Formatting for the Kindle and EPub

DBW WEBcast Archives (BETA)

There's been lots of talk about this lately, and about the value of ebooks. I believe in ebooks. I believe they need to be priced reasonably, but I also think there needs to be a single format standard as that in itself would help publishers reduce the costs of producing them.

For all of you out there that thinks there is no cost, you are, quite frankly, wrong. There are costs, lots of them. Ebooks are not a cash cow for publishers. And they require, in many ways, more work to maintain the flow than a print copy does. Nor are ebooks just an additional. They are a product of their own and should be respected as such. Rant over.

 Digital Book World has lots of useful information, so I thought I would share.

Gwen’s Book Manuscript Submission Rules - Pre-Rules

Gwen’s Book Manuscript Submission Rules - Pre-Rules

A guide to increasing your chances of publication with your chosen publisher.

There are some really easy rules to follow when submitting your book for publication. You may find that others have a different opinion as to what is important, but after more than 15 years of reviewing submissions and publishing books, here’s my opinion on the process. Let me re-stress that. THIS IS ALL MY OPINION. I sent out to the Twitterverse a question on what people wanted me to talk about, and this was the number one requested topic. So, in my own way I’m serving up what you want. Do with it what you will, but I do hope that it will help in some small way get you on the road to publication.

There are a couple of pre-rules you should first address as a writer (you may note that I will use different language in these earlier posts to later posts as we move on to other topics). First is that I will use "writer" as a generic term simply meaning "unpublished writer". Once you achieve publication you move on to the land of "author." This to me is a logical progression, because being an author today involves a lot more than just writing. That though, will come up in later posts.

Before Submitting to Publishers: The Pre-Rules

Pre-rule 1. Write a book--a complete book. If it’s a series, you should have at least a full synopsis for each subsequent book. If this is your "first" book heading out to submission try to sell a standalone--or a standalone with potential. Trying to sell a series is difficult at the best of times and since you are an unknown quantity odds are really good you’ll get rejected if it’s presented as an incomplete series. The risk factor is simply too high for most publishers. Save the series for when you are established as an author.

Pre-rule 2. Edit the book yourself several times.

Pre-rule 3. Run spell check. Seriously. While not error-proof, it should give you a general run through and maybe catch obvious errors.

Pre-rule 4. Turn on the grammar function of your word processor and check to see what it says. I’m not advocating that you change everything to match the programs "rules" (because I really don’t want you to do that), but I do want you to LOOK at the suggestions it makes--the program has good reasons for making those suggestions.

Pre-rule 5. Send the book out to critique groups, peer review, writer’s groups etc.

Pre-rule 6. Re-edit based on feedback.

Pre-rule 7. Put the book away for a period of time. Say 30 days. Work on something else. Don’t peek, don’t tweak, don’t even think about it. Spend your time working on Pre-rule 8.

Pre-rule 8. Start building your community. That means social networking: Facebook, Twitter (forgive me the prod, but go buy All a Twitter: A Personal and Professional Guide to Social Networking with Twitter'>Tee Morris’ All a Twitter for help on getting started with Twitter, and start building your website. The sooner you do that, the better. You can do it blog style for free with a number of services out there, but do invest in your own domain name and email address.

Pre-rule 9. Re-read your manuscript and polish it up one last time. Tweak your synopsis (keep it short!).

Pre-rule 10. Decide on your publication route (I’m assuming you are choosing to attempt publication with a traditional publisher at this time otherwise you wouldn’t be interested in submission guidelines), and build a plan to achieve publication.

Website is moving

In preparation for a new site launch, we're switching hosts. Email may be down for a short while as we make the move. No panic... we're still here!

You can always reach us via Facebook or Twitter!

Scimitar Moon by Chris A. Jackson

At long last... the cover for Scimitar Moon, complete and ready to go! Actually, I have to give kudos to our new art direct, Alex White. The cover was ready darn quick and looked so cool - it was just regular production stuff that had us running tight to the schedule. We're trying to get Chris copies for Dragon*Con, so if you're going to be there, please visit his booth in the dealers room (Jax Books).

Chris and I talked for literally years about doing a book together. I'm glad that day has finally come.

Coming Soon!

