Book Club Meeting

Just as soon as Eternal Knight was released a former student of mine, Kelsey Tarzia, picked it up and read it in a single day. I loved hearing that. I also loved that she Tweeted about it, Facebooked it, and reviewed it on Amazon. What else could and author ask for?

Well, she told her mother about it. And not long after that, Robin Tarzia made it her selection for her book club's summer read.

Last Wednesday I went to Robin's house and met the eleven members of the book club. It was one of the coolest experiences I have had as an author. Now that I sit here thinking about it, it was the coolest experience, beating both the book release party and my first book signing.

The meeting lasted for two and a half hours. I didn't want it to end. We spent half the time talking about the writing process and how Eternal Knight came to be written. The rest of the time focused on the characters and themes of the novel. None of the club members are big fantasy readers, although most had read Harry Potter and a couple had read some of Lord of the Rings. It was nice to hear that once they got into the world of Eternal Knight they really enjoyed it.

It was fun hearing some of their questions. I think I started a few too many responses with, "It was really important to me that..." and blah, blah, blah off I'd go. But they were very gracious about listening too me and none of them actually nodded off.

I also had the chance to ask them a few questions. My favorite question to ask readers is about their favorite scene. I love knowing what worked for them, as well as what didn't. I'd share some of them, but don't want to give any spoilers.

The biggest problem with being the center of attention for the evening was that I didn't get a chance to take advantage of the fabulous spread of food Robin had laid out. I was talking so much I could only take small bites and was once caught chewing a mouthful of cheese and crackers while everyone waited for a response to a question. I'll have to work on my eating strategy for the next event. The wine drinking strategy worked fine, however.

The book club was a terrific group. I have to say I envied them. I love books and would love to be able to join a club. I asked if the club was really just an excuse to party every once in a while, but they insisted it wasn't. They are true bibliophiles.

My sincere thanks to the entire club for having me over. I had a great time. I'd love to come back when the sequel is finished. A special thanks to Robin and Kelsey Tarzia for making the event happen.

11 Days Left

As most of you know, I have dedicated the first three months' profits from Eternal Knight to charity. I am very happy that the novel has raised over $1,200 (and counting) for Cure CMD and WEOF.

At the beginning of my efforts I had low expectations and high hopes for how much money Eternal Knight would raise. Well, I beat my low expectations, now it it time to make a final push for the high hopes.

If you were thinking about buying Eternal Knight, I hope you do it now. I want to make this fund drive as successful as possible. Let me take a minute to share a little bit about Liam Miller with you. Liam is the son of two of my best friends and is my motivation for donating my profits with Cure CMD.

I've mentioned Susan, Scott, and Liam Miller before (in the "charity" post I linked to above). Liam is going into eighth grade--a fact that makes me feel really OLD. How can he be one year away from high school already?

Besides being a natural born killer in Call of Duty (a game I will never play against him again for fear of utter humiliation), Liam is a huge hockey fan and serious power hockey player. Liam is a member of the Philadelphia PowerPlay, a power wheelchair hockey league.

(image linked from the Philadelphia PowerPlay website)

Most importantly, Liam is is an all-around good guy.

This weekend is the Cure CMD Family Conference. Susan is taking a stack of signed copies of Eternal Knight to the conference and will be selling them at a table between sessions. Thank you, Susan. I hope you have a great conference.

Second Month (June) Numbers

How did things go in the second month? Numbers were down, but that was to be expected. My May numbers were very big (relatively speaking). I had access to a very large market in my high school (I could sell there because all profits were going to charity) and there was a lot of friend and family demand for the novel.

The numbers:
June (May)
60 (125) paperbacks (sold by me)
6 (28) paperbacks (sold through Amazon and CreateSpace)
5 (15) Kindle ebooks
0 (1) Smashwords ebooks
0 (4) Apple ebook
5 (2)Nook ebook

Five additional book bloggers have agreed to review Eternal Knight. I am really looking forward to these reviews. I think the book bloggers will have a strong multiplier effect.

