Modern Evil Press – Page 22

Cheating, Death – giveaway at Blog with Bite

Haven’t bought your own copy of my new zombie novel, Cheating, Death, yet? It’s only $4.99 as an eBook or $9.99 in paperback… and I gave away copies of the paperback to 5 lucky Goodreads readers this weekend. If you weren’t one of the winners, you have another chance to snag a free copy: Blog with Bite is giving away four more copies this week! [Blog with Bite: Cheating, Death Giveaway!] Entering can be as easy as leaving a comment or tweeting a link – and you can increase your chances just as easily; read the post for all the details. (Contest ends this Friday the 13th!)

In addition, I’ve done a Q&A about Cheating, Death at Blog with Bite. I think you might enjoy reading it – and if you like horror et cetera, you might like to take a stroll around the site & see some of the other books they’re reviewing and authors they’re interviewing. They’ve got an interesting dynamic for a book review site, where all the reviewers give their individual takes of the same book – so you get more than one point of view. (I’m looking forward to seeing what they have to say about mine!)

Remember, if you’re a book blogger who’d like to review Cheating, Death, just let me know and link me to your blog – I’ll be glad to send you a PDF right away. I might be able to swing another paperback or two (though I’ve already reached the number I’d set aside initially for reviewers) if you ask nicely. Or, if you prefer to listen to the book, the podcast version starts going out this Friday the 13th, as well. Look for it on Podiobooks.com and on the Modern Evil Podcast.

statistics, perspective, perseverance

I’ve been seeing a bit more of statistics hitting the web lately, with regard to different independent authors’ successes at finding audiences and making money online. There is only a tiny percentage of people who are comfortable revealing such statistics, but as more and more authors begin to use the internet to get their words in front of people, the pool grows and -with it- the number of numbers available. I have considered, now and again, posting my own statistics. My numbers. My facts and figures. Sometimes I have given a few numbers. Here and there. I’m still considering it.

All these numbers, they’ve helped me get a bit of perspective on my own numbers. Working in a near-vacuum, it’s been very difficult to tell whether my numbers were good or bad. Whether they painted an average picture, or a below average one. Whether my struggle was a result of the medium, its newness, and the fractional nature of the cutting-edge (it is, by definition, not mainstream) – or whether my struggle has been a result of some failure on my part. The more numbers I see, the more clear it is to me that I am -at least in part- to blame.

(This may be my severe depression talking.)

I am aware I am not even trying to write fiction with mass-appeal. I’m not trying to write like other authors. I’m not trying to fit into any particular genre or genres. I do things with my books that no one sees, no one notices, no one thinks about (or if they do, no one mentions – and those I’ve asked are oblivious), and while I’m doing unseen things I require readers to carefully parse sentences and to consider meanings, just to get through the books. I use “big” words, uncommon words, and I use them in long sentences to express complex concepts. I am aware that I am not writing easy books, or books for everyone. It’s my fault I write this way. I’m to blame.

It’s also a choice. I didn’t choose to be an author because I thought writing would be a good way to make a living, or because I thought I’d be good at cutting off a slice of the multi-billion-dollar worldwide publishing market. I chose to try to find a way to make money selling my books because I know I’m an author, and because I’d rather be doing something that comes naturally than struggling just to survive every day. (2007 was the soul-crushing, creativity-wrecking breaking point – I was still writing, but could barely manage to write more than a haiku’s length at once, and it was mostly about how painful working my corporate desk job was: I published it anyway, it’s Worth 1k.) … and though the struggle still exists (in fighting with a world that still expects me to pay the bills in months when people aren’t buying what I’m selling, and in fighting the traditional publishing world, and in fighting my own severe aversion to business and marketing), it is significantly less here, and distant. Continue reading statistics, perspective, perseverance

Cheating, Death – unboxing the paperbacks

Wow. I didn’t intend for it to work out exactly that way, but it looks like Cheating, Death went from word one to paperback book in my hand in exactly a month. On September 23rd I started writing, and today (October 23rd) I received my initial shipment of paperback copies. I blogged about writing it as I wrote it, a chapter or two at a time (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7, 8 & 9, 10, 11, 12, 13), and about a few other things, in between. I actually finished writing the first draft on October 8th, only 15 days after beginning it. I edited it, copyedited it, and had a couple of people beta-read it, designed the cover, and then submitted it to Lightning Source (my printer) on October 13th, they “approved” it on October 16th, then they printed my order of 52 copies, shipping it Monday, October 19th. Since I selected the cheapest shipping method, UPS Ground, it took all week to get here. So, from first word to finished book in 15 days, to edited book in another 5 (which is when it was available as an eBook, via Smashwords and on the Kindle, for $4.99), and now it’s available for order directly from me (yes, and from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, et cetera) in paperback for $9.99. I’ve already recorded the audiobook (though it needs to be edited and mixed into 3 different versions), and will be podcasting it as soon as my current audiobook is done, beginning 11/13.

