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Join the Shadowy World of Fantasy and Horror Author A. F. Stewart
Sunday, 28 December 2008
Wednesday, 17 December 2008
Book Distribution at Lulu.com.
You get what you pay for.
This is an update on circumstances regarding the buying/distribution status of my book Inside Realms.
This past summer Lulu.com was offering its Published by Lulu distribution package for free, so I took advantage of this deal for my book Inside Realms. I double-checked their webpage to see if there were any restrictions, but they were indeed offering their regular $100 package for free (which gave book distribution on various online retailers, including Barnes and Noble and Amazon, including the international sites). I assumed it was just a time-limited promotion, for their website never changed the description of the distribution package. I repeat, at no time did that description change, so I assumed that I would receive the full distribution for my book, Inside Realms.
All went well at first; my book appeared on the Amazons, then at Barnes and Noble, beginning at unavailable/out of stock status as it was supposed to happen. I patiently waited and then one happy day it was at full status at Amazon.com. I thought it was only a matter of time before all the other retailers followed. In fact I believed it was happening when Barnes and Noble listed it at full status. Then it was gone, back to out of stock status at Barnes and Noble a few days later.
What was happening?
Policy changes at Lulu.com. They changed their Published at Lulu distribution package to a permanent free status, but it now mirrored Amazon’s CreateSpace with only Amazon.com distribution. Which is fine, that is definitely their privilege, although it does make it more complicated for international authors, especially with their new shipping rates.
I thought perhaps these changes were causing some delay or glitch with my book’s distribution, so I emailed Lulu. And found out they were not honouring the full distribution agreement, that they had somehow downgraded me to Amazon.com only.
This is the inquiry email I sent:
I recently acquired a Published by Lulu distribution deal for my book, Inside Realms, just before you made your latest changes. I have been waiting for it to be available for sale at online retailers for over the allotted time, but only Amazon.com lists it for sale. Places such as Barnes and Noble, and Amazon.ca are still listing it as unavailable or out of stock.
Can you enlighten me as to why? I have been reading disturbing rumours on the Internet regarding recent Lulu.com books not getting their full distribution due to your policy changes.
This is their reply:
Thank you for your email. Titles with the Free Published by Lulu distribution package will only be distributed to Amazon. However, we do offer an option to get wider distribution if you have the Free Published by Lulu package. You can check out the Expanded Distribution Package here:
http://www.lulu.com/content/4683045
Please feel free to contact us if you have any additional questions.
I sent another email after this protesting their stand, but I have yet to hear anything from Lulu.
Further investigations have led me to believe I am not the only author who got downgraded; there are rumblings among the blogs of others. It seems Lulu’s free summer offer was for its new Amazon.com only package, not for the old one they advertised.
I would also like to state that the current situation of my book may be due in part to the fact Barnes and Noble may be phasing out Print-on-Demand books. Everything in POD these days seems to be gearing toward Amazon, and just Amazon.
The end result of all this is one fact: there are only two places people can buy my book. At Amazon.com and Lulu.com; I don’t even have a retail listing in my own country of Canada.
All these recent changes and uncertainty has me asking: Is this the end of POD as a publishing option? I know I am certainly reconsidering my publishing options.
Saturday, 6 December 2008
For the Typing Challenged Writer.
Why I like Voice Recognition Software:
I like to write longhand, taking my favourite pen, put it to paper and see the words flow in front of my eyes. Eventually though, these words will have to be transferred to the computer to be edited, formatted and spell checked. This is where I used to have quite the challenge.
I can't type.
The best I can achieve is the hunt and peck method, hunched over the keyboard trying to add my prose to my hard drive with as much speed as I can muster.
Which isn't much.
Then I discovered voice recognition software. For those of us who are typing challenged it is a blessing, just read the pages into a microphone and watch them magically appear on screen. Granted your words are sometimes mangled and misheard, but no more so than your average typing error, and well it can all be fixed in the editing process.
Sometimes I just use it to let the ideas flow from my head straight into the computer, especially when I'm editing.
I have two voice recognition programs: My computer has Vista, and came with pre-installed voice recognition software; my laptop needed to have such software installed so I went with Dragon Naturally Speaking (a very reasonably priced option).
The software is fairly easy to use, you simply train the program with your voice patterns and it continues to learn as you use it. The hardest part is remembering the program commands, so make sure you are familiar with them; in other words, read the tutorial.
All I can say is my writing life is far easier since I traded my poor typing skills for voice recognition, but I do need the occasional extra throat lozenge.
I like to write longhand, taking my favourite pen, put it to paper and see the words flow in front of my eyes. Eventually though, these words will have to be transferred to the computer to be edited, formatted and spell checked. This is where I used to have quite the challenge.
I can't type.
The best I can achieve is the hunt and peck method, hunched over the keyboard trying to add my prose to my hard drive with as much speed as I can muster.
Which isn't much.
Then I discovered voice recognition software. For those of us who are typing challenged it is a blessing, just read the pages into a microphone and watch them magically appear on screen. Granted your words are sometimes mangled and misheard, but no more so than your average typing error, and well it can all be fixed in the editing process.
