The reviews pour in...

100 Stories for Queensland
The chart rush was a smash hit, both in the UK and the US, and the book has recieved rave reviews by many...

Take a look at this one by Jeniffer Poulter as posted on Good Reads

This collection is a remarkable assortment of stories across numerous genres with something to suit, no matter what your tastes, age, or background. The stories have been drawn from around the world and all over Australia. A smorgasbord and it is all for a very good cause, helping Queensland's flood victims rebuild their shattered lives...more

*as an aside, this review marks the losing of my review-virginity, and Jeniffer's description nailed my story perfectly. Excuse me while I do a little happy dance.

100 Stories Amazon Chart Rush

100 Stories for Queensland

(which one of my stories appears in, hehe!)
will be released in paperback on Tuesday, 17^th May

What is a chart rush?

Readers are invited to purchase a book on Amazon, in a nominated 24-hour period, with the intent to capitalise on the volume of sales to move the book up the Amazon best seller list. The higher up the chart it is (we’re aiming for a spot in the top 100) the more visible it becomes to other readers who may go on to purchase it.

It’s all about exposure and the more people who come across 100 Stories for Queensland, the more books we sell and the more money we raise.

If you can’t buy on the day, you can add it to your wishlist. Every little bit counts.

Retail Price

The book retails online for US$19.99 and ₤9.99. The paperback will be available for sale through this site in June when eMergent Publishing’s printer, Lightning Source International, opens it’s Australian press in Melbourne.

100 Stories for Queensland is listed here at Amazon and Amazon UK.

 Go forth and publicise
Please feel free to copy the graphic for your website, Facebook or twitter and spread the word far and wide. Lots of authors have already changed their Facebook here.

Join our Social Network

You can join our Amazon Chart Rush Facebook event or official fan page for updates on our progress up the charts! We also tweet at @100stories4qld. 100 Stories for Queensland is also listed at Goodreads.

*The above information is sourced from 100StoriesforQueensland, courtesy of Jodi Cleghorn

How to be the change you want to see in this world.

Mayhem & Madness

Watching the news is like watching the latest apocalyptic horror movie. The recent images coming out of Japan were heartbreaking. Christchurch has barely caught its breath. Queensland is still crying.

All of this and its only March!

No-one can deny that the Almighty One has taken up a mighty pen and is re-writing the rule book in a mighty fashion. This Earth we live on is unhappy and quite clearly fed up. The Earth beneath our feet is screaming to be heard.

Are we too busy finding the next big thing to listen?

This is an era of entertainment overload. We live to be entertained. We can't stand boredom. There is an worldwide epidemic of Entertainment- itis. To capture our attention the Earth has taken our obsession with entertainment to a whole new level. Now we sit glued to our television, computer, iPad and watch in horror as destruction reigns.

But what next?

What more can we do at this late stage?

As writers we have the perfect medium.

Independent publishers are compiling disaster relief anthologies, writers groups are organising auctions, and well known authors donating in kind. All this has got me thinking about the purpose of fiction writers on this earth.

Who is writing?

What are they writing about?

When is the right time to write about this?

Where are the stories?

Why should we write them?

Fiction is many things: it can be insightful; it can be humorous; it can be scary; it can be sad, happy or mad; but first and foremost it is entertaining. In times of crisis people turn to their coping mechanism.

I have always turned to books.

Some turn to television.
Others film.
Or music.
Alcohol.

Drugs.

In other words  ENTERTAINMENT!

A contribution to the solution.

Are you ready for it? Hold on, it's a biggie. So...

There are plenty of people who read, right? And there are plenty of people in crisis, yeah?

Fiction can deal with the big issues, yes? Fiction can make you re-think long held beliefs, agreed? Stories are Entertaining? YES!

Alright then - what are you waiting for?

Tell an entertaining story that will capture the worlds imagination and BE THE CHANGE.

As for me:

Apocalyptic and post apocalyptic narratives; utopian dreams and  dystopian nightmares; supernatural themes and inspirational objectives always take centre stage.

My first novel is a inspirational utopian dream combining supernatural themes.

My second novel is an post apocalyptic dystopian nightmare of epic proportions.

I wonder - can I bring the two styles together for my third?

What about you?

Do you know of an author that is changing the world, one story at a time?

Could you?

Mayhem & Madness:

a series of post apocalyptic ravings from a newly freed mother and certifiably mad writer.

