Barnes and Noble to Carry (Some) Indie Books

One of the disadvantages of being an indie author is difficulty getting your paper books distributed by physical bookstores. It can be done, but it might require printing your books through a different service and paying for returns. Barnes and Noble announced yesterday plans to carry select indie books in their stores (you can currently order indie paper books on their website). Here's the original article posted on GoodeReader; you can read commentary from other indie authors on The Passive Voice. 

While this sounds like a great deal for indie authors, it's necessary to consider the details. To qualify, the eBook versions must be published through Nook Press (which means I'd have to cease using Draft2Digital to distribute to B&N--and I can't set a book to permafree unless I use the distributor) and sell at least 1000 books a year. Most of my sales are on Amazon; I have very few on Kobo, Apple or B&N. I still distribute my books there partly to give my readers as much access as possible and partly because I don't want to be 100% reliant on Amazon. Even if a book does qualify, there's no word yet about terms, such as number of books per store, how long they will be displayed, and what the return policy for unsold books will be. While I see this as a step forward for indie authors, I also have my doubts about the long-term health of Barnes & Noble. If they manage to avoid going the way of Borders, they may be forced to do that by reducing their shelf space even further and selling things other than books.

Let's take a quick poll: If you buy paper books, where do you buy them from? Please feel free to comment below.

Guest Post at Alex J. Cavanaugh's Blog Finally Up!

I'm still not sure if Alex is receiving my e-mails, but we were able to work out a way to give him my guest post. Here's the permalink. I'll pop over there as time permits to comments. Thanks again for going to such lengths to host me, Alex!

Science of the Week, 6/24/16

Congrats to Alex J. Cavanaugh for winning a free eBook from guest blogger LJ Cohen! Alex, I've asked her to comment on your blog.

Here are some of the most interesting stories I read this week:

Tailored DNA shifts electrons into the "fast lane"

Mother mongooses may risk death to protect unborn children (they can shield themselves from oxidative damage, but this may have long-term health risks)

Will science find a way to save Earth's top predators?

Teaching machines to predict the future
 (not future future, but what happens when two people meet)

Dose of nature is just what the doctor ordered

Warning from the past: future global warming could be even warmer

Russian physicists create a high-precision quantum ruler


Have a good weekend, everyone, and I'll see you on Monday!

Just a Reminder...

That today is the last day to enter the giveaway for one of LJ Cohen's books. Please comment on this post by midnight CDT to be entered in the drawing. Alex looks like a shoe-in right now. ;) Good luck!

Technology and the Human Body

Last week, the frame of my glasses broke, and I had my prescription updated before ordering a new pair. I had the dubious pleasure of transitioning from ordinary glasses into progressives (i.e., trifocals or multifocals). As if that wasn't enough, that same day I also received a pair of personalized orthotics to help me with my plantar fasciitis. (The orthotics aren't a rite of passage for me, since I got a pair a few years ago when I first developed foot problems.)

Rather than focus on the ways in which my body is aging, I thought I'd think about the technology people have used throughout history to protect and improve their bodies. Clothing and shoes have been with us for a long time, though they've evolved from very simple wrappings to tailored items to synthetic materials made by machines. There have also been various inventions to expand on our senses; better ways to maintain, diagnose, and treat our bodies; and so on. How do you think technology will be used to improve our bodies in the future? What would be your favorite assistive technology? My first thought was nanobots that would travel through your bloodstream and repair damaged cells to keep you from aging and developing cancer. Another idea would be something nonmedicinal to help me fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer. Of course, we could always try to engineer the need for sleep out of ourselves, the way Nancy Kress depicts in Beggars in Spain. We could also try to upload our consciousness out of flesh-and-blood bodies into androids or computer systems. Technology has allowed our society to evolve faster than our DNA can, resulting in a mismatch between what we currently do and what's optimal for our bodies. Adapting our agriculture and work habits to be healthier for us won't be easy.

