Kindle
I am seriously thinking about going the route of publishing Rocket Fox and rewrites of Black Mask & Pale Rider through Kindle Direct Publishing.
Currently, I’m reading through the information, which is helpful, but it doesn’t give me any aspects of the experience. For that, I’m doing searches for what experiences other authors have had by using Kindle Direct Publishing.
Now, there is the downside to this, that it is just an ebook, and I won’t be able to have a hard copy of the product for my shelf or even give one away to my parents. But, the upside is that the book will gain more exposure through more countries being published as an ebook and distributed by Kindle.
I’m not against Kindle or it’s publishing, as a matter of fact I think that the direct electronic market is a viable way to go. And I like the idea of being able to buy a book in the comfort of my living room and having it right there for me when I click the submit button to purchase it. Again, the only downside is not having that hardcopy edition. For some reason it makes it feel very real.
But we live in a digital age, whether we like to admit it or not. Smartphones, digital cameras, laptops, netbooks, iPods, tablets, all of it is around us every single day.
Books really shouldn’t be any different.
Here it is now!
As promised, though a bit late, is the full download of The Adventures of Black Mask & Pale Rider in pdf format. Complete with pictures drawn by Clarissa R. Hummel (and a couple by myself, and a few maps).
The Adventures of Black Mask & Pale Rider
Also, here’s a copy of the other book I’ve written, Canyons of Steel in a handy pdf format.
Canyons of Steel – A Modern Day Western
I am actually working on a way to edit Black Mask & Pale Rider into an epub format so it can be read on a Kindle (or Nook, or a Kobo which can be bought through Chapters-Indigo in Canada).
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Writing quotes
A series of quotes I read over the last week based on writing and publishing that I found extremely interesting.
English: Hank and John Green in 2008 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
“Last year, Gigaom published a flattering story in which they used me as an example of why book publishers are no longer as important as they used to be. Authors can build their own brands now, and reach out to their own audiences. But in fact, my career is an example of precisely the opposite: My publisher invested tons of time and money into me for a very long time: They paid for tours that hemorrhaged money. They paid for advertising. They fought to get me distributed in mass market channels even though my books were “literary.” And most importantly, they provided editorial support and guidance that made the books themselves far better than they would be if I published them by myself. Not only that, but without Penguin there is no vlogbrothers, because Hank and I needed the initial activation energy of the first 500-1000 nerdfighters to make Brotherhood 2.0 work. Almost all of those nerdfighters were fans of my books who came to the project through Penguin’s marketing efforts. So there is no Looking for Alaska or The Fault in Our Stars without the people who work at Penguin, and the narrative that Amazon wants you to believe—that publishers make books more expensive than they need to be and keep authors from making money—is a lie. A world where everyone self publishes will mean fewer authors making a living and fewer books that reach their full potential as art. Period.” ~John Green from John Green’s tumblr
“In fiction, I exercise my nosiness. I am as curious as my cats, and indeed that has led to trouble often enough and used up several of my nine lives. I am an avid listener. I am fascinated by other people’s lives, the choices they make and how that works out through time, what they have done and left undone, what they tell me and what they keep secret and silent, what they lie about and what they confess, what they are proud of and what shames them, what they hope for and what they fear. The source of my fiction is the desire to understand people and their choices through time.” ~Marge Piercy
“Many times when I read a book, I want to savor each word, each phrase, each page, loving the prose so much, I don’t want it to end. Other times the story pulls me in, and I can hardly read fast enough, the details flying by, some of them lost because all that matters is making sure the character is all right when it’s over.” ~The Day Before, Lisa Schroeder
Money flows towards the writer
I found this at Neil Gaiman’s Tumblr, and it’s really good advice.
English writer Neil Gaiman. Taken at the 2007 Scream Awards. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Money flows towards the writer.
That’s all. All writers should remember it.
When a commercial publisher contracts a book, it will pay an advance against royalties to the writer. Money flows towards the writer.
Literary agents make their living by charging a commission of between 10 and 20% on the sales that they make on behalf of their clients, the writers. When advances and royalties are paid by a publisher the agent’s percentage is filtered off in the direction of the writer’s agent but the bulk of the money still flows towards the writer.
