Kickstarter Watch: Locking down the audiobook!

…Sort of. What I have is an agreement with Sally (she’s the same person who did FROZEN DREAMS) that, should we hit a particular stretch goal, she can work on the project this spring and summer. The truth of the matter is, I glided for a long time on the FROZEN DREAMS Kickstarter, but the money is spent*, and I am down again to what I get from the Patreon and PayPal and KDP royalties and the rest every month. Liquidity is the great bane of the self-published, and it takes time to fill the money pools. But if we do well, things can be accomplished!

Particularly if I crack ten grand on the upcoming Kickstarter. I make that, then suddenly a second novel this year is no longer a pipe dream.

Moe Lane

*I didn’t waste it: it paid for chapbooks and MORGAN BAROD and art and other legitimate expenses. But it’s gonna be a while before raw sales lets me put out a novel every year.

#commissionearned

Don’t forget: FROZEN DREAMS is also an audiobook!

And, gonna be honest: audiobooks are not a trivial thing to produce. The FROZEN DREAMS audiobook was easily the hardest part of the Kickstarter to fulfill. I dunno if I can make one for TINSEL RAIN (working title for the sequel) absent a really, really good result in the next Kickstarter…

This is all a lot easier when you have an actual publisher, alas.

Circling back to the FROZEN DREAMS audiobook!

It’s been a while since I brought it up, but: FROZEN DREAMS has an audiobook! I bring it up at least partially because pretty soon I will have to make the decision about whether or not to arrange for audiobook versions of either MORGAN BAROD or TINSEL RAIN. I’m not going to lie: getting these done requires a significant outlay of time (and a moderate one of money). If there isn’t an interest, that’s fine, but I should figure that out early.

If there is an interest, and you’d gotten your copy via the Kickstarter, you can still review it here or here. Or tell your friends to get their own copy! That’ll help, too.

I’m giving away five Audible codes for FROZEN DREAMS!

[UPDATE: 4 left]

First come, first served. These are real Audible.com codes for FROZEN DREAMS, not the audio files; respond here or on Twitter* USA/UK only, alas: I have a bunch of codes for those two markets, but not the others. No hidden pitfalls or anything like that; just a free audiobook!

Moe Lane

*This is completely independent from the Kickstarter, but if you were to happen to back that project and then respond there I’ll consider those too from the point of view of timestamps.

The Audiobook is doing well. I think.

I think my sales were perhaps a touch depressed by the minor detail that the people who wanted a FROZEN DREAMS audiobook got one via the Kickstarter. But that’s all right: they also paid for the audiobook, which was the important thing there. I don’t know if I’m going to offer an audiobook as a stretch goal for TINSEL RAIN, though*. Still trying to recalibrate expectations.

Moe Lane

*Assuming I do a Kickstarter. The ultimate goal is to not need to.

Not thrilled about the Audible delay for FROZEN DREAMS, either.

From what I can tell, apparently everybody in the world decided to record an audiobook this year, and they don’t have the staff to process everybody’s entry in less than 30 business days. Technically, it’s only been 17 business days for me, but I have to start assuming that the FROZEN DREAMS audiobook will not be ready on September 1st. There’s no deadline, strictly speaking, but I’d like it off my to-do list*.

Alas. At least it’s paid for. And you can still get the regular book, of course.

Moe Lane

*I’d also like whatever royalties accrue from it, too. Purchases this month will directly impact the November Kickstarter for the short story collection.

FROZEN DREAMS audiobook away! …to backers, at least.

If you backed FROZEN DREAMS at the ADVENTURER level or above, you should be getting your email link to the Dropbox link to the audiobook files right about now. It’s a big one — which was a shock to me, and it shouldn’t have been. I mean, it’s a collection of hours’ worth of audio files. Those are going to be big, period.

Next up: sonnets and adventure for the game. And all other the stuff I gotta do. One project is to get the new manuscript ready for alpha reader by September 1st.