Unfortunately, some odd e-mail issue is preventing Alex. J. Cavanaugh from getting my guest post. (I swear I sent it at least twice on Friday, once as an attachment and once pasted into the body of the e-mail.) I may end up posting it here if we can't figure out the problem.

If you haven't purchased Scattered Seasons yet, prices will go back to $3.99 at the end of the day tomorrow, so get the eBook for $0.99 while you can. It's available on Amazon, B&N, iTunes, and Kobo.

Finally, to celebrate the summer solstice (which happens to be my heroine Jenna's birthday), here's one of my favorite songs from the B-52s:

Science of the Week, 6/17/16

Here are some of the most interesting science news articles I read this week:

Who's the best-equipped superhero? Student research settles "superpower showdown"

Need better sleep? Consider the cognitive shuffle

Climate change could trigger tropical evacuations

Our brain activity could be nudged to make healthier choices

First mirror image model spotted in interstellar space

Brain in a dish to learn more about Alzheimer's disease

Cats seem to grasp the laws of physics

New Alzheimer's study aims to delay or prevent symptoms

Piping hot drinks may lead to cancer of the esophagus

How new technology may help infertile couples

Women's long work hours linked to alarming increases in cancer, heart disease

Artificial intelligence produces realistic sounds that fool humans


Have a good weekend, everyone, and see you Monday!

 

Guest Post: LJ Cohen and The Importance of Speculative Fiction (Giveaway)

Today I get to welcome Broad Universe member LJ Cohen to my blog. LJ Cohen is a novelist, poet, blogger, ceramics artist, and relentless optimist. After almost twenty-five years as a physical therapist, LJ now uses her anatomical knowledge and myriad clinical skills to injure characters in her science fiction and fantasy novels. She lives in the Boston area with her family, two dogs, and the occasional international student. DREADNOUGHT AND SHUTTLE (book 3 of the SF/Space Opera series Halcyone Space), is her sixth novel. LJ is a member of SFWA, Broad Universe, and the Independent Publishers of New England.

LJ will give one of her eBooks (winner's choice) to a commenter on this post. Winner will be chosen at random. Please comment by Wednesday, June 22nd, by midnight. I'll announce the winner on Friday, June 24th.


Please see below for LJ's thoughts on why speculative fiction is so important:


When I was young and just starting to choose what I wanted to read, I gravitated to science fiction and fantasy. My mother – a voracious reader – always wanted to know why I didn’t read more “normal” books. By normal, she meant set in the real world. She read a lot of what we now term women’s fiction and the occasional historical novel. Speculative fiction (I use the term as a larger umbrella for science fiction, fantasy, horror, and slipstream work) was something she didn’t have interest in.

But I grew up in an era where technology made marvels every day. When I was a child, we sent astronauts to the moon! We built supersonic airplanes! We transplanted hearts! Is it any wonder I discovered the library shelves devoted to stories about such wonders and read everything there? It wasn’t that I never read outside of genre, but even the books in the literary world I loved had a touch of other-worldliness in them.

After a lifetime of reading widely in speculative fiction, it wasn’t shocking that my writing followed suit. So what is it about speculative fiction that I find so appealing, so important?

To answer that, I need to go back to my childhood.

I was a toddler when Star Trek first aired and didn’t catch the show until it hit syndication several years after its original run, but I was hooked from the start. Here were men, women, and aliens all working together in a future I was desperate to be a part of. 

Women in space.

Women. In. Space.

Women whose roles were not limited to love interests or victims. Maybe I wasn’t able to articulate it in that way when I was young, but I certainly remember it was a powerful antidote to being told that girls couldn’t grow up to be astronauts.

I was told that. I was told that by my school guidance counselor. By a school that automatically scheduled all girls for home economics and all boys for shop. By a society that erased the contributions women and minorities made to history, science, and technology.

Star Trek told a different story. So did the seminal book of my childhood: A Wrinkle in Time. Not only was the hero of the story a young woman – Meg Murry – but her mother was a scientist. That story, along with the implicit message of Star Trek, was also a powerful negation of all the messages the rest of society was sending.

