All posts tagged writing

Wednesday Weekly Roundup


Last week I wrote almost 13K and I hope to wrap that project this week, so I can print it out before I get off Day Job (so it will have to be done by tomorrow afternoon, LOL! I know I can do it!). Then I’m probably going to write a couple of shorts around these novels to either send out or just add to the ebooks when they’ll come out in November or December. Anyhow, Yearly wordcount is 405K, so very close to the goal, yay!

If you’d like some advice on plot and character, head for Chuck Wendig’s blog. I’m character-oriented for the non-initiated, and plot is so secondary to me, that sometimes I’m afraid I have no plot, busy as I am following those characters wandering around, meeting people and doing stuff. Sadist Author who threw stuff at them seems asleep, lately.

But that’s also why I can’t write to a formula, because my characters simply won’t follow the written plot. Meh. Maybe I’ll manage it with a short story, but longer works… probably not. Oh, well… considering how younger generations seem to prefer videos and audio, soon nobody will read the old-fashioned way anyway, so I’ll have to find another way to narrate those stories, LOL!

And did you hear about the notorious GPT-3-generated blog showing AI still can’t imitate human writing? I was really impressed with DanT’s comment (an image in the original, so reporting here for the visually impaired):

If I pay for a book, magazine or newspaper, I’m not just buying the content, I’m buying the labour of the people involved, who have spent time learning their craft, and researching their stories. So it’s a fair exchange for me to pay for a book by William Gibson, for example, because I know at the end of the financial chain some of the money will be going to a person who has invested time and effort into the creation of the product I’ve bought.

If the only human input is five minutes spent on a headline and intro, which will probably then just be spun into multiple variations for testing purposes, why would I assign a monetary value to it? There’s no labour to be rewarded, and no bond with the writer (which is a big driver of me spending money on writing). Instead it’s just some very clever AI churning out words which are meaningless to it.

Rather than saving content companies cash, it seems more likely to entirely devalue writing as medium, which has pretty big implications for how humanity communicates in the future.

So we might find ourselves in that April’s Fool post by Mark Coker (based on which I wrote a story that has been picked up for a charity anthology for no pay, but I still have no idea if and when it will be published), New Amazon Service Eliminates the Need for Authors.

Meanwhile, we’re still here, still writing and still publishing, aren’t we? And tomorrow there’s a Kobo sale for the US and Canada only, book 2 of Future Earth Chronicles will be at 99c, so for those of you who bought book 1, you can now grab Book 2 at a special price for a limited time! 🙂For good laughs Terrible Book Covers: Hilariously Bad Book Covers of Your Favourite Classic Novels. Having been on Lousy Book Covers myself for the old cover of Technological Angel, I understand it’s not nice to tease bad book covers, but these are public domain/classics the cover designer obviously hasn’t read (in spite of them being classics), so chuckle all along if you wish. I particularly love Moby Dick portrayed as a shark! 😀

And that’s all for today! Have a great week! 🙂

5 Comments
by Barb on 16/09/2020  •  Permalink
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Posted by Barb on 16/09/2020

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2020/09/16/wednesday-weekly-roundup-49/

Wednesday Weekly Roundup


Last week I wrote a little over 5K, mostly revisions of the books I took with me for editing. I also wrote a short story, but I don’t like it and my beta-reader found many faults in it, so I doubt I’ll ever get back to it. I also started another, but meh. So I decided to go back to the manuscript I had left before my short trip to Massa Carrara to celebrate my birthday and leave it at that.

Having to follow the rules for a “marketable” story is taking the fun out of writing. Also, I’m as much in transition as the world is, so I don’t know what I want to write next. Probably next year will be a sabbatic year from publishing, and I’ll try to read more and possibly explore other genres. But there’s still four months to go, and I might change my mind four times until then, LOL!

It’s been a long hot summer and it’s not over yet, so I better not make important decision while my brain is fried. So I’ll keep saying “I’m OK, I’m OK” (in an Orlando Jones voice, I absolutely love The Replacements!) or “I’m fine” even if I’m not, since I won’t be able to explain what’s wrong or what’s going on anyway. I change my mind way took quickly between excitement and exhaustion, so there. Time out. Gimme a break! 😉

I am aware I need to find my focus, but right now I don’t have the strength. I will, though, and I’m lucky to be a one-person household with a steady job, although I’m still hoping to quit and move elsewhere, but right now I can’t go anywhere and I probably wouldn’t be able to focus. I will have to learn to pivot, I guess! 🙂

The Curated Anthologies are selling, including the paperbacks, so definitely when I get a couple of weeks off DayJob, I’ll get back to doing paperbacks. By then even the new books of Future Earth Chronicles will be almost all out, so I can format the paperback so it comes out along with the ebook for the last two! 😉

But first I must finish the prequel, which I hope to do in a couple of weeks. Then I will try again to write short stories to submit. Or I will have to figure out what to write for the rest of the year. After reading about this guy who used AI and Photoshop to bring ancient Roman emperors back to life, I’m thinking it’s time I tell my Roman vampire’s story – now I even know what his emperor and his successors look like, LOL!

