Yesterday, Bookbub, picked up
Don't Wait For Me on their daily deal email. Here's what Stephanie from Bookbub, told me, "Yesterday we selected you for a free advertisement, so Don't
Wait for Me was featured in our daily deals email and sent to the 190,000+ people
who opted in for our "Literary Fiction" category."
Well, thank you Stephanie and Bookbub.
Bookbub's email listing for Don't Wait For Me.
In the two days that I did the free
promo with Amazon, I gave away 26,794 ebooks. Previous promotion days netted
about 900-1,200 downloads, so this was a significantly higher return.
Don't Wait For Me claimed the #1 free
Literary Fiction book and #1 free Contemporary Romance spot, while ranking #5
(at the peak) on all of Amazon. Pretty sweet to see my book up there with Jane
Eyre, A Tale of Two Cities and Crime and Punishment.
Granted, these are free books - I
make zero money on a free download. I get paid in exposure and reviews. If the
book stinks, people say so, but thankfully every review has been 4-5 stars and
amazingly positive. The promotion also boosts the book's ranking and
visibility, thus just today I've sold more ebooks than in the last two months
combined. My April check from Amazon will be very welcome.
I have no illusions that this sales
pace will continue, but it would be great if it did!
Thank you to everyone who downloaded
and have already read the book. I'm honored you gave me a shot and I hope you
enjoyed it.
Dear reader, So while it's still true
that I'm not writing any novel-length works at the moment, I've been taking
notes and scribbling my ideas in Evernote (love that program). I've found that
over the past few months, my musical tastes have expanded. I thought I might
share some of my recent favorites.
These aren’t all "poor
Dan, he's getting a divorce" music, some of them are "shut the hell
up and get back to writing, you idiot" songs too.
Enjoy.
1. Black Chandelier by Biffy
Clyro
I was driving to the South
Hill on what can only be described as the worst day of my life and this song
was playing on Sirius Alt Nation. It's an emotional rock anthem. Sort of what I
think Nickleback would sound like if they weren't douche bags. Apparently Biffy
Clyro is huge in Europe. I started investigating the band and found this next
song too.
2. Folding Stars (Live at
Wembley) by Biffy Clyro
This is my favorite song of the last decade of any band (sorry Pearl Jam). The live version of this
song is great. It's an emotional song based on the lead singer's mom dying. But
like any song you can put your own feelings into it. Think family,
relationships and sorrow. Get the Kleenex for this one. The studio version is
good too, just not as emotionally raw.
3. Forest Whitaker by Bad
Brooks
Sorry, another relationship
ship song with a story and a lesson. I like the lyrics, "I know you hate
me too. Always say you do." Why this song is called Forest Whitaker is
beyond me - it’s the name of the baby that the singer's old girlfriend had with
someone else. No real explaining this song, just sounds good - and there's a
few lines when the girl starts to "write." So, it's inspiring! Sort
of. (pretty lame video).
4. Change by Churchill
This one is really upbeat
and fun. But the female lead singer got screwed somewhere a long the line,
because she's not so happy about the "Change, change, change." And
its not menopause. This one doesn't sound much like the other Churchill songs,
but that's probably a good thing - sorry Churchill. (This video is pretty sweet too. Apparently the "change" is about clothing . . . )
5. Breathing Underwater
(Acoustic Version) by Metric
You've probably heard the
pop version of this song, but the raw-nerve quality of the acoustic version is
pretty powerful. "Is this my life, or am I breathing underwater?" Wouldn’t
we all like an answer to that one!
6. Everything is Good by Oh
My God
Please skip past the first
17 seconds of this song - what producer thought those opening lines were good?
Damn, nearly lost me there., but it gets better. "Everything's good.
Except for all the bad. Everything is good. I did what I could." Yep. Yet,
the guy seems pretty happy, and he's in a band. Probably gets lots of chicks.
So maybe, just maybe, everything really is good. The song originally came out in 2007, so maybe he bought at
the bottom of the market . . . who knows. (sorry no video.)
7. Diane Young by Vampire
Weekend
I was totally ready to write
off this song as a band trying too hard to shed their preppy college boy image,
but I kept finding myself singing this one, even with the weird vocal
manipulations. (The video could use some work though.)
