Unearthly Tales

Writer's Digest International Self-Published Book Awards

Mon, 8 Mar 2010 20:13:18 -0500

Last year I submitted Island of Fog to the Writer's Digest International Self-Published Book Awards. There was a bit of confusion with the post-mark deadline as the website said one thing and the confirmation email said another; there was a day's difference between them. This wouldn't matter except that I found out too late about the competition and posted ON the later of the two deadlines -- so I was never sure if I had made it on time or not.

After I had submitted my novel, I wrote to ask Writer's Digest about the deadline. I received no reply whatsoever. On their website they stated that applicants would find out the results around October 2009. I heard nothing, so assumed I had missed the deadline after all.

Then, a couple of weeks ago, the 2010 competition was officially opened to applicants. I considered trying again, but thought I'd wait a bit first.

Today, on March 8th, I received a letter from Writer's Digest -- notification of how I fared in the 2009 competition. So I had made the deadline after all! But here they are, extremely late in the day, letting me know how I did after the 2010 competition has already got under way. This seems disorganized and generally unprofessional to me, but hey, at least I know for sure one way or another.

So how did Island of Fog fare? Well, I didn't win! If I had, I assume they would have told me a little earlier (although I'm not 100% certain of that). Here's what they said in their covering letter:

Thank you for participating in the 17th (2009) Annual Writer's Digest International Self-Publishing Book Awards. Unfortunately, your book, Island of Fog, was not among the winners. Competition was particularly fierce this year and we could only award one grand prize and ten category prizes...

There's more, but nothing worth repeating here. There was also a "judge's commentary" attached:

Author: Keith Robinson
Title: Island of Fog
Category: Middle Grade / Young Adult
Judge: 3

On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 meaning "poor" and 5 meaning "excellent," please evaluate the following:

Plot: 5
Grammar: 5
Character development: 4
Cover design: 4

Judge's commentary:

What did you like best about this book?
This was a well written sci-fi novel. I liked the idea behind the story. Mr. Robinson had created a situation, characters and a place that work. There is that "it could happen" quality that you find in Dean Koontz novels. The dialogue feels like real kids talking. The suspense works and doesn't frustrate the reader. It makes you want to read the next installment!

How can the author improve this book?
I don't think Mr. Robinson needs to change a thing!

Heh. This is a positive summary, so I'm not put out or anything. I'm still a little disgruntled, but my gruntles come from the way the competition seems so mismanaged. I would have had better gruntles if I had received this summary last October when they initially said it would be due. Oh well!

Meanwhile, I'm waiting patiently (or impatiently) for the results of the next round of Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award winners. March 23rd is still a long way away...

Letters from Jones Dairy Elementary School

Tue, 2 Mar 2010 23:01:44 -0500

This week I received a nice thick package from Brian Clopper, a fifth grade teacher at Jones Dairy Elementary School in Wake Forest, North Carolina. Since he's a teacher, and this post is about his 11-year-old students, I'll refer to him as Mr. Clopper! Anyway, Mr. Clopper has been reading Island of Fog to his class, and the package he sent contained twenty letters (handwritten in pencil) from his students, along with various sketches of creatures from the book.

I've had plenty of reviews about the book, some from middle graders and teens, and many from older readers, but this package of letters from a class of 11-year-olds is by far the best feedback I've had to date. The general consensus is that there's one particular scene that drags a little, but I also know which other scenes are hot favorites, and which creatures are the most popular. One classmate suggested that a scene near the end (involving the parents) was "gruesome," although another liked the way it played out. Miss Simone needs to be nicer and sweeter to the children, and there needs to be more action with the manticore. Favorite characters include Hal, Abigail and Robbie, while Thomas is the creepiest.

But it's best to let you read the words of the fifth graders. I've put together a page containing all the letters, faithfully reproduced without changing anything except where I needed to remove a name. The drawings are brilliant, and I've included these too. Be warned, though -- for those who haven't read the book, you might want to look at these letters with one eye closed and the other squinted to avoid spoilers. See the link at the foot of this post. I'll also be writing directly to the class to answer their questions. I wish I could go visit, but it's an eight hour journey!

As for Mr. Brian Clopper, he's not just a teacher but a writer as well. He kindly sent me a couple of his own self-published works, one being a short Birthday Comic Book Card featuring Marvin the Dragon, and the other a compact 100-page short novel entitled Graham the Gargoyle, complete with superb illustrations by Brian himself -- a man of many talents!

Oddly enough, when I opened the package and the contents fell out, the title Graham the Gargoyle struck me as familiar. For a second I thought Piers Anthony had written about such a character. Then Brian mentioned that he'd been a fan of Piers Anthony while growing up, and when he wrote Graham the Gargoyle he sent the book to Piers in the hope that the author would review it. He did, and favorably so, saying:

"[Graham the Gargoyle is] for young readers, as the little gargoyle struggles through family, school, and tormenting by the local bully to finally win through. I recommend this for ten year olds, who will relate." (April 2001 newsletter)

This was back in 2001, so I'm not sure why I remember the title. Maybe I just think I do. But anyway, Brian has been visiting Piers Anthony's website every month ever since, and this is how he came across my novel, Island of Fog -- because of Piers' review in his July 2009 newsletter. Brian was curious and bought my book via Amazon, and liked it enough that he wanted to read it to his class. He's currently reading Labyrinth of Fire at home and plans to read that to the class as well. He clearly has great taste! :-)

Brian is also writing a new novel about a character named Irving Wishbutton. I love the concept of this, although I'd better not repeat it here for fear of someone else borrowing the idea. The manuscript is written, and Brian plans to start submitting to agents in April. I've read the portion he sent me, and am inspired. I had already planned to write something new after the third "Fog" book, but haven't quite figured out what yet -- but it will be good to start with a clean slate and do something new. (I do plan to write more "Fog" books as well, though, probably in 2011.)

It's been a great week. Selling books is one thing, but having a copy read to an enthralled class... well, it's a far nicer feeling than earning a few bucks here and there!

