# THE QUEEN OF MAGES now available!



## Benjamin Clayborne (Aug 14, 2012)

Come one, come all, and check out *THE QUEEN OF MAGES* on Amazon! Only $3.99! Finally available after all this time!

Hopefully I've learned my lesson not to say "It's almost done!" eight months before I finish.


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## Benjamin Clayborne (Aug 14, 2012)

Also, I want to remind everyone that *YOU DO NOT NEED A KINDLE* in order to read *THE QUEEN OF MAGES*. Amazon provides a *free* Kindle reader app for Android, iPhone/iPad, and other systems; and you can read Kindle books in your web browser at *[url]http://read.amazon.com*[/URL], too, in any browser.


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## Graylorne (Aug 14, 2012)

Well, I bought one. I wanted to try how Amazon worked anyhow, so this came at the right moment  It cost me $6.89, actually. Taxes? Now I've got one more book to read, I'm already behind. Nice cover, btw.


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## Benjamin Clayborne (Aug 14, 2012)

$6.89? Weird, I set the price at $3.99... Oh, are you in EU? (I see it says Netherlands in your infobox.) Maybe there's some weird extra taxes they charge.


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## Graylorne (Aug 14, 2012)

Could be. When I go to Amazon.com without signing in and search for your book it sais this: *Kindle Price: $6.89 includes VAT* & free international wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet.*
I downloaded via Kindle Cloud.


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## Benjamin Clayborne (Aug 14, 2012)

Ah, the mysterious VAT. A thing that we Americans simply don't understand. (No, seriously, I've read about VAT a dozen times and I still somehow don't understand how it works.)


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## Graylorne (Aug 14, 2012)

We call it BTW, that means the same. It can add up, but 75% seems rather steep. We pay 19% BTW over ebooks.

I checked the links to your stories and they give me a price of $3.44 each. Strange; I checked it with a story one of the other MS members published at Amazon.com and at Smashwords. Amazon at $ 3.40, SW at $0.99.


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## Benjamin Clayborne (Aug 14, 2012)

The price I set for the shorts was $0.99. That's a hell of a markup. 

On the other hand, _I_ certainly think my writing is worth the extra cash.


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## Telcontar (Aug 14, 2012)

VAT taxes are funky for eBooks. Print books are exempt from them in most countries, but a couple of countries have classifed eBooks as (I think) a Luxury good, and tax them even further.

It blows for people in those countries who want to buy ebooks, but oh well. 

Will be picking up the book in just a couple seconds, Ben. Looking forward to the read!


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## Amanita (Aug 14, 2012)

Would you mind telling us a bit about the plot of the story? 
Only reading the text at Amazon, it sounds a bit like the typical "good (and maybe helpless) woman is threatend by evil man"-storyline. Knowing you from the forum, I doubt that this is accurate though, so I'd like to know a bit more before deciding if I want to buy it.

For me, there seems to be about one dollar of VAT taxes, so not as extreme. I think books are among the number of items with lower taxation in Germany. (Food is as well and hotel rooms, the latter due to a specific case of political lobbyism. ) 
Normally, it's 19% on anything you buy.


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## Benjamin Clayborne (Aug 14, 2012)

Amanita said:


> Would you mind telling us a bit about the plot of the story?
> Only reading the text at Amazon, it sounds a bit like the typical "good (and maybe helpless) woman is threatend by evil man"-storyline. Knowing you from the forum, I doubt that this is accurate though, so I'd like to know a bit more before deciding if I want to buy it.



Oh, she's not at all helpless.  I do plan to rewrite the blurb some more and come up with something more interesting; condensing the story into something quite so terse isn't something I've had a lot of practice at, though, and I'll admit my first attempt isn't much. I promise that the book is way better than the blurb. 

I actually looked a bunch of other books in the same genre on Amazon to get an idea of what kinds of things people put in those blurbs. I was also trying to make it super-terse, partly because I have no idea whether or not people actually thoroughly read the blurbs, or just sort of skim them looking for keywords the way I do; compressing it into something small that someone can easily digest might be better than a lot of words that make their eyes glaze over.

But then maybe I need to just forget about that and write something fun and interesting to go in that spot. There's a limit of 4,000 characters (~700 words), and I don't want to make it a big slog just to find out what the story's about. My wife suggested putting in a short section of chapter 3 where two of the main characters (Amira and Katin; see below) discuss the magic power; I might do that.