8. Eyes Wide Open by Gotye
Everyone is enamored with
Gotye's other popular song, "Somebody that I used to know," but this
one has a much more powerful draw. And the video is damn freaky.
9. Alive by Krewella
OK, pick the song on this
list that doesn’t fit. It’s this one. Don’t ask me why, but it's catchy.
"Come on make me feel alive . . . "
10. Bleeding Out by Imagine
Dragons
This song could be viewed
dozens of ways and even if you've listened to it a hundred times, your meaning for the song will be
different from mine. You could easily say it's about death and suicide, but it’s
a powerful emotional song about "you." So, make up your own
understanding, otherwise, it might get creepy.
I haven’t had the courage to write for the last few months
despite the fact that the current events in my life are showing me emotions
that I could have only dreamed of feeling months ago. Dreams. Nightmares. I
liked that my readers felt emotions at the end of Don’t Wait For Me. But today
– right now, I’m not sure if I will be able to match that emotion any time
soon. Eventually, sure, but now? No.
You see, after being married for 12 years (in May) and
together for 16 years – all of my adult life – I’m getting a divorce. This is
where you recall the terrible, horrible divorce your parents had. Where you
remember your painful, gut-wrenching break-up and eventual split with your
spouse. Everyone has a story and has shared them with me over the last few
weeks (which I appreciate).
Yet, that’s not my story. It’s not a war zone at my house -
just an invisible barrier that I never knew existed until recently. I will not
say anything unkind about my wife or violate her privacy by publically sharing
the details of our demise. That’s not fair. And as much as divorce is about
division, I can’t see what these two parts will be like alone. I haven’t
experienced that yet, and quite frankly, I don’t want to. But like the
invisible barrier that now seems solid as granite, the reality is here to stay.
A good friend of mine told me to keep writing. She was right
and I tried, but the words didn’t come out how I intended. I’ve lived a good
life. Happy. Good things have happened to me – many more good things than bad.
So when I previously tried to write about bad things – things that inevitably
happen to characters in a novel – I had to use my imagination. No more. Those
feelings – the heart-pounding, sweat-inducing anger or brittle, cold isolation
and loneliness aren’t abstract concepts. Those feelings that I once glossed
over as a reader and a writer are all too real now. And I’m afraid to write
them.
I thought I knew the end of my story. The story of my life.
That solid foundation allowed me to craft new adventures within it. It allowed
me to dream and dare to try things because I knew, no matter what, that the end
of my story was already written. I knew the characters and their motivations.
Maybe the words weren’t there and the timeline was fuzzy, but I knew the
direction and felt good about it. But I can’t say that anymore. Not today. Don’t
misunderstand, I’m sure I will find a new normal – and this isn’t a goodbye
letter. I can draft a new chapter, but the ending has gotten away from me.
Every day I feel the indention of my absent wedding ring on
my ring finger. I move to fiddle with it and realize that it’s not there. Just
the dent where it used to be. I’m not sure when that feeling is supposed to go
away. Maybe it’s like phantom pains from an amputee. What was once a part of
you, will always be. At least in some ways.
I’m not absent love, both giving and receiving. I love my
kids, my family and my wife’s family. And yes, I love my wife too, just in a
different way than before. You can’t spend 16 years with someone without love.
I didn’t choose this twist in my story. It was inserted by
an editor who had a different take on how things should turn out. There’s no
point in fighting with the editor. Nor will I. Maybe it’s because once all the
edits are in – painful, humbling and different as they may be – I can get
started on that next chapter.
But that takes words. And right now, they aren’t coming.
On Jan. 31, the three-month Kindle Paperwhite giveaway concluded -
what a fantastic success! Combined (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Goodreads
and Smashwords) I received 54 reviews of Don't Wait For Me.
Thank you to everyone who took the time to review the book. Your
thoughts will hopefully influence readers looking for a story to download Don't
Wait For Me. I didn’t ask for positive reviews, just your honest thoughts about
the book. Luckily, the reviews were overwhelmingly positive. Which feels great.
