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Posts from the ‘WRITING: PUBLISHING’ Category

Apr 7

23 Comments

How Will Publishing Look After Covid-19?

Let’s start with a singular truth many of us don’t think about when considering the publishing industry. It consists of much more than the publishing houses. There are distributors, like Simon & Schuster which is now on the auction block. There are the various contractors who work for publishers, including editors, proofreaders and even those who design the interior and exterior of a book. There are the bookstores and online merchants. Each of these have been impacted over the last decade plus by changes in technology, changes in reading habits and by Amazon and other online retailers. But nothing will impact them like Covid-19, thanks to actions taken by local, state and national governments. Read more

Mar 28

13 Comments

Inktail: Preparing for Print

I’m doing something a little dangerous. I’m going to be making mistakes in public. I should probably wait, do all this privately, and then report back when I’m done, but… This is what I’m working on as a writer and an artist this weekend. You’re stuck with it. And, truthfully I’m going to give you more links to the resources I am pulling from than I am of my work itself this week. I’m simply not far enough along in this project to show my work. Although it shouldn’t take me long once I get plugging and playing with Affinity Publisher. Read more

Mar 13

17 Comments

Around the writing and publishing world

Several articles and reports caught my eye over the past couple of weeks.  I thought you might find them interesting, too.

First, the BBC has a fascinating video report on ancient libraries in a town in the Sahara Desert.

The ancient African town of Chinguetti was once a stopover for trade caravans and pilgrims in the Sahara Desert.

As many of the people passing through were rich and educated, libraries started opening along the route to allow visitors to read and write.

Today the remaining libraries are fighting to preserve these ancient books in the hostile desert climate.

I can’t embed the video, but you’ll find it at the link.  It makes interesting viewing.

Read more

Mar 10

3 Comments

Release Day!

Well, to be accurate, it is Release Day + 1. Risen from Ashes rushed through the approval process at Amazon in record time and actually came out yesterday. It is available as an e-book now and the print version should be available (knock on wood) in another day or two. The files for it have been submitted and we’re just waiting for the final approval.

Because of the delay in release, I’ve done something I don’t usually do. I discounted the price. You see, I love this series and want you guys to as well. It is also available as through Kindle Unlimited. I’d really appreciate it if you’d leave a review, especially if you enjoyed the book. Oh, and don’t forget to let your friends know!

Here’s the blurb:

As a Marine, Ashlyn Shaw knows the day might come when she would not return from a mission. As an officer in the Fuerconese Marine Corps, she’s faced the difficult duty of sending the men and women under her command to their deaths. Both are nightmares she, and so many like her, live with. War is a cruel and costly endeavor, but one well worth the cost if it means keeping their homeworld free.

What Ash wasn’t prepared for was betrayal. Betrayal by members of her own government. Betrayal by certain members of the military. Betrayal by supposed allies. Betrayals that cost the lives of too many she cared for.

Unluckily for her enemies, that betrayal has cut too deeply to be allowed to go unpunished. Her enemies will soon learn how foolish they were to push her too far.

Mar 3

28 Comments

Not How I Expected Today To Go

Well, today was supposed to be release day for Risen from Ashes. It had been on pre-order for two months. It had gone to alpha and beta readers as well as my editor. Everything looked to be in place. But, like the best laid plans, things fell apart Friday of last week. So listen, my friends, to a tale of warning, if not of woe. Read more

Feb 25

23 Comments

Who are the real gatekeepers?

(This post originally appeared October 2013. While some of the players have changed, the basic premise still remains. There are still those out there who believe indie authors are hacks–at best–who haven’t struggled hard enough to earn the title of “author”.)

Over the last couple of days, I’ve seen a number of posts by authors from both sides of the traditional vs. indie publishing discussion (yes, I’m being nice here. In most cases, discussion doesn’t exactly describe the content. Argument or even screaming hissy fit usually comes closer). This comes on top of a long thread in a discussion group I belong to where a couple of folks flat said they would never read anything not from a traditional publisher because anything else never rises above the level of dreck. Pile on top of that a blog post I read this morning from an agent discussing the role of agents in the current world of publishing and, well, my head has exploded again. Read more

Feb 17

10 Comments

Super-readers and their interests

I was, thanks to Michael A Rothman pointing me at it, looking at some of the Bookbub data. Now: words of caution, these reflect largely ‘super-readers’ – people who read a lot and are therefore interested in this service. The data may not reflect the overall sales patterns at all (for example, literary fiction in absolute numbers sells less than sf –which is why I always wonder at the self-elected ‘elite’ of sf and their frantic desire to be accepted by… literary fiction.) Read more

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