Ready to read the letters? Okay, let's go: Letters from Jones Dairy Elementary School

ABNA first round winning pitch

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 11:03:55 -0500

The first round winners were announced yesterday for ABNA, the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award... and Island of Fog is one of them! :-)

To recap, there are two categories: General Fiction and Young Adult Fiction, initially with around 5000 entries in each. These have now been whittled down to 1000 entries in each. I'm in the Young Adult category. If you're interested you can find out more about the competition, read the rules, keys dates, and read the entire list of first round winners on Amazon's ABNA page. The next round of winners -- 500 in each category -- will be based on the supplied excerpt, which is the first 3000-5000 words of the novel. In my case I supplied the short prologue and first chapter, which is slightly over 4000 words in total. (You can read this on my Island of Fog book page if you're interested.)

In a previous post I asked for opinions about my pitch, and based on those opinions I was able to move things around a little and improve it. Here's the final version:

A lonely, foggy island is home to eight families. Twelve-year-old Hal and his friends have always wondered what happened all those years ago on the mainland, that unseen place Out There beyond the fog, and after an astonishing discovery in the woods the children are more determined than ever to find out what their parents are hiding. But their lives are turned upside down when Abigail reveals her closely guarded secret. According to her, the children are slowly changing into monsters! Are they freaks of nature, or subjects of a sinister experiment?

Each child reacts differently to his or her unique monstrous transformation; after all, one may feel proud to be a dragon, faerie, or centaur, but who in their right mind wants to be a sadistic manticore or cowardly harpy?

ISLAND OF FOG is a story of intrigue and conspiracy. The reader follows Hal Franklin as he struggles to accept that he and his friends are something more than ordinary children, and that their parents have been covering up the truth the whole time. With their trust shaken and the unexpected arrival of a strange woman from Out There, the children hide their frightening shapeshifting abilities and pretend nothing is wrong.

Written by a die-hard reader and collector of children's mystery, adventure and fantasy novels, ISLAND OF FOG is a 95,000 word novel with strong series potential, aimed at young readers but suitable for all ages.

The first round (based on the pitch) is in some ways more difficult than the second round (based on an excerpt of the novel). With a 300-word pitch you can spend days and weeks polishing it, and because it's so short you can ask friends and colleagues to look at it and see if it works. You can hone it until it shines. That's all well and good, but would you lavish that much attention on a 50,000+ word novel? Heck, you can even ask a professional to write your pitch for you -- but that doesn't mean your manuscript is any good, or that your general grammar and style is readable, or that your story works as a whole -- it just means you have a well written pitch.

So in theory there could be thousands of entrants who really can't write at all and have no business entering. On the flip side you could have a New York Times-worthy bestselling novel, with a substandard pitch that is well written but says nothing about the story or otherwise misses the mark. So whether you're a good writer or not, it's all down to that first 300-word pitch. It's pretty brutal, and with a lot of competition.

But the next round is based on a 3000-5000 excerpt and is more likely to separate the wheat from the chaff. This round is based on actual talent and skill. The 500 who make it through to the third round will be writers who can write, and who have a novel that is going to appeal to the masses. I should think the judging will get a lot tougher then.

Will I make it through? Am I wheat... or chaff? Find out on March 23rd!

A third of the way through Mountain of Whispers

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 11:38:16 -0500

Time is marching on and I'm about a third of the way through the first draft of Mountain of Whispers. I'm still on schedule, but since I aim to finish by the end of March, I need to crack on instead of playing LEGO Indiana Jones and Star Wars on the Wii.

I added a Progressometer™ to the right hand side of the website, and if you're really interested you can view a little more detail here (scroll down past the teaser blurb). This is mostly for my own benefit; I find that a constant reminder of how I'm doing (or not) helps me move it along. And giving myself a deadline is essential! I'm aiming to launch around June, and there's a long way to go yet.

"So," I hear you ask, "if you're planning to finish the first draft by end-March, how come you won't be launching until June?"

During the first draft I just write and get the story down in the right order and with all the elements in place. During this process I tend to think of new ideas, or remember things I need to add, and I go back to add them in. So it's a fairly messy process. It's all about the getting the story down. As for the text itself, even though I use a spell-checker as I go (which means I spot typos instantly and correct them) I tend NOT to use a grammar checker (because grammar checkers are useless and annoying). So while my first draft may contain words that exist in the dictionary, I may have used the wrong variation of a word, or a word might be missing entirely. One mistake I made in my first draft of Labyrinth of Fire was to use the word reigns instead of reins -- very embarrassing, but luckily it was caught early on! But both words exist in the dictionary and so my simple spell-checker didn't have a problem.

When I reach the end of the draft, the next step is to go through the entire thing again. I read it on the computer because there's often a LOT to alter as I read, whether it's a typo or a badly constructed sentence or a repetitive use of words or whatever. Maybe I just decide that I need to have a little more description here or there... or something isn't clear when read with a fresh pair of eyes... or something just isn't flowing. Whatever it is, I'll correct it. So this second draft is a long process too, although not anywhere near as long as the first. Maybe a couple of weeks at most.

Then I print the manuscript onto paper. I only do this once, but it's necessary because reading something on paper somehow reveals many more typos and issues that weren't previously noticeable on a computer screen. I don't know why this is so, but most writers agree that text is better proofed when printed. I go through with a red pen and read the entire thing again, and then make all the alterations on the computer. By this time I'm pretty fed up with the book!

The next step is to send out the "final" manuscript to two or three educated, literate people willing to proofread it for me. This is not a read-through by people who just like to read; this is a read-through and proofread and overall critique. With Labyrinth of Fire I ended up removing an entire scene and rearranging another -- all for the better, but it was something I hadn't really thought to do until it was pointed out by my proofreaders. There was a myriad of other things too, too numerous to mention. But all in all, being proofed by at least two people is essential.

Once again I go through the manuscript making all the suggested corrections. By now I can't stand the book and just want to go bury my head in the sand. But finally I get to a point where I'm "finished" and I upload the files to CreateSpace and order myself a proof. Believe it or not, with Labyrinth of Fire I actually went through this proof book too -- yes, I read the entire novel AGAIN. And a good job too, because I found even more things to fix. It's hard to believe so many little bits can be missed four or five times, but it happens.

