In addition to the paperback and Kindle editions, on Amazon, my novel 'The Delta Chain' is now also available in several other ebook formats, from Smashwords, and from Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Sony, Apple's ibooks, and Diesel.
And just in time for the 2011 Read An Ebook Week.
As part of the Ebook Week promotion, 'The Delta Chain,' is available at a 50% discount (using coupon code no. RAE50) from Smashwords, until March 12.
According to my neighbor, Buggeroff, there's no reason now for anyone not to get a copy. But then up until last week he thought an ebook was a geeky term for an xbox. When I showed Buggeroff a Kindle, he wanted to know which button to press for the latest Red Faction: Armageddon game.
The Read An Ebook Week initiative runs this week, from March 6 to March 12. It's an annual promotion that's been going strong for several years now, but is more topical than ever given the steep rise in ereader devices over the past year, as they've become lighter, slimmer, and lower in price.
On her write2publish blog, Robin Sullivan investigates many ebook stats. Industry reports show that the ebook was recently approx 10% of the U.S book sales market. That's a healthy and growing niche.
Ebook Week has news, info and features, across a wide variety of media, about the pleasures and advantages of reading electronically. Authors, publishers, readers, booksellers, the media and the general public participate. In 2010 it attracted readers from 136 countries, speaking 74 languages.
You can find out a great deal more about it here
For 500 years, since Gutenberg's first printing press, we've had printed books. This past decade the Project Gutenberg enterprise has made thousands of classic books available as ebooks, and for free, and helps introduce them to a whole new generation.
In the 1960's movie version of 'The Time Machine,' the time traveler arrives in the far future and is taken to a hall that contains Mankind's books. When the traveler takes some of them from the shelves, they crumble in his hands, due to neglect.
In Ray Bradbury's classic novel, 'Fahrenheit 451," futuristic nasties burn all the books.
I expect the printed paper book is more resilient, that it will survive the doomsayers, and that it will always have a place in our hearts, albeit in smaller numbers. And that it can live happily alongside the ebook.
The ebook definitely has a vital and increasing place in our world, and in our hearts, and Ebook Week celebrates that without resorting to burning or neglecting its print counterpart. Live and let live.
There's thousands - or more - books available, from the classics to the latest bestsellers. And if there's a negative to the whole ebook revolution, then it's that there's so many titles of all kinds available, and just not enough time to read 'em all. Damn.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Monday, February 28, 2011
Reasons for storytelling 1, 2, 3...
I've been 'writing' stories since before I could actually write. As a kid I'd invent stories and then act them out, playing all the characters myself. If I do that now I get strange looks, so I try not to do it.
Eventually I began writing my stories down in long-hand (I still do first drafts that way, though that could change.) As a teen I bought my first portable typewriter for just $40. Haven't seen a typewriter for a long time now. I kinda miss them but I don't miss the white liquid paper (for corrections), used to get that all over me (my Mum thought it was toothpaste)and I don't miss changing the ribbons and getting the ink all over me.
In the 3rd series of s/f tv series, 'Fringe,' contact is made by people with those in an alternate universe by means of typing messages on an old typewriter. Glad to see they still have their uses.
I've heard Tom Hanks collects old typewriters and has hundreds of them. That sounds like a fine hobby to me, better than stamps, but it would take a lot of space to store those things and I don't have one of those multi-room Hollywood mansions, so no, not for me. I'm still trying to figure out what to do with my piles and piles of vinyl records.
Of course eventually along came the PC, the laptop, iphone, ipad, ereader, whatever.
But the process is the same and I'm still "acting" out those characters in my head. I've had some very strange conversations with those characters over the years.
When Kylie Minogue sang, 'Can't Get You Out Of My Head," she didn't know the half of it.
There's a self-editing process that goes on, as well, at that imaginary conversation point. Is this a story I really want to tell? Is this a story I would want to read if someone else had written it?
It's all subjective, of course.
Recently I read reports on a schlocky horror-type movie with a theme so revolting that the idea doesn't deserve any mention here (trust me on this.) Suffice to say, I'm not the only one who feels that way. Everyone I know finds it too disgusting to give any further comment. Fortunately, it's a film with limited distribution and limited promotion, so most don't know about it.
Nevertheless, someone wrote a script for this movie, someone raised financial backing, someone cast actors, someone directed, someone produced and distributed this knowing it could only offend and disturb.
This got me to thinking: what is the role of the storyteller in our society. In any society.
My view: stories are to entertain and amuse (both good balm for the soul) but also to cast an illuminating light on the good and bad choices we can make in this world. They are about our strengths and our weaknesses; our history; the importance of our relationships; the triumphs of our spirit against adversity; the endless possibilities for our future; for enriching each other with love and care; and for ringing the warning bell on the darker side of our nature and presenting the consequences.
Or stuff like that, anyway. Otherwise what's the point?
Never should it be gratuitous, or dwell on the base and vile as though they are normal, or ignore the balance that is a natural part of the universe.