But I'll give you some info and you can see if it sounds interesting.  And actually, you can read the prologue and most of the way through chapter 4 on the Amazon preview; that should introduce all the main characters and let you know whether or not you like where it's going.

The book follows four protagonists who live in the quasi-medieval realm of Garova:

- Amira, a young widowed noblewoman, who begins to develop a strange magical power that lets her create and control energy at a distance. Amira is charming, vivacious, beautiful, and highly impulsive–sometimes even reckless. Her power fascinates her, and at first she is the only person who has it.

- Dardan, a young nobleman and heir to a countship, who begins courting Amira after his mother browbeats him into it. Dardan is a dutiful, straitlaced fellow, unsure about whether he'll be able to live up to his father's larger-than-life reputation, and completely unprepared for dealing with Amira.

- Katin, Amira's _vala_ (_valai_ are personal bodyservants who accompany their masters at all times; they're a combination of friend, servant, companion, and confidante), who grew up an orphan and has a scarred past. She worries constantly about whether some horrible fate will befall her and Amira.

- Liam, Dardan's _valo_, a former soldier who is much more charming and handsome than his master. He has what can charitably be called an eye for the ladies, but Katin immediately hates him. (Where their relationship goes is not obvious.) Liam has an unpleasant past of his own, and sometimes has trouble controlling his anger.

Aside from them, the primary antagonist is the crown prince, Edon, who is a big thoughtless brute and more or less ends up ruining everything for everyone all the time. He discovers Amira's power and wants to control her; and things snowball out of control from there.

I really do encourage you to read the preview on Amazon; I think you'll know at once whether you like the writing style and storytelling. If you want to dive in to the main characters, you can skip the prologue and start at chapter 1. The prologue tells its own mini-story and sets the scene, but it isn't critical.

Look at it this way: Spend one minute reading chapter 1. After one minute, if you still like it, keep going. If not, you can give up, and you've only lost a minute of your time.


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## Benjamin Clayborne (Aug 15, 2012)

I did go ahead and rewrite the book blurb, incidentally. Hopefully it's somewhat more intriguing now. 

Also, I posted a *free sample (first 5 chapters)* of the book on my blog, if you'd like to read it on a regular web page instead of in Amazon's previewer.


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## Philip Overby (Aug 16, 2012)

I downloaded the sample and read the first part.  I really like it so far.  The end of that part left a good hook!

Looking forward to reading the rest of it.  I'm sure I'll be buying the whole thing when I finish the sample.  It's just my standard procedure now to read the sample first.  And wow, thanks for the dedication, man!


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## Benjamin Clayborne (Aug 16, 2012)

Thanks! It feels really great to have gone through this whole process and have something to show for it. I was worried that it would be over and I'd sort of feel let down, but it's been really rewarding. And it's wonderful any time someone (who I'm not married to) tells me that they like it.


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## danr62 (Aug 16, 2012)

Question: Are we allowed to use affiliate links on this forum when promoting our books? If so, why aren't you using one for this? You can earn a comission on top of your royalties, and you could also earn a comission on anything else someone purchases along with it.

Anyway, I've downloaded the sample and will check it out. I like the cover, did you have someone do that for you or is it DIY?


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## Benjamin Clayborne (Aug 16, 2012)

danr62 said:


> Question: Are we allowed to use affiliate links on this forum when promoting our books? If so, why aren't you using one for this? You can earn a comission on top of your royalties, and you could also earn a comission on anything else someone purchases along with it.



I actually don't know wrt the affiliate question, but I wouldn't imagine it would be a problem, as long as other guidelines about promotion are followed.

I haven't really thought about doing the affiliate thing, because, well... it's yet another thing to worry about. My time is already severely constrained, so if I can find a couple hours to dig into the affiliate stuff, I will, but it just can't be a priority right now.



> Anyway, I've downloaded the sample and will check it out. I like the cover, did you have someone do that for you or is it DIY?



Ha! I wish I had one percent of the artstic ability needed to draw something like that. The art was done by the talented *Melissa Erickson*.


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## Benjamin Clayborne (Aug 16, 2012)

Oh, I also wanted to remind people - if you read THE QUEEN OF MAGES and liked it, please be sure to *post a review on Amazon!* Word of mouth is really the only way this thing can take off, since I spent what little budget I had for this on the fantastic cover art


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## Benjamin Clayborne (Aug 27, 2012)

I'd like to add that THE QUEEN OF MAGES is now also *available for nook*! I know at least one of you was waiting for that, so now you can check it out. Same low low price of $3.99!