When the book is finally launched, guess what? Occasionally a sharp-eyed reader will spot something wrong. For all those who have Labyrinth of Fire, look on page 183 and you'll see that Blacknail drives them through a "never-ending plane of lush grass." Did I really say plane? Yikes! I meant plain of course. This has been corrected in my manuscript, so future editions (when I get new stock) will be just a teeny bit improved. There's another bit that was wrong too, a very minor continuity error; again, this has been fixed. And the other day someone spotted something in Island of Fog; Hal's dad was winding the clock and he said it was 7:30 AM. Yet Hal then had breakfast, went to fetch some water from the stream, and had an altercation with Fenton on the way to school... and still arrived at 8 AM. This seems a little tight, so I've altered the text so that Hal's dad says "It's just after seven."

Minor things, but worth fixing. And that's why, when the first draft is finished, it's going to take a further couple of months (at least) to get this book polished to where it's "finished."

New shipping rates

Tue, 9 Feb 2010 11:24:47 -0500

A while back I mentioned that I had subscribed to CreateSpace's expanded distribution channel, meaning that my books would be become more widely available. Well, after six or seven weeks, I've changed my mind and unsubscribed.

Being subscribed to the EDC in theory means that my books show up in the Ingram's database so that U.S. bookstores can order them as they order other books. But, as I've discovered, that doesn't mean to say that bookstores will order them. In fact, I've heard of bookstores refusing to order self-published books even when a customer specifically requests it; it's like they don't want to be anywhere near them. Well, I can understand that, I suppose, as there are many, many poorly written or produced books. But it means that being included in the Ingram's database is almost pointless.

The EDC also allows your books to show on Amazon outside the U.S. True enough, within weeks, both books showed up on Canada's Amazon as well as Amazon in France and other European countries. But the UK's Amazon is another story. This is the one I really wanted to show up on, but after six or seven weeks it still only lists my books via third party sellers at varying ridiculous prices, which is not ideal.

I've come to the conclusion that this expanded distribution thing is not all it's cracked up to be for self-published authors. Apart from a few sales on Amazon.com each month, all my sales are via my website, and these are books I personally sign and dispatch. And I prefer it that way. The only snag is that international shipping is expensive.

So, in an effort to make my books more accessible to those outside the U.S., I've decided to swallow more than half the international shipping cost. Previously I was charging $9.95, even though the actual shipping cost was $10.76 to send one book and $12.95 to send two. Now I've lowered my rates as follows:

$3.95 flat rate for one or more books delivered in the U.S.
$5.95 flat rate for one or more books delivered anywhere else in the world

If you haven't already, take advantage of me and buy one or both books here.

Manticores

Tue, 2 Feb 2010 17:45:46 -0500

Look, I can't help it -- I'm a fan of manticores. Most people like dragons, others like centaurs and faeries and griffins and what-have-you. But I was always a bit partial to manticores, and so I had to include one in my Island of Fog series.

Traditionally they are composite beasts with "a blood-colored lion's body, the face of a man with blue eyes, and a tail resembling the sting of a scorpion." They are powerful beasts that "can leap great distances." The manticore eats human flesh and devours the clothing too; it's said that no trace of a victim is ever found. Its voice is "a whistle that sounds like a melody from pipes." Some say it can "shoot spines from its tail."

I always laugh at early depictions of mythical creatures, because they always look more ridiculous than frightening. I think it's just the way people used to draw in the olden days. Modern illustrations are much better! Whether they're accurate or not depends on which version of the creature you prefer -- for instance, with or without wings.

According to a really ancient description: "It is said, that in India is a beast wonderly shapen, and is like to the bear in body and in hair, and to a man in face. And hath a right red head, and a full great mouth, and an horrible, and in either jaw three rows of teeth distinguished atween. The outer limbs thereof be as it were the outer limbs of a lion, and his tail is like to a wild scorpion, with a sting, and smiteth with hard bristle pricks as a wild swine, and hath an horrible voice, as the voice of a trumpet, and he runneth full swiftly, and eateth men. And among all beasts of the earth is none found more cruel, nor more wonderly shape, as Avicenna saith. And this beast is called Baricos in Greek."

The creature has a number of name variations including manticore and manticora (both common) as well as the older mantichora and mantikhoras. Basically it means "man-eater." Somewhere I read about the "man-tiger," which struck me as logical; after all, the beast is red-furred and savage like a lion, and "manticore" even sounds a little like "man-tiger." But whatever you call it, these creatures are pretty nasty!

I first met a manticore (or manticora in this case) when, back in the 1980s, I read A Spell for Chameleon by Piers Anthony. This is the first novel in the long-running Magic of Xanth series, and in this case the manticora was serving time as a guard at the Good Wizard Humphrey's castle. The creature wasn't really "used" much in the novel, though, and when I introduced a manticore into my own novel, Island of Fog, I wanted to make full use of its hideousness. My version has the blue eyes, the human face, the three rows of needle-like teeth, a ball of poison-tipped quills on the end of its scorpion tail that can fire across distances and bring down victims, and a deadly black stinger that protrudes from this ball of quills oozing thick yellow venom. My manticore has no wings though. I think that's going too far; my characters have to have a fighting chance against this monster!

One eerie aspect of the manticore is its high, fluty voice. I made use of this to describe the human aspect of the manticore in my book, as though the young shapeshifter (who is stuck in his manticore form) were trying to escape the monster he had become.

The manticore gets quite a bit of action in Island of Fog, but only a little bit in Labyrinth of Fire. But those who would like to see more of him, fear not -- he will return with a vengeance in the third book, Mountain of Whispers.

ABNA pitch

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 11:18:01 -0500

A few days ago I submitted Island of Fog to ABNA (the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award competition). I've been fretting over the pitch ever since.

The first round of the competition is all about the pitch, you see. Between February 8th-27th, reviewers have to read 5000 pitches in my category and whittle the list down to 2000. These first-round winners will be announced on February 27th.

The problem is, pitches are HARD to write, and the pitch for this competition is slightly different to the requirements when writing to, say, an agent or publisher. So I've done my best; hopefully it will work. The last line I'm still debating over, as it could backfire if the reviewers don't have a sense of humor.