I’m going to end with this quote… seemingly quite fitting. By the way, I think Stephen Fry is really the reincarnation of Oscar Wilde, like Keanu Reeves is the reincarnation of Paul Mounet, LOL! And by the way, Happy Birthday, Keanu! 😀 Have a great week!

Image may contain: 2 people, text that says '"Oscar Wilde said that ifyou know what you want to be, then you inevitably become it that is your punishment, but ifyou never know, then you can be anything. There is a truth to that. We are not nouns, we are verbs. am not a thing- an actor, writer- am a person who does things Iwrite, Lact- act and I never know what I am going to do next. think you can be imprisoned ifyou think of yourself as a noun." -Stephen Fry'

7 Comments
by Barb on 02/09/2020  •  Permalink
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Posted by Barb on 02/09/2020

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2020/09/02/wednesday-weekly-roundup-47/

Wednesdey Weekly Roundup


Last week I wrote around 10K before taking my train. This week I’ll be mostly editing, so not much for wordcount, probably, but I knew about it.

A gentle reminder that one giveaway is almost up – and again, I won’t know you downloaded, since Smashwords won’t tell me unless you do. So feel free to grab Star Minds Sire Teens. The code is: TG65B and it expires on: 2020-8-31.

And of course a new Future Earth Chronicles book is out!

Yollanda is startled when her friend Carlos calls out of the blue to reveal the truth behind Rainbow Town. Soon she finds herself helping him and watches, aghast, as her hometown switches down.
Yollanda learns to live under the sun, in the ruins of Great Falls, with Carlos and Lucy, until she’s confident enough to climb ontp a horse-drawn closed wagon to explore more.
And when an airship reaches Roanoke, she jumps at the opportunity to cross the Atlantic, hoping to explore her African roots.
BONUS STORY: “Bran the Raven’s Last Night” – The Battle of Chittor seen in “Kristine the Youngest” from Bran’s point of view.

So there, go check it out! 🙂 Next one in a couple of weeks! 😀

Now, as soon as I’m done with the prequel, I’m going to write a few shorts to submit to markets in September and October. And no, I’m not keeping track of rejections time, although I do keep and Excel sheet with the submissions. And I like seeing those red marks that say “SOLD” next to some stories! 😉

Hopefully the stories I’ll write in September will be stories I can add to my existing series, if not, well… eventually I’ll publish all those random stories in a volume, LOL! I do have quite a few still… The Silvery Earth ones will be out probably at the beginning of next year, and I might write more in the Star Minds Universe even though theoretically I’m done with this section of history and should move on to the next galactic century.

For other publications I might just make up stuff, using their calls as writing prompts. I still haven’t decided what I’m writing after I finish the Future Earth Chronicles, so some unrelated shorts might spark the next series! 😉

A couple of interesting bundles on StoryBundle (so limited time offer, check them today):

The Innovative Worlds Bundle ending really soon that includes Future Visions edited by my friend and fellow author Francesco Verso, and The Exclusive Dark Fantasy and SF Bundle curated by my friend and fellow author Douglas Smith a remarkable set of eleven titles by bestselling authors and rising stars. As always, at StoryBundle, you name your own price—whatever you feel the books are worth, and a portion of the proceeds goes to charity.

I ran into this wonderful post on how to buy a book, and who actually profits from it. I also heard of indie authors punished by vicious readers on Amazon (not to mention it’s impossible to be seen without ads on the various markets), so yeah, Amazon is definitely not the best place to sell our books, but it’s one venue (and eventually I’ll be able to sell from my own web page, but we’re not there yet), and as long as you don’t put all your eggs in one basket, you should be fine.

In the gap in my publishing that will happen in October (after FEC Book 10) there should be something coming out from another publisher, stay tuned for the official announcement. I got paid for that story, but I don’t see any official release date on the publisher’s page, so I’ll keep mum for a little longer. Wishing you all a wonderful week!

