The Gay YA has been amazing, doing so much to promote Pantomime as its Book of the Month. They’re also launching their first Book Club, which should be fun! So if you’ve not read Pantomime but you’ve been curious, now would be a great time so you can discuss it with others if you fancy. There’s also a Rafflecopter giveaway, with a chance to win an e-Vestigial Tales bundle, a signed Pantomime or Shadowplay, or a piece of Laya’s artwork.
The book club will begin with non-spoilery posts on 10/13, and then follow this schedule:You can participate by:
– Posting something on your own Tumblr blog and tag the post #GayYA Book Club— we’ll reblog it.
– Submitting something to our Tumblr atthegayya.tumblr.com/submit
– October 16-23: Pages 1 through 199
– October 24-31 Pages 200 through 392
You can express your feelings about Pantomime however you choose — reviews, analysis, questions, fan art, gifs, quotes, a video blog… the world is open to you! And, of course, you can reblog other people’s posts to add your own thoughts and responses.
We’re also running a giveaway until the start– we got some great prizes up for grabs! Enter now, because it’ll be closing on 10/14! Giveaway is open internationally!
Background if you’re new to my blog: I’m self-publishing some short stories/novellas set in the same world as my Micah Grey series (Pantomime, Shadowplayand this month I shared the title of the third book: Masquerade). There’s going to be a bit of delay in getting Masquerade to market. I was hoping to have the Kickstarter go live this month, but I’m still waiting to see what’s going on with the rights to the first two now that Angry Robot has been bought by a new owner. These short stories/novellas are to help break up the wait and teach me about self-publishing.
This month had the launch of the last story, “The Card Sharp,” which tells the story of what happened to Drystan before he joined R.H. Ragona’s Circus of Magic. Laya has made some awesome artwork for it:
Drystan in the Naiad Green.Jane Cress.Tavish Antiaris
So cool. Laya and Victoria from The Gay YA have also started a Tumblr for fans of my books, which is probably one of the coolest things to ever happen to me.
“The Card Sharp” went up later in the month than the other three, because I fell behind on my schedule due to summer conventions and starting university.
Total Sales:
Paid (Amazon): 63
Borrowed (Amazon): 5
Paid (Smashwords): 0
Total for September: 68
Total Sales to Date: 326
Per Story in September:
“The Snake Charm”: 4 (plus one bought and refunded)
“The Fisherman’s Net”: 14
“The Tarot Reader”: 12
“The Card Sharp”: 28
Total Sales/Borrows per Story:
“The Snake Charm”: 138 (plus 395 free ones)
“The Fisherman’s Net”: 104
“The Tarot Reader”: 56
“The Card Sharp”: 28
Total Gross Income for September: £59.01 ($94.24)
Total Gross Income to Date: £276.07 ($440.87)
Costs: £132 for 10 ISBNs
Total Net Profit: £144.55 ($230.84)
September sales
Reviews as of today:
“The Snake Charm” on GR: 46 ratings (21 reviews)
“The Snake Charm” on Amazon: 8 (US), 9 (UK)
“The Fisherman’s Net” on GR: 21 ratings (8 reviews)
“The Fisherman’s Net” on Amazon: 2 (US), 2 (UK)
“The Tarot Reader” on GR: 19 ratings (8 reviews)
“The Tarot Reader” on Amazon: 2 (US), 2 (UK)
“The Card Sharp” on GR: 10 ratings (4 reviews)
“The Card Sharp” on Amazon: 0 (US), 0 (UK)
As ever, if you’ve read any of the stories, leaving a short review on Goodreads/Amazon would be so greatly appreciated. Especially on Amazon, as it means more casual readers might pick them up.
Overall, I’d say this experience is a success. I made back my costs and made some profit, I’ve had nice reviews, and it was fun. Did I make loads? No, but I didn’t expect to. These sales are a result of no paid advertising. I put up that they were available on social media, and that’s it.
