Just a quick update to say I’ll be back on Monday, Aug. 27 and posting regularly.
In case you’re wondering where I’ve been, I’ve been a little busy this year with the whole “episode per week” we’ve been doing at Collective Inkwell. And I wasn’t sure what I wanted to write in this space.
Now I know.
And tomorrow, I’ll start.
Stop what you’re doing, cancel your plans tonight, and tune into NBC for the premiere of a new show called “Awake.”
I saw a sneak preview of the first episode on NBC on Demand, and loved it! I could go on telling you how awesome it is, but why not show you the video that made up my mind before I saw the show. Check it out below & then check it out tonight on NBC at 10 p.m.
This is exactly the kind of awesome show that networks rarely give a decent chance to find an audience, so I’m hoping enough people tune in to keep the series running.
ForNevermore is available now at Amazon! I’ll tell you about the book, but first, a thank you from Sean and I to you.
Thank you to everyone who helped us choose the ForNevermore cover. I appreciate your help. We were THISCLOSE to choosing Number 4, (one of the red covers) but you spoke here, on Twitter, and via email, and changed our minds. So the “ocean cover” wins!
Thank you also for helping us prove that serialized fiction can work, by making Yesterday’s Gone such a success! Your emails, reviews, and links on Twitter and Facebook made all the difference in the world.
Now we’re thrilled to launch our next series, ForNevermore.
Here’s our first ForNevermore video trailer (click here to see it on Youtube). And beneath that, the back-of-the-page copy.
All 17 year old Noella Snow ever wanted was a normal life.
But normal died with her mother, minutes after she was born. And again when her father was murdered before her eyes on her seventh birthday. It was as though true love could never touch her.
Now Noella lives with her aunt in Aurora Falls, a sleepy town in upstate New York where she spends school days hiding from the people who torment her, and weekends working at a coffee shop in quiet misery, harboring a secret crush on her best friend, Sam.
Noella’s only happiness comes when she closes her eyes and visits her dream world, a place where her father still lives, and she’s in love with a mysterious man named Dante, a stranger with a pure heart and death in his fingers.
Noella never imagined the dream world was real, buried within our own. Until her dreams, and nightmares, started spilling into her waking life, alongside a series of grisly murders.
Just when she thinks she’s losing her mind, Dante appears with a dire warning: Noella is not who, or what, she believes. Nothing is what it seems, and she is in mortal danger.
Dante has been searching for Noella for all his lives.
He has loved her nearly as long.
But if he touches her, she will die.
Death isn’t done with Noella. Dreams crash into reality in a paranormal dark fantasy of love, fate, horror, and secrets which threaten to unravel Noella, and everything around her.
Can they survive the evil that haunts them or are they doomed to be ForNevermore?
NOTE: Contains mild language and violence (probably a lot less than what you’d find in a PG-13 movie.) Appropriate for Young Adult Readers
Get Episode 1 now at Amazon.
Join our exclusive ForNevermore mailing list for free at:
http://collectiveinkwell.com/joinfornevermore
Check out the latest ForNevermore video trailers at:
So, our post-apocalyptic serial Yesterday’s Gone proved that serialization could work. Now we’re gonna try a different genre — Young Adult paranormal/dark fantasy with a romantic storyline.
The book is called ForNevermore and comes out Tuesday.
And of course I’m going down to the wire with cover designs. Here’s a few of the finalists chosen by my trusted group of consultants.
But I’d also like to know which one you, the reader, likes. Please let me know what you think in the comments below or send me an email at collectiveinkwellmedia (at) gmail (dot) com. I’ll be choosing the cover tomorrow (Saturday).
Thank you for stopping by. I’ll be posting a video trailer, along with more details, sometime this weekend.
COVER ONE
COVER TWO
COVER THREE
COVER FOUR
COVER FIVE
So, which do you like best? 1,2,3,4 or 5?
Or none of the above?
Thank you for weighing in!
