Make 100 Paperbacks A Kickstarter Project


A guest blog from Dean Wesley Smith

This week Allyson, the wonderful publisher of WMG Publishing, turned her blog over to me to write a little about a really fun project I am doing. So let me start from the very beginning.

A couple years back Kickstarter started a promotion to get people to make one hundred of a certain object and have a limited to one-hundred copies award of the object. When I first heard that, I figured I could make 100 short story paperbacks, all never-before published short stories.

That’s right, the stories would be out in electronic form, but also in small, very short paperbacks. I have done a number of these before and the length runs from 24 pages to about 50 pages. Too thin for writing on the spine, so they sort of feel like chapbooks, only with real glossy paperback covers on them.

Everyone who holds one thinks they are really nifty.

Last two years I didn’t have time to even try this challenge, but this year, when Kickstarter offered the promotion again, I figured why not? I would do almost all the work. I would, of course, write the short stories. I would lay them out for print, create the covers myself, and even load them up.

Allyson and the wonderful crew at WMG Publishing convinced me that they could load them to the stores like Amazon (I would just mess up the works is what they were saying, basically) and that they would do all 100 short stories in 3 limited (and very large) collections.  

So I went for it and started a Kickstarter campaign. You can get different forms of my stories or the three final collections. (If you support the campaign at all you get the three collections of all 100 stories in electronic form.)

Also, since I teach a lot of workshops for WMG Publishing, we decided to include discounts to all our writing and publishing workshops. So you can support the Make 100 Paperbacks Kickstarter Campaign by getting a discount on a workshop you’d like to take. Nifty, huh?

So I do hope you will take a look at this really crazy idea. I am going to have a great time doing this and I hope you would have a great time reading all the stories as well. 

Thanks.

Click here to view the kickstarter project.

At the Crossroads

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Publisher’s Note: To the Moon and Back

I’ve always been fascinated by the moon. I love astronomy to begin with, but the moon has so much influence over us and yet remains such a mystery.

As a kid, I wondered whether the moon was made of cheese, or if a man really lived there. As a teenager, I studied the moons phases and its impact on the tides. As an adult—and an observer of human behavior—I pondered its effects on our psyches.

As a cops reporter, I discovered that be it coincidence or scientific fact, the full moon meant more police activity, busier (and crazier) ERs, and a lot more (and certainly more interesting) work for me. As a parent, I learned that my newborn’s temperament seemed to become much less manageable during a full moon. And as a grammarian, I deemed the term “lunatic” to be remarkably appropriate.

As a book publisher, I find the moon fascinating fodder for fiction.

If you find the moon as magnificent as I do, you’ll find the latest Storybundle equally compelling.

The Moonscapes Bundle, curated by USA Today bestselling author and Fiction River series editor Dean Wesley Smith, was born out of Fiction River: Moonscapes.

Here’s what Dean has to say about the bundle:

“When editing the volume, I got lucky to find eleven great hard-sf stories from eleven top science fiction writers. Over seventy thousand words of fiction. I was and still am very proud of the volume.

“But as the years went on, I wanted to keep the idea of Moonscapes going. Then the chance to do this science fiction bundle came up and working it around Fiction River: Moonscapes just seemed to be a logical idea. Six of the authors in Fiction River: Moonscapes had hard science fiction novels that would fit in this bundle. And three other great sf writers, including Kevin J. Anderson, joined the fun. So nine hard science fiction novels plus the volume of Fiction River: Moonscapes.”

For more information on this stellar Storybundle, click here.

Once you read this bundle, you might find yourself pondering our own moon in a very different way.

Allyson Longueira is publisher of WMG Publishing. She is an award-winning writer, editor and designer.

Publisher’s Note: Time to Dive Back in to Old Favorites

Diving into the Wreck ebook cover web 284

In book publishing, we, the publishers, purchase the rights, from authors, to publish their creations. This involves negotiation. These rights can be all-encompassing in form (ebook, paperback, hardcover, audiobook, reprint, etc.) and in region (worldwide version region) or they can be parsed out. For a few WMG books, we have the ebook rights only. For some we have ebook, paperback and hardcover but not audiobook. We usually have worldwide rights, but for three books, we had only partial regional rights (not North America, for example, but most of the rest of the world regions).
(And if you’re interested in learning more about how this whole rights thing works, you should read Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s invaluable Closing the Deal…on Your Terms.)