Sometimes I just use it to let the ideas flow from my head straight into the computer, especially when I'm editing.
I have two voice recognition programs: My computer has Vista, and came with pre-installed voice recognition software; my laptop needed to have such software installed so I went with Dragon Naturally Speaking (a very reasonably priced option).
The software is fairly easy to use, you simply train the program with your voice patterns and it continues to learn as you use it. The hardest part is remembering the program commands, so make sure you are familiar with them; in other words, read the tutorial.
All I can say is my writing life is far easier since I traded my poor typing skills for voice recognition, but I do need the occasional extra throat lozenge.
Monday, 3 November 2008
Update
My Latest Writing News:
- Inside Realms is now at full sale status at Amazon.com
- Chronicles of the Undead should be published (at least at Lulu.com) within the next 2-3 weeks. You can check out a teaser trailer at my YouTube Channel
- Both books now have their own Squidoo lens: Inside Realms; Chronicles of the Undead
- I wrote a fictional character interview with one of the individuals in Chronicles of the Undead: An Interview with my Vampire (Character)
- I'm on Twitter
- I've got a Facebook Fan Page
- There's a new contest running at my website to win an ebook copy of Chronicles of the Undead. Check it out at my Contest Page for details and to see the winners of the "Write me a poem" contest.
Monday, 6 October 2008
My Review of Silenced Cry by Marta Stephens
Review of Silenced Cry
Silenced Cry by Marta Stephens is a solid and engaging bit of fiction, and the author is certainly a convincing new voice in crime fiction. Her book carries on the fine tradition of the police crime novel, and I enjoyed it very much.
Ms. Stephens leads the reader deftly through a sordid, tangled mess of an investigation as a long-forgotten child murder case is unexpectedly exposed. Detective Sam Harper is plunged into the messy circumstances, sorting through the investigation’s flimsy evidence while dealing with a new partner. Swirling around the edges are the long reaching ramifications of his old partner’s death and his own thorny attitude on recent events in his life.
“Day three. One clue and no leads. Finding the person responsible for the baby’s death after more than a decade seemed nearly improbable.”
There are no surprises twists or unexpected shocks in the pages of Silenced Cry; it is a fairly straightforward crime novel, with a genuine plot and just the right amount of gripping tension. However, the story-telling is elevated above the average by superb characterization and a believable narrative atmosphere. It is part police procedural, part noir, touched around the periphery with the realistic ugliness of crime, and the complexity of human interaction.
“Owen looked up. The clouds slowly parted to reveal a scattering of stars against the moonless backdrop of the April night. Behind him stretched a row of dumpsters shoved against the wall of the savings and loan. A sour stench rose from them and mingled with the pungent odor of piss from whoever had christened the alley wall.” Silenced Cry is the first entry in a series; I’m truly looking forward to the next book. I absolutely want to spend more time immersed in the world of Sam Harper.
Marta Stephens holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism/Public Relations from Ball State University, and is a member of Sisters in Crime International, Sisters in Crime Speed City Indiana Chapter, and the Midwest Writer's Workshop. Her website is at http://www.martastephens-author.com/
Silenced Cry by Marta Stephens is a solid and engaging bit of fiction, and the author is certainly a convincing new voice in crime fiction. Her book carries on the fine tradition of the police crime novel, and I enjoyed it very much.
Ms. Stephens leads the reader deftly through a sordid, tangled mess of an investigation as a long-forgotten child murder case is unexpectedly exposed. Detective Sam Harper is plunged into the messy circumstances, sorting through the investigation’s flimsy evidence while dealing with a new partner. Swirling around the edges are the long reaching ramifications of his old partner’s death and his own thorny attitude on recent events in his life.
“Day three. One clue and no leads. Finding the person responsible for the baby’s death after more than a decade seemed nearly improbable.”
There are no surprises twists or unexpected shocks in the pages of Silenced Cry; it is a fairly straightforward crime novel, with a genuine plot and just the right amount of gripping tension. However, the story-telling is elevated above the average by superb characterization and a believable narrative atmosphere. It is part police procedural, part noir, touched around the periphery with the realistic ugliness of crime, and the complexity of human interaction.
“Owen looked up. The clouds slowly parted to reveal a scattering of stars against the moonless backdrop of the April night. Behind him stretched a row of dumpsters shoved against the wall of the savings and loan. A sour stench rose from them and mingled with the pungent odor of piss from whoever had christened the alley wall.” Silenced Cry is the first entry in a series; I’m truly looking forward to the next book. I absolutely want to spend more time immersed in the world of Sam Harper.
Marta Stephens holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism/Public Relations from Ball State University, and is a member of Sisters in Crime International, Sisters in Crime Speed City Indiana Chapter, and the Midwest Writer's Workshop. Her website is at http://www.martastephens-author.com/
The second book in the Harper series, THE DEVIL CAN WAIT, will be released by BeWrite Books (UK) on November 3, 2008. Look for it in both trade paperback and e-book formats. Marta Stephens is currently working on the third book in the Harper series.
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