I received five additional Amazon reviews. I now have fifteen Amazon reviews with an average score of 4.8. Eternal Knight is the 45th top rated epic fantasy on Amazon. I am very hopeful that the good reviews will translate into stronger future sales.

The challenge right now is to keep up the faith and keep promoting Eternal Knight. Of course I imagined EK sales exploding right from the start (hell, I'm a fantasy author--I have a vivid imagination), but I rationally understand that this is an unrealistic expectation. Adam Heine passed this link on to me. It shows sales growth for various self-published novels over time. The important lesson I got from it is that it can take time for a novel's market to develop. What it doesn't show is the effort that goes into marketing your novel. I have to keep exploring new avenues.

Eternal Knight is about to enter its last two weeks of charitable fund raising. It it's first two months it raised approximately $1,200 for the Cure-CMD and WEOF.

And just a reminder, if you are a fan of Eternal Knight, please consider reviewing it on Amazon (or wherever you buy your books). Reviews make a difference. 

This is what it's all about

I don't know if Eternal Knight is going to ever make a profit. Right now it is down several hundred dollars (and a gazillion hours of effort).

I'm pretty sure it will someday make back the cash I put into publication and promotion. Making up for all the hours of effort... I'm not so sure.

I'm also not sure it matters too much. I'm currently working on the sequel to Eternal Knight. My labors are not fueled by the piles of cash Eternal Knight is raking in. That just isn't happening (yet).

Right now I'm fueled by good vibes.

When I crunched all the numbers (costs and revenues, profits and losses) and published Eternal Knight I forgot to factor something in. I forgot to factor in the value of good vibes. Where do the vibes come from?

Readers.

It is hard to put into words just how wonderful it feels to get positive feedback from readers. It brings such a great feeling of accomplishment when someone tells you that something you created purely from imagination and effort brought them pleasure.

Sometimes these complements come from expected sources, and as genuine as they might be, they cannot compare to the kind words from an unexpected source.

So, with permission from the author, I'll share with you a message I received yesterday. I almost called it fan-mail, but calling it that wouldn't do it justice. And while I have received several wonderful reviews, this message trumps them all (my apologies to the kind authors of those reviews).

The author is the daughter of an old army buddy and his wife. Friends I haven't seen in sixteen years.


Hello Mr. Heppe, 


I am Megan Johnson and I met you when I was only one year old, but now I am seventeen and about to enter my senior year at high school. 


My mom and dad (Bjorn and Sheri) have mentioned you from time to time and I wanted to personally write to you to say how much I enjoyed your book. Your book related to me very well. The main character Hadde never quit and always tried to beat her opponents, which always seemed to be the opposite sex. 


This book had everything that I like in a book. It had the romance, battling, and pure excitement throughout the whole story. I would have to say that my favorite part of the story was when Hadde was showing up all of the men during the bow and arrow contest. 


This book was so interesting that is was one of those books that I literally never put down, that is unless my parents said I had to do something or go to bed. I am so excited and can't wait until your next book. Also thank you for serving our country. Good luck with the next book!

Sincerely,
Megan Johnson




Now how cool is that? I think it made my day week. 


I also think I'll print it out and put it on the wall next to my computer. It will be a nice place to look for inspiration.




  

How old?

How old should my child be to read Eternal Knight?

I've been asked this question many times in the past month. It is a challenging one to answer.

Eternal Knight is not a Young Adult (YA) novel. It is funny how many people automatically think that fantasy means YA. I think it is a result of the Harry Potter age we live in. If you aren't a fantasy genre reader it is easy to make the fantasy=YA assumption.

Most fantasy novels have great appeal to YA audiences. They might not have been purposefully written for the YA audience, but there is nothing objectionable in them. The Lord of the Rings was not written as a YA novel, but how many of us read the books as teenagers? When I think about some of the books that had an impact on me as a teenager (Shannara, Thomas Covenant, The Belgariad, Riftwar, Amber, Dragonriders of Pern) I can't remember much that my parents could object to. I wouldn't have a problem with giving any of them to a thirteen year old.