But we received an early Christmas present here at WMG. The North American rights for those three books reverted to the author. And WMG has contracted with that author to publish those books worldwide.City of Ruins ebook cover web 284

This would be exciting news for any project. But it’s particularly exciting because I’m talking about Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s wildly popular first three Diving novels: Diving into the Wreck, City of Ruins, and Boneyards.

Now, our North American readers can buy those first three novels (we already publish the fourth and fifth worldwide) from this amazing series. And I can show you the amazing covers the wonderful Philcold did for these books (he creates the art for this entire series).

If you haven’t read this series yet, now is the perfect time to start. And if you have, you still might want to pick up the paperback versions of these beautiful books.

Boneyards ebook cover web 284As a reminder, The Falls—the fifth novel in this series and one from the Diving Universe rather than featuring Boss, Coop and the rest of the main crew—came out this fall. And Boss returns next fall in the sixth novel, The Runabout.

I wish you happy holiday reading full of exciting space adventure.

Allyson Longueira is publisher of WMG Publishing. She is an award-winning writer, editor and designer.

Publisher’s Note: Diving Back into a Favorite Series

Sometimes, being a book publisher is like being a parent. You’re not supposed to have favorites, but let’s be honest, you do.

On the parenting front, I get an out. My daughter is an only child.

One the book front, well, I have a confession to make.

I love Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s Diving series. Now, to be fair, I fell in love with this series before I took the helm at WMG. So, maybe my love for this universe is grandfathered in. Fingers crossed.

And if you love this series as much as I do, you’ve been waiting for the next book for a while now (no pressure, Kris). But wait no longer: The next book comes out tomorrow!

A word of warning: This one doesn’t have any of the characters you’ve come to know and love. But don’t let that dissuade you. The universe Kris has created is so rich and intriguing, I look forward to her diversions into other times and places. Sometimes, these side stories trigger more questions than they provide answers. The Spires of Denon, for example, took us to a part of this universe and a timeframe as yet unknown in relation to the rest of the series. But it’s still one of my favorite stories. I love archaeology, and this novella delightfully mixes a more traditional form of archaeology with space exploration.

the-falls-ebook-cover-web-284The Falls, however, takes us in a different direction. Set in a part of the Fleet universe we’ve never seen before, it’s a captivating mystery that provides rich detail about life in the Fleet as well as crucial backstory for the next Boss novel.

Here’s the synopsis:

Fleet sector bases close as the Fleet moves on. Everyone knows and expects it. But still, the announcement that Sector Base E-2 will close—although still thirty years in the future—breeds a mood of tension and anxiety.

So, when Rajivk Agwu finds two pairs of shoes on a trail near Fiskett Falls, but no sign of their occupants, his already heightened senses warn of danger.

Those on the base fare no better. Bristol Iannazzi, working on the notoriously delicate anacapa drive for a runabout, also notices something strange, something out of place, something dangerous…

Expanding the rich history of Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s captivating Diving universe, The Falls provides an exciting and crucial backstory for future events.

Speaking of the next Boss novel, that book, The Runabout, is set for release next fall.

I know: I can’t wait either.

But like all good things, it’s well worth the wait.

Allyson Longueira is publisher of WMG Publishing. She is an award-winning writer, editor and designer.

Publisher’s Note: Back-to-school Reading List

Tiffany Tumbles ebook cover web 284This is it. The last week of summer before school starts. At least, it is for us here on the Oregon Coast. Next week, my daughter starts first grade. I can’t believe I just typed that.

But denial or not, back-to-school is here. And that means shopping for school supplies and setting schedules and basically getting back to some semblance of a “normal” routine.

So, to get you back into that school-year mindset, here is some suggested reading:

The Interim Fates Trilogy by Kristine Grayson

The three books— Tiffany Tumbles, Crystal Caves and Brittany Bends—tell the story of the Interim Fates—Tiffany, Crystal and Brittany—who were first introduced in Grayson’s bestselling Fates Trilogy (Simply Irresistible, Absolutely Captivated, Totally Spellbound). The three teenagers are now mortal and struggling to fit into a world without magic—and without each other.

Crystal Caves ebook cover web 284The Interim Fates series has the long-distance relationships of Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (only with more humor), the attitude of Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (but in a magical universe), and the extreme outsider viewpoint of Mean Girls (with less viciousness) all rolled into one.

