Barbara G. Tarn's Blog, page 127
August 8, 2014
Random Friday
So, I’m reading a book. Yeah, I know, duh. Except it’s a printed book. Small fonts. I’m thinking of requesting the e-book version to the author. And I look forward to get back to my Kindle.
It’s something I’ve seen with magazines as well. I still buy two monthly mags (one is a movie mag, the other has comics and other stuff) and especially the movie mag sometimes writes too small, or color on color and it becomes unreadable for me. I’m short-sighted, but obviously not only that. So probably I’ll stop buying paper reads soon.
Happened with a Lupo Alberto comic as well – it was printed in a pocket edition and felt often unreadable. So even comics… maybe when I’ll do the complete edition of SKYBAND, I’ll do it on A4 instead of A5 – for my own good, mostly! ;)
Even the Loncon program. I printed out Thursday, just in case I don’t reach registration on time Wednesday night and have to get my badge and program Thursday morning, but boy, was it hard to read… Mostly I read the title of the panel! I’ll have to buy a magnifying glass sometime… sigh! :(
Anyhow – my failing eyes are a reason to stop drawing comics and graphic novels. I can still do the occasional illustration or portrait, but another saga… no. I’m paining enough with SKYBAND already. Still inking that chapter 14, in case you were wondering. And coloring with Photoshop will be even worse, I’m afraid.
So there – here’s to the Kindle. Maybe eventually I’ll start using its text-to-speech feature or will start buying audio books. At the moment I hate them – can’t concentrate on listening, so… why bother? I’d rather listen to music, you know? So we’ll see… And I will certainly skip my bookshop sprees – unless I’m looking for some non-fiction. Those books are better printed (as well as artbooks and comics – I have no more room on my shelves, ARGH!).
That’s all for today! Have a great weekend! ;)
August 6, 2014
Writer Wednesday
New month, new author of the month on the Smashwords Authors Goodreads group (although the widget down the sidebar still shows the old one). Come and meet Laurel, who might soon show up or send one of her characters on this blog. She writes historical fiction, so it’s a nice change! :)
I’ve also joined a group of beta-readers, since I’ve run out again. I still have the two most faithful, but they like different kinds of stories, and I’d rather hear from more voices what’s good and what’s not. Hope to find another Bookwatcher! :)
Smashwords made a blog post on how to do box sets or book bundles… I already have my own bundle out for a few more weeks, but maybe I can set up a group bundle with other authors. Although I’d have no idea which charity to pick. And there’s already Wyrd Worlds 2 coming out in September, which will be free – looking forward to that, even if I’ve beta-read only one story or two! :)
DISCLAIMER: I haven’t read this book, and I already have an ITIN. But if you’re not American and want to self-publish here’s how to get an EIN number. I don’t know if the book is actually useful, since, like I said, I don’t need it. After one year of attempts by snail mail, I flew to London, went to the American Embassy there and got a permanent ITIN in a month and a half – when even calling the IRS from Long Island had failed. So I hope this book helps whoever still needs one. Again, I’m NOT affiliated with the author and I haven’t read the book.
If you’re just starting, you can try the Liliana Nirvana as explained by Hugh Howey. For me it’s a little too late with 80 titles already out, but if you’re just starting, you might want to give it a try. It might work, or not – I think it also depends on the genre – but it’s worth a try. I know it’s exciting to hit that “publish” button, but if you do it with a little insight and a business plan, you’ll probably succeed better than me! ;)
And if you’re already established, Joe Konrath’s dream of selling direct to library is in beta!
However, we’re currently only taking requests if you’ve sold more than 1000 ebooks and have gotten more than 100 reviews on your backlist. Even if you meet that criteria, we’re currently taking a limited amount of authors. eBooksAreForever will always reserve the right to make all final decisions on the books we offer to libraries.
Since I’m not that successful yet, I’ll just wait and see. Maybe sometime in the future I’ll be able to join too! :D And if you’re a Smashwords author in the Seattle area, you might want to try this contest and get into your public library… Good luck!
While I wait for the editor to go through the body switch, I’m mulling another B.G. Hope’s story, but I don’t know when I’ll know enough about the characters to start writing it. Probably next year. It will go nicely with Six Months and Choices, hopefully! ;) I’m also thinking of dropping that pen name… all pen names… and keep just this one. But maybe I’m not in the right mood to decide yet.
Have a great week!
August 3, 2014
Happiness is…
oooh, I might go there again soon… :D
Sunday Surprise
Anyone noticed I missed a post? Yes? No? I meant to do a Saturday post, but yesterday I was down again, so I couldn’t find anything interesting enough to rant about. So I’m improvising today – hopefully making some kind of sense.
