Silly Headlines

There are many story-starters. Even standing in the line at the grocery store.

Ventriloquist is in coma — but his dummy’s still talking!

Girl Frozen in Ice in 1939 Alive!

Britney stole my body! Shocking phots of the “real” pop star inside

3 Die in rampage of Killer Sheep

Bat boy foils Nuclear Bomb plot

Phone Psychic’s head explodes

Robot Priests — Pope’s Secret Plan to stop sex scandals

I keep mom’s ashes in the vacuum cleaner

Amelia Earhart’s Plane Lands — with skeleton at the controls

Wife Sells Hubby’s Body Parts on Internet

Al Queda Breeding Killer Mosquitoes

3000 Year Old Mummy Pregnant — Janitor admits, “I’m the father”

Iraqi Sub Prowling Lake Michigan

Three New Commandments Found

Saddam Challenges Bush to a Duel

Jap Sub still fighting WWII

Duck Hunters shot Angel!

Saddam Feeds Christians to Lions!

Viking frozen in block of ice

Merman caught in South Pacific

Saddam Hussein’s chemical weapons found in Cuba!

3000 year old priestess revived in Libya

Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction — Killer Dinosaurs!

Actual headlines from the tabloids

The Fairy Lore of Ghost Horse Hollow – Book Trailer of the Day

Part I of the First Triad of The Holly King, The Fairy Lore of Ghost Horse Hollow. A bit of a mouthful, but epcis often are. It has fairies and it has horses, what more da’ya want? Self-published through Trafford by Anne Severn Williamson. If that makes you nervous, check it out on Google, and you will see that it is not only an intriguing, well-written tale but marvelously illustrated.

Backlist Stories, New Anthology

To my surprise, I have a backlist.

Some writers shed short stories the way long-haired cats shed fur. I am not one of them. I am more like one of those freaky-looking skin-only cats. Novels are my preferred length.

Let’s face it, though, it takes less time to write a short, and it is also easier to get it published. (Though harder, I think, to earn any money on it.) So, somehow or other, I have rubbed a handful of stories off on the couch pillows. It’s come to my belated attention that a number of these are now — well, “out of print” doesn’t describe it, because most of them were published online — out of circulation. A bunch of these are flash fiction, a few are longer.

So I have two or three dozen stories hanging around. In some cases, the rights have reverted back to me. Others, I wrote as entries for my blog. A few I meant to shop around, but after the obligatory reject from Azimov’s and Fantasy Magazine, put them back on the shelf and concentrated on my novels, which are my real love.

Let me get to the point. I’m thinking of taking a handful of these stories and publishing them as an anthology through Amazon’s Create Space program. I’m curious to know how it works, how difficult it is to use, and whether it is a possible venue for my novels. Yes, I admit, Michelle Davidson Argyle has inspired me! Before I take that step, however, I want to make sure I know what I am doing. Starting with a short story anthology could be fun.

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As I think about these questions, I’m finding Jamie DeBree’s advice on self-publishing helpful. Hat tip to Michelle for leading me to the link.

Fallen – Book Trailer of the Day

This one is good, but…

This one is AWESOME.

And here’s the music. Just for the hell of it, ’cause I love that song.

A Writer Defects

Seth Godin “defects” from traditional publishing. Ouch!

In a significant defection for the book industry, best-selling marketing author Seth Godin is ditching his traditional publisher, Portfolio, after a string of books and plans to sell his future works directly to his fans.

The author of about a dozen books including “Purple Cow” said he now has so many direct customer relationships, largely via his blog, that he no longer needs a traditional publisher. Mr. Godin plans to release subsequent titles himself in electronic books, via print-on-demand or in such formats as audiobooks, apps, small digital files called PDFs and podcasts.

…One of his many concerns about the current publishing market is that the process often takes 12 months or more to get a new title into the hands of his readers.

…Mr. Godin said he would hire a top-quality editor and someone to format the work for electronic distribution. “After those fixed costs, your idea is packaged as you want, and it can then be put on sale next to other potential best-sellers on Amazon and elsewhere,” he said. “The business race is on to have the relationship with the reader.”

Godin also said that the main people who need publishers are writers who don’t know who their audience is yet, or who need a platform to connect with their readers.

Notice the paradox? The publishers are turning away more midlist authors who have no platform, and banking on big names to keep them afloat. But it is really only the midlist authors with no platform who need publishers.

And Falling Fly – Book Trailer of the Day

Here’s a trailer that works entirely on the strength of just three things: the title, the artwork and the song.

The title and the artwork are already there, in the book. And that goes to show you the incredible importance of beautiful art and an awesome title. And falling, fly. Man. I love that.

The song fits just perfectly.

The book trailer tells us very little about the book or the plot or any of that stuff, but it conveys a mood, and I think that’s enough to intrigue. Anyway, it worked on me. Check out Skyler White, her website, and the sequel.

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Do you have or know of a breathtaking book trailer? Let me know!