Joshua Palmatier's Blog, page 9
August 25, 2015
Latest Book Discussion!
I've just posted the book discussion for Jacey Bedford's second Psi-Tech novel, Crossways, over at the DAW Books unofficial blog (
dawbooks
)! Swing on by and check it out!
dawbooks
)! Swing on by and check it out!
Introducing April Steenburgh ... and New Backer Incentive!
So, today I want to start introducing some of the behind-the-scenes people here at Zombies Need Brains, those that help produce such great anthologies. We're going to hear from April Steenburgh today, who helps produce the ebooks. But first, I have a new and exciting backer incentive.
David Farland has generously offered up the ebook of his short "We Blazed" for all backers of the ALIEN ARTIFACTS/WERE- dual anthology Kickstarter who pledge before we hit the $15K mark! So of course, everyone pledged right now, as this posts, is already getting this reward. And with this addition, that makes THREE additional free ebooks if we hit that $15K goal to all backers up to that point (TWO free ebooks for everyone who gets in after that). We're already at $11.7K and we're only halfway through the Kickstarter. I'm fairly confident that we'll be able to make that $15K goal. So get out there and tell everyone to get in on this Kickstarter NOW, before we reach $15K, so that they can get those THREE additional ebook bonuses! Not to mention that along the way we'll hit $12.5K and everyone pledged $15 or over will get free bookmarks for both anthologies AND Katharine Kerr (author of the Deverry novels and the Nola O'Grady series) will join the WERE- anchor author list. And thanks for David Farland for donating the ebook of "We Blazed" for the cause!
And now, introducing April Steenburgh! I've known April for years. We both worked at the local Waldenbooks at the mall, before it was closed, and we participated in our own little writers group (that also included Patricia Bray) that met for wine, chocolate, and critiques on a regular basis. April is a writer and editor in her own right, with a short story in the anthology The Modern Fae's Guide to Surviving Humanity, which Patricia Bray and I edited for DAW Books (selkies at SeaWorld, anyone?). She's the one that makes our ebooks actually readable. And if you find issues with our ebooks (formatting, typos, etc), she's the one that fixes them. I've asked her to write up a little something to introduce herself. If you have a project that you need converted into ebook formats, considering hiring April. You can check out her work in all of Zombies Need Brains' productions, including Clockwork Universe: Steampunk vs Aliens and Temporally Out of Order. Thank you, April, for all of your hard work! And now ... a word from April:
"Hello! I am April, the tech elf behind the eBook versions of Zombies Need Brains anthologies. It is my job to format the books so they are lovely on your eReaders and computers. To make that happen Josh sends the anthology content my way, providing input on how he would like things to look. I then spend some time wrangling code while drinking coffee until clean and functional eBooks are created. They head back to Josh for approval and if everything looks good my part of the process is complete. I have known Josh for years, both professionally and socially, and it has been and continues to be a pleasure to work with Zombies Need Brains.
"I have also created eBooks for Laura Anne Gilman, creating eBook versions of her Sylvan Investigations novellas. Personal projects have included Fight Like a Girl, an anthology of female-centric fantasy by female authors, and What Follows, an anthology exploring how immortals would deal with the end of the world.
"I am available for formatting work fairly regularly and have a contact form on my website for queries. You can also find more information as to what sort of work I take on within my site, as well as check out previous projects. You can find me at http://aprilsteenburgh.com/."
David Farland has generously offered up the ebook of his short "We Blazed" for all backers of the ALIEN ARTIFACTS/WERE- dual anthology Kickstarter who pledge before we hit the $15K mark! So of course, everyone pledged right now, as this posts, is already getting this reward. And with this addition, that makes THREE additional free ebooks if we hit that $15K goal to all backers up to that point (TWO free ebooks for everyone who gets in after that). We're already at $11.7K and we're only halfway through the Kickstarter. I'm fairly confident that we'll be able to make that $15K goal. So get out there and tell everyone to get in on this Kickstarter NOW, before we reach $15K, so that they can get those THREE additional ebook bonuses! Not to mention that along the way we'll hit $12.5K and everyone pledged $15 or over will get free bookmarks for both anthologies AND Katharine Kerr (author of the Deverry novels and the Nola O'Grady series) will join the WERE- anchor author list. And thanks for David Farland for donating the ebook of "We Blazed" for the cause!