Recently, a reader wrote a comment about our pricing which I need to address:
“I am very disapointed that future individual episodes will be $2.99 each as opposed to $0.99.
I can see paying $6.00 for the book via kindle, but $18.00 is WAY TOO MUCH for the six episode packages. Even Stephen King doesn’t go for that much
I won’t be buying them, and hope I don’t lose too much interest or forget by the time the third installment comes out as a package.The authors should really re-think that concept”
It seems that the reader interpreted this part of our product description to read that we’d be charging $2.99 for each episode for future series. That is NOT the case.
(On Feb. 21, you can buy the full season book at one low price, and single episodes will be going to $2.99)
In my attempt to be succinct on the product page (where I would rather talk about story than pricing strategies), I probably wasn’t clear enough.
So I want to take this opportunity on the blog, where I can more fully explain our pricing, and that single episodes will NOT be seeing a price increase during the seasons. I’ll also explain our pricing strategy for serialized fiction, and why it is what it is, to give you a better understanding of the challenge of pricing and how much thought we put into it.
Our Yesterday’s Gone series is released like TV shows — in seasons. Those seasons consist of six books (which we call “episodes”), with each episode being about 24,000 words.
Ideally, we want you to experience the books in weekly serialized installments. And .99 per episode is a great price for a new book each week!
However, there’s a tiny problem with this model…
Simply put, we’d go broke releasing at .99.
Amazon offers two royalties to authors. If your book is less than $2.99, you get a royalty payment of 35%. On a book that is .99, that equals to about .35 cents per book … split two ways between Sean and myself.
If your book is between $2.99 and $9.99, you get a 70% royalty. So, for most people, the choice is pretty easy … sell at $2.99 or more, right?
However, if we did that, we’d be charging $18 for a full season of a 600 page eBook, not something we’d feel comfortable with, even if readers were willing to fork over that much.
The SMART thing for us to do would be to abandon serialized episodes and just release the books as 400-500 page standalone titles in a series and make 70%. That is what most series do, after all.
HOWEVER…
WE LOVE AND BELIEVE IN SERIALIZATION
We started serialization because we LOVE the format and very few people are doing it. In fact, most people we saw talking about serialization said there’s no way to make it work.
Well, thanks to you, we proved those people wrong. As of this season, we are making a living from our fiction!
But there’s no way we could do that at .99 a title, unless we sold a lot more books.
You see, while we’re willing to take a hit for six weeks, selling the episodes at a loss (compared to just selling them as full-length books), we can’t LEAVE the books at .99 and make a living at this.
And quite frankly, we LOVE this job and being able to release a new book for you every week!
So, we found a compromise, something we call season pricing.
Each time we start a new season for a series, the CURRENT SEASON’S books will be priced at .99 during that season’s run of six weeks.
One week AFTER the final episode of the season, we release a FULL SEASON compilation, (currently priced at $4.99). So you can get ALL SIX episodes in one convenient download.
We take in less money for six weeks so you can experience the seasons as you want to — by the episode or all at once. But, AFTER EACH SEASON, we raise the prices on the single episodes, essentially pushing people to buy the full season instead.
This is a win-win. You get an option of how you buy, and as long as our books are good, we continue to sell full seasons and make a living at this.
It’s not an ideal fix.
We’d love to simply charge .99 and get a 70% royalty. Then we wouldn’t have to raise prices, or worry about people who bought four books when we flipped the switch to $2.99, and who were then forced to buy the full season if they want to finish the story, or spend $5.98.
Which is why I’m writing this post, and will probably write about this in the future books, so there’s no confusion and everyone realizes that they have options.
In the end, this is all about you, the reader. We love that you choose to read our stuff, and that you’ve made serialization work! We aim to give you as many choices as possible, and hope that this pricing structure makes sense now that I’ve explained it. If we come up with something better, or if Amazon changes its royalty structure, we’ll certainly consider new pricing options.
Thank you for reading,
David Wright
P.S. For those who have been asking … Season Three of Yesterday’s Gone will be coming out on June 19th.