There's all sorts of reasons for all kinds of stories, but wallowing in filth and darkness and depravity just for the hell of it, can't (as Jerry Seinfeld might have said) be any good for anybody.
Reasons for storytelling? I've been a collector, for a while, not of typewriters or stamps but of quotes, comments and observations on the craft of the storyteller. From time to time, I'd like to share a few of them. Some you'll know. Some you won't. Regardless, collections are fun, we all love quotes, and it's good to re-engage with these when you haven't heard them for a while.
"Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world today." - Robert Mcafee Brown
"There have been great societies that did not use the wheel, but there have been no great societies that did not tell stories." - Ursula K. LeGuin
"Surely the job of fiction is to actually tell the truth. It's a paradox that's at the heart of my kind of storytelling." - Jeremy Northam
"I grew up in a place where everybody was a storyteller, but nobody wrote. It was that kind of Celtic, storytelling tradition: everybody would have a story at the pub or at parties, even at the clubs and raves." - Irvine Welsh
"I think that instinct, that storytelling instinct, rescued me most of my life." - Armistead Maupin
"Storytelling is an ancient and honourable act. An essential role role to play in the community or tribe. It's one that I embrace wholeheartedly and have been fortunate enough to be rewarded for." - Russell Banks
"You can't stop stories from being told." - Dr. Parnassus (ok, not a real person, but a great quote from a fictional character) - in 'The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus.'
"Story is the vehicle we use to make sense of our lives in a world that often defies logic." - Jim Trelease
"Stories tell us what we already knew and forgot, and remind us of what we haven't yet imagined." - Anne Watson
"Our stories matter...your stories matter. For you never know how much of a difference they make and to whom." - Caroline Joy Adams
"I'm writing a book. I've got the page numbers down..." - Steven Wright (I know how he feels...)
"I think every beautiful tale in the world hides the truth and reveals it little by little." - Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
"Australian Aborigines say the big stories - the stories worth telling and retelling, the ones in which you may find the meaning of your life - are forever stalking the right teller, sniffing and tracking like predators hunting their prey in the bush." - Robert Moss, 'Dreamgates.'
And that's one very powerful, inspirational image on which to reflect, and on which to leave it, for now.
Eventually I began writing my stories down in long-hand (I still do first drafts that way, though that could change.) As a teen I bought my first portable typewriter for just $40. Haven't seen a typewriter for a long time now. I kinda miss them but I don't miss the white liquid paper (for corrections), used to get that all over me (my Mum thought it was toothpaste)and I don't miss changing the ribbons and getting the ink all over me.
In the 3rd series of s/f tv series, 'Fringe,' contact is made by people with those in an alternate universe by means of typing messages on an old typewriter. Glad to see they still have their uses.
I've heard Tom Hanks collects old typewriters and has hundreds of them. That sounds like a fine hobby to me, better than stamps, but it would take a lot of space to store those things and I don't have one of those multi-room Hollywood mansions, so no, not for me. I'm still trying to figure out what to do with my piles and piles of vinyl records.
Of course eventually along came the PC, the laptop, iphone, ipad, ereader, whatever.
But the process is the same and I'm still "acting" out those characters in my head. I've had some very strange conversations with those characters over the years.
When Kylie Minogue sang, 'Can't Get You Out Of My Head," she didn't know the half of it.
There's a self-editing process that goes on, as well, at that imaginary conversation point. Is this a story I really want to tell? Is this a story I would want to read if someone else had written it?
It's all subjective, of course.
Recently I read reports on a schlocky horror-type movie with a theme so revolting that the idea doesn't deserve any mention here (trust me on this.) Suffice to say, I'm not the only one who feels that way. Everyone I know finds it too disgusting to give any further comment. Fortunately, it's a film with limited distribution and limited promotion, so most don't know about it.
Nevertheless, someone wrote a script for this movie, someone raised financial backing, someone cast actors, someone directed, someone produced and distributed this knowing it could only offend and disturb.
This got me to thinking: what is the role of the storyteller in our society. In any society.
My view: stories are to entertain and amuse (both good balm for the soul) but also to cast an illuminating light on the good and bad choices we can make in this world. They are about our strengths and our weaknesses; our history; the importance of our relationships; the triumphs of our spirit against adversity; the endless possibilities for our future; for enriching each other with love and care; and for ringing the warning bell on the darker side of our nature and presenting the consequences.
Or stuff like that, anyway. Otherwise what's the point?
Never should it be gratuitous, or dwell on the base and vile as though they are normal, or ignore the balance that is a natural part of the universe.
There's all sorts of reasons for all kinds of stories, but wallowing in filth and darkness and depravity just for the hell of it, can't (as Jerry Seinfeld might have said) be any good for anybody.