We're in the final stages with the two books for August: Scimitar Moon by Chris A. Jackson, and Operation: Face the Fear (Volume 3 of the Declassified Files of the Team of Darkness) by Tony Ruggiero. That one's a bit of a mouthful, eh? Some days I think we hunt for the longest titles we can find. I should have final covers up shortly.

It's been a busy few months (they seem to always be!), and we've had great news: Madman's Dance has won the Silver IPPY - while it's not the top wins we got on the other two, it's unusual for a third volume of a series to win anything, so we're quite happy with that.

Philippa Ballantine (Chasing the Bard, Digital Magic) and Jana G. Oliver (The Time Rovers series) both sold books to big New York publishers... how exciting is that!?! Maggie Bonham (Lachlei and Howling Dead) just convocated with a Masters Degree.

I've got great authors. I can't say that enough. You all rock -- and now you're going places!

EMAIL is down, temporarily!

Moving our webhost over to a more updated server at our ISP. Please bear with us as the site may temporarily go down, and email is currently down (they said that wouldn't happen!). Oh well. You can always reach me on Facebook. Thanks!

Gwen Gades

The Chart Rush Starts Now!

Crescent by Phil Rossi. The Chart Rush Starts Now! Free-Read(tm) version is here:
http://tinyurl.com/mamo8b

Widget is over there :)----->

About the Book
Darkness has inspired fear since mankind first watched the sun go down. Bad things hide in the dark feral beasts with mouths full of razors waiting for a taste of flesh.

But now, the darkness is stirring with a life of its own. Crescent Station is the last bastion of civilization, floating in the cold, outer systems where colonized space gives way to the sparser settlements of the Frontier. Like the boom towns of distant Eart' s Old American West, Crescent Station is a gateway to power, wealth, and opportunity for anyone who isn't afraid to get his or her hands dirty.

But deep within the station s bowels, in Crescent s darkest and most secret places, an ancient evil is awakening and hungry, and it threatens the very fabric of space and time. Will the residents of Crescent Station find a way to stop it before the terror drives them insane?

Or is it already too late?

Reviews
Crescent is the last stop at the intergalactic crossroads of gritty sci-fi and pucker-inducing horror. --Scott Sigler, New York Times bestselling author of Contagious

Crescent is the ultimate sci-fi / horror mashup. It's a wicked blend of the claustrophobia seen in Ridley Scott's Alien, and the viral demonology of Carpenter's Prince Of Darkness with the hard-drinkin' bad attitude of Battlestar Galactica added for good measure. The future has never been so frightening. Phil Rossi brings it. --J.C. Hutchins, author of Personal Effects: Dark Art and 7th Son: Descent

Phil Rossi has crafted a space station tale with sex, horror, and vibrant attention to tech and human detail. Evocatively served, highly recommended. ---Paul Levinson, author of The Plot to Save Socrates

Want to help us spread the word? Share the widget or the Free-Read(tm) found on our website at www.dragonmoonpress.com!

Thank you for purchasing your copy today! Gwen, Phil and the Dragon Moon team.

We’ve been busy!

We have been so busy around here, between DMP stuff and "real" life (yes, I do occassionally have one of those!) that it's been a while since I've posted anything. So here we go... a long awaited update!

Crescent by Phil Rossi. We're making a run on Amazon on this one July 9, 2009. If you'd like icons, posters and other materials to help us spread the word, please visit the website.

Now we know you want to order, and we know some of you have but please... we're asking PLEASE don't order until the 9th! (It's really not that far away now!)

If you need a fix earlier than that, you can listen to the free podcast at the website.

Not to be outdone, we've two others heading your way.

The Necromancer's Bones by Deby Fredericks bring us back to the world of The Magister's Mask. And like the 'Mask, you'll find the book full of fun characters and interesting mysteries, all wrapped up in the gorgeous world of the magisters.

Intrigue, romance and a world of fantasy... really, what more could you ask for?

And last, but not least! Silver and Gold by David Sakmyster. A tale of the yukon during the gold rush, Silver and Gold has all the earmarks of a great tale. Adventure, romance and gold! (with a few hungry abominable snowman thrown in for good measure!).

I love all my books, and all my authors—they do a good job, the stories are always fun, and we’ve got enough variety in styles and stories that anyone can find something good to read.

All titles will be available via the Free-Read(tm) program around their release dates. If you want to be notified of their release, don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter and befriend us on Facebook.