Pitch for ISLAND OF FOG, entered into the 2010 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Competition

A lonely, foggy island is home to eight families. Twelve-year-old Hal and his friends have always wondered what happened all those years ago on the mainland, that unseen place Out There beyond the fog, and after an astonishing discovery in the woods the children are more determined than ever to find out what their parents are hiding. But their lives are turned upside down when Abigail reveals her closely guarded secret. According to her, the children are slowly changing into monsters! Are they freaks of nature, or subjects of a sinister experiment?

ISLAND OF FOG is a story of intrigue and conspiracy. The reader follows Hal Franklin as he struggles to accept that he and his friends are something more than ordinary children, and that their parents have been covering up the truth the whole time. With their trust shaken, the unexpected arrival of a strange woman from Out There convinces the children to hide their frightening shapeshifting abilities and pretend nothing is wrong . . . while digging for answers.

Written by a die-hard reader and collector of children's mystery, adventure and fantasy novels, ISLAND OF FOG is a 95,000 word novel aimed at young readers but suitable for all ages. Each child reacts differently to his or her unique monstrous transformation; after all, one may feel proud to be a dragon, faerie, or centaur, but who in their right mind wants to be a sadistic manticore or cowardly harpy?

Part of a trilogy, this story will be of particular interest to children experiencing secret monstrous transformations of their own.

I don't know. I just don't know. I really just don't know. I honestly really just don't know. I could write this a million ways and still not get it right for everyone. Even now I'm thinking I need to alter the "arrival of a stranger" line because there's a possibility this could read like it's the stranger herself who is convincing the children to keep their talents secret... So I'll continue to work on it. But if anyone has any suggestions in the meantime, let me know on or before February 7th, because I can only update my pitch before midnight on that day!

Piers Anthony and Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 20:48:13 -0500

Today I received two exciting emails and a great Facebook post. The first email came from Amazon.com, announcing their third annual Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award competition. I don't often enter competitions, but this one is a must:

The third annual Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award has begun! The Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award offers authors of unpublished or self-published English-language novels a chance to win one of two $15,000 publishing contracts with Penguin USA, and distribution of their novel on Amazon.com. For the first time, Amazon.com customers will vote for two grand prize winners: one for general fiction and one for the best young adult novel. The 2010 competition will now be open to novels that have been previously self-published. Submissions will be accepted from writers around the world through Feb. 7, 2010, or until 5,000 entries have been received in each category. The two grand prize winners will each receive a publishing contract with Penguin, which includes a $15,000 advance.

You can be sure I'll be entering Island of Fog tomorrow!

The second email came from Piers Anthony, the New York Times bestselling fantasy author who I often name-drop about. Over Christmas I had sent him my second novel, Labyrinth of Fire, just out of courtesy because he enjoyed the first. I explained that he was in no way obligated to read it or even respond; I'd hate to be thought of as one of those annoying types who is always wanting something! So I wouldn't have been offended if he had thrown it away or just never replied.

But once again I was impressed. He not only wrote to say he'd received it, but that the book was next on his reading list. As it turned out he then wrote a few days later to say that a load of chores had come up, and that he would have to deal with those and come back to the book later. That was fine with me.

Today he wrote to say that he had finished reading it, and offered a really neat idea:

I read Labyrinth of Fire and will review it favorably in my FeBlueberry 2010 HiPiers column. Essentially, I love it, as I did Island of Fog. This is a hard-hitting imaginative story that held my interest. My main criticism is that starting with eight children, it is hard for the reader to track them all at first. I folded the corner of page 17 where they are all listed with their talents, and that helped. I think you should have a listing of them at the outset, perhaps on a separate page or on a bookmark, so that no reader need be confused. It is too good a novel to allow the reader to be confused at the beginning.

The bookmark idea in particular is brilliant! What better place for a checklist of characters? Better than thumbing to the front or back of the book. So I'll do that sometime, for sure.

So, after a review for Island of Fog in his July 2009 newsletter (second paragraph), now I'm going to get one for Labyrinth of Fire in the February 2010 newsletter. This is brilliant! I never would have thunk that someone so successful would a) find the time to read my books, and b) actually like them enough to review/recommend them. I'm feeling a little chuffed right now. :-)

While I'm in the self-congratulating mood, Heather in Australia was kind enough to report that she and her daughter had both finished the second book:

Both Ashley and I have finished reading Labyrinth of Fire now. I loved it! So much action going on the whole time, and it's so refreshing reading books that I don't have to mentally edit the whole way through. Loved the way the kids worked through problems and found solutions I never would have though of - there wasn't too much predictability. Ash liked it better than Island of Fog because it was "more exciting" - that's all I could get out of her. A book reviewer she is not :-)

Oh, and my parents seemed to like it too. My dad picked up a couple of very minor errors which I've corrected in the manuscript -- which reminds me: If anyone spots a typo or error, please don't keep it to yourself. Let me know. I want to know.

Okay, enough ego-stroking. I'll shut up now.

Book Talk at Rossville Library

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 09:02:14 -0500

I had fun at the Rossville Public Library last night. I never did count the number of showees but I seem to remember ten or fifteen.

As usual I don't bother planning what I'm going to talk about, and I'm pretty sure this shows! All I really need is a starting point, as once I get started on a subject I'm hard to shut up. But it's more fun that way, and plus, even if I planned what I was going to say and read from a script, often the audience will ask a question and the talk will shift to a different track and I'll go off on a tangent. So I wing it, and enjoy it more than I ever did when I tried to stick to a script.

Back in England, when I worked at a large company for fourteen years, I had to do Health & Safety presentations for rooms of 10-20 people. I hated it! In those days I planned my 20-minute talk carefully and often floundered when I "forgot the next bit." And like many people, I suffered from what the lady in Training called "the flutters," where the heart is hammering and your words are tumbling out and you're forgetting to breathe. But these days, being much, much, much older, I don't get that problem anymore. Instead I just get a sort of cold dread ten minutes before the talk. But it vanishes instantly, and everything's fine, and I wonder: What was all the fuss about?

I think most people feel nervous about talking in front of people, whether it's a small group of ten or fifteen, or a larger group of 75 as I had to face during my first public speaking at the Walker County Chamber Luncheon last year. I don't know how I would feel in front of hundreds, but I guess I'll have to deal with that when I'm as famous as J. K. Rowling. ;-) I'll never forget watching J. K. read an excerpt from one of her Harry Potter books; she stood up on stage in front of thousands of fans (and millions sitting at home watching TV) and looked pretty nervous about it too. But she did good. Yikes, what pressure! Still, if I was earning a few bob like her, I guess I'd force myself to go through that too. Maybe.

