Wool by Hugh Howey

[BigNaruto]

Have anyone read it? It's probably one of the "hottest" sci fi books right now. It's an indie book but selling like crazy.

he made $19,000 from his fiction in January, $50,000 in February, and $70,000 in March

Here's the Amazon Reviews for the Omnibus Edition (1-5): 458 out of 502 gave it 5 stars out of 5 stars.

Wool Omnibus Edition (Wool 1 - 5) [Kindle Edition]

4.9 out of 5 stars
5 star:
(458)
4 star:
(38)
3 star:
(4)
2 star: (0)
1 star:
(2)

Thousands of them have lived underground. They've lived there so long, there are only legends about people living anywhere else. Such a life requires rules. Strict rules. There are things that must not be discussed. Like going outside. Never mention you might like going outside.

Or you'll get what you wish for.



What the press is saying:

Boing Boing's Official Review: "This story is terrific. I was completely immersed, watching Howey slowly paint a picture of a society gone wrong through the eyes and discovery of some truly compelling characters."

[psikeyhackr]

So here’s a very rough draft of the first three chapters of WOOL. Enjoy!

http://www.hughhowey.com/?p=1331

A 91% 5 star rating is pretty damn strange.

But I am not going to buy it to investigate the strangeness.

psik

[Contrarius]

Have anyone read it? It's probably one of the "hottest" sci fi books right now. It's an indie book but selling like crazy.

We briefly discussed this in some other thread a few months ago, but I forget where that was.....

Several of us did read "Wool", at least the first short story. I haven't read any of the others. I enjoyed the story, but I wasn't blown away or anything. It was worth its purchase price. His success is impressive, though, and much more satisfying than the successes of something like 50 Shades of Grey.

[Hobbit]

Not only did we talk about it, but we reviewed it and interviewed Hugh, who seems like a really nice guy.

Mark

[Seli]

It might be a bit cynical of me, but I won't try a book with that distribution of reviews on amazon. Perhaps later, when the author shows some staying power.

[hughhowey]

I wish I knew how to explain the series' success, but I really have no clue. My readers are rabid in the best sense possible. I get loads of fan art and e-mails from all over the world, and my Facebook and Twitter have gone from crickets to a dull roar. I have exactly one real friend in the world (besides my lovely wife). According to Facebook, I have almost 1,000 friends.

It's surreal, guys. I hope the business side of things slows down soon so I can get over here as often as I used to and stay caught up with SFFW. I've got all this agent-related stuff that's eating up my time. Not that I mind, of course. Right now, the rights are at auction in the UK. Five major publishers are bidding for the book, and we've had offers from publishers in the US as well. For those who doubt the reviews (I'm as wary as anyone. I have self-critical streak that causes me to loathe my own writing) these publishers don't make offers without reading and believing in a work.

Then again, they did the same with Twilight and 50 Shades of Gray, so perhaps my doubts are founded: Maybe I'm a really awful writer in the best tradition of really awful and successful writers!

[Contrarius]

Maybe I'm a really awful writer in the best tradition of really awful and successful writers!

Trust me, we would tell you if you were really awful.

And I see you're in Boone, which all by itself puts you up at least 3 points in my estimation. I lived a lotta years in Knoxville, with many trips into NC. If I won the lottery and could live anywhere I wanted, I'd buy land in the Smokies.

[hughhowey]

Trust me, we would tell you if you were really awful.

And I see you're in Boone, which all by itself puts you up at least 3 points in my estimation. I lived a lotta years in Knoxville, with many trips into NC. If I won the lottery and could live anywhere I wanted, I'd buy land in the Smokies.

Don't hold it against me, then, that I'm moving to Florida. It's not by choice, I assure you. My wife took a job closer to her family, which means leaving these glorious hills for the hot and sandy land of retirees.

[tmso]

Not only did we talk about it, but we reviewed it and interviewed Hugh, who seems like a really nice guy.

Mark

Yeah, ya all. Get with the program.

And I can attest, Hugh is not only a really nice guy, but, in my opinion, his work does deserve all the attention it is getting. The stories hooked me well and good.

I'm reading the next in the series (now switching over to Legacy), and I'll post my review soon.

[Contrarius]

Don't hold it against me, then, that I'm moving to Florida. It's not by choice, I assure you. My wife took a job closer to her family, which means leaving these glorious hills for the hot and sandy land of retirees.

ooooooo......I'm afraid I'll have to take away 2 of those points. But I'll leave ya with the last point, since I spent the first 6 years of my life in Miami.....

