*dons sunglasses* Let's do this!

Norman D Gutter

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Marlynn:

Congrats on quitting the day job. I'll have to go back in the thread to refresh my memory on your writing. I hope you have many sales and much success in adding new works to your portfolio.

Best Regards,
NDG
 

MarlynnOfMany

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Thank you, Norman! This certainly turned into an interesting time to be taking that plunge. But it is what it is.

My big news now is the anthology I'll be overseeing: niche science fiction where the humans are the weird aliens of the galaxy. A very fun topic, with plenty of great ideas already floating around the internet. One anthology already exists (I have a copy; it's fantastic), and I've spoken to the editor of that one to make sure I'm not stepping on anyone's toes by starting up another. All good! There is more than enough material out there to make multiple volumes.

Anyone can submit a story; submissions will be open during May and June. Details are here.

And for those who want to be involved, and pitch in to help fund this cazy thing, there’s an insider’s club on Patreon, with everything from writing prompts and mini-contests to exclusive art and free merch.

It's gonna be great. Feel free to spread the word!
 

MarlynnOfMany

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As a tie-in to the things I write (and the theme of that anthology), I now have the first of several designs up for T-shirts etc:

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I plan to design more soon. Fun stuff.
 

MarlynnOfMany

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The submission period for the "humans are weird" anthology opens today! The email address has been up since midnight, and I've already got a handful of entries. Here's hoping enough will follow to make a most excellent book.

(Do you enjoy writing about humans weirding out their alien acquaintances? Details are here!)
 

Raul_Sterling

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As a tie-in to the things I write (and the theme of that anthology), I now have the first of several designs up for T-shirts etc:


I plan to design more soon. Fun stuff.

'Will pet anything' - Fantastic!

I love your energy and spirit. Congratulations on quitting your day job!

Thanks for posting this thread, it's very inspirational!
 

MarlynnOfMany

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Thank you, Raul! I try to be the kind of upbeat presence online that I enjoy seeing myself.

And on that note, good news! The Humans Are Weird anthology has had a renewed wave of interest, and the deadline is now extended to July 15th.

If you know any sci-fi writers who are fond of humans being the strangest things in space, do let them know! Details are here.
 

sandree

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Your enthusiasm radiates from this thread. Good for you!
 

MarlynnOfMany

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Thanks, you guys! More good news: the anthology is up for pre-order! (Ebooks are live now, with paperbacks to follow.)

And I've learned that the more people who look at a pre-order page, the more copies Amazon will stock, thus making it look better to buyers, who will be more likely to get it. So by all means, do have a look!

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PS: Absolutely hilarious that I had to click an "I am a human" captcha to post this.
 

MarlynnOfMany

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Surprise! Confusing news! The anthology, with the eagerly anticipated release date that’s perilously close to Xmas, is actually available now.

Not from Amazon, but directly from the publisher.

(Confusing, yes, but no more worries about the holiday gift timeline!)

Amazon and the other major retailers will stick to the schedule of having everything available on December 18th. (Unless they don’t, of course. The way this year is going, I’m not betting money on anything.)
 

CathleenT

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Well, huzzah! I'm glad your book is out early, which has got to be better than late, since Dec. 18 is cutting it fine. So, 2020 isn't all bad. Fun cover--very retro. : )
 

MarlynnOfMany

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At long last, We’re the Weird Aliens is now available across the board. Amazon and the other bookstores carry it in paperback as well as ebook, and so do the brick-and-mortar local stores that have survived this absurd year. (If they don’t have it in stock, they can order it easily.) The direct purchase route is still open as well.

Very exciting! People are already saying good things about it!

Soon, on to the next project!
 

MarlynnOfMany

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Some months ago a conversation with other writers turned from “this would be fun” to “we should actually do this,” and now the anthology is happening. Familiar fairytales from unfamiliar points of view, written in pairs so two different characters get to experience the same story.

What was my contribution, you ask? Do you know the fable of the Golden Goose? Are you familiar with the video game Untitled Goose Game, about the most glorious bastard that waterfowl has ever produced? My writing partner and I wrote two perspectives on the first, and mine has distinct influences from the second. It was FUN.

