Firstly, to all the people who helped make the launch of Stardogs
Thank you so very much. I have been extremely nervous about this, and despite having put up OOP reverted books, such as A Mankind Witch (Heirs of Alexandria)
and novella/novellette/shorts such as Bolg, PI: Away with the fairies
up, I really wasn’t sure what sort of response a novel would get. Yes, I know, I’m a woos. But a grateful if inept one… so not today (I did it too late to make it today), but tomorrow, and the next day – 17 & 18th – the Witch’s Murder (a mere 22 pages) short is free. A review if you liked it would be lovely.
Over on Davefreer.com a reader asked why I wasn’t doing this through Baen. I replied, but part of that reply is really also in the comments on this post – well worth reading as a post – Hugh’s reply to a question – June 15, 2014 at 5:41 am – “And I’d be happy to publish with major houses again in the future if they offered reasonable terms. The problem they have is the time to market. I’m going to keep self-publishing and allow them to make offers afterward. The reader comes first. Not many publishers are willing to be second. They want to control the release cycle, slow it down, send out ARCs, prep catalogs, pump up the sales force, and all the things that slow them down and don’t work 90% of the time.”
The truth is that time is one of the biggest factors in my choosing to go alone. Time and of course, money. I have written a book – very popular — RATS, BATS & VATS
in a month. Okay I didn’t do a lot of sleeping, and editing and proofing took extra. But three months is a good long time for a book I am inspired to write. I work hard, I put in long hours. I shouldn’t be wasting time on covers, conversions, blurbs… (I think I shouldn’t. You may beg me to waste a lot more time) let alone trying to do publicity. BUT… I will get faster at all of those, and yes, nothing inspires like a bit of extra cash… that you can see paid into your Amazon account, and will get, dead on time, no problems, in two months. I’ve just got royalty statements that go back to sales… 18 months ago. And they’re as opaque as mud.
So basically, the answer is simple. I’d be happy to go trad publishing… except for preferring 70% of the price of the e-book, to 17-20%, and being able thus to keep the book prices down, and being able to work to my time-frame – and my time-frame is means you get a lot more books, and hopefully I get a lot more of your money… an equation that works for me 😉
except of course at the moment I am being distracted by Peter Grant’s War To The Knife (Laredo War Trilogy Book 1)
So excuse me, I just have a little reading to do.
By the way, on the 18th… as you tuck into THE WITCH’S MURDER, Barb’s and I will be saying this
“From this time forward, under God,
I pledge my loyalty to Australia and its people,
whose democratic beliefs I share,
whose rights and liberties I respect, and
whose laws I will uphold and obey.”
And become proud Australian Citizens
Mad Genius Club 
27 responses to “All I’m taking is your time (and money)”
[…] close with this, from Dave Freer, on why he chose to bring out Stardogs independently rather than with his long-time publisher Baen […]
On the “why use a trad publisher?” question, this link seems relevant: http://jakonrath.blogspot.jp/2014/06/the-hachette-job.html
Oh, I DO like the hip waders comment. And the ‘
Publishers need size and muscle in order to keep control over relations with authors,’ is an accurate assessment of how they see authors. Thank you, but no thanks. If you need to be in a vastly dominant position (and they are FAR more than the difference in size with Hachette and Amazon) – it’s not about anything but overt abuse.
Congratulations on becoming fair dinkum Aussies at last! It’s been a long road for you, I know, and filled with more than your fair share of rocks. I’m glad you made it!
Grin. I think the rocks come looking for me. Must be my ancestry (A joke Peter would understand, seeing as my great uncle was Koos de la Rey).
My congratulations on finding a place you can call ‘home.’
Thank you. It means a great deal to me.
Good on ya, mate ! (Hope I’m getting my Strine right, it’s been 16 years since I’ve been Down Under.
And quite enjoyed Stardogs: can we expect more in that universe ???
Onya – 🙂 seems to have become one word. Yes, to more books but not immediately.
WDW – Write Dave Write!
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!
Thank you. 🙂 I am delighted to be doing this.
Congratulations! It’s been fun following your blog, and watching you settle into a place that seems like it is a perfect fit.
You’re right, Pam. It’s a pretty close fit. I sometimes feel I’ve come home to a place I’d never been…
That’s wonderful news, Dave! Both about the book and about your new citizenship. 😀
Thank you! Yes, it’s been very good month so far 🙂
Congratulations on your citizenship!
Thank you! of course I wouldn’t have told anyone if it were like a wedding ceremony. But there is no ‘due cause and impediment’ question :-).
I loved the free sample of Stardogs, and it is high on the list to get once my financial aid gets in. Looking forward to reading the rest of it.
Congratulations!
It’s been great to watch friends succeed – may every launch grow from here!
Question, Dave: I see that both Amazon and Smashwords have Stardogs listed — which of the two would be the best place to purchase a copy in terms of helping out the author?
Amazon has the better time-to-author, although direct from Smashwords itself does pay slightly higher. I would, to be honest, prefer Amazon, as that has an effect on my ranking there too 🙂
Congrats Dave,
we did that about two years ago. It was the first time in over 40 years I actually sang out loud in public (and probably the last, I have some compassion after all). We’ve never regretted it.
Oh, I’ve finished STARDOGS & eagerly await next episode nest week.
DaveC
nest week should be NEXT week.
DaveC
I think nest week happens in the Chinese year of the Phoenix? 🙂
We had enough free cash to get one copy– I sent it to my mom. I hope you appreciate the daughterly sacrifice. 😀
More seriously, congratulations!
🙂 I hope your mother appreciates the daughterly sacrifice as much as i do. And I hope she lets you read it. And thank you.