rolanni | Entries tagged with psa

OK, here's what. I'm taking an Electron-free Day tomorrow. Everything's fine, I just want to sit, watch the snow, meditate upon my WIP, and snuggle with the cats.

Here endeth the PSA.

In six days (US), it will be May 3.

Why do you care?

Because on that day, Fair Trade by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, the 24th novel set in their Liaden Universe®, will be published!

You are encouraged to take any -- or all! -- of the following actions before May 3.

1 Preorder the ebook from the vendor of your choice, and start May 3 with that little happy thrill you get when you see a new book has downloaded to your ereader.

2 Preorder a signed hardcover from Uncle Hugo's.

3 Preorder a hardcover from the bookstore of your choice.

4 Block out time to read Fair Trade, and make sure there's plenty of food in the fridge, favorite beverages and snacks on-hand, because once you start reading, you won't want to stop.

Fair Trader cover art by David Mattingly

Presented in order of Temporal Proximity.

First! We have a book coming out on May 3! Fair Trade, the third account of the loves and adventures of Jethri Gobelyn ven'Deelin, Trader Extraordinaire, will be available in hardcover, and electronic from all of the usual vendors. Right now, you may preorder the hardcover from those same usual suspects.

There are Notes, to wit!

Note A: YES, you will be able to buy this novel electronically on the release date. NO, you may not preorder it. This is how our publisher does things, and is above our pay grade.

Note B: If you want a signed copy of the hardcover Fair Trade, you can preorder one right here

Note B1: Personalizations are not available this time. Uncle Hugo's is just getting settled into their new space, and there was some concern about Mistakes Being Made. Nobody wants mistakes, amirite?

Note C: We have heard nothing about an audiobook edition. This, too, is above our pay grade. Please be assured that, should we hear something, we will shout it from the rooftops.

Second! Salvage Right, a Liaden Universe® novel set on Tinsori Light, will be handed in to Baen in June. Trade Lanes, the fourth Jethri Gobelyn ven'Deelin novel, has a September deadline. That's right, we're turning in two books in 2022.

Third! Title TBA, a Liaden Universe® novel that will probably continue the story from the Redlands. This could change, so, yanno, don't mark in down in ink. That book is due at Baen in June 2023.

Fourth! And, may I just say, the reason I've called you all together today -- Lee and Miller have signed a three-book contract with their long-time publisher Baen Books. The contract's call-name is Traveler's Trio, and we have no idea where those novels will take us, yet, but we do have delivery dates. Those are:

Traveler's Trio ONE: September 2024
Traveler's Trio TWO: September 2025
Traveler's Trio THREE: September 2026

Note A: In September 2026, I will be 74 years old. Steve will have celebrated his 76th birthday three months prior. This by way of reassuring those folks who have been worrying about our retirement that, err -- writers don't retire. At least, writers at our level of the game don't retire.

Here ends the Updatery.

Mini-lecture, here. If you’re not interested in the intricacies of self-publishing, you can skip this bit.

So.

Asyouknowbob, Pinbeam Books — the self-publishing arm of Sharon Lee and Steve Miller — has been making paper editions of its Echapbooks available through Amazon. This is because Amazon makes it relatively easy to produce a paper book through their software — BN’s software long ago defeated me — and there is a portion of our readership who Really Really want paper, and this is how we oblige them, and thank them for sticking with us.

So. Amazon has recently refribbed the back room where indie folk get their books set up for sale. And as I was getting the paper edition of Change State ready to go, I encountered a checkbox that said, “Expanded Distribution.” Now, I’m none so sharp as I once was, and I figured that was the box I always clicked (when setting up an ebook), which allowed the book to be sold in the UK, Australia, Germany, &C. So I checked the box.

Turns out that, when you click that box for a paper book, you are allowing Amazon to serve as the distributor of the paper edition, to “other venues,” such as BN, and unnamed others, including “libraries.”

So, that’s a good thing, right? Expanded sales venues = expanded audiences, and all like that?

And that’s — yes. And no.

It will, I hope, come as no surprise to anyone here that Pinbeam Books is a for-profit enterprise. It’s one of several income streams, and how we keep the cats in litter and cat food, and ourselves in frivolous things like medicines and electricity.

Which brings us back to Amazon, believe it or don’t. Paper editions of Pinbeam Books’ chapbooks retail for $10. This is also what SRM Publisher — Pinbeam’s predecessor — retailed its paper chapbooks for. Before anyone says it — yeah, that’s kind of expensive. It’s always been kind of expensive, but there are reasons for that price-point, and here they are:

ONE: You have to pay the printer. Pro Tip: Always pay the printer.

TWO: When you’re publishing paper books, you want vendors who are not you to sell your book. Bookstores are *also* for-profit endeavors, so you can’t sell them a $10 retail book for $10. You sell them the $10 retail book for $6, and the bookstore makes $4 profit per sale, less their cost of doing business.

However, the publisher, being for-profit, as it is, cannot lose money on the transaction — but they take a lesser profit per each, because typically bookstores buy in bulk.

