EDIT: So, I contradict most of this post one day later. I’ll leave it up rather than remove it, but be aware the plan has changed.
First, City of Angles is really playing well across social networks; you guys are helping spread the word, and readers who had been waiting for the finale are coming back to read it as well. I’m very pleased with the performance, and if you helped by posting links or talking it up with your friends… you deserve a pat on the back. Keep it up!
We’ll need one more big push when the retail version of vol//003 is released. Don’t miss out on it; it’ll include a bonus chapter which details the state of the City, decades later and beyond!
Meanwhile… let’s talk Floating Point, my next writing project. After all, November is upon us, and I have a new writing project loaded into the Fiction Factory ingot smelting apparatus, ready to be forged. Do I take the dare and actually join the National Novel Writing Month challenge…?
So, let’s detail how this one will work. I’m shifting up the formula a little, after all. I’ll start out aiming for a NaNoWriMo goal. I don’t know if I can realistically do it, since I have a day job and Desert Bus for Hope is launching that month as well, but I shall do my best.
If I fail to make my goal, that’s fine; it still means I’d have a considerable “buffer” of writing ready to go, for weekly updates. Those updates won’t start right away, though; I still need to get the Floating Point website up and running, after all.
Now, one thing I’m not sure about is… do I make this like anachronauts / City of Angles, where 90% of the content is free aside from bonus stories? Or do I write the thing in a traditional manner — without any public postings aside from a 1-3 chapter sample, and then sell it as one whole book?
I’m uncertain. I’d love your feedback. If I wait until it’s done to post anything, will readers drift away? If it’s retail only, will I make more sales at the cost of far less readers? If I go with the 90% free plan, will I lose out on traditional book promotional avenues? The way I normally do things is quite unusual compared to other authors. Is it time to try something different, or is my existing model already great? Which will net me more eyeballs on the work in the end?
What are your thoughts? Let me know!