publishing

Dario Ciriello's Panverse Publishing got some great press on GalleyCat and BoingBoing stemming from his Kickstarter campaign to fund an expansion of the press. Now, that's exposure. The GalleyCat article also includes a nice cover shot of Panverse One and mentions something about "rave reviews."

If you can, you really ought to help Dario out on his Kickstarter campaign. Trust me, as a reader you'll be well rewarded. If nothing else, you can rush out and buy a copy of Panverse One, or Eight Against Reality.

science fiction
publishing
micro presses

Yes, the March/April 2009 issue is out. It's the annual Conferences and Residencies issue, with information on writing retreats and literary getaways. Of course, the database of writing contests is updated, as always. The Agents & Editors column this issue is a Q&A with Richard Nash, Lee Boudreaux, Alexis Gargagliano, and Eric Chinski.

Poets & Writers
publishing
literary agents
editors

What's Wrong with Authonomy?

November 11th, 2008

Several things, actually. For starters, anything posted there is accessible by anyone without registering. That's enough for a lot of editors to consider "first rights" on the work to be already gone--not every editor, mind you, but enough that it limits the author's choices. You do, however, have to register to comment or vote on the work. Okay, so what they're really interested in attracting is readers, not writers.

That makes perfect sense, considering it's a HarperCollins venture, but they could at least be honest about it. They dangle the carrot in front of writers, suggesting that the highest-rated works will get in front of HC editors. They do, according to the FAQ, but the editors don't read the whole thing, nor is there any indication that the works will be considered for publication. What happens is that these editors will "read from the first 10,000 words" and offer feedback. That's it.

The answer to the FAQ question "Will HarperCollins be publishing books from authonomy?" is a complete non-answer. It appears carefully worded to hold out hope while saying nothing at all. I'd be a lot happier with an honest answer like "it could happen, but it's not likely". Instead, it talks about how they'll "be looking for promising books – as will other publishing houses and agents". Yeah, right. How many publishing houses have so few submissions (mostly agented) that they feel the need to scour the Web for more? I'm guessing zero.

writing
publishing

First Publish, the company that produced the paper edition of The Heretic, has decided to cease operations. Sadly, that means that the book is, at least temporarily, out of print.

While the online edition will continue to be available through the Happy Hacker Web site, there is still continuing demand for the paper edition. Be patient. One way or another, The Heretic will once again be available on paper in the not-too-distant future.

First Publish's demise was rather sudden, and left no time to either make alternate plans or stock up. That means it could be several months before a new paper edition is available. It takes a while to go from a standing start to a finished book.

Those of you who want to be notified when the new edition becomes available should sign up for the email announcement list. Word will go out just as soon as something is finalized. If you had an outstanding order and have not yet been notified, please email me the details and I'll take care of it.

I want to thank everyone for your continuing support. You've made The Heretic a huge success both online and on paper. I really appreciate those who have gone out of their way to let me know how much they liked the book, and frankly the sales of the paper edition have amazed me. I hope that when the sequel, Council of Shadows, is finished, your support will continue.