Interview at Self-Publishing Review

There’s a new interview with me up at Self-Publishing Review. Here’s a brief excerpt:

MR: The cover blurb of Chion poses a question – “How will you survive?”. By the end, I think that most readers will have asked themselves this question, because in Chion, there are no easy answers. Once the full effect of the disaster becomes apparent, survival depends on the result of some agonising decisions.

DS: I’m always fascinated by the grey areas of life, where our notions of right and wrong are put to the test and we face challenges and where there aren’t any easy answers.

MR: Do you think that you would make a good survivor in a post apocalyptic scenario?

DS: I think I would. First, it’s a big help if you’ve watched everything by Ray Mears! But more than that, you’ve got to have the sort of mind that can remain calm in a crisis and can see the big picture rather than just the danger right in front of you – to ask yourself not only where the next meal is going to come from, but how we’ll sustain ourselves indefinitely.

This was a big theme in Chion. Even the larger food supplies that everyone was clamouring over were merely postponing the inevitable. Most people were prepared to live in denial of what was coming, as long as they could see the next meal, when the real solution lay in facing up to the scale of the crisis and thinking outside the box.

[ Read Full Interview ]

Chion reviewed at Books For Youth

Another great unsolicited review of Chion has cropped up, at a site called Books For Youth. Here’s an excerpt:

This story makes many ‘traditionally published’ books I’ve read pale in comparison … It’s an original story idea – which seems to be hard to find now-a-days–and has a good underlining message … This story is filled with a constant moral dilemma: how far do you go to save those you care about?

[ Read Full Review ]

Chion reviewed at Self-Publishing Review

Chion has clocked up yet another excellent review, this time at Self-Publishing Review. Here’s an excerpt:

The book is a similar high-concept apocalypse similar to M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Happening” or “The Mist” based on a Stephen King story. Except where those movies fail – and fail deeply, as “The Mist” has one of the most distressing and frustrating endings in movie history – Chion succeeds. Perhaps movies are the best comparison for Chion because the book is seriously cinematic – one of those books where you forget you’re reading.

[ Read Full Review ]

Final version of new Chion cover

I appreciated everyone’s comments on the proposed new cover design for Chion. I wanted the helicopter to stay, partly because the fly-by related to a scene in the book, but mostly because it gives substance to the purpose of the letters on the lawn, but commenters were right about it being a major distraction. Hence, it’s now a smaller and more distant chopper. The arrangement also provides a nice path for the eye: starting with the message on the lawn, moving into the distance to read it all, reaching the school, then going beyond the school to the helicopter. The old Aliens font is also back (as are the Greek letters, if you look carefully). It’s a nudge in the sci-fi direction worth hanging on to.

You’ll notice the back cover has been amended drastically, to gruesome effect. It’s a bit over-the-top, but it was just something I played with and liked. I even wondered if I should swap the front for the back. Nothing like a striking image to capture the attention. However, without the accompanying blurb, it looks like gruesome murder, so the back is where it stays.

I’m a perfectionist, and I could fiddle with this forever, but I had to pick a moment and commit. So I’ve now uploaded the new file to the printer and I’m in the process of placing an order for another batch of 250 copies. That will make 750 in print. Not bad going for less than two years. The original cover will still be available until I run out of copies.

I have to say, Chion is selling brilliantly. There are times when a week goes past without a sale and other times when I’m posting four books in one day, each to a different address. If anything, the pace has picked up over time. The plan now is to bring my first novel Ulterior back into print.

Proposed new cover design for Chion

I’m fast approaching the 500 sales mark on my novel Chion, and that’s when I run out of copies. I’ve never been entirely happy with the existing cover, so if I’m going to change it, now’s the time. Here’s my current proposal (please click the graphic for a larger and much more detailed version). Opinions, positive or negative, are welcome and valued.

Prior to the book’s publication, the cover design went through several variations. You can have a look at the older designs in my Graphic Design category.

