Terry Goodkind's Blog - Posts Tagged "the-first-confessor"

We are 17 days away from one of the most important launches of my career as an author. THE FIRST CONFESSOR is an unprecedented title for a number of reasons. First, I am publishing it myself. There will be three versions; an ebook (available on all platforms, English, and simultaneously world-wide), a Limited Collector's Edition with a hardcover printing inside, and an audio book. Second, it is a foundational novel that explores the origins of key pieces of SWORD OF TRUTH lore. Many of my readers oldest questions will be answered here. And third, we decided to up the stakes considerably by creating the Collector's Edition and the audio book -- two projects that we have spent untold hours hiring, designing, proofing, assembling, and preparing for release.

Thank you for your interest in this novel. We're confident you are going to find a truly exceptional story inside and we're glad to have the opportunity to share a little bit about the road we've taken to get here.

More posts again soon.

We are on the eve of launching a major self-published novel titled THE FIRST CONFESSOR: The Legend of Magda Searus. It will be available in ebook format, simultaneously, world-wide (English), on Monday, July-2nd. It is an Author-released, ebook exclusive and can be found on Amazon, B&N, Apple, and Kobo.

In our own preparation for this release, we wanted to understand ebooks and their many available options as fully and comprehensively as possible. The entire team was brought in to perform exhaustive testing and analysis. We bought every form of ebook tablet available today, plus auditioned numerous software packages, reading options, testing environments, electronic store fronts, top-rated accessories, and much more. We read dozens of novels (among them THE FIRST CONFESSOR, of course) and clocked enough time on each device to test their manufacturer specifications. We then compared our notes with cumulative reviews and other crowd-sourced resources.

When we finished, we found we had amassed a startling amount of data and developed many certain conclusions about the best software, best tablet, best store purchasing experience, and much more. While some of our data points could be considered subjective, we are confident our testing format allowed for objective-based conclusions to arise.

It is highly unusual for a known Author to make public statements -- either positive or negative -- towards any one supporting entity. But these are brave new times and this book (THE FIRST CONFESSOR) stands at a time and a place that is wholly unique. We are now writing directly for you, the fans and the readers and as our thanks for your support, this document is for you too. We hope it will be of use.

Our 'Ebooks Guide & FAQ' is available here:
http://www.terrygoodkind.com/theoracl...

It's important to note a few things about what we're doing with THE FIRST CONFESSOR and why;

(1) It's not a money thing. We gave up a very lucrative advance and we risk all rewards, putting the content of the book first. It's success will now live and thrive upon your appreciation and acceptance.

(2) The publishing world does not like what we're doing. Upon release, this book will effectively be banished by publishers. It is unlikely you will ever see it in print (unless you managed to get one of the 300 Limited Collector's Editions which sold out very quickly).

(3) We've kept this book under lock and key, without any outside interference. We've brought it to you within weeks of having finished the final keystroke (with enough time for editing review and testing) and we plan on supporting it for a long-time to come. That means updates, free things on our website, additional content at a later date, and much more.

(4) I am still going to be publishing traditional, printed novels. Tor Books (my long-time publisher) will be releasing the sequel to THE OMEN MACHINE sometime later this year, possibly early next.

(5) We did it this way because we could, because the story needed to be told, and this was the best way to tell it. We love this book and you will too. It is possibly one of the most important stories I have ever written and it stands as the beginning of a long and perilous journey that eventually becomes the lives of Richard and Kahlan. To say Magda Searus is important would be an incredible understatement. She is the beginning and so is this book.

The book launched July-2nd and already we're in the top lists on Amazon and the reviews feedback has been incredibly positive. This is a strange place for a well-published author to be. 14 previously printed novels and for the first time, it's just readers and us.

We'd like to know; how much of this experience, from our perspective, do you want to hear about? Are you interested just in only the 'final product' (the stories) or are you curious about the process and what this road has entailed?

B&N NOOK version:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-f...

Amazon Kindle version:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008...

Kobo version:
http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/The-Fi...

Reddit invited me to do an author 'Ask Me Anything' (AMA) chat last night. I was answering questions live for 6 hours and plan on revisiting the ones I missed, tomorrow afternoon.

http://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comme...

It is an absolute thrill and an inspiration to have been nominated for the 2012 Goodreads Choice Award ("Best Fantasy"). Thank you for taking a moment to vote for THE FIRST CONFESSOR.

http://www.goodreads.com/award/choice...

As an independent, author published, ebook exclusive, we had no idea if anyone would even hear about this book upon release. To say the days leading up to its release were intense would be an understatement.

What we've learned most from this process is that THE FIRST CONFESSOR can only succeed with the direct support, reviews, and recommendations of readers like you. We don't have a major advertising campaign or a massive publisher stuffing popouts and floor displays into stores everywhere. You can't find this book on a shelf at the airport or lingering around grocery store checkout lanes. In fact, our only tool for promoting this book is... you.

It's a little daunting when you step back and realize just how out-of-the-box all of this is, but the thrill of being so close to readers and hanging on the line (flourishing or dying with the work alone) kicks in and then it's one solid shot of adrenaline wrapped in inspiration.

If you want to know more about why I released this book the way I did, please read the Manifesto posted below. It's also printed on the inside of the ebook.

http://terrygoodkind.com/theoracle/eb...

It can't be said enough; thank you for your vote.