[page back to epilog]
Here ends the first book of The Fall of the Atlantean Empire! I've had a lot of fun writing this novel -- and I've learned a lot, which I'm about to share with you. There are two more novels to finish out the whole project, and readers who're enjoying this will be asking, where are they, when will they be available?
To answer this, we have to go right back to the beginning of what was, and is, an experiment!
I set up Legends fully "monetized," to see if readers would be supportive enough of this novel for it to earn some decent funds through the medium of advertising. There's a $1 PayPal donation button; there's Google ads that could be clicked by a reader who spied something interesting; there's links through to Amazon.com for any kind of shopping you can imagine, including your groceries. There's software that's been thoroughly test-driven by either myself or my associates at DreamCraft. And there are Amazon buttons where readers could actually invest in a book!
In other ways, loads of ways for readers to support Legends, making it financially feasible for Keegan to keep up with it, as a free online gay novel.
So, to what extent are readers supporting this?
Well, it's been two months since the first segments went up, and I can tell you, in eight weeks we've had about 8,000 page loads -- about 60 regular readers, in countries as diverse as the US, UK, Aus, NZ, Japan, Poland, Norway, China, Russia, Canada, Germany, Brazil ... and lots more. We get visitors sent to us by my own blogs and sites, plus those of Aricia Gavriel, plus Live Journal, and WebFictionGuide, Aarin Fantasy, and Online Novels. (In the months to come, I'll be working to expand the number of places that link to Legends; but to come this far in eight weeks is pretty darned good.)
But have readers supported the concept of "free fiction that pays for itself via the advertising?"
Yes and no. If I were waiting for clicks on the $1 PayPal donation button, I'd have been rather perturbed. We had 7 such clicks, three of which came from the same person, who understood perfectly how this was supposed to work ... and I'm very grateful for this. Thank you muchly -- you know who you are! We had around 100 clicks on Google Ads, of which Ma Goog allowed only about 50% to go through as "valid clicks," and these paid anywhere from .01c each to 35c each, raising about $25 total, over the eight weeks. Half a dozen people went shopping at Amazon, starting from the Legends page, with purchases providing about another $12.
And four Mel Keegan paperbacks were purchased from Amazon, directly from the Legends page, which is obviously where the author makes the most handsome sum. Thanks, guys ... this was great.
So, incomes via the advertising parked on Legends is a bit thin on the ground, but --
I can also tell you that in the two months since the novel started going up serially, there's been an astonishing "uptick" in sales across the board. Everything has been selling regularly, and well, at Payloadz and Kindle, at Amazon and Lulu. So it would be absolutely true to say that Legends has worked wonders for Keegan's overall bread-and-butter.
Not only this, but so far, over 100 people have checked out my "landing page," which is fantastic. The landing page is the "Who the hell is Mel?" page, designed for folks who have absolutely no idea who Keegan is. So, through Legends, there's 100 potential customers out there who know who MK is now. This also is terrific. You'd happily pay a hundred bucks for this kind of exposure!
The feedback on the format in which this novel was published as been varied indeed:
- 25% of people were blissfully happy to swing by every day or few days, and get a free hit.
- 25% of readers said, "I can't read this in bits -- tell me when it's finished, I'll download it all together."
- 10% of readers said, "I can't read this much on screen. Tell me when a paperback comes out, I'd be happy to buy it."
- 10% said, "I don't have the time to deal with little bits of reading. I want a properly formatted ebook, even if you charge for it."
- 15% of readers said, "I like the concept of a free serial novel, but I don't care for fantasy. Tell me when you bring out an SF or thriller novel."
- 10% of readers said, "I like ebooks, but I can't stand serials (I hate cliffhangers). Tell me when the whole thing's finished.
- 5% of readers said, "I like fantasy, and serials are okay. but I like my gay fantasy red-hot sexy. Can I get an uncut version of Legends? Would be happy to pay for an ebook.
- the first book of the trilogy is finished (download it all of a piece, if this is what you needed);
- and a properly structured ebook is being prepared;
- there can also be a Legends Uncut version, for those who wanted this;
- and a stunning cover is being put around this novel; it'll be available as a paperback in a few weeks.
This seems to cover everything, and leaves everyone happy.
So, one question remains: when and how will the rest of the trilogy be done?!
At the moment, advertising incomes off the Legends pages won't support the investment of time in the project. This can change at a moment's notice, if word of the novel spreads and readers cotton on to how it's supposed to work. So, at the moment Legends is going onto hiatus while Keegan finishes out the whole Hellgate series. Done by Christmas 2009 -- and that's a firm date. DreamCraft is waiting for the books; their "appointment with design destiny" is Nov/Dec this year. So I need to commit to the project and get it done. Then --
2010: Legends will be finished too.
Will it be done as a free upload?
This depends entirely on how cooperative readers are. A few readers have been thoughtful; most have swung through, downloaded 60 posts of free fiction as fast as the pages would load and save, and zapped out without leaving a "thank you." This can change -- and if it does, I would be very happy to upload Books II and III in the same format as this work.
On the other hand, if 85% of readers aren't even going to say "thanks," I'll zip the novels into ebooks and park the "buy now" buttons on the bottom of the last page of Legends as it exists at this moment. If readers want the rest -- hey, shout me a few dollars. The books can be done as a "web special" for folks who've read the first novel online ... say, a $3 pricetag, which is a nice bonus, since the Kindle (etc.) price would have to be several times higher.
And of course, for those readers who are virtually allergic to ebooks (and you might not believe how many such people there are!) there will be paperbacks with glorious jackets.
So: Legends is on hiatus for '09, while Keegan finishes Hellgate. Look for the rest in early-mid 2010; and with any luck there'll be an upturn in the ad patronage this page receives ... meaning, I'll be able to upload the rest free, too. That would be nice.
Oh, last word here: quite a few readers said they liked the concept, could live with serial fiction, but were not partial to fantasy. Would I be interested in doing another novel this way, on an SF, thriller, or SF-thriller topic? Yes, I would. And it could easily be Crystal Genesis.
As the saying goes, stay tuned! (Be on my mailing list, and we'll keep you posted.)
Cheers to all,
Mel Keegan
Adelaide, April 2009
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