I haven’t done a status update in a while. I have no idea if any of you actually care about this, but I’m just going to float here in my ego bubble and pretend you do. If you’d do me the kindness of golf-clapping or some shit so I know you’re out there? Sweet. Thanks, all. You’re good people.
Anyway, without further ado, here’s what’s up in The Life Of Wendig.
Irregular Creatures
Flying cats. Demon vaginas. Family problems. Mermaid love.
Been out for three months now, and my short story collection continues to sell, though no longer as consistently. It’ll go a couple days with no sales, then suddenly earn a weird sharp spike. That’s okay, though. Any sales are good sales, and it still evens out pretty much.
I am now fortunate enough to have 27 reviews, all four- and five-star. If you want to add a review (presuming you read the book), I would be mighty appreciative of that action.
I’ve now sold just shy of 600 copies, which means I’ve earned about $1000 off the collection. Though I earn about two bucks a copy, remember that I had two periods where I dropped the price to a buck, which cut that two bucks down to about thirty cents. Worth noting: my last $0.99 sale lasted a week and saw a much less significant jump in sales than the first time I did it. I’ve seen other authors report similarly: that initial drop in price brings a flush of activity that offers diminishing returns. I’m doing better at $2.99 than at $0.99, ultimately. I have to sell six copies at $0.99 for every one copy at $2.99 to earn out the same. To make the money I’ve already made, I would need to have sold 3000 – 3500 copies rather than 600.
Also continuing to hold up: the PDF/ePub sales directly through this website. Those sales account for about 22% of my total sales. Not insignificant. If you’re a self-pubbed writer and are not offering a product directly to the reader, I’d politely suggest you get on that shit like flies on roadkill. Not only does it allow them to bypass channels they may not like or utilize, but it also puts you in more direct contact with the readership. That, to me, is a clear win.
So, here’s the deal.
I’ve sold ~600, and I want to sell another 400. That’s my goal at this point. Will you help me do that? I’ll keep a periodic tally here to see how far we have to go — but I’d love to nail that number.
Anybody wants an interview, I’ll grant it. Want a review copy, I can do that, too. Want to pimp the collection, you’ve got my gratitude.
Let me know what will get you to either buy the collection or spread the love.
You can buy right through the website here.
You can check out my many-headed sales pitch.
At this point, I can only reach the goal if you folks love it enough to convince others to jump in and nab a copy for themselves. My thanks, glorious readers. You’re the wind beneath my wings.
Double Dead
Double Dead is double done. Er, for now. I wrote it, I gave it a quick editing pass, and now it’s out of my hands. But really, that’s not the important piece of information. What I want to share is:
PRE-ORDER BUTTON, MOTHERFUCKERS.
That’s right. You can pre-order at Amazon with but a clicky-clicky of your mouse. Like vampires? Like zombies? Want to know what happens when a vampire awakens in a zombie apocalypse? Two great tastes that taste great together, friends. If you dig the idea, feel free to pre-order.
[EDIT: You can pre-order at Amazon UK, too.]
Why pre-order, you might be asking? Pre-ordering is good for the publisher and great for the writer. The publisher gets an idea of preliminary demand and can produce accordingly. The writer also gets a boost — your pre-orders send a signal to the publisher that, hey, this writer is worth holding on to. So, we author-types appreciate your commitment.
Everything Else
Blackbirds is… well, I’ll just say, hey, keep your fingers crossed for me, will you?
HiM is out the door. We reached a draft of the script that feels like we nailed it, and so it is once more out in the world, ideally impressing folks. I think the script is rock-hard, so here’s hoping.
Have another film property bubbling up. Very excited about it.
The TV pilot is… well, it’s still out there.
Just finished up two small pieces for White Wolf.
Will also have two pieces coming up in The Escapist.
Am prepping my next e-book release, a book of writing advice: Confessions of a Freelance Penmonkey. Got the cover slowly coming together thanks to Amy Houser (she of Irregular Creatures‘ cover). I’ve put the book together, and it tops out over 100,000 words. It features revised iterations of writing advice found here, as well as a kind of “director’s commentary” on each piece. Look for that in the next month or so?
I turn 35 very, very soon. Like, in a handful of days.