There’s an ongoing thunderstorm, which means the summer is still much cooler than usual. So I shouldn’t complain – I usually hybernate when it’s very hot, but it’s not hot this year. It’s a weird weather, though, and that probably upset my body a little.
Or maybe it’s my soul gearing me for Loncon, who knows. Even got an email that my flight was rescheduled 5 days earlier – tomorrow I’ll have to go to the trael agent to ask what’s going on. Meh.
I’ve stopped drawing again to keep my mind busy with translation and reading a book on self-healing. It’s in Italian, so I won’t really review it here! ;) Hopefully this afternoon Techie Bro will bring Dear Nephew for a couple of hours, then I’ll see him in September when he’s back to school.
I’ve sent out a few forms for writers’ questions and characters interview, so hopefully you’ll soon see guests here – and I might be a guest myself on some other blog. Now I better go back to work – finish translating Saif’s Legacy so I can start working on Hakeem’s Rival… Have a great Sunday! :D
July 30, 2014
Writer Wednesday
So-o, trudging through this weird summer, had a wonderfully creative weekend – not because I did a lot, but because Cristina came to work at my place (see what she’s working on?) and I could feel the creative energy flooding between the two of us. I finished a translation and inked a few pages of SKYBAND – and then it was Monday and the nausea was back. Meh.
Anyhow, saw the doctor, grabbed a med and went back to work. Started translating Saif’s Legacy, so I’ll be done when I leave for London and will be ready to start on Hakeem’s Rival, although probably neither this nor Kilig’s Heart will come out before October. But then, I need to send them out to Dear Beta who sometimes gets lost in life rolls… ;)
And then I’m thinking about creating that mailing list, but I’m not sure which novella I could offer as exclusive to new subscriber – something that won’t be published, so it might be something I still need to write. I’ve read a few more tips here, since even with NoiseTrade things are not going that well. Maybe offering a freebie will work?
Who knows. See this discussion on Goodreads about free and cheap books… in the meantime, I might upload another title on NoiseTrade, taking down the one that has been there for longer… I still don’t know how long I should leave them there sort-of free (tip is welcome, but not mandatory on NoiseTrade…).
Writerly links: how authors are not united – and if you’d like to see how those talkative best sellers see us (or even mid-list trad pubbed writers), go check Joe Konrath’s blog. Personally, I’m sick of the Amazon/Hachette diatribe and won’t sign any petition. And since I don’t read the best-sellers who are so loud online, they won’t miss me anyway. I only hope that wannabe writers don’t follow them as gospel.
Last link: The CMO guide to the 2014 social landscape. Feel free to follow or ignore its suggestions – I’ll stick to what I have! :) Have a great week!
EDIT to add a link that arrived later: 8 ways for self-published authors to rise above their fear of metadata. Will have to print and study! :)
July 27, 2014
Sunday Surprise
Five novels at the very discounted price of 2,99$ only for Kindle, Nook, i-Pad and Kobo e-reader! Only until Aug.30.
Welcome to Silvery Earth. Winged beings, water people, shape-shifting dragons and Immortals mingle with Humans as they try to find their place in the world and someone to love.
The five books of the Immortals in one box set for a limited time only. Five centuries of history of Silvery Earth, from the southern kingdoms inspired by India and Persia to the new kingdoms after the fall of the Varian Empire.
Books of the Immortals – Air
Winged Jesminder, a Sila, searches for her Destiny (aka love) as her Human friend, Sarita the sculptor, does the same. Meanwhile Takeshi the soldier flees his country for a murder he doesn’t remember committing. As Takeshi looks for his past, Kumar the adventurer runs away from his –from and his wife, Princess Indira, who he rescued from an evil fate only for money. Their paths converge, leading them to the final confrontation with the Black Dame, High Priestess of the Sect. Winged beings, water people, shape-shifting dragons and the Immortal, Air, which likes to meddle in Human affairs for its own reasons, come together in a story of bitterness and love, darkness and light.
Books of the Immortals – Fire
A half-blood warrior fails to prevent an ambush. Hit by an enemy spell, he sleeps for a century. He wakes up in a future where he doesn’t belong.
He made a mistake. Now he must find a way to undo history to fix it.
Books of the Immortals – Water
Kiss a goddess. Become invulnerable to everything.
Love.
Feelings.
Even death.
Can you ever feel human again?
Books of the Immortals – Ether
Healer. Magic user. Victim. A natural non-human magic user against a minion of a Pond of Dark Magic.
The struggle for power between Humans and Genn is only at the beginning.
Books of the Immortals – Earth
500 years later – has the magic all vanished?
In the last Book of the Immortals the Magical Races are gone. Can Humans deal with the loss?