So why do I write science fiction and fantasy? Why do I include a diverse cast of capable characters? Because society is still broadcasting messages of inherent inequality. There is still a hierarchy of worth where whiteness and maleness are depicted at the top.

There is ample evidence that readers live in silos: both overtly and covertly and from an early age, most boys are steered away from fiction that depicts women as lead characters. But speculative fiction seems to be a way to offer a world of greater inclusiveness that doesn’t turn away potential readers quite so readily. I’ve always seen the literature of speculative fiction as beautifully subversive: it talks about broad societal issues without it being directly about society. It gets in around the cracks of entrenched beliefs in a way more realistic fiction does not.

So in the world of Halcyone Space, the crew of the old, broken freighter is diverse. There are women and people of color in roles of authority. There are friendships, both with and without romance, within genders and between them. All of this is presented as a given, with no specific fanfare. It just offers up a future world where the old hierarchies no longer limit us.

And that is the power of speculative fiction.

LJ's Links:





Homepage: http://www.ljcohen.net/
Blog: http://ljcbluemuse.blogspot.com/
Newsletter: http://www.ljcohen.net/mailinglist/mail.cgi/list/bluemusings
Google+: https://www.google.com/+LisaCohen
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5305326.L_J_Cohen
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ljcohen
Twitter: @lisajanicecohen
email LJ: lisa@ljcohen.net
Amazon Author page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B006QL6GA0

Dreadnought And Shuttle
 When a materials science student gets kidnapped, she's drawn into a conflict between the young crew of a sentient spaceship, a weapons smuggling ring, and a Commonwealth-wide conspiracy and must escape before her usefulness as a hostage expires.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01G5M1Z1Y
Google Books: https://books.google.com/books/about?id=0606DAAAQBAJ
Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/dreadnought-and-shuttle
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dreadnought-and-shuttle-lj-cohen/1123863365
iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/dreadnought-shuttle-halcyone/id1120751551
Amazon/Print: http://www.amazon.com/Dreadnought-Shuttle-Halcyone-Space-book/dp/1942851006

Scattered Seasons Sale

Since Chaos Season was originally supposed to be published on 6/21/16 (to tie in with the summer solstice), I planned a sale on the previous book, Scattered Seasons, to celebrate. Normally, the eBook is $3.99, but from now through 6/21/16, it's $0.99. You can purchase it at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and Apple. As of Sunday afternoon, Amazon and Kobo have the sale price. Hopefully by now, B&N and Apple have adjusted the price too.

ETA: The guest post on Alex J Cavanaugh's blog has been rescheduled for next Monday, June 20th. I'm sorry for any confusion my earlier post caused.

Science of the Week, 6/10/16

Here are some of the most interesting science news stories I read this week:

Hubble finds universe may be expanding faster than expected

Dietary supplement may prevent and reverse severe damage to aging brain

Astronaut's first steps into BEAM will expand the frontiers of habitats for space

Fish can recognize human faces, new research shows

Swapping sick for healthy brain cells slows Huntington's disease

Universe's first life might have been born on carbon planets

How "super organisms" evolve in response to toxic environments

Provisional names announced for superheavy elements 113, 115, 117, and 118

Have a good weekend, everyone, and see you on Monday!

Publishing Myths

Jane Friedman recently posted an article about some of the publishing myths being published in articles. I shared it on my Facebook author page, but I think it's worth posting here as well. The three points she discusses are ebook sales (they're declining among traditional publishers, possibly due to high prices), print sales (the recent increase is all due to the adult coloring book trend, which doesn't help authors), and market share (it's going to small presses and indies). Check out her article for a full discussion. No matter what your approach to your writing career is, it's important to be aware of what's really happening in publishing.

A Star Wars Weekend

It's been a long weekend of trooping for me. Saturday we were at Star Wars Day in Joliet. This is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, library Star Wars Day in the nation. This photo might give you a sense of just how big it is.
 Alex and I are next to the Tuskens in the lower left; Eugene is somewhere in the back. He was the only gunner at this event, but I still have a hard time finding him!