[Pennarin]

LOL, I emailed him the day before he posted in this thread.

[ArtNJ]

I wish I knew how to explain the series' success, but I really have no clue. My readers are rabid in the best sense possible. I get loads of fan art and e-mails from all over the world, and my Facebook and Twitter have gone from crickets to a dull roar. I have exactly one real friend in the world (besides my lovely wife). According to Facebook, I have almost 1,000 friends.

It's surreal, guys. I hope the business side of things slows down soon so I can get over here as often as I used to and stay caught up with SFFW. I've got all this agent-related stuff that's eating up my time. Not that I mind, of course. Right now, the rights are at auction in the UK. Five major publishers are bidding for the book, and we've had offers from publishers in the US as well. For those who doubt the reviews (I'm as wary as anyone. I have self-critical streak that causes me to loathe my own writing) these publishers don't make offers without reading and believing in a work.

Then again, they did the same with Twilight and 50 Shades of Gray, so perhaps my doubts are founded: Maybe I'm a really awful writer in the best tradition of really awful and successful writers!

There was some mild criticism in another thread, but even the critics (there seem to be very very few, although I am one) thought the story was well written, and the ending (I think I can say this without it being a spoiler) truly surprising.

My criticism had nothing to do with the quality of the writing . . . I just didnt get the ending . . . made no sense to me as a matter of human psychology.

I havent seen anyone critical of the actual writing, plainly you can write very well and deserve your success!

[kennychaffin]

I wish I knew how to explain the series' success, but I really have no clue. My readers are rabid in the best sense possible. I get loads of fan art and e-mails from all over the world, and my Facebook and Twitter have gone from crickets to a dull roar. I have exactly one real friend in the world (besides my lovely wife). According to Facebook, I have almost 1,000 friends.

It's surreal, guys. I hope the business side of things slows down soon so I can get over here as often as I used to and stay caught up with SFFW. I've got all this agent-related stuff that's eating up my time. Not that I mind, of course. Right now, the rights are at auction in the UK. Five major publishers are bidding for the book, and we've had offers from publishers in the US as well. For those who doubt the reviews (I'm as wary as anyone. I have self-critical streak that causes me to loathe my own writing) these publishers don't make offers without reading and believing in a work.

Then again, they did the same with Twilight and 50 Shades of Gray, so perhaps my doubts are founded: Maybe I'm a really awful writer in the best tradition of really awful and successful writers!

Just wanted to say Congrats!

Keep up the great work!

[BigNaruto]

So here’s a very rough draft of the first three chapters of WOOL. Enjoy!

http://www.hughhowey.com/?p=1331

A 91% 5 star rating is pretty damn strange.

But I am not going to buy it to investigate the strangeness.

psik

It has amazing word of mouth. The book is fantastic. It comes as no surprise that it is selling like hotcakes too.

Wool (1-5) is currently #80 with 49 days in the top 100 Best Selling Kindle Ebooks.

#80 will sell around 800-900 ebooks per day (on average).


Sales Rank 1: 3,000 to 5,000 sales per day. Please Note: On Launch Days this can be a LOT more.
Sales Rank 5: 2,000 to 3,000 sales per day.
Sales Rank 10: 1,500 to 2,500 sales per day.
Sales Rank 25: 1,000 to 2,000 sales per day.
Sales Rank 50: 800 to 1,000 sales per day.
Sales Rank 100: 700 to 800 sales per day.
Sales Rank 150: 400 to 500 sales per day.
Sales Rank 200: 300 to 400 sales per day.
Sales Rank 500: 100 to 150 sales per day.
Sales Rank 1,000 – 50 to 100 sales per day.
Sales Rank 5,000 – 25 to 50 sales per day.
If you have better figures or better estimates – please let us know.


Best of all, the author get 70% royalties (i.e. $7 if the book is priced at $10). The future for a lot of authors perhaps?


“Publishing has only two indispensable participants: authors and readers…. any technology that brings these two groups closer makes the whole industry more efficient — but hurts those who benefit from the distance between them.” The Economist, 2008

[tmso]

Actually, I would argue with that last quote you put up. The indispensable participants are: the story and readers.

Hugh Howey wrote an amazing story, and readers are responding.

His Wool stories made me cry with incredible sadness when Holsten (sp?) biffed it, and shout-out with triumph when Juliet (sp?) made it back to the oily surface - only to climb back up all those steps. Just amazing is all I can think of to say. Howey's characters really do instill a sense of hope in humanity - even while exposing its rotted underbelly.

That's why the story is selling.

It helps that Hugh is a great writer, too.