Self-publishing 101 (1): Why? How? Where? When?

Why self-publishing?

Because, simply put, it allows me to write what I want, when I want it, and how I want it. There’s no pressure except for my own deadlines and the readers asking for more. And I wanted to try something new.

Why in English?

Some people consider me an established writer because I have published short stories in several Romanian anthologies and on-line magazines, and I happened to win some awards too. I, on the other hand, think people can consider themselves writers after they published at least two books, novels or short story collections or whatever, but let’s not dwell on that.

English allows me to reach a larger audience, without losing many readers. I mainly write science fiction and fantasy, and given the way the book industry is moving in Romania, you’re forced to learn English if you want to keep up with what’s published abroad whether you like it or not. So my current readers, especially the younger generation, already know English well enough to read my stories, and it’s always good to get new readers.

How I started?

In the spring of 2012, I already had a book ready, but you know how they say that the first novel is never good enough for publishing. So instead of doing that, my plan was to start small and build a backlog first and an audience, before moving on to bigger things.

Last June, I published “Human Instincts”, an apocalyptic novella, followed in December by the short story collection “Blue Moon Café Series:Where Shifters Meet for Drinks”. Next in line is “The Impaler’s Revenge”, a vampire novella, which turned into a series (I have no idea how that happened!), and should be ready sometime in the spring. After that, I’ll be working on a fantasy trilogy, “Stolen Wings Prophecy”, and a sci fi saga, “The Flying Chair Chronicles”.

To celebrate the new release, this week I’ll write a series of blog posts and share with you what I learned during the first six months of self-publishing.

Until then, check out “Blue Moon Café Series: Where Shifters Meet for Drinks” (Amazon, Smashwords), discounted from $2.99 to $0.99 during the holidays, and let me know what you think.

Blue Moon Café Series: Where Shifters Meet for Drinks

It's been exactly six months since I self-published my apocalyptic novella "Human Instincts", and now it's time to make another ebook available for my readers:

Blue Moon Café Series: Where Shifters Meet for Drinks 

This story collection started with a challenge in the spring-summer of 2010. The theme of the new contest launched by AtelierKult, a writing workshop I’ve been a member of for the past few years, was based on werecreatures. Since I'm not a big fan of shapeshifters, my knowledge in this field was limited when I began writing, which allowed me to develop a world based on my own set of rules.

I finished up with three full stories and two half-written ones, all set in the same universe. I didn’t submit any for the contest, mainly because I had written them in English from the start, but also because they didn’t feel right at the time.

Now they do.

Once I decided to turn them into a story collection, I finished the other two stories in the fall and added two shorts as introduction and epilogue. And there you have it, the collection was complete.

Blue Moon Café Series: Where Shifters Meet for Drinks is now available through Amazon and Smashwords, and soon through other online stores too, at the discounted price of $0.99. After the holidays, the price will go up to $2.99. As further incentive, the first 25 readers who write a honest review about it will be entitled to a free copy of "The Impaler's Revenge" when it comes out. All you have to do is ask.

Happy reading!

Blue Moon Café Series TOC

Blue Moon Café Series: Where Shifters Meet for Drinks

Table of Contents

• Once in a Blue Moon
• Black Stripes
• A Mutt Problem
• Good Neighbors
• Pest Invasion
• The Chase
• The Day We Shot the Moon Out of the Sky

Evolution: Vol. 2 - 33% OFF

St. Nicholas brought everyone a present! You can now download Evolution: Vol. 2 with a 33% discount from Smashwords, using the coupon code EU66E. The coupon is good through December 12.

For more goodies go to Evolved Publishing website.

Blue Moon Café Series Description

Blue Moon Café Series: Where Shifters Meet for Drinks

Book Description:

"The were-eagles and our kind have been at war since the beginning of time. Well, it’s more like fifty years since we’d decided to move into town, but it feels like an eternity already. And they’re not were-eagles, just like we’re not werewolves. They’re more like crows, and we look more like dogs. Mutts, they call us.

Times are changing and we do what we can to adapt in order to fit in. When you’re like us, social acceptance really is a problem. But we still have claws and fangs, and they have beaks and talons that can rip their enemy to shreds in seconds. Maybe it’s in our genes. Whenever we meet, it’s a miracle it doesn’t end in a bloodbath. It’s a good thing we rarely die, or there would be dead mutts all over the streets. Dead crows too. We’re a good match."

In a city where two shifter clans reside, the Mayor is struggling to maintain peace while keeping the population safe. Through a series of short stories, we discover what happens when intruders appear, humans get turned, the Mayor's reputation is at stake, an invasion is planned, and not everything is what it seems.

