writing

Using the Kindle to Edit

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When the manuscript for my novel A Reason to Live was ready to move from critique groups to professional editing, I was lucky enough to land the wonderful Alison Dasho (nee Janssen), a former editor for Bleak House Books and Tyrus Books [visit her at http://www.alisonedits.com/].

She’s in Wisconsin, I’m in Virginia; obviously, this was going to be a digital relationship. But there are a million ways to exchange documents online. How best to get my 90,000 words to you? I asked. Just send the Word document, she said, I’ll put it on my Kindle.

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Fantasy short story Assassin is free on Amazon

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My short story Assassin is free on Amazon today and tomorrow (3/24 – 3/24). Please avail yourself of the offer and grab it at http://www.amazon.com/Assassin-ebook/dp/B007JJSMTQ/.

Synopsis
For almost twenty years, war has raged between the mountain kingdom of Thrace and the sea-faring land of Andal, exhausting both nations. Prince Lowan, the educated and debonair second son of the King of Thrace, has arrived to make peace with his father’s enemies. But the price Andal requires for peace is high–too high–and Lowan knows there are many ways to influence a nation at war.

Assassin is an original fantasy short story of 4,200 words, or about 17 paperback pages. It includes a Story Notes section, outlining the background and thought process behind the writing as well as an excerpt from Matthew Iden’s fantasy short story Sword of Kings.

Click for larger image.

If you are kind enough to download it, please consider telling your friends by clicking on the “Share this item” button on Amazon (example on right). It would be a huge help!

I’ve included an excerpt after the break.

Printing Your Book With CreateSpace: Part I

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This is Part I of a two-part series on my experiences printing my short story collection one bad twelve. This initial post covers the reason for printing my title, why I went with CreateSpace, and some beginning knowledge you might need if you want to do so yourself.

Why Print?
In a recent blog post, writer and publisher Dean Wesley Smith talked about the importance of making sure your writing is available in print as well as digitally. E-readers, he points out, are the wave of the future, but,

“…electronic publishing is hovering around 20% of all books sold. Higher in some genres, lower in others, higher in some months, lower in others. That means in general that 80% of all books sold are paper, through either online bookstores like Amazon or indie bookstores or box stores.”

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DOJ vs. Apple and Big Six: Who cares?

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Matthew Yglesias wrote an interesting column yesterday in Slate entitled, Leave Penguin Alone: Who cares if book publishers are colluding with Apple to raise e-book prices?. It takes a look at the recent Department of Justice announcement that they will be pursuing legal action against  Apple and the “Big Six” of publishing for price-fixing.

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