P.P.S. Our next series, Fornevermore, launches on Feb. 28.
I’m so excited about the season finale (get it here), that I made a video trailer. Check it out below. Or click here to watch it at YouTube. Below the video is our spoiler-free sneak peek at Episode 12.
Spoiler-free behind the scenes:
Episode 12 is titled “Revolution Calling,” a nod to one of my favorite bands growing up, Queensryche. The song comes from the album, Operation Mindcrime, which is one of the best concept albums ever made, with a great story that I’d love to turn into a book if I ever had a chance. On a side note: The highlight of my newspaper career was interviewing singer Geoff Tate. We talked for a little over an hour and he was very down to earth and cool to talk to. I’m pretty sure my questions were more fan-boy that 99.9 % of other interviews he’d done.
Anyway, back to the book …
If Episode 11 was our slowest episode of the season, Episode 12 is easily our fasted-paced, most off the rails action-packed yet.
And then there’s the ending. We pride ourselves on going all out for great cliffhanger endings. Wait until you see this one.
One word: INSANE.
Check out Yesterday’s Gone: Episode 12 here.
Next week we’ll be putting out the full season, at which point, we’ll be raising the single episode prices to $2.99. So if you want to get the episodes for .99, you have until next Monday. After that, you’ll be able to purchase the full season two at $4.99.
We always offer the singles for .99 until the full season is out, so readers have two options of reading without having to spend $18 to read the season.
Check back here Friday, and I’ll tell you about our next project. I’ll also be talking TV, about the return of Walking Dead, and the BEST NEW TV SHOW that’s coming out in March.
(Note: I’ve avoided putting any spoilers in this post, so feel free to read without fear. If you post any spoilers in the comments, please give a warning so people can avoid reading the text. Remember, some people just found our series and aren’t up to speed yet.)
Welcome to the first in a series of posts behind the scenes of our books. I’m going to talk about cover choices, storyline, and some of the thoughts that go into the storytelling process.
Episode 11 of Yesterday’s Gone marks a significant shift in story as we ramp up to the thrilling Season Two finale next week!
The title of this episode is “The Loophole” and we wanted to write something as poignant as LOST’s episode, “The Constant.” The episode centers on Will, whose last name we finally learn is Bishop, a last name I always liked, and is also an homage to the brilliantly written (and cast) character of Walter Bishop on the TV show FRINGE. There’s also some other meaning behind the choice of name, but I’ll leave that to those who enjoy dissecting the story.
One of the things we began this season is to show flashbacks into of the characters’ pasts, in much the same way LOST did. Can you tell we REALLY loved LOST? (Don’t worry, our ending is NOTHING like Lost’s.)
In this episode we learn a bit about Will’s past, someone whose point of view we purposely have not written from yet. We’re using the past to tell character stories in a more rounded way and showing how themes have carried over from their old lives into this new post-apocalyptic world.
This is something I wish I’d thought to do in Season One, but this is our first major series, and we’re learning as we go.
I feel that in the second season, we’ve really hit our stride and are clicking in so many ways between Sean, myself, and our editor Matt Gartland (speaking of which, Matt just posted an interview with Sean and I which details some of our inspirations and processes.) Episodes 11 and 12 might be the best of the series, for very different reasons.
“The Loophole” is a thoughtful story where we surprise readers in a few ways, though I don’t want to spoil anything here. At the core of this episode is a very romantic story, which is why I love it so much.
Alternate Cover we didn't use for Yesterday's Gone: Episode 11
The title, “The Loophole,” describes Will’s attempt to change fate. In coming up with a cover, I decided to utilize a stock photo of a loophole (also known as arrow slits, used defensively to fire arrows while protecting the soldiers) in a castle wall, which happens to be in the shape of a cross. The cross plays into The Sanctuary, ruled by enigmatic leader, The Prophet, of course.
I almost used the alternate cover to the right, but Sean voted me down on this one. So if you like that one better, yell at him. While I like this cover aesthetically, we’ve done a hole or two already this season, and while I love a good theme, I didn’t want the covers too look too similar.