Bump in the Road for Nina Kimberly the Merciless

Attention everyone!

Nina Kimberly the Merciless here, star of Nina Kimberly the Merciless, by Christiana Ellis. As I am sure you are all aware, the battle has run into an unforeseen interruption.

The campaign on Friday the 15th started off extremely well, and my book rose from a sales rank of 2 hundred Thousand to number 533 overall by 11:40 AM Eastern Time. Although the book had not yet been posted to the specific genre charts, that sales rank would have been Number #11 in Fantasy, #2 in “Epic” Fantasy, and #1 in “General” Fantasy. That was before noon eastern time! There is no doubt in my mind that that was only the beginning.

But the Inertians must have been afraid, because they then resorted to a desperate tactic that we had not forseen. It is still not clear exactly what happened, but the Inertians have caused some kind of an error in the Amazon system that resulted in the book being reported as out of print. When that happened, loyal barbarians could no longer purchase the book, thus preventing us from rising any higher in the rankings.

Right now, we don’t know yet when this will be fixed. We didn’t foresee this strategy. However, we have our best spies and shield-breakers working on this as we speak and hopefully we will be through their defenses soon.

In the meantime, I know that there are a lot of you out there, just like me. Spoiling for a fight! You thought you were going to fight some evil spirits, only to have a door slammed in your face! If you’re like me, that ticks you off and you want to do something about it! Well, here’s the new plan. Right now, the Amazon issue requires a scalpel, not a broadsword, and so I have different orders for you, my loyal horde!

Although continuing to attack Amazon is satisfying, right now, it is counter-productive, so instead, I want all of you to focus on finding and converting new recruits! The Inertians specialize in disrupting momentum, preventing changes from ever happening. Now that they have interrupted our campaign, we must work all the harder to be ready to resume as soon as we breach the shields again. We must find anyone and everyone who has not yet heard the call, and prepare them to join our cause!

We have several tools available, the videos, the promos, but your best weapon is the pdf version of the book. It is easily distributed on blogs, websites, forums, and Podcast feeds. It has the complete version of the story, so people unfamiliar with the story can determine whether or not they will like it, and most importantly, it contains links to the Amazon storefront page. The people who click those links now will not be able to purchase it yet, but every click-through will be one more hit, showing the Inertians that their tactic has not eliminated demand for the book.

So go, help spread the word, spread the pdf version of the book far and wide, and when we once again break through the Inertians defenses, we will be ready. I know I can count on all of you, and thank you for your loyalty and support. Now get out there, and be merciless!

Christiana Ellis

Nina Kimberly the Merciless Free-Read(tm) Now Available

On the right hand side -----> over there and down just a bit!

Nina Kimberly the Merciless, by Christiana Ellis, is up as a Free-Read. Grab your copy today.

She's fighting her way up on Amazon... give her a hand today!

Nina Kimberly the Merciless takes on 'sparkly vampires!'

In a bold move, Nina Kimberly the Merciless is lifting her sword, pointy stick and all her friends to take on the 'sparkly vampired' and 'new-age werewolves' found on Amazon.com May 15. Need a little laugh? Watch the videos, spread the word and get your copy this friday. Let's show the vamps they aren't so... all that.

Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWlpL7CfC2g

Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfDiTlnuUIk

May 15, 2009 Nina Kimberly the Merciless is taking on those vamps and werewolves in her way... help us spread the word please! And help her out by ordering your copy on May 15. Here's the link to the page.

As always, thank you for your support! Go Team!

Dark Moon Seasons Goes Live

Dark Moon Seasons, a Dark Horseman Novel, by Valerie Griswold-Ford went live today. The Free-Read(tm) is here, and copies are available for purchase through regular channels. Of course, we'd appreciate it you'd hop on over by our links to Amazon.com for your copy :^) We're a struggling publisher... every bit helps!

Dark Moon Seasons is the second installment, and resulted in the first, Not Your Father's Horseman getting a new cover. And a bit of an interior facelift. That resulted in the interior italics randomly disappearing... so we're working on that. Those who get copies with the italics missing on the occassional line, well, you've got a cursed, collectors edition. See not ALL of them are missing, and it seems to vary from book to book... truly a one-of-a-kind book. Val and I've decided it's a plot by the shhhh... "other side".

