(For my own reference later.)
One of the worrisome things about putting out your own books is the concern that it might suck. I have a long track record in nonfiction, so I’m pretty confident there. But novels are a whole different art. When I put Immortal Clay out two weeks ago, I suspected that nobody would get past page two.
Most of the initial feedback came via Twitter, with things like:
So. I told @mwlauthor to write more and it turns out he's a madman. Now reading Immortal Clay. #ImmortalClay #TentacleAlienThingMastery
— Peter Wemm (@karinjiri) November 5, 2014
So someone I know bought it. That’s cool.
Then some of my nonfiction readers picked it up, and gave it its own hashtag:
Now reading Immortal Clay by @mwlauthor #ImmortalClay #TentacleAlienThingMastery
— Lexy Volkov (@lexvkv) November 5, 2014
People began reading it, and said things like:
@mwlauthor I'm about 1/3 done with Immortal Clay. Loving it so far. It is strange and exciting and very well written. #wow
— Alex Kourvo (@AlexKourvo) November 6, 2014
Then someone finished it:
Just finished Immortal Clay by @mwlauthor, spoiler: all Absolute wanted was ethics in video games journalism #ImmortalClay
— Lexy Volkov (@lexvkv) November 7, 2014
So the real message came through? Excellent!
@mwlauthor Finished IMMORTAL CLAY last night. Wow, what a ride! My review will be up at Amazon later today. When is the next book?
— Alex Kourvo (@AlexKourvo) November 8, 2014
And then a couple comments in private mail, like:
“You bastard! That book kept me up half the night. There was just no good place to stop!
Yep. That’ll do.
If you’ve read the book, I’d appreciate a review on Amazon. There’s four right now. Amazon won’t show it in searches and “also bought” lists until there’s five.