Did they affect Pantomime/Shadowplay‘s sales? It’s hard to say. I think it’s probably more than affecting sales, people who enjoyed the books were also happy enough to pick up the Vestigial Tales. The only real information I have on sales is the Amazon Author Central account in the US. It doesn’t show e-books & doesn’t show all paper copies either, so it’s an inaccurate tool at best. But, if overall trends are like this, than in the last few months, sales picked up or at least remained steady:
I haven’t shared the numbers since it’d be so inaccurate anyway, and I don’t know if the publisher would be okay with it. The largest spikes are release weeks.
This month I was paid for July’s sales and received a check from June for my UK sales (which reminds me, I still need to deposit it).
Non-self-publishing stuff this month: I was paid the first installment of my UK publication advance. I’ll officially be leaving my day job in a month or two. I was also able to announce the Italian translation deal. I’ve done a few creative writing workshops around Aberdeen and have one or two left. I’ve also been doing my masters in Creative Writing, which is going well so far.
The Vestigial Tales are done for now, though there might be some more in the pipeline for Masquerade‘s Kickstarter, if/when that happens. *mysterious face* I’m hoping I can figure out what’s happening with that soon as I desperately want to make plans and follow through but am still unsure which path is best and what my options are.
Plans for next month: Finish the draft of Masquerade. Re-read Pantomime & Shadowplay in preparation for edits. Finish planning/researching Brainfreeze Book, so I can start drafting properly in November (NaNoWriMo?). Keep on top of school work and day job and try not to implode.
I’ll leave you with the link to the Vestigial Tales page. Please do consider picking them up if you enjoyed my books. As mentioned before, all proceeds are being bookmarked for self-publishing Masquerade, should that be the path it takes.
The Last Vestigial Tale, “The Card Sharp,” is now up on Kindle. By happy coincidence, today is also Bisexuality Visibility Day, and Drystan is bisexual.
“The Card Sharp” is almost 16k words long and stars Drystan before he joins R.H. Ragona’s circus of magic. It has magicians, card counting, drug lords, Vestige, and a heist.
It’s in Select so it’ll be exclusive with them for 90 days before being released elsewhere. I know having Amazon have the exclusive can be difficult for those who don’t want to purchase through them, which I understand. They are such a large part of the market, though, that having the chance to lower the price/make them free/let people borrow them if they have Prime is too good to resist. By the end of the year, all tales will be out of the exclusive timeframe and I’ll put them up on Smashwords or D2D to be distributed to other retailers.
This is the end of the Vestigial Tales project for now. I have no more plans to self-publish any more short stories/novellas this year. I’ll keep doing monthly roundup posts about my self-publishing experiment.
I’ve really enjoyed writing them, editing them, and putting them up myself. Traditional publishing has long timeframes by necessity, but this has given me something to do in the meantime and I’ve learned absolutely loads. I’ve discovered more about Drystan and Cyan by writing “The Snake Charm,” “The Tarot Reader,” and “The Card Sharp,” which has influenced Micah Grey #3.
As with the other tales, proceeds from these stories are being earmarked towards self-publishing the third book in the trilogy. There will also be a Kickstarter for that soon as well.
A huge thank you to everyone who’s helped me every step of the way: Dianna Walla, cover artist extraordinare, and my betas: Erica, Craig, Mike, Wesley, Vonny, Jennifer, Lisa, Kim, Amy, Collin & Emma. Thanks to Diana Sousa and Kim Curran for early e-formatting help, everyone who looked at the first blurb as I was trying to figure out the formatting. Thanks to my copyeditors: my mother, Sally, and my mother-in-law, Sheila.
I hope you enjoy “The Card Sharp” if you pick it up. Any help in spreading the word to others would be greatly, greatly appreciated: tweeting, sharing on Tumblr or Facebook, leaving a review on Goodreads and Amazon, telling your friends offline. I have wonderful readers and appreciate each and every one of you more than I can say.