The event kicked off with a parade, followed by this group shot. Afterwards, we were free to suit down or not and wander around to see some of the exhibits and vendors. Eugene helped recruit families for the Galactic Academy, which is the costuming group for children. Alex and I went around, checking out the vendors. We didn't get to many of the exhibits, but Alex did find a twin. When we were both in costume, we were mobbed for photographs and trading cards.

On Sunday, we had a second event. This was a Make-a-Wish brunch for Make-a-Wish children and their families. In addition to Star Wars characters, there were Disney princesses, superheroes, Muppets, Sailor Moon, Transformers, a dinosaur from The Land Before Time, and more. I don't have a lot of photos from the event, but the one below is one of my favorites. Poe will long regret the forced landing on Tattooine!

All this trooping, not to mention traveling, changing, getting meals, and doing other things meant I didn't get much writing done this weekend. All of it was when we were on the road, actually. How do you keep up with writing when life throws a jillion other tasks at you? Please share in the comments.

Science of the Week, 6/3/16

Here are some of the most interesting science news articles I read this week:

Doubling down on Schrodinger's cat

Only one-third of older Americans feel financially prepared for retirement

Tasty fat: X-rays finding the blueprint of why fat is yummy

Researchers create first 3-D mathematical model of uterine contractions

A smartphone to help keep the elderly safe

Dancing hairs alert bees to floral electrical fields

Amid terror threats, new hope for radiation antidote

Researchers one step closer to developing non-allergenic "super" peanuts


Have a good weekend, and I'll see you Monday!

IWSG: Trading Off Goals

Welcome to June and the monthly Insecure Writer's Support Group! This month's co-hosts include Murees Dupe, Alexia Chamberlynn, Chemist Ken, and Heather Gardner. 

I recently read Susan Kaye Quinn's Indie Author Survival Guide, and it got me thinking about how I should plan my long-career as an indie author. One of the goals I decided on was to publish at least two books a year through 2020. This will allow me to build a backlist, complete a series or two, and establish a reliable schedule to keep fans happy. In a few years, I'll reassess how my career is doing and decide if I should change my strategy. I already published one book this year and hope to publish Fifth Season, the next book in the Season Avatars series, by the end of this year. Once my son's birthday party is done, I'll read the rough draft and start revisions. It's going to be challenging to keep this pace up for an extended period of time while continuing to improve my craft and fulfilling all of my other obligations. Of course, have I ever backed down from such a challenge?

There will be trade-offs required to meet this goal. These trade-off may include focusing on certain projects at the expense of others. For example, I came up with an idea for a short story after coming home from WisCon. I'm not a natural short story writer, probably because I read many, many more novels than I do short stories. I may still put this project on the back burner, along with several other short stories in progress, and work on it in between novels. However, I think in order to meet my goals, I'll have to develop longer projects and prioritize them.

Have you ever had to trade off writing projects? If so, what were your reasons? Feel free to share them in the comments.

WisCon Recap

It's Sunday afternoon as I write this. There's still quite a few events left in the convention, but I think by this point my participation will be limited, as I'm drained by this point. Here's a summary of the weekend from my perspective.

After dropping my son off at school on Friday, I drove straight up to Madison, picked up my badge, and set up the Broad Universe table. After lunch and a visit to one of my favorite stores on State Street (The Soap Opera), other Broad Universe members and I opened the table. We had a few snafus at first but were able to get them resolved. Once we were good to go, I hurried off to the "The Fandom Awakens" panel. It was very well attended for a panel at the start of the convention; I'd say we had at least fifty people in the audience. The other panelists were engaging, and it went well. I tended the table until my family arrived and the Dealers' Room closed. We went to a local Chinese place Alex likes and had dessert at the Red Elephant. I snuck into the opening ceremony briefly, but after that I went swimming with my family. We had a lot of fun playing with a beach ball someone had left behind.

