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General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Stixx on January 11, 2012, 08:19:05 AM

Title: Shameless Self Promotion
Post by: Stixx on January 11, 2012, 08:19:05 AM
(http://www.nuttinspecial.com/SOTP/sotpcvrimgsm.jpg)My novel Shadows of the Past is now available at Amazon.com

Inspired by the Cthulu Mythos, Shadows of the Past takes the reader on a pulse pounding journey that spans three days as the ongoing battle between good and evil is joined. Sam Hardin and Jack Griffith go head to head in a fight to the death from which only one can emerge victorious while in the balance hangs the future of all mankind.

http://www.amazon.com/Shadows-Past-Richard-Schiver/dp/0615583180/ref=tmm_pap_title_0 (http://www.amazon.com/Shadows-Past-Richard-Schiver/dp/0615583180/ref=tmm_pap_title_0)
Title: Re: Shameless Self Promotion
Post by: VonMessa on January 11, 2012, 08:23:25 AM
Firing up the Kindle, now  :rock
Title: Re: Shameless Self Promotion
Post by: VonMessa on January 11, 2012, 08:31:36 AM
Purchased and congrats!  :rock
Title: Re: Shameless Self Promotion
Post by: bortas1 on January 11, 2012, 11:13:40 AM
 :salute if i still worked for waldenbooks i would get it. :aok
Title: Re: Shameless Self Promotion
Post by: Dragon on January 11, 2012, 11:20:10 AM

I'll wait for the free, hacked version.





 :noid
Title: Re: Shameless Self Promotion
Post by: Stixx on January 11, 2012, 11:44:00 AM
Quote from: VonMessa on January 11, 2012, 08:31:36 AM
Purchased and congrats!  :rock

Thank you, I hope you enjoy it.


Rick
Title: Re: Shameless Self Promotion
Post by: Tac on January 11, 2012, 12:00:58 PM
Grats Stixx. I would love to hear about how you get the book into print :)
Title: Re: Shameless Self Promotion
Post by: VonMessa on January 11, 2012, 12:31:44 PM
Quote from: Stixx on January 11, 2012, 11:44:00 AM
Thank you, I hope you enjoy it.


Rick

I'm a closet Lovecraft-ian nut.  You had me at Cthulu Mythos  :devil
Title: Re: Shameless Self Promotion
Post by: B-17 on January 11, 2012, 03:37:23 PM
:x

You guys too, huh? Awesome :aok
Title: Re: Shameless Self Promotion
Post by: EskimoJoe on January 11, 2012, 04:30:06 PM
The preview was excellent. I'll definitely be picking this up soon.
Title: Re: Shameless Self Promotion
Post by: Nypsy on January 11, 2012, 04:47:46 PM
 :aok
Title: Re: Shameless Self Promotion
Post by: Stixx on January 13, 2012, 07:54:19 AM
Quote from: Tac on January 11, 2012, 12:00:58 PM
Grats Stixx. I would love to hear about how you get the book into print :)
Remember, you asked.
That's probably the toughest part right there. Writing the story itself was a lot of fun. But once that was done I moved into the detail phase. Went over the whole manuscript five times myself, then turned it over to a professional editor thinking they would be impressed by my prowess with punctuation and grammar.
Was I wrong.
Got the manuscript back and couldn't read it with all the red and blue marks cluttering the page.
After a week fixing everything, and I mean a solid week, since I'm unemployed I have plenty of time, morning to night correcting copy. The manuscript had to be set in its final form ie: trim size, margins, pagination, headers, footers, front matter, rear matter, all the while making sure page number one of the finished book stayed on the right hand side.
It was then converted to PDF and sent to the printer to run a proof copy. After two proofs the final product emerged.
Even after all that I still find parts I feel could be better. But eventually you just gotta let go, put your baby out there,and for better or worse move on.
Right now I'm working on a novella, 84 pages, titled Enter Night, and my next novel Reprisal. Enter Night will definitely be released this year.

Quote from: EskimoJoe on January 11, 2012, 04:30:06 PM
The preview was excellent. I'll definitely be picking this up soon.

Thank you, I Hope you enjoy it.

Quote from: Dragon on January 11, 2012, 11:20:10 AM
I'll wait for the free, hacked version.
 :noid

Might be awhile. I think they only hack the well known writers. I'm a nobody flying below their radar.

Title: Re: Shameless Self Promotion
Post by: VonMessa on January 16, 2012, 06:16:13 AM
On my Kindle, there are a lot of punctuation hiccups and words just plain missing.  I find them to be (for the most part) the last word of a sentence.

Since your ARE a writer and have already stated that you have gone through and did the revisions, it is more likely that the conversion to electronic format is the culprit.

Rest assured that your's is not the only literary work that I have seen this happen to.  I just read The Great Gatsby over the weekend and it looked like the person that converted it was a 7 year-old with a mouthful of pop-tarts and a lisp using Dragon software.

I would suggest that you check it out for yourself.  I purchased it from the Kindle store.
Title: Re: Shameless Self Promotion
Post by: Stixx on January 17, 2012, 06:00:49 PM
Quote from: VonMessa on January 16, 2012, 06:16:13 AM
On my Kindle, there are a lot of punctuation hiccups and words just plain missing.  I find them to be (for the most part) the last word of a sentence.