My son turns zero also soon — in a handful of weeks. If you didn’t see, we finished the nursery. If you want to know about that tree and owl on the wall, it’s this decal right here, from Etsy. Also: got a new camera, the T3i. Reason being, I wanted something that takes video, something better than a Flip. This will allow me to snap baby photos and flip a switch and move right into baby videos without grabbing new gear.
For those seeking updates on the old dog, he’s… well, not every day is a winner, but by and large he seems happy and still has a handful of good days in him, I think. I hope. You know, except the ones where he has diarrhea in the mornings? Yeah, that’s fun. Can I just say, my new best friend in the world is the Bissel SpotBot? That little robot fucker is a dream. If this is the future of robots, I’m in. Even if a SpotBot comes back in time to “clean” Sarah Connor. COME WITH ME IF YOU WANT CLEAN CARPETS.
And I think that’s all she wrote.
How About You?
How are you doing?
I like to hear what other writers are up to, so, hey, drop a comment.
Give us a status update. Whatchoo got going on?
Anything I or anybody else can help with?
Marlan says:
Well, since you asked.
Still amassing an awesome pile of rejection letters for my first novel, which tells me a couple of things: A) It’s my first novel so it is probably not great and B) I probably need to just put it away for a few years and come back to it later. Either way, I am still enjoying the universe I made and continue writing short stories to add to it.
Between the two rough drafts I was torn between editing, I decided to go with the most recent one since I have the most momentum behind that right now. New universe, new weird ideas and a lot of research in microbiology and virology… oh and parasitic fungus. Yay!
That’s about it for now. I still love the flash fiction challenges as a creative diversion. Got the Mad Cow Special into 365tomorrows.com which is rad. But you already knew that.
Definitely not quitting my day job anytime soon.
April 19, 2011 — 1:24 AM
Amanda says:
Editing, editing, editing, in the hopes of making my self-imposed Sept deadline.
Sounds like you have a lot on your plate though. I wish you the best with the upcoming baby and with Blackbirds.
April 19, 2011 — 1:26 AM
Sparky says:
In regards to Irregular Creatures: I have friends who usually take my reading recommendations. Now I just need to bash them over the head with this one, or buy it for them.
In regards to doing: On the plus side shit keeps happening in life. Strange people and stranger conversations. Good for getting ideas. On the down side: School and work take most of my energy so I write less than I should and I’m not really sure what to be writing right now. I have a handful of ideas but can’t seem to settle.
Amassing critiques of the first novel. They are less than kind but seem honest. It stings but that is the STING OF KNOWLEDGE! I will wear my reviews and critiques with pride as I revise, I will use this to learn more and all the lashes of another’s tongue are so much growth for me.
April 19, 2011 — 5:04 AM
Andrew Jack says:
Congratulations on everything, I hope someone gives you several million dollars (if this does happen, please remember me).
Writing novel three (first two I have decided were “learning exercises”, they live in the bottom of my desk.
Prepping short story collection for digital release. Training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and repairing my house…
Oh, and making my way through film school.
That seems like a lot now that I’ve typed it all out. I don’t sleep much.
April 19, 2011 — 6:41 AM
Maggie Carroll says:
Slowly but surely nearing completion of my short story (which is already 12,000 words, with a scene and a half left to write). I’ll give it a pass, send it through my online workshop, give it another pass and pack it off to Writers of the Future.
The novel is inching along, with me adding 200 words a day for the last week or so. (That’s still progress, right? Right?!) I’m hoping to have it done by summer. Though, with a possible move coming up soon, I’m not sure what this’ll mean to the timetable.
Debating doing up a short story collection, since I have a bunch of them kicking around on my hard drive in various states of completion, and a few more still in my head that haven’t seen the light of day yet, but I’m trying to keep my eye on the goal. Another 3k words on the short story, then another 90k words on the novel.
Also, herding children. It’s getting nicer out, and all the snow’s gone, so they’re expecting more out of me.
April 19, 2011 — 7:44 AM
Amber J. Gardner says:
Creating my own website and blog. Planning on jumping into freelancing. Still working on the fiction. The plan is to be able to quit my part time job at a fast food restaurant and work solely from my computer by November 2011. Let’s see how that goes.
Also new college term starts tomorrow and I’ve been tempted to get into drawing again.
Congrats on everything 😀
April 19, 2011 — 7:45 AM
Maggie Carroll says:
Also, there’s the role-playing game and system, but that’s waaaaaay back-burnered while Rick beards his way through his novel, and I slog through mine.
