Alan Baxter's Blog, page 134
June 25, 2009
The power of blogging and social media
I often wonder just how much all my online effort pays off. On the one hand, I see the hits this site gets (over 5,000 a month) and, even though people seem reluctant to comment much, it’s a very well-traversed corner of the interwebz. And I like it here, so I plan to stick around. I’m also very well aware of the need to build a profile online, a platform to make people aware of the fact that I’m a writer and that I have great books that are worth their time and money. I also have other fiction
June 23, 2009
New short story published at The Oddville Press
I’m very pleased to announce that another piece of my short fiction has been published out there in the real world. This particular story is a whimsically existential idea called Crossfire, published by The Oddville Press. Who are they? According to them:
The Oddville Press is a downloadable electronic non-profit magazine in PDF format dedicated to bringing high quality Fiction, Poetry and Artwork to the forefront.
It’s staffed by committed volunteers with high standards of excellence whose missio
Ten year 10 book one million quid deal
No, sadly not for me. But whoever said that traditional publishing is dead had better think again. I’ve said myself that traditional publishing is dying. The whole nature of publishing is changing, and changing rapidly. But here’s proof that the old models aren’t going anywhere any time soon.
I’ve picked up this news via S F Signal and Locus and the main story is being reported in The Guardian in the UK. Science fiction author Alistair Reynolds has landed a deal with Orion imprint Gollancz for te
June 22, 2009
Self-Publishing Book Expo 2009
For all you US based indies out there, take a look at this.
The first Self-Publishing Book Expo is in New York on November 7th 2009. There are all kinds of things going on, incluing panels like Understanding Distribution, The Rise of eBooks, Buzz Your Book and more to be announced. There are loads of exhibitors already listed. The event has already been generating some press, so it looks like it would be worth getting in on this is you can.
Check out the website and see what you think. If you do g
SF/F Writers’ Day 2009
So, for those of you with a fairly short memory, I mentioned back on June 9th that there was a new day to celebrate. It’s Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers’ Day, and it’s today – June 23rd. This post may be dated June 22nd, but that’s what you get when you live Down Under – thanks to the international date line we get things almost a full day sooner than the US. Trust me, it’s the 23rd here.
The idea of the day is:
A day of celebration and wonder! A day for all of us readers of science fiction and
June 19, 2009
Automatically update your Facebook page with your blog entries
I found this article over at Publetariat today and thought it was a bloody useful snippet of information. It basically describes how to connect your blog feed to your Facebook page using the Notes application. Once you’ve set it up, any new post to your blog will get found by Facebook and automatically posted to your profile as a note.
I’ve just set it up and hopefully this very post will soon appear on my Facebook profile. It’s a great way to keep your various online presences linked using your
RealmShift for $1 at Smashwords
Just a quick reminder that as part of my first post over at PubRen I made special offer on the ebook edition of RealmShift over at Smashwords. Until June 29th you can get RealmShift in a variety of ebook formats (including Kindle-friendly .mobi) for just US$1.
Go to the RealmShift page at Smashwords, click through to buy the book and in the checkout section it will ask if you have any coupons – use the code TM99X and the purchase price will reduce to US$1. Tell your friends, spread the word, read
June 16, 2009
Great tips to get indie books into bookstores
I came across this post recently at the Publishers Weekly website.
It’s written by a lady that owns an independent bookstore and she talks about all the Dos and Don’ts with regard to getting your indie or self-published book into independent brick and mortar bookstores. She gives great advice, so pay close attention.
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Editor Unleashed Flash Fiction 40 – I need some help
Editor Unleashed is a great website run by Maria Schneider, a freelance writer and the former editor-in-chief of Writer’s Digest magazine. She recently teamed up with Next Chapter Communications and my favourite ebook site, Smashwords, to bring us a writing competition. The idea is simple, yet excellent.
On the Editor Unleashed forums Maria set up a contest where people could post flash fiction entries of no more than 1,000 words. At the end of each day the topics were locked so no more edits cou
June 15, 2009
This is a little too true
My wife would be the first to nod knowingly when I say this, but today’s strip from XKCD seems to be written about me:
*sigh*
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