GRR Martin is about as popular as they come right now. His works are considerably grittier than much of the fantasy I have read. The sex is more explicit, the violence is more graphic, and the tone is grimmer. The books are also more sophisticated in content and style. A Game of Thrones would not pass my thirteen year old test. That is... for most thirteen year olds.

So should a thirteen year old read Eternal Knight? I'll give the answer any good economist would give... it depends. My question is how sophisticated is the thirteen year old in question. Eternal Knight is not stylistically challenging to read. It is not a piece of sophisticated literary fiction that demands the reader chew on every sentence. However, some of the content is adult. No, there's no sex on the page. But it is implied to have occurred between two of the chapters. And there are a few sexually charged scenes. Some of the violence is pretty graphic as well. 

I know a couple of thirteen and fourteen year olds who have read, and enjoyed Eternal Knight. I do worry that a grumpy parent will seek me out, upset at something their child read in the novel. It isn't a conversation I want to have. After the child has read the book is too late.

When parents ask me if Eternal Knight is right for their child I give them the straight scoop on what their kid is going to read. And if they still aren't sure, I tell them that they should read it first. I might lose a sale with this approach, but it is better than dealing with a disgruntled parent. Hey, if the parent reads the book they just might like it. Fantasy isn't just for kids.

Doylestown Book Signing Photos

Here are some photos from my book signing at the Doylestown Bookshop on Friday.  Sorry it has taken me so long to get them up here. Things have just been crazy around here lately.

The signing was great. Thanks to everyone who came out! And thanks to the Doylestown Bookshop for hosting me.

My daughter and I before the signing. She was in charge of 

keeping my supplied with books and getting underfoot. 

She did an exceptional job at both.

Signing the first book. This doesn't get old. 

Things are hoppin' at the book signing!

An adoring fan. 

Thanks for coming, sis. 

Caught in an "author pose" at the end of the signing. 

Talking with Scott and Susan Miller after the signing. 

Their son (Liam) is my motivation for donating the Eternal Knight 

profits to charity. Liam wasn't feeling well and couldn't make the event.

On July 4th I am doing another signing at Beachcomber Swim Club in Blue Bell, PA. It is actually more of a fundraiser than a signing. Unfortunately, you can only get in if you are a Beachcomber member. The good side is that I'll have a large crowd and should raise some nice money for WEOF and Cure-CMD.

I have a couple of more events waiting in the wings. I'll announce them as soon as I have hard information.

Have a good one!

Matt

Book Signing This Friday

Just a reminder that I will be signing books at the Doylestown Bookshop this Friday, June 24th. The event runs from 7-9 PM.

I am really looking forward to this event. Doylestown is my hometown (I was born in the (old) Doylestown Hospital and graduated from Central Bucks West High School). Lots of friends and family will be able to make it. Even my high school English teacher is even going to be there. This is going to be a blast!

By the way, my wife pointed out to me that Eternal Knight is the #72 Best Rated Fantasy (epic) on Amazon.com. This is really great news for a new, self-published novel. I know a lot of you have read the novel and privately expressed how much you liked it. It would be a huge favor to me if you would take a few minutes to review it (Amazon or elsewhere). The review doesn't have to be fancy, just a short, HONEST review. Thank you.

Hope to see you on Friday!

Matt

Book Two Timeline

Time to get cranking on book two. Here's the timeline:

5 day to complete outlining. The process is almost done.

100 days to write the novel. The pace? I have to average 1,000 words a day for those 100 days. I don't know if I can do this. I used to come home from work and write 1,500 words an evening. That was BC (before child). I could also pound out 5,000 words in a solid day of effort--again BC.

To some of you 100 days might seem very short. But you have to remember that this is a sequel. The world (and character) building is all done. I've also been thinking about (and outlining) this story for years.

As I finish each chapter I will send it to my critique partner, Mike Shultz. He'll see the novel in rough first draft form and help me beat it into shape. Mike is great for both story and writing advice.

10 days to clean up the first draft, turning it into the second draft.

