The Pursuit of Perfection
We've almost finished editing my short story collection.
The last story, only completed last Tuesday, is currently in Japan with my new editor friend, Chris Ryall. Chris is a talented writer himself who specializes in thrillers.
He's been wonderfully supportive of this collection and his feedback and wisdom have been invaluable.
Next comes a final proofing from my darling wife, Robyn, who, with over 85 published books to her name, knows a thing or two about creating quality manuscripts.
Then comes the formatting for mobi, ipub and pdf - and we'll be ready for release!
There are nine tales in all - written since 2000, a period of over a dozen years. Most of them are horror based supernatural stories - the kind I like to read, surprisingly enough!
It's hard to know what to do with short stories.
You can leave them on your hard drive to fade and die.
Or, you can submit them individually to magazines. But after they're published, then what?
Several of the stories in Nine Tales of Terror have been published in magazines and compilations - but never have they been in one place.
I've fantasized about putting my favorite stories into one volume probably all my life.
I used to dream that once I was a rich and famous novelist, someone might actually want to savor my cherished shorter works. For that I'm still waiting…
And patience never was my strong suit.
But now that Kindle has arrived, and authors everywhere no longer have to wait for publishers to take them on - or indeed, even to wait for any kind of public acknowledgment of their talent - it seems like a perfect opportunity to finally show my stories to the world as they were intended to be read.
Leisurely, one at a time, and hopefully with great relish.
Traditional publishers will tell you that there's no real demand for short story complilations - even from established authors. Most readers still prefer a big fat one hundred thousand word doorstop from their favorite authors they say.
For many readers , short stories apparently lack the continuity and the sense of immersion of a full blown novel length story.
That's fine if you're in the mood for a tale that takes a week or two to unfold.
But what if you want something meaty - but quicker to digest?
Short stories are your answer.
And soon, I'll have nine of my very best for your personal delectation.
The last story, only completed last Tuesday, is currently in Japan with my new editor friend, Chris Ryall. Chris is a talented writer himself who specializes in thrillers.
He's been wonderfully supportive of this collection and his feedback and wisdom have been invaluable.
Next comes a final proofing from my darling wife, Robyn, who, with over 85 published books to her name, knows a thing or two about creating quality manuscripts.
Then comes the formatting for mobi, ipub and pdf - and we'll be ready for release!
There are nine tales in all - written since 2000, a period of over a dozen years. Most of them are horror based supernatural stories - the kind I like to read, surprisingly enough!
It's hard to know what to do with short stories.
You can leave them on your hard drive to fade and die.
Or, you can submit them individually to magazines. But after they're published, then what?
Several of the stories in Nine Tales of Terror have been published in magazines and compilations - but never have they been in one place.
I've fantasized about putting my favorite stories into one volume probably all my life.
I used to dream that once I was a rich and famous novelist, someone might actually want to savor my cherished shorter works. For that I'm still waiting…
And patience never was my strong suit.
But now that Kindle has arrived, and authors everywhere no longer have to wait for publishers to take them on - or indeed, even to wait for any kind of public acknowledgment of their talent - it seems like a perfect opportunity to finally show my stories to the world as they were intended to be read.
Leisurely, one at a time, and hopefully with great relish.
Traditional publishers will tell you that there's no real demand for short story complilations - even from established authors. Most readers still prefer a big fat one hundred thousand word doorstop from their favorite authors they say.
For many readers , short stories apparently lack the continuity and the sense of immersion of a full blown novel length story.
That's fine if you're in the mood for a tale that takes a week or two to unfold.
But what if you want something meaty - but quicker to digest?
Short stories are your answer.
And soon, I'll have nine of my very best for your personal delectation.
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