I need some caffeine before I deal with Amazon and B&N however. So, expect it to go live this evening or tomorrow. ...That is, if I don't get shanghaied to go Christmas shopping! GRR!
Commander Shelby Logan had a history and a
future. She was in command of a great ship, Prometheus, and loved her job. She
had known for some time that she would be working around the sector to help
bring it up to the old Federation standards.
Plans however tend to change with time. When
her ship returned to Pyrax she was promoted to Captain and thrust into the
planning of an expedition to the nearby Tau sector in order to get it turned
around and ready to join the Federation. She found to her dismay that she had
to navigate the increasingly byzantine politics of the growing navy and
federation government, then deal with politicians as her convoy made its way
through Rho's southern loop to jump to Tau.
Once in Tau she and her people found that everything
they'd experienced up until that point was minor compared to the nightmare they
were thrust into. But there was one thing about Shelby, her stubbornness, grit,
and her determination were as well known as her father's and Admiral Irons. One
way or another she was going to drag the sector kicking and screaming to
civilization. Or her name wasn't Shelby Logan!
Here is the Amazon link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N65FA1S
From Jörg Wunderlich-Pfeiffer
https://www.amazon.de/dp/B01N65FA1S
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01N65FA1S
https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B01N65FA1S
B&N from Duncan:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/convoy-chris-hechtl/1125161063?ean=2940157111939
Got it, hopefully i will sleep tonight.
ReplyDeleteNo promises, I had fun writing some of it and I blew a couple Beta's minds!
DeleteYep there was a plot twist in there that was very interesting. It potentially opens up an interesting plot line. Though on the other hand Chris has so many plot lines going already that he may not elect to pursue aforementioned plot line. We shall see!
DeleteOh, I'll get around to it... eventually! If the pirate lice get the message and things pick up again that is.
DeletePirate Lice? I don't get the reference. You mentioned Piracy before is this the swash buckling kind or the cyber type. Would you happen to be the the victim of high speed piracy.
DeleteYeah, lice as in sucking me dry, and yes, the electronic kind. :P
DeleteAfter I finish my current book I'll start reading Convoy.
ReplyDeleteLink to Amazon.de:
https://www.amazon.de/dp/B01N65FA1S
I just learned that the above works also for other amazon sites, e.g:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N65FA1S
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01N65FA1S
https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B01N65FA1S
...
Greetings,
Jörg
Barnes and Noble link: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/convoy-chris-hechtl/1125161063?ean=2940157111939
ReplyDeleteHopefully you can get the issue with book piracy sorted out.
ReplyDeleteI might hit up Christopher Nuttall on his blog and ask how he deals with it. Other than publishing a book every other week.
Just finished the book myself and ofcourse i liked it.Have to say i dont usually read the afterwords (sorry) but i did this time.Would suggest you contact Christopher Nuttall as well because i know he had the same piracy problems.I dont really understand why they do it because its not like it cost that much but where it is profit there it is pirat,s.I will promise you that i will never buy a pirat copy of your (or other authors)books \.Never had never done (didnt even know about it until i first was reading it from C.Nuttall and now you).You could always contact Jeffrey Burger and Nathan lowell to hear what they do to protect their books (jburger1@tampabay.rr.com) because i dont want you to stop writing at all...that would really ruin my day(s)
ReplyDeleteThank you. Please post a review.
DeleteI contracted Muso.com to try to deal with it. So far they seem to be stomping out the pirates. Within hours of publishing Convoy there were 40 pirates putting it up on torrents or requesting it. That is on the one hand flattering, but on the other frustrating and depressing. But at least they stomped on it.
So far so good. I even went back to writing and I'm 1/2 done the Tales of the Founding of the Federation 2 book. The betas have been picking at the short stories as I write them. (mainly Wayne at the moment. Duncan's fallen behind!)
You Haven't SENT me anything else!!!!! I am good but I can't read what I don't have!!!! I am still working on that skill!!
Deletehow is it going by the way...its been a while since last little chat :) hopefully its going better now (piratwise it is).Hopefully you will get the book out before the end of the year hehe good luck
DeleteI find the Piracy you are expreincing depressing. While I have partaken and ocassionaly do it is only in cases where I feel like Corparte America is trying to screw me. If someone is going to get screwed I would perfer it to not be me. For example buying an ebook I already own in paper back that is 25 years old and they want 9.00 for the ebook verision, Frickin Really.