Reasons for storytelling? I've been a collector, for a while, not of typewriters or stamps but of quotes, comments and observations on the craft of the storyteller. From time to time, I'd like to share a few of them. Some you'll know. Some you won't. Regardless, collections are fun, we all love quotes, and it's good to re-engage with these when you haven't heard them for a while.
"Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world today." - Robert Mcafee Brown
"There have been great societies that did not use the wheel, but there have been no great societies that did not tell stories." - Ursula K. LeGuin
"Surely the job of fiction is to actually tell the truth. It's a paradox that's at the heart of my kind of storytelling." - Jeremy Northam
"I grew up in a place where everybody was a storyteller, but nobody wrote. It was that kind of Celtic, storytelling tradition: everybody would have a story at the pub or at parties, even at the clubs and raves." - Irvine Welsh
"I think that instinct, that storytelling instinct, rescued me most of my life." - Armistead Maupin
"Storytelling is an ancient and honourable act. An essential role role to play in the community or tribe. It's one that I embrace wholeheartedly and have been fortunate enough to be rewarded for." - Russell Banks
"You can't stop stories from being told." - Dr. Parnassus (ok, not a real person, but a great quote from a fictional character) - in 'The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus.'
"Story is the vehicle we use to make sense of our lives in a world that often defies logic." - Jim Trelease
"Stories tell us what we already knew and forgot, and remind us of what we haven't yet imagined." - Anne Watson
"Our stories matter...your stories matter. For you never know how much of a difference they make and to whom." - Caroline Joy Adams
"I'm writing a book. I've got the page numbers down..." - Steven Wright (I know how he feels...)
"I think every beautiful tale in the world hides the truth and reveals it little by little." - Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
"Australian Aborigines say the big stories - the stories worth telling and retelling, the ones in which you may find the meaning of your life - are forever stalking the right teller, sniffing and tracking like predators hunting their prey in the bush." - Robert Moss, 'Dreamgates.'
And that's one very powerful, inspirational image on which to reflect, and on which to leave it, for now.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Where are the great rock'n'roll novels?
Kevin Johnson is an Aussie pop balladeer who had an international hit, many years ago, with his song, "Rock and Roll (I Gave You All The Best Years Of My Life.)" Yes, lengthy, but it works, boy does it work. It's been recorded by over 50 artists around the world including Tom Jones and Mac Davis and you can watch an early performance of it here
It's the plaintive tune of a rock muso who is always just one step behind the music trends, who never makes "the big time", whose dreams fade while others soar, but who plods on, ever faithful to the music and the industry he loves.
There's thousands of creative artists who could relate to this, who've toiled away at their craft over the years, never "making it" in the way they might have envisaged. In point of fact, there's many people from all walks of life who can relate on some level or other, at some point in their lives.
And what's more, it's a great story idea with hidden depths to explore. Which brings me to a great puzzle:
Rock music was the single, greatest, dominant, explosive, much-loved, much-hated, electrifying art form of the late 20th Century - damn, probably in all history.
It gave us extraordinary true life tales of rags-to-riches and back again, of dreams realized, of hopes dashed, of cursed romances, of lavish living, of impossible triumphs, of deep despairs and tragic ends. (And all for real, remember, all for real.) And it's not over yet.
And characters. Talk about characters - mad, lovable, eccentric, romantic, dangerous, self-destructive, both doomed and redemptive men and women and (yes, even) children - and they were just the support bands.
There's no end to the fascinating fictions that could be inspired by the whole incredible era.
So where are they?
It seems the fictional world has largely skipped by this rich tapestry of material, and that's a mystery worthy of Mr. Holmes himself.
There are, of course, some rock'n'rollish novels out there, just two of them being Don DeLillo's 1973 novel "Great Jones Street," which was well received and more recently "You Don't Love Me Yet," by Jonathan Lethem, but for the most part they are not widely known and have not had the mainstream impact of the big books by the bestselling authors.
Where are the literary world's answers to the "Almost Famous" and "A Star Is Born" movies?
Rock musos do turn up as characters in all sorts of novels, but even then they're few and far between, and these books are not rock'n'roll novels as such.
Joe Hill's supernatural thriller, "Heart-Shaped Box," is about an ageing heavy metal star who "buys" a ghost over the Internet and finds himself stalked and haunted by the deadly entity. It has parts with great humour, and parts that are genuinely chilling. Great read, great character.
And in Clare Francis' suspense novel, "The Killing Winds," (a.k.a "Requiem) a semi-retired rock star and an environmental activist investigate an eco conspiracy after the rocker's wife dies in mysterious circumstances. (A favourite of mine.)
But fiction about the world of rock, its origins, its influences, its creativity, its rises and falls - these novels, either mainstream or genre, are hard to find.
Any thoughts on this?
I've always believed that truth is far stranger than anything authors can create...Maybe, just maybe the real world of rock'n'roll is so eccentric, so bizarre, so over-the-top and infinitely outrageous, that 'fiction' can't compete and has, like the rest of us, taken a seat in the audience and is watching the spectacle from the front row...