In the meantime, my own humble book talks (which consist of me rambling about vaguely book-related things mixed up with whatever subject the audience gets me on) are a lot of fun, at least for me.

Interesting for the audience? You'd have to ask them.

Quality control at CreateSpace

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 18:44:40 -0500

I've been pulling my hair out with frustration at the poor quality of books received recently from CreateSpace. Don't get me wrong -- I have a load of perfectly good ones in stock in case you're thinking of buying one. :-)

A while back I ordered 48 copies (a box load). The order went missing, which I suppose, in the absence of any other evidence, we can blame on the postal service. CreateSpace sent me a replacement box once 15 working days had elapsed. This replacement batch was pretty shoddy, to be honest. Many copies had wonky spine text where the cover hadn't been aligned correctly; the spines weren't as square as they should be; many had damages due to bad handling; some had severe scraping on the backside; and ALL of them were covered in dust. Obviously dust wipes off, but still... dust? Aren't these printing facilities supposed to be dust-free environments? Or is it just the packaging department that needs a spring clean?

I wasn't going to stand for shoddy workmanship so I contacted CreateSpace and complained with a detailed list of faults. CreateSpace hardly batted an eyelid; they sent me their standard apology and immediately dispatched 25 replacement books (those that I had decided were unsellable at the standard price).

These replacements arrived less than a week later. Unfortunately it was more of the same: covered in dust, wonky and rounded spines, slight damages...

Fed up with what I saw as CreateSpace's declining production quality, I complained again -- loudly. I had already posted on their forums about this, and I posted again. I also wrote to CreateSpace and told them I would not be buying any more books from them. Somehow I got through, and received an email from somebody in "Executive Customer Relations." I can't make out if this title suggests I'm an executive customer or if they're the executives, but in any case I'm certainly not related to them.

Anyway, the point is, this email was overflowing with apologies plus a request to send photos of the books. I did so earlier today, showing close-ups of many of the problems. I made sure to take the pictures in sunlight so that every particle of dust showed up bright and clear. I could post the photos here, but I don't want to frighten anyone.

A little while ago I received a further email from my kind relations at CreateSpace. They're dispatching another 15 copies of each book (that makes 30 total, if my math is correct) AND they're refunding my original cost. Most importantly, they've said that the books will be reviewed before they're dispatched.

Now I could jump up and down and be happy about all the free books I'm getting, but to be honest the only thing that matters to me is that future orders are problem-free. It takes time to complain, and even more time to wait for replacements, and yet more time to complain again and wait for replacements for my replacements. What I want is a box of high quality books delivered FIRST TIME. I even suggested to CreateSpace that I'd be happy to pay more per book if there was such a thing as a "premium quality" service, for those who perhaps have higher standards (ie, fussy people like me). CreateSpace's book production prices are unbeatable, but the books are almost worthless if I can't sell them.

I'm more hopeful now though. Maybe I've finally broken through the "standard apology" barrier. I'm not the only one to complain about this kind of thing, but it doesn't help that there are plenty of CreateSpace customers who say their books look fantastic, so either those people got lucky or they have low standards. I think they just got lucky. When I compare my latest batches of books to earlier ones, there's a big, big difference, so it looks like recent production quality has been slipping.

Despite all this, and as I said earlier, I have plenty of perfectly decent copies to keep me going for now. I might shift the rejects in a dimly lit subway somewhere...

Mountain of Whispers

Sun, 3 Jan 2010 22:40:07 -0500

I finally decided on a title for the third and final book in the Island of Fog trilogy. Actually, the title sort of decided itself. The story heavily features a mountain, so I was leaning towards "Mountain" from early on; it was the other part of the title I was having trouble with. In the end, "Whispers" made a lot of sense for various reasons, so "Mountain of Whispers" it is.

About the book

Armed with the new title, and with the chapter summary fleshing out and taking shape, I now have a very clear vision of the mountain, so I've gone ahead and created the book cover too. Does it seem strange that I would put a book cover together this early on? Maybe. On the other hand, since I know the story already, having a book cover actually makes it a little easier to set the scene. It's either that, or I set the scene and then try to find a suitable cover image!

Being a website designer by trade, it's only natural (to me) that I register domain names for my books. They just point to the relevant book detail pages on this website, but sometimes it's better to use the domains because they're shorter and easier to remember. Therefore:

You'll see that these links go to the book detail pages on this website, and that the Mountain of Whispers page is obviously very sparse at the moment. But I'll keep it up to date as I go.

Book III: The plot thickens

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 19:47:47 -0500

With Christmas over, I've been able to relax and concentrate more on Island of Fog: Book III (as yet still untitled). The plot is now so thick that I can stand a spoon upright in it. Things are falling nicely into place at last. A tip for anyone struggling with laying out the details of a plot: Just leave it alone and let your subconscious mind sort it out in its own good time.

I've always known exactly what happens in this third book. But, as the saying goes, the devil is in the details. There were a couple of fairly important WHYs rattling around at the back of my head, as well as a few WHATs, but suddenly these came together in a sudden light-bulb-flashing moment and now huge chunks of the plot are firmly in place. The biggest question in my mind right now is not what happens in Book III, but how much space it will take up. At the moment it feels like I have way too much going on, but it won't seem so much once I have it down on paper. In reality it's probably only enough to fill two thirds of the book! It's hard to judge just how many pages all the different scenes will span... although it turned out that I was fairly accurate with my chapter summary for Labyrinth of Fire, so perhaps I'll do as well with this new one.

The title still eludes me though. I've stopped thinking about it for now; maybe my subconscious will figure it out and I'll wake suddenly in the night.

I'm not about to start giving spoilers, but in Book III the children have two major problems to resolve as well as a few minor ones. Those who have read Labyrinth of Fire will probably guess what the two major problems are. There's something else though, and this is a subplot I'm still wrestling with. It's one of those things that's not essential but which I feel would round off everything very nicely -- if I can make it work.

