novel « Robin Writes

This week, I have a few tips for all the local and small press authors that we carry in the store. Nope, we don’t have a contract, and we don’t care if you self-published or wrote the book while standing on your head. We have shelf space, we try to read all of your books, and it’s the first section we talk about when customers come into the store. Matter of fact, it’s the first section IN the store.

We do a straight 60/40 split with our authors – I’m sorry if you think you’ll lose money on this deal, but that’s not an issue to negotiate with us. Talk to your publisher about that contract if your discount isn’t deep enough, or reconsider whoever you paid to publish the book. A 40% discount is standard, even average – some books, via traditional distribution, have an even lower discount.

There are a few ways to make sure your book gets noticed, and therefore purchased:

First, write a great book. Sounds like a “duh,” but really – yes, we’ll put it on the shelf but if it doesn’t hold our attention, we might not get around to reading it. Sorry, but there are a lot of books and limited time.

Second, use an editor. A few mistakes are okay, all books have errors, but consistent boo-boos make our eyes water and it’s very difficult to tell a customer “oh, just ignore those.” They’re paying for a product, make it a good one.

Third, if your cover makes our eyes bleed, it will do the same for readers. They’ll pass right over your book, unless, in horror, they stop and stare. Then they’ll move on. If the cover’s bad, what fresh hell must be on the inside?

Fourth, we like you. We really do. And we’d like to see you once in a while. Don’t just drop off your books and disappear, only to call six months later and ask if we sold any copies of your book. You could recommend us, too. If all you do is post online “get my book at Amazon!” we aren’t going to put out a lot of effort either.

Fifth, being our customer helps too. We can order books if we don’t have them in stock, we do that a lot. But it seems like the authors on our shelves must never read a book – or they’re going to Amazon. We’re happy that they’re saving a few bucks, but they may as well come get that right out of our register.

And finally, the big secret:

If you do all these things, your book will sell more copies.

Why?

If it’s good, we’ve read it. We can give a detailed recommendation. If we can focus on the story and not the mistakes, so can others. If it looks good, customers will be curious to see the inside. If we know you, we’ll tell people about you – the good stuff, natch – just like you tell people about your friends, but scarcely mention strangers.

And no, you don’t HAVE to be our customer for us to tell others about your books, but it does keep us in business. A lot of you have Kindles, and of course we don’t do those – I understand. It’s okay, really.

And in case you haven’t been in lately, we have “Top Sellers for 2013” red stars on the shelves, from January 1 through today. If your book doesn’t have one, well, reread from the top! There is still time, until November 30, to get on our “Best Sellers of 2013” list that will be published all over the web and in the store starting December 1 – just in time for the holidays!

Michael Chulsky’s debut novel, The Descending Darkness, will be released next week on September 28. He’s a little bit excited about all this, but he managed to put pen to paper once again and answer a few questions I threw at him:

Q: When did you start writing The Descending Darkness?
I began writing The Descending Darkness when I was sixteen. It was a rough time in my life. I felt really alone. I would have gone crazy (read crazier) if I didn’t have my “imaginary friends” to keep me company. And they did just that when I was writing TDD.

Q: Tell us about the book.
The Descending Darkness follows the story of Shadow and his mission to save the world. However, saving the world isn’t exactly a one-man kind of job. He begins assembling a team of teens, much like himself with special abilities, to assist him. With ten of them on his side, what could go wrong?

Well, just about everything.

If they’re not setting the house on fire or destroying his property, they’re raiding the fridge and making a mess of the place. And when they’re supposed to be training, they’d much rather skip off to the mall.

Unfortunately, no amount of training can prepare them for Maedara. They’ll need to work together in order to defeat her.

Q: Are your characters based on anyone in real life?

Shadow and I share some personality traits. We both have pain in our pasts. We’re also both very awkward. One of the major things in common is that Shadow doesn’t really know how to be a teenager because he was forced to grow up fast, and I felt the same way.

Physically, Ellie (one of the female team members) is the spitting image of my good friend, Daniella.

And Niki (another one of the female team members) is greatly inspired by my best friend of six years of the same name.

I think that many, if not all writers, put a bit of themselves, family, and friends into their characters. One of the major rules I was taught of writing is that authors always write about what they know. And the people who are closest to us often provide the greatest inspiration.

Q: Who or what inspired you to become an author?
I’ve always had a passion for writing. When I was younger, I would fill up entire composition books with poetry and short stories. The biggest sign was when my literature teachers assigned writing prompts or essays; I didn’t groan like the rest of my classmates. ;P

Q: What made you decide to seek out a publisher as opposed to self-publishing?
I wanted to try things traditionally first. I told myself that I would give it a year and if I didn’t find anyone willing to take a shot on my story, I would go down the self-publishing route. And in April, I sent my manuscript to Rocking Horse Publishing and the rest, as they say, is history.

You can pre-order The Descending Darkness here:

“After going from demon hunter to babysitter, seventeen-year-old SHADOW has truly hit rock bottom. One week he’s slaughtering demons, and the next he has ten super-powered teenagers in his care. Shadow needs them, because without them he can’t hope to defeat his new foe. But he’s never dealt with other teenagers before. He never had a real childhood. He’s always been a loner. Hell, he’s tried the whole having-a-pet thing. It died.

“Shadow’s mission: save the world and ensure his entire team survives the potential apocalypse. If MAEDARA, self-proclaimed fashionista and Queen of Evil, wasn’t trying to rule the world, it’d be cake. Now, not only does Shadow have to deal with teens more concerned with going to the mall than fighting evil, but also a villain who, in his opinion, makes Lady Gaga look like Mother Theresa.”