And now, introducing April Steenburgh! I've known April for years. We both worked at the local Waldenbooks at the mall, before it was closed, and we participated in our own little writers group (that also included Patricia Bray) that met for wine, chocolate, and critiques on a regular basis. April is a writer and editor in her own right, with a short story in the anthology The Modern Fae's Guide to Surviving Humanity, which Patricia Bray and I edited for DAW Books (selkies at SeaWorld, anyone?). She's the one that makes our ebooks actually readable. And if you find issues with our ebooks (formatting, typos, etc), she's the one that fixes them. I've asked her to write up a little something to introduce herself. If you have a project that you need converted into ebook formats, considering hiring April. You can check out her work in all of Zombies Need Brains' productions, including Clockwork Universe: Steampunk vs Aliens and Temporally Out of Order. Thank you, April, for all of your hard work! And now ... a word from April:
"Hello! I am April, the tech elf behind the eBook versions of Zombies Need Brains anthologies. It is my job to format the books so they are lovely on your eReaders and computers. To make that happen Josh sends the anthology content my way, providing input on how he would like things to look. I then spend some time wrangling code while drinking coffee until clean and functional eBooks are created. They head back to Josh for approval and if everything looks good my part of the process is complete. I have known Josh for years, both professionally and socially, and it has been and continues to be a pleasure to work with Zombies Need Brains.
"I have also created eBooks for Laura Anne Gilman, creating eBook versions of her Sylvan Investigations novellas. Personal projects have included Fight Like a Girl, an anthology of female-centric fantasy by female authors, and What Follows, an anthology exploring how immortals would deal with the end of the world.
"I am available for formatting work fairly regularly and have a contact form on my website for queries. You can also find more information as to what sort of work I take on within my site, as well as check out previous projects. You can find me at http://aprilsteenburgh.com/."
August 24, 2015
New Book Discussion!
I've just posted the latest DAW Books book discussion up at the unofficial blog (
dawbooks
)! We're looking at R.M. Meluch's latest USS Merrimack novel The Twice and Future Caesar. Swing on by and check it out!
dawbooks
)! We're looking at R.M. Meluch's latest USS Merrimack novel The Twice and Future Caesar. Swing on by and check it out!August 17, 2015
ALIEN ARTIFACTS and WERE- Open Call for Submissions!
The ALIEN ARTIFACTS and WERE- anthology kickstarter has made its goal! This means that we can now open up submissions for the remaining slots in the anthology. If you have a story idea that fits one of the anthology themes, write it up, revise it, polish it, and send it in for consideration. I've posted the guidelines below. Please note that the pay rate INCREASES as we reach higher stretch goals in the kickstarter, so please spread the word about the kickstarter so that we can not only add in additional authors to the anthology, but pay those authors as much as possible. Also, a special thanks to everyone who has already backed the project and gotten us funded! Without you, we wouldn't be funded with over three weeks left in the kickstarter to reach those stretch goals! And now, the submission guidelines:
ALIEN ARTIFACTS and WERE- Submission Guidelines
Zombies Need Brains LLC is accepting submissions to its two science fiction and fantasy anthologies ALIEN ARTIFACTS and WERE-. Stories must be submitted in electronic form as an attachment with the title of the story as the file name in .doc or .docx format. The header of the email should include the name of the anthology the submission is for along with the title of the submission (for example: WERE-: WereJellyfish Gone Wild!). The content of the email should also include which anthology the manuscript is intended for. Please send multiple submissions in separate emails. Manuscripts should be in manuscript format, meaning double-spaced, 12pt font, standard margins on top, bottom and sides, and pages numbered. Please use New Times Roman font. The first page should include the Title of the story, Author’s name, address, and email, and Pseudonym if different from the author’s name. Italics and bold should be in italics and bold.
Stories for this anthology must be original (no reprints or previously published material), no more than 7,500 words in length, and must satisfy the theme of the anthology.
