“NO SMALL BILLS” Now Available on B&N

Posted By: Kathleen DavidPosted On:

A few days ago I posted that the next Crazy 8 Press offering, Aaron Rosenberg’s dementedly humorous “No Small Bills” had chapters up on the site and would be available soon.

This garnered exactly no responses, which I admit I found a bit disheartening.

So now I want you all to know that the full book is available at Barnes and Noble, and you can still read the sample chapters at the C8 site below. I’m hoping for better response this time around.

Crazy 8.

PAD

13 comments on ““NO SMALL BILLS” Now Available on B&N”

    1. I wouldn’t go so far as to say anything has “fallen flat,” but it does get frustrating. The problem is that when I directly promote “Crazy 8” in general or “The Camelot Papers” in particular, we get a bump in sales. And then it drops. And then I push it. And then it drops. I was hoping that at some point it would become self-propelling, especially as we garner good reviews and such. Thus far, though, that hasn’t been happening.
      .
      PAD

      1. Well, I bought the book when PAD promoted it on Facebook. I knew about it before but I still have to read two other novels by him so I decided to wait. Anyway, I reconsidered it as it seemed that Crazy 8 needed all the help it could get.

        I think self-propelling sales can only be provided if there is enough marketing outside the fansites, comic book forums, facebook, etc. You need to get reviews published in magazines, newspapers, even TV.

  2. For what it’s worth, I read and enjoyed the sample chapters of No Small Bills, and am looking forward to reading the book. Just saw that it’s available at Amazon now, so I’ll add it to my pile of Kindling on my lunch break. (Just started reading Bill Willingham’s Down the Mysterly River, and I’m a one-book-at-a-time kinda guy.)

    Since it’s only been two months since your first release, I think it’s still going to take time for folks to notice you, before it becomes self-sustaining. Maybe if you all had been able to release more of your backlist in between your first two big releases, that would have encouraged more repeat traffic. For me, I kept checking back for the Glenn Hauman story announced on your July 9 blog post, and when that failed to materialize, I stopped checking your site until you all announced a new post or release on Facebook or Twitter.

    I do definitely plan on supporting your work, both by buying it and posting reviews on Amazon and Goodreads (and links to those on Facebook and Twitter). But for now, until it starts to feel like you all have a regular release schedule, I can only do that when a new book or story comes out, which feels like an occasional basis right now. Maybe when you all have more stuff in progress to talk about, or can post previews and excerpts more frequently, or even have more of a back catalog so that when we finish one book or story, there’s something else we can immediately go to, that’ll change.

    Don’t give up! It’s a marathon, not a sprint!

  3. Just got it for my Kindle, so it’s obviously available from Amazon as well.

    I tried to post a comment earlier, but it didn’t seem to go through. I think you need to be more patient for Crazy 8 to gain more steady attention. It’s only been two months since your first release, and since then, you’ve only put out one story and one other novel, which isn’t even showing up as available on your web site. I’ve bought everything you’ve put out so far, but I’ve stopped checking your site unless you announce on Twitter or Facebook that there’s a new post.

    I think once you’ve got a bigger catalog out there, and establish a regular publishing schedule, you’ll get more attention. Putting your backlist out as ebooks will help, because then, when folks like me finish Camelot Papers or Demon Circle or whatever, we’ll have reason to go back to your site to find something to read next. The more stuff you all have in the pipeline will help, because it’ll give you more to talk about and post previews of, which will help build interest. (Posting on July 9 that Glenn Hauman would have a new story out on July 20, which never materialized, is the sort of thing that doesn’t help, unfortunately.)

    As a fan, I’m trying to do my part by buying and reading your books, and then posting reviews on Goodreads and Amazon, and linking to them from Facebook and Twitter. The more stuff you put out on a regular basis, the more I can do that, as well.

    Be patient! It’s a marathon, not a sprint!

  4. Peter:

    What I see in your response is something I see in a lot of small press offerings (and self publishing), and it seems to be a matter of unrealistic expectations.

    Right now, Crazy 8 press has an inventory of 2 books and pretty much a single marketing channel (social media, and maybe cons, so 1.5). There’s simply not a lot there yet to draw consistent or recurring interest. At some point you will reach a critical mass where the material is self sustaining, but that can take a long time, until then you get what you are seeing which is influence spiking, i.e. something brings it to mind.

    The other point of note is that probably a decent portion of your social media base is primarily interested in A>Trek and/or B>Comics and quite frankly aren’t concerned with anything outside that particular sphere, regardless of quality.

    With admittedly a one book sample, so far Crazy 8 has put out quality work. Do it consistently and people will start to notice, but it is going to take time.

    1. .
      “The other point of note is that probably a decent portion of your social media base is primarily interested in A>Trek and/or B>Comics and quite frankly aren’t concerned with anything outside that particular sphere, regardless of quality.”
      .
      I know for a fact that this isn’t even close to 100% true. Some of my favorite works by Peter fall into neither of those two categories and I know from following his career that one of the questions he has often gotten from fans and reviewers over the years is when would he write something original and/or not Trek or comic related. That was, I believe, part of the driving force behind this venture.

      1. I’m confused. You’re claiming it isn’t even close to 100% true that “a decent portion of your social media base is primarily interested in A>Trek and/or B>Comics and quite frankly aren’t concerned with anything outside that particular sphere”. And then you support that with a) using just yourself individually as an example and b) noting that PAD has often been asked something non-Trek/comics.
        .
        Seems to me that PAD’s been writing non-Trek/comics stuff for many, many years (Howling Mad, anyone?) and that fans have been asking when he’s going to start actually indicates that they haven’t been looking very hard outside the Trek/comic arena.

      2. .
        Badly worded. I’m not saying that they’re asking when he’ll start writing original material, but that I’ve seen plenty of interviews and questions about when he’ll write more original stuff rather than so much Trek and other licensed stuff. I also know a lot of people who don’t read Trek and aren’t followers of his comic work who I have turned onto the Sir Apropos of Nothing series who complained that they wanted more like that but were finding it hard to find the books in stock. I can say the same of Knight Life.
        .
        Yes, there are still Trek fans out there who seem puzzled by the idea that there are other books out there in the sci-fi genre that aren’t Trek and comic book fans who can’t seem to fathom the idea of a story with just words and no pictures, but those groups are in the minority for their respective factions. Most people who like a certain actor, director, writer or singer tend to follow them as they try new projects and don’t simply write them off because they’re not doing the same old, same old that’s in their favorite comfort zone version.
        .
        Now, I do agree with Jeff that the expectations are too high for the amount of publicity that they’re generating and the size of the Crazy 8 library. Right now the imprint has almost no buzz and all of two offerings. It might have been better to hold the launch until each member had at least two things to offer (even if one offering was a novelette or short story) and worked on some better promotional ideas ahead of time. Right now the buzz is almost nonexistent and therefore the general awareness of the product is close to nonexistent.

  5. As an afterthought, there is no post on the C8 site saying the book is avail yet.

    Second afterthought, would you folks consider moving your blogs there to drive traffic?

  6. Well, I can speak only for myself, but if I don’t see a brief synopsis when a book or show is advertised, I tend to ignore it completely. You didn’t really tell us anything other than the title and author’s name.

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