Free Ebook Reads

I have bought quite a number of eBooks, roughly a couple of hundred. My favorite vendor for those is Fictionwise, which has a website that is easy to use, offers many books in various genres, and has many different formats, such as pdf, mobipocket, and html. Thus far, the “bookshelf” has kept every book I have purchased available, so if I lose one due to a technology breakdown, I can download it again. That has happened to me a couple of times, so I like that feature best of all. Fictionwise isn’t a good deal for authors, so I shouldn’t plug it, but I can’t help but like the service to readers.

However, some people don’t want to buy books or can’t afford to pay full price, even when that price is relatively low. Also, those who have never read an eBook might not want to risk much cash on this new technology. With the novice eBook reader in mind, I am going to list some links for free eBooks. I haven’t tried all of these, but I have visited the websites. Most of the sites offer downloads, which I prefer, and but one only allows readers to view the books online.

Manybooks.net [This may be the best deal for those who want to download books. The home page touts having over 20,000 books in a variety of formats. A cursory tour through the collection revealed a combination of classics which are public domain, plus freebies from new authors hoping to build an audience. I especially like the way this site is organized, with many genres and sub-genres.]

Arthur's Classic Novels [This site has about 4000 classics, in a format which works with a web browser, so you’ll need to read these online.]

Ebook Giant [Over 17,000 eBooks, in a compressed zip format for readers to download, make this a site worth visiting. Again, classics reside with modern titles, all categorized by author.]

Publishers are beginning to use the eBook format to entice readers to purchase print books. One of the best freebies around is at Tor. Just send them your email addy, and they’ll send a weekly newsletter with a link for a new release in eBook form.

Finally, if you are still wondering about the whole eBook concept, here’s a link to a column in the New York Times about eBook readers and why you might want to try this new way to read.

Being Thankful

I have many reasons to be thankful in this season of thanksgiving, and some of them relate to publishing, so I’ll share those on Pam’s Pages.

First up would have to be my loyal readers. When Trinity on Tylos was released, a some folks drove quite a few miles to hear me make a fifteen minute talk about the new book, bought a copy, and went home to read it. Within a week, I had a couple of notes from readers in hand. One commented on the way I handled the ethical dilemmas in the book, demonstrating her perceptive reading of the novel. Another posted a brief blurb about the book and put the cover image on his own website. One of my cousins mentioned how much she enjoyed the book as we stood in line at the family reunion this fall. Another Georgia author, Terry Kay, once said in a speech that what editors and critics say isn’t so important, but that authors should, instead, listen to what readers say, and that is what writing is all about— sharing the stories with readers.

Second, although I agree with Mr. Kay, I am thankful for the reviewers who have been so positive about Trinity on Tylos. Jean, at Fallen Angels Reviews, awarded it the coveted Five Angel/Recommended Read, and that was based on an ARC that had far more errors than it should have had. Debbie at CK2sKwipsandKritiques gave it a rating of four and a half out of five, and wrote a particularly insightful review. When I speak, I usually quote from her review. Anita at the Romance Studio gave it four out of five hearts, which is quite positive from a site that primarily reviews romance. While there are some romantic elements in the book, it is basically sci fi. Without those reviews, I would find promotional matters far more difficult.

Third, I really do appreciate the local people who have shown an interest in my writing. Angela McKinney has stocked both books in her gift shop, and she hosted a booksigning when Trinity was released. Katy Hair also invited me to join in a booksigning event at her store, Tut’s Books. Amy Carlan, branch manager of my local library, has twice sponsored booksignings for me. Living Jackson publishers Roxane Rose and Priscilla Daves have given me generous coverage as a local author as well, including the wonderful “Truckload of Authors” article in their latest issue.

Finally, I am grateful to Debi Womack, publisher, and Gina Schneider, my editor at Whiskey Creek Press, because they seemed to believe in this somewhat off-beat yarn about duty, love, space ships and babies. Without their assistance, I wouldn’t be able to hold a copy of Trinity on Tylos in my hands.

While being a novelist is a challenge, I do have quite a lot for which I am thankful.

