Hi readers,
Welcome and thanks for subscribing! (Or hanging around to learn why you should.)
Let’s talk a little about what I’m doing here at The Reader Crew.
Want the short version? It’s free to subscribe. Enter your email to get free books and occasional emails from me. On the next screen, you’ll have the *option* to become a paid subscriber and get instant access to my non-exclusive back catalog and an early copy of every future book I publish. Pretty cool!
Who am I?
I’m Joshua James and I write science fiction novels. Lots of them. Typically I publish a novel every few months. Daniel Young, my friend and occasional co-writer, writes even more than I do. You’ll find both of our books here. I tend to write near-future thrillers, while he leans more toward the space opera side of things.
What exactly is going on around here?
There are basically two types of content that make up The Reader Crew.
Free newsletter, which is what you get if you just enter your email and hit submit. This is what most of you are used to getting from me and other authors. The newsletter will keep you updated on book releases and other promotions I’m running. You’ll also get three free books as a thank you!
The hub page, which will be available to paid subscribers only. That’s where I put a copy of all books from myself and my cowriters. I provide access approximately a week before it shows up on Amazon. This will be in a format that you can download to any device or reader (not just Amazon-related apps and devices). Considering most of my ebooks retail between $2.99 and $9.99, paid subscribers not only get early access and universal flexibility, they also get a bargain.
What books do you get?
As a free subscriber, I’ll immediately send you a copy of Lucky Shot. It’s the prequel to my first series, Lucky’s Marines, and includes an extended sneak peek. I’ll also send you a copy of Planet Hell, a personal favorite of mine. Finally, I’ll send along a short story collection from Daniel.
As a paid subscriber, I’ll immediately send you a link to a page where you can access the non-exclusive back catalog. It’s constantly being updated. It includes a lot of box sets, a few standalones and even a couple audiobooks. It’s a lot of stuff!
Why am I doing this?
I assume you mean, “Why not just keep doing an occassional newsletter and leave it at that?” First of all, I love doing the newsletter and that’s not going anywhere. (see Free newsletter above!)
But with the paid subscription, I’m basically aiming to sell ebooks in a way that lets me keep more of the cover price (95% instead of 35-70%) and cut down my reliance on Amazon (currently, more than 90% of my income comes from Amazon).
Understanding Amazon
Right now, it’s a huge advantage to participate in Amazon’s exclusivity program, which allows books to get extra promotional benefits and be enrolled in Kindle Unlimited. Because of this, I publish all my new fiction exclusively to Amazon.
In practical terms, that means a paid subscription here is the only way for you to get my books if you’re NOT an Amazon shopper (since they will go out to subscribers before they are enrolled in that exclusivity program).
So how will this work?
I use Bookfunnel for ebook delivery. They are good about providing tech support for devices that I know nothing about, so if you have any trouble getting the ebook from Bookfunnel to your e-reader, just click the help link at the top of the page, and they will answer your questions. I will share the link to the Bookfunnel page, and you pop on over to download it in your chosen format. It's pretty easy!
Ready to do this?
Great! If you just want the newsletter, simply enter your email and hit subscribe. If you’d like the paid option, on the next screen you can select monthly or yearly and enter a little information from your piece of plastic of choice and you’re in!
See you on the other side!