April 19, 2011 — 7:47 AM
Patrick Regan says:
Finishing up my final semester of grad school. Which in my case, means finishing up the first draft (and hopefully with enough time for a quick coherency draft) of a feature, a rewrite of a previous feature, and a writer’s draft of a pilot script. Complete with bibles and treatments and all that.
Plus all the grading I do as a GA.
I’m trying to look beyond the whole “AHHHH DEADLINES” thing, though. Because aside from the LA program in the Fall, this is it for my formal schooling. It’s time to take all this knowledge and find ways to leverage it into paychecks to feed my household. Hell, I’m trying to remember that life goes on. To keep eating. To keep working out. To look forward to, say, my birthday. My girlfriend’s birthday. My friend’s wedding. My brother’s graduation.
Life goes on, even after graduation.
April 19, 2011 — 7:56 AM
Ali says:
That is a lot going on. Very impressive. Seriously.
I’m totally game for the Confessions of a Penmonkey book. Also, thank you for the breakdown of your sales. Seeing stuff like that helps me learn.
That decal you bought? Love it. Etsy is a great place to shop. Lots of beautiful stuff — and it’s all quality. I love buying unique gifts there.
As for me…well, I’m currently re-writing the novel that I *thought* was done months ago. Instead, I’ve found myself tightening the story, correcting a plothole, and trying not to light the whole thing on fire in a fit of Oh My GOD, Editing Won’t End!
I’m also editing a collection of poetry that I’ve decided to put out, via amazon. I love poetry. I do. It’s my first write-y love. So, I have absolutely nothing to lose by doing that. Bypassing the complete terror that comes with the venture, I’m really excited.
There’s a short story that I’m trying to beat into submission. It’s *almost* perfect, and it’s been beta read. Now, it’s being beta read again, after changes. I have high hopes for that bugger.
April 19, 2011 — 8:01 AM
Jennifer Williams says:
Congratulations on all the cool stuff you’re producing, I am in awe. And a bit jealous. But in that good, I-guess-I-should-get-my-arse-in-gear, inspiring sort of way.
I’m trying to finish one novel, edit another and put together a wee e-book short story collection. All good fun, although editing still causes me to chew my arms off with rage every now and then.
April 19, 2011 — 8:12 AM
Anthony Laffan says:
Glad to see things shaping up, and good luck with Blackbirds, it sounds interesting.
As for me.
Wrapping up school in the next few weeks, like, forever…so yeah, big life change. Woohoo.
Finishing up the writing portion of the WiP RPG I’ve been doing for a while, and hoping to have more time for it once school is done and gone.
My “First Motherfucking Sale” is showing signs of life again, got it re-written and a friend is helping to edit it and catch all my dropped commas and subjects (damn Japanese learning…)
and have been outlining for a full on novel. I’ve written a few novel length works before – though nothing I’d be willing to submit to an agent, just learning material really – so hoping that with an outline I can knock this one out of the park.
then, beyond all the fear of graduation and job hunting, I’m just kind of looking forward to having time to breathe for the first time in a few years.
April 19, 2011 — 8:21 AM
Kate Haggard says:
Writing, writing, writing. Always writing and enjoying this new project greatly. Hope to finish it by June, then spend the summer in revision and editing (both this novel and the one that came before). Hopefully be query-ready and throw myself on the mercy of the industry this fall.
Otherwise, lots of job leads for Rorz. One interview coming, more hopefully to come. We’ve got our ear to the ground for better opportunities. My Dad’s good — his doctor as declared him a dumb-dumb. He’s got one more surgery next week to make sure all the cancer’s gone. Then it’s just keeping an eye on it for the next few years. But most people never see it come back. (Try telling my dad that, though. He’s acting like they’re gutting him. Big baby!)
Going to keep my fingers crossed for Blackbirds. You don’t say much about about it, but what you have said has me interested. Also, hell yes I’m pre-ordering Double Dead. You had me at zombies.
April 19, 2011 — 9:10 AM
Lora H. says:
Still working on that crazy balance between working my ‘real world’ post-college job and my ‘pursuing my crazy dream’ novel writing job. So far it’s gone relatively well – the new novel idea is slowly creeping into the stages where I can consistently write it. Of course I just agreed to work two almost 50 hour weeks in a row, possibly three, since money is tasty and I have to move a couple times in the next few months, so the poor book may get back-burnered briefly as I attempt to maintain my sanity. My goal is to write during lunch breaks and between rounds of Portal 2 until the work madness dies down and I’m back down to less than 30 hours a week slaving away at entering data.