Untold centuries ago, the Archipelago was ruled by the Alder—mysterious beings who vanished, leaving behind only scattered artefacts of unknown power, called Vestige. Sometimes, a person will be lucky or unlucky enough to discover that each piece of Vestige has its own tale to tell…
The Card Sharp
“He always mourned that moment, when the high began to fade. It was like he moved from who he wanted to be to having to face the reality of who he was. He’d rather feel supernatural. More than Drystan Hornbeam, a seventeen-year-old-boy who had made a lot of foolish mistakes and didn’t seem to be changing his habits anytime soon.”
Before Drystan became the White Clown of R.H. Ragona’s Circus of Magic, he was a Lerium addict struggling on the streets of Imachara. When a mysterious woman gives him a chance at a new life, he takes it, even if it means falling even deeper into the dark underbelly of the capital of Ellada. Drystan knows that selling Lerium to the powerful men and women who bet at the high stakes card tables is perilous, especially when he still battles his own addictions. Yet when he meets a man who can help him learn to cheat at cards and swindle them out of enough money to start a new life, he dives headfirst into more danger.
Vestigial Tales are stories set in the world of the award-winning Micah Grey series. Step behind the circus ring from Pantomime, the theatre of Shadowplay, and more…
Background if you’re new to my blog: I’m self-publishing some short stories/novellas set in the same world as my Micah Grey series (Pantomime & Shadowplay). There’s going to be a bit of delay in getting the third book to market (hopefully the Kickstarter will go live next month), and so these will hopefully help break up the wait and teach me about the process.
So this month saw the launch of “The Tarot Reader,” the third Vestigial Tale, and I also made the first one, “The Snake Charm,” free for 5 days.
Sales still kept ticking along. I had an upswing on Tarot’s launch day, and another near the end of Nine Worlds – maybe people who went to my workshop purchased some? Loncon didn’t seem to have any impact on sales. If anything, they went down during those days.
Putting up Snake Charm for free was fun. Loads of people downloaded it, so I’m hoping over the next few months I’ll get more reviews, and that some who downloaded the first one go onto purchase the others.
And now, the numbers!
Total Sales:
Paid (Amazon): 87
Borrowed (Amazon): 0 (interesting, as Kindle Unlimited went live recently)
Paid (Smashwords): 0
Total for August: 87
Total Sales to Date: 263
Per Story:
“The Snake Charm” at $2.99: 14
“The Snake Charm” free as part of the Kindle Select promotion: 395
“The Fisherman’s Net”: 29
“The Tarot Reader”: 44
Total Gross Income for August: £78.52
Total Gross Income to Date: £217.06 ($358.81)
Costs: £132 for 10 ISBNs
Total Net Profit: £85.54 ($140.61)
The graph with the free units selected. Makes the rest of it look hilarious.
Graph with the free units de-selected.
Reviews as of today:
“The Snake Charm” on GR: 37 ratings (20 reviews)
“The Snake Charm” on Amazon: 7 (US), 9 (UK)
“The Fisherman’s Net” on GR: 15 ratings (8 reviews)
“The Fisherman’s Net” on Amazon: 1 (US), 1 (UK)
“The Tarot Reader” on GR: 12 ratings (5 reviews)
“The Tarot Reader” on Amazon: 1 (US), 0 (UK)
As ever, if you’ve read the stories, please please consider leaving a review, especially for Fisherman & Tarot on Amazon. They’re looking a bit lonely.
So far I’ve published around 40,000 words of fiction and made $140 in profit. So, self-publishing is not paying much, technically. However, the £132 was going to be spent anyway for the Kickstarter. $140 is a fair chunk of the cover costs for Micah Grey 3. And also, this is only 3 months in. I can offer these stories for free for promotions or as rewards for the Kickstarter. I’ve learned a lot about self-publishing, and I’ve enjoyed having control over the side project. Writing more about Cyan and Drystan has already made book 3’s first draft stronger. Sales may stay reasonably steady. I might still make the odd dollar or two off these in 10 years. Writing is all about the long tail.