It's the plaintive tune of a rock muso who is always just one step behind the music trends, who never makes "the big time", whose dreams fade while others soar, but who plods on, ever faithful to the music and the industry he loves.
There's thousands of creative artists who could relate to this, who've toiled away at their craft over the years, never "making it" in the way they might have envisaged. In point of fact, there's many people from all walks of life who can relate on some level or other, at some point in their lives.
And what's more, it's a great story idea with hidden depths to explore. Which brings me to a great puzzle:
Rock music was the single, greatest, dominant, explosive, much-loved, much-hated, electrifying art form of the late 20th Century - damn, probably in all history.
It gave us extraordinary true life tales of rags-to-riches and back again, of dreams realized, of hopes dashed, of cursed romances, of lavish living, of impossible triumphs, of deep despairs and tragic ends. (And all for real, remember, all for real.) And it's not over yet.
And characters. Talk about characters - mad, lovable, eccentric, romantic, dangerous, self-destructive, both doomed and redemptive men and women and (yes, even) children - and they were just the support bands.
There's no end to the fascinating fictions that could be inspired by the whole incredible era.
So where are they?
It seems the fictional world has largely skipped by this rich tapestry of material, and that's a mystery worthy of Mr. Holmes himself.
There are, of course, some rock'n'rollish novels out there, just two of them being Don DeLillo's 1973 novel "Great Jones Street," which was well received and more recently "You Don't Love Me Yet," by Jonathan Lethem, but for the most part they are not widely known and have not had the mainstream impact of the big books by the bestselling authors.
Where are the literary world's answers to the "Almost Famous" and "A Star Is Born" movies?
Rock musos do turn up as characters in all sorts of novels, but even then they're few and far between, and these books are not rock'n'roll novels as such.
Joe Hill's supernatural thriller, "Heart-Shaped Box," is about an ageing heavy metal star who "buys" a ghost over the Internet and finds himself stalked and haunted by the deadly entity. It has parts with great humour, and parts that are genuinely chilling. Great read, great character.
And in Clare Francis' suspense novel, "The Killing Winds," (a.k.a "Requiem) a semi-retired rock star and an environmental activist investigate an eco conspiracy after the rocker's wife dies in mysterious circumstances. (A favourite of mine.)
But fiction about the world of rock, its origins, its influences, its creativity, its rises and falls - these novels, either mainstream or genre, are hard to find.
Any thoughts on this?
I've always believed that truth is far stranger than anything authors can create...Maybe, just maybe the real world of rock'n'roll is so eccentric, so bizarre, so over-the-top and infinitely outrageous, that 'fiction' can't compete and has, like the rest of us, taken a seat in the audience and is watching the spectacle from the front row...
Thursday, January 20, 2011
About 'The Delta Chain'
There's a story behind every story, and it's usually kicked off by one of the most famous, age-old questions asked by fiction writers: What if?
From the international news media to observations you make in your local street, there is always someone or something about which you could let your mind wander and ask "What if...?" It's what writers do while other people are being sensible and getting on about their business.
Some years ago, while researching something completely different, I stumbled upon an intriguing fact: in the United States each year, over 1,000 unidentified, deceased bodies are found. And there are comparative figures in many countries around the world. Manner of death varies, as do the locations in which the bodies are found. Most are found on land. Some have drowned and are found in rivers, in the ocean, or on beaches.
In some cases it is weeks, months, even years before the bodies are identified.
In 1998, the body of a young girl was finally identified, thiry years after her body had been found in mountains.
In 2000, a man discovered on an English beach remained unidentified for six years.
Here's the kicker- a small percentage of these bodies are never identified. They are never reported missing. No-one ever comes forward with any information. Exhaustive forensic searches turn up no solutions.
In the 1930's, a devastating fire claimed the lives of hundreds of people at a busy circus. The remains of a young girl were found on the site. No one has ever known who she was or where she was from.
As anyone would, I wondered who on earth these people could have been. What was their story? How could it be that no-one missed them?
I asked myself the following: 'What if there were several unidentied drowning cases, in different countries, that were similar in nature? Who could they be? What led to their deaths? Why were they never reported missing?"
How would the police go about pursuing the answers? What would be the personal impact on the investigators? What would be the effect on their lives and their relationships?
'The Delta Chain' imagines just such a scenario and follows the trail through the efforts of a young detective, Adam Bennett, and several others who are drawn into the evolving mystery.
It's been a long and winding road but this month I've published 'The Delta Chain' in paperback and ebook editions.
Moral of this blog is that when you ask yourself that 'What if...?" question you can never be too certain where it will ultimately lead. For both writers and readers, that's what makes the craft of storytelling so addictive.
From the international news media to observations you make in your local street, there is always someone or something about which you could let your mind wander and ask "What if...?" It's what writers do while other people are being sensible and getting on about their business.