4 Comments
by Barb on 26/08/2020  •  Permalink
Posted in real world inspiration, struggles to get through, writing projects
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Posted by Barb on 26/08/2020

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2020/08/26/wednesdey-weekly-roundup/

Wednesday Weekly Roundup


Last week I wrote almost 16k (with an extra day off day job) and since it was so busy in the mornings (sarcasm), I even got to start on the new strip. Now I have to color the waves before putting them on Instagram, but meanwhile here’s a “scoop” – the cover and credits! 🙂

I started the coloring and lettering of the panels I have already done, but there’s still quite a lot of work to do. This week I hope to tackle a couple of shorter works for upcoming anthologies or to add words to some books. Like, a couple of additions to FEC11, which I completed last week. Then next week I’ll have very little writing and lots of editing, LOL!

Many writers say they can actually hear the voices of our characters – including yours truly. Now you have the scientific explanation. I’m definitely more of a “internal dialog” person, definitely not a “monologue”, hence why I thought writing screenplays would be a piece of cake. Or radio plays. They’re all dialog, right? Wrong. Lesson learned, back to prose.

A Kickstarter I backed because there are plenty of writers I know (including the one Planet Bob guy, whom I met at the Anthology Workshop in 2017) and I was curious. I’ll get only the ebook, but if you’re in the US there’s plenty more rewards! 🙂 And don’t you like the title? SPACE:1975 – A Blast of 1970s Style Space Opera Fiction. I loved Space 1999 and could probably write something for them as well. Maybe. One day.

How should artists deal with the pandemic? Like Dolly Parton! 🙂 Check how she steers her empire through the pandemic!

She has always known what the pandemic has forced many in the industry to realize: that diversifying your income streams is one of the smartest things an artist can do.

And for us indies it means don’t put all your eggs in one basket – and then licensing, of course. I still have to get to that, possibly next year. Like I mentioned in other posts, now is not a good time to take risks. But if I manage an early retirement, I’ll definitely look into it!

I happen to be a Generation X person – although in Italy it’s slightly different. My peers are still steady-job oriented and wouldn’t consider entrepreneurship, unlike Millennials. So if I get rid of the steady job, I might start exploring entrepreneurship, although laws in Italy are the most complicated in the world – which is one more reason why I want to move to another country to start a business.

Whenever I get to start working on my writing business, I’ll definitely consider Kickstarters and licensing. Meanwhile I’m just writing, so I’ll have a decent catalog by the time I’m ready to relaunch. Although I don’t see myself stopping writing to do something else.

Some writers drop everything writing to make licensing deals work. They lose writing time to business time. I could actually spend the rest of my adult life writing nothing, and making a boatload of money from licensing what I’ve already written.

I like writing too much to do that.

Like Kris, I’ll probably never be one of those writers. But I do hope eventually I’ll find the energy to concentrate on the business part of my writing, even though, like I said, it’s not easy in this country, and it adds to the stress I already feel. Like the biological clock saying “it’s been ten years, and you’re still at this stage? Gee, get moving!” – except I can’t, not really. Because I am mentally and emotionally exhausted.

So, we now know why we’re feeling like this! 😉 I’m currently low on #3 (although it was a bigger problem in the past), but the rest is more or less spot on.

'9 Warning Signs You're Mentally Emotionally Exhausted 1. You're easily irritated. 2. You feel unmotivated- even to do things normally enjoy. 3. You'r experiencing anxiety or panic attacks. having trouble sleeping. Either takes you hours fall asleep or broken all through the night. 5. You almost no patience and you find yourself being short with colleagues family. 6. experiencing indigestion. You have stomach ache all the time or feel like there's butterflies in stomach. 7. You crying unexpectedly. 8. You feel from reality- go through days without really emotionally responding connecting to anything. feel TheMindsJournal THEMINDSJOURNAL'

I shall try not to take big decisions while in this state, just in case. This too shall pass. And when I’ll be Dolly’s age (approximately two decades from now), I hope to be able to be like her (extract from the article linked above again):

This is perhaps one secret to Parton’s widespread appeal: Just because she wants to be for everyone doesn’t mean she doesn’t stand for anything. Offending as few potential customers as possible is just good business. But when Parton explains the philosophies that drive her life and career, her answers are hardly corporate. “First of all, I’m not a judgmental person. I do believe we all have a right to be exactly who we are, and it is not my place to judge,” she says. “All these good Christian people that are supposed to be such good Christian people, the last thing we’re supposed to do is to judge one another. God is the judge, not us. I just try to be myself. I try to let everybody else be themselves.”

And here’s to hoping musicians can stop politicians from (ab)using their songs. Can Neil Young Block Trump From Using His Songs? It’s Complicated.

“Their best recourse is probably one that they have been using for many years,” he said, “which is to complain publicly and engage in shaming sessions, which very often have won.”

