News and Notices from the Writing Trenches #2…
#8: Look for my short story “The Bridge” in the October edition of eFiction magazine. I highly recommend this eZine to every reader…something for everyone! It is available online for free and as an inexpensive Kindle subscription on Amazon (the latter has a free trial offer).
#9: The Perseus Books Group has announced a new eBook formatting service. As I understand it, this service will primarily be offered through agents to authors they are representing, but MAYBE to some indie authors. Duh! I’m sure indie authors will rush to use this service. Whoops! They still have to find an agent. Since every agent is wondering what to do in this digital revolution when authors really don’t need them, I suppose this is a bow to that disappearing profession. Don’t get me wrong—all that agent expertise is very valuable. However, this is not the place for it!
#10: My serialized novel Evil Agenda is being eBook formatted by good friend and fellow author Donna Carrick of Carrick Publishing. She has also come up with a great cover. This is a sequel to Full Medical and a prequel to Soldiers of God. Coming real soon at a bargain price, $2.99. Look for it! (Full Medical is also available in eBook format—it is a second edition to the trade paperback version. Only $4.99.)
#11: William Shatner aka James Tiberius Kirk has just released a new book titled Shatner Rules. I’m not recommending it. Kirk was never my image of what a starship captain should be—Picard was. And Shatner continues to blast George Takei. I don’t know how much he wrote of the Tek Series, for example, and with apologies to Ron Goulart, I began one and couldn’t stomach the drivel. I assume his Star Trek books are similar (these have been drivel for a long time, of course). What a bad actor and writer. And what an ego! His only role on TV that fitted him was in the short-lived comedy of last season. I actually liked that—his role was being a pompous ass.
#12: Speaking of celebrity novels, I can’t wait for Amanda Knox’. While she might be able to write the Italian version, she’ll probably throw some poor ghost writer a few bucks for the English version. And we still won’t know whether she did it or not. Of course, whether she did it is a moot point, considering the ineptitude of the Italian forensics. What a comedy of errors! Amanda Knox, the Italian OJ. Start writing, baby!
#13: Some people want eBooks for free. While I write to entertain readers and don’t have to make money doing it, I have problems giving too much away for free. I need to recover costs. I can’t believe The Secret Lab at $0.99 or Evil Agenda at $2.99 are going to bankrupt you, but who knows? Maybe you’re saving for a Big Mac! In fact, all my eBooks are a bargain compared to the price of the corresponding trade paperback, if there is one—especially Full Medical. I will release quality material (my modest opinion, but some reviewers agree with me) at bargain prices, but if you can help me recover costs, I’d appreciate it.
#14: About bargain eBooks: many authors have released them and many are interesting and entertaining. If you read one and like it, say so. A quick review on Amazon or Smashwords—just a few lines and few seconds of your time–will help an indie author, and it might be me. In fact, even if you don’t like a particular eBook, say so. Just as there are many interesting and entertaining eBooks that have been released, there are some that are poor quality—either released prematurely or just badly written. The indie industry is a wee bit like the indie music industry now. Bargain prices are fine and the reader rules, but a good level of quality should be maintained. (BTW, in my reviews, I do my best to support indie authors, but I won’t refrain from calling a spade a spade—I’ve even gone after Baldacci and Child, two well-established authors whom I really love—see my reviews and mini-reviews.)
In libris libertas!
