Let’s talk about reviews.

Make no mistake - this is the Big Ask. This is more important than you pre-ordering the book in the first place. This is what separates a nifty thing I made for all of you from a CULTURAL JUGGERNAUT. This is what takes the signal from AM to FM. This is what gets me closer to the dream. This is what gets you closer to owning a highly-prized First Edition Asteroid Made of Dragons instead of owning a Dusty Paperback Your Friend Wrote One Time.

When you receive your copy (soon!) and you turn the last page of the story proper - before the Acknowledgements, before the Author Info, before anything - I’ve added in an Author’s Plea. It’s a bald-faced request for a review. That is how important it is. More powerful than marketing, more potent than cover design, more influential than scores of social media posts - an honest review is what makes people read new books.

Sidebar: an honest review. What do I mean by that? I mean don’t just run  and give me all 5 stars to help out.  It will not hurt my feelings if you think AMOD is a 4 star book, or a 3 star, or a...2 star....or.....a.......1.........(faints)

Where am I? Who took my pants and replaced them with no pants? An honest review is what I want and what new readers need. I have personally read and loved books BECAUSE of bad reviews. The thing one person hated about a book - lo and behold was exactly why I knew I would LOVE the book. An honest reaction to a book - warts and all - is invaluable, because it cannot be bought. It cannot be manufactured in a Marketing Department. I almost always read a couple of reviews or articles before I try out a book that is an unknown quantity - most readers are the same.

Here’s a review I just wrote for The Life Engineered by JF Dubeau. I think a lot of you know that we’re bunkmates on the Sword & Laser shelf, and if you like great worldbuilding and robots this book was written just for you. I really liked it  - but I had some cranky quibbles, and I was honest about them here. As far as I know, JF has not launched any Capek assassins in my direction - fingers crossed. This is the type of review I love to get. Feedback, validation, criticism - what you liked, what you didn’t. I’m still growing as a writer and I benefit immensely from this kind of data.

One last thing: I need 100 reviews on Amazon. 

That’s the magic number, the tipping point if you will for that site’s algorithms to take more notice of the book. Amazon is the 500 lb. gorilla for better or worse and for the book to succeed, that’s the platform the book needs to be visible on. If 1 out of 4 of my followers here on Inkshares leaves a review - we’ll hit the magic number.  Actual written reviews are better, but even just taking the time to leave a star rating is all that is needed. 

Okay - I’ve yammered about this enough FOR TODAY. It’s just over six weeks until the official launch of AMOD, so I’ll be bringing this UP again. Give me some feedback here - does this make you feel weird and imposed upon? What other sort of topics can I regale you with?

As always - thank you so much for your support and attention. Crazy to think we’re coming up on the year anniversary of the Sword & Laser Contest that started this all in motion.

Well, no two ways of putting this, I’ve been away... derelict... near-defunct. The reasons why are complicated, deeply personal, and way too messy to get into in a reader update. But time and tide wait for no man, no matter what craziness he’s got going on back home. Consequently despite my mostly-absence we’ve still managed to  accrue some
MAJOR NEWS 
on the Feyside front! (Seriously, sometimes I think it would be best for me to just abdicate entirely and let this thing write and market itself...but I digress...) First off, somewhere over the last week, Feyside crossed the 200 order mark - quite the milestone! And yet not the biggest news of the week, given that-
Feyside is the February pick for John Robin’s Epic Fantasy Syndicate! This collective of book enthusiasts makes its picks on the basis of offerings demonstrating  "grand epic fantasy with magic, a fully immersive secondary world, and series potential" - I am honored to in any way measure up to those mighty qualifications. Thanks to John and to all of my Inkshares author friends on the Goodreads forums for this enormous vote of confidence.
Finally, I’ve gotten my nose back to the editing grindstone and prepped another chapter or two for your review -- look for those shortly!

Best,
Peter

P.S. As always, a reminder to my colleagues on Inkshares and especially to anyone participating in the current Inkshares contest - I am happy to exchange preorders on a 1-for-1 basis, no prearrangement needed. Go ahead and order mine up to your limit and I will immediately reciprocate - PFB

Hi everyone!

I reached (and surpassed) 90 unique readers yesterday, so I made a raffle video late last night. That being said, any pre-orders today weren’t included in the drawing, but will be in the next.

Also, like I’ve said before, when I hit 100 readers, I will be raffling a $50 Amazon gift card in addition to the traditional prizes.

So, here it is. Check it out if you’ve won:

https://youtu.be/SnuIx0myPWM

I will contact the winner later via e-mail.

I’ve been straddling the line between campaigning and writing lately, just to let you know where I’m at. If you know anyone who might be interested in my novel, please send them in my direction.

As always, thanks for everyone’s support!

Good day everyone! 

Mondays are hard. There aren’t enough hours in a weekend to both accomplish everything we want to and get any proper relaxation in.   

I’ve been keeping myself busy everyday, making sure that I have new content for you all. By tomorrow you’ll be receiving another sample chapter for The Traveller’s Cup. I think I know which piece I want to show you, but I’m going to take another evening to consider it carefully and make sure that it’s well-edited. 

As for updates on the campaign, we’re still managing to stay afloat in the top ten, but it’s the top three that we need. And for that we’ve got to double our pre-orders fast.

Some of you may have followed the book assuming that counts toward pre-orders. Unfortunately, while your support still counts to me, only deliberate pre-orders count for the publishing deal and contest. If you aren’t sure, head back to the book’s page and check out the green button under the book thumbnail that says "Pre-Order." 

And as always, if you have placed an order, please continue sharing with your friends and communities so we can make sure this bit of space fantasy comes to life. 

Note that if the project is not funded for whatever reason, you will receive your pre-order money back. Inkshares and Nerdist just want to see that people are serious about buying before they take on the publishing part.

Thanks again for your support in this great battle! 

Cordially from outer-space, 
-AC

Hey Everybody,

It has been a week since I launched the project and currently we are 4% funded. We still have a long way to go, but with over 80 days left, I’m confident we may reach 250 pre-orders.

If you have backed the project, I thank you. If you haven’t, please consider doing so.

I have started a Facebook page for the project as well. Here, I will be sharing supplemental material (photos taken by the characters, their journal entries and poetry, etc). Please like the page and share it on social media. Every little bit of promotion helps out.

https://www.facebook.com/Pixilated-Obsidian-Roses-227496980922194/?ref=hl

Finally, I have just posted an excerpt for the second chapter. Check it out and feel free to provide feedback. This is your project as much as it is mine.

Rob