Bert S. Lechner's Blog, page 3
September 22, 2023
Fortnightly Writing Update: Episode 9
Welcome back to the Fortnightly Writing Update, where I cover what’s been going on with my adventures in writing and publishing. Read on to see how I did over the past two weeks:
Writing UpdatesThe past two weeks has been a difficult stretch of writing, and I haven’t gotten much done on my current project. It’s one of those situations where the story is one I like, and I’m excited with where it’s going, but the words in the brain don’t want to become words on the page. I’ve still got another week till my self imposed deadline for the project, so I’m still hopeful I can have this finished pretty soon!
Publishing UpdatesWith the Ingramspark version of The Roots Grow Into the Earth, I’m officially in the waiting game stage for this collection of cosmic horror stories! The release dates are fast approaching, with the eBook dropping first on Godless on September 28th, and all formats releasing everywhere else on October 7th. Excitement is reaching its zenith over here, and I’m not only excited for the release but also excited to talk more about what comes next!
ConclusionThat’s all I have for you today, but thank you for following along on my writing adventure! I’d love to hear how you did with your artistic endeavors in the comments below.
September 21, 2023
Global Distribution Has Been Approved for The Roots Grow Into the Earth
After a long formatting process with Ingramspark, the paperback format of The Roots Grow Into the Earth is now approved for global distribution! What this means is online stores should soon have the paperback format listed, and bookstores can now order physical copies from Ingram.
There are a couple of cosmetic differences between the Ingram and Amazon versions of the paperback as well: the Ingram version of The Roots Grow Into the Earth will have a slightly more vibrant front cover, a brighter red spine and back cover, and a different font for the spine and back cover.
If you’re excited to get your hands on a copy of my upcoming cosmic horror collection, and also want to support brick and mortar bookstores instead of Amazon, please consider requesting a copy from your favorite local place to buy books!
September 15, 2023
Interview with Jim Phoenix on Haunted MTL!
Happy Friday!
I’m excited to share my first ever podcast interview, hosted by Jim Phoenix on the independent horror news website Haunted MTL! It was a blast talking with Jim, and in this interview we covered inspirations for my work as well as writing process and advice for new authors.
To give it a listen, hop over to the Haunted MTL website here if you’d like to download the podcast, or find the whole thing on their YouTube channel here!
I’ve got at least one more planned interview to be released in the near future, so stay tuned for more information on that! And if you have a podcast and would be interested in talking about my books or horror in general come find me on social media and say hi!
September 11, 2023
Live Interview: 09/12/2023, 3pm EST
This Tuesday I’ll be going live on Tiktok with RedReading_Hood for an author interview!
If you have a Tiktok account, you’ll be able to view the live video on Red’s profile here!
Hope to see you there!
September 8, 2023
Fortnightly Writing Update: Episode 8
I’m back with another writing update!
The past few weeks have had a little more of a mental health focus, so writing on the whole took a bit of a back seat. That being said, progress was still made, so let’s take a look at where things stand!
My next project has been moving forward at a ‘one sentence at a time’ sort of pace most of the past few weeks. Slowly but surely it is taking shape, though, and I’m getting quite excited about it and can’t wait to share more information in the near future!
With November coming soon it is almost time for the NaNoWriMo challenge once again as well, and I’m gearing up to work on the first of the novels in my ‘to be written’ list! You’ll be hearing about that more once November rolls around.
I am excited to announce that I have completely finalized formatting for The Roots Grow Into the Earth! The last batch of proof copies are looking grand, and I’ve submitted all documents to Amazon, Ingramspark, and Godless, so all that’s left is to check Ingramspark physical copies for printing errors. Once that is complete, I can start distributing the paperback to vendors outside of Amazon, which I really cannot wait for.
I’m still hoping to set up a store on my website where you can order copies of my book, though I’m currently weighing the options of whether it will function as a traditional store front, or as a store where I can offer limited signed copies. If you’ve got any thoughts on that please do let me know in the comments!
Reviews are starting to come in for The Roots Grow Into the Earth as well, and I’m very excited to see how people are enjoying this collection of stories! If you’d like to see what people are saying, check out the book link on Goodreads.
ConclusionThat’s all I have for this fortnightly update! I’ll be back on the 22nd with another update, but keep your eyes out for some more fun news coming out around the 15th!
August 25, 2023
Fortnightly Writing Update: Episode 7
I’m back with another writing update! Let’s get right to it:
Writing UpdatesWork has been slow but steady on a few small projects I’d like to share with you after The Roots Grow Into the Earth, but most of my focus the past few weeks has, of course, been on finishing the formatting for my upcoming collection, as well as promoting the ARC and the release.
In the current active project list I have a short story and a novella. In the short story I’m playing once again with third person present tense, which I really enjoyed working with for His Castle Crumbles, and the novella is the first of my stories to take place in the general area where I live (and may or may not have something to do with clams).