Definitely excited to check out Double Dead *scurries over to Amazon to pre-order* it’s exactly my fictional cup of tea. 🙂 Writing a review for Irregular Creatures will claw its way up my to-do list one of these days, I promise.
April 19, 2011 — 9:59 AM
Paul E Holmes says:
Congrats on the imminent kidlet, and good-on-ya for all the writery irons in the fire. There’s nothing but good thoughts for you in both regards.
I went clicky-clicky by the way and grabbed a copy of Irregular Creatures. Now all I have to do is figure out how to download the thing. Sometimes my brain goes all cart-and-buggy and I get confused by the fancy flickerbox.
Over in my neck of the woods, I’ve been as busy as a one-armed fluffer. The Cipher RPG still gets a few sales now and again, but the days of golden spikes are over. (Peeps can head over tohttp://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=83337 if they are curious.)
I’m also pounding away at an urban fantasy novel (The Golgotha Stomp), a couple of bizarre short stories, and polishing up a piece of flash fiction that I hope will get me considered for an upcoming anthology. There’s also a quirky project I started and need to get back to concerning a superhero retirement home. It’s in blog & twitter formats. I’ll toss ya a link once I get it back on track.
Other than the stack of projects, I’ve been slogging the dayjob (it’s a graveyard shift, but “nightjob” doesn’t sound right), wrangling a pair of kidlets (4 & 8), and trying to keep our weekly gaming sessions interesting.
Oh. I also attended my first Passover Seder last night. If I’d have known it was all about lamb, horseradish, and wine I’d have looked into it a long time ago. Of course, as a Buddhist, I shouldn’t be partaking of two out of those three things, but what can I say? I’m a bad Buddhist. 🙂
April 19, 2011 — 10:11 AM
Rebecca J Fleming says:
Looks like I’ll have a lot to check out when I finally get spare time for reading again 😀
As for me, I’m still plodding through my dark fantasy novella (at around 25,000 words) while also plodding through my thesis on eBook interaction methods. All this while trying to avoid a mental breakdown at the amount of work I have to do XD
April 19, 2011 — 10:27 AM
terribleminds says:
Damn, this is all awesome, folks. Sorry I’m slow to respond over here, dealing with some kind of micro-ebola. AKA, “The Morning Purge.”
@Paul: Sent you the PDF. If you buy through the site, you’re lucky enough to, well, get a charming email from yours truly. HOW EXCITING THAT MUST BE. Y’know, except, not. Also: Golgotha Stomp is a great title.
@Lora: Portal 2 day is today, and I hunger to play.
@Kate: So, so, so glad to hear about your Dad. That’s good stuff, right there. Do a little celebrating. Glad he’s good.
@Anthony: Rock on with graduation. Good luck. Life begins after graduation. That goes to @Patrick, too.
Everybody else: thanks for coming by. Keep sharing. If you need beta readers or what-not, fish around here in the comments section. Someone might accommodate.
Now, to go sink my teeth into some sweet malaise.
— c.
April 19, 2011 — 10:35 AM
Amanda says:
I’ve been wondering about Irregular Creatures (and everything else), so thanks for the update. Seems like 35 will be a great year for you. Was for me, and now that I’m 36…well, it’s all down hill. So, yeah, enjoy your year.
Writing a lot here — for me (I see your tweeted word count goals, and shudder). Putting the polish on two books before releasing them into the query wild, and doing some more freelancing (which I neglected a bit while all of the polishing was going on).
Best wishes on your excitement, both human (baby) and zombie-like (writing).
April 19, 2011 — 10:33 AM
Paul E Holmes says:
@Chuck: Thanks amigo! Prepping to crack the PDF right now. The email was rather titillating, I must say. 🙂
April 19, 2011 — 10:40 AM
Darlene Underdahl says:
Okay, I’m picking up Irregular Creatures. The cat cover sold me. My rough/tough old farmer daddy liked cats above all other farm creatures, and I guess I do too.
Regarding book pricing, I just can’t sell my life for less than $4.99, and I’m pretty sure I had it worse than Ashley Judd (smile). It includes a couple of cat pictures!