Last Rites, the final book in the trilogy is well under way and should be out next year. Barring incidents.

So what is Dark Moon Seasons about?

The Cleansing has begun.

Nikki, the Horseman Death, is lost in the Chaos storm that is sweeping through the world. No one knows where the other three Horsemen are. The Council of 9 is in tatters. And the StarChild has sealed herself off in a corner of Vermont for unknown reasons.

She has to find the other three, or the World Walls will completely disintegrate. Alex Masterson, the renegade billionaire geneticist who created her, has the key to find them.

She’s just got to find him first.

Sounds like fun, doesn't it?

We thought so, but just so you know we're not entirely biased, we went out and got a blurb/review:

Dark Moon Seasons is an apocalyptic marvel and an explosive read that gallops though a multifaceted web of lies, treachery and hope.

Tamara Siler Jones, author of the Dubric Byerly Mysteries

There, if you need any more reasons to get a copy, let me know! I think you'll enjoy the read. And of course, you can always try it for free first. (and apparently, in cursed fashion, line-breaks disappear in Blogger... be very carefull where you read the book!!)

Solomon's Grave, Live!

From our Free-ReadTM program, Solomon's Grave by Daniel G. Keohane will be heading to the printer's shortly. You can enjoy the book now by downloading an electronic copy. But please do go and preorder your copy today!

Solomon's Grave, by Daniel G. Keohane
Nathan Dinneck's new role as pastor may be shorter than he expects.

For thousands of years a secret has been hidden from the world and protected from those who covet its power. Popes and Kings have sought it. Theologians and historians have debated its very existence. In every generation since the days of Solomon, one person is chosen to keep its secret, protect it from an ageless group claiming the treasure for their own dark god. After millennia of searching, they are finally closing in on their prize.

Evil has followed Nathan home to Hillcrest, Massachusetts.

Nightmares of temples and blood sacrifice, visions of angels and cemeteries foreshadow a dark battle to come. In the balance hangs the lives and souls of those chosen to protect history's most holy relic, perhaps even the gateway to heaven itself.

The German edition received great reviews, and you know it will be just as good, if not better in english! (Yup, it was published in Germany first)...

"A fascinating occult suspense novel, fluent to read, for all those who prefer subtle suspense and finely woven characters over bloody murders and hardcore action..."

~Media Mania, (German edition)

Save 40% -- Preorder your 2009 DMP Frontlist in one easy step

I've put a "Buy Now" button over there to the right which will allow you to purchase this years Frontlist* collection of DMP titles.

25 books is what we're planning (should we not quite get there, you'll get a total of 25 guaranteed, we'll just carry it over to next year until we've hit 25!). At $399 it's a 40% savings over ordering them individually. They will be delivered to you over the course of the year as they are released! You'll be among the first to recieve them, and you'll never miss a book.


* Frontlist is an industry term meaning the new books coming out this year.

Twilight of the Fifth Sun goes International!

The Spanish version of Twilight of the Fifth Sun, by David Sakmyster, released today in Spain.

Now how cool is that?

Further details (and if you really need a copy in spanish) can be found here.

Nina Working Cover

It's been a while since I posted anything, and figured you might all think I wasn't actually doing anything, but I have been working hard! We have a giant list for this year and to get them all out and more-or-less on time (and get the day job done) it's head down and clatter clatter on the keyboard.

Solomon's Grave and Dark Moon Season are also in mad production mode and are very close.

But here's the working cover for Nina Kimberly -- we're NOT done yet (rather obviously by the fake text) but we're getting closer.

Happy 2009!

Wishing you all a happy 2009.

May it be a year full of good words, good energy and prosperity. May you all be published by a publisher who loves you as much as I love my authors, and may you make the bestseller lists.

Joy and peace to all.

A Very Merry Christmas Season to All

It's the time of year when folks get the warm fuzzies (as long as one is indoors, its possible - outside, all the warm fuzzies in the world not make a dent in the temperature!). It's a time about family and friends. About joy and celebration. About things religious and non-religious. Mostly it's about love. The new year will come soon enough, so let's take the time and really live in the moment. Live today like there is no tomorrow. It's good advice we usually forget. Live for the smiles of friends, family and especially little kids lit by the wonder of the holidays. Really enjoy the faces of the sleeping children (the only quiet parents get for the next few days!)