Wishing you all a wonderful week! 🙂

5 Comments
by Barb on 19/08/2020  •  Permalink
Posted in real world inspiration, struggles to get through, the Human being, writing projects
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Posted by Barb on 19/08/2020

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2020/08/19/wednesday-weekly-roundup-46/

Wednesday Weekly Roundup


Last week I wrote 13K, finished a draft 0 (to be revised when I travel on the 23rd) and started a Part 2 to make a sequel longer, albeit still a short novel (can’t let go of that character, no!) Even though I’m quite in the future by now, I don’t seem to be able to let go of the Future Earth Chronicles, although I’ll have to write the prequel next!

And the new book is out! Follow Megan’s journey more or less parallel to the first five books and get ready for the continuation of the plot! Raj and Bel have gone home, but the younger members of their party are still out and about!

Megan is Rainbow Town’s ultimate punk-rock star, but an attention-grabbing newcomer is irking her to the point she decides to leave her golden prison.

Led by Richie, Megan, her best friend, Lucy, and Carlos dig their way out of Rainbow Town. After an unfortunate experience with a white settlement, Megan and Richie decide to try living with the First Nations who got their ancestral lands back.

Three years after leaving Rainbow Town Montana, Megan’s path crosses the Wanderers seeking the truth behind Rainbow Town. The post-apocalyptic warrior woman must learn to trust the newcomers and follow the adventure song.

An oldish article that still fits today – your entertainment choices are not your identity.

“Producing things for others is the difference between being a grown-up and being a child, and once making something rather than defending the purity of medium or the problematic aspects of a spending habit becomes routine, you find that you spend a lot less time unhappily screaming about raped childhoods and the SJW menace. There’s a reason that, whenever a criticism is raised against something like a game or a TV show, the first response is always someone shouting, “If you don’t like something, make your own.” It’s because that person feels like he can’t and he assumes you can’t either.

But you can, you know? You can make the thing. People do every day, and the more you do it openly, honestly and with the sincere attempt to do your best, the happier you will be.”

That’s why I write. I tell the stories I want to read. It might not be the latest fad, but it’s what speaks to me.

Which, of course, needs a tiny bit of courage.

“Writers who are worthy of the title “writer,” because they write and they have a career.

Oh-and a tiny bit of courage. Never forget that tiny bit of courage.

It makes all things possible…when viewed after the fact.”

Now, I just finished a book in a bundle I’m in. I won’t name it because I don’t recommend it – the premise was interesting, but it was poorly executed, and I might try to write something similar, eventually – but the most irritating thing was that it looked as if the writer had hit the publish button as soon as he wrote “The End”.

Indie authors, please, I beg you. Hire a proofreader before hitting that button! Not an editor and not necessarily a paid person (it can be a grammar nazi friend, a voracious reader friend or your significant other) and have them scour your manuscripts for homophones, wrong words in the wrong place or missing/extra words!

Word’s spellchecker won’t catch them (maybe if you turn on also the grammar checker?) and it makes for a painful read. Unless readers are by now used to a garbled mess, you better clean your manuscript.

And if you ask someone who does it for a living, don’t forget to pay them. I might offer proofreading in the future, but I won’t do it for free. Like you shell the money for your cover artist, shell some for a proofreader – and pay them! Below a handy guide of the different editors.

Image may contain: text that says 'Understanding BOOK EDITORS: Who you need & when you need them A DEVELOPMENTAL EDITOR on character development, theme, When: finished draft and wantt your story, when ifit "works' Focuses writing pointing awkward telling vs. showing, passive dialogue, flagging any inconsistencies. When: You know your draft sound "works.' COPY grammar, address commonly confused with works, and your ensure numerals. polished. has the possible. They well copy' typographical number problems. When: The book formatted for for you plan ACQUISITION EDITOR Works They acquire manuscripts evaluate the book's gets published. developmental edit, line edit copy editi traditionally publish. www.savannahgilbo.com'

Yes, I finished that book, but it didn’t make me want to read more from that author. And he wasn’t the first. Traditional books might have typos, but they’re less messy.

A few typos are okay (I keep updating my own documents – this weekend it was FEC Shorts (that you can still grab for free with the Smashwords coupon) because while re-reading one story I found 2 typos), but when the sentences become a garbled mess, it’s not.

My main publishing expenses are still paying Mighty Editor for proofreading (actually she does more copyediting, now that I see a clear guide of the different kinds – although I usually ignore her punctuation suggestions! 😉 ) – and I’m an ESL writer, in case you’re new to this blog.