Two Irish sci-fi authors chat

This month, Chion is being toured by the Christian Fiction Review Blog. In short, that means that reviews of the book and interviews with me will be posted by participating members of the blog (see below). It’s mostly an American-based affair, but I had a nice surprise when one of the reviewers, a New Zealander called Grace Bridges, turned out to be currently living near Dublin, Ireland, not that far (on a global scale) from me. In a strange coincidence, I happened to be reading her own novel, Faith Awakened, at the time. Spooky.

Instead of doing a typical email interview, we decided to meet up and do a proper in-person audio interview. And it’s not just an interview with me about my book. I decided to make it a double interview, where we’re both asking the questions. Here it is.

Download interview: [ Part 1 ] [ Part 2 ] [ Part 3 ] [ Part 4 ]

CFR Blog interviews with Darryl Sloan, conducted by:

• Grace Bridges, author of Faith Awakened (Introduction)
• Grace Bridges, author of Faith Awakened (Part 1)
• Grace Bridges, author of Faith Awakened (Part 2)
• Grace Bridges, author of Faith Awakened (Part 3)
• Grace Bridges, author of Faith Awakened (Part 4)
• Cathi Hassan
• David Brollier, author of The 3rd Covenant

CFR Blog reviews of Chion, written by:

• Grace Bridges, author of Faith Awakened
• David Brollier, author of The 3rd Covenant (Part 1)
• David Brollier, author of The 3rd Covenant (Part 2)
• David Brollier, author of The 3rd Covenant (Part 3)
• David Brollier, author of The 3rd Covenant (Part 4)
• David Brollier, author of The 3rd Covenant (Part 5)
• David Brollier, author of The 3rd Covenant (Part 6)
• Caprice Hokstad, fantasy novelist
• Melissa @ Bibliophile’s Retreat
• Cathi Hassan
• David Brollier @ Christian Mystery Writers
• Steve @ Back to the Mountains
• Laura Davis, Christian author

Mrs. Giggles rates Chion 95/100

Romance fiction reviewer Mrs. Giggles has just posted a terrific review of Chion on her site. What’s an apocalyptic sci-fi thriller doing on a romance site? Well, my bleak and harrowing novel does have its tender moments. Here’s my favourite snippet from the review:

The main characters of Chion are teenagers and I can easily imagine that some people would view this book as one aimed at young adults, but there is nothing dumbed-down or kiddie-like about this story. Some of the scenes here are not for the faint of heart though. Not that they are violent or gruesome, but because they drive home the evil men can do in situations such as this one. A teacher is driven to insist that the students starve so that the teachers can eat, for example. There are more disturbing scenes here, but I’ll let the reader discover them for herself.

[ Read Full Review ]

“A story that you simply mustn’t miss” – Jeffrey Allen Davis on Chion

Independent Christian fiction writer Jeffrey Allen Davis has just posted a review of Chion on his blog. Jeff’s review is a bit different from the others, as he made a couple of unique observations:

The book does set up some disturbing images. It shows how a major disaster like this would affect society. We see people killing one another over food. We see a man murdered in front of his small children. We see a child held at gunpoint by a teacher who has decided that “survival of the fittest” means that the teachers should live and the students should starve. Sloan didn’t put these things in for shock value. Indeed, the bloodshed is not detailed very much at all. This is not a boiled-down thriller. We see a sense of realism that shows that even our society’s innocents would be harmed in these events.

With a bittersweet ending, this is a story that you simply mustn’t miss.

[ Read Full Review ]

Chion one year old today

Today marks exactly one year from the arrival of the first print-run of Chion. I’ve sold/distributed 373 copies since then. I’m pleased with that result, especially since I concentrated on online sales rather than bookshop sales. Bookshops are an administrative nightmare to deal with when you’re an indie, as I found with Ulterior. I made a decent amount of money through that avenue, but I mostly decided it wasn’t worth the hassle this time round. I’m happy to carve my niche online. The best news of all is that Chion is selling with greater frequency now than ever. I can only put that down to the excellent reviews the book received.

