Ending the Hiatus

Yesterday and today I'm working on a new issue of The Scriptorium. It's been "on hiatus" (read, "on my list of things I just couldn't get to") since the November issue. Not really surprising, but I could do better with a little planning. Planning...now that's another whole post.

At any rate, I'm trying out a couple of new ideas to freshen things up, which you really have to do with something that's been going on for eleven years now (!). I'm introducing a new networking option for readers (since our old message board has pretty much died), and working out the details for a new page I'd like to add, featuring some kind of blog feed from writers who blog regularly about writing. I haven't quite figured out the best way to do that yet, so it might have to wait until the March issue.

I'm also losing my columnist, Sue Lick, which is very sad for me. Sue has been a faithful contributor for several years, but she has to turn to other things in her life right now. I'll miss her "Everything But Writing" columns.

But, onward and upward! Time to see if I can get it online today.

I did it!

Whew! I met my deadline of finishing the edit of The Seventh Crow by the end of the month, and entering it in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award competition. I feel great!

My purpose in taking on this challenge was a dual one. Of course, I'd love to win--a nice publishing contract from Penguin! But I'm fully cognizant that I may be eliminated along the way. That will be okay, because my second purpose was to have another novel manuscript submission-ready--and now I have that!

Over the next week I'll be doing some market research and deciding where I'll submit the novel if the competition doesn't work out. And then I'm going to relax for a few days!!

Domino Effect

Ever notice how sitting down at the computer to do what you expect will be a relatively easy task so easily dominoes into a huge, time-devouring project? That's the kind of day I'm having.

I decided that, of the many projects on my list, today I would work toward getting electronic versions of my stories for sale on my website. I've already made PDF files and cover images for the ones I'm starting with. While I spent some time looking at the ZenCart system in the fall, I decided it's a bit more complicated than I need right now--a page on my site, some PayPal buttons, and download pages are really all I need for now. Should be do-able, right?

I started setting up the page, uploaded my graphics files to Photobucket, and started in on the first ebook. Hmmm, I thought, I should make it available in more formats. Easy enough. I have both Mobipocket Creator and Microsoft Reader on my computer. That would give me three formats, which looks pretty reasonable.

Well, seems that the Microsoft Reader add-in for MS Word (to convert .doc files to Reader files) no longer works with Word 2007. Kind of a big oversight there, for the folks at MS Reader. Some time eaten up trying to determine whether I still have Word 2003 installed on one of the computers in the house. Oh yes, I do. However, for some reason, the add-in doesn't recognize it. Sigh. Okay, time wasted, forget offering the files in MS Reader format. Grrr.

Mobipocket Creator--great, easy graphical interface. Wait a second, only opens MS Word files. Okay, load up a story and transfer it into Word, save it. Make the e-book, easy as pie. Wait, the formatting is no good. Back to Word, change the layout. Make ebook again. Better, but not great. Ah, this should look better. Well, it would, but Mobipocket doesn't translate it the same onto the page. Off to the Mobipocket page...huh, there's a different edition that will import .pdf files--which I already have. Download, install.

I'm about to try that. That's where I am, after about four hours. Sigh. Cross your fingers for me. Right now, it looks like I could be at this all night.

Book Launches

The past year+ has been busy for me with the task of co-editing an anthology of speculative fiction from regional authors. We received, read, commented on, accepted, rejected and edited stories, dealt with the jobs of deciding on a print/sales venue, book design, typesetting, cover art, back blurb--it's a lot of work to make a book!

I've decided that all that went before was basically a cakewalk compared to the job of organizing a book launch. Venue considerations, refreshments, arranging readings, arranging inventory and sales details, invitations, press releases, posters, flyers, promotional copies, review copies--wow. I have to have lists to keep track of my lists. ;)