THREE: If you place your books with a distributor, say Ingram, the distributor — being a for-profit enterprise — also takes a percentage of profits received. SRM Publisher did direct mail-order and was not in any way big enough to interest a distributor.

Everybody with me so far? Yeah, you in the back, I see your eyes rolling back in your head. You don’t have to stick with this, honest.

All righty, then. Amazon. In this Brave New World, Amazon is the printer, a vendor, and a distributor. Being a for-profit enterprise, as it oh-so-definitely is, Amazon takes a percentage as printer, as vendor, and as distributor.

For ebooks, this means that Amazon “gives” Pinbeam Books 70% of cover for each sale. Sweet, right?

For paper books, Amazon “gives” Pinbeam Books 60% of cover, and, since Amazon is also the printer, it subtracts its printing costs from that 60%. Which leaves Pinbeam Books — a for-profit enterprise — with a profit per each that is comparable to the per-each profit on an Echapbook.

But wait, there’s more!

If you then click the Expand Distribution ticky-box, you make Amazon the distributor of your paper book — and we have already decided that Amazon, being a for-profit enterprise will not do this for free. The price Amazon charges to get Pinbeam Books paper editions to “other” venues, drops Pinbeam Books’ profit per each to, a very low level. Speaking as a principle in a for-profit enterprise, I’d say, unacceptably low. Pinbeam Books would have to sell a Whole Freaking LOT of paper books to balance out the distributor’s fee, and return an acceptable profit.

So, what Pinbeam Books — aka Sharon Lee and Steve Miller — need to figure out is if it’s ever again worth going for Amazon’s “Expanded Distribution.” This time was a mistake, and we’ll let it stand. And there are those people who refuse to buy from Amazon, who might pick up a paper copy through BN, only —

They’d still be giving Amazon money — even more money — by doing so.

And so.

End of lecture.

Word Just In that the audiobook edition of Trader's Leap, by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, will be published on-or-near April 11.

Pass it on -- and thank you for your patience.

So, it's been a while since we've chatted. My excuse is -- page proofs arrived for the mass market edition of Accepting the Lance (to be published on October 27), and needed to be proofread. No sooner than had we sent them back, then the copy edits for Trader's Leap (to be published on December 1) landed, and that's what I'm occupying myself with at the moment.

In-between All That, Steve and I have had several, err, creative meetings -- to dignify a process that involves a lot of hand-waving, staring out of windows, pitching random scenes and sentences, and refilling the wine glasses -- regarding the next book under contract.

Those of you who have been following along will perhaps recall that The Original Plan had Steve as lead on the next book, while I had needed surgery on my left foot, and held myself ready to consult, taking up the duties of Staff once I was fit, and also working on a side book. I may not have said that outloud, about the side book, but that was part of The Original Plan.

It is here that we insert: The best laid schemes o'mice an' men gang aft agley.

We started well enough. Then, in January, there was a funky mammogram, which meant biopsies of both breasts, only one of which had been invaded by cancer; followed by a mastectomy in mid-March, and a course of radiation therapy, which ended in mid-June, when I started taking a prescribed aromatase inhibitor, which produced crippling side effects. We're now in the phase of letting that med leave my system before we try another one.

Otherwise, I'm pretty much recovered, absent the fact that I'm having some memory and cognitive issues, which I'm told will improve, in good time.

And then of course, there are the on-going shared threats to health, liberty, and life that we are all dealing with.

During all of this, Steve was Front, whose expanded duties included driving me to radiation therapy -- a 266 mile round trip -- every weekday, making sure we were fed, laundered, and up-to-date.

The book languished. We missed one deadline, and were on track to missing the second, extended, deadline.

Thus, the creative meeting. Which led to the realization that we needed to start again.

We spoke to Madame the Agent, who spoke to Madame the Publisher. Between us all, we worked out a new delivery date, in 2021. So, this is your Distant Early Warning: There will likely not be a new Liaden book published in 2021. A Miracle may occur -- it would not be the first time that Madame the Publisher has pulled a rabbit out of her hat, but that's not the way the smart money ought to bet.

Today's blog title is brought to you by Hildegard von Blingen, covering Gotye's "Somebody that I Used to Know." Here's your link.

Asyouknowbob, Trader's Leap, the twenty-third novel of the Liaden Universe® written by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, will be published by Baen Books in early December 2020.

Several people have written to us, to let us know that Barnes and Noble is sending to Known Liaden Readers with the news that they are taking pre-orders of Leap -- which is pro-active, and I applaud them.

We have also been asked, in light of the fact that Uncle Hugo's was burned in the recent riots, if there would be any chance of signed editions.

We have an answer to that question, to wit!

Yes, there is a chance of signed editions.

We have spoken to Don Blyly, the man behind the Uncle, and he wants to handle the signed copies of Trader's Leap, as he has done for manymany of our previous novels. He needs to get some ducks in a row, and to our knowledge, he is proceeding in that endeavor.

Now, here's where you need to not let BN, or the Internet Timewarp, raise your expectations. Leap is due out on December 1, 2020. Today is June 30, 2020. Even in a normal year, the preorders through Uncle Hugo's wouldn't open until September. There is time enough in the interval to wrassle ducks into at least a semblance of propriety, and if the worst happens, and the Uncle cannot find a way to handle preorders for signed copies, there will be time enough and world to pre-order from another source.