ALIEN ARTIFACTS is to feature stories where some type of left-behind alien tech has been found and how it may affect our society, our humanity, or the characters. It can be an artifact discovered on Earth in our past or during current times, OR PREFERRABLY, an artifact that we run across while exploring space in the future. I want to stress this: the story must feature an alien artifact (not an alien). Aliens can appear in the story, but the genesis of the story must be some kind of alien artifact. Stories featuring more interesting alien artifacts, and twists on how they are discovered or how they affect our society/humanity, while being set in the future, will receive more attention than those set in the present or past. In other words, we don’t want to see 100 stories dealing with an archeological dig discovering a long buried alien artifact. If we do, it’s likely that only one at most would be selected for the anthology. So be creative and choose something different and use it in an unusual and unexpected way. We are looking for a range of tones, from humorous all the way up to dark.
WERE- is to feature stories where some type of were-creature OTHER than a werewolf is the main character. Werewolves can appear in the story, but they cannot be the main character or the central focus of the story. I want to stress this: the story must feature a were-creature! Stories featuring more interesting were-creatures, and twists on how they are integrated into the story, will receive more attention than those with more mundane creatures. In other words, we don’t want to see 100 stories dealing with a were-cat. If we do, it’s likely that only one at most would be selected for the anthology. So be creative and choose something different and use it in an unusual and unexpected way. We are looking for a range of tones, from humorous all the way up to dark.
The deadline for submissions is October 31th, 2015. Decisions on stories should be completed by the end of December 2015. Please send submissions to Joshua@zombiesneedbrains.com. You will receive a receipt email within a few days of receiving the submission. Notices about decisions on the stories will be sent out no later than the end of January 2016.
If your story is selected for use in the anthology, you should expect a revision letter by the end of January 2016. Revisions and the final draft of the story will be expected no later than the end of February 2016. These dates may change due to the editor’s work schedules. Zombies Need Brains LLC is seeking non-exclusive world anthology rights (including electronic rights) in all languages for the duration of one year after publication/release of the anthology. Your story cannot appear elsewhere during that year. Pay rate will be an advance of a minimum of 6 cents per word for the short stories. For each additional $5000 raised above the Kickstarter minimum of $10,000, we will increase this advance pay rate by 1 cent per word. The anthology will be published as an ebook and an exclusive mass market paperback edition, distributed to the Kickstarter backers. The book would be available after that to the general public in ebook and trade paperback formats. Advances would be immediately earned out by the success of the Kickstarter. Royalties on additional sales beyond the Kickstarter will be 25% of ebook cover price and 10% of trade paperback cover price, both split evenly (not by word count) between the authors in the anthology and the editors of the anthology.
Questions regarding these submission guidelines should be sent to Joshua@zombiesneedbrains.com. Thank you.
ALIEN ARTIFACTS and WERE- Submission Guidelines
Zombies Need Brains LLC is accepting submissions to its two science fiction and fantasy anthologies ALIEN ARTIFACTS and WERE-. Stories must be submitted in electronic form as an attachment with the title of the story as the file name in .doc or .docx format. The header of the email should include the name of the anthology the submission is for along with the title of the submission (for example: WERE-: WereJellyfish Gone Wild!). The content of the email should also include which anthology the manuscript is intended for. Please send multiple submissions in separate emails. Manuscripts should be in manuscript format, meaning double-spaced, 12pt font, standard margins on top, bottom and sides, and pages numbered. Please use New Times Roman font. The first page should include the Title of the story, Author’s name, address, and email, and Pseudonym if different from the author’s name. Italics and bold should be in italics and bold.
Stories for this anthology must be original (no reprints or previously published material), no more than 7,500 words in length, and must satisfy the theme of the anthology.
ALIEN ARTIFACTS is to feature stories where some type of left-behind alien tech has been found and how it may affect our society, our humanity, or the characters. It can be an artifact discovered on Earth in our past or during current times, OR PREFERRABLY, an artifact that we run across while exploring space in the future. I want to stress this: the story must feature an alien artifact (not an alien). Aliens can appear in the story, but the genesis of the story must be some kind of alien artifact. Stories featuring more interesting alien artifacts, and twists on how they are discovered or how they affect our society/humanity, while being set in the future, will receive more attention than those set in the present or past. In other words, we don’t want to see 100 stories dealing with an archeological dig discovering a long buried alien artifact. If we do, it’s likely that only one at most would be selected for the anthology. So be creative and choose something different and use it in an unusual and unexpected way. We are looking for a range of tones, from humorous all the way up to dark.
