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Stupid Stuff I See On Facebook (Publishing Related)
Image via CrunchBase
OK. Its been awhile since I did a “Writing Post”. Writing about writing, is actually totally blah and writing about the politics of writing and modern publishing ends up like smashing one’s head into an iron wall. The headache is just not worth it.
But I came across this link (shared by Goodereader) in my feed. It’s hard to tell if its supposed to be parody or not…
http://goodereader.com/blog/commentary/self-published-authors-are-destroying-literature/
WOW! The arrogance. I wonder if this person knows, they probably wouldn’t be writing for a website called Goodereader without self-published authors… Becuse the rise of Kindle (E.reading) went hand-in-hand with self-publishing.
It’s not the mainstream publishers who made the Kindle hot, it’s all those cheap reads put out by the illiterate rube authors this guy is bashing that lit the fuse. Had the mainline publishers got their way, they would have killed the Kindle. Ever look at the price difference between a NY published book and a ‘self-published’ book? The NY publishers want us addicted to paper. It’s why they jack up the price of an ebook compared to its hard copy… and mind you, the paper version is not cheap these days.
Look. I do this because I want to tell stories which mean something to ME. Sure I like selling books as well, but you might have noticed I really don’t go around shouting “buy my books”. I hardly, if ever go to writing groups/pages on Facebook though I’m part of many.
The only places I hawk myself are this blog, or Donna Yates Pinterest authors board. I also know some authors can be really gung-ho about pushing their wares – But that also applies to so-called “real” authors as well. I follow more than a few mainstream writers pages, they don’t mind plugging themselves.
I do wonder if this person who wrote this commentary for Goodereader has heard of Twilight, or its countless knockoffs? Junk like that fills bookstore shelves. I wouldn’t exactly call it ‘literature’ in the way this guy means the word. How is that not having an adverse effect on ‘literature’? If anything, mainstream junk like that does more to kill good writing than anything some mostly unknown writer publishing on Kindle or Smashwords does.
You know why? Recuse the publisher and agent handling the publishing of these many Twilight knockoffs are probably throwing some otherwise great books into the slush pile, for one reason only – The Twilight stuff is easier to sell. And the only people who can be blamed for that are those who consume it.
No one will ever turn back the clock – Mmm well maybe Iran, with an EMP blast. But short of that, places like Kindle and Smashwords are here to stay.
If you get annoyed at an author (and thats what they are) pushing themselves. Kindly ask them to maybe not be so aggressive. OR don’t follow them.
Related articles
- Too Famous to Write: Patti Davis on her Self-Publishing Journey (goodereader.com)
- A Limited Time FREE Download on Amazon Kindle Store (joylax.wordpress.com)
- The Loneliness of the Self-Published Author (davidbiddle.net)
- Before Fifty Shades of Grey Heats Up the Big Screen, Bard and Book Publishing Gives Readers a New Parody to Heat Up Summer Reading (prweb.com)
Easter Sale! $0.99 Starblade & Among Bright Stars…
Easter Sale! Just use this coupon code on Smashwords at checkout.
Starblade
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/252230
Promotional price: $0.99
Coupon Code: HS39N
Expires: May 3, 2013
=======================================================================================
Among Bright Stars…
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/284822
Promotional price: $0.99
Coupon Code: HS39N
Expires: May 3, 2013
=======================================================================================
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- Capcom Slashes iOS Games To Just 99¢ For Easter (cultofmac.com)
Free Ebook! Demons That Do Not Rest
Sharr Khan founder of the Falcanians at long last has all that he ever dreamed made real, but there are yet demons which continue to haunt the Shotar as he ascends to new-found power and glory.
This is actually a reissue of a very short story I had out long ago. I’ve reedited it a bit to bring it in-line with the current Neo-human canon and included my glossary to make it be an easy entryway into the Neo-human ‘verse.
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FREE Poetry Book
Star-Fire Poetic Collection.
Dark fire cast,
Flame of burning blast-furnace of my hearts core.
Where there should be light shadows reign!
I feel rage, in that moment I am alive.
Flames fueled, not by hate – no love sets this pyre aflame.
What can I do to still it? Do I wish to extinguish this blaze?
No the conflagration drives me on!!!
Dark fire cast on my soul,
A shadow reigns over its light!
On Smashwords, download it here.
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- 2013 Read an Ebook Week! (sahmataineking.com)
- Smashwords Promotion (legendsofwindemere.com)
- The San Francisco Center for the Book Commemorates the Sixth Anniversary of the Bombing of Al-Mutanabbi Street with a Poetry Reading, Film Screening and Exhibition. (prweb.com)
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Smashwords: Read An Ebook Week 3-9th
Image via CrunchBase
The Smashwords, Read AnEbook Week is on.
All books are now listed as half-off with this code: REW50.
And my books can be found Here: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/284822
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Among Bright Stars… (Neo-human #2)
Humanity’s future, isn’t human…
Nadia Korelia, Falcanian queen, has spent the last three years assembling together her sibling Morningstars. Artificial people, who are in every way stronger, smarter and more beautiful. Among these Morningstars are Temujin Sardur, a Mongolian buccaneer, who raided pleasure boats in the Andaman Sea, Guillaume LaSalle, a Gascony spaceship Commander, who participated in bringing alien life to Earth, and Darius Noorani, the 12th Imam foretold by Islamic religion. Can Nadia unite her fellow Morningstars, even as the Falcanians use war, to broker for peace?
It’s finally here, Neo-human book 2!
A few thoughts. The book here is very different from the draft I began with, though the plot is largely the same, how it gets to where its going is somewhat different. Many of the changes came about because these first three Neo-human books were written as a single unit, not unlike LoTR, and the second book behaved too much like “the middle” of the novel than a story on its own. To be sure, the larger story arc needed to be, and is served here, though I made a point to connect the grander arc to the micro focus on Mornngstars and what they are. In fact doing so added another layer of meaning which I didn’t intend to touch on until further down the road in the series.
If “Starblade” was the story of Frederika learning about who, and what she is, then “Among Bright Stars…” is Nadia‘s story exploring she and Frederika‘s common Morningstar origins.
I’m going to forewarn you, there’s a little something for everyone to HATE in this book. It could be the whole Muslim messiah presented as both a Robot and a fierce Westernizer/reformer. After Benghazi, I made a special effort to tick up that plot a bit… Or, it could end up being Princess Sitara‘s life choice – Which will only seem radical depending upon your point of view on the matter – Though its sure to annoy some contingent who think science fiction‘s job is to support one particular party line. On that same note, I’m sure the whole Annunaki riff will grate a few people the wrong way as well. But, I don’t try to please everyone, or anyone but myself first and foremost when I write.
*A sharp eye will note, the Table of Contents (TOC) is different in the Amazon version compared to the Smashwords (aka all other retailers) TOC. That couldn’t be avoided. Kindle was being a pain and wouldn’t read the Table of Contents as it was formatted for Smashwords (which was odd as it had every other time) so I needed to build it a different way. Which is why the epigraph is displayed as it is on the Amazon book.
