Will the pink and pasty play as well with the Tryptophan in the turkey so I can play with her cool Lego?
Minor victory thread
- Thread starter Thread Necromancer
- Start date
HILARY!
Dave
Staff member
Late to the game here, man, but check these out. About $.50 each, 0 calories, 0 caffeine. And they taste good.
Blech, I tried a few of those and was not a fan.
Craftsy is the website that I buy some of my art courses from. They have excellent coloured pencil courses and I did a great natural light macro photography course from them too. They are offering everyone a course at $19 USD right now. I bought realistic bird portraits in coloured portraits.
I also buy coloured pencil courses from Ann Kullberg's site. She has some great starter courses and has classes and books all the way to scary advanced stuff. Her one one black paper looks awesome. I buy them on sale and save them in my list
I had promised to share these sites a while ago but only just remembered. Sorry @stienman !
I also buy coloured pencil courses from Ann Kullberg's site. She has some great starter courses and has classes and books all the way to scary advanced stuff. Her one one black paper looks awesome. I buy them on sale and save them in my list
I had promised to share these sites a while ago but only just remembered. Sorry @stienman !
Welp, I finished my first editing run through of Dill's third adventure tonight. I like parts of it, but I'm not sure how I feel about it as a whole. We'll see what @Zero Esc feels about it when he tears it apart.
After that? I don't know what to do with it. I'm really tempted to shop it around to another publisher. I haven't really been happy with Pro Se. I haven't seen a dime for Dill's second book and the extent of their advertising is spamming various Facebook pages. I know I retain all rights if I leave them. But I don't know if 1) Another publisher will be interested in the third book in a series. 2) If they'd be interested in re-publishing the first two books. Maybe I'll just let the book collect digital dust since Dill is really too niche. It feels like I'm the only one who really enjoys it and that's just not enough to keep writing his silly adventures.
In the meantime, I'll take my first crack at the memoir I think I mentioned before. Really don't know if it'll work or if I'll give up on it after a chapter or two.
After that? I don't know what to do with it. I'm really tempted to shop it around to another publisher. I haven't really been happy with Pro Se. I haven't seen a dime for Dill's second book and the extent of their advertising is spamming various Facebook pages. I know I retain all rights if I leave them. But I don't know if 1) Another publisher will be interested in the third book in a series. 2) If they'd be interested in re-publishing the first two books. Maybe I'll just let the book collect digital dust since Dill is really too niche. It feels like I'm the only one who really enjoys it and that's just not enough to keep writing his silly adventures.
In the meantime, I'll take my first crack at the memoir I think I mentioned before. Really don't know if it'll work or if I'll give up on it after a chapter or two.
I enjoy the Dill books. My tearing them apart is an effort to make them better You're just so in love with American English that you sometimes spell words our way instead of your native Canadian way
.In any case, like I've said before, since Pro Se is pretty much just doing exactly what self-publishing would be, except less care for the outgoing product and taking some off the top, while you have less control, then you might as well self-publish anyway. At least if you were self-publishing, however much money, even if it's just cents to the dollar, you'd at least see it. And anything that happened with each book, you'd be in complete control. You could make later edits, different editions, change cover stuff, inner matter, so on and so forth. I'm not saying it works for everything, but like you said, Dill is a bit niche. Shop around, sure, but if you can't find a place, better out in the world in some way.
Yeah, I've considered the self-publishing route. When I got into arguments with the main guy at Pro Se (which happened somewhat often, unfortunately), usually about my nitpicking on how things were handled, he'd keep coming back with "If you don't like how this works, then you should self-publish instead." I guess the self-published route feels...cheap to me. I know lots of people do it but not going through through a publisher - even a tiny one like Pro Se - doesn't feel as professional. Self-published means I don't get to fulfill my dream of seeing my work alongside others in bookstores; in a section other than Local Authors, that is. I know brick & mortar stores aren't as important these days, but that's always been my dream and why I've always been hesitant to go the self-publishing route.I enjoy the Dill books. My tearing them apart is an effort to make them better You're just so in love with American English that you sometimes spell words our way instead of your native Canadian way
In any case, like I've said before, since Pro Se is pretty much just doing exactly what self-publishing would be, except less care for the outgoing product and taking some off the top, while you have less control, then you might as well self-publish anyway. At least if you were self-publishing, however much money, even if it's just cents to the dollar, you'd at least see it. And anything that happened with each book, you'd be in complete control. You could make later edits, different editions, change cover stuff, inner matter, so on and so forth. I'm not saying it works for everything, but like you said, Dill is a bit niche. Shop around, sure, but if you can't find a place, better out in the world in some way.