POD People rates Chion 9/10

Chion has just received its sixth review, this time by novelist Emily Veinglory at POD People. She rated the novel 9 out of 10 and said:

I read a lot of mediocre books, but this wasn’t one of them. Seamless, engaging and appealing … Chion is effortless to read and the story unfolds strong until an ending that is perhaps too pat in some ways but still manages something of a clever twist.

[ Link ]

Chion wins International Print-on-Demand Book Award

My novel Chion gained a stunning review in April 2007 on a site specialising in self-published novels: The PODler. Today, The PODler announced Chion as its book of the year – the International Print-on-Demand Book Award – out of 29 titles reviewed in 2007. There were plenty of A-rated titles that could have won, not least of which was the very successful Antarktos Rising by Jeremy Robinson. But I’m pleased as punch that my little baby was picked.

The value of free ebooks – Part II

I made the decision to release Chion as a freely downloadable ebook on 13 September. In the 54 days between then and now, the novel has been downloaded 262 times. If you think that means 262 lost sales, think again. Only 28 of these downloads occured through my website. The other 234 happened over at my book reviews blog, where I decided to create a little free ebooks section. Because I was restricting my offerings to quality-guaranteed books backed up by written reviews, the page got noticed by GetFreeEbooks.com, who publicised what I was doing. As a result, a lot of people downloaded the books I had on offer, and it shows no sign of slowing down.

The reason why this is not 234 lost sales is simple: If I hadn’t offered the book for free, these 234 people would not have known anything about Chion in the first place. Refusing to make Chion free would not have resulted in a single extra sale. Of course, it has to be asked: Am I selling less copies of Chion now that it’s a free ebook, too? Well, it continues to sell on eBay with the same frequency as before. What can I say? People like their dead tree books.

So, right now I’ve got my 300-odd paperback sales of Chion, plus 262 additional readers (increasing each day). The alternative was 300-odd sales and zero additional readers. I feel completely validated in my decision to make Chion free. How many copies of, say, Cell do you think would have sold, if the book had been released without the magic words “Stephen King” on the cover? Not the millions that did, that’s for sure. I’m learning to put priority on getting known rather than making money. That latter can’t be done without the former.

The value of free ebooks (here’s Chion, gratis!)

I’m coming around to the way of thinking that giving something away free is a good thing.

Against this attitude is the notion that every free gift is a lost sale. More than that, given the ability of computers to copy and share data with the greatest of ease, every free gift could mean countless lost sales. We all know about piracy. But the important question to ask is, when someone downloads your novel and enjoys a free read, would they have bought it otherwise? Speaking from personal experience, I’m willing to bet that the answer in most cases is no.

I once downloaded a free ebook of the novella Purity from Douglas Clegg’s website. Was I considering buying it? Nope. However, after reading it and enjoyed it a great deal, I was then on the lookout for Clegg’s work, and at one point I picked up Neverland in paperback.

One thing I’ve learned about self-publishing is that it’s about overcoming hurdles. The major one that sinks most indie authors is that they fall victim to releasing an overpriced paperback that few readers are willing to pay for. I managed to beat that one. But there’s another major hurdle that I’m only scratching the surface of: Hardly anyone knows who I am.

On a good day, I might get forty unique hits on my website. Some of those, statistically, will be brand new visitors encountering me for the first time. I’ve gone to the trouble of making my site as visually appealing as my skills allow. Visitors are encouraged to find out more about my latest novel, Chion. The book cover is on display; the blurb is listed; there’s even a decent-sized excerpt in both text and audio formats. You can do everything that you could do if you had found the novel on a bookstore shelf. Incidentally, I’m amazed at how many self-published authors don’t avail themselves of these benefits, especially with the bad rep that self-publishing has due to the torrent of unedited works for sale out there. Some indie authors expect the public to buy on the strength of a picture and a scrap of text. Forget it! But hey, there’s something I have to face: hardly anyone who visits my site buys my book anyway. Is this some failure on my part to hook the potential buyer? I honestly don’t think so. And I can back that up with a theory.

