It’s time for my short story, “Nothing Altered,” (originally published in Plasma Frequency and selected as reader’s choice for Issue #4 in the Year One Anthology) to make its appearance as an ebook. In the spirit of its original publication, this one is going to be free! I haven’t finished reminding myself how to do the ebook formatting yet, but in the meantime, here is a preview of the cover art:
All of my ebooks (Racing the Sand, Konstantin, and the combined version) are available for FREE on Smashwords during their Read an Ebook Week! Use the coupon code RW100 at checkout before the sale ends on March 8th!
I didn’t realize it had been officially accepted or I would have posted about it before now, but my story “H²O” is now available in Trysts of Fate Issue 1! There is an electronic version at Smashwords as well. Happy reading!
Last Spring, I decided to experiment with self-publishing using a couple of my stories that had been previously published. Now, I am considering self-publishing a previously unpublished novelette (longer than a short story, shorter than a novel), but first, I want to ask you for feedback on the experiment so far. I’m not so much looking for comments on the stories themselves (although those are always welcome too). Instead, I’m more interested in what you, as readers, think about the self-publishing aspects: cover design, ebook format, description, publishing platforms–Amazon and Smashwords (and by extension, Barnes & Noble, Apple iBookstore, Sony, Diesel, Kobo, and a few others), or anything else. Even if you haven’t read the stories, you can still comment on any or all of these.
And while we’re on the subject, let me know what you’d be interested seeing on this site. So far, I’ve mostly done publication updates and news, but if you would find it useful and/or interesting, I would be willing to expand to include other things.
I would appreciate any feedback or suggestions. Thanks!
“Sparkles” is now available in Outposts of Beyond Issue 2!
Plasma Frequency‘s Year One Anthology is now available! It includes my story, “Nothing Altered” (originally published in Issue #4), which was voted into the Anthology by the readers’ poll. The Anthology contains stories from the first six issues of Plasma Frequency, half voted in by the readers and half chosen by the editors, which makes it a good survey of the first year of the magazine. If you’re not already familiar with the magazine, you should check it out!
This morning, I received an email from Dora Badger (who has been managing the White Cat/ Sam’s Dot transition), indicating, among other things, that she is leaving White Cat (you can read the long version here). When White Cat cut all ties with former Sam’s Dot editors last spring and asked contributors to sign a contract addendum, I did because my story had been accepted and I wanted to see it in print. However, since then, I have not been paid (which was part of the terms of the contract addendum), and I have had difficulty getting clear (or in some cases, any) responses from individuals at White Cat, with the exception of Ms. Badger. And I would like to mention that I always received prompt responses from Ms. Badger, and I believe she was doing as much as she could to get things resolved and back on track.
“A Thief’s Gift” has been in limbo for over a year (it was originally accepted a year ago yesterday) and I have been patient with White Cat as they have sorted things out, but it is time for me to move on. I wrote an email this morning to withdraw another story that I had submitted to Conjurings (another White Cat publication) in March, and I just sent an email to the owner of White Cat Publications to terminate the contract for “A Thief’s Gift” due to the fact that they have not upheld their end of the agreement.
I’m sorry that it ended this way, and I’m sorry that you won’t be seeing “A Thief’s Gift” in print any time soon, but I’m glad that I can stop wondering when/if the story will be published and start submitting it elsewhere.
Just to see if it would do better with a higher word count (and because making covers is fun!), I’ve uploaded a combined version of “Racing the Sand” and “Konstantin.” To be clear, there is nothing new in this one–if you’ve already purchased the stories individually, you’re not gaining anything new by buying this version (but feel free to click the link and check out the nifty cover anyway!)
When my story “Nothing Altered” was accepted by Plasma Frequency, I didn’t know much about the magazine beyond my initial should-I-submit-here? assessment. Since the publication of the issue containing my story, I have read all of the issues from the first year, and I have been impressed with the magazine. Here are a few of the highlights: free electronic versions, a wide range of story topics, illustrations throughout each issue, and prompt email responses from the editor.
Possibly my favorite thing about Plasma Frequency is the fact that ebook versions of each issue are available on Smashwords for FREE, which means you can go check out the magazine for yourself. If you like what you see, consider donating to help the magazine increase its author and artist pay rates for Year 2.
Thanks to all who read and voted! The results of the Reader’s Choice poll have been posted, and “Nothing Altered” will appear in Plasma Frequency’s Year One Anthology!
Beth Powers 