I woke up early (5:00) on Saturday, but stayed in bed for another hour or so before swimming laps. We went out for breakfast and visited the Farmers' Market before I had to return to open the table and resolve yet another issue. At least I was able to grab lunch from the con suite before the Broad Universe reading. There were only a few people attending; I found out later that the door locked when we closed it, so some people who stopped by couldn't get in. I read from Chaos Season. It went well, but I did catch a duplicated word in the scene. I'll fix that in all formats as soon as I can. I did have time to stroll through the art show and attend a panel on Food Privilege, but after that I was back to tending the table until the end of the day. We met some local friends for dinner and went swimming again (this time with pool noodles) when we arrived at the hotel. By this point, I was tired and a stomach ache. I checked in on a couple of parties and the gaming room, but went back up to my room without doing much.

I still didn't feel great when I woke up on Sunday, but I was on a 8:30 panel, so I grabbed some oatmeal and headed out to the panel about the scarcity of female action figures and other toys. It went better than I expected. I was able to attend another a reading in a nearby coffeehouse and got to hear Naomi Kritizer read "Cat Pictures Please." I had lunch at the BU table again, but I did have time in the afternoon to attend a self-care panel, stop at the Strange Horizons tea party, and listen to what not to do with female characters (basically, female characters get criticized more heavily than a male with the identical traits). After this, I'll take down the table and go visit more local friends. (I did get more table backup than I expected, and I also sold more books than I normally do.) Still not sure yet if I'll be at the SignOut today. It's time to celebrate my son's birthday and visit my parents.

I hope you had a good weekend. Feel free to share what you did in the comments.

Science of the Week, 5/27/16

Here are some of the most interesting science news articles I read this week:

Your genes may help you with speed dating

Gut biome and immune system team to keep mind sharp

Blindness and visual impairment will double by 2050

Engineers take first step toward flexible, wearable, tricoder-like device

Exercise, future anticancer therapy?

Bacteria can survive impacts at incredible speeds

Have a good weekend, everyone! If I have time, I'll post some updates about WisCon on Monday

Fan Memories of the Crickets

Those of you who've been following me for a long time know I'm a big Beatles fan. Beatles fans often have other Beatles fans as friends, and they tend to enjoy other classic rock bands. One of my Beatles friends is Kristi Phillips Zanker, and she enjoys many other classic bands and television shows. Her memories about meeting the rock band The Crickets (Buddy Holly's group) are included in the recently published work The Crickets: Six Decades of Rock'n'Roll Memories. The Crickets influenced many other music groups, so if you'd like to learn more about The Crickets, you can purchase this book through Amazon or Barnes and Noble. Congrats to Kristi on her first publications. As the Beatles would say, "Gear!"

WisCon Schedule

It's hard to believe WisCon starts this week! This year, I'm running the Broad Universe table, so I'll be driving up Friday morning to get it set up. I expect to spend more time than usual working the table, but I'm also part of the following panels:

Friday (5/27), 2:30-3:45--The Fandom Awakens: Everything is Star Wars and nothing hurts! Let's talk about the importance of casting a woman and two men of color as the leading characters in this major movie franchise. Let's talk about how no one in the cast wants to gender BB-8. Let's talk about General Leia. Let's talk The Force Awakens until episode 8 comes out or we all run out of breath…
(I'm moderating this panel)

Saturday (5/28), 1:00-2:15--Broad Universe Rapid-Fire Reading (I'll be reading from Chaos Season)

Sunday (5/29), 8:30-9:45--Why Did We Have To Fight For Rey Star Wars Toys: First they left out Black Widow, then they left out Gamora, and then Disney launched their Star Wars: The Force Awakens toy line with nary a hint of Rey, one of the movie's leads. Disney and toymaker Hasbro responded to the outrage expressed in the #WheresRey hashtag with facile explanations and no real apologies, but did finally unveil some Rey action figures and other merchandise at ToyFair. Why did it have to go down this way? Why couldn't Disney have made Rey as prominent on all the merch from the start as they did Finn and Kylo Ren? Why do we still have to fight for women in the "boy toys" aisle and why is there still a divide between "boys" and "girls" toys at all?

