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Tag: smashwords

Goodbye, Bird Site. Hello, Mastodon!

So, I got off of Twitter. You probably know why. I think I just couldn’t stand all the toxicity and chaos, and honestly I was getting worried about the privacy and security of staying on, too. I know some people are waiting for the ship to literally sink all the way beneath the surface of the water, but honestly, I didn’t see the point of holding out another month or two. It’s not like there aren’t any lifeboats.

Respect to the folks playing out the sinking ship, I guess!

One lifeboat? Mastodon! You can find my brand new profile at https://sunny.garden/@WatchAdam. I look forward to chatting with you there! I’m also still on Instagram and Facebook, but finding myself spending less time there due to the never-ending barrage of ads and sponsored content. I’m going to try to do better to keep this blog updated and be more regular with my newsletter. Those are probably the best ways to keep posted on my current projects.

Speaking of, I recently blew the dust off a first draft of a short story I wrote years ago called “Six Straight Roads.” It’s not dystopian or sci-fi like I usually write. It’s kind of a nostalgic piece about playing Capture the Flag with my friends when I was kid. I brought it to a local writers’ group about a year ago, and got a lot of great feedback, but then I procrastinated on actually revising the thing. That was, until a couple weeks ago when I got COVID-19 again and got in some quality quarantine writing time! (Note: I do not recommend getting COVID-19; quarantines are the worst). Long paragraph short, I made a lot of progress getting “Six Straight Roads” into shape. I just need to do another proofread and it should be ready to go. I’m considering submitting this one to some mags before self-publishing it, so that could delay its release a bit more. However, my goal is to have it out to you all in some form this spring. Stay tuned!

I’m also in the early stages of writing a new novel. I’ve done a whole lot of notes and outlining, and have even written a few chapters, but it’s still pretty early days. I hope to share more soon.

For those of you looking to pick up one of my books on the cheap, Smashwords is about to launch their end-of-year sale. It runs Dec. 15 to Jan. 1. I will have some great deals on eBooks for all my novels, including my debut duology We, The Watched and Divided We Fall for free! You’ll also be able to get The Wanderer and the New West and Utopia PR for less than $1.50. That means you can get all four of my novels for the price of coffee, and maybe less, depending where you get coffee!

I’ve also got some audiobook sales running over at Spotify for the next few days. Grab the aural versions of The Wanderer and the New West for $4.99 and Utopia PR for $3.49 while you still can!

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Adam Bender releases new short story: “Wrong Gate”

Last month for NaNoWriMo 2019, I asked subscribers to my newsletter, The Underground, to submit a title for my next, yet-to-be written short story. The winning prompt was “Wrong Gate” by Janet Lerner from Raanana, Israel, and the short story is now available to download for free in the eBook format of your choice (EPUB, Kindle, PDF and more) at Smashwords!

In “Wrong Gate,” a businesswoman rushes to make her connection at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, which at 17,207 acres is larger than the island of Manhattan! Will she reach her final destination? In the spirit of The Twilight Zone, “Wrong Gate” is a humorous short story with a terrifying twist.

You can read all my short stories for free on Smashwords! And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to my newsletter. Underground members get exclusive opportunities like this title prompt contest, plus first notice of new stories and updates on future works.

Happy New Year!

-Adam

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Book publishing to be ‘more mainstream than ever’ in 2016?

Indie publishing gurus gaze into their crystal balls.

Happy new year, everyone! As the proud indie author of two self-published books, I thought it’d be fun to see what people closely involved in supporting and promoting indie publishing predict for book publishing industry in 2016.

Here’s what they had to say!

Emmanual Nataf, co-founder of Reedsy

Photo of Reedsy co-founder Emmanuel Nataf
Credit: about.me/emmanuelnataf

“Most forms of publishing have dramatically changed in the past few years: it’s become incredibly easy to publish photos (Instagram), song tracks (Soundcloud), videos (YouTube), blog posts (WordPress), etc. In 2016, it’s book publishing that will become more mainstream than ever. Through books, more people will express who they are and communicate their vision of the world with others. With 2016 set to break all records with hundreds of thousands of titles pushed to the market, authors need to have a clear idea of what they can expect from publishing a book. In most cases, it will be a gratifying and enriching experience; but only those willing to work hard will find it lucrative.”


Jeffrey Bruner, founder of The Fussy LibrarianJeffrey Bruner, founder of The Fussy Librarian

“I predict that Barnes & Noble’s eBook division will either be sold or auctioned off through bankruptcy proceedings and acquired by a tech startup that will reinvigorate B&N’s website and database and create a little more competition for Amazon.”


Miral Sattar, CEO of Bibliocrunch

miral-sattar_headshot“Now that there are more and more quality books being published a day, largely due to self-publishing, you’ll see a rise of companies that provide marketing tools or services to help the best ones reach the top and get discovered.”

 


Meanwhile, Smashwords founder Mark Coker wrote an excellent post on his own 2016 predictions. I’ve quoted a few of his predictions below, but definitely read the full article!

Mark Coker, founder of Smashwords

Photo of Mark Coker, Smashwords

  1. Indie eBook authors will gain market share at expense of large publishers”
  2. “The overall market for ebooks will shrink in dollar terms, but unit volume will increase”
  3. Kindle Unlimited will gut single-copy sales and drive greater eBook commoditization”
  4. Print will remain steady, though those sales are the sole domain for authors of traditional publishers”
  5. Wattpad will be acquired

What are your predictions for 2016? Sound off in the comments below!

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Now on Smashwords!

I’m excited to announce that WE, THE WATCHED is now available through Smashwords, an indie eBook publisher. This means you can now download my novel about government surveillance and propaganda in multiple formats that will look great on your iPhone, iPad, Kindle, Nook or other popular reading device! Through Smashwords, the book is now listed on several popular iPhone apps, and will also soon be available on many popular eBook stores including Sony, Apple, and Barnes & Noble.

Smashwords strips most of the page formatting out of the book so it is more compatible with eReaders. However, if you want a PDF that looks more like a real book, please check out the book on Scribd. The full eBook costs $2.99, but you can read the first several chapters for free.

One more thing! If you like WE, THE WATCHED or my other writings, please become a fan of my new Facebook page. Thanks.

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