Tuesday, May 21, 2013

A $1000 Publishing Milestone for Iron Magic

My new Fantasy novel, Iron Magic, passed a milestone this week. I posted it on April fifth, and it went public on the next day. Since then it has earned me $1000. That mark was passed the day before yesterday. To say the least, I was pretty thrilled.
When I started this, I had pretty low expectations. Not very many new authors, with an untested book, make much money at all. That it has succeeded this well is far beyond my expectations. Sure, I think it is a great story, or I wouldn't have put it up in public with my own name attached. But there are piles and piles of books, many just as good as mine, that never sell beyond a few copies to family and friends. To everyone who bought it, THANKS!
I am hard at work on my next novel, part one of The Tale Of Jon Handshaker. The first few chapters are available on line, in a crude, unedited form, here.

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Iron Magic




It has been a wild month. On April 5th I took my manuscript and loaded it onto Amazon KDP, and it is on sale for the world to buy. Iron Magic, on sale for $3.99.
This is a fun experiment, and so far has gone great. Most indie writers struggle to sell a book or two a week, or a month. Due, I think, to a great cover, and a great first chapter, the book sold three copies the first day, and quickly rose in the rankings.
It was featured the entire first month on Amazon's 'Hot New Books' in the Fantasy and Magic category. It is still ranked in the top one hundred in its category. So far it has sold well over 300 copies, making it equivalent to a nice part-time job as far as the income it generates.
Here is the advertising blurb on Amazon:

     The wind blows from the sea to the mountains, bringing snow and rain in season, creating a paradise so enchanting that the first inhabitants named it 'Eden'. This year Eden was invaded and sacked. The books were burned, and fanatics hunted and killed the few who still studied the old knowledge of magic.
      Maac-Kail, a young sorcerer, flees to the ancient city of Selzburg in search of allies strong enough to aid his people.
      In Selzburg, a new power is rising. A local craft guild has uncovered an ancient book revealing the secrets of dark magic, long lost and nearly forgotten. Maac-Kail hopes to ally with these new sorcerers, though he distrusts the source of their power.
      His plans go awry immediately, when a princess is abducted and circumstantial evidence points to him as the perpetrator. He reveals his magical power during his escape, shocking the sorcerers of Selzburg with his abilities.
      Now a wanted man, Maac-Kail still hopes to turn the sorcerers from enemies into allies against their common enemy. With the help of an abusive girlfriend, a small-time con-man, a street boy and a possibly possessed horse, he has to save the princess to clear his name, and win the sorcerers as allies against their common enemy.

So, how does that read? Not too badly, I don't think. 
The cover art was created by Justin Nichol. If you are an author looking for good cover art, contact me and I can get you in touch with him.