Give the old dog a pat for me; we put ours down a few years ago (cancer). It was hard to do.
April 19, 2011 — 10:46 AM
Will Entrekin says:
I’ve got IC. Good stuff. Given that you got to 600 within a couple months, 1000 shouldn’t be too far off.
Sadly, while I pop by pretty regularly, I don’t know some of your acronyms/other projects. What’s HiM, for example? Sounds like you have some cool stuff on your plate.
Ah, mortality. I turn 33 in a few weeks myself.
I just published a non-fiction essay concerning medicine, Sherlock Holmes, and Arthur Conan Doyle. It’s doing surprisingly well for its specialized subject matter.
Really, though, I’m gearing up for The Prodigal Hour. My editrix has it right now. I’m hoping to put in her revisions by the end of the week and get review copies out there in enough time to launch it over Independence Weekend. It’s a big, epic, time-travel thriller and so far as I know the world’s first pre-/post-9/11 novel.
It’s gonna be awesome.
April 19, 2011 — 11:27 AM
Elizabeth Poole says:
Things are good. They could be better, but then they always could be worse.
Hubby’s job is up in the air as I type. He’s taking an evaluation that will determine the fate of his work career. Either he passes and he stays with an awesome job that he loves and makes good money, or he fails and has to go back to working all the time for way less money, at a job that sucks his soul away.
No pressure.
I am being as supportive as I can. It’s not the end of the world either way, and the news could be worse. We’re both healthy and happy, and that’s what matters.
But I would be lying if I said the writing wasn’t suffering. I am having a hard time concentrating and the WIP is going much more slowly. The words feel like work and my heart’s not in it….
OKAY****
As I typed this, he called me to tell me he passed. So yeah. I am stoked now!
I was going to say, Chuck, if you wanted to blog about how you write–and write well, not just making the word count go up–when you’re completely and utterly stressed out, I would love you forever in a non-creepy platonic way. Like, you think you’re going to throw up you’re so stressed out.
Congratulations on the news, and I will renew my pimping efforts for Irregular Creatures. Also, pre-order for Double Dead is double awesome.
April 19, 2011 — 12:02 PM
terribleminds says:
@Elizabeth:
I did talk about that, actually!
Writing Under Duress:
http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2010/04/26/push-like-youre-pooping-writing-in-times-of-duress/
— c.
April 19, 2011 — 12:13 PM
Vicki Pettersson says:
Just taking the opportunity to say how much I enjoy the passion and pragmatism with which you sling words. Congrats v. much on impending parenthood, too. Best creation ever – it’ll make you better, faster, stronger too.
Me, I’m closing down one series, and beginning a new trilogy, though right now I’m on spring break w/my own Unreliable Narrator. Coloring, baking, barbeques instead of deadlines. It’s lovely.
April 19, 2011 — 12:50 PM
TaraMonster says:
I’d love to see a post on writing action scenes that don’t SUCK.
Lat night the self deprecating mini TaraMonster who inhabits the “you ain’t shit” sector of my brain had me breaking matchsticks over my laptop before the kind, level headed mini TaraMonster beat her senseless with a bottle of tempranillo. I still hate what I wrote though. HELP ME, OH GREAT WENDIG.
April 19, 2011 — 1:47 PM
Stephen Blackmoore says:
Editing DEAD THINGS as I get more feedback. Waiting for edits on CITY OF THE LOST. Panicking. Figuring out what to do next. Panicking some more. Digging out from under boxes in new apartment.
Did I mention I was panicking?
All things considered I’m happy to have first world problems. Even if it involves panicking.
April 19, 2011 — 2:40 PM
Elle Rohan says:
Starting novel numero dos. Eating burritos. Doing Crossfit so I can eat more burritos.
And as always – the day job.
Honestly, pretty stoked about starting novel 2. 😀
April 19, 2011 — 3:12 PM
Jason L Blair says:
Before:
Some work for an upcoming tabletop project from MWP.
Six fiction vignettes for Dark Conspiracy 3e.
Now:
Currently finishing LFNE Book 2: Among the Missing.
After:
Happy Birthday, Little Fears (10th Anniversary of the original)
Then more work for that MWP project.
This Summer:
Fiction. Three months/three MG novels.
Turning 35 in August.
Feeling years behind my peers.