One idea I had if I were to publish Dill elsewhere - even self-publishing - was combining the first two books into kind of an anthology. I've seen this done a few times, where two novels were collected into one volume. Like a double (or even triple) feature. I thought it'd be a different way to promote the earlier books while also promoting the new one. And I'd probably take the opportunity to red pen the living hell out of the first one and make the newer edition something I'm less ashamed of.
Last edited:
Nick, Pro Se isn't doing anything different from the self-publishing route. They go through CreateSpace and KDP, like any self-publishing author. I know that's your dream, but do you really see that dream being realized by Pro Se? They're doing everything a self-publishing author does, except they get to make money without actually writing or editing the damn book. A publisher has an editor. You assumed that with the first book, remember? But they put the onus on you, which is why the first Dill book appeared with typos the first time. They didn't do any of that, they just expected you to provide them with product, no money up front, no work on their part except to convert it into a Kindle-ready format. I can do that on Calibre in seconds. I do it when I'm editing your stuff on my commute. Hell, I do it just for a random short story or couple of book chapters to put on my wife's Kindle if I need her to read over something. They drag and drop your provided file, your cover art, into a converter, and bang, they got a book. Either it sells or it doesn't, what do they care, it didn't cost them anything. Who's doing all the work in this professional relationship?
I did work with an editor for at least the second book. He was pretty nice. But mind you, I also had the book edited by you and my friend Brad. The latter of whom was brutal but fair in his edits.
I can't remember much about the first book, now, aside from that I brought my own cover artist with me. It says there was an editor but I can't for the life of me remember being in contact with one. I do know the editors are all there on a volunteer basis. I learned from the first book that they pay cover artists $50. So I guess they put some money into the process.
I also did love the little armadillo symbol throughout the book. When I had a scene break within a chapter, I wrote them with *****. But they replaced it with the armadillo symbol, which I LOVE. If I self-published, I'd see if I can retain the right to use that. I imagine it's just a piece of clip art or something. Might even consider finding an artist who could tweak it and give the critter a fedora or something.
As far as money goes, I do wonder something. And feel horrible wondering it: the main Pro Se guy has had a LOT of major health issues in the past few years. I can't help wondering if what little money I made from the second book went to that, instead. Whenever I asked about royalties or residuals, he said the total had to be at least $25 before they sent a cheque. And since the second book released, I haven't seen a single cent.
Okay, that's more than it seemed they were doing.
Thing with Amazon is, they said at points in time, not just dollar numbers. So I'll sometimes get .34 cents fed into my bank account. Four months later, it'll be $5.70.
I wouldn't get into self-publishing expecting to strike it rich, but like you said, Dill is niche. At least it'd be a niche you control. But you gotta do what makes the most sense for you. These days I have two kinds of projects, the weirder shit I intend to self-publish, and then the bigger stuff I intend to shop around. But that's what works for me. At the end of the day, your choices always have to be okay with you yourself.
It feels REALLY self-indulgent if I'm writing it for fun just for myself. Also, if I put this much work into it (spending the better part of a year writing it), then I should at least try making a little money off it, you know?
I guess I always hoped Dill would find his audience. People who HAVE read them enjoyed them. Of course, the vast majority of those people know me personally in some fashion or another (friends, family, Halforumites, Blog of Doomers, etc). So I never know if they legitimately enjoy them or if they're just being kind.
It's also disheartening when I ask people who bought it if they read it yet and hear, "Well, I read the first few pages and haven't had the chance to read more." I say disheartening because my mind translates that as "I tried reading it, but didn't enjoy it enough to keep going."
Gah, sorry. This is supposed to be the Minor Victory thread, not the "Nick's Bitching About the Lack of Fame, Fortune, and Females" thread.
I'm reminded of an author... Tolkien, was it? Anyway, after their death they found mounds of unpublished materials in their study and/or desk, fleshing out their fictional world(s). That could be you, Nick, where you write a bunch of stuff that adds lore or depth to Dill's world, not necessarily for publication or profit, but just to make Dill's universe a richer place.
I'm pretty sure it was Tolkien.
I'm pretty sure it was Tolkien.
I draw for myself all the time. You love Dill, if it makes you happy to write about him, you should. I like the idea that someone else just mentioned here that they have two streams of writing one for themselves that's more niche and one that's more mainstream.
I'll chime in and say that I really liked the Dill books, too, and hope you'll continue to write them, one way or another
I understand wanting to make money off of them, but they're niche, of course. That doesn't mean you can't make it rich, but that's always a gamble and some luck and serendipity and whatnot.
