Hi, everybody!
Just to give you a little glimpse into how I make purchasing decisions regarding the books, here’s how it works. As I’ve said, I try to invest every dollar I earn from the books back into them, trying to make them better. Now that I’ve had experience with commissioning artwork and hiring editors, I know roughly how to estimate how much money I’ll need for the next piece of work I want to get done. That means, once I decide I want something, I set an earnings threshold, and once I hit it I contact the appropriate people and get things moving. Well, the threshold for fancy new covers rolled over earlier this week, so I sent out an email to Nick, and it looks like he’s available! Neat!
The books that will be getting new covers are Jade, Bypass Gemini, and the Bypass Gemini Sequel. As always, I’ll let you guys get a look at the covers as they are finished, but I won’t be pushing them as updates until much later. It is worth pointing out that, if I want a finished cover for the second book in the Sci Fi series, I’ll have to finally choose a name. I’m bad at that. Not only that, but I’ll have to give a name to the Sci Fi series as a whole! I have absolutely no ideas for that. If you are one of the few people who has read Bypass Gemini and you have an idea for what a series of similar novels should be called, feel free to leave a comment or shoot an email my way.
So, now that the cover money is spent, what do I start saving for next? Well, since I’m trying to stick with one editor, and she’ll be working on Book 2 of the trilogy for a while, I won’t need the money for an edit on book 3 any time soon. (That said, it certainly wouldn’t hurt to have it squirreled away in preparation for her availability.) Unfortunately, I’m fresh out of books that need covers, too. That means that I’ll probably try to price some of the side stuff that people have been after me for, like a map. We’ll see.
Before I go, I would also like to acknowledge what is probably the most intensely negative review I’ve ever received. I know I’ve linked to my blog reviews, and spoken about reader reviews both good and bad before. This one bears special mention. I try to take all of my reviews seriously, but this one takes the cake in terms of raw negativity. Unfortunately, since it is on the Barnes and Noble page for Book 1 of the Trilogy, I can’t seem to direct link to it, so here it is, recorded for posterity.
Dont bother. One star for effort.
Your characters are week, hollow and completely boring. There is no story line. Fantacy is not your thing. Write a math text book. Maybe come up with a character who doesnt pass out and sleep and whine for most of your long useless waste of paper. This is the worst book I have ever forced myself to finish, while waiting for something to happen. I wont be looking for a sequil to nothing. Sorry, I never ever expected to feel obligated to write a reveiw like this one.
– nmetcalf63
Most of the time reading a review that pans my book is painful for me, and I try to find ways to address the problems mentioned. This person disliked my book on such a fundamental level, the best I can do is thank her for taking the time to finish the book despite her dislike. At least I was able to make her feel obligated to share her thoughts about it. It is good to know I made an impact.
That’s all, at least until the first picture shows up. Thanks for reading.