build an audience by covering books with a ‘vomitous’ diatribe of self-important spewing. They protect themselves by surrounding themselves with like-minded ‘individuals’. These reviewers have a pack mentality. They sic the pack on certain books/authors, calling for blood. When this dog-pile behavior happens, we’re no longer talking about liking or disliking a particular book or author. Reviews go out the window. This is purposeful, destructive manipulation or in other words, a power trip. I blame the reality star mentality that’s prevalent everywhere these days for this type of bad behavior. I do know that authors aren’t supposed to say anything to a reviewer. Ever. I get that the motto is ‘Lie back and think of England’, when you’re getting reamed online. Don’t have to like it, but I get it. For the most part, I’m capable of turning the other cheek. I pride myself on being able to ignore a lot…unless I’m confronted in person. I don’t have the temperament to handle venomous spewing in person. Fair warning.

I haven’t been on the receiving end of a pack mentality attack, yet. I’m sure I will at some point. Probably once I publish this blog entry. LOL! It has however happened to several people that I know. Some were writers, some were kids. When it’s done to kids, they call it online bullying. When it’s done to an author…

I understand that in real life there are a lot of people who feel powerless. I also get the need to feel important. Everyone wants to believe that they matter. But it seems like a few people have taken this desire for attention and twisted it into a level of self-importance that doesn’t exist off-line. What I wish that these types of reviewers would remember is that just because you hate a book/painting/CD and think it’s a waste of shelf space, doesn’t mean that the next reader/viewer/listener isn’t going to LOVE it. When you sic your pack on a creator and tell them how to behave, you are depriving those readers/viewers/listeners of finding out for themselves whether they love or hate the artistic creation. Perhaps that’s the intention. It is nice to feel like the all powerful Oz on occasion, especially if it’s not happening in real life. I get it. I really do. But at the end of the day, you’re still standing outside with your face pressed against the glass hoping to gain a bit of magic by touching other’s creations.

I got some advice YEARS ago. Pretty sure it came from a multi-published author. She said, “Always remember that the book that you HATE is someone’s FAVORITE book.” For some reason that has always stuck with me. Whether I’m judging contests or reading for pleasure, I always keep that in mind. It’s hard sometimes to think about books/paintings/music that way, but logically I know that it’s true. Perhaps if more people thought about that before they put their fingers to the keyboard, we’d have less vomit in our eyes and more useful information to digest.

I’d like to present: PHANTOM WARRIORS: ARCTOS

Don’t tell my dh, but I think I’m in love.

I’ve received a lot of emails lately asking about what I’m working on, so I’ve decided to give you my ‘loose’ writing schedule. As of today, this is the plan. I’m currently writing PHANTOM WARRIORS: ARCTOS. It’s going well and I think it’s going to turn out to be a pretty fun story. I suspect it’ll be about the same length as Phantom Warriors: Talon. If everything continues on smoothly, I will release it next month (i.e. FEB.).

Once I’m finished with Arctos, I’m going to return to the LORDS OF THE NIGHT world. I want to finish that trilogy out with JOSEPHINE’S SURRENDER. (She’s the madam from book one, GOTHIC PASSIONS and book two, ROSE’S RAPTURE. I simply couldn’t resist sending her a hero that she’s convinced is the Devil himself. (At this point, I’m not altogether certain that he’s not. *ggg) So much fun.

I plan to follow Josephine’s story up with a contemporary werewolf tale called AIDAN’S MATE. It ties into a novel I wrote a LONG time ago that needs to be re-edited. Once it’s done, I’ll release it, too. But that will have to wait until I finish my final ‘scheduled’ book, PHANTOM WARRIORS: LINX.

Other than that, I’m just re-editing my first Young Adult title and planning the next.

You know self-publishing may be is a lot of work, but it’s nice to get back to writing for fun. Indie publishing has brought the joy of writing back to a lot of authors. I never knew what they were talking about when they told me that…until now.

I hope you enjoy reading my work as much as I enjoy writing it. In the meantime, check out some of my friends: Charlene Teglia, Sasha White, J.A. Templeton, P.T. Michelle, Bernard DeLeo, Lynn Viehl, Sylvia Day, and Tawny Stokes.