Now I wish you a great week, and happy writing, reading or whatever keeps you entertained! 😀

7 Comments
by Barb on 12/08/2020  •  Permalink
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Posted by Barb on 12/08/2020

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2020/08/12/wednesday-weekly-roundup-45/

Wednesday Weekly Roundup


Last week I wrote a little less than 12K. Productivity is obviously not my problem (and never was), but I’m more and more weary about everything publishing. I do enjoy making mock covers, but that’s it. I don’t have the energy for much else and even this blog is less filled with things than it used to be.

I had the WordPress Newsletter plugin installed on the publisher page, but haven’t started studying it. Then someone suggested other services in alternative to Patreon and that might work both as newsletter and with paid content. So I’ve been checking both Subscribestar and Substack. I heard good things about switching from Patreon to Substack (although I’m no longer on Patreon).

But at the moment I don’t have the energy to set anything up. Even though this blog following keeps growing organically, nothing else is, so I don’t see why I should open another venue. My reacers (except Tori) don’t seem to want to interact with me anyway, so why bother? 😉

Even my giveaways get no takers, except the usual suspects… there’s still two available, in case you want to try my writing at no charge. This won’t put you on any mailing list, since Smashwords won’t tell me who downloaded the ebooks, so it’s pretty safe! 😉 And a special thank to the kind person who reviewed one of the two (yes, it’s you, Shafali)!

Maybe next year I’ll find the strength to do more marketing. Maybe when I manage to quit my day job, I can “recycle” myself as cover artist and proofreader and possibly translator. Maybe in the meantime Kickstarter will grow a writer-friendly community and I’ll have a project worthy of it.

I’m still behind with paperbacks production, but I hope to catch up in September, since I probably won’t be going anywhere. I hope Cartoomics will be held so I can visit friends in Milan, but maybe I won’t be able to go anywhere for the rest of the year (I did manage to grab a train ticket to be away around my birthday, but that’s it).

A couple of suggested titles. The first is fiction, and I have published some short stories in my curated anthos (plus more I have read at the anthology workshops) from this awesome guy, so check it out.

Image may contain: 1 person, closeup, text that says 'EZEKIEL JAMES BOSTON'S ULTRAHUMANS AN ULTRAHUMAN NOVEL: BooK2 BOOK 2 A HERO NAMED PEARL WHEN INTEGRITY BECOMES OLD-FASHIONED'New novel out today!
Title: A Hero Named Pearl (Ultrahumans)
Genre: Superhero

—–

Sixty-year veteran superhero Tamiko Miller—known worldwide for her elasticity—never thought she’d be suspended from hero work. All because of the recent militarized uniform policies.

On administrative leave, Tamiko treats it as a vacation. Relaxing with a strawberry margarita in Miami, a speeding, physics-defying van screeches plumes of smoke as it drifts onto Flagler Street. Heading her way.

Tamiko knows intervening in her old uniform will likely get her fired forfeiting her pension. Memos never explained why the new uniforms were so important and the true reason lies deeper than she dares snoop with her telepathy.

Preventing harm must be more important than outfits.
The van speeds toward her.
She must act.

When integrity becomes old-fashioned, only true heroes spring into action. Join Tamiko as she proves principles and values are needed in these dark times now more than ever.

—–

Store links:
Amazon — https://amzn.to/2D9J47S
Others — https://books2read.com/u/3JjgyP
Patreon — https://www.patreon.com/posts/39991908
Direct — https://ezekieljamesboston.com/…/product/a-hero-named-pearl/

The second, from another friend of mine, is non-fiction, and if I ever make up my mind about the  newsletter thingy, I’ll probably check it out myself.

I wrote this book because I saw so many authors on 20Books, SPF, and other forums struggling to get started with newsletters.

I spent a lot of time on trial and error with MailerLite, until I understood the options sufficiently to make my onboarding process and newsletter more streamlined and easy to use.

So, if you love Newsletter Ninja (like I do) but don’t know how to implement the really cools stuff it describes (like I didn’t), this book is your HOW TO guide – a strategic shortcut to setting up newsletters.

Available in KU and to buy on Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08F4G9WSP
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08F4G9WSP
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08F4G9WSP
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B08F4G9WSP
(and all other Amazon stores too!)