This month I received partial payment for June’s sales – the $61 I made in the US is in my account, with the small Australian/Canadian payments pending. Nothing UK yet–I think you have to reach a threshold of around £150 before you’re paid or something?
In non-self-publishing news: I received payment for my short story in Solaris Rising 3. I’ve received my contracts for False Hearts and the option book, which has the code name of Brainfreeze Book, so I might be paid for that some time in September. I also have 4 creative writing workshops in September and 2 in October throughout Aberdeen. There’s also other cool things behind the scenes I can’t talk about yet.
Next month’s goals: Put up “The Card Sharp,” the final Vestigial Tale to be released this year. Put “The Snake Charm” up on Smashwords because the Kindle exclusive period is up. Research and start planning the Micah Grey 3 Kickstarter. Work a lot on Micah Grey 3, which is getting somewhat close to finished. Keep plotting and researching Brainfreeze Book.
And so I unveil the last cover and blurb of the Vestigial Tales to be released separately this year.
I started this project with a Drystan short story, and so I’m ending it with a Drystan novella: “The Card Sharp.” As before, this is probably best read after Pantomime & Shadowplay to know his character most fully, but you can quite easily read it as a standalone as well, if you don’t mind some minor spoilers into the character’s past. This is set before “The Snake Charm,” as well, and tells the story of what happened to Drystan after he left home but before he joined the circus.
Now I have to finish editing it! Because my schedule has been thrown off by travel and conventions, I don’t anticipate this one going live before mid-September.
Without further ado…
Untold centuries ago, the Archipelago was ruled by the Alder—mysterious beings who vanished, leaving behind only scattered artefacts of unknown power, called Vestige. Sometimes, a person will be lucky or unlucky enough to discover that each piece of Vestige has its own tale to tell…
The Card Sharp
“He always mourned that moment, when the high began to fade. It was like he moved from who he wanted to be to having to face the reality of who he was. He’d rather feel supernatural. More than Drystan Hornbeam, a seventeen-year-old-boy who had made a lot of foolish mistakes and didn’t seem to be changing his habits anytime soon.”
Before Drystan became the White Clown of R.H. Ragona’s Circus of Magic, he was a Lerium addict struggling on the streets of Imachara. When a mysterious woman gives him a chance at a new life, he takes it, even if it means falling even deeper into the dark underbelly of the capital of Ellada. Drystan knows that selling Lerium to the powerful men and women who bet at the high stakes card tables is perilous, especially when he still battles his own addictions. Yet when he meets a man who can help him learn to cheat at cards and swindle them out of enough money to start a new life, he dives headfirst into more danger.
Vestigial Tales are stories set in the world of the award-winning Micah Grey series. Step behind the circus ring from Pantomime, the theatre of Shadowplay, and more…
For the next 5 days, the first Vestigial Tale, “The Snake Charm,” is free on Amazon. Please consider downloading and stepping into R.H. Ragona’s Circus of Magic. Any help spreading the word about it would be greatly appreciated.
I’m very curious to see how this promotion will do, and if it results in any bumps in sales of “The Fisherman’s Net” or “The Tarot Reader.” As usual, I’ll report my information monthly.
Untold centuries ago, the Archipelago was ruled by the Alder—mysterious beings who vanished, leaving behind only scattered artefacts of unknown power, called Vestige. Sometimes, a person will be lucky or unlucky enough to discover that each piece of Vestige has its own tale to tell…
The Snake Charm
“To most, Drystan was just another buffoon in the collective of clowns. But behind the inane grin, he saw everything, keeping the secrets he discovered close, like precious gems to barter.”
Mutiny is brewing in R.H. Ragona’s Circus of Magic. When Linden, the leader of the clowns steals one of the ringmaster’s most prized possessions, Drystan, the white clown, finds himself caught in the middle. Tasked with retrieving the Lethe, he’s forced to betray Linden or risk his troubled past coming to light. But the Vestige artifact has its own history and its own power. Drystan will learn what it can really do, and who it can hurt.