Since your ARE a writer and have already stated that you have gone through and did the revisions, it is more likely that the conversion to electronic format is the culprit.

Rest assured that your's is not the only literary work that I have seen this happen to.  I just read The Great Gatsby over the weekend and it looked like the person that converted it was a 7 year-old with a mouthful of pop-tarts and a lisp using Dragon software.

I would suggest that you check it out for yourself.  I purchased it from the Kindle store.

Thank you for the heads  up. Will look into this right now and I'll get you a free copy once the problem has been sorted out.
Title: Re: Shameless Self Promotion
Post by: VonMessa on January 18, 2012, 07:17:36 AM
Quote from: Stixx on January 17, 2012, 06:00:49 PM
Thank you for the heads  up. Will look into this right now and I'll get you a free copy once the problem has been sorted out.

I appreciate it.  :aok

I got a few more books over the weekend.  Again, I will say that this is not an issue with your work, exclusively.

It is a shame, because I am an avid reader.  With all the fervor over the Kindle, my wife got one for me for Christmas.

I'm not exactly sure what the method for conversion to ebook formats is, but whatever it is, it seems that all the bugs are not worked out.
Title: Re: Shameless Self Promotion
Post by: Stixx on January 18, 2012, 10:57:23 AM
Apparently there were some hidden format issues with the file that was uploaded to Amazon for conversion to the kindle format.

I'm manually going through the manuscript now and removing these, then I'll send the file back in for conversion. I've spoken to Amazon about it and what will happen is after I'm done I'll contact them and they will contact everyone who purchased the book to give them the option to have the file automatically updated the next time they sync their kindle. You will have to reply to this email so it can be updated. Of course you'll lose any bookmarks so I hope you haven't gotten too far into it.

It's gonna take me a while to do this but I figure by the weekend you should hear from Amazon.

I appreciate the heads up.

Rick
Title: Re: Shameless Self Promotion
Post by: VonMessa on January 19, 2012, 07:02:59 AM
Quote from: Stixx on January 18, 2012, 10:57:23 AM
Apparently there were some hidden format issues with the file that was uploaded to Amazon for conversion to the kindle format.

I'm manually going through the manuscript now and removing these, then I'll send the file back in for conversion. I've spoken to Amazon about it and what will happen is after I'm done I'll contact them and they will contact everyone who purchased the book to give them the option to have the file automatically updated the next time they sync their kindle. You will have to reply to this email so it can be updated. Of course you'll lose any bookmarks so I hope you haven't gotten too far into it.

It's gonna take me a while to do this but I figure by the weekend you should hear from Amazon.

I appreciate the heads up.

Rick

I hold them responsible for not having anyone check the products that they are selling.

I have a lot of books so far from Amazon.  There isn't a single one without a mistake...

Good luck  :aok
Title: Re: Shameless Self Promotion
Post by: Stixx on January 19, 2012, 08:29:07 AM
I accept the blame for this one. I should have caught it myself before the title went live.
My only excuse is I've spent the past month and a half reviewing edits and proofs of the manuscript.
I got so damned tired of looking at it that when I received the kindle review copy I only scanned it. It
was converted from a PDF I've slaved over and I didn't once think about a problem with the conversion.
Title: Re: Shameless Self Promotion
Post by: mechanic on January 19, 2012, 08:34:40 AM
Congrats Rick. I'll be looking to buy this in the next few months after I get a new job and some spare cash.
Title: Re: Shameless Self Promotion
Post by: CptTrips on January 19, 2012, 08:36:02 AM
Congrats.  I hope it does well for you.

:salute,
Wab
Title: Re: Shameless Self Promotion
Post by: VonMessa on January 19, 2012, 08:47:24 AM
Quote from: Stixx on January 19, 2012, 08:29:07 AM
I accept the blame for this one. I should have caught it myself before the title went live.
My only excuse is I've spent the past month and a half reviewing edits and proofs of the manuscript.
I got so damned tired of looking at it that when I received the kindle review copy I only scanned it. It
was converted from a PDF I've slaved over and I didn't once think about a problem with the conversion.

I still think that they should have their own proofreaders, especially if they are the one doing the conversion.

Hey, at least it was caught early  :aok
Title: Re: Shameless Self Promotion
Post by: Stixx on January 20, 2012, 12:52:47 PM
Quote from: VonMessa on January 19, 2012, 08:47:24 AM

Hey, at least it was caught early  :aok

There's always that, and thankfully the problem didn't occur with the print version, that would be a nightmare to get straightened out. Got word from amazon this morning that the email will be going out within 5 business days to every customer who purchased a copy. Again, thanks for letting me know about this.
Quote from: mechanic on January 19, 2012, 08:34:40 AM
Congrats Rick. I'll be looking to buy this in the next few months after I get a new job and some spare cash.
Quote from: AKWabbit on January 19, 2012, 08:36:02 AM
Congrats.  I hope it does well for you.

:salute,
Wab

Thanks guys.  :salute
Title: Re: Shameless Self Promotion
Post by: VonMessa on January 20, 2012, 01:01:54 PM
WOO HOO!  :x
Title: Re: Shameless Self Promotion
Post by: Melvin on January 20, 2012, 01:23:37 PM
"What do you see in the shadows of the warehouse Carl?"

"It's, it's a... forklift."

 :lol


Congrats Sir, I hope you do well.  :aok