Some years ago, while researching something completely different, I stumbled upon an intriguing fact: in the United States each year, over 1,000 unidentified, deceased bodies are found. And there are comparative figures in many countries around the world. Manner of death varies, as do the locations in which the bodies are found. Most are found on land. Some have drowned and are found in rivers, in the ocean, or on beaches.
In some cases it is weeks, months, even years before the bodies are identified.
In 1998, the body of a young girl was finally identified, thiry years after her body had been found in mountains.
In 2000, a man discovered on an English beach remained unidentified for six years.
Here's the kicker- a small percentage of these bodies are never identified. They are never reported missing. No-one ever comes forward with any information. Exhaustive forensic searches turn up no solutions.
In the 1930's, a devastating fire claimed the lives of hundreds of people at a busy circus. The remains of a young girl were found on the site. No one has ever known who she was or where she was from.
As anyone would, I wondered who on earth these people could have been. What was their story? How could it be that no-one missed them?
I asked myself the following: 'What if there were several unidentied drowning cases, in different countries, that were similar in nature? Who could they be? What led to their deaths? Why were they never reported missing?"
How would the police go about pursuing the answers? What would be the personal impact on the investigators? What would be the effect on their lives and their relationships?
'The Delta Chain' imagines just such a scenario and follows the trail through the efforts of a young detective, Adam Bennett, and several others who are drawn into the evolving mystery.
It's been a long and winding road but this month I've published 'The Delta Chain' in paperback and ebook editions.
Moral of this blog is that when you ask yourself that 'What if...?" question you can never be too certain where it will ultimately lead. For both writers and readers, that's what makes the craft of storytelling so addictive.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
The caring, sharing entrepreneurial writing community
One of the most inspiring aspects of the rise of the "indie" author/publisher, and the spread of ereader devices and ebooks, has been the willingness and honesty of writers to share their experiences.. Not just about the craft of writing and editing, but also the mechanics of publishing, of promotion, of pricing and distribution and networking.
This caring and sharing comes not just from big-name bestselling authors, but from a diverse range of those practicing the craft -from mid-listers through to newbies, from the traditionally published to the self-published.
Of course, mainstream media has always had interviews with well known authors and their path to success, but those articles were heavily edited, diplomatic transcripts. Imagine if there'd been a Wiki-leaks back then to reveal what some of those guys really thought about the 'biz.
What is different now is the sheer volume of viewpoints accessible via the web - plus the fact that what you're reading is coming straight from the keyboard to you, from authors who are opening up with a no holds-barred honesty about the ins and outs of publishing.
All this info is invaluable. And it's free.
It's then up to you and I to sift through and analyse what's best for us, and what isn't.
J. A. Konrath's blog, A Newbie's Guide To Publishing has been around a few years and is one of the pioneers of this warts-and-all approach. Joe was an early adopter/predictor of the rise of ebooks and of reasonable, affordable pricing. Joe is both traditionally published, and an "indie," foot-in-both-camps at various times. Thankfully, this hasn't stopped him from being highly vocal about many elements of traditional publishers and the NY6 (sounds like an evil cabal, but it's actually just an affectionate (?) term for the six big New York publishing corporations.)
When I first set out to set up my own small book imprint, and launch my own novel, I had no idea all this advice from others doing similar things, was out there.
I'm glad it was.
Some of the authors I've been following lately, and gleaning plenty from their experiences, are the following:
Stephen Leather has been a successful novelist for 25 years, writing crime and detective fiction, thrillers and supernatural tales. Recently he's published his own ebooks and he's a regular on the Amazon Kindle bestseller lists. The entertaining Mr. Leather is not only blogging about his literary adventures, he's issuing a step-by-step rundown on just how you and I can emulate his practices and achieve ebook success of our own, at his blog - http://www.publishingebooks.blogspot.com
Michael R Sullivan writes fantasy bestsellers, also riding high on Kindle lists among others. His wife and co-publisher, Robin, has a blog titled write2publish that provides a wealth of little gems on pricing, marketing, distribution, all the nitty gritty stuff. Robin is very forthcoming on just how she and Michael have gone about building their business, and publishing other authors as well.
Mary McDonald is the author of 'No Good Deed," a novel that's received excellent reviews and has been steadily building sales since Mary released it on various ebook platforms, including Kindle, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble and ibookstore. Along the way Mary has shared each step, from manuscript prep, cover design, experiments with pricing, the sales numbers achieved on a month-by-month basis, and various promotions and how they've fared.
There's a certain bravery in communicating all this as you're doing it, and I commend Mary as she's shone a light ahead for those like me who are coming in from the dark. Mary's blog can be found here and by the way, "No Good Deed" is a superb tale of suspense about a photographer whose well-meant good deed sees him mistakenly suspected of terrorism. He is arrested, imprisoned, interrogated and ...well, you'll have to check it out if you want to know more.
The UK's Helen Smith is a playwright, screenwriter, novelist and children's author whose blog offers fascinating insights, tips, advice, promotions and, for international readers like myself, there's lots of glimpses of day-today life in and around London. Love it.