And now the book is up for pre-orders! Full orders start in *checks watch* a week and two days. July 1st. So if you want some fairytales and feathery shenanigans, here you go!
 
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MarlynnOfMany

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I’ve been writing serial novels for Patreon: the second one has just drawn to a close, and now it’s time to start the third.

The first was science fiction, titled The First Time Traveler to Survive (in which no one takes into account the way the Earth moves over time, until the main character time travels and ends up on a space ship).

The second was fantasy, titled Accidentally Human (in which several fantasy creatures get turned human against their will, and have to go “off to beat the wizard” to get changed back).

This new one is Pests in an Alien Garden, with the human characters being the titular pests. They’re abducted and released in rival alien territory as an invasive species. While many writers would take this in a warlike direction, I’m leaning towards petty suburban drama in space. The humans are going to cause a lot of mischief on someone’s prize garden moon. It’s going to be great.

Read the chapters here!
 

MarlynnOfMany

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So I've been trying to get an agent for many years now, and I've gotten close several times, but never quite managed it. I've written many books, polished a few up to a full shine, and queried only the best. No luck. In the meantime, I've self-published two books and gotten stories into many anthologies. But my end goal has always been traditional publication, alongside any self-publishing efforts.

New plan. Trad pub is an absolute tire fire right now, with the big publication houses mistreating their employees, and people publicly leaving every other week. But self-publication is thriving. AND I've recently discovered just how much BookBaby price-gouges compared to the Ingram-and-KDP-and-KU juggling act that so many people are doing. So. Instead of sitting on it, I'm going to self-publish the book that everyone loves (snarky robot + aliens who talk in color), then I'll send the new finished book on a quick round of queries just in case (veterinarian + sign language gorilla in space). Depending on how the first goes, I may just skip querying the second, and go straight to self-publishing. I still have some research to do.

That's my update. In the meantime, I've also learned about universal links, which sound like a very handy thing. Now the Amazon buy links on my site should lead to the correct region for everyone who clicks them, and I also have links to a list of other online bookstores that carry my books.

Theoretically it all works. Do let me know if something doesn't.

(I've only made universal links for my own books, not the many anthologies. So far.)
 
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MarlynnOfMany

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Good news, everyone! I have that new book published, and I couldn’t be more excited!

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(Available here)

It’s coming online one site at a time, but should reach all the big ones (and many of the small) very soon.

I went with IngramSpark for print, and Draft2Digital for ebook, doing all the formatting myself. A very different route from the “pay BookBaby to do everything” approach of my first two books. We’ll see if this pays off!

The excellent cover art was done by Raphaël Pinna, and I daresay it was well worth the money.
 

MarlynnOfMany

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Popping in with notes for later: while IngramSpark’s range of availability is hard to beat, Draft2Digital is infinitely preferable to deal with. D2D is the model of user-friendliness, with how-to videos and everything, while Ingram seems passive-aggressively hostile to the idea of new people figuring out how to use their services. It’s night and day. (People told me this beforehand, and I thought they were exaggerating. They were not.)

So I’m keeping an eye on how things develop. I went with IngramSpark for paperbacks and Draft2Digital for ebooks, and I have sold a lot of paperbacks. But D2D does paperbacks now too. It would be awfully nice if I could just go with them for my next book.

If anyone’s looking for recommendations —> https://www.draft2digital.com/joinup
 
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ChandraStorm

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Great, let us know how this works out for you. I have an account setup with Draft2Digital as well. I applied for and got accepted for the print beta. But my book is a few editing rounds away from publication (and I want at least the second book in the series written as well before I publish the first one, because I don't want too much of a gap between the books), so the earliest I am thinking is October 1st.

I mostly signed up with Draft2Digital that early because I wanted to try their ebook formatter for the file I sent to beta readers. That didn't work as well as I thought, though. The general formatting was quite good, but it messed up some internal formatting I had done in my word document. So I guess I will have to format the ebook myself after all. But I agree that the Draft2Digital site is very user friendly and clear.
 

MarlynnOfMany

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Good luck! I'll definitely keep you posted on how it works for me. I already had my book formatted, so I had a very easy time of it. But I may try their formatter out on my next book.