So, yeah, the key is, as it so often is : Patience. Waiting is.

Deep breaths.

Here, have a picture of Sprite and Belle, being calm and patient.

So, I'm in receipt of several emails, and one crazily placed blog entry (read about it here, go over to a Whole 'Nother Website, to a page that has nothing to do with the topic, and post the question. Why would you do that?). . .asking when the short stories Steve and I have recently placed with anthologies (not magazines), will be "available," by which they mean, as a chapbook from Pinbeam Books. These folks don't want to buy anthologies filled with stories by strange authors, just to get our new story, but they want the new stories Pretty Dern Quick.

Now, here's the Thing. Actually, a couple of Things.

Writers, including Steve and me, write to earn money.

Anthology gigs pay money up front.

One of the things that anthologies purchase with their up-front money is publication exclusivity, anything from 6 months to 2 years (to forever, but we turn those down; there isn't enough up-front money in the world).

The purpose of anthologies, besides making money for the publishing house, the editor, and, maybe, some more money for their contributing authors, is to (1) draw in readers of Author A with the promise of a new story, and (2) introduce the readers of Author A to other cool writers those readers may have missed. Anthologies are not inherently evil, honest.

Now, this is how the whole anthology publication works from the author side:

Invitation comes in --> Author rejects or accepts

If Author rejects, Author does not have to write a story to theme and deadline. Author also does not get paid.

If Author accepts, Author receives contract from publisher. Author writes story to theme and deadline, whereupon, sometime before publication of the anthology, a check will arrive in Author's mailbox.

The contract issued by the publisher spells out things like rights purchased, desired word count, payment per word, how royalties will be computed, deadline for submission, deadline for publication, and! exclusivity periods.

Once more, in short form, here is that process:
Invitation-->Author Acceptance-->Contract Arrives-->Author writes and submits story to Anthology Editor -->Revision letter arrives-->Author revises, resubmits-->Story accepted-->Payment received-->Anthology published

Some of these bits can be switched around, but these are the steps to publication.

When the anthology is published -- that is when the exclusivity period starts. Exclusivity is exactly what it sounds like -- the anthology holds the exclusive right to publish Story A anywhere for: 6 months, 9 months, 1 year, 2 years (forever, but see above...)

After the exclusivity period is over, Author may sell the story to a reprint market, reprint the story Author's self, or stick the story in a drawer and forget about it.

What we here at the Confusion Factory do is -- After the exclusivity period is completed, we will cause Pinbeam Books to reprint Story A as an echapbook/paper chapbook. Sometimes, there's a little extra time built in before we get around to that, due to other pressing business, and whether we have at least two stories available for reprint (or have spontaneously generated another, free-range, story in the interim) so that we give value to our readers.

We also collect those stories into a big pile, and lately Baen Books has been kind enough to print those collections in the Liaden Universe® Constellation series. So far, that is three volumes, with Constellation Four coming in Summer 2019*.

What all this means for the "availability" of the following stories: "Dark Secrets," "Command Decision," and "Vestals of Midnight," is!

"Dark Secrets" will be published in Infinite Stars: Dark Frontiers, which is now scheduled to be published in September 2019. The exclusivity period for that story is 18 months. So, it will be "available," sometime in mid-2021.

We have not yet been informed of the exclusivity period for "Decision," and "Vestal," but assume a year from publication (November 2018), since that's an average period.

Advertent readers will see that "Revolutionists" and "Excerpts from Two Lives," will be collected in Constellation Four. Sometime after, Pinbeam Books will collect them into a chapbook. The reason for that timing is also exclusivity, the period for "Revolutionists" doesn't go over until next July, scant weeks before we can expect to see the next Liaden collection.

I trust this answers everyone's questions -- and really! Try an anthology, why not? You might find some new favorite authors.

____________________
*A Liaden Universe® Constellation Volume Four, coming from Baen in Summer 2019. This reprints eight shorter works: 2 novellas, 4 novelettes, 2 short stories from 2016-2018. Titles included are: “Street Cred,” “Due Diligence,” “Friend of a Friend,” “Cutting Corners,” “Block Party,” “Degrees of Separation,” “Excerpts from Two Lives,” “Revolutionists.”

Attention convention organizers, fan charity organizers, traveling fans, librarians and friends of library folks ...

From time to time we have to load balance the book shelves holding our "extra" author copies. We end up with a a few more of some, a few less of another, but too many to keep -- and that's where we are now.

If you are a con runner, charity organizer, or library-type who could use signed Lee & Miller books as prizes or giveaways for upcoming events, drop me a line at rolanniATkorvalDOTcom. Librarians -- if you will use them in your collection or in science fiction oriented events, tell me that, and we'll see how we can help there, too.

We will ask to be reimbursed for shipping.

We have some hardbacks, some trade papers, some mass markets, of many, but not all Lee-and-Miller, and Lee titles. We cannot guarantee specific titles. Think of it as a grab-bag of goodies.

