Branding the brand or something like that

It's called "re-branding", I reckon. So here's the brand new cover for the first Hawthorne tale, "That Damned Coyote Hill". Keepin' it fresh and all that. Since Beat to a Pulp Press picked up the Hawthorne stories (after the original publisher and I went our separate ways), we've experimented with a handful of different looks for the covers. They're all unified now by the font and logo running along the top, but each cover is unique.

When I first submitted this story to the original publisher, I was staggered by how quickly he came back with a cover for it-- and an eye-catching cover it was. I was well-pleased... until a handful of friends contacted me almost immediately to inform me that the image was from the Dark Tower series by none other than Stephen fucking King.

Errr...

I ignored the warning bells and contacted the publisher to let him know I'd try to find my own cover art. That's where my good friend Ron Warren came in; he whipped together a terrific image, using his own work, in a sort of matted thing that looked terrific. It served me well for a while, and I still quite like it.

When my relationship with the publisher ended, and Beat to a Pulp stepped up, we kept the original image, since it was owned by Ron and there would be no legal hassle. Again, it did well.

But when "The Long Black Train" and "The Spider Tribe" came out, David Cranmer and I knew we'd need a fresh look, and something to tie all three stories together. Hence the new logo, and the new cover art.

In future Hawthorne tales (and there are more coming!), you'll see the same logo along the top every time, but the cover images themselves will continue to be quite different from one another. As usual, your input is welcome.

An Experiment in Hackery

I tried a little experiment this last week or so by NOT promoting any of my own work on the social media sites. And what were the results?

Well, the Hawthorne stories did fairly well. That is, four or five sold every day. Yeah, I know, that doesn't sound like much, but honestly, it's about the same number that would move if I was pushing them. Your Loyal and Dedicated Hack isn't exactly burning up any best-seller charts, man.

THE BASTARD HAND had a couple of good days for some reason, before dropping into the nether-regions.

CITY OF HERETICS is doing okay.

My FIGHT CARD novella, "Bluff City Brawler", has been consigned to the lowest regions of Obscure Hell.

In other words, it's all over the board. Just like it would be if I was out there being obnoxious.

It occurs to me, then, that aside from an initial push (say maybe a week or two long) when I have a new release, promoting my work on social media doesn't have too much effect. By that time, I'm preaching to the choir. Everyone who is going to buy it has bought it.

And if I want to reach a bigger audience, I need to either (1) find a new marketing platform, (2) hire a damn publicist, or (3) SELL OUT and write like James Patterson.

Currently considering all three options...

But no, I kid. Decision made: I won't be doing any serious promotion of my work on social media anymore, aside from that initial week-long push when something new comes out. I throw myself on the mercy of readers and reviewers.

Update: Crazy timing here, but only minutes after I posted this, I saw this essay over at HuffPost that really nails the whole thing.

F*** It, I'm at Ron Earl Philips' place

Today finds me over at Ron Earl Philips' blog, supposedly to talk about CITY OF HERETICS. Instead, I blow off some steam and rant a little about... well, you'll see.

Hawthorne: The Spider Tribe

The third Hawthorne tale, "The Spider Tribe", is now available at Amazon.

"The Iktomi are an ancient evil that feed on the fear and hate of generations, and when the Black Hills run red with the blood of the Lakota, they return to sow death.

The mysterious gunslinger called Hawthorne is fueled also by hatred-- hatred of evil. But is his hate strong enough to destroy the Iktomi?"

Some Halloween reading for you!

The Nautilus Engine and Noir Nation.

I'm at The Nautilus Engine today, being interviewed by my life-long friend Ron Warren.

Yesterday, I answered some short, sharp questions from Paul Brazill at Noir Nation...

At Andrew Nette's PULP CURRY

Check out Andrew Nette's Pulp Curry today, where I'm honored to be the first guest in his "Noir Con or Bust" series of posts. I talk about CITY OF HERETICS, of course, and how it relates to the movie "Get Carter".

Readers and Writers

Today finds me over at Chad Rohrbacher's place. Meant to promote the novel, but instead talked about the relationship between readers and writers.
Thanks for having me, Chad!