April L Hamilton's website Publetariat has long been a source of inspiration, motivation and tasty morsels of information for the budding author/publisher.
In fact, it was April's "Indie Author Guide To Publishing For The Kindle With Amazon's Digital Text Platform..." that I found one of the most useful, user-friendly, practical articles on the subject. It's been right alongside me as I've gone through the formatting process myself with my novel, 'The Delta Chain." (Watch this space.)
And those are just for starters.
In the coming months, I'll highlight some of the others blogs that have helped me along my way, and I'll weigh in with a few more experiences of my own as I enter the publishing phase.
This caring, sharing entrepreneurial writing community is one of the best things about being a writer right now. It's out there 24/7, and it's just a click away.
This caring and sharing comes not just from big-name bestselling authors, but from a diverse range of those practicing the craft -from mid-listers through to newbies, from the traditionally published to the self-published.
Of course, mainstream media has always had interviews with well known authors and their path to success, but those articles were heavily edited, diplomatic transcripts. Imagine if there'd been a Wiki-leaks back then to reveal what some of those guys really thought about the 'biz.
What is different now is the sheer volume of viewpoints accessible via the web - plus the fact that what you're reading is coming straight from the keyboard to you, from authors who are opening up with a no holds-barred honesty about the ins and outs of publishing.
All this info is invaluable. And it's free.
It's then up to you and I to sift through and analyse what's best for us, and what isn't.
J. A. Konrath's blog, A Newbie's Guide To Publishing has been around a few years and is one of the pioneers of this warts-and-all approach. Joe was an early adopter/predictor of the rise of ebooks and of reasonable, affordable pricing. Joe is both traditionally published, and an "indie," foot-in-both-camps at various times. Thankfully, this hasn't stopped him from being highly vocal about many elements of traditional publishers and the NY6 (sounds like an evil cabal, but it's actually just an affectionate (?) term for the six big New York publishing corporations.)
When I first set out to set up my own small book imprint, and launch my own novel, I had no idea all this advice from others doing similar things, was out there.
I'm glad it was.
Some of the authors I've been following lately, and gleaning plenty from their experiences, are the following:
Stephen Leather has been a successful novelist for 25 years, writing crime and detective fiction, thrillers and supernatural tales. Recently he's published his own ebooks and he's a regular on the Amazon Kindle bestseller lists. The entertaining Mr. Leather is not only blogging about his literary adventures, he's issuing a step-by-step rundown on just how you and I can emulate his practices and achieve ebook success of our own, at his blog - http://www.publishingebooks.blogspot.com
Michael R Sullivan writes fantasy bestsellers, also riding high on Kindle lists among others. His wife and co-publisher, Robin, has a blog titled write2publish that provides a wealth of little gems on pricing, marketing, distribution, all the nitty gritty stuff. Robin is very forthcoming on just how she and Michael have gone about building their business, and publishing other authors as well.
Mary McDonald is the author of 'No Good Deed," a novel that's received excellent reviews and has been steadily building sales since Mary released it on various ebook platforms, including Kindle, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble and ibookstore. Along the way Mary has shared each step, from manuscript prep, cover design, experiments with pricing, the sales numbers achieved on a month-by-month basis, and various promotions and how they've fared.
There's a certain bravery in communicating all this as you're doing it, and I commend Mary as she's shone a light ahead for those like me who are coming in from the dark. Mary's blog can be found here and by the way, "No Good Deed" is a superb tale of suspense about a photographer whose well-meant good deed sees him mistakenly suspected of terrorism. He is arrested, imprisoned, interrogated and ...well, you'll have to check it out if you want to know more.
The UK's Helen Smith is a playwright, screenwriter, novelist and children's author whose blog offers fascinating insights, tips, advice, promotions and, for international readers like myself, there's lots of glimpses of day-today life in and around London. Love it.
April L Hamilton's website Publetariat has long been a source of inspiration, motivation and tasty morsels of information for the budding author/publisher.
In fact, it was April's "Indie Author Guide To Publishing For The Kindle With Amazon's Digital Text Platform..." that I found one of the most useful, user-friendly, practical articles on the subject. It's been right alongside me as I've gone through the formatting process myself with my novel, 'The Delta Chain." (Watch this space.)
And those are just for starters.
In the coming months, I'll highlight some of the others blogs that have helped me along my way, and I'll weigh in with a few more experiences of my own as I enter the publishing phase.
This caring, sharing entrepreneurial writing community is one of the best things about being a writer right now. It's out there 24/7, and it's just a click away.
Friday, January 7, 2011
2011 and the brave new world
December, 2010 didn't go exactly the way I'd planned.
The end of the year saw some unexpected house problems, some unexpected day job turmoil, some greatly unexpected financial hassles. In spite of all this I managed to squeeze in an interstate road trip to visit the rels (negotiating some torrential rain and whiteouts on the road to Queensland, but avoiding the floods that have caused many people much hardship in some northern coastal and regional areas.)
