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Mirror, Mirror – duplicate cover images
July 5, 2011
Articles and Opinions - It has been commented on recently that many covers are very similar. With the rise in e-books, self-publishers, small press, vanity presses and reverse vanity, the number of these covers also appears to be rising. (*Many of the images on this entry are served by Amazon. Adblocker users may find them hidden.)It isn't just small press that is affected. A particularly high profile example just happened to Stephenie Meyer, whose cover for the Host is very similar to an earlier book: De Beproeving by Tess Franke (spotted by IcanhazCheeseburger).This isn't a new thing. In high turnover markets like pulp it's been going on since the fifties. (The Rap Sheet documents various examples). It isn't just that it is happening more now, due to more commercial stock image catalogues, but that withRead More
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SampleSunday – The Docks
July 3, 2011
SampleSunday, The Docks - Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | SmashwordsGenre: CrimeWord Count: 17,500Cost: $0.99The sequel, Conflict of Interest, is due out at the end of July.Harry's in more trouble than he knows, and he knows he's in a lot.His freedom depends on covering his tracks, and uncovering the truth before the police do. One person holds all the pieces. Unfortunately Harry killed him last night.Murder, manslaughter or self-defence? When Harry agreed to a light spot of arson, he didn't know what was really planned. Then the bomb went off. Now he's confessed to burglary, could be on the hook for murder and is desperately trying to dodge a terrorism charge. On his side, a bunch of crooks and the solicitor he's dubbed Ms. Pitbull. Against him are his former accomplices, the police, and the inspectorRead More
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The Docks Book Trailer
July 1, 2011
The Docks - A new book trailer for the Docks. Please let me know your opinions (be aware, this does have sound effects):<!---->Read a sample on Smashwords or AmazonA new month, new possible sales channels, a in-character interview with Harry from The Docks going up, and hopefully at the end of it, Conflict of Interest ready to be announced and released. I think I'm going to be busy.Read More
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Smashwords – an update
June 29, 2011
Smashwords, The Docks - After a brief email exchange, I got a note saying that Smashwords have updated meatgrinder. I retried my file (the same one I'd submitted already) and it went through, validating correctly in epub. No more added navigation links or NCX problems. This morning I was told it had gone into the premium distribution catalogue.The Docks is shortly going to be available in Apple, B&N, and multiple other places. For anyone who is impatient, it is already up at Smashwords in those formats (here). Even without premium distribution, it has over 100 downloads, so it can't be that bad. I just need the confidence to send it out for review.The sequel is coming nicely into shape, although it seems to be getting longer during editing which is a little unusual. Unfortunately I have one opinion on itRead More
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A blurred line – fact and fiction
June 24, 2011
Articles and Opinions - The line between fiction and non-fiction can sometimes get rather blurred."Your book would make a great film" is nice to hear. "I know where this happened" is less so, particularly when you invented the story. I've had three different people tell me they know where Brooke's Vale is and where these events happened. Notably, all three set it in different countries.There seems to be a drive to assume that where a fictional story is engaging or well-researched, it must in fact be true. This also happens with movies - the scriptwriter for Titanic invented the name "Jack Dawson" without knowing about "J. Dawson" who was a crewman on the ship. It hasn't stopped fans leaving flowers on his grave. In a less benevolent case, actor Andrew Robinson received death threats after playing Scorpio inRead More
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A Smashwords problem, and a paperback question
June 21, 2011
Smashwords, The Docks - Three hours of problems with Smashwords.To boil this down to a summary: - I was notified by Smashwords that the epub file for the Docks was broken. - The epub navigation had an extra link on the end. - I checked.- The epub file passes epubcheck.Investigation results- The Word file did not contain hidden or malformed bookmarks.- The error only occurred in epub format.- The previous three file versions did not have the problem, and had identical bookmarks.- All epub files pass epubcheckResolution attempt: - I nuked the file - copied into Notepad, stripped the formatting and links and rebuilt them. - I checked the file: were no hidden bookmarks, malformed bookmarks etc. - I uploaded the new file.The same error occurred. The new epub file passes epubcheck.I think this one is at their end... IRead More
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SampleSunday – The Docks (Free Father’s Day coupon)
June 19, 2011
SampleSunday - Get The Docks free on Smashwords with this coupon: CK45G valid until 21st JuneFather's Day Offer : CK45GHarry's in more trouble than he knows, and he knows he's in a lot.His freedom depends on covering his tracks, and uncovering the truth before the police do. One person holds all the pieces. Unfortunately Harry killed him last night.Murder, manslaughter or self-defence? When Harry agreed to a light spot of arson, he didn't know what was really planned. Then the bomb went off. Now he's confessed to burglary, could be on the hook for murder and is desperately trying to dodge a terrorism charge. On his side, a bunch of crooks and the solicitor he's dubbed Ms. Pitbull. Against him are his former accomplices, the police, and the inspector who sent him down for ten years.ChapterRead More
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The Docks: Father’s Day offer
June 18, 2011
Uncategorized - Get The Docks free on Smashwords with this coupon: CK45G valid until 21st JuneFather's Day Offer : CK45GNow on to the update: The Docks is out for premium distribution, as well as on Smashwords and Amazon, and I should be sending copies out for review. Unfortunately, I'm a little cautious for a few reasons.Spoilers are one: spoilers in a review for a crime story would be a much bigger problem than spoilers for action/adventure.The real problem is the main character. Harry is not a likeable character. He is sympathetic, but only because he's in over his head and he is only in trouble because of his own faint sense of ethics (at least he has one - his accomplices don't). The Docks has an unreliable narrator, in the sense that he's not just deceiving the reader, he's deceivingRead More
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Reviews and writing
June 16, 2011
The Docks - "Well written and suspenseful this novel is an absorbing read."Book'd OutA nice way to start the week, with another good review of Fire Season. This one is from "Book'd out" a well-known reviewer on Amazon and Goodreads. I also just received my sales reports for May and June. Kindle sales have remained at the same level, despite the price increase after the launch offer ended. I've a few things coming up: more reviews, and an indie book lounge interview due in July, so hopefully it will help me reach more readers. "The Docks" is also being offered in the Great Summer giveaway on the Coffeemugged blog (details here)."Conflict of Interest" is at 12,000 words. Its target release date might slip to August, as the plot has just gone in an unexpected direction. At the moment, this is theRead More
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Author headshots
June 10, 2011
Uncategorized - One of the issues linked to pen names is the author headshot. If you are using a penname, how do you deal with the demand for a photograph? If you're using a penname for privacy reasons this is almost impossible. The increase in social media is making it more difficult. In the old days Charlotte Bronte signed her name Currer Bell and that was enough. Now you have to worry about photos, videos, interviews and more and that's all before you start to sell books. This has lead to some authors having to go to extremes. There is an anecdotal tale of a female thriller writer who hired a male actor to manage signings and stand in for photo shoots, or the male romance author who added his photo only after the first books had sold.Now, I am honestly not sure why this is. If I am buying a book I amRead More