These books incorporate humor, magic, misunderstandings, and the central theme of finding one’s own identity—the core of the high school experience.

Bleed Through by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

I won’t lie. This is a powerful, heart-wrenching book. It opens after a devastating school shooting. But if you haven’t read it, I highly encourage you to. It’s one of the most thought-provoking books I’ve ever read.

Here’s the synopsis:

Brittany Bends ebook cover web 284Former journalist turned journalism teacher Larissa Johanssen moved back to her hometown to escape the violence she once covered on a national stage. Until that violence strikes her high school, her students.

Now, she must help her students deal with the type of coverage that drove her to the breaking point. And she must revisit parts of her past she thought long buried—and separate truth from fiction to finally begin to heal.

Bleed Through ebook cover web 285So, whether you’re in the mood for some young adult urban fantasy or a powerful literary experience, WMG has you covered.

Allyson Longueira is publisher of WMG Publishing. She is an award-winning writer, editor and designer.

Publisher’s Note: Take a Trip in the Wayback Machine

Here we are: 2016. A brand new year. So many possibilities. So many opportunities. What will the future bring?

Sometimes, to look to the future, we need to study the past, so I thought I’d take us on a brief walk through 1916 to see how much has changed (or not) in 100 years. Turns out, Wikipedia has a whole list of 1916 happenings, but here are some of what I consider the most interesting highlights:

  • Like 2016, 1916 was a leap year.
  • On Jan. 1, 1916, the British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion using blood that had been stored and cooled.
  • On Jan. 24, in Browning, Montana, the temperature drops from +6.7 °C to -48.8 °C (44 °F to -56 °F) in one day, the greatest change ever on record for a 24-hour period.
  • World War I is in full swing in Europe, and on Jan. 29, Paris is bombed by German zeppelins for the first time.
  • On Feb. 11, Emma Goldman is arrested for lecturing on birth control in the United States.
  • In Munich, German automobile company BMW (Die Bayerischen Motoren Werke) is founded March 7.
  • Pancho Villa leads about 500 Mexican raiders in an attack against Columbus, New Mexico, on March 8-9 during the Mexican Revolution, killing 12 U.S. soldiers. A garrison of the U.S. 13th Cavalry Regiment fights back and drives them away.
  • The toggle light switch is invented by William J. Newton and Morris Goldberg in April.
  • The Easter Rising occurs in Ireland from April 24-30. Members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood proclaim an Irish Republic and the Irish Volunteers and Irish Citizen Army occupy the General Post Office and other buildings in Dublin before surrendering to the British Army.
  • Britain initiates daylight saving time on May 21.
  • S. President Woodrow Wilson signs a bill incorporating the Boy Scouts of America on June 15.
  • From July 1–12, at least one shark attacks 5 swimmers along 80 miles (130 km) of New Jersey coastline during the Jersey Shore shark attacks of 1916, resulting in 4 deaths and the survival of one youth who requires limb amputation. This event is the inspiration for author Peter Benchley, more than half a century later, to write Jaws.
  • On July 22, in San Francisco, a bomb explodes on Market Street during a Preparedness Day parade, killing 10 and injuring 40.
  • The first 40-hour work week officially begins Nov. 1 in the Endicott-Johnson factories of Western New York.
  • On Nov. 7, Republican Jeannette Rankin of Montana becomes the first woman elected to the United States House of Representatives.
  • Writer Jack London dies Nov. 22 of kidney failure at his California home at age 40.
  • Finally, during some point in 1916, Oxycodone, a narcotic painkiller closely related to codeine is first synthesized in Germany.

Thunder Mountain ebook cover web 284So, there’s our first time travel adventure for 2016. If you want more, check out Dean Wesley Smith’s Thunder Mountain series or Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s Snipers, for starters. Both travel back to those faraway days in the early part of the 20th century, where things were different, and yet very similar.

In the meantime, Happy New Year!

Allyson Longueira is publisher of WMG Publishing. She is an award-winning writer, editor and designer.

Publisher’s Note: Backward and Forward

I love series. And I’m not alone. We readers tend to enjoy an ongoing storyline as we become fond of the characters and the world the writer has worked so hard to craft.