WERE- is to feature stories where some type of were-creature OTHER than a werewolf is the main character. Werewolves can appear in the story, but they cannot be the main character or the central focus of the story. I want to stress this: the story must feature a were-creature! Stories featuring more interesting were-creatures, and twists on how they are integrated into the story, will receive more attention than those with more mundane creatures. In other words, we don’t want to see 100 stories dealing with a were-cat. If we do, it’s likely that only one at most would be selected for the anthology. So be creative and choose something different and use it in an unusual and unexpected way. We are looking for a range of tones, from humorous all the way up to dark.
The deadline for submissions is October 31th, 2015. Decisions on stories should be completed by the end of December 2015. Please send submissions to Joshua@zombiesneedbrains.com. You will receive a receipt email within a few days of receiving the submission. Notices about decisions on the stories will be sent out no later than the end of January 2016.
If your story is selected for use in the anthology, you should expect a revision letter by the end of January 2016. Revisions and the final draft of the story will be expected no later than the end of February 2016. These dates may change due to the editor’s work schedules. Zombies Need Brains LLC is seeking non-exclusive world anthology rights (including electronic rights) in all languages for the duration of one year after publication/release of the anthology. Your story cannot appear elsewhere during that year. Pay rate will be an advance of a minimum of 6 cents per word for the short stories. For each additional $5000 raised above the Kickstarter minimum of $10,000, we will increase this advance pay rate by 1 cent per word. The anthology will be published as an ebook and an exclusive mass market paperback edition, distributed to the Kickstarter backers. The book would be available after that to the general public in ebook and trade paperback formats. Advances would be immediately earned out by the success of the Kickstarter. Royalties on additional sales beyond the Kickstarter will be 25% of ebook cover price and 10% of trade paperback cover price, both split evenly (not by word count) between the authors in the anthology and the editors of the anthology.
Questions regarding these submission guidelines should be sent to Joshua@zombiesneedbrains.com. Thank you.
Less Than $500 Away From Funding!
We are less that $500 from our funding goal! Can we get funded today? We should certainly try! So go forth and post a link to the Kickstarter on your social media sites! Write a quick note saying you've proudly funded this project and mention the stellar anchor authors, including the newly added C.S. Friedman and David Farland/Dave Wolverton! Post the rough sketch of the cover art for ALIEN ARTIFACTS on Twitter and Instagram (seen below)! Then cajole all of your friends into participating! WE CAN MAKE FUNDING TODAY WITH YOUR HELP!
(The excessive use of exclamation points will stop now.)
And seriously, there are some great reward levels left to be snatched up. Want to be mauled to death by a were-goat? Be tuckerized in Patricia Bray's WERE- story ($250). Want to be attacked by a were-opossum? Be tuckerized in Jean Marie Ward's WERE- story ($250). Care to have something hideous done to you by some unnamed were-creature that the anchor author is refusing to reveal? Be tuckerized in Danielle Ackley-McPhail's WERE- story ($150). Faith Hunter still has some vampire stake rewards left, with stakes modeled after her Jane Yellowrock series ($55), as well as some "Beast Is Not Prey" armband rewards remaining ($65). Plus we have signed copies of the upcoming TWELVE KINGS IN SHARAKHAI by Bradley P. Beaulieu ($70), signed copies of ELEMENT OF MIND by Walter H. Hunt ($50), signed copies of FROZEN IN AMBER by Phyllis Ames (aka Phyllis Irene Radford, $85), a signed copy of THE SHADOW OF ALBION by Andre Norton & Rosemary Edghill (signed only by Rosemary, $70), and signed copies of THE SOCIETY FOR THE PRESERVATION OF C.J. HENDERSON from Danielle Ackley-McPhail ($65).
And if you missed out on Zombies Need Brains' previous Kickstarters, you can still catch up by grabbing one of the rewards featuring the KICKSTARTER EDITION of CLOCKWORK UNIVERSE: STEAMPUNK vs ALIENS ($55) or TEMPORALLY OUT OF ORDER ($55) or both ($75).
So, plenty of great options, not least of which is two great anthologies with completely new stories from some great authors at a great price--$12 for the two in ebook, $25 for the two in paperback, or $35 for both ebook and paperback! (Oops, that last exclamation point just slipped in there.)
(The excessive use of exclamation points will stop now.)