Finalising my publishing project was temporarily put on hold, writing new material was shifted to the back burner, and posts to this blog have been in absentia.
2010 is over. Long live 2011.
Once the new year is underway, so too, I hope, will I be. Back in the writing saddle. Back on track.
I'm reminded of some of history's greatest writers' most quotable quotes. 'In the end is my beginning'. This is the opening sentence to Agatha Christie's crime classic, 'Endless Night," and is one of my favourite lines. Works well here, agree?
'The best laid plans of mice and men oft go astray.' Poet Robert Burns wrote this in the 18th century.Many of us, over the years, must've found comfort in knowing we aren't the only ones to have things go pear-shaped from time to time.
'If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.' I still haven't mastered this one, but what good's a new year without new year resolutions, and this one's always on the list.
Like anyone else who was paying attention, I observed interesting changes developing in the book industry in 2010.
A year ago I'd never seen an actual e-reader, except pictures of the Kindle on the Amazon site. It was also the only e-reader many of us had heard of.
By year's end I'd seen the Sony e-reader, the Kobo and the Iriver being displayed in bookstores, and along with the occasional Kindle, I saw them being used by commuters, as well as books being read via their apps on the Ipad and various cellphones.
Amazon announced the e-book market was around 10%, and greater than their hardcover book market.
Bestselling traditionally published authors such as David Morrell, F Paul Wilson and Scott Westerfeld self-published in e-book format some of their backlist titles, and in some cases, new material.
Indie author/publishers rose sharply in number, with a few such as Amanda Hocking, J A Konrath, LJ Sellers and others achieving previously unheard-of success. Amanda Hocking's various titles in the vampire and paranormal romance genres have reportedly sold 100,000 copies. Congrats, Amanda. Many thousands of others are selling a lot less, but this is an exciting and growing market that offers new opportunities for up and coming authors - something that hasn't happened in the book publishing biz for a long, long time.
Authors and publishers are also utilising POD (Print on demand) technology to make both backlist and new titles available.
So whether seeking traditional publishing and distribution outlets, or this alternative brave new world, aspiring authors have broader options and much to look forward to.
If I'm writing this then maybe I'm getting my mojo back in harness. Okay, so it's not NYE, but what the hell I'm pouring a bottle of bubbly, kicking back with my wife and a few friends, and raising a glass to 2011 and the brave new world.
As Agatha wrote, in the end is my (our) beginning.
The end of the year saw some unexpected house problems, some unexpected day job turmoil, some greatly unexpected financial hassles. In spite of all this I managed to squeeze in an interstate road trip to visit the rels (negotiating some torrential rain and whiteouts on the road to Queensland, but avoiding the floods that have caused many people much hardship in some northern coastal and regional areas.)
Finalising my publishing project was temporarily put on hold, writing new material was shifted to the back burner, and posts to this blog have been in absentia.
2010 is over. Long live 2011.
Once the new year is underway, so too, I hope, will I be. Back in the writing saddle. Back on track.
I'm reminded of some of history's greatest writers' most quotable quotes. 'In the end is my beginning'. This is the opening sentence to Agatha Christie's crime classic, 'Endless Night," and is one of my favourite lines. Works well here, agree?
'The best laid plans of mice and men oft go astray.' Poet Robert Burns wrote this in the 18th century.Many of us, over the years, must've found comfort in knowing we aren't the only ones to have things go pear-shaped from time to time.
'If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.' I still haven't mastered this one, but what good's a new year without new year resolutions, and this one's always on the list.
Like anyone else who was paying attention, I observed interesting changes developing in the book industry in 2010.
A year ago I'd never seen an actual e-reader, except pictures of the Kindle on the Amazon site. It was also the only e-reader many of us had heard of.
By year's end I'd seen the Sony e-reader, the Kobo and the Iriver being displayed in bookstores, and along with the occasional Kindle, I saw them being used by commuters, as well as books being read via their apps on the Ipad and various cellphones.
Amazon announced the e-book market was around 10%, and greater than their hardcover book market.
Bestselling traditionally published authors such as David Morrell, F Paul Wilson and Scott Westerfeld self-published in e-book format some of their backlist titles, and in some cases, new material.
Indie author/publishers rose sharply in number, with a few such as Amanda Hocking, J A Konrath, LJ Sellers and others achieving previously unheard-of success. Amanda Hocking's various titles in the vampire and paranormal romance genres have reportedly sold 100,000 copies. Congrats, Amanda. Many thousands of others are selling a lot less, but this is an exciting and growing market that offers new opportunities for up and coming authors - something that hasn't happened in the book publishing biz for a long, long time.
Authors and publishers are also utilising POD (Print on demand) technology to make both backlist and new titles available.
So whether seeking traditional publishing and distribution outlets, or this alternative brave new world, aspiring authors have broader options and much to look forward to.