I hope you enjoyed this sneak peek behind the scenes of Yesterday’s Gone: Episode 11. I’ll update this post later today with a link to the title at Amazon once it goes on sale.
If you have any questions or comments, leave them below and I’ll answer them.
So, I’m on day five of my month-long no-sugar diet, and on Superbowl Sunday, no less. A day normally devoted to excess in which I’d indulge in pizza, chips, and maybe top it all off with ice cream.
How did I do?
Today’s SuperBowl Sunday was brought to you by Turkey Burgers and a banana.
I’ve done well all week, actually. I haven’t cheated yet. I thought for sure I’d be elbow deep in a bag of chips or cookies by now, but I’ve managed to resist so far.
One slight problem, though. I THOUGHT I’d been going sugar free. Yeah, I know, bananas turn to sugar in your body, but the idea here is to avoid sugar in processed foods. One of the things I’d been indulging in is peanut butter with my banana, or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (using all natural fruit spread which is sweetened with fruit juice, not sugar).
Just one problem, the all natural peanut butter I’ve been eating . . . it has sugar. I don’t know how I missed it before, but it’s in there. And that natural wheat bread? It has brown sugar.
THERE IS SUGAR IN EVERYTHING!
So, here I was thinking I had done so well this week, only to find out, I’d not been completely sugar free. I’ll have to hit the store tomorrow and see if there’s any sugar-free alternatives.
It’s amazing how many foods have sugar, or some variation of, hidden in the ingredient list.
So, that aside, I’ve been eating well. I haven’t tracked overall calories, and I’ve been hungry, and at times, irritable and moody, but I’m not starving myself. I’m probably eating somewhere between 1400 and 2000 calories a day, depending on the day. I want to lose weight, but I don’t want to starve myself, and risk slowing my metabolism down too much.
My wife has helped out by making a few good dishes including a turkey chili with beans, and turkey taco meat with beans and cheese. I was shocked to actually enjoy both a lot! Even the beans, which I’d always avoided in the past because they looked “gross.”
Another favorite this week has been oatmeal, the old fashioned, slow cook kind, with almond milk and some stevia.
My choice of foods was pretty limited this week, but sticking to a few dishes I liked has helped me to not cheat. This coming week, I’m gonna try a few new things and hope to find some new healthy favorites, and maybe a veggie I actually like.
No-sugar purists could pick this diet apart and probably find a few other things I shouldn’t eat. For instance, I just looked and found another hidden sugar, in the almond milk, no less. It has cane juice, which is essentially sugar in liquid form. It’s less processed, but it’s still calories. However, from what I’ve read, dairy milk more or less turns to sugar, also.
But I can’t let myself get caught up in the little things. First, I need to prove I can stick to a healthier eating diet. Then I can tinker and perfect, and maybe go vegetarian at some point (a distant goal).
My writing partner, Sean Platt, who challenged me to do this, is on a more severe diet, sticking to fruit smoothies and lots of veggies, so he’s got a tougher month than I do. However, the difference between this diet and the one I WAS ON, is a difference of night and day.
Not only am I eating better, less processed foods, but…
And though Sean told me not to weight myself until the month is over, I’m already down 7 pounds.
Might it be water weight? Maybe. But I’m not gonna worry about it. I’m just gonna keep on keepin on, one day at a time. I’ll update again later in the week. If you’re joining me on this challenge, feel free to leave a comment below with an update. Or if you have some ideas for healthy snack items or ways to make veggies less disgusting, please leave a comment.
My stomach is growling. My leg is shaking. I keep looking around for something I can’t find. I can’t think straight.
I feel like an addict going through withdrawals, eager for a fix.
Except the drug isn’t heroin, crack, or any number of pills. It’s Captain Crunch…
and cookies.
and ice cream.
and white bread.
and pizza.
and spaghetti.
and all the other sweetened, processed foods that make up my diet.
Well, at least that’s the plan.