Theo Waitley has a lot of fans, and they write to us from time to time, politely pointing out that it's been, like, forever (or 2012, whichever comes first) since the latest installment of her story, and they wonder when the next Theo book will finally gladden their lives.

Sadly, because of how we write (organically, say some; chaotically, say others), we have not been able to answer this seemingly simple question.

Until now!

Now, we can say, with authority, that Theo will play a large part in The Gathering Edge, the 20th novel in the Liaden Universe®. We've known this for a number of months, and I apologize for not saying so sooner, but, um, I'd forgotten it was an issue until, providentially, someone wrote to me, wondering when we were going to get around to continuing Theo's story, and I realized that this was a topic Of Interest to Many.

So, yes -- The Gathering Edge. Theo. Also the Uncle, Miri and Val Con, and -- oh, a number of folks, some of whom you won't meet until Alliance of Equals, which is kind of the bad news here.

See, Alliance of Equals is the 19th novel in the Liaden Universe®, and it's not a Theo novel. It's a Shan novel, sort of -- possibly a Padi novel more than a Shan, but in that range. It, too, features the Uncle, and those folks you haven't met yet, and it?

Is scheduled to be published on July 5, 2016.

We're writing The Gathering Edge now -- in fact, we just cracked 50,000 words (or passed the Theoretical Halfway Point, which sounds a little more encouraging, though its unlikely to be True) of the first-draft-and-a-half yesterday. The final manuscript is due on Madame the Editor's desk in mid-February, 2016.

So, while there's a Theo novel on the road to publication -- yay! -- you've gotta use binoculars to see it.

I am not going to predict when Edge will be published. Every time I produce my best guess for a date, Madame surprises me, so we'll just say -- publication is expected after July 2016.

Here ends the PSA.

For the FB peeps, a rare photo of Scrabble, who, unfortunately, had her forcefield engaged:

Current Mood: informative

This is in the way of being a Public Service Announcement.

Alliance of Equals, the nineteenth novel in Sharon Lee and Steve Miller's long-running space opera set in the Liaden Universe®!

Alliance of Equals, I say, has a (hardcover) publication date of July 5, 2016. Yes, that is nine months from now. No, there's not really anything we can do to "pressure" (cue laugh track) the publisher into releasing the novel earlier. No, we will not sell you our final manuscript (to be fair, no one has asked to buy the Alliance manuscript, yet, but we've had such "offers" in the past, and, in the spirit of forestalling any more. . .).

And honestly, even if there was a way to "pressure" the publisher into releasing the book early? We wouldn't do it, because -- we'd like our book to get a calm editorial reading and a thorough edit -- and so would you.

Now, yes, Baen does often release eArcs of new novels ahead of the hardcover publication date, but they don't release the eArcs six months ahead. And what if they did, and you got the book now? Have you really thought this out? Because if you got Alliance of Equals, now? You'd be in the same pickle, only worse, for The Gathering Edge, which we're writing, now; and which is scheduled to be handed in on February 15, 2016. Figure 11 months out for hardcover publication -- that's January 2017, at the earliest. So, really, do you even want to go there?

Anyhow, we were given a general rule of thumb from the publisher, which is: Expect the eArc (if any) to be released around the time you, the authors, receive your authors' proofs. We receive our authors' proofs anywhere from two to three months ahead of the hardcover publication date, so, counting backward from July: June. May. April. . . .with April being the soonest you might see an eArc and mid-May about the latest.

Now! Baen does release sample chapters on the Baen website when a book becomes available for preorder. I actually don't know when books typically go up for preorder; historically, Amazon has been the driver, and Amazon used to put books up for preorder as soon as they heard a whisper of even a tentative pub date from a publisher, never mind a final schedule.

Steve and I are in something of an odd geography in this whole situation of release dates and reader demand. On the one hand, it's lovely that people are eager for our newest work. Really, it is. But, the wheels of publishing grind as they do. Baen publishes authors other than Lee and Miller, who also deserve to have their books receive a calm editorial reading and a thorough edit. And even if we "quit trad publishing and go indie," as has been suggested by some avid fans -- we probably wouldn't write any faster. In fact, I'm betting our production would slow down, because we'd have to do all the stuff that the staff at Baen does for us, in addition to writing the novels.

While I accept that there are folks out there who can write a strong, salable book in an afternoon, and writers who consistently write and see published four or six books a year with no reduction of quality -- Lee and Miller are not those authors. We have never been those authors*. A book a year is a comfortable writing pace for us; a pace that allows us to reflect, and to layer in the details and back-stories that readers have told us make the Liaden Universe® novels "special" and "very re-readable." We value these things about our work, as you do, and we don't want to slight the characters, our readers, or ourselves.

So. . .thank you for reading our work; thank you for supporting our work; thank you for recommending our work to your friends and colleagues. Thank you for treating the release of every new Liaden novel and story as a cause for celebration -- we feel that way, too.