Vestigial Tales are stories set in the world of the award-winning Micah Grey series. Step behind the circus ring from Pantomime, the theatre of Shadowplay, and more…
“‘The Snake Charm: A Vestigial Tale’ by Laura Lam is the prequel to the brilliant ‘Pantomime’ series – excellent insight into the beloved character, Drystan.” – VADA Magazine
“Can you imagine a dwarf knocking out a mammoth? That’s what The Snake Charm is; small but packs a punch.” – David on Goodreads
“‘The Snake Charm’ can easily stand alone as a story, but it’s such a tempting morsel I hope readers will want to go on and read the books if they haven’t already done so.” – Nico at about.com
“Everything I love about the Pantomime books, with the exception of their protagonist – this is a prequel story – is here.” – Lisa of Over the Effing Rainbow
“You all know how much I loved Pantomime and Shadowplay, and the universe of these books. This was an interesting look at a powerful and potentially terrifying Vestige artefact (I think it’s pretty cool that these tales are all going to be centred around different Vestige artefacts, because they’re fascinating and I can’t wait to learn about other artefacts!), and I liked getting to know Drystan a bit more. “- Cynthia at Jellyfish Reviews
My Loncon report is still in progress. In the meantime…
While at the con, I found out I am on a Buzzfeed List. Initially it was called “21 of the Best British Sci Fi and Fantasy Writers you Should be Reading” but then it changed to the more clickbaity headline of “21 of the Best British Sci Fi and Fantasy Writers You’ve Probably Never Heard of.” Aww yeah. Damien Walter, the compiler of the list, said on twitter it had about 60,000 views though, which is roughly the total amount of views of this blog over the past 3 or so years I’ve been running it. *blinks*
At Nine Worlds, I ran a workshop on writing LGBTQI characters in SFF. A few days before this, I put out a call on Twitter for character portrayals in SFF that were either positive, negative, or conflicted. I collated most of them into a table. Initially I was going to print them out for attendees, but I had no idea how many people would show up. I probably would have printed about 20, which wouldn’t have been enough–about 50 or so people came to my workshop! So here’s the list. There’s plenty on here I haven’t read. Feel free to comment with thoughts, additional examples, spark debate, etc. If I have time, I’ll come back and update the table now and again to reflect the comments.
Positive
Negative
Conflicting Answers
Otherbound, Corinne Duyvis
Baron Harkonnen, Dune
The Last Herald Mage Series, Mercedes Lackey
Characters in Mark Charan Newton’s books (transgender, gay, etc)
Illario, Mary Gentle
Austin & Robby in Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith
Bonnie in Rapture of the Nerds by Charlie Stross and Cory Doctorow
Jack Randall in the Outlander series
The Steel Remains, Richard Morgan
The Culture Novels, Iain M. Banks
Problematic portrayal of a gay man in Windrose Chronicles, Barbara Hambly
Andrew in Buffy
Malinda Lo’s work
Riddick at one point offers to turn a lesbian character straight in the latest film.
Cutter and Judah in the Iron Council by China Mieville
Transgender character in Shadows on the Moon, Zoe Marriott
Izana from Knights of Sidonia
Transgender character in Eon/Eona, Allison Goodman (plus crossdressing-but-straight protagonist)
Orson Scott Card
Vintage: A Ghost Story, Steve Berman
Willow in Buffy (bi-erasure)
Daja in Will of the Empress, Tamora Pierce
Anne McCaffrey (blue and green dragonriders)
Anthem in Coda, by Emma Trevayne
Darwin in The Four Realms by Adrian Faulkner
Nick in The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon
The Forever War, Joe Haldeman
Kylie Chan novels
Lord John Grey in the Outlander series
Havemercy & sequels by Jones & Bennett.
Susan Ivanova and Talia Winters from Babylon 5
Okha Soyan in Bloodhouse, Tamora Pierce
Pen in the Skyscraper Throne series, Tom Pollock
Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin
Ro in Owl Stretching by K.A. Laity
Makaria and Hypatia in Romanitas by Sophia McDougall