So, I would like to wish you all of those things the season represents.

I hope this holiday season is jammed with the warm fuzzies. With family and friends, with food and thoughtful gifts. With joy and celebration. With religion, if that's your thing, and not if it isn't.

But mostly I wish upon you love. A world of love. You've got mine.

Celebrate life, love and enjoy the moment. Have a very merry holiday season!

A Funny Thing Happened...

This is about one of our 2009 books which I am thrilled to be doing - Nina Kimberly the Merciless by Christiana Ellis.

Before you continue reading, please swallow any liquids you've been drinking, set down your cup and take a deep breath. You'll need it.

This is the long blurb...

Nina Kimberly the Merciless

She's on a mission to kill the man who loves her.

Why? Because he's an idiot.

Ten years ago, Nina Kimberly the Merciless was cheated out of the life of adventure that she truly deserves. Her father, the fearsome barbarian conqueror Marcus the Merciless, met his first and only defeat at the hands of, well... a gopher hole. Ever since this epic humiliation, she and the rest of the horde have been stuck in the rural backwater kingdom of Langia. Now Francis IX, the idiotic king, has decided that he and Nina should be married. She can't kill him without starting a succession war, but the alternatives? Eww!

Nina has long yearned for a hero to sweep her up on a glorious quest, but Francis' unwanted affections have forced her hand. No more waiting for a quest to find *her*, it's time to get proactive.

She sets off into the big wide world, but the King decides to tag along, complete with a security spell to alert the Kingdom if he's killed. Nina is forced to swallow her pride and keep him safe... at least until she can find a way to break the spell. But nothing is ever simple in the life of a barbarian princess, and nothing is ever quite what it appears. The dragon is a pacifist (sometimes). The handsome rogue is a con-artist, but who is he conning? And even the wizard has a few surprises in store. While seeking the answer to all her problems, Miss the Merciless discovers that what she's always wanted may not actually be what she *wants*.

*Nina Kimberly the Merciless* is a comic coming of age story filled with magic, mayhem and mercenaries, but mercy? Never.

I just about ruined my computer, so I hope you took my advise and swallowed first :) But doesn't it sound like a fun read? Look for it in spring. If you absolutely can't wait (like me) visit the website www.ninakimberly.com

It's December... can you believe it?

I can't believe it's the end of the first week of December. Tell me, where did the year go? Seriously. It just seems to have zipped by. And now all you hear is bad stuff. The economy is tanking. We all know that - so we have to look forward with an attitude that says "what do we do to survive and thrive?" For me, it's always been about looking at new ways of doing things. I've tried stuff long before others, done things that people thought were crazy... but why not try? I think 2009 is going to be a struggle for us - publishing news is horrible these days, with layoffs and downsizing - but I also think that it has potential, possibly even great potential. Now's the time to be bold, but smart bold (haha, if I were laying out a book it would semi-bold I think. Bad publisher joke!).

We've signed or are in negotiations for great books. Some from authors we already work with, some new to us. But they've all got something in common. The books are all good solid stories that are great fun to read. AND by great authors. See, that's become my new mantra... Dragon Moon Press is turning good writers into great authors. I firmly believe it. I think our authors are some of the best on the planet, maybe the universe. Why? Because all of them care passionately about the readers' experience. To them, the reader isn't just a person who buys their book, that reader is a valued partner, the reader is family. And that means that we all strive to do the best we can in making the experience an fun, uplifting and positive one. It shouldn't be rocket science, but I think sometimes we get lost in the quest to sell the next copy. Our goal for next year is to make sure we don't get lost, that our message doesn't get lost, and that we weather the storm. I believe that our authors and readers deserve that.

Recently, I added a permanent team member to Dragon Moon. We've now got an Editor in Charge. Gabrielle is keeping our editorial schedule on track (and doing a fab job of it!), which is really important because we've got a huge list for next year. With things going the way they are, we've decided to hit the marketplace with a great big hammer (made out of nice soft foam!) with more titles than we've ever done before. Mitigating risk in some ways.

And we've not even really done a recap of 2008. We have some great books that have come out this year. If you've not read them yet, you really do need to. :) I will recap those in a later post.

So network with us, help us spread the word - in 2009 we're going to rock!