April 19, 2011 — 4:48 PM
Ryan Carter says:
So, due to your endless book-mongering (something I’m sure of which you are proud) and the overall discernable quality and originality of your blog posts (the recent ones at least), I have sprung the mere $2.99 for your book. I even felt a little guilty for liking the title, but I have purchased it anyway, with the devilish hope that somehow the strange creatures within will bite the writer in me in the neck, and infect my career with some awesomeness. If that doesn’t happen and all my hopes are dashed, I will settle for enjoying your book immensely. Why am I saying all this? I’m a writer, I wasn’t aware I needed a reason. Thanks.
April 19, 2011 — 5:38 PM
mandarific says:
Well since you *asked*…
busy, busy, busy, busy, busy. where did all of my free time go?
Currently working at a restaurant again, though I applied for the job kicking and screaming, the resulting paychecks are going straight into FUN THINGS. Thats right. Role playing books. Dice. A Boba Fett hoodie that I haven’t bought yet but ONE DAY SOON…
I have a couple of projects, myself, that have kind of gone stangant what with the working, but I intend on rolling things out the door soon enough. Who knew coding could be so relaxing after a long day of regular people work.
April 19, 2011 — 5:46 PM
Stoney says:
Chuck, I am TOTALLY going to have to get your collection and post a review on our “Redemption Corner” spot. Bookmarked this post for the linky loos, too.
Also? I totally swam in the pool today, we’re grilling onions and fajitas for dinner. Please tell me you have no more snow.
April 19, 2011 — 5:48 PM
Karina Cooper says:
/golfclap
😉 Love to hear about the status of everything! I’m’a link it far and wide. “Fear not, citizens, Herr Wendig is doing great.” And getting ready every day for the new Level One Alt, too, which is bloody amazing. I’m so excited for you both.
Sorry to hear about the old dog. 🙁
Over at Casa Karina, I’m revising a New Project(tm), that should be out to L’Agent soon. I’m just prepping for the launch stuff for Blood of the Wicked and also learning how to be a professional photographer. Side job, much fun. I’ll never regard myself as a “professional” anything, then. Unless maybe it’s “professional hooker”, but I think there’s laws against that. Plus, ew, I’m not THAT much of a people person.
Same day, new–Wait, no. New shit, same… Same words, old— You know what? I’ve taken up drinking.
April 19, 2011 — 5:58 PM
Peter A, Godchecker says:
Yodel! Seems a fairly bountiful bag of good news. Congrats.
Double Dead safely pre-ordered at Amazon UK. Do you think it was a good idea choosing the next day delivery option?
Itching and scratching to obtain myself a copy of Penmonkey. (Although after what happened to my last manuscript I hope there’s a strong manly chapter on REJECTION.)
The Godchecker book got released in the US last week. (Yeah, that’s right, just one book, singular. You guys couldn’t handle more than one.) I have a fond hope that due to some terrible cataloguing disaster we might end up sharing shelf space together in some dusty tumbleweed town…
April 19, 2011 — 6:07 PM
KDJames says:
By day, I’ve been busy wrestling numbers into submission until they make sense to others.
At night, I wrestle words into submission until they make sense to me.
You know, your standard save the world and make it safe for truth and justice stuff. It’s a tough and thankless job, but hey, someone has to do it. Might as well be someone who is damn good at it. [ahem] Or pretends to be.
Can you help with this? Why yes, yes you can. You can keep all your various tentacular parts inside the moving vehicle at all times. Thank you for asking.
Sorry to hear about the micro-ebola. This is what happens when you ask this sorry lot of suspicious-looking commenters over here for recipes. Just saying.
April 19, 2011 — 7:56 PM
Anthony Elmore says:
Today, I designed the cover for an upcoming, short ebook entitled “Farting in Church.” Farting is a collection of brushed up essays I performed on my now defunct podcast. I will debut this collection on May 25th, my birthday. Expect an invite to a special event , y’all.
Farting in Church is intended to ‘salt the jar’ with my name and to learn how to self publish and market myself. I’ve also written a full YA novel, Rapture Express, which I’m still deciding if I should ebook as well. I want to see how Farting fares and perhaps see if I can get some nibbles from traditional publishing.
Incidentally, I found this site when I Googled(TM) “design an ebook cover that doesn’t suck” and found your very helpful post. Among the gripes I’ve had about self-publishing, covers that look like they were designed in MS paint make me want to split my foot open with a blunt hatchet.