30 days with my Beta Readers. Two definite Beta Readers will be Kemp Brinson and Ann Emery. Both were invaluable in the writing of Eternal Knight.

5 days to complete Beta Edits. A lot of these edits will have already been done as Ann and Kemp worked their way through the novel.

1 day for CreateSpace formatting and upload.

10 days for CreateSpace vetting and shipping of proof copies.

20 days with Proof Readers. Five trusted proof readers will go through the novel with a fine comb. Their job isn't to critique as much as it is to find mistakes. Although their suggestions are always appreciated.

1 day for final proof corrections.

1 day for CreateSpace, Smashwords and Kindle formatting and upload. Over the next few days the novel goes live.

A grand total of 183 days. Let's add around a 10% fluff factor and we get approximately 200 days. Mid to late December.

Wow. I'd better get it in gear.

Really get it in gear.

By the way... I had a short article appear in phillyburbs.com, the online edition of several Bucks County, PA newspapers. The main point of the article was to remind everyone about my book signing event at the Doylestown Bookshop on June 24th, starting at 7PM. I hope to see you there.

On "Cheating"

A long time ago I set out three goals for my writing. Here they are/were...

1) The novel is published by a legitimate publisher. I will not self-publish.
2) I have to do a book signing. I don't care if the only people who show up are my family members. I will do a signing.
3) I have to get a photograph of me pointing at my book on the bookshelf at a bookstore. My last name is Heppe. This lands me right between Robert Heinlein and Frank Herbert. I'll be insane with joy at the sight of Eternal Knight on a shelf between The Moon is a Harsh Mistress and Dune.

WAHOOOO! SUCCESS!

Sort of.

Kinda.

I cheated.

1) I self published.
2) I didn't hold my book signing in a book store.
3) The photo (above) was taken in my school library.

How do I feel about cheating? GREAT!

1) I used to think self-publishing was for the riff-raff. Maybe it was. But the times are 'a changin'. "Real" authors are self publishing and the walls are crumbling. Getting published by a "legitimate" publisher was my goal because it would have meant that I had proven myself to the powers-that-be in the industry. I would have passed a test of acceptability. I didn't pass the industry test.

What is the test now? Before I truly feel that I have attained goal #1, I have to pass, not an industry test, but a reader test. Will the readers tell me that I have succeeded? Will the readers tell me that I am an author? That is the true test.

2) The book release party at Wissahickon High School was a blast. It felt real, even though it was a party I threw for myself. It was a coming out party for Eternal Knight. For the most part it was attended by people I know, all of them supporting me in my efforts. Did I attain goal two? I think the true test will be on the 24th, when I do my book signing at the Doylestown Bookshop. There will be a lot of friends, but a lot of strangers as well. And the event will be held in a real brick and mortar book store.

3) The photo. I LOVE that photo. Robert Heinlein, Matt Heppe, Frank Herbert. Soooo cool. But there is only one place in the world where that photo is legit: the Wissahickon High School Library. Will that photo ever be taken in a Barnes and Noble, or in a Borders, or in any other big bookstore? I don't know. I'd like to think so. However, I'm not so sure this goal is as important to me as it once was. More important is the feedback I get from readers who say that they have enjoyed Eternal Knight. It is hard to express how much enjoyment I get every time a reader tells me that they liked something I wrote.

Even more fun is when they ask, "When is the next one coming out?"

I'd better get to work.

Book Release Party

The Eternal Knight Book Release Party was a great success. Thanks to everyone who came out!

Me signing books. I don't see getting tired of this. 

Mike Shultz (in light blue) was instrumental in getting Eternal Knight 

into publishable form. Janis (red) and Karen (green) are two of my 

biggest word of mouth and Facebook supporters.

Because of my (former) student Claire (lt. green) I met 

her mother Ann (white). Ann's critique group (which included Lisa [in blue]

took my amateur writing, ripped it apart, and rebuilt it from the ground up. 

I can't thank them enough.

Me, speechifying about Eternal Knight.

More speechifying!

Next up: Doylestown Bookshop

Book signing event on June 24th 

starting at 7 PM.