If I'm writing this then maybe I'm getting my mojo back in harness. Okay, so it's not NYE, but what the hell I'm pouring a bottle of bubbly, kicking back with my wife and a few friends, and raising a glass to 2011 and the brave new world.
As Agatha wrote, in the end is my (our) beginning.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
The latest bestseller - would you like fries with that?
It's worth noting that some of the greatest books ever written are no more than 100-250 pages in length - Dorian Grey, Treasure Island, The War Of The Worlds, Frankenstein, The Great Gatsby - to name just a few.
And yes, there are those 1,000 page plus epics like The Count Of Monte Cristo (a personal favourite), Les Miserables, War And Peace, where in spite of their length, every single word is worth its weight in gold and the reading pleasure immeasurable (try saying that after a few beers, or even after just one.) Ken Follet's The Pillars Of The Earth is a favoutite of mine, and of just about everyone who has ever read it.
That's all good but the point is that every piece of literature doesn't need to be a s long as The Great Wall Of China in order to be a classic tale well told. There's room, plenty of room, for much shorter, faster reads which are every bit as original, as thought provoking, as emotion inducing as the great classics - and even for short stories (remember them?)
So where are they? Why are there so many books where the plot and the character development would've been sharp and focused and satisfying in 300 pages or less, but are generally upsized to 500 plus, 600 plus, 700-800 pages (and would you like fries with that?)
It's not just some books that are guilty of this bigger-is-better supersize-me approach, there's more than a few films and tv miniseries that are also guilty as charged, stretching every scene, every action sequence, every character conflict to excruciating length as if to say, "if we've taken up this much of your time we must be important."
Long-winded - yes. Important - not. Entertaining - might have been, if there'd been a bit of editing.
As clearly stated I'm a fanatical fan of the aforementioned epics, but let's not forget that some of the world's most readable, influential, timeless works, to name a few more, have been books like To Kill a Mockingbird, The Catcher In The Rye, The Day Of The Triffids, Rosemary's Baby, The Old Man And Ther Sea, The Thirty Nine Steps...the list goes on, and I don't see why it can't be added to with upcoming and refreshing new authors.
And that day might very well be with us, due to the rise of the ebook, and the ereaders - Kindle, Kobo, Nook, plus the Ipad, the Iphone 4, and the many other gadgets galore that are putting both well known writers and indie author/publishers in the digital spotlight.
Shorter books, and novellas and short fiction, work well in this bold new reading environment, are often priced at just 99c, and are proving popular with readers.
I've more to say on this but I'm going to cut this blog around here before I become a bloatedly overwritten example of my own critique.
As always, your comments are welcome (provided they're not epics) and any tips on brilliant, shorter reads out there then let me know, post them here, I'd love to hear about them.
And yes, there are those 1,000 page plus epics like The Count Of Monte Cristo (a personal favourite), Les Miserables, War And Peace, where in spite of their length, every single word is worth its weight in gold and the reading pleasure immeasurable (try saying that after a few beers, or even after just one.) Ken Follet's The Pillars Of The Earth is a favoutite of mine, and of just about everyone who has ever read it.
That's all good but the point is that every piece of literature doesn't need to be a s long as The Great Wall Of China in order to be a classic tale well told. There's room, plenty of room, for much shorter, faster reads which are every bit as original, as thought provoking, as emotion inducing as the great classics - and even for short stories (remember them?)
So where are they? Why are there so many books where the plot and the character development would've been sharp and focused and satisfying in 300 pages or less, but are generally upsized to 500 plus, 600 plus, 700-800 pages (and would you like fries with that?)
It's not just some books that are guilty of this bigger-is-better supersize-me approach, there's more than a few films and tv miniseries that are also guilty as charged, stretching every scene, every action sequence, every character conflict to excruciating length as if to say, "if we've taken up this much of your time we must be important."
Long-winded - yes. Important - not. Entertaining - might have been, if there'd been a bit of editing.
As clearly stated I'm a fanatical fan of the aforementioned epics, but let's not forget that some of the world's most readable, influential, timeless works, to name a few more, have been books like To Kill a Mockingbird, The Catcher In The Rye, The Day Of The Triffids, Rosemary's Baby, The Old Man And Ther Sea, The Thirty Nine Steps...the list goes on, and I don't see why it can't be added to with upcoming and refreshing new authors.
And that day might very well be with us, due to the rise of the ebook, and the ereaders - Kindle, Kobo, Nook, plus the Ipad, the Iphone 4, and the many other gadgets galore that are putting both well known writers and indie author/publishers in the digital spotlight.
Shorter books, and novellas and short fiction, work well in this bold new reading environment, are often priced at just 99c, and are proving popular with readers.
I've more to say on this but I'm going to cut this blog around here before I become a bloatedly overwritten example of my own critique.
As always, your comments are welcome (provided they're not epics) and any tips on brilliant, shorter reads out there then let me know, post them here, I'd love to hear about them.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)