And as a reminder, if you'd like to read the preview first, *the prologue and first five chapters are available to read free online*.


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## Zero Angel (Aug 27, 2012)

Benjamin Clayborne said:


> And actually, you can read the prologue and most of the way through chapter 4 on the Amazon preview;



 yours goes all the way to CH 4? Mine ends after CH 2. Is it length of chapters that affects it or is it a specific fraction of the total number of chapters do we think?


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## Benjamin Clayborne (Aug 27, 2012)

Zero Angel said:


> yours goes all the way to CH 4? Mine ends after CH 2. Is it length of chapters that affects it or is it a specific fraction of the total number of chapters do we think?



As far as I understand, it's basically just a percentage of the overall book length; about 10.5% in this case. The book is 7924 locations long, and the preview stops at about location 839. (Actually, the book starts at location 36, so it's actually about 800 locations worth of story in the preview, which is closer to 10%.)

The preview on my blog is the same except it 1) doesn't include all the front matter (because who cares about the copyright page) and 2) it goes all the way to the end of chapter 5, instead of stopping near the end of chapter 4 like the Amazon preview.


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## Ankari (Aug 27, 2012)

Benjamin, 

What are your thoughts about using wattpad.com as a venue for showcasing your work?  Perhaps only the first 5 chapters or so.  I hear other authors using wattpad for a teaser to help promote their sales.


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## Benjamin Clayborne (Aug 27, 2012)

Dunno; I've never looked into wattpad before. From a quick glance, it looks similar to goodreads. I've got an author page on goodreads and have been participating in a fantasy fiction group there. I got lucky and made a sale when another member posted a description of her ideal book, and it was more or less exactly what I'd already written! I PM'd her and mentioned it, and she went ahead and bought a copy.

I might check out wattpad eventually, but I can't spend too much time dealing with a million different ways to market my work, or I'll never get anything else written.


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## Ankari (Aug 27, 2012)

It's not like Goodreads.  Its a site that authors posts their works on.  Some authors will post their whole works, but others just post 4 or 5 chapters.  You can then post links back to Amazon and Nook.  Logically, it makes sense to use as a marketing tool.


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## Zero Angel (Aug 28, 2012)

I think I can justify a $3 expense next week. Care to pitch me?

What do you think about your book? How does it rank against other novels in your opinion? Does it make you excited (in a non-"I just published a book OMG!" way)? What about it gets you going? What book on the market today is the most like it in your opinion?

P.S.:
Also, I checked out the affiliates thing, and it really only takes about 5 minutes to set up, then a 3 day wait to get approved. But they immediately give you access to links you can use to sell your book. Seems pretty painless. I set it up and now my links on my website are affiliate links. I also made a privacy policy page so people can see that I am an affiliate and that trademarks belong to the people whose trademarks they are. I'm not Steerpike, but I believe I set it up correctly. If you want to model yours after mine, you can find it here: Privacy/Legal - Zero Angel's War of the Ages. I basically just copied and pasted from Amazon's trademark page and added in the rest of the companies too for good measure. ...really need to file for an LLC sometime...


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## Benjamin Clayborne (Aug 28, 2012)

Zero Angel said:


> I think I can justify a $3 expense next week. Care to pitch me?
> 
> What do you think about your book? How does it rank against other novels in your opinion? Does it make you excited (in a non-"I just published a book OMG!" way)? What about it gets you going? What book on the market today is the most like it in your opinion?



Well, _I_ certainly think it's fantastic, and much higher quality than the overwhelming majority of self-published crud out there.  In terms of what _current_ books it's most like, I'm actually not sure; thematically and tonally the closest I can think of is Bujold's _Sharing Knife_ series, but that's a few years old. (One interesting dilemma of writing in my spare time is that because I spend most of my spare time writing, I spend very little of it _reading_, so there's a lot I have to catch up on...)

It's epic low fantasy with a magic element that drives the plot but is not overwhelming. There's no bearded wizards throwing fireballs at each other every five seconds.

The characters find themselves in complicated, grown-up relationships; there's political shenanigans, ambushes, escapes in the dark of night, and one large-scale battle. There's four main POV characters, two women and two men (two pairs of nobles and their servants). The book spends a little while getting to know the characters before the main conflict kicks in. Then the s*** hits the fan... and then there's a resolution to that, and things seem to settle down, and then a much, much bigger pile of s*** hits a much bigger fan. 