“A Fascinating Space Romance”

The Romance Studio recently reviewed Trinity on Tylos, and I’m thrilled to have another positive review from a romance site. In part, the reviewer states, “Trinity of Tylos is a fascinating space romance filled with thrilling action and adventure....The storyline is creative and filled with exciting action as one race fights another for their survival. Trinity of Tylos is a fascinating emotionally stirring space adventure that shows how far someone will go for someone they love.” Romance sites are sometimes a bit tough on this book, because it doesn’t follow the standard romance conventions.

Long time readers of this blog may remember that this science fiction action adventure was also named a “Recommended Read” by Fallen Angels Reviews and it has received favorable reviews from several other sites. For quotes from the major review sites and links to excerpts, please see www.pamelajdodd.com.

For the upcoming holidays, I’m accepting mail orders. Of course, my site lists several ways for readers to secure a copy of this science fiction pageturner, including links to the publisher, to Fictionwise, and to EBookIsle.

Facts About Publishing

A recent National Endowment for the Arts survey reveals that reading is going the way of the cassette tape. Oh, books will be around for a while longer, but it’s probably not a good time to get into the publishing business. According to the NEA, only 47% of adults read any sort of literature at all. Just under 90 million people in the United States did not read a book— any book— in 2002. As a classroom teacher, I can remember being told that when school was over, so was reading.

Today’s average book buyer is a woman, not a young woman. Younger women are more likely to read a magazine or look at the internet when they want to read. Sixty eight percent of book buyers are women. That average book browser will spend eight seconds looking at the front cover and 15 seconds scanning the back cover. What is absolutely unfathomable to me is that this same so called average bookbuyer gets to page 18 before she quits. Now maybe I’m just cheap, but I don’t buy many books that I don’t read. And 52% of all books are not sold in bookstores. Instead those buyers get their reading via mail order, online, in discount or warehouse stores, through book clubs, or some other venue.

Book publishing is a weird business in many respects. It’s almost like buying and selling produce, because so many of the products are thrown away. Yep, it’s true. Go strolling down the aisles in your local bricks and mortar bookstore looking at the mass market paperbacks. About half of all of those books will be destroyed, their front covers ripped off to send back to the publisher, indicating that the book was never sold. Customers pay $7.99 for a paperback with tiny print on cheap paper because half of all the ones printed are never sold, so they have to charge twice as much to make up for it.

Despite the shrinking market, more than 150,000 titles are published each year. Bigger publishing houses are bringing out fewer books these days, so 78% of all books published are put out by small publishers or self-publishers. Quite a number of small publishers are using POD, or “print on demand” which makes a lot of sense to me. Books printed via this method are quite similar to conventionally printed books. Often the quality of the printing is better, just as the output from your laser printer is better than a newspaper’s printing. This method isn’t quite as cheap as conventional printing, so each book may cost a couple of dollars more.

Most POD books are trade paperbacks, which are a bit larger than those mass market paperbacks, but far fewer of them will be used to line landfills or make recycled newsprint. Both of my books are produced via this method. If lots of people like my books, then several will be printed. If there is no market for my POD books, or anyone else’s, then they just don’t ever have many copies in print. Indeed, the average self-published book sells seventy-five copies, which means The Gift Horse is well above average, so I can take heart in that.

Sources for this article include Tom and Marilyn Ross’ site, which is on my links in the sidebar, and John Kremer’s 1001 Ways to Market Your Book, which is one of the best books on marketing ever written.

Bein’ a Groupie

While I was growing up, I would have avoided any activity which resulting in that label. However, nowadays I enjoy participating in some of the internet groups that I’ve found. In particular, Whiskey Creek Press has a author’s group which can be helpful to new authors who are learning that publisher’s system.

My WCP editor, Gina, also has a small group for writers which concentrates on writing, editing, and marketing. I’ve learned a lot hanging out there. On the other hand, there are a few groups I’ve joined to promote my writings, and these have been a mixed bag— some have interesting posts, and one is just plain weird.

