The Audiobook Rabbithole, and Reader Poll: What do You Think Sydney Sounds Like?
You know those 10-minute limbos? The lulls when you’ve got something else scheduled soon so you don’t really have enough time to start a real project? Those times are dangerous. During a recent one I thought, eh, I’ll just check out ACX. ACX is an Amazon platform that distributes audiobooks, primarily through Amazon and Audible, but also through iTunes. Checking out audiobooks is one of the things on my list for this year. I love the idea of people listening to Sydney’s adventures on their commutes or while ironing or torturing themselves at the gym. (Maybe because I do none Read more…
The Perils of Panacea is Alive (ish)! Plus Limited Time Ereader Deals
The moment you’ve been waiting for—or at least the moment I’ve been waiting for—has arrived. The second Sydney Brennan novel, The Perils of Panacea, is now available on Amazon (UK here), Kobo, Nook and iBooks. Woo hoo! Or as auto-correct would like to say, “Woo too!” The paperback version [mumble, mumble, mumble]. What’s that about the paperback, you ask? Well, the paperback still has the electrodes hooked up to it. I slightly underestimated how much time individual steps would take, including file reviews that are totally out of my hands and cover tweaks that are not. And I’ve discovered another em dash Read more…
My Kingdom for a Blurb
I’ve been working on a bunch of last-minute book launch things lately. As an indie publisher, I am responsible for everything that goes into my book’s production, but I don’t personally do everything. That’s one reason many indie publishers don’t like the term self-publishing. A responsible publisher does not do everything him- or herself. I have a cover designer who makes Sydney’s world come to life. For Panacea, a developmental editor helped me see structural and plot and even footwear issues. As I explained in my most recent post, my copy editor has a fine eye for details like spelling Read more…
No Bread Sticks in Your Trenchcoat: Lessons From My Copy Editor
I’ve been getting The Perils of Panacea back from my copy editor in chunks this week, so that’s exciting. My husband asked, “Does she find a lot of stuff?” She’s reviewing a post-beta read final draft, which I’d like to think is reasonably clean. The answer is still, “Yes, she finds a crap-ton of stuff.” Okay, that might be exaggerating a little, but it’s amazing how many things slipped past me over the course of 100K+ words. Some were typos or awkward phrasing that I’d read too many times to notice. I’d introduced mistakes making changes after the beta reads. And I’d done Read more…
Between Edits… Duh, a Book Trailer
A couple of weekends ago I found myself between edits and decided, well, gee, now I could try making a book trailer for Back to Lazarus. Because I have nothing else to do on a Saturday. Sort of like when I spent a day sewing a pleather vest and holster—literally by hand with a needle and thread—for a Halloween trunk-or-treat instead of finishing my master’s thesis or preparing for my upcoming thesis defense. The sewing put a crimp in my typing the next day, but I did have an hour or so of living the Serenity dream (Firefly—cowboys in space), so Read more…
^