Is self publishing the new agent slush pile?

Is Self-publishing the new Slush Pile?
There is much debate in the literary world about e-books vs. paper; self publishing vs. traditional; quality vs. crud and so on and so forth.




3 big ticket news items
Three things happened in the publishing world recently that fired this debate further:
- self publishing guru and author Amanda Hocking excepted a traditional publishing deal;
- traditionally published bestselling novelist Barry Eisler turned down a reported $500 000 dollar deal to go it alone, and
- the federal judge rejected the Google book settlement.


Is it possible?
Is it possible that both traditional and self publishing can co-exist in a complementary relationship? The above news items indicate a definitive yes. Each path suits a particular need; one path can lead to the other and around and round the publishing wheel we go. But - will self publishing will emerge to take on the role of the agent in the first round of queries?


In times gone by...
The steps you once would take to become published were:
• You write a book
• You fine tune it to the best of your ability
• You research agents, publishing houses and competition that suit the genre
• You send out queries, the first 3 chapters or enter competitions
• You wait
• While you wait you start to write another book or perhaps fine tune the first one
• You wait some more
• After a very short /very long time you land an agent, publisher or win a comp
• You start on the rewrite
• Your agent sends the novel around to be optioned by publishers
• You wait
• While you wait you blog about waiting and other publishing things
• Sometimes you land a deal, sometimes you find a new agent, sometimes you write another book
• You wait some more for covers, pre-releases, reviews so on and so forth
• 12 to 18 months after landing the deal your book is released
• Glory lands at your feet, you jump for joy and then you get back on the wheel.


The future of publishing as I see it
• You write a book.
• You fine tune it to the best of your ability.
• You have a few friends, critique partners and beta readers fine tune it further.
• While others are reading first book, you write some more.
• You interact on social media about the experience.
• You e-publish the first book via one of the many platform services available.
• You set realistic and affordable price for e-book ($0.99 to $2.99).
• You try not to think about the realistic and affordable price.
• You reassure yourself - everyone else is doing it.
• You make it available on Kindle, iPad, Kobo & Nook.
• You target a few book reviewers and offer them free arcs.
• You see the dribbles of sales come in.
• You get excited.
• You do the whole process again with the second book.
• More sales dribble in.
• You blog some more.
• Sales increase.
• You get excited and madly publish another three books.
• You get a bit of a cult following.
• You start making reasonable money.
• A few agents notice you on Twitter.
• An agent or two likes you on Facebook.
• A big name agent blogs about you.
• You consider traditional publishing.
• You query a few agents.
• Agents respond positively.
• Your name is already known so you land a traditional publishing deal.
• You don't really know the first thing about traditional publishing so....
• You land an agent to help you out along the way.
• You become a mega-success old school style.
• You decide you like traditional publishing but you miss the freedom of self-publishing.
• You consider self publishing as a side project.
• Your side project is a huge hit and your traditional published deal sky rockets because you are so damn popular.
• You have landed feet first in your very own Utopia.
• The beginning meets the end and the end becomes the beginning.
• A perfect circle.
• You get back on the wheel.

Agents and traditional publishers do not get lost in the new order.
These entities are still necessary because:
1. People still love paper books (well, some people), and
2. Authors want to write, not publish (well, some authors).
The way I see it is that writers need to make it happen for themselves. Get out there and get noticed. Climb out of the slush pile.

Self-publishing platforms could become the new agent slush pile.
Agents will look out for new talent in a new way. Publishers will look for new writers that already have following and proven track record. Traditional publishing will fine tune the best of the best and make them the GREATS.
 That's the way I see it. How do you see it?

*for an awesome post on the numbers and money making side check out ex- literary agent and new author Nathan Brandsford


**note -I am yet to attempt of the above mentioned publishing options. This is just me making sense of the world as I see it and putting together all the info I have gathered over the many months I have been researching the best way to publish my first, second, third and fourth novel. Watch this space though...

100 Stories for Queensland

Queensland, Australia

-my home state-

has just experienced the worst flood event in it's history.

75% of the state has been declared a disaster zone.

That is is more than 1.72 square kilometres

or

25% of Australia's land mass.

20 people

have been confirmed dead

and more than

20 people

are still missing

is a charity anthology following in the footsteps of

100 stories for Haiti

and

50 Stories for Pakistan

Writers across the globe rally for flood victims.

Do you have a story to share?

Submit here