And seriously, there are some great reward levels left to be snatched up. Want to be mauled to death by a were-goat? Be tuckerized in Patricia Bray's WERE- story ($250). Want to be attacked by a were-opossum? Be tuckerized in Jean Marie Ward's WERE- story ($250). Care to have something hideous done to you by some unnamed were-creature that the anchor author is refusing to reveal? Be tuckerized in Danielle Ackley-McPhail's WERE- story ($150). Faith Hunter still has some vampire stake rewards left, with stakes modeled after her Jane Yellowrock series ($55), as well as some "Beast Is Not Prey" armband rewards remaining ($65). Plus we have signed copies of the upcoming TWELVE KINGS IN SHARAKHAI by Bradley P. Beaulieu ($70), signed copies of ELEMENT OF MIND by Walter H. Hunt ($50), signed copies of FROZEN IN AMBER by Phyllis Ames (aka Phyllis Irene Radford, $85), a signed copy of THE SHADOW OF ALBION by Andre Norton & Rosemary Edghill (signed only by Rosemary, $70), and signed copies of THE SOCIETY FOR THE PRESERVATION OF C.J. HENDERSON from Danielle Ackley-McPhail ($65).
And if you missed out on Zombies Need Brains' previous Kickstarters, you can still catch up by grabbing one of the rewards featuring the KICKSTARTER EDITION of CLOCKWORK UNIVERSE: STEAMPUNK vs ALIENS ($55) or TEMPORALLY OUT OF ORDER ($55) or both ($75).
So, plenty of great options, not least of which is two great anthologies with completely new stories from some great authors at a great price--$12 for the two in ebook, $25 for the two in paperback, or $35 for both ebook and paperback! (Oops, that last exclamation point just slipped in there.)
August 11, 2015
It's ALIVE!!!! The Kickstarter is a Go!
The new Zombies Need Brains Kickstarter is now live! Swing on by and check out the two anthologies that we're trying to get funded: ALIEN ARTIFACTS and WERE-! ALIEN ARTIFACTS will contain stories about encounters with left-behind alien artifacts and how the encounters change our society and/or our humanity. WERE- focuses on stories about were-creatures other than werewolves. You can get the two anthologies in ebook or paperback or both! And the reward levels are set at essentially the "preorder" level, meaning that this is the price that will be charged when the anthologies are released to the general public. Those that help fund the Kickstarter at the paperback level will get a special Kickstarter edition of the paperback, with a limited print run (just enough to cover the Kickstarter backers, basically).
So swing on by the Kickstarter and check it out! We have a ton of great anchor authors, including: Phyllis Ames (Phyllis Irene Radford), Jacey Bedford, Patricia Bray, David B. Coe, Walter H. Hunt, Faith Hunter, Gini Koch, Gail Z. Martin, Seanan McGuire, Juliet E. McKenna, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Steve Miller & Sharon Lee, and Jean Marie Ward. There are tons of limited reward levels as well, with special items, signed books, and tuckerizations. Grab them before the vanish!
And here's some preliminary artwork for the cover for ALIEN ARTIFACTS, from artist Justin Adams. It's still being finished, but you can get a good idea of what we're shooting for.
So swing on by the Kickstarter and check it out! We have a ton of great anchor authors, including: Phyllis Ames (Phyllis Irene Radford), Jacey Bedford, Patricia Bray, David B. Coe, Walter H. Hunt, Faith Hunter, Gini Koch, Gail Z. Martin, Seanan McGuire, Juliet E. McKenna, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Steve Miller & Sharon Lee, and Jean Marie Ward. There are tons of limited reward levels as well, with special items, signed books, and tuckerizations. Grab them before the vanish!
And here's some preliminary artwork for the cover for ALIEN ARTIFACTS, from artist Justin Adams. It's still being finished, but you can get a good idea of what we're shooting for.
August 10, 2015
Latest Book Discussion!
I've just posted the latest book discussion to the unofficial DAW Books blog (
dawbooks
)! Swing on by and check out SHATTERING THE LEY by Joshua Palmatier (yeah, me)!. Leave a comment if you've already read it!
dawbooks
)! Swing on by and check out SHATTERING THE LEY by Joshua Palmatier (yeah, me)!. Leave a comment if you've already read it!Upcoming Kickstarter: Additions and Changes!