Before Christmas I delivered/dispatched a number of Labyrinth of Fire books, and some of them are only just now reaching their destinations (especially to those in Australia, who have been suffering postal strikes). And as I had done with Island of Fog, I sent a copy of Labyrinth of Fire to bestselling fantasy author Piers Anthony, and he kindly sent me a letter to say that he had received it and was hoping to read it very soon. Today, in response to an email I sent him about something entirely different, he mentioned that he had started reading the book as planned but had been delayed by "half a slew of pre-emptive chores" and that he would return it to shortly. No problem at all -- I'm just pleased he's interested! In his letter, which arrived just after Christmas, he said, "I remember Island of Fog with pleasure, and look forward to seeing the continuation of the story."

Meanwhile I received my first reader review:

"Great new book! I absolutely loved the sequel and thought that it might even have been better than Island of Fog! I loved getting to know Darcy, Emily, Lauren, and Dewey way better. I have grown to find those characters way more likable now that I know more about them. Thanks for giving me a great new read!" -- Canaan

Anyone else out there who's finished it yet? Or is halfway through? I'd appreciate feedback, whether positive or negative, and once again I'd like to urge those who have something to say to post a review on Amazon if they can:

And if you haven't bought Labyrinth of Fire yet... what on earth is WRONG with you? :-)

ISLAND OF FOG BOOK II
LABYRINTH OF FIRE
by Keith Robinson
Available in paperback for $11.95
ISBN 978-1-4495-3803-3
Buy the Book

Expanded Distribution at CreateSpace

Sun, 20 Dec 2009 11:17:33 -0500

In my last post I said I was planning to move my books from CreateSpace to Lightning Source, mainly for better distribution and also because LS has better printing facilities.

Well, I spent some time the other night working through LS's online system, uploading my book files for Island of Fog and generally setting it up. I had to think hard about the price though. If my list price is $11.95 and wholesalers are only interested in stocking the book if they get a 50-55% discount, that leaves virtually no profit after the manufacturing cost is taken off my share. I started to think I would have to either bump up my list price a dollar or two, or limit the wholesale discount to 40% and risk cutting out wholesalers.

As I was pondering these imponderables, and researching a bit more about wholesalers and how they won't buy your book in bulk unless they get at least 50% discount, and how they expect books to be returnable in case they can't sell them, I happened to look at my existing book setup page at CreateSpace and found an option I hadn't seen before. In the Sales Management section, it has these options:

Pro: Yes
List Price: $11.95
Sell via Amazon.com Retail: Yes
Amazon.com Retail status: Live on Amazon
Sell via eStore Sales: Yes
Type of eStore: Public
Sales Region: US and international sales
Sell via Expanded Distribution: No

Wait a minute! "Sell by Expanded Distribution"? Where did that come from? And what is it?

I delved into CreateSpace's help section and found articles about this new feature. I then found their official announcement:

We are pleased to announce that CreateSpace will now offer expanded distribution options to allow our members to make their titles available to an even wider audience of potential buyers beyond Amazon.com and eStore. The Expanded Distribution Channel gives your books access to thousands of outlets, including online retailers, bookstores, libraries, academic outlets, wholesalers, and distributors. Expanded Distribution gives you the potential to distribute your work throughout the U.S. through our direct relationships with wholesalers such as Ingram/Lightning Source Incorporated and Baker and Taylor.

My jaw was hanging open a bit by now. When did THIS happen? Oh, December 3rd, 2009. Recently, then. So how come I didn't know about it? Because they never sent me an email, that's why! The only way to find out about this is to search the help section about this new feature, or be a regular on their forums where the announcement was made. *Sigh*

Okay, so there's a great new feature that allows better distribution. How do I enable it? Oh, look, there's a button under the new feature that says "Enable this now." Well, duh. So I enabled it, and now it says:

Sell via Expanded Distribution: Yes

Why on earth wasn't this enabled by default when they introduced their new Expanded Distribution system? Who wouldn't want to be part of this scheme? Well, anyway, it's enabled now... but what does it mean exactly?

Up until now, CreateSpace books have only appeared on Amazon.com (since CreateSpace is owned by Amazon). According to the forums, members who have enabled the Expanded Distribution feature have, over the next week or so, watched their books appear throughout the internet on various online bookstores including major sellers like Barnes & Noble, Borders, and so on. This means that, by pressing a button, my books should show up in databases nationwide, and possibly -- although this is a little unclear -- in Europe too. Certainly on Amazon.co.uk and in other countries.

So I've had one wish granted. But even better, this Expanded Distribution system has come about because CreateSpace has joined forces with Lightning Source. Amazon probably recognizes that their own print-on-demand system isn't a match for LS, and plus, LS is owned by Ingrams, the nationwide database used by stores across the country to order their books. When you order books from LS, your books are automatically added to the Ingrams database. So by joining up with LS, CreateSpace is expanding distribution for its members and (hopefully) providing even better print-on-demand quality.

There's even better news. By staying with CreateSpace I get to retain the lowest print-on-demand manufacturing costs (thus keeping the same list price of $11.95 and still getting a reasonable profit). And I don't need to mess around moving my book files to a new system and phasing the old ones out.

The only possible downside is that I recently bought ten ISBNs and spent a lot of time signing up with Lightning Source. But, I'm going to see how far this Expanded Distribution reaches. If it doesn't exapnd to the UK, then I'll use my new ISBNs and set up a copy on LS just for the UK. It would be nice to use my new ISBNs at CreateSpace, so that Unearthly Tales is listed as the publisher and not CreateSpace, but you can't just switch out an ISBN on a book -- you have to retire the old book and create a brand new one, even if it looks exactly the same.

Anyway, the upshot is that I'm staying with CreateSpace!

Self-publishing

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 22:01:34 -0500

I've been busy the last couple of days sending out thousands of copies of Labyrinth of Fire to eager fans. Well, all right, hundreds of copies to keen readers. Okay, about twenty-five copies to those who have read Island of Fog and are sorta-kinda wanting to know what happens next.

Included in this batch was a copy to Piers Anthony, my famous writing buddy. Well, when I say buddy, I mean acquaintance. Well, someone I conversed with via email a couple of times. Anyway, the point is, he seemed to like the first book (see his review here, second paragraph) so I thought he'd be interested in the second. Since he doesn't tend to mince words, I await his response (if he gives one) with bated breath. My face is turning blue as I write this...

