Release Day!

Well, it finally happened.  BloodFlow is out in the world now.  And you can get a copy of your very own.  My copy hit my Kindle this morning.  (Yes, I buy a copy of my own books.)  So pretty.

If you've been following along all these years, you may remember this one as Nanotechnology.  I started it in 2007. Spent the next two years off and on writing a first draft.  Spent the next few years shoving it into a corner because I was afraid to edit it.  It was such a behemoth with so many plot twists and turns and I wanted it to be perfect but I wasn't sure how to make it so.

I finally knuckled down, deleted a bunch of stuff, made it tighter - better, stronger, faster - and sent it through the editing process.  My editor calls it a political thriller.  She's probably right.  After all, she knows it as well as I do, but from the outside, so she's more objective.  I like to think of it as Vince Flynn meets Michael Crichton meets Tess Gerritsen inside my head and we all have a party.  Woohoo.

So, without further ado, I give you BloodFlow:

Amazon US
Amazon UK
Amazon CA
Amazon AU
Createspace

If you're elsewhere in the world, it's available through whichever Amazon site you use.  Check there for price and availability.  If I read/wrote other languages, I'd be able to help you, but I'm English-only - as are my books.

Oh, and it's available for the Kindle Unlimited program.  If you're a subscriber, you get to read it without any additional cost to you.  Yay.

Stuff is Happening

If you don't already follow http://besanderson.blogspot.com/, get over there and do it before the contest over there.  It starts tomorrow, but you get extra entries if you are already following when the contest starts.

Flim-Flam Alert

Okay, folks, this is just an FYI - in case you don't already follow Writer Beware (which you should be following... go and follow it now):

PublishAmerica changed its name.

Sounds like they're the same old flim-flam men they were before, but now with a prettier website. 

Scam Alert

If you're out there thinking you need to copyright your material before you start querying it...DON'T! 

http://jetreidliterary.blogspot.com/2014/01/alert-copyright-registration-for-unwary.html


And in this day of limitless information, why would you even think you need to?  Research everything about this business before you take your first steps into it - and for godsakes, certainly before you pay some shyster money to 'help' you. 

If you're here, though, you're probably already smart enough to not get caught in this scheme, so pass it along to unwary friends.

Check This Out - Writing Effective Battle Scenes

This just in from the Ace/Roc blog:

How to Write an Effective Battle Scene by Epic Fantasy Author Anthony Ryan

"A good battle scene is like a beautifully choreographed dance–equally pleasing to military history acolytes and laymen."

Check This Out

If you're thinking about self-publishing, or have already made the leap, check out this post from Kristen Lamb:

Five Mistakes KILLING Self-Published Authors

She makes some really interesting points worth thinking about.

Really Stupid Things to Do

I don't remember if I've done this before and I'm too lazy to go back and look.  If I have, it's worth repeating, though, so here goes...

These are some really stupid things you can do when you're trying to get your book published (and most of them will get the door slammed in your face and possibly get you blacklisted*):

- Act like yours is the most important book anyone is ever going to read and query accordingly.

- Tell an agent that in order to read your query, they need to go to your website.

- Trash other writers.

- Send things with your query that no one asked for (like your entire manuscript, glitter in the envelope*, prezzies...)

- Call the agency out of the blue.

Okay, those are pretty obvious, but how about...

- Blubbering in your query letter about how you know they won't like your book, but it'd be nice if they looked at it anyways.

- Not checking ahead of time whether the Chris or Pat or Terry you're sending to is a Mr. or a Ms.

- Not bothering to do all the other kinds of research you can on an agent, agency, etc.  If they say they never ever represent fantasy, what the hell are you doing sending them the next Shannara series?

- Whining on your website, blog, Facebook page, Twitter account, Myspace, Livejournal... or any of combination thereof... about the submission process.**

- Send your submissions or any other writing business correspondence from a cutesy ass email address.  FluffyBunny4U or IHeartKitties or SmexyDude812 or NYourPointIsWhat does not engender confidence or professionalism.

- Ambush any agent or editor or publishing professional in an elevator, bathroom, parking ramp, clothing store, farmhouse, outhouse or doghouse.  Just don't.  It makes you look like a stalker, and who wants to work with a stalker?

And the most important thing of all...

- Letting any of this process get to you to the point where you stop writing.  That would not only be stupid, it would be tragic.

How about you?  Anything I missed?  Any thoughts on the stupid things you can do during this process?  Feel free to share stories of stupid things you've done, but if you share stories about stupid things others have done, change the names to protect the embarrassed.  No one needs to get hurt here.

*  Okay, I don't know for sure if there really is a blacklist, but sometimes it feels like there's one, doesn't it?

**  Whining is actually part of the process.  Rejection hurts.  Just don't whine too publicly or too much.  No one likes a whiner.