Big interview on The Writing Show

I’ve been looking forward to sharing this one with you. Mick Halpin of The Writing Show podcast recently travelled up from Dublin to Portadown to interview me. We had a wonderful, relaxed discussion, where I talked about childhood horrors, my fascination with end-of-the-world fiction, my maverick self-publishing strategies, my filmmaking endeavours, and numerous other topics. The download is a hefty 27 Mb MP3 file, translating to 49 mins of audio. Mick has also put online a full transcript of the interview, featuring numerous photos and links to all the various things we talked about (also featuring a bonus “unruly review” of Zombie Genocide).

[ Download Interview ] [ Show Notes ] [ Transcript ]

PODlings rates Chion HOT!

Press is coming in thick and fast at the moment. Hot on the heels of the last glowing review comes another; this time it’s at PODlings:

Chion has to be one of the most unique thrillers I’ve ever read. I mean, how many thrillers will there be that rehash, dinosaurs, sharks, killer viruses, aliens or rampaging beasts? Well, never fear, because Mr. Sloan has made a monster out of pristine white snow, of all things, and this story will grab you and hold you just as fast as the fluffy flakes themselves! … On every level, it delivers right up to the end.

PODlings also kindly invited me for interview.

[ Read Review ] [ Read Interview ]

Interview on The PODler

The PODler, a book review blog that recently rated my novel Chion A+, got in touch to do an interview with me. It’s online now.

[ Read Interview ]

Interview on Taste, NewsTalk FM

On Saturday evening I took part in a panel discussion on Irish radio programme Taste, broadcast on NewsTalk 106-108 FM. The channel is difficult to pick up here in the North, but the wonders of internet streaming technology meant that I could record it online. I’ve cut a large section out of the middle of the discussion, because it comprises the two in-studio guys talking at length on ebooks. Most importantly, I got to plug my book and provide a few insights into my self-publishing experience.

(The big interview on The Writing Show is due to go online on 23 April.)

[ Download Interview ]

Chion rated A+ at The PODler

I’ve just submitted Chion to several review blogs dedicated exclusively to print-on-demand books. The first review is in, from The PODler, and what a review! Here are a few excerpts:

Chion starts with a brief, one page, exchange that gives us a hint of some unimaginable disaster having struck the world. In cinematic fashion, we enter the action of chapter one as Jamie Metcalfe and other kids of Clounagh Junior High School hear screams coming from outside, where a few of their mates have been stuck to the ground by what appears to be ordinary snow. When Alex Vennard touches a flake, however, he learns that whatever this stuff is, it is definitely not snow. In fact, it is something that grips his hand and won’t let go. In desperate attempt, inspired by mounting panic, his teacher pours hot water on it, hoping to melt it, but the stuff will not. In a fit of panic, Alex frees himself by tearing off a bit of his skin. How can you NOT keep on reading?

I found myself really wanting to know the answers to the questions that have been posed by the story. I think the reason for this lies in the high concept: adhesive snow - this is the stuff of Hollywood blockbusters … But there is more to this novel than just a high concept. Inside the school, trapped by the weird snow, a genuine, beautifully evoked, human drama unfolds … Unlike much of Christian fiction, there is no heavy proselytizing here, no dogma being pushed on the reader. Instead the focus is on the timeless themes of love, sacrifice, and faith that any human being appreciates and believes in..

I think this is a book that exemplifies the very best of POD.

[ Read Full Review ]

The Sloan plan for world domination

With the aid of Google Maps, Photoshop, and my own extensive record-keeping, I’ve put together map of every location in the world that I’ve sent a book to. The US/Canada side of the map is accurate right down to the estimated position of the reader’s town/city within his State (if you squint hard enough). On the UK front, I had to zoom in for accuracy, because I’ve sold a lot more books in the UK than elsewhere. You’ve heard me boast in the past about selling over 1,000 books; if the map looks a little sparse, that’s because I only have records of the books I’ve sold directly to readers using my website and eBay, without the intermediary of a bookshop.

I put this map together for my own amusement and encouragement. It’s heartening to see my books straying so far away from home, not only scattered across the United States, but in such far-flung places as Australia and Japan. In the USA, if you spot some of my dots being wider than others, that’s not a slip; it means that one reader close to another bought a book - by coincidence or recommendation who can tell. In the UK, there’s a beautiful burst of activity, and it’s particularly nice to see five books ending up on off-shore islands: Angelsey, Isle of Man, Isle of Lewis, North Uist, Shetland.

My main sales strategy is to offer a competitive retail price by eliminating the online bookshop from the equation. I don’t tell my potential readers to bugger off to Amazon, where they can scowl at an overpriced paperback. I sell my book directly to them, cheaper than the competition and autographed to boot. I think this map offers a good illustration that, for self-published authors, the simple author-reader sales model works.

A book cover experiment - Part II

On January 16 I invited readers to take part in a little book cover experiment. To reiterate: I asked you to visit Locus’s 2006 Cover Art Gallery and pick the ten most attention-grabbing book covers from the 557 on display, and we’ll see what we can learn from the results. Here are the three guinea pigs who took part (who shall forever remain nameless):

Subject #1:

Subject #2:

Subject #3:

The first thing I notice is that entirely different covers stood out for each person, which basically tells me that you can’t win ‘em all. I use the philosophy that a successful cover is one where something stands out and catches the eye of the casual bookshelf browser. The thing is, clearly, different things stand out for different people.

What’s interesting about the individual choices is that they reveal trends. You can tell that subject #1 likes fantasy and science fiction - military SF in particular. Subject #2 has similar interests, but I would dare to say that fantasy is a firm favourite over sci-fi. Subject #3 is fascinating because he’s the only one with a definite inclination towards darker fiction. There wasn’t much in the way of all-out horror on display, but this subject likes dark atmospheres, weird monsters, and kinky sex! I notice a distinct cyberpunk interest. Conversely, Tolkien-esque fantasy is completely absent from his list and made no impression on his choices, unlike #1 and #2.

The conclusion I draw from this is that people buy books according to the genres and sub-genres that appeal to them. I think the best marketing choice I can make, as a self-publisher, is to produce a cover that most accurately descibes the content of the book I’m selling. It’s pointless trying to appeal to a broad audience, and might even harm my chances of being noticed by the fans of the type of fiction I’m actually writing. So, when designing a cover, don’t be vague: let it scream zombies, fairies, detectives, or whatever it is your book is about.