Going NC-17

 

When I write, I don’t censor the image, I let it play out. No matter how dark or disturbing the image might become. And I’m told the violence in my work will hurt sales of my book, but honestly that doesn’t bother me one bit. I didn’t set out to write their book, I set out to write my book. I think that train of thought might throw some people off, cause no writer wants to lose sales, cause that’s become part of the game, you make a book and you try to sell a million copies.

A million sounds nice, but I just want to be able to write a book that I can look back on with pride. I don’t care if it’s disturbing or hard to read, but that’s my creation, that’s my baby, I created it with my own bare hands. I can hear the million takes of different people, but I’m not aiming for a tone down story. If I wanted to tone it down, I would have done so in the second draft.

I know with my three novels THE PERFECT WOMAN, DARKLY DREAMING and CHAOS THEORY there will be some uproar cause of the violence depicted in the novel, but that’s something I’m willing to bear. Like I said, I’m aiming for a NC-17 rating, not a PG or PG-13 or even R on those stories, even if it does cost me sales.

Sometimes an artist has to stand by their work of art. If I get a handful of people who are pumped, who like it, who want to read more, than that’s good enough. Sometimes you shouldn’t aim to please everyone, as long as you please yourself, you’ll find the people you are looking for. In the end it doesn’t matter how many sales you made, it’s if the people will still remember when you are long and gone, and that only happens when the art you create speaks to them.

 

JESSENOVELS TV

Hello my friends, well I opened my very own youtube channel, this one aims to do one thing, make you laugh. Consider this the other side of me, here are some teasers off my video LAZY DAY: THE FINGERHUT SEARCH
After you’re done, all I ask you subscribe and please tell your friends about my youtube channel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Writing something new, not mainstream

There’s always this notion of writing what sells is the best way to go about things, but is it really? Are we taking giant steps back, just to remain in the shadow of mainstream, are Authors refusing to step out and take a bold stance in doing something new, or for that fact, just  being themselves just to keep in line?

Authors around seem focused on one thing today, let’s keep hitting on what sales. This goes for a lot of other fields too, games, music and film. But should it really be the status quo. You keep pumping on that same old well, in the end all you have are readers that just are sick and tired of the same old thing. Is it so taboo to just write a story that takes you into something different, something that you weren’t expecting to see. The golden rule might be, don’t upset the readers, but you have to give your readers more credit than that, you must assume they have a greater mind to take in something different, something new, even if takes them awhile to digest the whole book.

I’m a fan of being told a story that doesn’t just stick to the old good vs evil, but shows us that good and evil are the same, and that in the world there are no villains, just humanity which is deformed in it’s own way when you take the blindfold off. It’s surely not what sells, but isn’t that the beauty of it, it’s different, it takes a jump into an area that not a lot of people would. Cause of that, the author in my eyes earns my respect and reader for life.

Another factor in this trend is sales. Authors do keep themselves in place for the sake of sales. And we know the amount of books you sell is key for the finical living of the artist, the money you make, is the money you can pay the bills with. Now my take is different when it comes to this issue, I rather sell the book I had envisioned , than be force to release a book I know isn’t quite true to what I had planned, cause in the end, it comes down to this ” Will you be able to walk with your head held  high?”

Putting all that aside, you have to remember. You are an artist, you are the creator, you are the one that gave life to this story. You should say, you should create, you should do what feels right to you. Forget being the apple of everyone’s eye, forget about being NY Best Seller, and just be you, just be real. Write the story that isn’t censored and forced into something it never was in the first place. Be true and you’ll see the right people follow you. Cause shouldn’t your happiness be the thing that truly matters in life.

 

Tell me what you think, do you agree, do you disagree. Let me know.
~Jesse Abundis

 

 

How Much Should An Ebook Cost?

Ebooks became the worst nightmare to big publishers but became the dreams of authors. It gives us the tool to distribute our work easily and faster. Ebooks cost hardly nothing to be made, they’re just a saved copy of the file that was uploaded.

Whem it comes to ebooks, big publishers still want you to pay paperback or hardcover price for it, that in itself is just idiotic. I see where they’re trying to make a profit, but they would win people more if the price was dropped $2. Gain those readers back by giving them a fair offer.

The pricing plays a big key factor with a lot of indie authors as well. How much should people pay for an ebook?

If you’ve written a short story that doesn’t go over 90 pages, that story should cost no more than 99cents. It might sound rude to say that, but a short story takes less time to edit and format. If it’s under 30 pages slap a free sticker on it. I’ve seen a lot of authors trying to sell short stories for $4.99 which I hope to God no one ever has to pay for it.

If you’ve created a full blown Novel, well that’s were pricing becomes an issue. Some people fight over the 99 cents vs 2.99 pricing. Many authors say putting your novel at 99 cents lowers the vaule of your work, and that $2.99 adds respect and confidence to it. Yeah, I bought a few books that were $2.99 that should of gone for free.

Honestly I wouldn’t think less of an artist work if it was 99cents, in my head I’ll be thinking ” never read this person work before wouldn’t hurt to try it out.” In a way you’re luring the reader in and if there’s a sample on it, well then without a doubt I’m paying for it.

Am I bashing the 2.99ners? No because both price ranges are ideal for new authors. It all comes down to marketing, if an author has promoted the hell out of their work then 2.99 is alright by me, if you didn’t go all out on your work then 99 cents helps with gaining those readers!

How about $3.99? If this is your first book, yeah that’s asking way too much. I would only go higher if this was your 3rd or 2nd book and people began to get familiar with your work. Beyond that, I wouldn’t go there, it’s just a good way of isolating yourself from reaching other potential fans.

Always keeep in my mind readers love a mind blowing story and a good price, so give them both and you’ll see them come back for more. And let’s not forget Amazon offers those free downloads events for your novel, use them wisely, don’t toss one ever month, make it a moment to remember when you do the free download event!

That was my two cents on the ebook price war. Add your thoughts below and let us know what you think an ebook should cost!

~Jesse