Now I shall go back to my crossover between Future Earth Chronicles and Vampires Through the Centuries. Stay tuned for Book 6 coming soon and have a great week! 🙂

 

8 Comments
by Barb on 05/08/2020  •  Permalink
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Posted by Barb on 05/08/2020

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2020/08/05/wednesday-weekly-roundup-44/

Wednesday Weekly Roundup


Last week I went over 15K again, although it took me a couple of false starts before going (and a deleted scene that had to be rewritten). Still in present and future Earth, watching the apocalypse unfold through my vampires’ eyes. Should take me to August, and then we’ll see! 🙂

Meanwhile, a gentle reminder that the Smashwords Sale is almost over. If you want to grab those first five books with the brand new covers at half-price, go get them now! And don’t forget the code for the latest title, so you can add it to your shopping cart for free! 🙂

And after two weeks of our Mighty Chuck fighting The Zon POD Service, we finally have More Future Earth paperback! Now the anthology is really complete, go check it out!

If you’re an indie author and you’re still chasing algorithms, I suggest you read this post by David Gaughran. It has a cute unicorn! 🙂 I don’t even try to follow or predict algorithms, since they’re way smarter than me anyway.

And I read Homo Deus, which hasn’t endeared the little buggers to me! 😀 I’ve come to the conclusion that hunting algorithms is like catching typo faeries – a useless endeavor! 😉

Although algorithms can be fooled. This week Facebook keeps reminding me where I was last year at this time (20BooksEdinburgh for the newbies of this blog). How about 2, 4 7, 10 years ago? They can’t remind me anything because I didn’t post anything…

So, algorithms can be fooled. Don’t feed them data or they’ll turn into Gremlins and get in charge of your life – well, your decisions, mostly! 😀

Maybe next year I’ll relaunch for my 10-year anniversary. Maybe I’ll do a Kickstarter. Maybe. Definitely no earlier than next year. When hopefully things have settled to the new normal even in Yankee country. Because even though in Italy it’s not that bad, I’m worried for my North American friends.

We shall overcome. Meanwhile, I’ll keep writing. And publishing. And writing this blog. Have a great week! 🙂

5 Comments
by Barb on 29/07/2020  •  Permalink
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Posted by Barb on 29/07/2020

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2020/07/29/wednesday-weekly-roundup-43/

Wednesday Weekly Roundup


Last week was Editing Week, so I didn’t write much (for number lovers 3900words). Most of the writing was done on Sunday, when I was done going through the Future Earth Chronicles. And I stayed sorta/kinda in that area by writing from another point of view an episode that remains quite obscure in the books.

Like I told my Street Team (a public Facebook group attached to my Author Page, you can join it here), I know what I’m writing next. I’m going to write the apocalypse from the vampires’ point of view (so, a prequel to the Chronicles), starting from 2020! It will be multiple POVs with the various vampires spreading around in preparation for the Chronicles…

And then I decided the actual prequel is about mortals, some of which will live for centuries in spite of it all. The books from the vampires’ points of view will be in the Vampires Through the Centuries series, and I plan on publishing a collection of shorts that spans the 12th century to the 25th. Most are (or will be) already out there, but one will be new.

As I uploaded the latest title, I was reminded DriveThru also have a sale, called Christmas in July. So you have more discounted books there, as well as the still ongoing Smashwords sale. And the last Star Minds Universe titles are out! One is the giveaway I announced on Sunday (still going, in case you missed it) and then there’s Star Minds Interregnum Volume 2 (that includes She-wolves Team and a few more new stories along with reprints).

More stories set between the fall of the Galactic Empire and the birth of the Federation of Humanoid Planets.
The Chameleon (5204-5230)
A Wegan telepath loses his love and twenty years later discovers he has a son
Daughter of C’est’aran (5218)
A scientist’s daughter on SETH World challenges the woman who seems to want to take her late mother’s place
Mother (5225-5247)
A young woman meets a handsome young man who vanishes, leaving her pregnant
One Line of bad code (5240)
A battery-operated girlfriend malfunctions
Battery-operated Boyfriend (5242)
B.O.B Theft from the point of view of the B.O.B.
Codename Dark Lord (5245)
Assassin Cyrus Wildner finds his long lost mother
The Widower (5245)
Wealthy Terran widower loses a family heirloom but finds love
The Queen’s Niece
Arica of Sylvania’s daughter on her cousin’s starship
Smuggler
Azzadar owns the Vortu Sprinter and gets in trouble quite a lot…
She-wolves Team 5245
Arica’s daughter’s team of fixers is out in the galaxy
Wegan Woman (5250)
From Galaxy Police officer to independent fixer
Extraction (5260)
Retired albino assassin Elsa needs to extract her granddaughter from a Vilas Lok secret club

Since there are new people onboard and I got questions, I shall summarize here my indie publishing experience.  On January 2011 I uploaded my first title to Smashwords – it was the only place that allowed me to distribute in the US from Italy (or without a Mac in the case of Apple). But Mark Coker never managed to strike a deal with Jeff Bezos, so by April, when I uploaded the first novel, I signed up for KDP (Amazon Italia would arrive a few months later, if I remember correctly).