I don't know what in particular _you_ look for in a fantasy novel, so I'm not certain how to customize my pitch precisely. So I'll just say this: I'll beg you to spend 5 minutes reading the preview (*on my blog* or on the *Amazon product page*), and see if you feel like you want to continue. If not, then at worst you've lost five minutes. But I think you'll find it a good read at the very least, even if it doesn't necessarily capture your imagination. (Not every book appeals to everyone!)


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## Endymion (Aug 28, 2012)

Don't want to get hit by s***...


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## Telcontar (Aug 28, 2012)

I am currently reading QUEEN OF MAGES: 

A) Yes it is better than most of the drek that people self-publish 
B) It is easily worth a measly $3 dollars
C) Go buy it


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## Benjamin Clayborne (Aug 28, 2012)

Hey, before people get the wrong idea, it's _four_ dollars, not three. Bank-breaking, I know.


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## Telcontar (Aug 28, 2012)

My above statements stand. Just change "3" to "4"


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## Zero Angel (Aug 28, 2012)

Benjamin Clayborne said:


> Well, _I_ certainly think it's fantastic, and much higher quality than the overwhelming majority of self-published crud out there.  In terms of what _current_ books it's most like, I'm actually not sure; thematically and tonally the closest I can think of is Bujold's _Sharing Knife_ series, but that's a few years old. (One interesting dilemma of writing in my spare time is that because I spend most of my spare time writing, I spend very little of it _reading_, so there's a lot I have to catch up on...)
> 
> It's epic low fantasy with a magic element that drives the plot but is not overwhelming. There's no bearded wizards throwing fireballs at each other every five seconds.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the pitch. I just wanted to hear what you had to say about it, and I think that with a little editing you probably have a good "back cover blurb" for Amazon if you were still looking for one 

I'll pick it up without even bothering with the preview. It's only $4 after all (in America at least!). Keep up the good work!

...and I shouldn't have used the word "current". I should have used the phrase, "currently on the market/available for purchase". I don't have time to keep up with most current stuff either -_-


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## Endymion (Sep 2, 2012)

Zero Angel said:


> It's only $4 after all (in America at least!). Keep up the good work!



What? Do I have to pay more (I live in Europe) than 4 dollars? Why?


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## Elder the Dwarf (Sep 2, 2012)

Definitely going to have to buy this one and see how it turns out!  Glad you got it finished Ben!


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## Zero Angel (Sep 2, 2012)

Endymion said:


> What? Do I have to pay more (I live in Europe) than 4 dollars? Why?



People were talking about VAT taxes in non-America areas, so I assumed that applied. Check out the Amazon link and see what price you have to pay, if it is more than 3.99 US Dollars (approximately 3.18 euros?) , then chances are there are extra taxes associated. Someone said that there was over $2 of taxes with a Netherlands purchase I believe.


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## Benjamin Clayborne (Sep 4, 2012)

Zero Angel said:


> People were talking about VAT taxes in non-America areas, so I assumed that applied. Check out the Amazon link and see what price you have to pay, if it is more than 3.99 US Dollars (approximately 3.18 euros?) , then chances are there are extra taxes associated. Someone said that there was over $2 of taxes with a Netherlands purchase I believe.



Yeah. Turns out Amazon has to charge VAT in certain countries, so they just pile that on top of whatever the sticker price is. I have no way to control it.

All told it's not more than a couple bucks (Euros, etc.) more than the sticker price, so I think it's still a good deal 

*ALSO!* Someone who's active on Goodreads wrote up a lengthy (and I do mean lengthy–1,600 words) review which she posted on *her blog* as well as on the book's *Amazon page*. I can't say I agree with everything she wrote, but it's an entirely fair review with a good deal of insight.


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## ThinkerX (Sep 5, 2012)

Ok...read the sample and the last review.  

My first observation is 'magic' seems to be something very new on this world - we actually seem to be watching it come into existence.  Bit of a change from the usual.

I didn't mind the descriptions or the continual parade of minor characters, but then again I'm 'old school' where such inclusions were the norm.

As to characterization, at least from the sample, I have to agree with the review.


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## Zero Angel (Sep 16, 2012)

Purchased! Looking forward to reading it. Hope to get it done this week.


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## Benjamin Clayborne (Sep 16, 2012)

Thanks!


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