For the last few days, along with writing, I’ve been trying to create a writing and editing schedule. I admit it’s been a bumpy road thus far. The current story, PHANTOM WARRIORS: ARCTOS is going well, but other stories are threatening to intrude and don’t even get me started on the edits I need to get done. As much as I loathe to admit it, I’m a VERY linear writer. I do ALL my writing work in a linear fashion. I’ve tried working other ways, but haven’t had any luck sticking with them. This of course is challenging when you truly need to switch between projects. I haven’t given up on a schedule yet. I mean it’s still January, right? Right? RIGHT?

Other than playing with my schedule and ordering new book covers, I’m making plans to see Underworld and Haywire this weekend. We have friends coming over on Saturday, but I still think we could squeeze a movie in beforehand. If not, we’ll just have to shoot for Friday afternoon/night and Sunday evening. I’m not picky as long as we get to go…and I get my word count in. And of course, there’s still The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo to see. Have any of you seen it? If so, what did you think?

The theaters around me are starting to sell alcohol in the shows. I know this is quite common in San Francisco and London, but it’s new for our area. Anyway, that’s not important. Delicious maybe, but not important.

Dh and I have been trying to make up for lost time on the movie front. A lot of movies came out while we were away that we wanted to see, so it’s been a mad scramble to try to see them all. With that in mind, we went to see Mission Impossible and Sherlock Holmes first. I thought Mission Impossible was a fun movie, although I did miss the ‘thumbing their nose at the bad guy reveal’ at the end. They did a small one, but it was in no way as good as the usual Mission Impossible reveal. In fact, it was one of the few things I found lacking in the movie. I really like that point in all Mission Impossible shows/movies where the bad guy is shown that he’s been conned.

I thought this particular Sherlock Holmes was better than the first movie. Not perfect, but definitely better. No one can say that Downey and Law don’t have great chemistry. They should definitely do more movies together. For purists, the movie followed a chunk of the final showdown between Holmes and Moriarty. If you haven’t read the books and don’t know what I’m talking about, SHAME ON YOU! They are some of the best written stories in existence.

The next day we went to see The Adventures of Tin Tin. Being from the states, I didn’t grow up with the comic Tin Tin, but it was easy enough to follow. I actually quite enjoyed the story. It was kind of like watching an animated Indiana Jones, if he’d been played by a younger kid.

We wanted to see Young Adult with Charlize Theron, but it was pulled from the theater at the end of the week. Really bummed that we missed that one given that it was written by Diablo Cody. (i.e. Juno, etc.) She writes wicked dialogue. We’ll just have to catch it in rentals.

On Sunday, we went to see Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. It was a truly superb movie. Gary Oldman shows was an incredible actor he is by being silent for like the first fifteen minutes of the movie and conveying volumes. As you can tell from the title, it is a spy movie, but not the loud, bombastic kind we’re used to in the states. This is a quiet movie. When there is violence, it’s truly shocking and painful. The whole movie is a study in characterization and it truly succeeds. It’s a thinking man’s spy film. I cannot recommend it enough.

We’re hoping to catch The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo sometime this week. I have no idea what that movie is about, since I’m the last person on the planet who hasn’t read the book, but it looks cool.

I’m personally looking forward to seeing Haywire and Underworld this weekend. What can I say, I really love movies with kick-ass women. The fact that the chick in Haywire is a Thai kick boxer and Ultimate Fighter is just gravy. *ggg

Are you looking forward to seeing any films? Have you seen any movies that have blown you away?

I can’t say that I’m ready for 2012–not that the New Year gave me much choice in the matter, but you know what I mean. Time really does fly whether you’re having fun or not. *g

Not that I’m complaining. It’s just weird how it happens. 2011 turned out to be quite a learning experience. I started self-publishing my backlist at the very end of Jan/beginning of Feb. Like many other writers, I didn’t set the world on fire with my sales. I still haven’t, but my sales have gotten better month after month. Knock on wood that they continue to do so.

The marginal success has changed the way that I look at the book business. I haven’t counted N.Y. out at all, but it’ll take a lot more for me to sign my name on the dotted line these days and far better terms than I’ve ever been offered. It’s a simple matter of economics. If all goes well (or continues as it has been going), I will reach a point where it won’t be economically feasible for me to sign a book deal without some big money on the table. I’m not there yet, but I’m also not far off. If you don’t hit a book out of the park, which is extremely hard to do, then you have to write enough books to make up for a bestseller. Joe Konrath had that right. I’ve said before that I believe the magic number is twenty books. I still think that’s true, but they have to be the right kind of books. (The genre’s different for each writer.)

