Under Construction

Changes coming. New casts. Pardon our dust.

Maximum Geek Oh My

If you listened to the podcast (or read the show notes) you’ll know that a gauntlet has been thrown. Which Maximum Geek host does the best George Takei impression? We’re leaving that up to you, our listeners. All you have to do is listen to the short audio clips below and vote for which one you like best on twitter. Use the hash tag #maxgeekohmy.

Maximum Geek Vol 3 Ep 11

Maximum Geek is back and this time they mean business. Except not. There was very little business covered in actuality, but there was lots of laughing and joking and mocking. Also there’s a bit of a contest between Jeff and myself which I’ll discuss later. First up, here’s the topic list.

• Nintendo 3DS hands on
• Amazon pumps up the jam in the cloud link
• Kindle hits $114 link
• Google and Apple rumored to be getting ready to pump up their own cloud jams
• $250 Nook vs. $350 Galaxy Tab FIGHT!
• Netflix getting Mad new shows.
• Doctor Who. The Tardis.
• China says no to time travel
• George Takei is a twitter god follow him
• “Your Majesty” looks like a crappy movie
• Random guy rumor of the day
• Unicode video link

During the show I throw down the gauntlet and challenge Jeff to an Oh My off. Take a listen to each of us doing our George Takei impression and then vote on twitter with the hash tag #maxgeekohmy for your favorite Oh My.

Josh Oh My

Jeff Oh My

Maximum Geek Vol 3 Ep 10

That’s right, we’re back for the second week in a row (hey, it’s not Sunday yet it’s still this week). This is one we got in by the skin of our teeth but it’s here. We discuss much. Here’s a quick break down

• The AT&T that ate T-Mobile
• Sprint and Google Voice joined at the hip
• Amazon Android App Store
• Litigious bastards
• Browser Wars
• .xxx domain names
• E-book stuff

We also talk about the tablet market and movies and all kinds of other random stuff.

Maximum Geek Vol 3 Episode 9

Yes, we have recorded a podcast. We actually recorded one a few weeks ago, but callgraph ate it. Now we’re here and the talk is geeky. This episode clocks in at over an hour and twenty minutes, so there’s plenty of talking. We plan on being back “soon” (read next week). We’ve got a lot going on and a lot to catch up on. So here’s what we cover.

• News
  • Why we mostly talk about mobile tech these days
  • The tragedy in Japan and how it effects technology
  • iOS can’t figure out DST
  • IE 9 is coming
  • Alas poor Zune
  • Netflix is EVERYWHERE
  • Twitter tells devs to piss off
• Mobile Tech
  • Sprint Buying T-Mobile?
  • Amazon Android App Store
  • Thunderbolt Mark 17th (confirmed by Verizon this morning)
  • Jeff’s Android love affair
  • iPad 2, there are no unicorns here, move along

Stay tuned for… well some other time (probably next Monday) when we do more talking about stuff.

“Do Over!” by the numbers

Okay, remember, it’s way, way early here. But I’ve had “Do Over!” on sale for almost two weeks, and thought I’d give my thoughts and observations about epublishing as it stands today.

For my newish readers, I’ve been in the epublishing game for a long, long time. About a dozen years ago I co-founded a website called “Free ePress” that published original works on the honor system—we gave the books away for free and asked people to pay us what they thought the story was worth (an idea that came to me after watching a festival of street performers here in Denver, writing as busking).

Since then, I’ve been published on eReader, Fictionwise and other smallish, pre-Kindle ebook sites. I’ve watched the ebook industry mature from an outlandish “why would anyone read a book on their Palm Pilot?” goofball idea to now the almost certain future of publishing as brick and mortar stores close and disappear.

“Do Over!” is my first book to be published on Amazon (and, oddly, Barnes & Noble, considering they bought Fictionwise, which already carries it). It’s a novella rather than a full-length novel, so I priced it accordingly at 99 cents, even though that puts me outside Amazon’s 70% royalty range.

So how has it done in two weeks? The first week, I sold 14 copies, netting me a total of $4.90 in royaties. The second week that firehose tapered off, and I sold 4 copies for a $1.40. So in the first two weeks, I’ve taken in $6.30. The upside is that’s not enough to declare to the IRS, so that whole $6.30 is tax-free, baby. Sales rank is #81,546 in all paid books available on Amazon. Eat that, #81,547!

Ahem.

Oh, and on Barnes & Noble? Zero copies. You disappointment me, nookers.

Over the weekend, I changed the description marketing copy on Amazon to give a bit more detail.

Before:

Richie Preston is a loser, in every sense of the word. He never moved out of his parents’ house, still works a dead end job and lost out on the love of his life.