But, we really are writing as fast as we can; the publisher is publishing as fast as they can. We're all hostages to the constraints of linear time.
_____________
*Back in 2007, we were those writers, briefly. We wrote six books in 18 months, while I was working a full-time job. It was an insane, stressful time, when the only thing we did was write, eat cheese sandwiches at the computer, snatch three hours of sleep before going to the day-job -- and at the end of it, neither one of us had an ounce of creative energy left. I have no idea how people work to that level, constantly -- all honor to them. What we learned from that experience was -- we can write books fast, briefly, or we can write books at a more leisurely pace, for years to come. We chose the latter.

Placeholder picture of Belle, for the Facebook peeps:

Current Mood: bemused

This is in the nature of a catch-up post.

For those who have been following along with the numbers game at home, the latest information garnered from the latest blood test is that the 1 mg dose of thyroid medicine is a winner. The poor pituitary has stopped with overtime manufacturing of kick-me hormones for the thyroid, and the thyroid is producing numbers in the normal range without being kicked, and -- this being the important part -- I am fully awake and at optimum crankiness and sarcasm levels for the first time in. . .years.

Come to think of it, that should serve as a Public Service Announcement.

Also -- this repeats news shared on Facebook yesterday evening -- I have successfully concluded a project years in the making -- a ceiling fan in my office. I'm so happy -- I can't tell you. Here's a picture:

. . .isn't it BEAUtiful?

I have been reminded to remind y'all that! Registration for BaltiCon 50, held over Memorial Day Weekend, May 27-30, 2016, at the Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel, is now open. Here's the direct link.

In addition to Guests of Honor George RR Martin, John Picacio, Bill and Gretchen Roper, and Martin Deutsch and Shirley Avery, BaltiCon 50 aims to welcome back as many of the con's previous Guests of Honors as are interested and able to come. So far, 21 Alumni GoHs have agreed to return for BaltiCon's 50th anniversary, including Steve and me (Writer GoHs, BaltiCon 37, 2003).

This is a big, big project, and BaltiCon is asking for your help in funding the travel for the returning GoHs. There's a donation page here, where you may donate to your favorite GoHs. (Yes, I know that Steve and I are listed separately; I don't know what's up with that, but at the bottom line, I don't think it actually matters.)

BaltiCon 50 is also selling a limited edition promotional tshirt in order to raise funds. You can view and/or purchase a tshirt here.

Finally, for all the latest news about BaltiCon 50, you can sign up for the Twitter feed: @balticon50

This is a Hard Writing Weekend, which means I'll be somewhat scarce on the web. The beginning of next week includes an interview, and a visit from the generator guy, as well as Yet Another Phone Call to the health insurance company, which seems stuck in an Endless Loop of sending me a form I've now filled out and returned three times, while at the same time being unable to generate a monthly invoice. Sigh. Also, the Colby Art Museum is hosting an Open House on Thursday evening. I always like to go to the Art Open House. So, not an insanely busy week, but busy enough with mundane things -- and writing, too.

Extra credit paragraph: From the Department of Anthropomorphism, Cats Are Not Social Committee, we have the following Observer Report.

This morning, I was sitting at the kitchen table finishing the wonderful tuna melt Steve had made for breakfast. I have a direct line of sight into the living room from my place at the kitchen table, and was able to see Trooper in the cat hammock, Belle stretched out on the rug close to the kitchen, near, but not on, the cat scratchers. Sprite walked into the living room, fell on Belle, cleaned her up, cleaned herself, up, cleaned Belle up and in due time, as frequently happens, the grooming morphed into a wrasslin' match.

This morning's match was. . .vigorous. Sprite broke twice, but came back, and Belle, seeming slightly put-upon, finally threw her Whole Being into the thing, grabbing Sprite around the waist and kicking her in the stomach. There were no growls, but Belle, at least, was clearly intent on teaching Sprite a lesson, rather than savoring the Joy of the Wrassle.

Sprite tried to break a third time -- Belle wouldn't let her. Sprite renewed her efforts to get free, Belle held her closer. I was on the edge of producing a loud, "Ahem!" when. . .

Trooper jumped down from the hammock and approached the melee.

Belle let go of Sprite and twisted to her feet to face him; Sprite escaped to the hall, where she sat down and began to groom her shoulder. Trooper walked directly up to Belle, tail slightly higher than straight behind, but not a full upward sweep, and put his nose against hers. She allowed this -- then swatted him in the head.

Trooper went back a couple steps and walked carefully around her, as if he was going to go check on Sprite. In fact, he paused by the television stand, where he could see her in the hall, cleaning up, stroked his cheek against the wood a couple times, turned, and went back to the cat hammock.

Belle began to bathe.

I stood up and got myself another cup of coffee.

Everybody have a nice weekend.

Con-going fans know Larry Smith and Sally Kobee well as Larry Smith, Bookseller. They were in an accident on the way home from DragonCon, and their van has been totaled by the insurance company, for a very small percentage of what a new van will cost. In addition, Larry was in the hospital for a couple days after the van rolled, for observation. They're home now, with their stock, which they're slowly sorting through to see what's still salable.

Steve adds more details:

We can't tell you how much Larry and Sally at Larry Smith Books have helped us over the years. Just no way to add everything up in dollars and cents since-- besides carrying our big publisher books for years, even having some in stock much of the time we were out of public view between publishers -- they also carried our chapbooks when I was running SRM Publisher.

