Just a note that the Dragon's Banner is on sale at Amazon for a week for 99 cents (reg. $4.99). Most of you know I write a lot of military science fiction, but The Dragon's Banner is my first foray into fantasy (though it's pretty gritty and militaristic, I guess!).
Dragon's Banner at Amazon
Also, just a note about Crimson Worlds IV: The First Imperium. I appreciate all the email from you guys who are excited about the book. It is immensely gratifying. The book is done and should be available by Monday. I made a few last minute tweaks, mostly to smooth the transition to book 5 (The Line Must Hold), which is very much a continuation of the same storyline.
I'll post here and send and an email to the list when it is live on the retailers.
Man you're really trolling your' readers, first you say March, then you say 'a week from now' on the 3rd, then you say on Monday... it is Monday and there is no book released and I am so disappointed and disheartened with the series as a whole.
ReplyDeleteHayden,
ReplyDeleteThe First Imperium is finished and has been uploaded to the retailers. I suspect they will be live tomorrow (Monday), but I don't have any control at this point...it's up to Amazon, B & N, etc.
I'm sorry the book ended up being a bit later than originally expected.
I'm sorry Mr Allen, but I must agree with Hayden. Time hacks are just that, time hacks. I really do like your books and the storyline involved. And I understand that things take time, but please in the future can you be a bit more accurate when posting the dates of your book releases. Waiting a month and a half past the due date is a little much.
ReplyDeleteOutside that, I really do enjoy reading your books and have recommended you to some coworkers as a good author to read.
Well.. for me it's nearly Teusday, and around the world it is now Monday everywhere I believe.. yet still there is no Book IV. I do apologize if I seemed offensive in my first comment, however I am upset that you have been over a month and a half late with the book. Having said that, you being an independent self-publishing author is great and you get books out anywhere from 4-5 times faster than any authors that use publishers, which is great because I read your' books in a day.
ReplyDeleteSo since the book is still not out, is there any updated estimate (for the 5th/6th time lol) on when the book will be released? I mean I know you have uploaded it and what not, but I am so confused as to how/why amazon or any other retailer would be holding the release of the book up.
(I too have recommended you to many friends, your' books are brilliant, it's just these 'time hacks' are quite disheartening.
Well, first let me say I'm very glad that you both have enjoyed the books, and I am certainly grateful for recommendations, etc.
ReplyDeleteIt is also gratifying that you are anxious to get the new book. I have great readers and I love communicating with you all in any way I can. That said, when I write books I try to address some of the things I like (and correct those I don't) as a reader. I always hated waiting a year (or more) for the next book in a series, so I try to put them out as quickly as possible to keep the story going.
Unfortunately, that means there is no "padding" in the schedule like there would be if I put one (or even two) books out every year. So I estimate a release date, which is immediately after completion, and if anything comes up to delay the process, I have to move that date. I'm a quick writer, and my progress is pretty consistent, but it still isn't an exact science. Sometimes it just doesn't come as easily or I will rewrite a section a number of times to get it the way I want it. I would rather delay than go forward with something I don't think is good. Again, since I'm releasing the books as soon as they are ready, there is no padding to absorb even a few days' delay from what I estimated.
Other things come up too. We had a massive storm when I was writing book 3, and I lost electricity (and, consequently, my ability to charge my laptop), which affected the production schedule. There was an illness in the family this time that had the same effect.
While I appreciate that this may be frustrating for those anxious to get the book, I think the alternatives are worse.
1. I could simply not provide any insight into when a new release is coming out until I simply announce it is live. That would prevent any inaccurate release dates, but it would just leave everyone with no idea at all when a new book is coming.
2. I could stretch out the schedule to add "padding," but this would just mean fewer books published. Readers would get firm release dates, but they'd also only get two books a year.
I don't think either of these options would improve things for my readers. I like to be open and communicative with all of you, which is why, when I post something, it is what I believe at that moment. I don't want to hold back and not post when I think a book will be available, but putting out 5 books a year, there is no way for me to have absolutely firm release dates. The schedule is just too tight to allow any fudge factor.
As I said, I love the fact that you guys want the book enough to get frustrated when it's delayed. And, believe me, I want to get it to you.
A couple last notes. The release date was originally listed as March, but never March 1, which seems to be what you assume when you say "six weeks late." If I was ever more specific, I said late-March. March 1 would have been only five weeks after book 3 came out, and I couldn't finish one that quickly...at least not one I'd be willing to publish. Book 4 ended up being 2 1/2 to 3 weeks later than I'd originally targeted.
ReplyDeleteAs far as retailers, they don't delay or hold the book, but they do have a process that goes on before it goes live. It has taken as little as six hours and as much as four days, depending on the retailer and whatever other factors affect their processing speed.
Lastly, I'm in New York, so when I mention a date or time, I'm referring to NY time. I have readers all over the world, which is fantastic, but obviously you guys are all in different time zones, etc.
I will continue to post projected release dates, and I will try to refer then as "projected" more clearly, as I feel it is the best way to let you all know what is going on and what to expect.
FYI, Book 4 is now live on Amazon (as of 6am in NY) and BN (as of about 10 am in NY). I appreciate hearing from all of you...you are a great group of readers and I consider myself fortunate to have you all. I hope you enjoy The First Imperium, and I'll be posting about upcoming books soon.
Yes yes, I understand the difficulties of self publishing (or at least I think I do) it was simply frustrating getting excited for the book to be released and then having it moved back again, my apologies. I'm already 15 pages in on my kindle app, loving it so far. Keep up the good work Jay :D
ReplyDeleteGeez, one can't help but wonder about the first world problems some of your readers seem to have...the next book in their favorite series is delayed by a couple of weeks...
ReplyDeleteI think it took Stephen King about 30 years to complete his Dark Tower series. Stephen Donaldson started his Thomas Covenant stories in 1977 and has not finished it to this day. Piers Anthony wrote the first book of the Xanth series also in 1977, and has only recently released its 37th instalment.
Even though the Crimson Worlds books are by and large shorter than the ones mentioned above, I still take my hat off to the pace Jay has set for himself.
By the way, I 'discovered' the Crimson Worlds books via my Kindle recommendations, have downloaded all of the and read them within a week; the most recent one included. Great writing Jay, thank you very much.
Stan,
ReplyDeleteFirst, I'm very glad you enjoyed the books. That's the most important thing.
You're right, a lot of authors take a long time to finish a series. Of course, in situations like the Thomas Covenant books, the success of the books spawn later series that I seriously doubt were originally intended. I have my own outline for a post Crimson Worlds series set in the same universe about 70 years later. CW has a very specific story arc, and when it's finished it will set up for the new series. I don't know if I'll jump right to it, but I will do it eventually.
I actually am very glad to have readers who care enough to get impatient when a release date gets pushed back. But with my release schedule, I can either put out estimated dates and possibly miss them by a bit or I can just stay silent until a book is ready. I'd rather communicate with you guys and if I'm a couple weeks late, so be it.
I personally hate waiting for new books in a series I'm enjoying, so I can understand.
The feedback on the new book has been great, which is extremely gratifying.
I'm going to try to get book 5 out ahead of schedule, but I can't be sure, so I'm not throwing around dates. I'll be tweeting on the progress of book 5, so any of you who follow me on Twitter will have an idea how things are going.