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Guest Post: Ty Johnson on genre and acceptance
November 2, 2011
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A guest post today by Ty Johnson, author of Ghosts of the Asylum.Fantasy author Ty Johnston’s blog tour 2011 is running from November 1 through November 30. His novels include City of Rogues, Bayne’s Climb and More Than Kin, all of which are available for the Kindle, the Nook and online at Smashwords. His latest novel, Ghosts of the Asylum, will be available for e-books on November 21. To find out more, follow him at his blog tyjohnston.blogspot.com.
Fandom has come a long way since I was a kid. Back in those days, the 1970s, it was still considered uncool to read fantasy novels, to watch science fiction TV shows, or to take part in speculative fiction fandom in just about any manner. Even reading comic books was kid stuff to be frowned upon by adults.
In my opinion,Read More -
Overseas and over the counter…
October 30, 2011
Uncategorized - Pre-order options for "The Docks" have expanded, to be overseas and over the bookshop counter. When a new book is released it takes a while for each stage of the chain to pick up the update from the one before, confirm the details and pass it on. I found out on Saturday that "The Docks" distribution chain has been configured.The Docks can now be pre-ordered over the counter in Waterstones or from their website. It can also be pre-ordered by overseas customers through the Bookdepository, who once again are offering free overseas shipping.Since the branches can now pre-order it, there is a possibility I can get a signing or launch event set up in a Waterstones branch. While I love indie bookshops, there is no doubt in our area that Waterstones gets more traffic and would sell moreRead More
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A book launch
October 26, 2011
Uncategorized - My author copy of the Docks arrived this morning. Excuse me while I sound like a proud parent, but doesn't it look good!It is a slim, mass-market paperback, with a glossy cover. Please ignore the slight lift to the cover in the photo: when it arrived the first thing I did was read it. The second thing was to go to certain book stores and wave it at the owners, who read it...It should have been here a few days ago, but apparently DHL couldn't deliver. Royal Mail picked up the slack, and if that's the worst thing that happens while this book is coming out I will be delighted!The book launch is coming together: 3pm-5pm Book Signing7pm-9pm Launch PartyAnd all at Farthing Books!Here's an online invitation. If you'd like more details please contact the store.The main launch event is inRead More
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Book launch Announcement
October 18, 2011
Uncategorized - 24th November 2011 at Farthing Books.Signed copies will be available at the shop during normally business hours, while the launch party will be in the evening from 7pm-9pm. Refreshments will be available. More information is available from the shop.For information, please contact Farthing Books Tel. 020 8660 7688, 21 Chipstead Valley Rd, Coulsdon, CR5 2RB (http://www.farthingbooks.com).We would like to cordially invite you to"The Docks" Book Launch to be held at Farthing Books on24th November 2011Right, now the formal part is out of the way, I'd like to say a very big thank you to the owner of Farthing Books for allowing me to use her store for a launch this close to Christmas. Farthing Books is one of the newest independant bookshops in London,Read More
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The Docks Book Launch – planning
October 13, 2011
book launch - Well, it's official. The Docks is going into print. It can now be pre-ordered from the website, and the distribution chain is kicking off. I was holding off on updating because I wanted to submit a picture of the actual book, but that won't arrive for another week. (For anyone curious, Paypal is being used for pre-orders as it accepts dollars and euros)Pre-order "The Docks" in print£4.99 (Free P&P)**Overseas orders not guaranteed to arrive before christmas.What I need to plan now is the book launch. I have options: ask Waterstones, ask an indie bookstore or hide in a room above a pub. The only option not currently available is the Fire Season method of a very large games convention. I'd like to support an indie bookstore, but this leaves me with all the planning. As aRead More
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Vanishing reviews and spreading your risks
October 6, 2011
Uncategorized - This is interesting and currently the hot topic on book blogs: Amazon are removing reviews. Not just in ones or twos, they are emptying entire review accounts. These reviews aren't abusive or spoilers or anything to do with the content, they are detailed reviews written by bloggers and book reviewers. These are people who run their own blog and cross-post their reviews to Amazon, not the 5-star schemes out there. The current theory on many blogs is that Amazon is removing anything cross-posted to make sure that any reviews on its pages only appear on the Amazon site.If this is true, this could badly affect indie books including mine, since the majority of my reviews on Amazon are by book reviewers not readers. As I don't make most of my sales from Amazon, it would be difficult toRead More
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The Docks in print?
October 5, 2011
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My big news for the week is that The Docks may be coming out in print, handled by the same publisher that did Fire Season. It's a small-press arrangement, but once again the book will be getting distribution and shelf space. With luck, it might even be out in time for Christmas.A 96 page mass market paperback, it would be on the shelves at £4.99. I thought this was a bit high until I went to my local Waterstones and checked the prices on comparable titles, which start at £5.99 and go up. Since everything else on the deal seemed reasonable I've taken the plunge and optioned the print rights.The ebook got good reviews, so I'll be chasing quotes for the back cover. After all, comments like:
"I definitely recommend The Docks for a fast, entertaining read!" Gathering Leaves Reviews
shouldRead More -
A week of promotion
September 30, 2011
Uncategorized - As well as writing on the various ideas I've got at the moment, this week has mainly been focusing on Promotion.I was introduced to Project Wonderful last Wednesday. It is an interesting site, allowing users to bid on advertising space on a variety of sites of all subjects and sizes. My publisher promptly opened an account as a test and put a small amount of cash into it. Perhaps because it is targeted, the banners for The Docks appear to have a better return than Google Ads, both in terms of views and clicks. At the same time, I'm trying to arrange a few guest blogs here (look out for Nov 2nd!) and just sent off a magazine article for the new Indie Firsts Magazine due out in December.That's all just for The Docks. Fire Season has been sent out for more reviews, and has been submitted toRead More
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Fire Season on Smashwords
September 21, 2011
Uncategorized - After much discussion with the publisher, Fire Season is now available on Smashwords. This means it is available for the Nook, and in epub format for the Sony and other eReaders. There's also a DRM-free .mobi version available here for Kindle users. Fire Season will be coming to other stores, like Barnes & Noble etc. in the next few weeks.It's still controlled by the publisher, managed by their account, and just linked to my Smashwords account. It seems rather odd to have something I can view but not directly edit. Given the number of epub downloads of Arrival, it seems sensible to have the main novel available in that format.The only other piece of news is that adverts for The Docks should start showing up this month. I've been pointed in the direction of Project Winderful, whoRead More
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SampleSunday? Harry and Dating problems…
September 18, 2011
SampleSunday -
Rather than a sample from a book, here's a short piece inspired by a reader's question. I was asked why Harry wasn't having more success with the ladies. All I can say is, can you imagine his typical date at the moment?
"That's a nice neighbourhood." She glanced at the menu, and I hoped she wouldn't order anything too pricy.
"I'm sharing a house with my brother." I added, without mentioning I was sleeping on his couch at the moment. "So what do you do?"
"I'm a personal assistant. I work for a Vice President at Goldman Sachs." Classy lady. Why did I keep getting set up with them? What had my brother put on my profile? "What do you do?"
"I work in security. Security assessments." I could see her opinion of me dropping and suddenly remembered what my brother had drilled
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