Formatting is in its fourth (and hopefully final) pass for The Roots Grow Into the Earth. Unfortunately, due to Ingramspark’s printing times and lack of flexibility with resubmitting files, it’s looking like the paperback release of my collection on vendors outside of Amazon will be delayed. You’ll still be able to get the eBook format of The Roots Grow Into the Earth from a wide range of distributors on October 7th, including Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and a whole bunch of small vendors across the globe.
ConclusionThat’s all I have for you this week! Over the next few weeks I’m going to be taking things even slower to let myself catch my breath for the final push towards release day, but I’ll have another Fortnightly Writing Update for you on the 8th of September, and I’ll also have something fun happening next week that I’m excited to share with you!
August 14, 2023
New Opportunities to Get an Advanced Reading Copy of The Roots Grow Into the Earth Now Available!
Happy Monday!
I’m still looking for ARC readers for my upcoming short horror story collection, The Roots Grow Into the Earth, and today I’ve added a new way for you to get your hands on one of these early copies!
I’ve set up a Bookfunnel landing page where you can subscribe to my email list and, in the process, receive an .epub version of the ARC of The Roots Grow Into the Earth for free. I’m offering 500 copies of the ARC up until the 3rd of October, so if you’re a reviewer or ARC reader looking for some cosmic horror you can check out this opportunity here.
Opportunities to receive an ARC copy on Booksiren and Hidden Gems Books are also pending, so keep an eye out on those platforms!
August 11, 2023
Fortnightly Writing Update: Episode 6
I’m back once more with a fresh Fortnightly Writing Update for you today! The last couple of weeks have been incredibly busy and productive, so let me share with you what’s been going on:
Writing ProgressWriting itself has taken a back seat the past few weeks in favor of editing, formatting, and marketing for The Roots Grow Into the Earth, but I am working through a handful of new projects that I’m excited to share with you in the near future!
One of these projects is top secret, but the other is a new short story that will be coming to bertwriteshorror.com by the end of the year. I’m having a good time putting both projects together, and I’m excited to share them with you once my story collection is out on shelves!
This fortnight has been super exciting for The Roots Grow Into the Earth, as I not only received the first proof copy of my book, but I also got the book’s store page set up on Amazon, and you can now pre-order the eBook version up to its release date on October 7th.
I’ve also sent out ARC copies to as many reviewers as possible over the past few weeks, so within the next few months there may be some reviews sprouting up across the web!
I’ve got new proofs arriving this week with the latest batch of formatting updates, and once I’ve approved those I’ll be beginning the process of getting The Roots Grow Into the Earth to other retailers outside of Amazon.
If you’d like to pre-order your eBook copy of The Roots Grow Into the Earth, you can find it at this link here! You can also find it on Goodreads if you’d like to add it to your want to read list.
That’s all I have for you today, but I believe I’ll have something special to announce next week for The Roots Grow Into the Earth, so make sure you’re subscribed to the blog! If you have the time, please consider leaving a like, a comment, or sharing my website with a cosmic horror fan you know.
Talk to you soon!
August 2, 2023
Pre-Orders for the eBook version of The Roots Grow Into the Earth are now available!
Happy Wednesday!
It has been a crazy week, and I’m excited to announce that The Roots Grow Into the Earth is now available for eBook pre-order now on Amazon!
The link for the pre-order page is available here, and in the near future you’ll also be able to find a link on other parts of my webpage.
The eBook and paperback versions of my first short occult cosmic horror collection releases October 7th. More information on the paperback is coming next week after I have received my first proof copies!
July 28, 2023
Fortnightly Writing Update: Episode 5
14 Earth rotations have passed once again and it’s time for another writing update! Read on to see what’s been happening with writing the past two weeks.
Writing UpdatesWriting started off quite slow this fortnight but ended spectacularly! Ignoring my usual advice to only work on one project at a time, I took on two new projects over the past two weeks, plus finished a third project on Tuesday.
The first of these projects is top secret, but you’ll probably start hearing about it within a few months.
The second project is a new short occult cosmic horror story which I’m planning on submitting to an anthology in a few months! In the same way as Beach Day, if the story doesn’t get the cut for the anthology you’ll be able to read it here on the website instead.
The third project, which I finished, is a fresh venture into poetry! I started writing a poetry collection Tuesday night of this week as an emotional outlet and ended up writing 39 pages of short poetry in a single sitting. The collection is a deeply personal reflection on my experience as a survivor of intimate partner violence, and a snapshot of the path of recovery I’ve taken since escaping that relationship.
The poetry project is currently in a peer review stage, and it has a planned publishing date in early 2024! You’ll be hearing more details on this one after The Roots Grow Into the Earth is live. Speaking of which…
The editing cycle for The Roots Grow Into the Earth is almost complete, and within the next two weeks I’m going to be doing final editing, tweaking, and formatting changes! Once theses are complete I’ll be sending out advanced reading copies, creating store pages, and setting up pre-order options for the book collection.
Overall this is a monumental period for the book and I’m incredibly excited to have gotten this far in the publishing process!
That’s all I have for now as far as updates go!
If you review books and you’re interested in receiving an advanced reader copy of The Roots Grow Into the Earth, send me a note on one of my social media outlets!