Back to the paying job. Thanks.
April 19, 2011 — 8:04 PM
Angela says:
If you’re going to ask…
Kind of trying not to go ape-shit crazy. And to the best of my knowledge, ‘ape-shit’ isn’t even a word. Trying to write something that will not molder away with the lettuce. Trying not to get killed with the snow. IT’S STILL SNOWING AS I TYPE! IN FUCKING APRIL! If anyone wants to kidnap a teen and take her somewhere warm and sunny, they are welcome to it. Will write for food. Will clean upon (forceful) command. Little to no attitude unless well and truly pissed. Please adopt me for the next two months.
Mother is irritating me to no end. As I read from my chair, she asks me what I am laughing at as I read this blog. When I tell her that I’m reading this blog (especially that article about crazy writers) and I use the words ‘we’ and ‘us’, she tells me that I’m not an author because I haven’t published/sent anything out. I’m still writing short stories. I’m 15. Apparently if I don’t publish anything by the time I’m able to vote or drink, my life is a waste of time. Gee thanks Mom!
School is actually looking up. Knock on wood RIGHT NOW. Science is no longer stealing my lunch and Math is no longer nicking my lunch money. Still despise my brother. Still tired of being the fourth wheel of a tricycle when hanging with my friends. Still whooping ass on saxophone. Same old, same old.
Happy birthday Chuck! *presents cyber-bourbon* Be proud; your blogs have gotten me writing another two short stories! Thank you muchly, Herr Wendig! And good luck with Wendig Miniature.
April 19, 2011 — 8:30 PM
Clay Morgan says:
You are one beast of a penmonkey. First things first. I just preordered Double Dead. Done. And anyone else who reads this comment better follow me or I’ll leave you behind to face the living dead on your own. You’ll never make it slackers because I’m faster and stronger than you and the last thing you want to hear from me as the infected tear you apart is “sorry sucker you should’ve bought Wendig’s book when you had the chance!”
Can’t wait to read it when it comes out.
Secondly, I bought Irregular Creatures a little while back but still haven’t been able to dig in because of my stupid day job. That’s about to end soon for the semester and I’ll be digging in on vacation. Can’t wait to read about crazy Mermaid love while roasting on Clearwater Beach.
Thirdly, you rock. The end.
April 19, 2011 — 9:31 PM
Nichole says:
I bought Irregular Creatures, looking forward to reading it!
P.S. – Love this blog!
April 20, 2011 — 1:57 AM
terribleminds says:
Sold 13 copies of IC yesterday, by the by. 🙂
So, made a nice dent in that 400 copies I’ve yet to sell. Thanks, all! Thanks for spreading the love.
— c.
April 20, 2011 — 6:45 AM
terribleminds says:
@Clay: That is just too nice. Thank you, sir.
@Angela: “Apeshit” is totally a word. You’re all good. 🙂
@Anthony: Good luck with the e-book! Great title.
— c.
April 20, 2011 — 6:46 AM
annaliterally says:
I bought my Irregular Creatures a while back. It is still sitting on my virtual bookshelf, waiting to be read. Sorry.
As for me, I packed up all my shit, and moved 3000 miles away to work with my writing partner on a screenplay. Signed contracts and all that blah-de-blah, and it’s all supposed to gel next week. But if it falls through, I’ll be couch surfing and working as a barista to pay my way back home. No stress there.
Between the jetlag and the stress, I put on about ten pounds. Headshots are Monday, so I’m eating rabbit food and trying to work any of it off before then. Joy.
Also have a rom-com looming over my head that I have to finish, and a potential meeting with producers on a completed rom-com. But I’ve been here before, and it fell through before, so who the hell knows.
Loved the owl decal, but squirrels? I thought you hated those buggers.
April 20, 2011 — 2:24 PM
terribleminds says:
@Anna:
Damn, good luck to you with alla that.
The squirrel thing — well, no, I’m not a fan. 🙂 But no reason to torment my son with that yet. He can think they’re cute and such.
— c.
April 20, 2011 — 3:48 PM
Michael says:
I don’t know if you have checked it out recently, but you have some odd 17 on GoodReads for Irregular Creatures. I originally had my review at GoodReads, but added it to Amazon as well.
Thanks for the lifelog.
April 22, 2011 — 12:57 AM