Monday (5/30), 11:30-12:45--The SignOut 

Add in seeing local and WisCon friends and celebrating my son's 9th birthday on Monday, and I expect to be a trifle busy.


What are your Memorial Day weekend plans? Feel free to share them in the comments.

Science of the Week, 5/20/16

Happy release day to the eBook version of Chaos Season! To celebrate, here's Sting with "Desert Rose," a song I associate with Jenna, the heroine of this installment:



Anyway, here are some of the most interesting science news articles I read this week:

NASA directly observes fundamental process of nature for 1st time


How light is detected affects the atom that emits it

Scientists use astronomical software to date 2,500-year old lyric poem

Artificial intelligent replaces physicists

Your friends have more friends than you do

Photonics advances have major implications for the search for extraterrestrial intelligence


Have a good weekend, everyone, and I'll see you on Monday!

Do You Value the Goal or the Process?

Yesterday, I read an article called, "The Most Important Question of Your Life." According to the author, you shouldn't ask yourself what you want out of life, but rather what you choose to suffer to achieve your goals. No goal worth achieving can be reached without effort, often requiring more effort than is apparent when someone first chooses to pursue a goal. There can be physical or psychological pain experienced over and over before someone succeeds. Even then, you may be required to put in effort to maintain your goal, whether that goal is staying at a healthy weight or keeping a relationship strong. I think the author makes some valid points, but I think there's more to reaching a goal than enduring pain and suffering. The bumps are part of the journey, and while it's always important to keep a goal in mind, one has to accept the journey, even learn to enjoy it, to reach the goal.

One of my favorite all-time books is Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. There's a passage in there where the author talks about trying to climb a mountain but giving up due to exhaustion. Physical strength and intellectual motivation weren't enough. To quote at length:

He didn't think he had been arrogant but thought he was undertaking the pilgrimage to broaden his experience, to gain understanding for himself. He was trying to use the mountain for his own purposes and the pilgrimage too. He regarded himself as the fixed entity, not the pilgrimage or the mountain, and thus wasn't ready for it. He speculated that the other pilgrims, the ones who reached the mountain, probably sensed the holiness of the mountain so intensely that each footstep was an act of devotion, an act of submission to this holiness. The holiness of the mountain infused into their own spirits enabled them to endure far more than anything he, with his greater physical strength, could take....[The ego-climber] rejects the here, is unhappy with it, wants to be further up the trail but when he gets there will be just as unhappy because then it will be "here." What he's looking for, what he wants, is all around him, but he doesn't want that because it is all around him. Every step's an effort, both physically and spiritually, because he imagines his goal to be external and distant.

In other words, if you want to write a book, earn a degree, or accomplish something, you have to value getting there as much as achieving the end goal. Of course, different people have different tolerances and so may therefore need to take different journeys. I don't enjoy running so would never set out to run a marathon. However, I do enjoy the process of researching stories, developing plots and characters, and putting in a day's work on a manuscript, so I can achieve my goal of writing a book. Someone else may be able to run a marathon but loathe having to sit at a computer and write all day.

  What do you think? Does success in reaching a goal depend on accepting setbacks along the way, recognizing the value of the journey, both, or something else? Do you think this could be part of the reason why so many books include a journey as part of reaching a goal? Feel free to share your thoughts below.

Chaos Season on LibraryThing

I'm giving away up to fifty e-books (MOBI, EPUB, or PDF) of Chaos Season through LibraryThing. In return, I'm hoping readers will leave honest reviews on Amazon or elsewhere. If you're a member of LibraryThing and would like to enter the giveaway, please click on this link and scroll down until you find  Chaos Season. The giveaway runs through June 4th, but don't leave it until the last minute. Thanks!