I’ve only been awake a few hours, and I already feel like I’ve been stranded in the woods for weeks, with nothing but berries and animal dung for sustenance. I am NOT that rugged dude on the reality show who gets dropped in the middle of nowhere and thrives on nothing but his wiles and whatever he kills. I am the opposite of him.
Pretty pathetic, eh? I am a sad, fat man.
WHAT AM I DOING?
I wouldn’t even be doing this if I weren’t challenged by Sean Platt, my writing partner, a healthy bastard, who likes to torture himself do a “system reboot” every February where he gives up sugar and processed junk for the full month. He suggested I do the same, because hey, misery loves company.
And how did he pitch it?
“You’ll feel like hell for the first two weeks!”
Awesome! And?
“You’ll be cranky, your stomach will be growling, and you’ll wish you were dead.”
Sweet, and I can do this for FREE?!
“But… after that, you’ll feel better than you ever felt in your life! You’ll have all this energy, and you’ll be crazy productive.”
I was hoping Sean would forget that he challenged me to do this with him. Because let’s face it, my diet is that of an eight year old with a credit card and access to the grocery store to get WHATEVER HE WANTS WHENEVER HE WANTS IT!
Want pizza for breakfast? Go ahead.
Cookies for lunch? Why not?
A pre-dinner dinner of chicken nuggets? Hell yeah!
Two bowls of ice cream for a late night snack? Who’s gonna stop you?
I’m used to eating good (the stuff most people call junk) food whenever I want without a whole lot of thought of what it’s doing.
But hovering (no blimp pun intended) around 350 pounds, this can’t go on forever. I’m 6’4” so thankfully, I look more like an out-of-shape former linebacker than a guy who simply hates veggies. Not that I’m sure out-of-shape linebacker looks all that more impressive, or any different from, an out-of-shape couch potato.
But the reality is, I NEED to get in shape. I’ve needed to for many years. I have a 4 year old and a wife who I want to be around for.
So, thankfully, Sean’s wife, Cindy, called me out, challenged me too, and even sent me a list of foods and a sample diet based on foods they knew I liked.
And today, the hell diet “system reboot” begins.
Here’s what I’m eating today.
Breakfast – banana, one spoon of natural peanut butter, whole wheat toast, at least 4g proteinLunch: Sliced Turkey deli style as much as you want and one piece of wheat bread and tomato soup. NO CRACKERS no WHITE FOOD : )Dinner: Turkey Tacos (without the actual shell that makes it a taco!!). Ground Turkey, Taco seasoning, shredded cheese, black beans, corn. Applesauce with Cinnamon or sliced apples with cinnamon and lemon juice. Add Stevia and all natural sweetener to it if it helps.
I’ll likely be adding another banana for a snack before bed if my blood sugar is low, but that’s it. That’s what I’m eating today.
If that seems appealing to you, congratulations, you skinny bastard. To me, it looks as appealing as eating cardboard. In fact, I think cardboard might taste better, given my cat’s penchant for chewing on it.
I look at that menu and see only what it isn’t. All the good food.
It’s gonna be a looooong month…
If I can stick to it.
Do I sound defeated already? Like someone ready to throw in the towel after a few hours? Yeah. But I’m gonna push myself. Because as much as I am a slave to my cravings for sweets, I am also a logical person who sees this as something I should be able to master. After all, I control me. My cravings don’t control me. I decide what I put in my mouth, not my out-of-control Captain Crunch obsessed inner child.
Right?
I’ll just keep giving myself that little pep talk and hope I can believe it.
Oh shit, I just realized the Super Bowl is this Sunday. A Super Bowl without pizza, chips, dips, oh hell no!
I think I’m gonna go cry now.
To be continued…
Can YOU give up sugar and junk foods for a month? Have you? Share your story or nightmare below.
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David Wright is the co-author of the post-apocalyptic serial thriller series Yesterday’s Gone, now in its second season! Get Episode 1 for free at Amazon. Or get the full first season here. Follow him at Twitter at @thedavidwwright
