Any Sci-Fi Readers?

Posted this on the Sci-fi BS Thread and someone PM'd and suggested I put it by itself.

You guys [gals?] like to read Clancy-esque stuff? I wrote a sci-fi book nearly 10 years ago that I had to self publish. Based on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, once that date came and went and I'd only sold a whopping 469 copies, I decided to pull it. It is a short read as I pulled nearly 100 pages of additional character development and story lines from the compiled e-book as everything was priced "by the page". Edit, Publish, and Print. Though they added additional context and perhaps made a more interesting read, the additional pages did not add anything to the base plot so I pulled them and thought, if sales really took off, I could always "second edition" the book and add them back in. Anyway, if you would like a free e-book for Xmas, PM me and I'll send you one? Absolutely no cost involved here. I've got another book in the works, so I'd like some additional feedback on this one to help me do the next one better.

Thanks, Garth [A.K.A. JJ Gregory]

 

Haven't read it yet but I'd like to

 

I'd like to know how you sold 400+ copies. I have sold probably < 10 of my book in two years. It's on Amazon, but how does one ever come across it?

 

I probably sold over 100 hard copies to people that know me or know of me at a discount and signed those for them. I also "had" a website, twitter account, and FB page that caused some traffic, and then did quite a bit of "click" ads. I think 1/2 sales were the Ebook at mostly $1.25 [I think]. It's been a while. Seems I started at $2.50 and sold NO ebooks there and started selling a few at $1.75 and ended up at $1.25 with the hard bound at $18 and the paper back at $12.

But, because I got a significant price break at qty 100, since I moved my first 100HB books fairly quickly, I ordered 100 each of the HB, did final edit, publish, and print of the paper back and ordered 100 of those too when I reordered and naturally sales died. Still have most of those in boxes.

So, all costs considered, I actually ended up losing about $3200 total on the project. Now, I learned a few things to NOT do the next time from the above, if there is a next time? Should at least be able to NOT lose money on the next one, though how much you make is never guaranteed. But, there is no sense in publishing even an Ebook if you do not intend to make money at it. As you eluded to, without some level of internet exposure to direct traffic, you will literally only get a few sales by people who trip over your book by complete accident unless you set up some kind of e-traffic and that all costs money.

 

OK, all, I assume you've had some time to peruse the EPUB and the few hardcopies I managed to get mailed. A few did get actual books. I am dying to get started on my new book. Well, full disclosure, I have gotten started. Basic outline. Similar Clancy-esque theme. I just need to get some feedback on this one to do the next one better.

So, I already know that [for publication cost reasons] removing nearly 100 pages of additional character subplots was a 20/20 hindsight mistake [86 pages actually, I guess]. But, when you self publish, everything is by the word, page, page size, graphic, header, footer, etc. so I elected to do the edit-removal down to the bare bones story which it does still have. Obviously, having more stories from people the main character met and learned from early on, to relationships while at the Dept of Energy, the actual detailed experience and relationships going through training at Camp Peary, conversations with people in our [still] deeply lacking electrical grid and there frustrations and some actual comedy dealing with in some cases, literally, antique switching and monitoring systems [a funny subplot involving the specific sequence of events and order flipping of switches sometimes on completely opposite sides of the control room any one of which done wrong would take down the entire northwest grid], additional relationships over in Afghanistan. Then during the attack portion, from people leaving and then their horror on the flights during the attack, the pilots on the cargo 767 when it lost power after the attack with a brief communiqué with the control tower about sudden complete multi-system failure and then radio silence as they plummeted onto the Harrodsburg Road in Lexington, six different characters at the nuclear power plant in Arizona fighting desperately to maintain control of their devolving system crash [think similar to The China Syndrome here], to many additional character plots in the neighborhoods after the attack including societal breakdown, resultant anarchy, and eventual Martial Law restoring order subplots and issues, additional relationships [completely unlike current ones] over in Moscow trying to establish trusting communication with the still semi-functional government back in the US, and skip forward to the rebuild and recovery phases with lots of missing detail returning back to a normal functioning but yet completely different free market economy and democracy stateside.

And, believe it or not, I ended with the Hollywood ending where the main character gets to marry his Pakistani-American beauty but in the original there was a "all seemed that it was returning to some semblance of normalcy, Wes and Sofia looking forward to their lives together, when there was suddenly a completely implausible, unforeseen, and unexpected . . . blinding flash!" The non-Hollywood ending . . .

Preference? Booty or Burn endings? No poll required.

So, obviously, all the above [and then some] that I cut out would have made the book not only look more like an actual book [over 1/2 again thicker than it is] but would have certainly made a more fulfilling read, but I lost $3200 on the book project with the production costs of the book being 86 pages shorter. I am guessing that figure would have approached [-$5000] with the larger book at only 469 copies sold.

This next book needs to be bigger, better, focus more on primarily ebook which has size cost relation but less so than printed book costs do, and set up publishing paper copies to order only through Amazon, perhaps other sites, and the Website [not up yet]. Sadly, my pen name will already have to change as someone has stolen JJ Gregory already.

Looks like he's been busy . . . from 2012 on AFTER I RELEASED MINE! Wonder if he enjoyed my book? Writing somewhat similar stuff.

Anyway, above is what I know I need to do. Any other ideas, pro or con would be deeply welcome. You can post them here. I can take it. Your book completely sucks because . . . But if you are remotely worried, you can PM me too if you want?

And, thanks for taking the time to read . . . The Grid!

 

I read your book and thank you for providing it to me.

If I had one critique it would be that there seemed to be quite a few long run-on sentences.

And yes, some areas could have been fleshed out a bit more, but you knew that already

Thanks again for letting me read it.

 

You mean, like this . . .

Obviously, having more stories from people the main character met and learned from early on, to relationships while at the Dept of Energy, the actual detailed experience and relationships going through training at Camp Peary, conversations with people in our [still] deeply lacking electrical grid and there frustrations and some actual comedy dealing with in some cases, literally, antique switching and monitoring systems [a funny subplot involving the specific sequence of events and order flipping of switches sometimes on completely opposite sides of the control room any one of which done wrong would take down the entire northwest grid], additional relationships over in Afghanistan.

Yeah, I got that critique clear back during Eng Lit in college. I think she said something like, "reader's eyes even need to take a breath sometimes" which made complete sense too.

Thanks!

 

I have read a few EMP-aftermath novels (William Forstchen) an would be interested in reading yours on my Kindle. Is it still available?