What I did this summer: Soul-searching, mostly.

Steven Lyle Jordan · 10-07-2010, 01:38 PM

by Steven Lyle Jordan, formerly Steve Jordan

Many of my fellow MR members are aware that I dropped off the face of this site for a few months in 2010. In fact, I didn't just stop appearing here... I also took down SteveJordanBooks.com, removing all of my books for sale there and at other booksellers, and I immediately stopped working on my latest book. I needed to do this, as I was having a crisis of purpose, and needed to re-evaluate my efforts at selling ebooks.

This came about as a result of conversations with members of MR and other sites, in which I became unsure of: Whether it was enough to write and put ebooks online; whether I had a right to believe I deserved to be paid for my efforts; whether I felt I was losing significant sales, and therefore effort for my payback, to piracy and uncaring web denizens; whether my lack of marketing savvy was preventing me from getting ahead as I desired; and whether I should consider the whole ebook thing a lost cause, and find some other way to spend my free time.

After a couple of months of soul-searching, I finally came to the conclusion that, Yes, I wanted to continue writing, to continue offering my books to others, and to continue trying to make some reasonable profit off of my effort. But once I decided this, I realized that I needed to make some changes to the way I'd operated before.

For one thing, I needed a new website, something that would look a bit more like a professional author's site. As I'd purchased the Right Brane domain when I'd purchased SteveJordanBooks, but had never actually used it, I decided the new site would be placed under the Right Brane domain, in effect putting a virtual publisher over my name.

Next came a new design for the site, which would coincide with a redesign of the books themselves, and a repackaging of myself. Top of my list was changing to the use of my full name, Steven Lyle Jordan, to distinguish myself from the other few thousand Steve Jordans out there, many of whom included authors as well as every other profession under the sun.

I also had to make some changes to how my books are offered. Due to the changes in the ebook formats market, I am limiting my site's sales to Kindle format, ePub, and RTF for those who wish to do their own conversions. My books will be made available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords initially, satisfying those who like the convenience of buying ebooks through their reader, and in the case of Smashwords, offering other ready-made formats that I no longer supply.

I have no interest in making my books available through print channels, my personal opinion being that we have better uses for trees than using them to make books. I also have no interest in spending extra money to but ISBNs for my books, which means they will not be available through outlets that demand ISBNs, such as Apple and Sony. And while I will still offer some free content, I have stabilized my ebooks price at $2.99US, which I consider to be a fair price for quality original ebooks.

Finally, I stand by the original decision I made when I first started this venture, and I will continue to sell my ebooks without DRM. The Amazon and B&N books will also be available without DRM. Though I am sure this will result in some lost sales through piracy, I consider it a loss I will simply accept as part of the new venue, and deal with it accordingly.

All of this will culminate in the grand opening of Right Brane ePublications, featuring the ebooks of Steven Lyle Jordan, on Saturday, Oct.9, 2010. At first, only two ebooks--the first Kestral novel, and Verdant Skies, both revised and repackaged into new volumes--and various pieces of also-repackaged free content will be available on the site. The other books, all of them, will follow one at a time, as I revise and repackage them. I hope to have all of my backlist in there in a few months, at which time, I can go back to writing new books.

As should be the case with web-based services, this new site will be an evolving work-in-progress. Hopefully the new repackaging, along with some new and better marketing techniques, will get the new site off to a good start. I invite all MR members to stop by and check it out, maybe stop by and visit my Facebook page, and tell others who like SF ebooks that they are missing out on some great content.

And that, as they say, is it in a nutshell. Sorry I was away for awhile. I'll try not to let it happen again.

pholy · 10-07-2010, 03:59 PM

Welcome back! I'm just wondering if we/I can buy directly from RightBrane.com as well as Smashwords? Both Amazon and B&N are closed to me, as I don't have a Kindle, and I live outside the USA.

Nevertheless I am looking forward to your new offerings on Saturday. I'll be back.

Steven Lyle Jordan · 10-07-2010, 04:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pholy

Welcome back! I'm just wondering if we/I can buy directly from RightBrane.com as well as Smashwords? Both Amazon and B&N are closed to me, as I don't have a Kindle, and I live outside the USA.

Nevertheless I am looking forward to your new offerings on Saturday. I'll be back.

Yes, you can buy directly from RightBrane: My payment system is compatible with most countries outside of the USA. If you're not using Mobi or ePub, and don't care to reformat your own files, you might try Smashwords, which will have most other major formats available.

jaxx6166 · 10-07-2010, 08:18 PM

Welcome back Steve!!!! To hell with the haters. I missed your content.

Karma for your candor.

Steven Lyle Jordan · 10-08-2010, 08:34 AM

Important: Verdant Skies and the first Kestral story will not be available on Smashwords for the grand opening. After reviewing the content, I'm really not happy with the conversion job on most of the formats... the files will need to be reworked in order to be presentable.