I've started to "think big" lately. Using CreateSpace for my book printing has been great and I certainly recommend them to novices, because the prices are so reasonable and the service fairly straightforward. Lulu is better in many ways, but their prices are a little silly. But the big problem with CreateSpace is distribution. It doesn't help that I took the "cheap" option and used CreateSpace's ISBN numbers, which means that I'm not listed as the publisher and therefore I have no control over distribution channels (ie, getting the books listed in nationwide, and even worldwide book databases, which bookshops order from). But even if I used my own ISBNs at CreateSpace, distribution is limited because CreateSpace only print in the USA.

So the other day I took the plunge and bought my own ISBNs. You have to buy these in bulk, with a minimum of ten for the price of $275.00. So I now have ten brand spanking new ISBN numbers which I can assign to my own titles whenever I want. The first two will be assigned to Island of Fog and Labyrinth of Fire, to replace the existing ISBNs.

But more than that, I plan to "move my operation" to Lightning Source, which is a very well respected printing company. They specialize in print-on-demand digital and offset printing. Their price-per-book is just a little more than CreateSpace but I hear their quality and service is exceptional, the cream of the crop. And their distribution is better than most companies can offer, with the best part being that they have a UK operation -- so in theory my books can be ordered by bookshops in the UK as well as in the US.

This is a major step for me and just setting up an account with Lightning Source is an ordeal, but I'm through the application process and just need to send the forms. Once fully approved I'll be able to start moving my titles across. I expect to overlap them with the current CreateSpace editions, but eventually will remove the CreateSpace editions altogether. The books will look identical in terms of size, format, and so on, but the production should be better -- CreateSpace are acceptable, but I have to work at getting good copies from them, which involves calling for replacements. Out of a box of fifty books, I'll typically have to call for a replacement of ten due to poor binding or sloppy packaging. Or for a box that never arrived!

Another change will be that I'll be listed as the publisher, and for that I can choose my own publishing name -- which is Unearthly Tales.

More on this another time. But in the next six months I'm hoping that my books will be available in the UK for the legions of fans I have there. :-)

Book delivery... and new book trailer

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 19:52:14 -0500

Labyrinth of Fire is now available -- again! This time I have a shelf full of copies, as opposed to a handful that went quickly and left me waiting for a bulk order that never turned up.

My replacement order arrived via UPS this afternoon, so I've breathed several sighs of relief. Tomorrow morning I'll be sending out a bunch of copies as well as delivering to local bookshops and libraries (all as requested). But I'll still have a load left over, so if you're chomping at the bit and want a copy before Christmas, order now and I'll post right away!

For those who haven't yet got a copy of Island of Fog, order both together and save on shipping. The shipping rate is actually the same for two books as it is for one. It's $4.95 for deliveries within the USA, and $9.95 for the rest of the world.

The story picks up directly where Island of Fog left off, with some of the children having to deal with their new shapeshifting abilities. Some of the others think they have it easy... but I plan to throw them to the lions in the third book. Well, not lions exactly... but maybe manticores. Or worse. Actually, in Labyrinth of Fire, all the children are in danger one way or another. It's just that some have it worse than others.

Meanwhile, in the real world, there's a new craze in town: Book Trailers. These are... well, trailers for books rather than movies. This might sound odd, since a book doesn't have any actors or movie footage or even any soundtrack. But nevertheless, many publishers, and even authors, are putting together short trailers to promote their books. Some consist of the author reading an excerpt, which I think is guaranteed to bore the pants off potential buyers. Others are hiring actors and playing out key scenes. But most are putting together little montages of photos and overlaying suitable titles and music.

I couldn't resist having a go myself. It was fun, but of course I don't have a musician to hire for the music, so I, er, borrowed some music from a movie soundtrack. Right afterward I came across some free-use downloadable music that would have done just as well, so I might change it at some point. But since I didn't ask permission to use the music on my little test trailer, the least I can do is give due credit. The main chunk of music is a track called The Forbidden Line, and the later piece is called It Is Not Real, both from the movie soundtrack of The Village.

View the Book Trailer for Island of Fog

Replacement order, watery events, and ideas for book title

Wed, 9 Dec 2009 18:28:55 -0500

Today I was assured by my book printers that a replacement order is on its way by UPS 2nd Day Air, so (fingers crossed) I should be receiving it fairly soon.

I went to Calhoun Library last night. It was raining lightly as I headed south on Hwy 136 and, when I arrived an hour later, it was raining a little harder. Shortly after I got inside it started tipping down, and it continued tipping down for the rest of the evening. There were people already at the library when I arrived and so I was able to sell a couple of books straight away, but then it emptied out... and the place was deserted. *Sigh*

It was good to talk to the other authors, and the few people who came in out of the rain, and the library staff, but otherwise it was a bit of a wash-out thanks to the weather.

On the way home, with wipers thumping and puddles sluicing up the side of the van, I started thinking again about the title for the third book. I've been mulling this over for some time now, and have many possibilities but none that I've settled on. Just for a laugh, and maybe for a bit of inspiration, I posted on Facebook (see to the right of this website) and asked for suggestions, keeping in mind the "[Geographic] of [Element]" format. We already have Island of Fog and Labyrinth of Fire -- what's next?

I suggested, with tongue firmly in cheek, the following:

Peninsula of Snow
Hillock of Drizzle
Knoll of Smog

Lysa Charpentier up in Rhode Island immediately suggested:

Mountain of Mist

Oddly enough, "Mountain" has always been high on my list of contenders because the third and final part of the trilogy features a mountain! But "Mist" is too close to "Fog" so that's out.