There were conventions where chapbook sales through Larry Smith Books covered our meals, and conventions where Larry and Sally took us to supper of an evening. There were also cons where Larry had no time to go to dinner, since he often runs dealer's rooms, and sometimes even runs convention bids....

At one convention (where the con chair didn't know us and hence would give us no program items, no readings, and no signings) it was Larry Smith who invited us behind his table (which never happens) where we signed for so long NESFA went out and bought us lunch. Yes, it was Larry Smith who helped prove that there was indeed "pent-up demand" for our Liaden books and our other work.

Our story is not unique. Larry and Sally and their crew have served convention fandom for decades, helping readers and writers across many interest areas, across many years.

We salute Larry Smith Books, and hope you join us in supporting this effort to keep the books rolling.

Here's the link to the GoFundMe Page. NOTE: The campaign was started, on behalf of Larry and Sally, by Marcia Kelly Illingworth, who is known to us personally as a reliable person.

Warning first, because that's fair.

Do not try me today.
I really mean this.
I have no spoons, but I have lots of knives.
Thank you for your attention.

Now, Updates!

1. The Gift of Magic, an echapbook collecting two stories previously published on Baen.com, "The Gift of Music," and "The night don't seem so lonely," is now available in the Kindle and the Nook stores at Amazon/BN respectively.

1a. Yes, I know the stories are individually available on the web for free. Thank you.

1b. I am exploring the possibility of publishing this chapbook to other ebook venues, and will make an announcement if and when exploration comes to fruition. Yes, I know about Smashwords, thank you. I have also recently been pointed at Draft to Digital, thank you.

1c. The Gift of Magic is dignified as Archers Beach #5. The Archers Beach books are, in order:

Archers Beach ONE: Carousel Tides
Archers Beach TWO: Carousel Sun
Archers Beach THREE: Carousel Seas
Archers Beach FOUR: Surfside
Archers Beach FIVE: The Gift of Magic

2. A Liaden Universe® Constellation Volume III is now available as an ebook in the Nook and Kindle stores. It may also be available in the ebook store you prefer; it's worth checking out the possibility.

2a. The paper edition of Constellation III is due to be in stores on August 4.

2b. Those who preordered signed/personalized editions from Uncle Hugo, be of good heart. The books have not yet arrived here at the Confusion Factory, but we expect them at any moment. As soon as they do arrive, be assured that we will sign and personalized just as quickly as we're able, and will get the books back on the road to Minneapolis so that they can be mailed to you.

2c. Yes, the book includes only reprints of short stories. No, I don't know why Baen doesn't publish the TOC in the book summary. The stories included are:

Code of Honor (Splinter Universe, 2014)
Eleutherious (Baen.com, 2013)
Guaranteed Delivery (Splinter Universe, 2011)
Intelligent Design (Baen.com, 2011)
Kin Ties (Splinter Universe, 2011)
King of the Cats (SRM Publisher, Ltd., 2002 in The Cat's Job)
Landed Alien (Baen.com, 2012)
Moon's Honor (Splinter Universe, 2013)
Out of True (Baen.com, 2013)
Roving Gambler (Splinter Universe, 2014)
The Rifle's First Wife (Splinter Universe, 2014)
The Space at Tinsori Light (Splinter Universe, 2011)

3. We hear through the grapevine that Offworld Designs has begun shipping Tree-and-Dragon shirts to those people who ordered. They are now in the process of compiling a big enough pile of orders to do a second printing/embroidering. Here's the search page for the Liaden items available. Please note that it is a search page; you must click on the image of the shirt of your choice in order to get detailed information.

3a. Yes, the only shirt color at this time is black. Yes, the thread/printing is gold. No, I'm sorry, there are no ladies tees available at this time.

4. The Nature Conservancy reports a successful treatment for White Nose Syndrome, which has been killing off the bat population at breathtaking rates. Here's your link.

4a. Yes, I am aware that some people loathe and revile bats. I am not one of them.

5. Sprite and Belle had Second Breakfast together this morning:

Second Breakfast at the Cat Farm July 24 2015. Sprite (l), Belle (r)

Current Mood: do. not. try. me.

This came in email; I assume it's been sent to all Baen .mobi customers

Dear Baen Ebooks customer,

Starting on or about June 10, 2015, Baen Ebooks will no longer be able to provide automatic delivery of the .mobi format to a Kindle device via the "Email book to my Kindle" feature. We have just learned that to comply with Amazon's Terms of Use, Baen Ebooks cannot use Amazon's Personal Documents Service to deliver paid content.

Baen Ebooks will still offer the "Mobi/Palm/Kindle" format with every Ebook we sell. If you want to read that format on a Kindle, there is only one change: You can no longer send the Ebook directly to your Kindle from our site. You can, however, still email your .mobi Ebook to your Kindle by following these directions:

Log in to your Amazon Kindle account and Amazon Kindle Manager.

In Amazon Kindle Manager, add your personal email address to your list of approved senders under Manage Your Content and Devices Settings.