But now to the unboxing. I ordered 52 copies. Why 52 copies? I don’t know. I’m crazy. Or… Well, I got a nice discount per copy by ordering more than 50, and 52 was the most I could order for less than $150 (including shipping). Yes, they cost roughly $3 each, to me. So when you buy from me for $10, I get $7 per copy. If you buy from someone other than me, I get $2.42 per copy sold. ($9.99 x 50% wholesale discount = $4.99 – $2.57 print charge = $2.42) Please, buy from me, and if you don’t buy from me, buy from a local independent book store (they can order it, just give them the ISBN: 978-1-934516-05-8). Anyway, I ordered 52 copies which is less than a single case, so here’s the box they sent me (click any image to see it larger):

And here’s the book, in my hands, and front and back (see full cover) side-by-side:

And here’s what 52 copies looks like, on my bed:

Now, one of those is already addressed to the Library of Congress, and I’m giving 5 away via Goodreads. Anyone who pre-ordered a copy from modernevil.com, I’ll ship out this weekend. Have you ordered your copy, yet?

Ooh, or are you a book blogger interested in reviewing a zombie novel? I can send you a free PDF of the book (or give you a Smashwords coupon, if you have a preferred eReading format) immediately, and if you’re interested, will also send out free paperbacks to bloggers who want them. I haven’t nailed down a plan or limit for this yet, so if you’re interested, or know a book blog/blogger I should contact, please let me know. Post a comment or send an email to teel@modernevil.com.

Cheating, Death – cover preview

I’ve been working on the book cover for Cheating, Death, tweaking the copy, et cetera, and would appreciate any feedback you have. Note that this is the full wraparound cover, so the front cover is on the right and the back cover is on the left, with the spine in the middle.

Click the image to see a bigger / readable version:

If you saw this cover, what would you expect from the book? Would you want to read it? Would you want to read Appendix Z immediately? Any reactions & first impressions are appreciated. Thanks.

Cheating, Death – chapter 13 (ie: complete!)

Go read Cheating, Death now.

Whew. Done! Now I just have a whole stack of things to do! But at least the 1st draft is written! One of the first things I have to do next is print it out and read it for the first time. I’ll do this out loud and make notes as I go. It’s a pretty good way to see if it all works, and whether any sentences need work. I actually read quite a bit of it out loud as I was working on it; since beginning podcasting all my fiction, I pay a lot more attention to making a good read-aloud book.

Speaking of the podcast: No voices, for this one, just narration and enough vocal variation to be able to tell any two lines of dialogue apart. Also, based on a schedule I’d just laid out, I should be able to start this one on the Friday after Untrue Tales… Book Three is complete and then post two chapters a week (one chapter per episode, like FWYCR) from 11/13/09 to 12/25/09. Because, yeah, I’m going to post the stunning conclusion to the novel on Christmas day. :p

Oh, in addition to writing chapter 13, I’ve also written Appendix Z, included here:

Appendix Z: About the Zombies

Some helpful information about the zombies in this book:

Zombies are slow.

Zombies are stupid.

Zombies do not use tools.

Zombies do not use language.

Zombies do not experience romance.

Zombies are not just old, hungry vampires.

Zombies do not want to exact revenge on the living.

Zombies do not have any magical abilities or super-powers.

Zombies can only be killed by damaging or destroying their brain.

Zombies eat the living, and are attracted to the motion and commotion they make.

Zombies like eating brains, but are not possessed of superhuman strength, so how are they supposed to bite through your skull?

Zombies who did manage to eat the brains of their victims wouldn’t be much of a threat, since they’d prevent the spread of zombie-ism by doing so.

Zombies are created when a human has had fluid contact with a zombie; primarily via saliva transmitted into a bite wound.

Note: Hell is not full, zombies are not a sudden and global phenomenon bringing all unburied dead to life, the dead are not clawing their way out of graves, and this book’s cover is intentionally misleading.

Zombies spread quickly because the living are stupid, too.

I’m posting it here because it’s at the end of the book, which means it isn’t in the free preview. Which still contains (roughly) the first four chapters of the book. Have you checked it out, yet? You should. The full book’s price is, as promised, at the full eBook price of $4.99 (subject to change) over at Smashwords. It is currently in its first-draft, unedited state. Please let me know if you find any problems or errors in it, so I correct them before I send it to press (probably next week). When it’s corrected, I’ll update the Smashwords copy again, and release it to “Premium Distribution” as well.

Time to go throw it into InDesign, so I have a page count to submit for the PCN request. I hope you enjoy it.

Go read Cheating, Death now.