It’s my understanding that most groupies are “lurkers”— they read the posts but seldom contribute anything. Sometimes I do that, especially when the groupies have bad manners, and I can think of a couple of folks who should read Ronda Rich’s book on What Southern Women Know That Everyone Should Know. In general, southern women can get their way without being pushy or rude, and Rich has an entire chapter on the subject.

In the past couple of weeks, I began my own, private, group at Yahoo. The reason I am restricting membership is to thwart spam and to protect the privacy of those who do choose to join. To begin, I sent invitations to people who have contacted me about the books I’ve written or about writing in general. Thus far, I have sent 24 invitations and now have three (other) members for my group.

While that’s not much of a fan club, I will try to write some things there that I can’t put on my website or this blog, and maybe those few faithful friends and fans will enjoy visiting enough to encourage a few others to join my group.

After SFSC

This is an update to let interested readers hear about my visit to Sci Fi Summer Con in Atlanta, my first experience as a “celebrity guest” and my first con with my kids in tow. Son liked it; daughter sat with her iPod and a book and was no trouble. Chris Jones, the con director, was everywhere, wearing a lot of hats, and leading the “Trek at 40” panel, which was a good one.

First, I really did enjoy meeting a few members of the Atlanta Science Fiction Society. They held an event called SF Jeopardy, and that was fun. Okay, I came in last place, partially due to a complete lack of knowledge of comic book anything, but it was still fun, and I did get a consolation prize.

Second, having met authors in various other genres at the writers’ conference in Athens, I was pleasantly surprised at how friendly the other authors at the con were. I spent some time last evening looking at websites belonging to those authors and in some cases, their blogs. Jana Oliver, Christina Barber, Chesya Burke, and Julie Cochrane are all fellow novelists who write speculative fiction, and although our sub genres differ a bit, I found chatting with them to be particularly helpful.

Third, I liked the free stuff, as did hubby. Flyers, brochures, and bookmarks are expected, of course, but we also got some movie posters and other memorabilia. My son really enjoyed the arcade room, with vintage video games set on “free play” for the entire weekend, and he proved that “a fool and his money are soon parted” in the dealer room on the very first day.

Finally, as a longtime Star Trek fan, I enjoyed Michael DeMerritt most of all. He was personable, knowledgeable, and really entertaining. As an assistant director on Star Trek Voyager and Enterprise, he knew lots of inside information, which he shared with the attendees, along with many photos made during production. I just wish I’d managed to attend every panel he did, but I was unable to do so.

I did not dress up in any costume, because I don’t own one, and if I did it would probably have been too hot. I did see some interesting costumes, however. I genuinely enjoyed being across from the Klingons during my time at the autograph table. They offered me dried veggies and were great folks, for Klingons....

Love it or hate it

I’ve chatted with a few folks over the past few weeks, trying to talk up my new novel, Trinity on Tylos, but of course, people want to talk about the book they have read rather than the one they haven’t, so I’ve heard quite a bit about The Gift Horse.

Living in the South is a huge advantage in this business. All southerners were told as children, “If you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say anything.” That means that people who didn’t like The Gift Horse are usually too polite to say so. Therefore, some readers say, “I just loved it. I couldn’t put it down.” Others just have a tight, polite smile. I guess they are the ones who hated it.

I went to a family reunion last weekend, and while I was there, one of my second cousins said she just loved my first book and can’t wait for this new one. Then she told me that her mother (my first cousin) was a bit shocked by The Gift Horse. I do understand that. The Gift Horse really isn’t for the faint of heart. When I wrote the back cover copy, I said something about taking a wild ride on The Gift Horse. And I wasn’t kidding.

Readers who love it usually cite the suspense, or simply mention how different it is. There are rules for writing fiction. When I wrote this novel I threw several of them out the proverbial window and told Angie’s story the way I saw it. In romance novels there must be a happy ending, in suspense novels the hero or heroine must overcome evil and have the opportunity for happiness. Only in literary fiction is a less than happy ending acceptable. However, in the world I see around me, not too many people enjoy the happy ending that is a prerequisite for winning the hearts and minds of the average reader. In some ways, The Gift Horse is outlandish, but I think it reflects the uncertainty of modern life.