Thursday, May 13, 2010

The Perils of Self-Publishing

Long term readers of this site are probably aware of the trials and tribulations I have undergone in the attempt to publish Pirates of the Narrow Seas, but newcomers may be confused. To answer the recent question: This is the canonical site that will stay up-to-date and supercedes all other information.

Being a micropress, I have to do all my own publicity, and that means making use of all available means to blog, review, post, share, excerpt, promote, interview, etc. That can be confusing, but if you follow this blog you'll get the important information in a timely manner. (I also recommend subscribing to Keibooks-Announce (at) googlegroups (dot) com to receive email to your inbox. This announcement-only elist published 0-5 posts per month regarding my various literary projects.)


Pirates of the Narrow Seas series (aka 'PoNS')

Book One : The Sallee Rovers (PoNS 1)

This book was originally named 'Pirates of the Narrow Seas,' but people were confused that a book and the series had the same name, so I changed it to make it clear. Thus the book is officially: Pirates of the Narrow Seas, Book One : The Sallee Rovers. That's a mouthful, so most people just call it 'Pirates of the Narrow Seas.'

Versions:

Free online: the version on this site (tweaked to fix typos, but no revisions)
Paperback: Via my micropress, Keibooks, orders fulfilled through Lulu.com/Keibooks -- if you love me and want more books, you will buy through this site because they pay the highest royalty to the author, which for a small press book matters. If you really, REALLY love me, you will send cash in untraceable bills to my post office box.
Ebook: I sold the ebook rights to Bristlecone Pine Press, and they are distributing it through All Romance, Kindle, Applestore, etc. This is not going as quickly as I had hoped, but I have signed off on the ebook proof, so soon?
Paperback: Amazon.com has declined to carry the series, so I have submitted to the Borg, I mean, Amazon.com, and submitted the book to their CreateSpace program in order to be able to sell it on Amazon.com. I am awaiting approval. Amazon.com only pays the author about half of what Lulu.com does, but half of something is better than all of nothing, so that's why I did it.

These versions are all the same novel, just in different formats from different sellers. Giant publishers take care of all of this stuff by themselves and the author doesn't have to worry about it and it's simpler for the reader, but giant publishers aren't interested in gay nautical fiction.

Fictionpress.com: I posted the rough draft to Fictionpress.com way back in the day when I had no thought of formally publishing it -- I just wanted people to read it and send feedback. I have left it for archival purposes and in the hopes that readers at Fictionpress.com will find their way to this site for the rest of the books.

If you are a big publishing company that wants to give me a five figure advance, please email: Keibooks (at) gmail (dot) com


Book Two : Men of Honor (PoNS 2)

Versions:

Paperback: Via my micropress, Keibooks, orders fulfilled through Lulu.com/Keibooks -- if you love me and want more books, you will buy through this site because they pay the highest royalty to the author, which for a small press book matters

Ebook: I sold the ebook rights to Bristlecone Pine Press, and they are distributing it through All Romance, Kindle, Applestore, etc. Will be released this summer.

Book Three : Iron Men (PoNS 3)

Versions:

Paperback: Via my micropress, Keibooks, orders fulfilled through Lulu.com/Keibooks -- if you love me and want more books, you will buy through this site because they pay the highest royalty to the author, which for a small press book matters
Ebook: I sold the ebook rights to Bristlecone Pine Press, and they are distributing it through All Romance, Kindle, Applestore, etc. Will be released this summer.


Book Four : Heart of Oak (PoNS 4)

Versions: Not yet contracted. I am going to see how the first three books do before deciding where and how to publish.

Under construction - anticipated to be available in time for Christmas. If you are a wealthy benefactor who can't wait that long, contact me.

Rumors of Hussars waltzing with naval officers during an earthquake refer to this novel. Why Hussars? See this link:


Random Excerpts

Miscellaneous excerpts are published at Goodreads.com, Astrodene's Historic Naval Fiction, the_macaronis elist, and random other locations. The excerpts are edited for brevity, so do not include all the details present in the same scene/chapter in the novels. They are teasers to entice the reader into reading the whole thing.


Promotions

Lulu.com has been having various promotions; when I become aware of them I post them to this site. During the summer of 2010, readers who purchase $20 or more can get free shipping on books through Lulu.com/Keibooks -- buy the whole series and get free shipping! That saves you some bucks. The nice thing is, Lulu.com is eating the cost and not deducting if from our author royalties. Yay!

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