And we’re down to less than a day left before the Kickstarter for ALIEN ARTIFACTS and WERE- begins. Hopefully everyone has set their clocks and marked their calendars for August 11th, Noon EST, which is when I’ll hit the start button. We’ve covered the special reward levels (including tuckerizations, signed books, and special items), the early backer incentives, the stretch goals, and some of the available add-ons. All that’s left is the lull before the storm. Again, there are a few changes being made to the Kickstarter model. Don't worry, we'll still have some great special items and rewards for backers to grab--such as tuckerizations, unique items from some of the anchor authors, and stretch goals for some extras--just as we did in the past Kickstarters. However, this time backers will simply be PREORDERING the anthologies: the base reward levels to choose from are $6 for an ebook ($12 for both anthologies in ebook) and $15 for a paperback ($25 for both anthologies in paperback). Those are the same prices we expect to use for the general release editions of the books in ebook and paperback, perhaps even cheaper! Those that preorder by backing the Kickstarter will get the anthologies early (before the general public release) and those that choose the paperback versions of the anthologies will also get a special Kickstarter Only edition with a limited print run.
Don't forget, you can now preview the Kickstarter, so check out all of the details--including Early Backer Incentives, all of the reward levels, High Backer Incentives, stretch goals, and anchor authors--through the following link: Preview.
Here are a few last minute changes and/or additions to the Kickstarter:
New Special Item Reward Level (and I mean special): Rosemary Edghill graciously donated a signed, first edition hardcover of THE SHADOW OF ALBION by Andre Norton & Rosemary Edghill. And yes, it’s signed by BOTH Andre Norton and Rosemary Edghill. It will be offered at a $100 reward level.
New Special Item Reward Level: Rosemary Edghill also donated a Science Fiction Book Club edition of THE SHADOW OF ALBION by Andre Norton & Rosemary Edghill. This one is signed by Rosemary Edghill. It will be offered at a $70 reward level.
Steve Miller & Sharon Lee Zombie: The reward level for Steve Miller & Sharon Lee's charm (for a charm bracelet) has been reduce to $60 (from $75).
And now the countdown begins. Less than 24 hours before the Kickstarter goes live. I’m a tangled wreck of nerves, sort of like Christmas tree lights when you pull them out of the storage box and realize you must have run out of patience last year and just stuffed them all in without any effort at organization. But soon it will all begin and hopefully we’ll be able to produce two new anthologies around about this time next year, with stunning stories from today’s best authors, both new and old. And to start it off a little early, here’s a concept sketch from Justin Adams for the cover art of ALIEN ARTIFACTS. We’ll introduce the final art as soon as it’s been finalized, but this should be cool enough to whet your appetite. *grin*
And as a special bonus, here's the preliminary sketch for the cover art for ALIEN ARTIFACTS:
Don't forget, you can now preview the Kickstarter, so check out all of the details--including Early Backer Incentives, all of the reward levels, High Backer Incentives, stretch goals, and anchor authors--through the following link: Preview.
Here are a few last minute changes and/or additions to the Kickstarter:
New Special Item Reward Level (and I mean special): Rosemary Edghill graciously donated a signed, first edition hardcover of THE SHADOW OF ALBION by Andre Norton & Rosemary Edghill. And yes, it’s signed by BOTH Andre Norton and Rosemary Edghill. It will be offered at a $100 reward level.
New Special Item Reward Level: Rosemary Edghill also donated a Science Fiction Book Club edition of THE SHADOW OF ALBION by Andre Norton & Rosemary Edghill. This one is signed by Rosemary Edghill. It will be offered at a $70 reward level.
Steve Miller & Sharon Lee Zombie: The reward level for Steve Miller & Sharon Lee's charm (for a charm bracelet) has been reduce to $60 (from $75).
And now the countdown begins. Less than 24 hours before the Kickstarter goes live. I’m a tangled wreck of nerves, sort of like Christmas tree lights when you pull them out of the storage box and realize you must have run out of patience last year and just stuffed them all in without any effort at organization. But soon it will all begin and hopefully we’ll be able to produce two new anthologies around about this time next year, with stunning stories from today’s best authors, both new and old. And to start it off a little early, here’s a concept sketch from Justin Adams for the cover art of ALIEN ARTIFACTS. We’ll introduce the final art as soon as it’s been finalized, but this should be cool enough to whet your appetite. *grin*
And as a special bonus, here's the preliminary sketch for the cover art for ALIEN ARTIFACTS:
August 6, 2015
Upcoming Kickstarter: Stretch Goals!
