Neuralwiki author interviews presents: Todd Keisling
I met Todd Keisling on Reddit.com when I started my Smashwords Karma campaign. He introduced me to his novel, A Life Transparent (Available now for $2.99), which I bought and reviewed. Shortly after, we started a back and forth email exchange and I learned he was doing a blog tour. I jumped at the opportunity to ask him a few questions about his work and about the brave new world of e-publishing in general. Enjoy!
1) Were you always a writer?
I think so, but it took a while for me to figure it out. For a long time I thought I wanted to draw. I mean, I used to draw pictures and create stories about them in my head. My earliest publication was a story I wrote to accompany a picture about two boys goingfishing. I was five years old.
At some point my interest in visual art moved into film, and I wrote a screenplay for aclass in high school. I later adapted that screenplay into my first novel when I was 17,and the experience of writing it changed my mind about what career I wanted to pursue. I majored in English, won 2nd place in a writing contest during my freshman year incollege, and the rest is history.
2) Since we are publishing on many sites, and ratings don’t transfer, what do youthink the ethics are of rating your own book on sites where readers have not yet rated, or even bought the book (possibly from lack of ratings)?
I think that’s a dangerous area to traverse. From the author’s point of view, it’s a good thing—you’re giving the book a boost on a site where a rating determines a sale, and howelse can you get a sale if you have no rank? But consider how it looks from a potentialreader’s point of view. Here’s a book with no ranking and only one customer ranking –by the author himself (or herself). Personally, I think that looks tacky, unprofessional andit would turn me off from buying the book no matter how intriguing its premise happensto be.
Even if the author is posting a reader’s Amazon rating on B&N, it’s still going to look bad to the average B&N shopper. Consider that some folks are brand loyal and will onlyshop in one place. Let’s say they find a book and see that all the comments and ratingsare from the author. Furthermore, the author has stipulated that these comments/reviewsare actually cross-posted from another site. If I’m that potential customer, I would feelput off by it and immediately skeptical. I’d feel obligated to visit the other site andconfirm whether or not the author’s telling the truth, which would probably annoy meand not leave a very good impression. That’s just me, though, and I’m a weird guy. Otherpeople may have no problem with this.
With that said, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with asking readers to leave a reviewor rate the book at a particular site if they’ve read the book. I feel I have to clarify that lastbit. You want honest opinions from readers, not the false ratings of people who’ve notread the book. Usually, if someone’s read your work and they enjoyed it, they’re happyto leave a review or comment, and I think that sort of thing will mean more to otherpotential readers. It’s all a matter of perception.
3) What is your long term goal as a writer, do you want to do this forever?
My long-term goal is to write something that affects people, and to leave a legacy. It’s
not really to find success (though that would be nice), but rather to be able to keep doing what I love to do regardless of the circumstances. I’ll always be writing something.
4) Is .99 the magic price for e-books?
That’s a good question, and it’s one a lot of authors are asking themselves right now. I polled readers last year about what they think is a reasonable price for an ebook. Most ofthem agreed that 99 cents is too low, and a few went on to say that $9.99 was perfectly reasonable.
Author Zoe Winters recently blogged about the subject [allindiepublishing.com], arguing that a 99 cent price point attracts the wrong kind of reader. In this grand age of entitlement thatis the internet, I can see her point. A 99 cent price point may get you more sales, but howmany of those people are actually reading it? Did they buy it because they’re interested inyour work, or did they buy it because it’s 99 cents?
I think a 99 cent price point should be utilized as a sale price, or a promotional price.But that’s just my opinion. Currently my novel’s 99 cents on Kindle until other vendorsupdate to the original $2.99 price (Amazon matches the lowest price by default). Whenthe next book hits, due out early next year at double the length of ALT, I’ll probably price it at $4.99 just to see how well it sells.
The great thing about the pricing debate is that we’re free to experiment. So, to answer your question, no, I don’t think 99 cents is the magic price. I think every author needs toexperiment and find that “sweet spot” in pricing.
5) If so, is it fair that novels and short collections sell for the same price?
I think the price should be dictated by length. Do you have a long novel? $4.99. Short novel? $2.99 – $3.99. Short story collection and/or novella? $1.99 An exception to this would be a huge short story collection, which would justify a higher price. Again, it’s allopen to experimentation. The ebook market is still a new, uncharted world for publishing,and it will probably be several years before a flat standard is reached.
Bonus Question: -What inspired the name of the cat in ALT? These things always have a back story.
Many years ago, my aunt adopted a stray Tomcat and named him Kitty Precious. I thought that was a horrible name for a Tom. So, almost a decade later, when I realized the Candle family had a cat, I decided it had to have the corniest name possible. I almost named him Kitty Precious, after his namesake, but decided to play around with it. When the name “Mr. Precious Paws” occurred to me, I knew I had a winner.
Thanks for the interview, Todd. I wish you much success with your upcoming novels.
Todd can be found on Twitter @todd_keisling