ReplyDeleteMore than anything I support you in this becuase you are an independant writer and I honestly belive your books are reasonably priced, I would be more than willinhg to pay 5.00 per book and call it worth it. I hope this situation gets better and you are able to continue to do the work you love.
PS: This topic came up in conversation with my Wife and her response was "Really over 3 frickin dollars. I swear to god cheap bastards. I hate people" I think she supports you to. Any way I have to go sooth the beast. Also if there is anything I can do please let me know. Good Luck
Hi Soren,
DeleteYeah, I've tried just about everything to stop them, including the letters on my own. The pirates ignore them. Some have made it harder to send them, either hitting you with a virus when you try or making it so you have to have a corporate PO box and written proof of ownership from a lawyer before they'll take it down. Which is why I had to go with Muso.
Yeah, $3. People are cheap. Within hours of publishing Convoy there were 40 attempts to pirate the book. To date, 6 days later, there have been 126 attempts to pirate the book. 6 are still outstanding, the others have been shut down by Muso.
The so called e-libraries are the worst. They have no concept of a real library, how they lend and RETURN, then lend 1 copy. One e-library was distributing my books at 400 copies a week. That was only half of my catalog. That is a huge hit to me.
Yes, the current e-book prices are crazy. I too saw one book for $21 for the kindle version, $5 for the hardcover! I am a reasonable person (about most things, just don't get me started about things like chocolate!) ...so I keep my prices low. I only had to bump them recently because I was no longer breaking even. I hated doing that.
Seriously, bump the price by another dollar. It's still cheaper than a paperback and way cheaper than what the "publishers" are pushing.
DeleteI think you, Nuttal and the Watcher brothers are the only ones still selling books at $3.99 after getting 3 books into a series.
Gods. Ok. Chris, I enjoy your books and I'd love to pay for them. But I absolutely won't do Kindle. Too easy for DRM to get invoked or for Amazon to decide you don't get to keep it after all. If I buy a paperback, I own it and don't have to worry about Amazon taking it away.
DeletePiracy, I would never have discovered your books without pirating them. Honestly though I must have the beta versions because they are absolutely rife with spelling and grammar mistakes. I don't mind so much but it detracts from the story because suddenly I notice the media and not the music of the story itself.
I know I can probably just buy the kindle version and eliminate that problem but again, Kindle no for me.
At any rate, I came here to try to find a way to pay for the books. I want to give you money for each of the books of yours I have. But I'd prefer to do it directly to you.
Is there any way you can add a click to donate option here? I'm not seeing one.
I agree in that I too go the paperback route. I also sell my books on B&N and my older books on Smashwords, Apple, and a few other sites.
DeleteSome of my older books were did not have a beta team. It is a bit disheartening to hear you and others pirating my books, and that you might have a beta version is very troubling.
I do not have a donate option. I haven't explored that, though several people have asked me to do so, or to start a kick-starter or go fund me page for each book. To me that is a lot of work. I'd rather write, though I have been tempted to go that route for a tie in game, movie, or other project.
Enjoyed the book, posted a review. Glad to see the book published, and read something more in the original vein of your work. I understand you need worldbuilding and politics to grow, but after RL politics, my tolerance for it is limited at this time. Honestly, one of the reasons I enjoyed the new book was that there was really only military dirty politics and not civilian. Good book to publish in the current US times until things cool down a little, and you can also figure out what to do with your piracy problem.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I have noticed most pirate sites are Russian based, due to US copyright laws, and the way to get russian pirate sites down is to get the russian gov't to drop such sites for having LGBT materials, references or books. It ain't fair or right, any of it, but that will get Russian sites to stop pirating your books.
P.P.S. I have purchased almost all of your books (legally so) so far, and I know others have as well. Don't give up hope.
Thank you Kyrst.
DeleteYeah, I've got 4 stories that have corporate and government politics left in the current book, I'm trying to do 1 and it isn't easy. I'm not looking forward to the others.
Russia: Yeah, I saw that. The worst are the so called E-libraries that have been popping up though.
Thank you for hanging in there.
Just jumped into the universe with this book; interesting experience, not something I usually do - obviously there's some stuff going on other readers would've known, but it worked fine even if one had no idea about the background of certain things.
ReplyDeleteAnd interesting how the novel focused on different issues than usually shown in comparable series; reminded me, in some ways at least, more of the April series than, say, the Honorverse. Even if it did end up in the traditional way ...
