Steve Berman's Blog, page 5

No clue...

I really should no longer be surprised what sells on Kindle month by month. And yet when a book that is 4+ yrs old (honestly, older when you consider past editions) suddenly vaults to the top in double digits 5 days into the month...and the books that sold best the last three months aren't even in the running...well, I do get perplexed. Why? Who? And why? some more.

So what does it even mean?

At Lethe, we experimented with the Kindle Direct Program for one of our newest titles that we felt--because it's non-fiction and deals with sacred sexuality (Penis-Erect is a Library of Congress subject category! Honest!)--it would not sell well through Smashwords, Weightless, etc.

So, for the 2-day "free offering" we gave away 218 copies. Now that is a significant number, as it is around 4-5 times a Kindle monthly bestseller for my little gay press (the book, btw, is not really gay but male-focused). Will this translate to any sales, any money? I have no idea. I don't know any other small press that has experimented with KDP well enough to ask (in fact, due to drama among the "heads of state" I am on the outs with past friends who run their own gay presses *sigh*).

I'm curious to see what transpires. Have any of you heard anything about KDP?

In May...

So my next anthology, a book of gay male YA stories, releases in May. Sadly, I don't know if ARCs were ever done (more my fault than the publisher, as I turned in the ms. late). I think it's a terrific collection of tales by some very talented writers. I could send out PDF review copies without problem--so if you are a reviewer (or know one who handles YA or LGBT titles), email me.

mroctober @ 2012-02-24T20:15:00

Oh, Melissa Scott fans...and all you adorers of queer fantasy...rejoice!

This April from Lethe Press:



This July from Lethe Press:

A month

Well, Father passed away on the 5th of January. So little more than a month has elapsed. I'm still playing around with a cocktail of pills to make me deal with everything.

2012 was supposed to be the year I took off from Lethe and let others handle all the projects. I wanted to write. And while I have sold some recent YA stories, I don't think the press is slowing down at all. How can I say no to good ideas and to old friends?

Maybe 2013.

Not him!

So the infamous Kevin Reardon is trying to sell a story to Chelsea Station's literary mag. For those of you who might have forgotten or do not know the tale, Kevin pounced on me for an imagined slight and, while I was depressed, tried to convince me to both kill myself and Daulton by jumping out a window. Yes, it was just that ugly.

I'd like not to ever see Reardon in print again. Not even as birdcage liner. But the editor needs something better to submit so he does not have to rely on Reardon. So, if you have a gay themed short story with literary elements, even a reprint, please consider submitting it to info AT chelseastationeditions DOT com ASAP. Help prevent schmucks from publishing.

And feel free to spread the word to authors who write gay male fiction.

A book I'm excited to release this Spring...

I'll be sending out ARCs around the end of the week. Any recommendations beyond the usual (PW, Booklist, Library Journal)?

Good day, good day

Selling 600+ copies of a single title in a 24 hr period... receiving an offer on another title from InsightOut Book Club... and finishing/submitting a story. I iz happy--and my father would have been proud.

oh...

Daulton woke me from a GERD-troubled sleep not for a snack but to play. It's difficult with all the pills in me, especially XanaX to make the mouse on a stick swing alluringly.