In 2012 I joined KWL, Kobo’s direct upload, and Draft2Digital, another distributor with no shop but better features than Smashwords. Some titles also go on DriveThruFiction or DriveThruComics, as you can see above. I did some attempts at KU/KDPSelect when it showed up, but so far it worked only for the Italian titles.

I’m still on Smashwords because of Tori (*waves*) and because every now and then I participate in their site-wide sales (like right now), or use their coupons to gift copies of my books, but I much prefer D2D and their free ebook templates. I distribute my box sets (except the first, Books of the Immortals) through them, and they send even to Amazon.

I send my books to libraries through them and even used Findaway Voices through them (they partnered with them before Smashwords) – now, I have no idea when I’ll do more audiobooks, but it might be the matter of a Kickstarter sometime in the future, LOL!

I usually format the collaboration anthos through D2D, since I don’t have Vellum, and then upload the files to BundleRabbit for distribution and splitting royalties – although I no longer put my books on BundleRabbit to be bundled (I’m still waiting to be invited to some StoryBundle, LOL!). Some are still there and some bundles are still live, but these days it’s mostly collaborations that go to the usual suspects (when KDPprint doesn’t throw a tantrum and doesn’t talk to KDP, that is).

So, since next year is my tenth anniversary, you can tell I’m not giving up. But then, Dean Wesley Smith is my guru and if he kept 3000rejections in 5 years and now is where he is, so can I! 😀 I still send out stories to magazines and anthologies, although I’ve lost count of the number of rejections, but if I find a topic that intrigues me, I’ll write it anyway.

That’s how I wrote a story for Nuns With Guns, for example. That’s why I’m going to write another couple of stories I won’t know where to put in my indie publishing, so eventually I’ll make a collection of those spurious stories, LOL!

My friend and cover artist Cristina Fabris needs to buy a new computer and graphics tablet, so she’ll be taking commissions and selling originals. She did the covers for my Books of the Immortals and the Southern Kingdoms  as well as a few more Silvery Earth titles, but she normally draws erotica. You can find her works here, and if you’re interested, contact me, and I’ll put you in touch with her (I’m her interpreter, since she speaks only Italian…)! 🙂

And I shall end with a video again… this is how I feel this week, with everything crumbling down around me… Have a great week!

by Barb on 22/07/2020  •  Permalink
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Posted by Barb on 22/07/2020

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2020/07/22/wednesday-weekly-roundup-42/

Wednesday Weekly Roundup


Last week I wrote a little over 9K and wrapped the Future Earth Series. Now, during this week and the next, I probably won’t be writing much, since I need to go through all the 5-and-a-half books to make sure they flow… and 10 and 11 won’t get to the proofreader until next week.

The cover reveal event will be on this very blog on Sunday, July 27! There will be giveaways and I’ll introduce you to the new covers for the old titles, as well as the new titles, so mark your calendars (or follow this blog, LOL!)

It’s been fun, and interesting – a new way of writing a series for me, but then, this series is different from the others. It has numbered books for a reason! 😉

I don’t know yet what I’ll write next, but probably I’ll stick to vampires, in the past, possibly, since the two I want to mention don’t survive the apocalypse – well Bran’s first fledgling doesn’t survive the Roman Empire, LOL!

And meanwhile, there’s another anthology out! One again Mighty Zon proved difficult, but we made it! The paperback is not ready yet, but the ebook is live everywhere… Check out More Future Earth and this batch of new stories.

More stories for our future – with less tech, probably, but still life on our planet. Post-apocalypse, dystopia, last men and women usually struggling to survive. Bookstores as treasure troves or abandoned places, factories and cities in various states of disrepair, locations from North America to Europe to Japan, all over our beautiful planet.
The Book Store by Jason A. Adams
The Last Books of Nara by M.L. Buchman
Access All Areas by Fulvio Gatti
Lisa’s Odyssey by Barbara G.Tarn
A Cupboard Full of Seeds by Meyari Mc Farland
The Crossing of the Moons by C.A. Rowland
Imposible by Lesley L. Smith
The Last Maple by Rebecca M. Senese
Alone at the End by Vonnie Winslow Crist
A New Script by Tao Wong

Also, theres a Kobo promo coming up, but it will be on the Publisher’s Page. So if you’re interested only in new titles, you can follow that! 😉

You may have heard of the changes in publishing and the awesome Kickstarter Brandon Sanderson ran. Now there’s even going to be a (paying) Kickstarter Full Workshop to help you start your own campaign. I still can’t do any of it until I’m an employee (don’t ask!), but hopefully at some point I’ll be able to quit and will have a project worthy of a Kickstarter (because at the moment, I really don’t have any).