I will get back to work on them, and try to get them Smashwords-ready, as soon as I can.

Steven Lyle Jordan · 10-08-2010, 08:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaxx6166

Welcome back Steve!!!! To hell with the haters. I missed your content.

Karma for your candor.

...I have "haters"?

pholy · 10-08-2010, 11:19 PM

Oh boy, only 42 more minute to wait...

You did mean midnight - my - time, didn't you?

jaxx6166 · 10-08-2010, 11:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steven Lyle Jordan

This came about as a result of conversations with members of MR and other sites, in which I became unsure of: Whether it was enough to write and put ebooks online; whether I had a right to believe I deserved to be paid for my efforts; whether I felt I was losing significant sales, and therefore effort for my payback, to piracy and uncaring web denizens; whether my lack of marketing savvy was preventing me from getting ahead as I desired; and whether I should consider the whole ebook thing a lost cause, and find some other way to spend my free time.

I was referring to the thread mostly in which some of the trolls and flamers came out when this topic was discussed

HarryT · 10-09-2010, 05:46 AM

Good for you, Steve. Welcome back; your input to MR has been sorely missed.

Steven Lyle Jordan · 10-09-2010, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaxx6166

I was referring to the thread mostly in which some of the trolls and flamers came out when this topic was discussed

Well, it's understood that whenever we get into subjects like rights, pricing and compensation, security, etc, that netizens will strike. I understood that going in. All the same, the exchange provided insight into "the big picture," and it did give me a lot of points to think about. For awhile, I really wasn't sure I would come back to all this.

But in the long run, I came to a more practical and rational understanding of my situation, and I was better able to assess my own desires and motivations for being in this field. The thread in question actually helped me to clarify all that... so, in the end, it did me a service.

Steven Lyle Jordan · 10-09-2010, 09:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pholy

You did mean midnight - my - time, didn't you?

Actually, I was originally shooting for GMT... but a desire to add PDFs to my offered formats (from another thread) put the kibosh on that!

Steven Lyle Jordan · 10-09-2010, 09:24 PM

The Smashwords pages for Verdant Skies and The Kestral Voyages: My Life, After Berserker are now up. (Denial of Service is already there.)

Moe The Cat · 10-09-2010, 09:43 PM

Do I have to go back and change the metadata on all my old "Steve Jordan" ebooks to read "Steven Lyle Jordan"? And will there be a quiz later?

Welcome back, Steve!

Steven Lyle Jordan · 10-09-2010, 10:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moe The Cat

Do I have to go back and change the metadata on all my old "Steve Jordan" ebooks to read "Steven Lyle Jordan"?

Only if you don't want to confuse me with the Steve Jordan who writes sports biographies... I guess that call's up to you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moe The Cat

And will there be a quiz later?

If you insist... the question is:

In 2011, How many things will Steven Lyle Jordan be able to pay off with his ebook sales?

His house
A backyard deck
Repair the cracked walkway in the front of the house
Dinner
Lunch
Lunch at Burger King
None of the above

Moe The Cat · 10-09-2010, 10:21 PM

Do I get a lifeline? I want to poll the audience.

