SB Wight

Fantasy Writer. Father. Firearms enthusiast & supporter of all Rights. Anti-generative AI crusader.

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[SB Wight @sb_wight]

Getting really close to publishing my first book!!
Thinking about doing a direct-from-author presale of a limited edition version with some extras, and wondering what other indie authors have done/seen.

I'm thinking this will be a 50-book, artisan-quality (same as the regular printing (probably to come in at $18 retail), but higher quality all around including heavier paper), "signature"-stamped and hand numbered, probably with matching bookmark w/single-use discount code to be applied to Book 2 when purchased direct from the author, shipping covered in the continental U.S. Maybe also some cover-art stickers?

1) What would you estimate this to be worth for a first-time indie author's first book in a completed (written and working towards publishing subsequent books at approx. 1 book/year) 5-book fantasy series?
2) Any other thoughts on more or better perks?
3) Has anybody done this through their own author website and how did you go about it?

Thanks for any input!!

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[SB Wight @sb_wight]

Justice. If ever this word rang so hollow.
Two young lives ruined. Two families broken.
The system worked as designed. It did what it can. But someone, something, failed this kid before he failed society.
Maybe others will learn from this and not follow this same, stupid, path.

[SB Wight @sb_wight]

That's super interesting! I have aphantasia (no mind's eye), so I'm relatively immune to vicarious trauma (plus I have SDAM -- Severely Deficient Autobiographical Memory (related to the aphantasia) -- so I'm also essentially PTSD-proof). Where I discovered my first real psychological "weakness" is with writing; even writing pleasant things that I really enjoy writing, I ended up falling into a nasty depression.
This gruesome story that I abandoned and refuse to go back to really frightens me, partly because of how disturbing and intense the subject matter is, but mostly because of where I fear it might take me mental health-wise, and, how it persists in "calling" to me on a regular basis.
Of course, the reason that it persists is probably directly because of that fear: I've always been driven to face my fears and overcome them. But this one could turn out really, really bad, and "facing the fear" like I've always done, probably doesn't offer any real rewards in the end, unlike all the times before. I'm thinking: "I'm afraid of heights, so I'll jump off this cliff to my death and never be afraid anymore" kind of rewards.

[SB Wight @sb_wight]

I like gruesome imagery in books and songs and the like, but I don't enjoy writing it. I was reminded of a horrifically gory story that I had started writing and abandoned that I find myself wanting to write, because I think it has real potential, but I just can't.
Anybody else have one that calls to you, but you don't want to touch?

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[SB Wight @sb_wight]

My primary antagonist is probably something along the lines of your Chaos, except mine is essentially God in this world. The problem is, It's not bad, but It's personal motivations are potentially highly destructive. And even that little bit of vague explanation reveals more than I'm comfortable with, hence my struggle.
I usually end up talking about the trials of the characters, which is more at the core of what the series is about, but when people ask specifically about the antagonist, I'm like "well...it's complicated, let's just leave it at that." Can't say that comes across terribly intriguing.
But your format might be something I can work off of: vague, but it drives interest.

[SB Wight @sb_wight]

Personal author dilemma: I have several "bad guys" in my series, but none of them are the primary antagonist, it's...yeah, you've got to read it to understand; I can't even begin to explain it without major spoilers.
Now, how in the heck am I supposed to summarize that?!

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[SB Wight @sb_wight]

@JayLongWrites I love the: "I came across your book and found _______ intriguing..." Did you now, because I haven't published it yet.

[SB Wight @sb_wight]

All I remember when I was writing my first Fantasy book was that the "consensus" on length was anything but. I ultimately reduced the various ranges to ~90K words as a safe bet. I ended up a 76K. Subsequent books in the series are ~150K for books 2-4, and 192K (I think) for the final book. So, yeah, I just ended up writing the story and let the word count fall where it did.