I suppose I would've liked a bit more insight into Shelby as a person; despite the novel being admirably long and her being around a lot I don't feel I really got to know her "as a person" (/fictional character). And the setting seems kinda - despite all those animal-aliens - "normal". Very current-Western-society. I like them more outlandish, but that's just my personal taste.
Either way, should a sequel arrive I'll definitely get it.
You do see more of Shelby if you start with the Wandering Engineer series. In particular Fool's Gold but there will be some references you won't get unless you read the previous book. She also appears in some of the short stories also.
DeleteThanks Pyroro-2. :)
DeleteI'll try to remember to get more into Shelby's head in the next book!
So there is going to be a Book 2 - aka The Sinking of Port Royal ... YES!!! YES!!! YES!!!
DeleteLike it, posted my review, hope it helps, now in waiting mode for the next one, which will be by the way ... ???
ReplyDeleteIm ok with paying $5 for one of your books . Might be an option for you to look at to keep you afloat . Great book as always . Thank you
ReplyDeleteDid you try the kindle unlimited path? Not worth it for you?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I liked this book a lot, even posted a review at amazon.
Thanks for the review!
DeleteYes I explored the unlimited program. It would mean I could only sell the book through that program. I didn't really see a benefit other than a bump in advertising. I have fans who will only buy the book on B&N or Apple or whatever. :D
Hello Chris,
ReplyDeleteI am a professional and seasoned translator for English, German and Spanish.
If you were interested in book translations and the related issues, please feel free to email me. I do not run a website or any social media for my service, but rather forward relevant information like references and my portfolio to select authors and boutique publishers.
jonee.tiedemann@gmail.com
All best and regards,
Jonee Tiedemann
native English, German and Spanish translator and editor
Loved this book. I left a review with Kindle. Bought two more copies for a couple of friends as an early X-Mass gifts.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteMaps? Love your books, but without maps it's hard to follow.
ReplyDeleteYou can see the Rho maps here. The Tau maps are being drooled over and remade on the Facebook fan group.
DeleteAfter you ranting about Trump; the person I voted for, calling him a racist, sexist, homophobe... why don't you go in the bathroom close the door and long look at yourself in the mirror and say you're not any of those. If you do, you're a liar.
ReplyDeleteFar as I'm concerned your names doesn't exist anymore, I don't care how much I enjoyed your books.
If I happen to see your stuff on some site, I'll just look the other way.
Jack, I don't want to get into it with you or anyone else. I should have deleted that part.
DeleteAnyway, have a happy holiday season.
hmm so its not sexist when your saying "grabbin them by the pussy"? interesting (however that said he is not the first person to be saying that...he is just a high profile person to be caught saying that).Not sure if he is racist but based on the person he selected for office i would guess a yes (but then again he is not the only one on the world).I didnt vote on H.C or D.T because i cant stand any of them (i was hoping for Bernie myself).Still...i dont like D.T and i dont think i will chance my mind there.I dont think he will "make America great again" at all...infact i think the poor people will be even poorer and the rich richer.He isnt working for the people (ok not true...he is.Just that the people he is working for is those that is already wealthy.Time will tell if i am right or wrong.People didnt like Ronald Reagen as well but he didnt do THAT bad a job...i think.we will see.It is only 4 years after all.
DeleteSoren:
ReplyDeleteIn regards to your post about a website: I've explored it several times. I've had 3 websites over the years. I got tired of paying for them and not having them do anything.
The Betas and I have explored restarting a site. Right now I have the FB group (okay, minion Mike and Jory and the betas manage it) and the wiki (okay, Duncan and Jory have that!) and this place.
I was also in IT, I wrote my second and third website in HTML. I pitched the idea of a VRML section in a future site, with stuff so you can look at ships, star systems, games, characters, etc. A store with Cafepress stuff, even a bar/coffee shop to forum chat in.
Alas, if I am working on that I'm not writing, and the website brings advertising, but doesn't pay for itself directly. (unless I do the store and it sells well)
If you had a choice, which would you prefer? Me writing or playing with that?
Grin.
I had that your books are being pirated. I have bought all of my copied through Amazon. I definitely want to see more. I wsnt to see the end of the Horath empire. There could be spin off side series going on forever as more of the old federation is brought out of the dark.
ReplyDeletePiracy: I hate it too. On the one hand it is flattering... but ugh.