And the winner is . . . Stacy Flemming. Here's her review from Amazon:
"Loved it! "Don't
Wait For Me", is a wonderful book, I really enjoyed reading it!! The book
is heart warming and inspirational, you won't want to put it down!"
Kris Koscheski, narrator and producer of Off The Grid.
Off The Grid is now available for
download at the most popular audio book stores online - on Audible,
Amazon and
iTunes. Early sales of the book are strong, which I'm pretty excited
about. Last year I started shopping around for a narrator and producer for the
book. After searching ACX I came up with 13 voices that I thought might be a
fit for Off The Grid. I wanted a male voice that was youthful and strong, but
also versatile. One voice really stood out to me - Kris Koscheski. It took a
few tense weeks to get a deal done with us and ACX, but it resulted in a
beautifully narrated and produced audio book that I'm very proud of.
So, who is this Kris guy? Read on and
find out.
Dan: How did you get into narrating and producing audio books? Kris: I did
some acting as a young adult, but was also pursuing a musical career. I went
into the recording studio to record a project and fell in love with the
technical aspect of it. This inspired me to go back to school and train as a
sound engineer. My first job out of school was at a place that produced audio books.
I started out as a sound editor and eventually moved into directing and
producing. That whet my appetite once more for my acting and performance
background. About nine years into this journey (about 4 years ago,) I was cast
as a narrator, and I've been enjoying working as one full-time, ever
since.
Dan: What sort of audio projects interest you? Kris: My
favorite genres are Thrillers, Science Fiction & Fantasy, and Sports.
Anything with good writing! Bad writing=no fun for me!
Dan: You had to read Off The Grid with a critical eye, what were
your first impressions?
Kris: The one thing that attracted me to the book was the
struggle and balance between big tech industry, vs. environmentally
responsible, and how the two must find a balance. And that a world with out
either, might be dangerous.
I also immediately connected
with the Luke Kincaid, the main character. Luke was tech guy, yet also was able
to hold his own in many other areas of life. He always seemed to be able to find
a way to adapt well with the
situation he found himself in. And by coincidence Luke is also my
son's name...so good choice!
Dan: What were the challenges with Off The Grid?
Kris: I really enjoyed performing the different characters
throughout the book. The West Indies accent was challenging but really fun
to do. I love when a book takes you into a world you might never
experience on your own.
Dan: How do you develop an accent for a character?
Kris: When I perform any accents, I always try to do it in way
that conveys more of a "suggestion" of the accent or voice, not
necessarily to always try "mimic" an accent. For example, when
we learn about the professor traveling to the West Indies, he encounters a
young boy selling island trinkets. Obviously a listener realizes I'm not
a little boy, and to try and "mimic" a little boy with a West Indies
accent, might sound a little silly. So it's more of easing into it, and
trying to convey that in way that tells a story and invites the listener into
the moment.
Dan: Did anything surprise you about the book?
Kris: Not to give anything away to anyone who hasn't read or
listened ... but I loved the twist with some of the characters at the end.
Dan: What does your production studio look like?
Kris: I built my own recording studio at my home. Can't beat my
commute! I have a custom made sound booth, that took me about 6 months to
complete. The trick to any home studio is to find a way to get air into
your recording environment, without sacrificing sound quality. Air conditioning
can be extremely loud in recordings, so isolating yourself from your
environment can be tricky. And also dangerous ... since it's nice to breathe
and not suffocate to death! With some creative engineering and construction, I
was able to build a unit that would allow air to circulate, and yet be really
quiet. Add a bunch of computers and expensive sound gear and voila! Profession
sound booth!
Dan: What projects are you working on now?
Kris: Currently I'm narrating a bunch of titles for Audible.com.
I just wrapped up a great book called "Survival of the
Beautiful," by David Rothenberg. It's about science and art; two worlds
that don't seem to fit or coexist with each other. It asks provocative
questions like, "Can art influence science," and the reverse,
"Can science influence art." Great non-fiction read!
Dan: How can people follow your work?
Kris: I'm working on my website right now, stay tuned!
Currently you can see the majority of the titles I've done on my audible page.
###
Kris, I've said it before, but once
again, thank you. It's been a pleasure.
