I’m very excited. Although I have published four novels and a handful of short stories, I haven’t yet put any of my work into print. That’s about to change. As we speak, a proof copy of Sleeping Duty is making its way through the postal system to my waiting hands.
Plenty of other independent writers have said they see fewer than ten percent of their sales come from print, so I’m not doing this for the money (although, yes, I did click the box for receiving royalties. Of course.) One reason I’m doing it is for passive marketing. When a prospective reader lands on Sleeping‘s Amazon page, the presence of two editions, one electronic and one in paper, will subliminally signal that this is a real book and the reader must buy it immediately. Or something like that. Also, when I go to LibertyCon I can request an author table without feeling foolish sitting there with no books. I’ll have books. Who knows, prospective readers might even visit me at my author table. Maybe I’ll hold a space law raffle to drum up visitors. The final reason I’m doing it, of course, is so that I can hold my book in my hands. I am absurdly full of anticipation.
I think I’m still on track for January publication of Mercenary Calling, about Calvin Tondini’s defense of a starship captain who allowed an unauthorized human settlement. I originally intended the third Waking Late book to come out first, but the cover artist for that one is not available until January, so I’m spending my time in the Ground Based Universe getting Mercenary ready. I will be teaching space law starting in January at Catholic University’s law school, and that’s going to require a bit of attention as well.
One other change coming up is that in January I will be raising prices on the shorter works. During the preparation of Sleeping Duty for print I learned that I was under pricing my short stories and novelettes. I did, however, want to let those of you who stop by here know so that you could pick them up while they are still 99 cents. Prices will go up January 1. Short stories that come out next year will be 99 cents for the first 30 days, and then they, too, will go up to reflect their length.
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