I published my first short story on Amazon, Come, Follow Me, a Story of Pilate and Jesus, located at When two Roman soldiers are relieved of their watch on Sunday morning, they are as surprised as the oncoming watch to find they have been standing in front of an open and empty tomb, the rock rolled back… and unaware when that might have happened! Yet this is just one more crisis for Pontius Pilate, wracked by guilt over his dishonorable act, and puzzled by the political intrigues and mysterious forces that made his actions inevitable. But there is more to follow for him, much more! Please buy the paperback or download the Kindle, and give me a review. I would like to hear what you guys think. It is also available in the UK and Europe.
Very interesting. The title immediately grabbed my attention as I always wondered how Pilate truly felt about his decision. Is this considered fiction or is it non-fiction (bible based)? Either way, I am very interested in reading this eventually. Thank you for sharing. Shogun.
It is both, in that the only resource on the characters involved in the crucifixion are the Gospels (which slightly contradict each other: were the soldiers guarding the tomb Roman soldiers or Jewish auxiliaries or Temple police? Pick one). I also used Flavius Josephus, the only other reference who dealt with Pilate, and used part of his narrative from Histories of the Jewish People. And tradition deals with the soldiers present at the crucifixion. Having said that, the narrative is purely secular, dealing with his reasons for doing what he did, how the Sanhedrin was trying to box him in, and how he and others felt about it... until the last few pages. At 40 pages it is a quick read and cheap, so buy a copy, I need the sales... then tell a friend.
I'd be interested to read about how this works out for you going forward. Congrats on getting it out there.
It's actually expensive, especially for the length. There are thousands and thousands of full-length novels available for free, 49p, or 99p, so spending £2.46 on a quick read is quite hard to justify. I know I wouldn't pay more than 99p for a short story (unless a collection of them) and I think many Kindle readers feel the same. Just a suggestion!
Yeah I have to agree with @Tenderiser , that $3 for a short is too much. I epubbed my novel for that, and it is significantly longer at 123K+.
Although I'm personally not bothered by the price, I can see where @Cave Troll and @Tenderiser are coming from. I haven't bought it yet simply because I'm literally without a dime to my name at the current moment. Dammed recruiters still owe me money and refuse to pay me. My next $29 is going towards the paperwork to sue the bastards so I can actually have money to live as well as not only to buy your book(s) but to finally be able to afford to publish mine! I'm still interested in this book of course... Shogun.
This is a subject and period I'm interested in, but I'm in the same spot as @blueshogun96. I mean, my light bill's not even paid yet. Someday, maybe?
Sometimes you simply must do what needs to be done. @Lew I don't know exactly what your financial goal(s) might be as a writer, but I recommend not neglecting the marketing side in order to be successful. It's no fun, but it's gotta be done (Hey, that rhymes, haha). Shogun.
I would agree the price might have been a little high on this one, but I'd also recommend charging what you're worth. Don't sell yourself short. If your stuff is quality people will pay for it.
Marketing can be very fun if you know what you're doing. Very rewarding too, if you pull it off. When you become a publisher, self or otherwise, you're taking a product to market with the intention of selling. It makes perfect sense, then, to have a marketing plan, and it shouldn't be viewed as some painful chore. If you're not excited enough about your own product, why should other people be interested? You agree that skills are necessary for the crafting of a story? Well, skills are necessary for the marketing of a product. After all, a professional publishing house will have marketing savvy - in fact, that's a huge part of the value they offer writers. So, take off your author's hat and put on a marketer's wig and render unto Caesar what is Caesar's
I am setting up some local book signings, and sent a post about me and my work to the local newspaper. Will be looking for ways to generate buzz through the Md Writers' Assn, looking for ideas how to do that. Getting reviews on Amazon will be helpful as well. @Solar , you are right on. I am a military contractor as well, and retired Naval officer, so yeah, self promotion is critical to success, if you want to push your ideas. Oddly, I have enjoyed getting ideas better than pushing them, though I am, in the end, usually successful.
Just because marketting is necessary doesn't mean it's going to be fun... I mean, why shouldn't it be viewed as a painful chore, if the person doing the marketting doesn't enjoy it? And, yes, there are skills required to market well. An author may or may not possess these skills or have an interest in developing them. I'm not saying that some measure of marketting isn't necessary, but I certainly don't think we can expect all writers to enjoy marketting, just because some do...
But if you're a self-publisher you're a marketer. And if you're a marketer, why not let it be enjoyable, something adventurous? Otherwise, find some other way of earning a living, one that brings you some kind of satisfaction. Why choose the precarious route of a self-publisher? It's your project. Be excited!
@Solar, right on! It has been an exciting ride. CFM was followed by the Eagle and the Dragon, which has exploded in sales, especially in the last two months. That one has been fun, though CFM never took off. It was my canary in the coal mine for self-publishing, I didn't invest in a cover, it is very short at 47 pages. It continues to sell but at ten percent of E&D. YOu are very correct, if you are self-published, you have to market, so you might as well enjoy it, because the alternative is that no one outside your immediate circle will ever read your book! Karen thinks this could be a good anthology of Gospel backstories... this is backstory on Pilate, there could be one on Judas, and other interesting characters that sometimes come across as two-dimensional.
I appreciate that you guys do enjoy marketing, but your arguments make no sense to me. If you have to have surgery, you might as well enjoy it! If you have to work at a soul-destroying and dangerous job, you might as well enjoy it! If you have to go to jail for fifteen to twenty, you might as well enjoy it! That's really not the way "enjoyment" works, for me. It's not something I just decide on and then it happens. Is there nothing in your lives that you don't enjoy?