The small press Zombies Need Brains LLC is getting ready to launch a new Kickstarter August 11th at Noon EST, this one targeting TWO new anthology themes: ALIEN ARTIFACTS and WERE-. After the successes of the previous two Kickstarters for Clockwork Universe: Steampunk vs Aliens (available now in trade paperback and ebook for the Kindle, Nook, and on Kobo) and Temporally Out of Order (available August 25th in trade paperback and ebook for the Kindle, Nook, and on Kobo), we feel that the small press is fairly stable, so there are a few changes being made to the Kickstarter model. Don't worry, we'll still have some great special items and rewards for backers to grab--such as tuckerizations, unique items from some of the anchor authors, and stretch goals for some extras--just as we did in the past Kickstarters. However, this time backers will simply be PREORDERING the anthologies: the base reward levels to choose from are $6 for an ebook ($12 for both anthologies in ebook) and $15 for a paperback ($25 for both anthologies in paperback). Those are the same prices we expect to use for the general release editions of the books in ebook and paperback, perhaps even cheaper! Those that preorder by backing the Kickstarter will get the anthologies early (before the general public release) and those that choose the paperback versions of the anthologies will also get a special Kickstarter Only edition with a limited print run. You can now take a look at a preview of the Kickstarter by following this link: http://tiny.cc/bfah1x. Check it out and figure out which reward level works best for you!
In this post, I wanted to highlight some of the stretch goals, in case we reach our funding goal. Basically, these are bonuses if we manage to raise MORE than our funding goal, things like bookmarks, extra ebooks, extra pay for the authors, even extra stories for the anthology. In fact, if we manage to reach $25,000, Zombies Need Brains may be able to produce a THIRD anthology (to be announced if we manage to get close to that). Here are the details regarding the stretch goals:
Stretch Goals:
Stretch Goal: BOOKMARKS! At $12,500, every backer pledged at $15 or more will receive a free promotional bookmark for both ALIEN ARTIFACTS and WERE-.
Stretch Goal: At $15,000, all authors will be paid an additional 1 cent/word AND every backer pledged at $6 or more will receive a FREE ebook short story "In the Dying Light" by Danielle Ackley-McPhail.
Stretch Goal: At $17,500, we will add an additional story to each anthology using the submissions from the open call, so each anthology will feature 15 stories minimum, AND every backer pledged at $25 or more will receive a free wallet card stating they are an "Official ZNB Minion."
Stretch Goal: At $20,000, all authors will be paid an additional 1 cent/word AND every backer pledged at $35 or more will receive a special ebook (PDF) of ZNB's "Secret Guide to Surviving the Coming Zombie Apocalypse" written by Patricia Bray (and possibly Joshua Palmatier).
Stretch Goal: At $22,500, we will add an additional story to each anthology using the submissions from the open call, so each anthology will feature 16 stories minimum.
Stretch Goal: At $25,000, Zombies Need Brains LLC will produce a THIRD themed anthology, title to be announced as we approach the stretch goal AND all authors will be paid an additional 1 cent/word.
Other stretch goals will be added as the Kickstarter continues.
So mark your calendar for August 11th and be ready to pledge at Noon EST, once the Kickstarter goes live. The earlier we make our funding goal, the sooner we can get to work on achieving some of these stretch goals!
Once again, here's the cover flat for our upcoming second anthology release, TEMPORALLY OUT OF ORDER, available August 25th (available for preorder now on Kindle and Kobo):
In this post, I wanted to highlight some of the stretch goals, in case we reach our funding goal. Basically, these are bonuses if we manage to raise MORE than our funding goal, things like bookmarks, extra ebooks, extra pay for the authors, even extra stories for the anthology. In fact, if we manage to reach $25,000, Zombies Need Brains may be able to produce a THIRD anthology (to be announced if we manage to get close to that). Here are the details regarding the stretch goals:
Stretch Goals:
Stretch Goal: BOOKMARKS! At $12,500, every backer pledged at $15 or more will receive a free promotional bookmark for both ALIEN ARTIFACTS and WERE-.