But when the fates give him a second chance, he has the opportunity to live his senior year of high school all over again, only this time remembering where he went wrong. All he has to do is make sure he doesn’t interfere in the lives of others, and he can start over.

If you had the chance, would you make the choice?

After:

Richie Preston is 27 years old and still lives in his parents’ house, still works at a dead end job, lost his great love, still hasn’t really begun his life.

One day the fates smile on him and give him the opportunity to start over, to go back to being 17 and about to start his senior year of high school, only this time with all the memories of what he did wrong the first time. All he has to do is not interfere with anyone else’s life. It sounds like a great deal, but living up to his end of the bargain turns out to be harder than Richie ever imagined.

If you had the chance, would you make the choice?

I also changed the genre to YA (or “Juvenile Fiction” in Amazon parlance), given that the main character is in his senior year of high school. No idea if this will help, but at least I’m trying something.

I know I probably shouldn’t be, but I’m underwhelmed. I’m in need of some serious whelming. I know a 16,000 word novella is a tough sell even at 99 cents, and I know I’m not exactly a household name. But Joe Konrath makes this sound so easy (maybe I should quit taking writing advice from guys named Joe). Evidently, selling ebooks is a self-reinforcing system. Once you reach a certain critical mass of sales, they just keep building (see Konrath, Amanda Hocking, etc.). But getting to that point in the first place is a bit trickier.

The trick, it seems, is volume. Right now I’m seeing the level of success you’d expect from someone with only one book, and that a novella, in the store. Hocking has nine. Konrath has over a dozen (accounting gets tricky as he has several collaborations that aren’t just him). So maybe when I get the first Unification Chronicles trilogy done and posted they’ll feed each other. What I have learned is that one book squeaking plaintively in the Amazon isn’t going to get noticed much.

(squeak.)

And still. That’s 19 (I sold another one over the weekend) people I’ve entertained that I hadn’t a month ago. 19 people I maybe gave something to think about.

That’s something.

“Do Over!” on sale now!

Last week I posted my YA novella “Do Over!” on Amazon and Barnes & Noble for 99 cents. It’s been well-reviewed, but I need a little help getting the word out there, so please feel free to link to this blog. I’ll be adding the link to Google Books as soon as I figure out how to get the book into their system. It’s a fast read at 16,000 words, ideal for reading over a lunch hour or commute.

What’s it about? Glad you asked. “Do Over!” is the tale of Richie Preston, a 27-year-old who still lives in his parents’ house, still works at a dead end job, still hasn’t really begun his life. One day the fates smile on him and give him the opportunity to start over, to go back to being 17 and about to start his senior year of high school, only this time with all the memories of what he did wrong the first time. All he has to do is not interfere with anyone else’s life. It sounds like a great deal, but living up to his end of the bargain turns out to be harder than Richie ever imagined.

It’s Finally Over

I am officially married. This means an end to an incredibly hectic few months and a return to Maximum Geek. I don’t expect there to be a Max Geek this week. I’m still recovering and have some homework to make up. I do expect to have something next week and then a return to article writing. Along with some fiction writing and a couple of other projects I’ve got in mind. I’m in the middle of reprioritizing, but Maximum Geek is on the list. I was doing so good before my word exploded with wedding stuff. We will return soon.

Maximum Geek Vol 3 Ep 8

You’re probably wondering where we’ve been. Well the answer is we recorded this cast a couple weeks ago but Josh ended up way too busy to post it. The last two weeks have been insane but soon that insanity will only get worse for Josh. Hoping to get a cast or two up before I get married October 9th and then go on my honeymoon. Anyway, it’s another awesome episode of Max Geek and here’s what we cover

• Toshiba Libretto
• Scott Pilgrim
• Jeff’s new G1
• Windows Phone 7 XBox Live gaming
  • Avatars
  • Achievements
  • Try before you buy

So there we have it, as always let us know what you think and stay tuned for another episode soonish. We really will get back on track once Josh’s life stops being all turned upside down and stuff.

Maximum Geek Vol 3 Ep 7

Alright, episode is up for your listening pleasure. This week we have lots of fun topics.

• First NFL 3D Broadcast
• Goodbye jailbreakme.com
• Malicious apps on mobile platforms
• Apple iTV
• Mobile Gaming
  • PSP Phone?
  • Microsoft Game Studio Mobile
  • The future of mobile gaming

We get into the reality of malicious apps on mobile devices and we talk about what can be done to mitigate the problem. We also break down the state of mobile gaming, where things are headed and who has the mobile gaming edge (hint: the company name rhymes with Mintendo). Up next week? Probably a comic cast.