My Available Works

Today is the day I toot my own horn. Back in May Amazon decided to discount some indie works to free. Control Freak was one of those works. It took about a day for Control Freak to travel up the ranks and reach the top 10 in Free Erotica. Two and a half months later, it’s still there. Once in a while it’ll dip below 10, but continues to remain in the top 20. Of course now that I’ve mentioned it, it’ll probably fall off the list. haha We all know how that works.

I also offer a few piece of flash fiction at major distribution channels (B&N, Kobo, Smashwords, etc). I encourage folks to check them out. 🙂

Then we have my baby… Shadow Cat. It’s my only full length novel available at this time. I’ll get back to polishing the sequel next week. I have to admit, my full length isn’t doing as well as I’d hope despite having decent reviews. It tends to average about 4.0/5 stars. Shadow Cat tends to sell 1-3 copies a day. I’d love to double those sales, but time will come soon enough for that.

So why am I mentioning all this? Kickstarter.

I know. I can hear the groans. “God, Reena. Will you get off it already?”

My Profits

Yeah I know. First, I want to thank everyone who’s backed and spread the word thus far. You’re wonderful!

Here’s the thing. We’re down to the last few hours to back this project. I know there are folks out there who’ve enjoyed my work, free or paid. I also know most of the copies I’ve sold are during the $0.99 sales which are a steal. If we do the math, $0.99 at the 35% royalty rate TIMES (X) the 1-3 copies a day, we’re really not looking at much. We’re looking at $0.35-0.99 a day for months and months of invested time writing, polishing, publishing, and marking. Yikes! Once one work gets out, I start on the next.

Now I’m not asking for your pity. After all, I can stop at any time, right? 🙂 Perhaps writers should form a Writers Anon group. haha

I’m spilling info on my profit to put this project in prospective. I’m not getting rich writing stories for readers. In fact, if I look at my expense reports, I probably won’t break even until September. Imagine working 9 months for your employer (mine would be readers) for free, then only being paid $30 a month for the other 3 months of the year. That’s where I am right now.

Who You Know

Write a better story, you might say. For those who think it’s that easy, take a look at someone like J.K. Rowling. After meeting rejection after rejection for her work Harry Potter, her book landed in the hands of an 8-year-old whose parent happened to work for Bloomsbury. It takes more than writing a great book, sometimes it takes a lot of luck. Now I’m not saying my writing is Rowling, Hocking, or King. What I am saying is it’s not always about writing a better story.

Your Help

Back to money. $800 less the cost of rewards isn’t going to put me one up. What it will do is narrow a little of the monetary gap I see each time I sit down to put words to paper. I KNOW there are those out there right now reading this post who’ve enjoyed my work. I’m asking if you are one of those individuals, please back my Kickstarter project for I Loved You First. I’m not asking a lot.

Pledges start at $1. Have you read any of my works and thought you got a bargain? Well this would be an opportunity to say thanks in a monetary sort of way. One thing for sure, I’d certainly be grateful if you did.

I’m currently sitting at 51% with 12 hours to go. This is your opportunity to support an author in a big way. “I helped an author through her publication journey.” “I was a part in making her dreams happen.” And you did it with just a buck.

Kickstarter Protects You

This next bit I’ve taken directly from the Kickstarter Page:

All-or-nothing funding?

Is Publishing Worth It?

I’m publishing I Loved You First in August regardless of if I meet the funding goal. It’s ready. However, I’ve seriously been thinking if it’s worth going through the polishing, editing, formatting, cover art… you name it to publish a book. After all $30/month isn’t much. Just because I write a story doesn’t mean I have to release it to the world.

Right now I’m sitting on two finished drafts which need editing–sequels to Shadow Cat. I also have a half finished work I’m writing which includes Trinity, a gal you’ll see in the last portion of I Loved You First. I have a trilogy planned for Trinity. In my unfinished folder, I have Regina’s Story–the next short story for Control Freak. All her story needs is the erotic scene and it’s finished. For those who’ve enjoyed Circulatory System, I have a collection of flash fiction I’ve planned to go with it. 5-7 stories with the synopsis written. When I ran the stories past my daughter, she loved them. I know my daughter’s opinion doesn’t mean much to anyone but me, but it still encouraged.

Right now, I just don’t feel there’s enough interest in my work to make it worth going through the publishing process. Sure there appears to be plenty who’d like my work for free. After all, I’ve given away 20-30k copies of Control Freak since May. Individuals show up for the Shadow Cat giveaways and say wonderful things after reading the novel. The response I’ve received from those who’ve read I Loved You First has been wonderful. But I can’t help but wonder… will it be Shadow Cat all over again?

Show Me Some Luv

This post has grown beyond what I’d expected. Basically, I’m asking for help. If you have a dollar tucked away somewhere, please pledge. Show me I Loved You First is more than just a great free read. We’re down to the last 11 hours. As far as I’m concerned, I Loved You First is the make it or break it project. If the funding doesn’t happen for I Loved You First AND I receive the same response as I received for Shadow Cat — high praise but low sales — I don’t see myself investing the time and energy to prepare works for publication and definitely don’t see myself putting in the monetary investment.

Like I said. I can write without publishing. In fact, I can even write my books, forgo editing, and print out my single print copy through Createspace to put on my shelf. My proof I’m a writer even if I’m not making it as a published author.

If you’d like to support I Loved You First or even me as an author, please don’t delay your pledge. Time grows short.

Again thanks everyone who’s helped. And thanks to all those who’ve decided to pledge after reading this post.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/reenajacobs/i-loved-you-first