[SB Wight @sb_wight]

Those drive me nuts, because they're technically surmountable, but at what point do you draw the line between hours or days or weeks of research to gain the knowledge you need and trying to experience a whole new lifestyle or career perspective? I've got a Sci-Fi WIP that needs me to vastly increase my knowledge of astro- and quantum-physics. Needless to say, that's been shelved for the time being, but I do hope to get back to that one at some point.

[SB Wight @sb_wight]

I faced something similar with a torture scene once and wrote it and really liked it, but this one I had to separate from for my own mental well-being. It's not just the level of gore, which I didn't explain well in my post, it's how it relates to the individual's choice to sacrifice their own humanity for the semblance of survival.
Separate the type and level of gore from the psychological ramifications, and I could write either story, but together it was too much for my psyche to bear.

[SB Wight @sb_wight]

@MarkSowersBooks I felt this way about a torture scene in my series, but this story that I've abandoned it's... Let's just say that this isn't about self-censoring, it's more along the lines of "I don't know if my psyche can bear the weight of writing it."

[SB Wight @sb_wight]

@AuthorTRobare It's brutal!

[SB Wight @sb_wight]

@SweetNovember48 While blindfolded, mind you!

[SB Wight @sb_wight]

@SweetNovember48 Too many of us actually really need this!

[SB Wight @sb_wight]

One of the kids brought up the Fay last night, to which my wife reminded them that we don't allow the Fay into our house, including the Tooth Fairy, Elf on a Shelf, etc..
I then mentioned the dark and twisted history of faeries in my books. My daughter was shocked and more than a little excited by this...of course. 😜
Which brought us around to one particular disturbing bit of lore that, to the discerning reader interested in etymology, can be easily gleaned, but to most it will pass them right by.
There's quite a bit of that in my series. How about you guys? What sort of subtle hints and slightly-obscured Easter eggs are hidden in you stories?

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[SB Wight @sb_wight]

@DNicholsAuthor An old pear tree where you could see through a split in the trunk. I started writing it, but it was so horrifically disturbing that I abandoned it and refuse to go back.

[SB Wight @sb_wight]

So far it appears that I... what? Median write? Appropriate write? Spot-on write? I don't know what to call it. With the exception of my cold-start books, where the beginning is written as a jump-off point and intended to be scrapped, my books end up within a percent or two of their original word count.
Add a little here, delete a little their, but mostly just clean things up on the whole.

[SB Wight @sb_wight]

Dishonesty. Dishonesty is often the common thread that defines the difference between acceptable and unacceptable for me.
Working out and taking supplements? Cool. Steroids? Not cool.
Wearing makeup to enhance your appearance? Cool. Wearing it to alter your appearance? Not cool.
The problem with genAI in creative endeavors is it is dishonest in-and-of itself. Even if you're upfront about using it you're still cheating, causing harm to other creators, and profiting off their stolen work. Their is no honest creative use for genAI.

#WritingCommunity

[SB Wight @sb_wight]

@Mary_ork Back and forth with the proofs for book 1 in my series. Hopefully we'll be pulling the trigger on printing next week!

[SB Wight @sb_wight]

Most prologues I've read have been entirely unnecessary (like someone thought that the beginning of the book was weak so they grabbed an "exciting" chapter, or a better written one, and stuck it up front) or felt stuck in for no reason. If they serve a real purpose, and don't come across as lazy, they're fine.
My first book ran into this issue where it takes a bit too long to get into the "good stuff", but rather than writing or creating a prologue, we grabbed the chapter where things really start happening, moved it to the beginning, and then I wrote it in to make everything read better. It doesn't read as a prologue (and it technically isn't one, even though it sort of is), it reads like the narrator got a little excited about telling the story and made an understandable false-start by jumping ahead and then realizing that they need to start off a few days earlier before the real "action" started.
Too many prologues, though, read as a confusing mess, because you have no idea what is even going on without more context.

[SB Wight @sb_wight]

@SDDonovan For a completely fresh start, I start off with a big info-dump that gets cut at editing (useful for personal reference as I go). Usually this just flows into the story and I'm good to go.