DeleteSomeone asked for a piracy sitrep, I can't (ie too lazy) to find the thread. Anyway I have Muso now.
Yes I have DRM. I have it on all but 1 of my books. Amazon won't allow me to turn DRM on for that one book. They told me I have to unpublish it, then put it back on sale some time later to fix it. (I think that is what they said) I am not keen about that, I'd loose the reviews, the good, the bad, and the ugly.
I sent letters out to the people who were pirating my books. On 1 day I sent 127 out. I copy pasted what I could, but it is a pain in the rump. Only 1 was taken down.
When I got Muso they went to town. To date 184 out of 188 files have been taken off of the dark web with 4 in progress, and 1177 out of 1178 off the regular net with 1 in progress. And we're not quite done the first month yet. Over the weekend there were 34 attempts to pirate my book on torrents etc. (Muso emails me daily with stats)
The good news is, Muso is on the job. Also, the decorations are finally up. The bad news is I'm behind on the stories for Tales of the Federation 2. I've got 3 left to finish writing.
As more books come out and the Founding moves into the actual Federation and then Ragnarok time period, you'll get a chance to see all sorts of Federation stuff. I may tease a bit here and there in Tales of the Federation 2. In fact, if memory serves, I did drop in a couple people from Irons time into Tales... :D
Back to the salt mines!
Wait?! WHAT????!!!! If you mean the Mario Brothers Yes I caught those. If you mean John Henry Irons then it completely blew by me!!!! Unless we haven't come face to face with them yet in the current time period.
DeleteHonestly I would have you do what ever you think will keep you writing. If you go with the site, I would focus on setting the store up as a purchase venue. Tie in the link to FaceBook and the Blog. In your books place that site as the major focus and try to move as many of you core audience to it as possible to increase your take from each of those sales. If you can move 100 purchases to your site and Amazon only gives you 35% you have added 200 purchases to your bottom line. I talked to my friend. He is willing to do it for 400 and I can help with that. His regular price is 1200. There is a 10 domain charge and 15 month for E-Commerce and I think 60 dollar a year hosting.
ReplyDeleteAny other things can be added later and slowly added to. I would just focus on making it a place to generate more revenue and then a central place to access you content on other sites. Later you can worry about consolidating that content.
I am the main purchaser for my company and I can tell you I find vendors all the time and move to purchasing directly to them because it saves them money and it establishes a relationship. You can add discounts to the older books and remove them from the Amazon and Barnes and Nobles (you say there are not sales there anyway). Then point people to your site to get them. Any ideas you and the betas can do to drum up traffic could help alot.
One problem with that. I personally don't got straight to the author for books. I feel it takes away their writing time. I get all my books through B&N or Baen (since most of what I read is theirs anyway {some of the older authors aren't epublished on B&N since they are dead so....}) It is also redundancy since their exists two back up copies to my nook. One on my computer and the other on B&N's servers in my account there.
DeleteChris, I am sorry to hear you are being pirated. I am very happy you are finding a great terminator to stop that. I really enjoyed Convoy, much to my surprise. I, to be honest, was not expecting much with Shelby, but you told a great yarn...and kept me interested without a lot of my favorite characters. Bravo....I hope the good news about the pirates encourages you so we can get more stories!!!!
ReplyDelete"Chris, I am sorry to hear you are being pirated."
ReplyDeleteDon't take it the wrong way, but I had to laugh at that. I wonder what people do with all the copies of him ... ;p
Lol
DeleteYeah, I know. Most people think 1 of me is too much as it is!
In other news, I just finished the last story and shot it off to the first of the Betas. So, I'll be working on the editing, putting the manuscript together, and getting the cover art done before it goes off to Rea next weekend. :)
And after that, I'll play with my annual 3D Christmas card plus play catch up on all the maps and stuff the betas are bugging me about. :)
Hi,
DeleteWhat is the name of the latest book?
Can you post snippets ?
Thanks
I thought it was a bit ironic to be pirated by pirates considering the bad guys in Convoy....looking forward to the next book!!!!!
DeleteDKH: Oye.
ReplyDeleteHi Sergiu! The next book is Tales of the Founding of the Federation 2. I finished it yesterday. It is another short story book. This one has back story for the next Founding book The First Terran Interstellar War. It also has a bit of backstory for Rho and some fun twists and cameos.
The betas have been chewing on it for a while. In the case of Eden Project for years.