Venus ebook / About "Adevarul din privire"

I was browsing Elefant.ro, looking for some books, when I ran into this.

Yep, "Venus - Povestiri erotice science fiction" is finally available as an ebook. The date says November 2012 so it's quite recent.

To celebrate this, I'm going to write a few words about my story "Adevarul din privire" (The Truth in their Sights) that is included in Venus.

When the call for submissions was made on the SRSFF website, the theme of the new SF and F anthology was supposed to be 'love'. I wrinkled my nose a little at the sight of the announcement, because as my readers know it already I am not really a romance writer. Still, it sounded better than the zombie themed anthology Millennium Books was planning (more on this later, when the zombie anthology gets published, hehe! :)) so I thought I might give it a try.

I don't remember what I was writing at the time, something in English, but I know I stopped to create a new document and write the first paragraph of the story. Now I had a premise, I knew what the story was going to be about, and for a long time, a month or two, that's all I had. I finished whatever I was writing, probably started something new, and later on, when I reckoned it was time to focus on the story before I would be really running out of time, I went back to it.

Other stories I plotted in advance, but with this one I didn't have a particular plan in mind. I just wrote and let the story lead me where it wanted to. It's the way I actually prefer to do things, but not the best approach if you write with a certain goal in mind, like being published in Venus, which required a certain theme to be respected. I did my best to get into a more romantic mood, I listened to French musicals ("Notre Dame de Paris", "Romeo et Juliette" both versions, "Autent en emporte le vent" etc.) on repeat, driving the ones around me crazy with my singing along (I wasn't gifted with such a great voice, I'm afraid), but nothing worked. The story refused to get any mushier and stayed true to its core.

The result was that I ended up with a policier on my hands and not for lack of trying. Sure, there is love in it, the characters' actions are driven by it, but love doesn't take center stage. It's always in the background, simmering, boiling, and unwilling to let go. But don't expect any X-rated scenes like the title of the book might lead you to believe, because they're not in there. It wasn't the right place for them.

In the end, I was happy with my story, in fact it's one of my favorite, but it wasn't what I had set myself to write in the first place. The last day before the deadline, I took a chance and submitted it. Until I received a word from the editor, I was convinced it was going to be rejected because it didn't fit the theme. Luckily, the editor disagreed and she was right. "Adevarul din privire" received high praises in all the reviews done so far.

A funny thing about this story: one of the characters is modeled after a former colleague of mine. We lost touch over the years, and when he contacted me shortly after Venus was published, my first thought was "Oh, shit, I hope he didn't read it!" :))

Ebook copies of Venus are now available on Elefant.ro. Enjoy!

Cover Reveal: Blue Moon Café Series

Coming soon!

"Cele 1001 de scorneli ale Mosului SF" First Review

The first review of "Cele 1001 de scorneli ale Mosului SF" has appeared on-line in the December issue of Nautilus.

The reviews is written by none other than Liviu Radu and he only has good things to say about the book.

As usually, Mr. Radu floored me with his comments. According to him, I have already reached the stage of established writer. I don't know about that, I can only hope it to be true.

Coming soon!

2012 November Reading List

Range of Ghosts by Elizabeth Bear – Beautiful cover art and the prose is like poetry. But once you strip away the beautiful prose and world building, you realize the story is pretty simple and boring. And it doesn’t end, waaah! Not interested in the sequel. 3/5 stars

Nine Princes of Amber by Roger Zelazny – Nice concept, but the narrator’s voice didn’t sit well with me. I might read the next books in the series if I happen to be in the mood for an adventurous, easy read, though not too soon. 3/5 stars

The Forever War by Joe Haldeman – I have a feeling this book is better enjoyed by male readers. Some things didn’t make sense. I didn’t hate it, but it didn’t engage me as much as Starship Troopers did. Now that one was fun! 3/5 stars

Dying of the Light by George R. R. Martin – I recognized several of the themes from A Song of Ice and Fire. Strange world and hard to warm up to. 3/5 stars

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline – I’ve never pictured myself as a geek or big video game fan, but I quite enjoyed it. It was great for a debut novel and since it’s targeted at a particular niche of readers, it made me wonder what Cline will write next. 4/5 stars

The Stand by Stephen King – The first half was a pain to read, which surprised me because I had fully expected to like this book. I remembered watching the TV series in the early 90’s and thinking “Now this is a great story!” Things got much better once all the characters got together. 4/5 stars