I had a great time in Europe and the UK over Christmas and New Year’s. I’d never been to Switzerland. It had been a dream of mine to see it since I was a little kid. It was more beautiful than I’d imagined. Truly breathtaking and the people were so nice. The German lessons from Berlitz helped tremendously–more so in Switzerland than they did in Germany. Weird, I know.

I saw Check Point Charlie and parts of the wall in Berlin. Very scary and beyond creepy. Never knew how close everything came to going kablooey. I’d never given Berlin much thought prior to going. Turns out it’s a pretty cool city. It’s vibrant and young. Lots of artists, new buildings and restaurants. I’d definitely like to spend more time there–even if I can’t understand a lot of the German being spoken. (They speak very fast German and have an odd accent.) I’m guessing it’s a bit like being from an eastern state versus being from the south. Whatever it is, it was the only place that tripped me up language wise. Fortunately, most everyone spoke English, too.

I didn’t make any New Year’s Resolutions this year. I’ve found they simply don’t work. What I have done is made myself promise to write more books. It’s a promise I intend to keep.

What promises have you made for the New Year? Have your plans changed since last year? If so, why?

Happy New Year! I hope 2012 treats everyone kindly. May your health be vibrant, your work satisfying, and your home life loving.

Best wishes for the New Year,
Jordan

I hope that all of you have a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy, Prosperous New Year! Bring on 2012! I say we tell the Mayans to suck it! Who’s with me?

One of the things I promised myself I would do was update the blog, when I had release information. Well, I have release info for Phantom Warriors: Talon. The book should be out within the next 24 to 48 hours. Like the other Phantom Warriors’ books, this one is a stand-alone story–a long novella (a little over 25K) to be exact with an added sneak peek at the end. Here is the quick blurb:

Lynn Regis wasn’t looking for anything but her newly released condors, when she hiked into the Grand Canyon National Park. The last thing the plus-sized beauty expected to find was a sexy as sin man, with eyes as sharp as a hawk, bent on seducing her.

Talon knew Lynn was mate material the moment he laid eyes on her. With only three days to convince that they’re meant for each other, this determined raptor will have to use every strategy in his well-stocked, sensual arsenal. Good thing Phantom Warriors always come prepared.

Below is the cover for the new book:

Speaking of new releases, Bernard DeLeo’s book, COLD BLOODED was finally released by Wild Child Publishing. Please show him love for all the support he’s given throughout the years.

Since I’m in an updating mood, I thought I’d fill you in on how my backlist/new work Indie publishing journey is going. As many of you know (because I’ve written about it on my blog before) when I first started Indie publishing, the sales were how shall I put this…less than stellar. I admit I was somewhat disappointed. My expectations were not to sell like J.A. Konrath–at least not at first–but I had hoped to make more than I was making from my e-publishers and N.Y. publishers.

I experienced slow gradual growth over the first five months, then things kind of leveled out. This was the point where I started questioning whether I’d done the right thing. Fortunately, I stuck with it and kept writing. Sales started to uptick for me last month. My sales went from averaging 500 to 800 ebooks a month (which is okay, but not great) to surpassing 3000. Other than continuing to write, I really didn’t do anything to promote my work. I think what helped was word of mouth and the algorithms on Amazon finally catching my books. This is NOT happening at Barnes & Noble. My NOOK sales rarely move beyond 200 to 300 a month. It doesn’t matter how many books I release there, nothing changes.

I have no idea if sales will continue like this, drop, or grow. I think that I’ll have a better idea of what’s going to happen within the next few months. Until then, I’ve decided to focus on the one thing I do have control over–the writing. I have two more Phantom Warrior stories planned, a Lords of the Night story, and another YA. Right now, I’m looking for a professional editor to go through the YA. Once I hire one, then I’ll re-edit the book and start the long submission process.

I’m sure some of you are asking yourselves, “Why would I do that?” The answer is simple, right now I don’t believe epubbing YA books is the best way to go. There are still more YA readers picking up physical books than there are buying the e-versions. Will that change? Yep! It sure will. BUT it hasn’t changed yet. So until it does, I believe N.Y. (or Amazon) is the best place for my Young Adult novels.

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas (even if that’s not what you celebrate) and a Happy, Healthy, Prosperous New Year! Ho! Ho! Ho!