I am hoping to get it to Rea by this weekend. No promises when it will come out.
I'm trying to think of what to post for snippets. Perhaps some from one of the longer stories?
Or do the title and the main character from said title and see where the speculation goes. Like in the one that is part of the backstory for Rho you had one hell of a twist that I didn't see coming it would be fun to see some of the speculation that will grow up around that story.
DeleteIve thought long and hard about this post and I sincerely hope that you continue writing. We all have a lot invested into your universe as well. I have been reading your books since Bootstrap Colony and New Dawn. It has been interesting to see your work progress. So anyway here are my thoughts and observations. Sorry buts going to be a long post.
ReplyDelete1. Editing. If you are paying for that professional copy editing that is listed on the splash page of your books then you are paying too much. This book has plenty of typos, misspellings and just plain wrong word usage. Professional copy editors don't make mistakes like that. As an idie author your caught in a tough spot. Maybe shake up your beta readers or add new ones that could help you out.
2. Your afterword about Donald Trump - I didn't vote for him, but your words were uncalled for and quite frankly made you sound like a petulant child and were just plain mean spirited. Readers in your genre are typically older and more conservative than your typical reader and you put your foot in your mouth on this one. If you really want to do a political dialogue in your closing remarks I would suggest you look at Chris Nuttal's Empires Core series. While you might or might not agree with him he does a good job of debating the issues instead of name calling.
3 - Piracy. Its going to happen no matter what. Its part of living in the digital age. Do what you can to stop it but don't let it consume you. Not sure you are getting your monies worth as I checked 3 top file sharing sites and you were on all 3 still. I would attach a screen shot to show you but I don't think you can in the comments.
4 - Amazon. Like it or not, Amazon is THE retailer for indie authors. Barnes and noble lost 14.4 million dollars last quarter and had a 25% reduction in nook/ebook sales. You should know where most of your revenue comes from and I would wager that 75% or more of it comes from Amazon. People that have been reading your books are not going to stop reading them because your not on B&N or Apple. Test the waters with the Logan spin off series and make it unlimited. I use amazon unlimited and rarely purchase books anymore. There are a ton of authors making it in your genre on Unlimited. For example - Michael Anderle, Ryk Brown, Jay Allan, Vaughn Heppner, etc the list goes on and on.
5. Book Length. Your books are too long. I know I can hardly believe I am saying that but its true. I LOVE that I can get a 900 page book from you as the same price as the next guys book that is only 250 pages. As a business practice that is not what you want. You are basically selling your work for 1/3 of what everyone else is charging. Want to make more money? Write shorter books more often. Enemy of my Enemy was 741 pages long, that is two books of material by any other author and should have been by you. Stop short selling your work. I would gladly pay the same amount your charging now if the books came out faster even if they were shorter.
6. Networking. This is probably the simplest cheapest thing you could do and there are so many options. Bookbub is a great platform for indies, although I have heard the rates have gone up. Facebook - I personally hate FB but its a great FREE marketing tool. Website - You need one. Costs are minimal and I would wager you would have more volunteers than you could shake a stick at to help with design, construction and moderation. A good website with hosting and forum software would cost you less than $500 a year.
Hi Tyler,
Delete1: Yes I pay for a professional copy editor. No, the betas work for free and mostly do not copy edit. I took them off that to look for errors in names, left hand right hand, etc.
2: Not going there.
3: Ouch.
4: Yes Amazon is the big guns. I'll keep that in mind.
5: It is 900 pages for you, but for me it is 300 pages since I write old school. I've heard from both sides of the fence on this issue, some want shorter books, others want longer books. I've even had a few betas want me to write 1000 page books like Weber!
I can't see writing short books. I don't feel it is right to write something that is less than 300 pages for me. There is too much going on to cram into that sort of package.
Cornerstone is currently 306 pages (not including some front/back matter) I'll see how it goes.
6: I am horrible at networking. I have looked into the website several times, I had 1 twice before. Most of my problem with hosting is the hosts themselves. They start you off cheap but then raise the price every year. Godaddy got to the point where it was $150 for hosting and domain name. I entered a deal with a friend again for unlimited bandwidth, hosting, and my domain name (for free) but he unfortunately passed away.
I will discuss it with the betas and look into the website issue again after the holidays.
BTW: I have a wiki too. One of the betas, Jory Gray started it. There is also a Wandering Engineer Space Engineer server he started. (or was, I'm not sure now)