10-07-2010, 01:38 PM	#1
Steven Lyle Jordan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,478 Karma: 5171130 Join Date: Jan 2006 Device: none	What I did this summer: Soul-searching, mostly. by Steven Lyle Jordan, formerly Steve Jordan Many of my fellow MR members are aware that I dropped off the face of this site for a few months in 2010. In fact, I didn't just stop appearing here... I also took down SteveJordanBooks.com, removing all of my books for sale there and at other booksellers, and I immediately stopped working on my latest book. I needed to do this, as I was having a crisis of purpose, and needed to re-evaluate my efforts at selling ebooks. This came about as a result of conversations with members of MR and other sites, in which I became unsure of: Whether it was enough to write and put ebooks online; whether I had a right to believe I deserved to be paid for my efforts; whether I felt I was losing significant sales, and therefore effort for my payback, to piracy and uncaring web denizens; whether my lack of marketing savvy was preventing me from getting ahead as I desired; and whether I should consider the whole ebook thing a lost cause, and find some other way to spend my free time. After a couple of months of soul-searching, I finally came to the conclusion that, Yes, I wanted to continue writing, to continue offering my books to others, and to continue trying to make some reasonable profit off of my effort. But once I decided this, I realized that I needed to make some changes to the way I'd operated before. For one thing, I needed a new website, something that would look a bit more like a professional author's site. As I'd purchased the Right Brane domain when I'd purchased SteveJordanBooks, but had never actually used it, I decided the new site would be placed under the Right Brane domain, in effect putting a virtual publisher over my name. Next came a new design for the site, which would coincide with a redesign of the books themselves, and a repackaging of myself. Top of my list was changing to the use of my full name, Steven Lyle Jordan, to distinguish myself from the other few thousand Steve Jordans out there, many of whom included authors as well as every other profession under the sun. I also had to make some changes to how my books are offered. Due to the changes in the ebook formats market, I am limiting my site's sales to Kindle format, ePub, and RTF for those who wish to do their own conversions. My books will be made available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords initially, satisfying those who like the convenience of buying ebooks through their reader, and in the case of Smashwords, offering other ready-made formats that I no longer supply. I have no interest in making my books available through print channels, my personal opinion being that we have better uses for trees than using them to make books. I also have no interest in spending extra money to but ISBNs for my books, which means they will not be available through outlets that demand ISBNs, such as Apple and Sony. And while I will still offer some free content, I have stabilized my ebooks price at $2.99US, which I consider to be a fair price for quality original ebooks. Finally, I stand by the original decision I made when I first started this venture, and I will continue to sell my ebooks without DRM. The Amazon and B&N books will also be available without DRM. Though I am sure this will result in some lost sales through piracy, I consider it a loss I will simply accept as part of the new venue, and deal with it accordingly. All of this will culminate in the grand opening of Right Brane ePublications, featuring the ebooks of Steven Lyle Jordan, on Saturday, Oct.9, 2010. At first, only two ebooks--the first Kestral novel, and Verdant Skies, both revised and repackaged into new volumes--and various pieces of also-repackaged free content will be available on the site. The other books, all of them, will follow one at a time, as I revise and repackage them. I hope to have all of my backlist in there in a few months, at which time, I can go back to writing new books. As should be the case with web-based services, this new site will be an evolving work-in-progress. Hopefully the new repackaging, along with some new and better marketing techniques, will get the new site off to a good start. I invite all MR members to stop by and check it out, maybe stop by and visit my Facebook page, and tell others who like SF ebooks that they are missing out on some great content. And that, as they say, is it in a nutshell. Sorry I was away for awhile. I'll try not to let it happen again.

10-08-2010, 08:34 AM	#5
Steven Lyle Jordan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,478 Karma: 5171130 Join Date: Jan 2006 Device: none	Update: Smashwords content on hold Important: Verdant Skies and the first Kestral story will not be available on Smashwords for the grand opening. After reviewing the content, I'm really not happy with the conversion job on most of the formats... the files will need to be reworked in order to be presentable. I will get back to work on them, and try to get them Smashwords-ready, as soon as I can.

10-09-2010, 09:24 PM	#12
Steven Lyle Jordan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,478 Karma: 5171130 Join Date: Jan 2006 Device: none	FYI: The Smashwords pages are up The Smashwords pages for Verdant Skies and The Kestral Voyages: My Life, After Berserker are now up. (Denial of Service is already there.)

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10-07-2010, 03:59 PM	#2
pholy Booklegger Posts: 1,801 Karma: 7999816 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Device: BeBook(1 & 2010), PEZ, PRS-505, Kobo BT, PRS-T1, Playbook, Kobo Touch	Welcome back! I'm just wondering if we/I can buy directly from RightBrane.com as well as Smashwords? Both Amazon and B&N are closed to me, as I don't have a Kindle, and I live outside the USA. Nevertheless I am looking forward to your new offerings on Saturday. I'll be back.

10-07-2010, 08:18 PM	#4
jaxx6166 Wizard Posts: 1,222 Karma: 769316 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Eternal summer Device: 350, iPad, PW	Welcome back Steve!!!! To hell with the haters. I missed your content. Karma for your candor.

10-08-2010, 11:19 PM	#7
pholy Booklegger Posts: 1,801 Karma: 7999816 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Device: BeBook(1 & 2010), PEZ, PRS-505, Kobo BT, PRS-T1, Playbook, Kobo Touch	Oh boy, only 42 more minute to wait... You did mean midnight - my - time, didn't you?

10-09-2010, 05:46 AM	#9
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Good for you, Steve. Welcome back; your input to MR has been sorely missed.

10-09-2010, 09:43 PM	#13
Moe The Cat Bear Melt Posts: 919 Karma: 5433051 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Toronto Device: Google Pixel 6, Moto G9 Power (both with Fbreader) & Kindle PW2	Do I have to go back and change the metadata on all my old "Steve Jordan" ebooks to read "Steven Lyle Jordan"? And will there be a quiz later? Welcome back, Steve!

10-09-2010, 10:21 PM	#15
Moe The Cat Bear Melt Posts: 919 Karma: 5433051 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Toronto Device: Google Pixel 6, Moto G9 Power (both with Fbreader) & Kindle PW2	Do I get a lifeline? I want to poll the audience.

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