In stark contrast to the forty visits and zero sales per day my website receives, each copy of Chion (with a few exceptions), listed as a “Buy It Now” auction on eBay, sells successfully, and usually before the listing has accrued forty views. What causes this alarming difference in sales? The book is the same price, both on my website and on eBay, and is presented with the same hooks. So here’s my theory: You have to catch the web surfer when he’s in the mood to buy something. My novel sells on eBay because shopping is in the surfer’s mind when he’s there. Conversely, his credit card is probably the last thing on his mind when he comes across my site as a result of a Google search or a link.

Now, here’s a thought. How about I give an entire novel away free on my website? Chances are, instead of losing a sale that would never have happened anyway, what I stand to gain is a fan. Up till now, I’ve held the conviction that it’s enough to hand over a sizeable excerpt to readers, but now I’m not so sure. Friend and fellow writer James Maxon debates that there’s something far more attractive to the potiential reader about having the whole package. People will be more likely to begin reading an ebook if they know they have the choice to complete it. How much better is that than to have them think, “Well, it’s only twelve pages and then I have to stop. Don’t know if I’ll bother.” The problem is this: in order to motivate someone to read an excerpt, you have to already get them in the mood to buy the book. In the wrong mood, reading an unfinishable work will be considered time wasted. And as I’ve already illustrated, people are not usually in a buying mood when they visit a random website. I would never have have read Douglas Clegg’s Purity if there was merely an excerpt on offer, presented with a buy-it-if-you-want-to-finish-it option. There’s no shame in going about it that way; a worker deserves his wages. But it just doesn’t work.

It could be argued that I’m already giving away free complete fiction, in the form of short stories, and it hasn’t made much of a difference to sales. Actually, it’s worth noting that some people have told me they bought my novel on the strength of downloading one of my stories. But that’s beside the point. The purpose of free stuff is not to get a quick sale. It’s to crack the problem of hardly anyone knowing about you – to create as many people as possible who love your work and who check back often to see what you’re up to. Then, maybe years down the line, when the fanbase is large enough, you might be able to do some significant book-selling. To create that situation, you’ll need more than a couple of free short stories. Isn’t this exactly what Scott Sigler did? He released three or four novels over time in audio form, got really popular, then released a paperback and soared to the forefront of Amazon’s charts.

It all boils down to this: Don’t underestimate the value of creating a fan.

So, I’m going to throw caution to the wind. Here’s a free PDF file of Chion for a start. Read it, copy it, post it anywhere! Ulterior will follow shortly, as well as a massive flood of videos, courtesy of YouTube: the entire Midnight Pictures catalogue, no less. Brace yourself.

“Best book I’ve read this year” – Will Hadcroft on Chion

Fellow author Will Hadcroft (Anne Droyd and Century Lodge and The Feeling’s Unmutual) has posted a review of Chion on his blog. Here’s an excerpt:

What starts out as a science-fiction thriller, becomes, by turns, a tale about a group of increasingly paranoid and frightened people stuck in an enclosed place, an adventure about fugitives on the run, and a love story.

Shades of John Wyndham (The Day of the Triffids) and John Christopher (the Tripods saga) come through as Chion mimics the best of the old post-apocalyptic greats, while at the same time remaining poignant and contemporary.

Darryl Sloan is a keen observer of human nature. His plotting is meticulous and clever. He deserves to have national and international success with this. It is the best book I’ve read this year.

[ Read Full Review ]

Chion is Book of the Month at The PODler

I had a look around the various POD book review blogs recently and was delighted to discover that Chion has been selected as April’s Book of the Month at The PODler. There was stiff competition that month, with two other book rated “A” and “A+”.

[ Link ]