Another interesting post is Kris Rusch’s Holes in the Economy, and mostly her writerly advice (which I’m following, in case you didn’t notice, LOL!):

We can’t keep track of it all, so we keep track of what we can. All I can do right now is urge you to do a few things:

  1. Have compassion for the people around you—all of them. We’re very stressed out as a world right now.
  2. Write a lot and publish a lot.
  3. Wear a damn mask and stay six feet away from others.

Eventually, this DDoS attack of news and change will ease. It always does. When, none of us knows. We can only trust that we will get through this.

And we will get through it together.

Unfortunately I can’t, at this time, write about fictional heroes dealing with pandemics or economic collapses (in fact the Future Earth Chronicles are well after the actual apocalypse), and I’m looking for humorous stuff both to read and to write. I’ll find something, eventually… but I’m wondering how Urban Fantasy writers are doing in the pandemic – are they adding it to the magic and vampires and werewolves and angels and demons or are they just ignoring it?

Today I want to end with a couple of R.E.M. songs, since I think both apply to me at this time…

and

by Barb on 15/07/2020  •  Permalink
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Posted by Barb on 15/07/2020

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2020/07/15/wednesday-weekly-roundup-41/

Wednesday Weekly Roundup


So last week I finished Book 10 and remembered I wanted to write a shorter sequel, so I embarked in Book 11 – a novella sequel. So by the end of the week I had almost 11K new words, bringing the yearly total to 300K+. Now I’m giving the final touches to that novella and probably in the coming weeks I won’t be that productive, but I can’t complain, can I? 😉

I still haven’t decided what to write next, I’m kind of enjoying writing on Earth, albeit in the future… I could either go back to the vampires in the past or work on that shelved project. We’ll see. I should write a few more Silvery Earth titles, but now is not a good time for secondary world high fantasy.

And you have a new title out! Tori, don’t rush to get it, since it will be included in Star Minds Interregnum Volume 2, coming out in 2 weeks. Just sayin’. Everybody else, if this cover speaks to you, go check it out! 😉 She-wolves Team is more or less contemporary to the Lone Wolves Team, in fact at some point they meet.

This was the first time in a long time that Amazon was the last to publish the title. I uploaded it on Saturday, and whether it was the 4th of July, Covid or the fact that Mighty Zon is in Seattle, it took them 48 hours to send it live instead of the usual 12. Oh, well. Considering that on Monday I missed the bus and had to wait 1hour with 37°C in the shadows for the next one to do 5km… It’s July!

Actually, Sci-fi July, LOL! With the last two titles of the Star Minds Universe (for now, unless I come up with fourth generation stories) and the two curated anthologies about Future Earth, we’re all set! And don’t forget the Smashwords sale, that is not just about sci-fi, but everything else! 😉

And my friend Rob Vagle also has a new sci-fi title out! 😉 I’m kinda bummed he didn’t send any of those stories to me for my antho, but well… here you go!

In a world . . .

Where a new form of execution transforms more than just the condemned.

Where a being made of gears and scales calculates a human life’s monetary worth.

Where a stranger courts away mirror reflections of others, leaving one narcissist desperate and alone.

Where the Earth holds what completes each of us to fill the hollow inside our bodies.

Where one woman glimpses her alternate lives in a strange and sudden room.

Where a burning creature of the sun pines for the little blue planet in the distance.

If you’re just starting, I highly recommend you get David Gaughran’s Let’s Get Digital – it’s free right now! I have the first edition and still haven’t read it (I know, shame on me) and unfortunately if there’s something I really cannot do at this time is read all those ebooks for authors.

I still have to read his Amazon Decoded and Kris Rusch’s Creating Your Author Brand, so… I’m going to pass on this fourth edition. But if you’re just starting, grab it. I sent the link to a friend who is considering indie publishing, and he thanked me for it.

Now I’m going back to write fiction even if I’m not maximising sales, but that’s really something I can’t handle right now. One thing is hiding in a fiction world (even if it’s Earth), another is to struggle to get through in the real world! 😉

And even though I can’t stand AC and the heat is probably going to send me in some kind of dreamstate, I will survive… hence closing up with Gloria Gaynor to cheer us up! 🙂 Have a great week! 😀

by Barb on 08/07/2020  •  Permalink
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Posted by Barb on 08/07/2020

https://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/2020/07/08/wednesday-weekly-roundup-40/

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