A little goes a VERY long way…

Spring Into SciFi is out now! Go here to get your copy if you haven’t…but you DO have one, right?

Pretty much anyone reading this doesn’t need to hear what I’m about to say, but I’ll reiterate: supporting small-press publications and authors like this is GOOD. Not only does it bring in revenue and allow the publishers to continue putting cool things out like this, it also shows the authors that people are interested, which in turn allows them to keep doing what they love.

Over the past few years, as you know, I’ve self-published several short stories and given them away completely free, mostly on Smashwords. There are so few downloads it makes me sick. Not because it’s my writing and people need to bow down to me, but because I’m always hearing about how people love to read. I hear about how self-publishing is THE way to go.

So why isn’t it working? Why doesn’t anyone care? Surely I can’t suck—no one is reading it to know if it does or doesn’t!

Look, I’m guilty of it too. There are times I need to get the free downloads, even the cheap ones. I can afford it, and so can you. And how many times do I find myself sitting around the house, done with my writing and bored as hell? (Not that I have any reason to be, given all my myriad hobbies, but I digress…) Or when I’m sitting on an exercise bike, staring at yet another rerun of This Old House or whatever the hell it is the TV’s at the gym are playing.

It’s like donating to a charity. Sure, you only have $1 to give. But if one-million people donate $1, that’s $1,000,000. I’m not saying this as a way to help get other people rich, but just to show that donating and helping and supporting are—no duh—quite good. And who knows? Maybe it’ll come back and help you in the end.

In other news…

I’ve been editing a lot. Like, more than writing. But to be honest, I’m loving it. Sure, I’ve got a ton of old stories lying around that need to be cleaned up, and I’m finally making the time to do so. Maybe I can make the leap from writer to editor…or just continue to balance the two.

Viva life!

Preorders are live!

As you know (you do know, right?), my story “The Man Without a Planet” is going to be published in Spring Into Sci-Fi, a new annual anthology by Cloaked Press. There’s going to be 13 stories in total, all of which are fantastic (trust me, they are!).

Preorders are LIVE now!

It will fully be available on March 20th. I implore you to check it out; these are some talented authors and great stories. Not to mention, Cloaked Press is a very good, up and coming publisher. They truly care about their authors, but also the reader as well–this isn’t an anthology just for those published in it, it’s designed for you to enjoy and feel happy to have it on your bookshelf.

Thanks so much for all your support, and can’t wait to hear your thoughts on the collection!