An actress turned journalist. The legitimized bastard son of a nobleman. A mercenary turned police woman. A runaway prince turned courtesan. Outsiders and witnesses of a hot summer of mysterious royal murders.
Silvery Earth faces its future without magic.
Bundle at the very discounted price of 2,99$ only for Kindle, Nook, i-Pad and Kobo e-reader! Only until Aug.30. The above links are to the US stores, if the retailer has a store in your country, please follow the link anyway and change the country accordingly.
July 25, 2014
Random Friday
So, this was the week of morning nausea (and no, I’m not pregnant, it’s either the summer/winter and temperature excursion, low blood pressure, a virus or a womanly thing) and headaches, therefore I couldn’t do much. Thus I don’t have much to say today. I hope next week I’ll feel better or I won’t be able to attend the writers group meeting – and I really need their comments on a couple of stories I want to submit by the end of the month.
This weekend I’ll have my cover artist coming over, so I’ll let her go through the pencils of S.K.Y.B.A.N.D., since – like in #12 – I have a couple of pages with naked people in it, so I’ll need her expertise! ;)
I’m thinking about a new story – I have a vague idea of the characters, but I’m not sure what’s going to happen to them, so if my brain doesn’t turn completely to jelly, maybe by Loncon I’ll have at least jotted down an outline and decided when it’s set in the long history of Silvery Earth. I have considered doing another graphic novel, but considering how long it’s taking me to finish S.K.Y.B.A.N.D., my failing eyes and the fact that I couldn’t even set up the idea I got last year or earlier, it’s probably going to be a prose story – it has more chances of seing the light! :D
If I stick to what I have now, it will be further in the past of Silvery Earth, before the stories that came out so far – and I will also rewrite in prose the old graphic novels that are so badly drawn that they better stay in their folders forever. Sorry, only a few lucky people can say they own the paper zines I did in the 1990s. Unless I gather fans at the Loncon panel and start selling my graphic novels, that is (although I’ll probably do also the prose version anyway)!
Have a great weekend!
July 23, 2014
Writer Wednesday
New title out! More Tales of the Southern Kingdoms is now live on Kobo, Kindle, DriveThruFiction, Smashwords, Barnes&Noble and Apple! A collections of stories of the Southern Kingdoms, including Amrendra and the Hooded Man. If you haven’t checked the single novellas, go get the anthology now!
By the way, for the final weeks of the Smashwords sale, I enrolled even the previous two titles – 50% off, like the rest. So the latest upload is the only one at full price! :) The sale is ending soon, so hurry! Get that honorable mention novella for 1,50$ NOW! ;)
I’m almost done with the S.K.Y.B.A.N.D. pencils, but then I’ll need to ink and then to color and then to letter and then the summer will be over before I know it, also because I’ll be away for a week and I don’t intend to take the drawing stuff with me. I’ll be writing then – Hakeem’s Rival probably, part 3 of the Assassins’ Guild story. So #14 won’t be ready for Loncon, even if it would be a good timing. But since I don’t do the print version of single issues anymore, it’s not that bad after all! :D
And my final schedule for Loncon is as follow:
Old New Classics: The Off-Beat and Indie Comics of YoreSaturday 13:30 – 15:00, Capital Suite 14 (ExCeL)
When people discuss the Golden Age and Silver Age of Comics the conversation is often dominated by the emergence of the superhero in both DC and Marvel. However, from its inception comics were always a fertile breeding ground for fun, weird, and alternative stories.
What influential, under-appreciated comics from the past deserve a higher profile today? What kind of comics would people like to see more of now, that were plentiful in the past?
Are we more progressive in comics today, or re-learning to embrace the medium?with Scott Edelman, Smuzz, Allan J. Sim, Peter Sutton, Barbara G.Tarn
If you happen to be there, please show up and then we can have a coffee together! ;)
This week’s buzz is, of course, Kindle Unlimited. In case you’ve been living under a rock, I’ve gathered a few links for you: Lucky Bat Books, Scott William Carter, Hugh Howey, David Gaughran, Smashwords… and I’m sure you can find tonz more. Enough for an informed decision.
The other “controversy” is the numbers shared by AuthorsEarnings.com. What about those numbers? The Guardian wrote about it, and Joe Konrath and Barry Eisler had to comment… Or, like PG says “since nobody on the tradpub side seems to act like a rational adult when discussions of self-publishing and Amazon occur, we’re unlikely to be able to schedule an adult debate any time soon.”
Anyhow, welcome to the new and changing landscape of publishing. If you need help to cope, here’s a post for you. And like Jeff Bezos says “Your fear is my opportunity” (read the rest on Hugh Howey’s blog)… Have a great week!