Stretch Goal: At $15,000, all authors will be paid an additional 1 cent/word AND every backer pledged at $6 or more will receive a FREE ebook short story "In the Dying Light" by Danielle Ackley-McPhail.
Stretch Goal: At $17,500, we will add an additional story to each anthology using the submissions from the open call, so each anthology will feature 15 stories minimum, AND every backer pledged at $25 or more will receive a free wallet card stating they are an "Official ZNB Minion."
Stretch Goal: At $20,000, all authors will be paid an additional 1 cent/word AND every backer pledged at $35 or more will receive a special ebook (PDF) of ZNB's "Secret Guide to Surviving the Coming Zombie Apocalypse" written by Patricia Bray (and possibly Joshua Palmatier).
Stretch Goal: At $22,500, we will add an additional story to each anthology using the submissions from the open call, so each anthology will feature 16 stories minimum.
Stretch Goal: At $25,000, Zombies Need Brains LLC will produce a THIRD themed anthology, title to be announced as we approach the stretch goal AND all authors will be paid an additional 1 cent/word.
Other stretch goals will be added as the Kickstarter continues.
So mark your calendar for August 11th and be ready to pledge at Noon EST, once the Kickstarter goes live. The earlier we make our funding goal, the sooner we can get to work on achieving some of these stretch goals!
Once again, here's the cover flat for our upcoming second anthology release, TEMPORALLY OUT OF ORDER, available August 25th (available for preorder now on Kindle and Kobo):
Convention: Shore Leave!
I and Zombies Need Brains will be attending Shore Leave, a convention being held in Hunt Valley, MD, this weekend, August 7-9th! Once again, I'll have a table in the dealers room. Here are the dealers room hours and the panels and events that I'll be attending. If you're in the area, come join us at the convention! If you're at the convention, catch me on these panels or find me in the dealers room and say hi!
Dealers Room Hours:
Friday: 2-8pm
Saturday: 10-7pm
Sunday: 10-4pm
My Schedule:
Friday, 4pm: Writing Groups and Beta Readers
Friday, 6pm: Why We Write SF&F
Friday, 10-12midnight: Meet the Pros/Autographing
Saturday, 9am: Star Trek Club Meeting
Saturday, 11am: Writing Tips for Aspiring Writers
Saturday, 1pm: Show Me the Money! (Crowdfunding)
Sunday, 1pm: Writing and Publishing Short Stories
Sunday, 2pm: Switching It Up: Writing in Different Genres
Sunday, 3pm: Writing the Next Book: Sequels and Sophomore Books
And those are the planned shenanigans. I'm certain there will be plenty of unplanned shenanigans as well. *grin* I'm hoping to do fairly well with the ZNB booth this con, since there are a ton of people. I expect to be selling more t-shirts, caps, and totes, as well as perhaps some of the art prints--more so than books--but we'll see. In any case, don't forget that Shattering the Ley is now out in paperback! Check your local Barnes & Noble (which appears to have put 2 copies in every store) and pick up a copy for yourself and one for a friend!
Dealers Room Hours:
Friday: 2-8pm
Saturday: 10-7pm
Sunday: 10-4pm
My Schedule:
Friday, 4pm: Writing Groups and Beta Readers
Friday, 6pm: Why We Write SF&F
Friday, 10-12midnight: Meet the Pros/Autographing
Saturday, 9am: Star Trek Club Meeting
Saturday, 11am: Writing Tips for Aspiring Writers
Saturday, 1pm: Show Me the Money! (Crowdfunding)
Sunday, 1pm: Writing and Publishing Short Stories
Sunday, 2pm: Switching It Up: Writing in Different Genres
Sunday, 3pm: Writing the Next Book: Sequels and Sophomore Books
And those are the planned shenanigans. I'm certain there will be plenty of unplanned shenanigans as well. *grin* I'm hoping to do fairly well with the ZNB booth this con, since there are a ton of people. I expect to be selling more t-shirts, caps, and totes, as well as perhaps some of the art prints--more so than books--but we'll see. In any case, don't forget that Shattering the Ley is now out in paperback! Check your local Barnes & Noble (which appears to have put 2 copies in every store) and pick up a copy for yourself and one for a friend!
