Mini Blog Tour Day 1

My first stop on this mini tour is Joe Schreiber's blog, where I discuss my romanticism with first novels and how The Calling is not just my debut novel, but my true first novel. Please check it out, and while you're there, check out some of Joe's novels if you're not familiar with his work (Chasing the Dead is one of my favorite horror novels of the past decade and I highly recommend it).

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The Calling Official Release Day

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While it's been live for a little bit, today is The Calling’s official release day. What does this mean exactly? Nothing, really. E-books don't necessarily have to have release days, not like regular books. But over the course of a week and a half, there's one thing I've learned -- novels sell a hell of a lot better than short stories and novellas when it comes to e-books. At least for me. The Calling has already sold more units than any of my other e-books combined, and the number keeps going up. I want to thank everyone who's purchased a copy so far, and those who are planning to purchase a copy. After all, I launched this at a 99 cent introductory price, people!

Description:

When eighteen-year-old Christopher Myers’ parents are murdered, something is written on his bedroom door, a mark in his parents’ blood that convinces the police the killer has targeted Christopher as the next victim. To keep him safe, he travels away with his estranged grandmother and uncle to the small town of Bridgton, New York. And it’s in Bridgton that he meets an extraordinary young man who has come with his father to stop an unrelenting evil. Soon Christopher learns of the town’s deep dark secret, and how his parents’ murder was no accident, and how he has been brought to Bridgton by forces beyond his power—forces that just may threaten the destruction of all mankind.

Purchase this e-book for $0.99:

Advance Praise:

“The Calling is a powerful, gripping and terrifying novel, the sort that possesses your whole life while you’re reading it; it’ll stalk you through the day, and inform your dreams. Swartwood has delivered a novel that will become a classic.”

— Tim Lebbon

“Robert Swartwood’s The Calling is a diabolical rocket sled of a psychological thriller. Told through the vivid, almost druggy point of view of a young man on the edge, tangled in a web of tragedy and surreal horror, Swartwood’s novel gets under the skin and stays there. Highly recommended.”

— Jay Bonansinga

Linkage:

The Calling will, at some point, be made available at other e-bookstores such as the Kobo and Sony. For now, if you have one of those e-readers and want to read The Calling, you can download the appropriate format at Smashwords and just transfer the file.

Over the next two weeks I'll be going on "tour" to help promote The Calling. I mentioned how I plan to release a few more e-books this year, but don't worry, I don't plan to "tour" for all of those too. But The Calling is the first novel I'm releasing, and it's my true first novel, so it holds a special place in my heart. A big thank you to everyone who was kind enough to host me at their blogs for a day. Here's the schedule:

  • 4/5 - Joe Schreiber
  • 4/6 - Z. Constance Frost
  • 4/7 - David B. Silva
  • 4/8 - Barry Napier
  • 4/11 - Tim Lebbon
  • 4/12 - Kip Hanson
  • 4/13 - Maurice Broaddus
  • 4/14 - Samuel Rippey

I decided to take the 15th off, as it's officially Tax Day here in America, though the IRS apparently pushed it back to Monday, which is also unfortunate for some, as that's when I'll be doing a live reading here at my website.

Yes, you read that right: I'll be doing a live reading here at my website. It starts at 7 pm EST and will go for about a half hour to an hour. I'll read some of The Calling and then take some questions that are submitted via the comments section of the post. Plus, I will make an exciting announcement. Oh, and to create some good Internet viralness, a few cute animals may make an appearance too. Isn't technology great?

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Tom Petty Was Right

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Waiting sucks, doesn't it? And I'm not just talking about the movie, though it had its moments. I'm talking about what a writer does a lot of -- just waits. Waits to hear back from magazines, from agents, from publishers. And then, if accepted, waits for the story or novel to actually be published. And then once it's published, waits for someone to actually read your story or buy your novel and maybe email to let you know they liked it or hated it. Waiting, waiting, waiting.

The other week I had a very long conversation with Blake Crouch. We talked a lot about publishing and self-publishing and I mentioned how I was releasing The Calling soon and that I was going to wait a few months before I released my next book.

"Why?" he said.

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Well, because ... I guess I'm not sure why."

"There's no reason to wait," he said. "Waiting between release dates is old school thinking."

And of course he's right. Traditional publishing doesn't want to oversaturate the market with just one writer. They want to drag it out. Release the hardcover and wait a year for the paperback. Then release another hardcover and wait another year for the paperback. Again and again. But if you're trying to build an audience, having as many e-books available is the thing to do. And if that means you have books ready to go, it makes no sense to just sit on them for a month or two or three. After all, just imagine the potential sales you could be missing.

This isn't to say you should always rush into self-publishing your e-book, if self-publishing your e-book is what you want to do. You should always wait until it's the best it can be. But when it is, why wait? This is why over the course of the next year I hope to release at least two, if not three, more e-books. These are all books that are already written and have been collecting dust on my hard drive. I just now need to go back through them and dust them off and get them prepped.

In terms of The Calling, the "official" release date isn't until Monday, but I thought you might like to know it's now available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords (a special thanks to Horace Torys for the last minute notes). It includes a sneak preview of my next novel, too. All for a special introductory price of 99 cents (that's dirt cheap, people!). Or, as always, you can pay with a tweet or Facebook post. Check her out. In the meantime, see you next week.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZX0f4CL-T8