I understand wanting to make money off of them, but they're niche, of course. That doesn't mean you can't make it rich, but that's always a gamble and some luck and serendipity and whatnot.
Who gives a shit? If it makes you happy, then do it. If you don't feel it's worth your time if you know you won't make money off of it, then I get that. But if you just enjoy doing it, I don't see how it's any different than watching tv, going on a hike, etc.
Just remember, people are more motivated to leave negative feedback than a positive experience, so for every so-so review you get, odds are there are a bunch of people who really enjoyed it. And I know it's true for most people that you could get 100 compliments, but one complaint is going to stick with you more.
Keep writing as long as you enjoy it. It's not self-indulgent. Even if you're not the next J.K. Rowling, there are clearly people enjoying the world you've created.
There's also the possibilities of Dill spin-offs like Pierre the Pangolin P.I. - a French Pangolin living in Victorian England.
I'd write if I had ideas, but I don't have any original ideas. Or, I'd get bored after 10-15 pages and shelve it.
I'd write if I had ideas, but I don't have any original ideas. Or, I'd get bored after 10-15 pages and shelve it.
It doesn't have to be. I write purely for the pleasure of writing and I've never shown anyone my writings (although if I ever actually finish a story instead of abandoning it to start a different story I might change that). And on the opposite end of the scale to me you have someone like Stephen King who retired, kept writing for fun & a few years / books later realised he'd never *really* retired. If you enjoy writing Dill WRITE DILL! If you can make money off it, great! If you can't make money but still enjoy writing Dill then you still get to spend your free time doing something you enjoy. And that makes it all worthwhile.
He's actually Belgian, but is constantly mistaken for a Frenchman.
Ah, you are using your little gray cells!
You know, I'm reminded of the fact that many games on Steam show lots of people having the achievement for the first mission, and then a sudden dropoff of people having the achievement for subsequent accomplishments. This indicates that lots of people will start a game, play maybe the first mission or two, and then leave it and never come back.
For example, the global achievement stats for GTA5 show that 74.3% of players have the achievement for completing the race with Lamar, which is literally the first thing you do after the introduction in Ludendorff. In contrast, only 41.2% of players have the achievement for completing the first heist, which is done before you even get control of Trevor. Three fifths of GTA5 players on Steam dropped the game before they even managed to unlock the third main protagonist.
Same for New Vegas. 88.6% of players completed the tutorial quest in Doc Mitchell's house, and then there's a dramatic drop to only 46% of players having completed the next quest in the main storyline.
This same pattern repeats for virtually every other game. So I think maybe it isn't necessarily that your writing isn't attractive enough, Nick, maybe it's just human nature for some people to pick something up and then leave it, for whatever reason.
For example, the global achievement stats for GTA5 show that 74.3% of players have the achievement for completing the race with Lamar, which is literally the first thing you do after the introduction in Ludendorff. In contrast, only 41.2% of players have the achievement for completing the first heist, which is done before you even get control of Trevor. Three fifths of GTA5 players on Steam dropped the game before they even managed to unlock the third main protagonist.
Same for New Vegas. 88.6% of players completed the tutorial quest in Doc Mitchell's house, and then there's a dramatic drop to only 46% of players having completed the next quest in the main storyline.
This same pattern repeats for virtually every other game. So I think maybe it isn't necessarily that your writing isn't attractive enough, Nick, maybe it's just human nature for some people to pick something up and then leave it, for whatever reason.
That's weird. I don't see any new posts in the pet picture thread...
Three days in and my memoir is already at 5,500 words. It's insane. I haven't had this kind of output in over a year.
Well, after a long and hopefully fruitful weekend, we found a town we'd like to live in and a couple of houses in it that we'd be more than happy to own - including one which, admittedly, is a little rough right now, but could be amazing with a little bit LOT of elbow grease. We also found a buyer's agent who grew up in and moved back to the area a decade ago, so she understands the community as well as our desire to slot ourselves neatly into said community. So, our next step (being set up right now with the help of our agent and our lender) is to put in an offer on our number 1 pick, get a home inspector out there, and get onto the 30+ day appraisal waiting list. There are some concerns that it won't appraise out for an FHA loan, but it did appraise for an FHA refi, so we're going to take the risk, with the understanding that if it doesn't appraise and we can't get the seller to do the necessary repairs, we walk away and go to our number two pick (if it hasn't been snapped up yet, the real estate market in Port Orford, OR is apparently hoppin' right now). I'm so excited I could just puke.