Log in to your account on Baen Ebooks and navigate to your purchased Ebook's product page.

Click "Email book to my Kindle."

Enter your personal email address into the email address box.

Press send.

Check your email. You should receive an email from Ebooks@baenebooks.com with a .mobi file attached.

Forward this email to your Kindle, making sure the .mobi file remains attached. Within 15 minutes, your Ebook should be on your Kindle.

For more information on how to load Baen Ebooks onto your Kindle device, check out our Ereader Instruction page: http://www.baenebooks.com/t-ereaderinstructions.aspx#kindle

If you have any questions about how to access the Kindle Ebooks you've purchased from Baen, please email us at baensupport@principledtechnologies.com.

We are very sorry for any inconvenience this change causes. Thank you for your patience and support of Baen Books.

Regards,
Baen Ebooks Web Team

Q. Amazon cancelled my order/I cancelled my order for the signed edition of Dragon Ship. Are there any left anywhere within the expanding confines of the existing universe?

A. Yes! Uncle Hugo's Science Fiction Bookstore in Minneapolis still has signed copies of Dragon Ship on hand. Here's your link to the Lee and Miller catalog page. You'll have to scroll down.

Q. Are signed editions of Necessity's Child going to be available?

A. Yes! You may preorder it now, in fact. In light of the kerfuffle surrounding the Dragon Ship signed editions, and Amazon's total customer service Fail in the event, I would strongly suggest pre-ordering your signed edition from Uncle Hugo's. Here's that link again. This time you're lucky; Necessity's Child is right at the top of the page. Yes, the book "costs more" from Uncle. On the other hand, not having to deal with the uncertainty and frustration engendered by Amazon's curious lapse has got to be worth a buck or two.

Bonus A. First chapter of Necessity's Child, right over here.

Bonus A #2. No, we don't know when Baen will release the eArc. The last we heard, via a reader, was late October-ish to mid-November-ish.

Q. I totally missed getting a hardcover of Ghost Ship before it sold out. Are there any left anywhere within the expanding confines of the existing universe?

A. Yes! Uncle Hugo's reports have 40 Ghost Ship hardcovers on hand. The link, one! more! time. Yep, you'll need to scroll down.

Q. I read the splinter of The Cards of Fortunate Destiny on Splinter Universe. Will you be completing that novel?

A. No.

Q. How about getting a co-author to write it with you? It would be, like, half the work for you!

A. No. You will have noticed that I have a co-author, and I know that collaboration is not "half as much work" for anyone involved.

Q. What's with Trade Secrets?

A. Steve's working on it. It had to be gutted and re-visioned -- much like Balance of Trade, as I recall. Teenagers!

Q. When will the sequel to The Tomorrow Log be published?

A. My best, conservative, guess is? Never.

...I think that's caught up what I have in email and other places 'round the net.

If you have a question I haven't answered, please ask in comments. I will answer, though it may take me as much as a day.

Thanks!

Current Music: "Father Figure," George Michael

I really didn't think I need to publish a policy statement for this, but I'm told that "most authors don't mind" the behavior discussed below. As it turns out, I very much mind this behavior, so!

Discussion

Sharon Lee and Steve Miller are delighted to meet and chat with their readers at conventions, readings, and similar events, and to sign their books, as time and the constraints of the event permit. We are committed to being accessible to our readers. We really like you guys, right?

However. When we retire to the Cat Farm and Confusion Factory, we are on, as the union used to have it, Our Own Time. We willingly engage with our readers via a number of online outlets, we publish contact email addresses so that readers may ask questions, and a Post Office Box address for folks who prefer paper.

We do not publish our home address as a contact. The internet being the internet, I'm sure it's there to be found. What folks from cities don't quite seem to grasp, though, is that we live in the country. Mail that doesn't fit into our mailbox is simply left on top of it, open to the weather. As we also live in Maine, that weather can sometimes be quite challenging. Not to say, wet. Sending anything to the home address is really just putting whatever it is to additional, unnecessary risk.

Everybody comfortable with the above?

OK, now we get to the:

Policy Statement

Sharon Lee and Steve Miller do not, as a policy, encourage anyone to send books through the mail for us to sign. In point of fact, we don't want anyone to send books through the mail for us to sign. I'm being as clear as possible, here.

If, despite the above statement, you feel that you must make the attempt, the proper protocol is:

1. Write to either Steve or myself at one of our widely available email addresses, on Facebook, at Live Journal, or mail a paper letter to the PO Box address, asking if it's all right for you to send X number of books for signature.

1a. We will most likely say "no," but we will answer a civil inquiry. Do not assume that we will say "yes," and mail the books before you receive our answer. This will only cork us -- well, me; Steve's a lot more even-tempered than I am -- off.

2. If, against all odds, we agree to receive your books, and sign them, please send them properly packaged for travel, and include with them a stamped, self-addressed envelope of a size and kind that will easily and safely accommodate your books for the return journey.

3. Unless we've discussed this with you in depth, do not send anything to our home. Not even a surprise. Especially a surprise. Just. . .don't. It's creepy.

