Monkey See, Monkey Murder, Uncategorized

*Update*

jamesscottbyrnside

I’m pushing my publication date up one or two weeks. It’s not a terrible emergency or anything of that nature, I just find myself slightly off my intended course. The book will come out in August, guaranteed. My best guess now is the 14th, but it may be the 21st. It depends on how much time I can squirrel away. As I’ve noted before, I do everything by myself. Things usually don’t go smoothly when that’s the case.

I picked the 6th as the publication date because I thought I could guilt people who wouldn’t ordinarily buy my books into buying this one as a gift for my birthday. Now, I’ll have to think of other ways to force them to hand over their hard-earned cash. Maybe I’ll kidnap their children. Watch this space…

I’ve never been unenthusiastic about my books, but I’m especially excited about this one. It has more clues than any other book I’ve written which means more readers will solve the problems. Will that mean fewer of them will enjoy it? Only time will tell. I’m interested to find out. It’s very much a problem/investigation/solution story.

As for the sales of old books, the most interesting development has been a burst (relatively) of sales for Goodnight Irene. I’m not sure why, but it has overtaken The Strange Case of the Barrington Hills Vampire and returned to its place as my top moneymaker. It’s great that I published it five years ago and it’s still being discovered by new readers. For an independently-published author, that is an encouraging sign.

Also, if you’ve enjoyed any of my books but refrained from leaving a review on Goodreads or Amazon, please consider doing so. It may seem useless, but every good notice helps. I believe you can now leave ratings on Amazon without a purchase or review, so if you are shy about that sort of thing or purchased from Barnes and Noble, you can click the stars and peace out without much bother.

Other than that, I don’t have much to say. I’m looking forward to publishing this thing. It’s been far too long for me. It isn’t good for a writer’s psyche. If you’re planning on buying the book, please don’t die before I publish it. That would bum me out. Take good care of yourself, wear your seatbelt, etc.

Peace out,

James

Unknown's avatar

Published by jamesscottbyrnside

I'm a murder mystery/impossible crime fanatic and author. I like locked rooms, footprints in the snow, missing murder weapons, and unreliable suspects.

10 thoughts on “*Update*”

  1. No worries — I will buy your newest book on Kindle whenever it is published. (And happy early birthday to you!) I keep looking for you to be included as an author on fantasticfiction.com as I tend to “follow” authors on that site more than using Goodreads. (Why aren’t you on that site?) But glad you have a website so I can follow you here otherwise I might “forget” about your upcoming books. Looking forward to this one!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  3. Can I ask you how many hours you write each day? (And what is your day job if you have a different one?)

    Oh, and question, I was thinking of hiring a digital artist for diagrams in something I was writing, and I enjoyed the diagrams and pictures I’ve seen in Vampire/Opening Night. Can I ask how much it costs to hire an artist for those sorts of pictures? I’m considering doing it myself too.

    I find it incredible how you’re able to churn these out with consistent quality, and I hope this one sells well I started Vampire today, will likely leave a review on GR when I’m done. Hopefully Monkey sells and does well for you too. Good luck finishing up!

    Like

    Reply

    1. It depends. Right now, I’m spending over 8 hours a day writing, but early in the process, I might spend an hour daydreaming and an hour getting 200 words on a blank screen. I teach ESL privately, so I have some leeway. If I had a 9-5, I’d probably be stricter with my writing schedule.

      As for hiring an artist, my preference has always been to hire people I know. My artist friends exist in a world where most people who love their work want it for free. It’s the old “Give me your painting and I’ll put it in my restaurant. You’ll get loads of new customers.” That’s nonsense. If they do work, they want to get paid. They’re usually receptive to cash offers even if it’s not much. I paid $100 for the drawings/diagrams in Vampire and I think I paid $50 for the playbill in Opening Night. My cover designer has also created images for me. When I use him for that purpose, I usually just add $100 to the cover price.

      If you’re hiring a professional, I’d assume it will be more though I’m not the best person to ask. Something like Fiver will be on the lower end of the price spectrum, but if you hire someone off Reedsy, be prepared to overpay. There are also lots of Facebook groups where you could snoop around and find a designer. I like working with friends because communication lines are kept open and there’s a better chance of getting what you really want. If you have friends with any talent in that area (and you’re self-publishing) I’d highly recommend doing that. That way, you can negotiate a price within your budget and you aren’t limited to 2 passes or whatever rule the designer has in place.

      Thank you for the kind words. They’re appreciated.

      Like

      Reply

      1. Thank you, that is very helpful. Another question, how many beta readers do you use? And do you use editors (a line editor/copy editor/etc)?

        I’m through beginning of Barrington Vampire, and I just reached the body near the car. No theory yet, but I’m curious to see the clues.

        Like

    2. I worked with Chris Rhatigan on editing Opening Night — https://chrisrhatiganediting.com/ — and had a very positive experience. As for beta readers, I tend to only use close friends, but I’m trying to break out of that habit. Recently, I wrote a short story and sent it to anyone who would read it. Find people who like your genre. They’ll know what to look for.

      Like

      Reply

      1. Thank you for the thorough response as always. I just checked Rhatigan’s website, and the prices are a bit much for me, so I’ll need to make due with my own abilities for now. I appreciate the link though.

        I would be down to read a short story/beta of yours if you’d like. (I could PM my email if that’s desired.)

        Side thing, but if you use Discord, I’m in the Honkaku discord and think you may like it if you wanted to join too: https://discord.gg/z3HMSmf8qd (it’s run by the translator of Locked Room International’s JPN pieces, and there’s other writers like Tom Mead, DWaM, and other mystery fans/lots of GAD-bloggers.)

        Like

Leave a comment