Sometimes, a series continues along with relative stability. And sometimes a series has a major event that shifts the storyline to somewhere else entirely.

Or somewhen.

But more about that in a minute.

The most dominant example that comes to mind of using storyline-shifting series events is Doctor Who, in which the Doctor’s regeneration opens the door not only for a new actor but also for a new storyline direction. If you’re a Doctor Who fan, I need not say more. But if you aren’t, you can read more here [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Who]. Each new Doctor changes the series, but the basic premise remains the same.

So, really, this is more of a somebody shift. But I mentioned a somewhen shift earlier. Well, that type of shift happens when a story jumps in time. Or jumps differently in time, as is the case with Dean Wesley Smith’s series Thunder Mountain.

You see, for most of the Thunder Mountain series, the main characters traveled back in time to the Old West. But with the sixth book in the series, Warm Springs, we see characters travel forward in time. And this will change everything.

Here’s the synopsis:

Belle returns to her old hometown, looking for clues as to what happened to her great-great-grandmother a hundred years in the past.

Zane, on a secret mission into the past, never expects to meet the woman of his dreams.

A complex time travel novel that explores alternate realities, a future no one wants to face, and sets the Thunder Mountain universe going into the future.

Warm Springs ebook cover web 284Lake Roosevelt ebook cover web 284The Edwards Mansion ebook cover web 284Monumental Summit ebook cover web 284Avalanche Creek ebook cover web 284Thunder Mountain ebook cover web 284

Knowing Dean, he’ll have more surprises in store once he returns to this series. But for now, he has set up a very satisfying arc from the Old West to the far future as well as the concept of time travel itself.

Need I say more?

Allyson Longueira is publisher of WMG Publishing. She is an award-winning writer, editor and designer.

Publisher’s Note: He’s Back!

It’s the second week of March, which means we have another exciting book release for the Anniversary Day Saga.

The Peyti Crisis ebook cover webWhile A Murder of Clones and Search & Recovery provide valuable backstory into the Anniversary Day bombings and introduce important new characters that will play key roles later in the story, The Peyti Crisis is special in its own way.

Because now we come to the event longtime fans of the Retrieval Artist series have eagerly been waiting for: the return of Miles Flint.

The Peyti Crisis, the fifth book in the Anniversary Day Saga and the third book in our 2015 release schedule sees Flint return as our story picks up where Blowback left off and an entire society stands gripped with fear.

Here’s the synopsis:

The Moon barely survived the devastation of Anniversary Day. The second round of attacks planned to kill millions more. With the life of every human and alien on the Moon hanging in the balance, the Moon’s chief security officer, Noelle DeRicci, races to discover the identity of the masterminds behind the attacks before it’s too late.

Desperate to find answers, DeRicci turns to Retrieval Artist Miles Flint and Detective Bartholomew Nyquist for the kind of help only Flint and Nyquist can provide.

We’re so pleased with the reception this series has garnered. In fact, I believe RT Book Reviews summarizes it quite succinctly when it says: “The Anniversary Day Saga just keeps getting more interesting and more complicated. Each addition is eagerly anticipated and leaves the reader anxious to discover what will happen next, who the bad guys are and what it is they are hoping to achieve.”

If you’re already reading the saga, I know you’re just as eager to read the next installment. And by the end of the week, you will be able to preorder all of the remaining books in the Anniversary Day Saga. Just click on the cover below for links to more information.

Vigilantes ebook cover web

Masterminds ebook cover webStarbase Human ebook cover web

And if you haven’t started yet, what are you waiting for? You still have time to get in on the ground floor of the most innovative science fiction series being published today.

Allyson Longueira is publisher of WMG Publishing. She is an award-winning writer, editor and designer.

They’re Back

Browse more Books Search for: The WMG Newsletter Get advanced notice of new releases, bonus content, and so much more. Subscribe Now Poker Boy Fantasy Available in: ebook, $3.99 Trade paperback, $12.99 ISBN 978-1561467563 Buy the ebook now!Buy direct from WMG!...

Paperback

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Turning Setbacks into Opportunity

Freelancer’s Survival Guide Business Available in: ebook, $4.99 Trade paperback, $9.99 ISBN 978-1477571828 audiobook Turning Setbacks into Opportunity:A Freelancer’s Survival Guide Short Book Kristine Kathryn Rusch Setbacks happen to everyone. Surviving...