Thank you for your attention to the above.

For those looking for signed editions: Signed editions of our books are often available through Uncle Hugo's Bookstore. If Uncle doesn't have a signed copy in stock, you may contact our local bookstore, Childrens Book Cellar. We have an arrangement with Ellen where we will stop by and sign books for which the customer has requested a signature.

Current Mood: headachy
Current Location: Cat Farm and Confusion Factory

1. "Landed Alien," a short story about Kara ven'Arith is this month's Free Story on the Baen website (you need to scroll down). It will be available there until September 15, and then be retired to the Free Library.

2. Dragon Ship, the fourth book of Theo Waitley, is now available from Baen in the ebook format of your choice.

3. Geek Girl Project continues their Books for Writers series with a review of Carpe Diem, by Lee and Miller.

4. Necessity's Child is not (that is NOT) the sequel to Dragon Ship. Since it is already written, turned in, and scheduled for publication -- three conditions that the sequel(s) to Dragon Ship do not at this time meet -- it is Extremely Doubtful that we will "tell our publisher" to release the sequel next. Sorry 'bout that.

4a. Necessity's Child is actually a darn good book; I like it, and a handful of other folks who read SF, including James Burton, Jaine Fenn, Dave Freer, Todd McCaffrey, Steve Miller, Elizabeth Moon, and Toni Weisskopf like it, too. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

4b. The proposals for the books following Dragon Ship are on Madame the Agent's desk. We'll tell you if/when they've been accepted by Baen. Until then, you now know as much about this as we do. Feel better?

5. AsyouknowBob, the Cat Farm and Confusion Factory experienced an Epic Flood a couple weeks ago. We, by which I mean Steve and I, have been Coping With The Mess Left Behind (the cats providing encouragement, in between naps), which means that, yes, I'm behind on my email. And just about everything else. Thank you for your understanding.

Current Mood: harried & depressed

I'm sorry, folks. It was OK for a couple of weeks, but the viagra and handbag spam are back -- this time in Russian. I can't keep up with shutting them down, so -- Anonymous commenting is going to be turned off as soon as I hit "Post" on this message.

If you want to comment here, you'll need to get a free LJ account, or a Facebook account, or a Google Circles account or a...Merchant ID? account? A discussion of the various non-anonymous methods of posting here would be welcome, since I'm clearly not informed.

I understand that many regular anonymous posters have strong feelings about not signing up for this or that or the other thing, and I have tried to accomodate that, but at this point -- no can do.

Thank you for your understanding.

I hope that those who celebrate had a satisfying Fourth of July. We here at the Cat Farm had a working holiday, breaking early to view John Carter of Mars. Among other things, this has produced an urge to re-read A Princess of Mars, which is now sitting on the kitchen table.

From the mailbag, we have news from David Mattingly, who created the wonderful covers for Mouse and Dragon, Saltation, Ghost Ship, and Dragon Ship among a mountain of other fine covers and art. David has just finished producing an online tutorial about digital matte painting. Here's the course description:

The course shows how to turn a summer daytime scene into a wintry nightscape using Photoshop and After Effects. Well-known author, teacher and illustrator David Mattingly demonstrates his production-proven matte painting techniques. David shows how to take a plate, or a still shot from a film, and alter key elements to change the season and time of day. Using advance digital matte painting methods, David will remove all of the greenery from the mountains, fields and trees, and cover them with snow. Then he will replace the sky, and add realistic touches such as chimney smoke, icicles and night-lit windows. In the final chapters, you'll discover how to create an animated version that cross-dissolves between the two versions.

You can find the tutorial here:

http://www.lynda.com/After-Effects-tutorials/Digital-Matte-Painting-Changing-Scene-From-Summer-Winter/104216-2.html

Lynda.com charges for access to their online training, but you can view a sample of the video tutorial even if you are not a member.

In other news, yet another Disambiguation Notice, this one having to do with the relationship between Ghost Ship, originally published by Baen Books in August 2011; and the short story "Prodigal Son," which first appeared in the chapbook Allies: Adventures in the Liaden Universe® Number 12, originally published in November 2006, by SRM Publisher, Ltd.

As you can see from the publication dates, "Prodigal Son" is clearly not a chapter of Ghost Ship that was withheld by the authors so that it could be published separately. In point of Actual Fact, "Prodigal Son," along with "Lord of the Dance," were written well before we even dreamed of writing Ghost Ship, and, frankly, both were thorns in the sides of the authors, as we tried to square What Had Been Written with What Must Be Written.

We did struggle to bring the novel into line with both stories, but in the end, the narrative could only accommodate "Son." Realizing this, Steve and I, as the authors, made the necessary ghod-like decision -- that the storyline of a novel trumps the storyline of a short story, thereby making "Lord of the Dance" author-written Liaden fan fic. It's still a nice story and we like it very much, but it is no longer, as we say, True.

More later, I think. Now, I have an appointment to chat with the narrator for the Crystal books.

May 2025

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In which there are warnings and updates

Archers Beach ONE: Carousel Tides
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Changes in Kindle delivery from Baen Ebooks

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May 2025

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