Next, Trevor Moss from the local area came up with a slew of ideas:

Forest of Stone
Cavern of Light
Volcano of Tar
Valley of Sand
Swamp of Voices
Mountain of Crystal
River of Earth
Land of Silence
Wall of Jade
Hills of Rain
Ocean of Sun
Chasm of Lighting
Valley of Thunder
Craig of Steel (er, what?)
Plateau of Wind

Jennifer LeCroy from Rome (in Georgia, not Europe) then chimed in with:

Quagmire of Tranquility

This reminded me of the old eighties movie, The Neverending Story, which featured the Swamps of Sadness. While giggling over these titles with my wife, I couldn't help coming up with a title that we thought was very funny. Nessa posted it immediately:

Pass of Winds

Jennifer then came back with a title that she suggested should come right before Pass of Winds:

Gorge of Legumes

And that's as far as I've got. I should also mention a few titles that came up during a recent chat with my brother Darren in the UK. Between us we thought of:

Table of Desserts
Valley of Dust
Mountain of Dust
City of Dust
City of Breezes
Town of Gales
Valley of Passing Winds
Citadel of Gusts
Hamlet of Wafty Drafts
Mountain of Wind

...and there we left it. Town of Gales just made me think of a load of women, all named Gale and always squabbling. But despite the silliness of many of these suggestions, it's got me thinking! Without giving anything away, the third title needs to be something that refers either to a mountain or a city, and to wind or storms. So, with that in mind, I wonder who can come up with the cleverest title?

And yes, I'm expecting a deluge of daft suggestions as well. :-)

Box of books missing... or lost?

Sat, 5 Dec 2009 17:31:31 -0500

I spent much of last week pacing like a caged animal. A box of Labyrinth of Fire books is Out There somewhere... instead of here where it belongs. It's so frustrating. Every day I look for the postman to roll up in his silver jeep, and I watch to see if he'll stop at the mailbox or turn into the drive. If he turns into the drive, it'll mean that he has a box too large to fit in the mailbox... ergo, my books!

Yesterday he turned into my drive and I sighed with relief. At last! But when I hurried out to collect the package from the back of the jeep, I discovered that it was not my box of books after all, but something my wife ordered. I was so mad. In a fit of anguish I almost threw the box in the dirt and stamped on it, but at the last second I thought better of it -- otherwise it would be ME being thrown in the dirt and stamped on.

And so I continue to wait. In the past, deliveries have arrived within 7-10 days of the order date, so this late delivery is very unusual. I fear the box is lost somewhere. I spoke with the printers and they said that if the box has not arrived by December 8th then I can call again and they'll send out an expedited replacement box. That's fine, but in the meantime I have people waiting. If you're one of those, THANK YOU for being so patient.

I've now added a note to the "buy" page explaining about this delay. Continue to order by all means, but be aware that I'm effectively out of stock at the moment. Bah!

When you take an umbrella out on a cloudy day, that often prevents it from raining. It usually only rains when you forget the umbrella. In the same way, I'm hoping that this post will force delivery of the books. Maybe on Monday I'll be able to post again and say, "I spoke too soon -- they're here!"

Then again, maybe I'll have to wait for a replacement box, which will be another couple of weeks from now. Groan.

Book Nook in Dalton

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 10:14:47 -0500

The book signing event at Book Nook in Dalton was great! It was slow in terms of books sold, but it's a really neat place -- a small shopfront but a store that stretches back and back and spreads over two floors, with two bridges on the upper floor to get from one side to the other. The place is crammed with secondhand books, and on weekdays food is served (which I'm told by other customers is excellent). At various places around the shop there are cafe-style tables, and upstairs large sofas to lounge on.

I just wish Book Nook was located in Chickamauga and not "so far away" in Dalton! Still, my good wife works in Dalton and I bet she'll be popping in every so often now that she knows the place exists. If anyone in the local area is interested, here's a map to get there.

Unfortunately the store doesn't have a website, and my day job as a website designer compels me to contact the store owner and put this right. A regularly updated website, particularly for a store that holds book signing events, can be a great help in attracting customers.

So, I didn't sell many books but I did get to leave some behind for display on the shelves. And I've already agreed to come back on a weekday for a single-author-only book signing, when it's a little busier. Aside from that, it was nice to meet and talk with the other authors present.

Next stop: Calhoun Library on 8th December.

Book review winner... and Happy Thanksgiving!

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 19:58:37 -0500

Throughout September and October I offered a free copy of Labyrinth of Fire to whoever submitted the most substantive review of the first book, Island of Fog. It was only fair that I included all those who had reviewed earlier in the year as well. But I had a heck of a job deciding on the winner.

In fact it was so difficult -- a toss up between four -- that in the end I let a "panel of experts" decide. Well, when I say a panel of experts, I mean a few people I know. I basically said, "Okay, take a look through these reviews and vote on the one you feel sells the book to you the most." And I left it with them.

A winner emerged: it was Ming from Bangladesh, who wrote back on June 17th, 2009. (See her review here.) So congratulations, Ming, you'll be receiving a copy of the new book in the next week or so. :-) But THANK YOU also to all those others who submitted reviews, either in the past or during the competition. Not all are shown on this website (yet), and some are shown only in part on the book page. But ALL reviews, long or short, are valuable to me.

Meanwhile, Laura Canning posted a review of Island of Fog on Amazon.com, which made my day. You can read that one here (scroll down the page).

I'll be at The Book Nook in Dalton, GA, on Saturday 28th November from 10am to 2pm if anyone is in the area. This is part of a "young adult" author signing event. See you there.

And... to those folks in the USA, Happy Thanksgiving!

Book signings and events galore

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:45:31 -0500

I've been busy over the last few weeks arranging events to promote my books, and have added a new Upcoming Book Signings and Events box at the top of the home page. Some bookings may show as greyed-out, meaning they're only partially confirmed -- otherwise they'll show as a green light, with a confirmed date and time.

Yesterday I was told that Island of Fog is being processed for nearby Rossville Middle School's library. The media specialist at the school read the book and liked it, and wants it to be part of the school library system. This is great! And she wants to include the book, along with its sequel, Labyrinth of Fire, in December's "Tale Time" for 4th and 5th graders. This is where, every month, she shares books -- "something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue." In this case, my books are the "something new."

Island of Fog is currently available in two local bookshops, Books Neverending in Rossville, GA, and Rock Point Books in Chattanooga, TN.

Meanwhile, Labyrinth of Fire is selling like hot cakes! I'm chewing my fingernails a little, wondering how it compares to the first book, but I've had two good reviews already. Also, my agent, Whitt Brantley Management and Talent, is now (or will shortly be) representing the new book. He remains hopeful that the story will, in some form, be picked up by a producer or publisher in the future. We just need to remain patient!