If a publisher ever asks for any sort of financial contribution from a writer, they’re trying to divert money away from the writer, in direct contravention of Yog’s Law.
If an agent ever asks for up-front fees, regardless of what they call them (reading fees, administration costs, processing fees, or retainers), then they are trying to divert money away from the writer, in direct contravention of Yog’s Law.
It’s a brilliantly simple rule. We should thank James D Macdonald for it in the best way there is. Buy his books
Money flows toward the writer.
No, that doesn’t mean that the author should get paper and ink for free, or that he won’t pay for postage. It does mean that when someone comes along and says, “Sure, kid, you can be a Published Author! It’ll only cost you $300!” the writer will know that something’s wrong. A fee is a fee is a fee, whether they call it a reading fee, a marketing fee, a promotion fee, or a cheese-and-crackers fee.
Is this perfect? No. Scammers have come up with some elaborate ways to avoid activating it. But it’s still a good and useful tool, and will save a lot of grief. Any time an agent or publisher asks for money, the answer should be “No!”
Free ebook!
That’s right a free ebook of Black Mask & Pale Rider!
When I first wrote the above book, it wasn’t to make massive heaps of money (goodness no!), but to get a book in people’s hands and read it. What I’m going to do is this. Anyone who wants a digital copy of the book (heh, ‘cause I got that no problem), just drop something in my ask box, over at my tumblr site, along with an email address and I’ll send it off. And I will not publish email addresses, just to let everyone know. Anyone requesting a free copy of the ebook will just get the book. Unless they ask for the comment to be published.
The catch…
…’cause, there’s always a catch…
…let me know what you thought of it. This is my first book, and I really don’t know how to improve without hearing from people who would read it. Just to give you an indication of what to expect in the book…
Elven magic meets gunslinger grit. What happens when two elven travellers find themselves in the United States in the middle of the Civil War? The Adventures of Black Mask and Pale Rider tells the story of two elven women who’s curiosity gets the better of them. The wild ride takes them from the Union to the Confederacy and back again. Along the way they make enemies and friends and learn a little bit about this world, and about themselves. An adventure of six guns and sorcery.
So drop me a line in my ask box, along with an email address to send the copy off to, and I’ll shoot it off. When you’re done, let me know what you thought. Heck, even share it with friends. And if anyone really liked it, head on over to lulu.com and see about getting a print version of the book.
Lulu Blog » “Rejected?! So What.” – Bestsellers That Almost Didn’t Make It.
Lulu Blog » “Rejected?! So What.” – Bestsellers That Almost Didn’t Make It..
This is an interesting take on the publishing industry, and a prime example of how far we’ve come in terms of marketing.
Ten years ago, even five years ago, it was difficult to get a book published without the tools of an editor and a phone book, or at the very least access to the Internet and mysask.com bookmarked (or applicable directory service in your area).
Marketing, and networking, has changed a great deal, and more than just the publishing industry is affected. Thanks to Twitter, Facebook, blogging, Digg, Reddit, Stumbleupon and more marketers, authors, musicians and so many more can contact their target audiences and let them know what’s going on and what new cool thing they’ve got coming.
Authors especially have a great time with this new technology and networking. There’s a plethora of other tools out there to assist in getting a book published and marketed.
It’s a brave new world we live in, and hopefully it only gets better.
On a completely unrelated note, I know the blog has been rather quiet since the last part in Flag on my Backpack went live, with only two other posts, one from me, and one from Zodi. Zodi, I can safely say, has moved into her new home in a completely new State. She and Zach and Rhys are doing well, and I’m hoping once things settle down for them I can convince Zodi to do some more editing for me. So that’s one of the big reasons why you may not have heard from Zodi lately. For me, I have an announcement coming, which I’ve been teasing on twitter. A lot. Today was “post random pics of me doing things to pass the time” day. Keep watching, I’m hoping that today I will have something big, I just need to get one proof back and then I’ll let everyone know.
Until next time…
…keep ‘em flyin’!
