This blog post was published on and may be out of date. Visit starshipsmage.com for current information on the Starship’s Mage universe.
Over the course of the first month of 2016, I experimented with removing the Amazon exclusivity from Hand of Mars (Starship’s Mage Omnibus had never been exclusive with Amazon) and running promotions to see if I could get the non-Amazon retailer sales of both books to equal, at least, the December Kindle Unlimited royalties for Hand of Mars alone.
I won’t go into exact numbers here, but the final number for both books in January 2016 outside of Amazon was a little over 50% of the December Kindle Unlimited number for December 2015. Those royalties only barely covered the cost of the promotions I ran in January.
While this experiment has left me with some confidence that I have the tools and catalog to move outside of Amazon if their KDP Select requirements grow too onerous, it also shows that doing so would be expensive and time-consuming… and would, in the current environment, make me less money than Kindle Unlimited does.
Therefore, as of this writing, Starship’s Mage Omnibus and Hand of Mars have been taken down from all retailers other than Amazon and placed in KDP Select.
To be in full compliance with KDP Select’s Terms of Services, I could not have Episode 1 available elsewhere, which made it impossible to keep it free. Therefore, I have taken Starship’s Mage: Episode 1 down completely. The individual episodes of the Omnibus are no longer available in any form, however, please note that the Kindle Sample of Starship’s Mage Omnibus covers a significant portion of Episode 1.
This also means, sadly, that Voice of Mars (Starship’s Mage Book 3) will likely not see a release outside of Amazon. However, I can confirm that Voice of Mars will be released on schedule in March, most likely in the first half of the month.
Happy reading!
Glynn Stewart
Awesome, can’t wait.
Beauty, looking forward to book 3.
I’ve stopped getting your books through kindle Unlimited. That’s right, I now trust your writing enough that I’m buying them! They’re worth reading again over time. So, keep them coming.
Hi Glynn
I’ve only been “reading” your books in their audio format, and have thought both books 1 and 2 were excellent l. More impressively, they were similar in tone (which is of course to be expected in a series) but surprisingly different in feel/construction (can’t think of the right word, but it’s the same difference you’d get between Star Wars Episode IV and if George Lucas has written a spaghetti western). The latter is a much more unusual and impressive thing to achieve and I will be keeping my eyes on you as a potential successor to Timothy Zahn.
Anyway, enough with the gushing praise. Once I start a series in eBook or audio format, I have yet to swap format part way, so please don’t leave a big gap between book 3 coming out in print and on audio!
I’ve also added book 3 to Goodreads (if you wait about hour from now and check your author page it will be visible). If you can email me directly or message me there with the cover and exact release date at least 72 hours in advance of it going live on Amazon, I’ll make sure it’s up and ready, and more importantly this will mean it’s eligible for the “new releases by genre” newsletters.
David
Hi David,
Historical evidence suggests I may not have the cover and release date 72 hours ahead of release, but I’ll see what I can do! Thanks.
As for audio, I’ve reached out to the publisher, but haven’t confirmed anything on Voice of Mars. Sadly, unless I were to hold back the ebook release, there is always going to be a delay between the book and audiobook releases.
Glynn
Since I subscribe to Kindle Unlimited I am happy Starship Mage’s next book will be available there. I have tried other online services but Amazon is always what I go back to. Thanks for the great writing! Never knew how much I enjoyed space operas so much – probably because you mixed in some very cool magic ; )
Mage-King’s Hand. I have read the first 5 in the series. Why is the next one not available to purchase? I purchased all 5 on Amazon but cannot find anymore?
Cheers.
Jim.
Hi Jim,
The first five Starship’s Mage Episodes were combined in what is now Book One of the Starship’s Mage series.
The continuation is Hand of Mars
Book three, Voice of Mars will be out in March.
-Glynn Stewart
Thank you for the information. Really enjoyed reading your Starship mage series so far.
Glynn,
Have you thought of creating a codex/bible for The Castle Federation series? I know David Weber (for the Honorverse) has an official one as does David Eddings for his Belgarion series’s (which is more his published notes). I also know David Weber allows his fellow writers to play in his “Universe.
I just finished listening to the CF 1#…Five Stars. Going to listen to Book One of the Starship’s Mage
Hi Tony
I don’t actually have enough content yet! XD
I’m also early enough in the series that I wouldn’t want to restrict future developments by putting what background information I do have out there.
And, so far at least, I have no real inclination to let other writers play in my universes. That may change, we’ll see 🙂
Glynn Stewart