“Amazon Is Playing Indie Authors Like Pawns,” says Smashwords founder, Mark Coker.
“Amazon Is Playing Indie Authors Like Pawns,” says Smashwords founder, Mark Coker
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Author Archives: bryanknower
The New York Times weighs in on self-publishing.
The New York Times has a decent article on self-publishing that accepts the premise that self-publishing is here to stay. Most of the important players are covered, (although I didn’t see Book Baby in the featured list of print copy enablers). The list of strictly e-book platform consolidators is comprehensive. Worth a look, if only to see if your platform of choice is mentioned/praised. The Joys and Hazards of Self-Publishing on the Web
StoryBundle Debuts with Seven Indie Ebooks for One Pay-What-You-Want Price
StoryBundle Debuts with Seven Indie Ebooks for One Pay-What-You-Want Price.
Here’s a great deal that supports multiple elements of the e-book world. Authors get exposure, the distributor (StoryBundle) gets more books out there, the reader gets to pay what they think the works are worth, and part of the proceeds go to help e-publishing endeavors. This first bundle is science fiction themed. Excerpts of the works in the bundle can be perused at the StoryBundle website. Nice job.
Farewell Ray Bradbury
So the Fahrenheit Man is gone. Ray Bradbury, the master science fiction author of such classics as Fahrenheit 451, Something Wicked This Way Comes and The Illustrated Man died Tuesday at age 91.
Bradbury was one of the earliest science fiction authors I read years ago in Colombo. where I used to browse the shelves of my friend P.A.’s father’s library. That exposure gave me a lifelong affinity for science fiction as a genre and a concept. I’ve always thought that science fiction writers were closest to philosophers in the breadth and scope of their vision and Ray Bradbury was certainly instrumental in the formation of that opinion.
The man may be no more, but his rich legacy lives on, and will continue to intrigue both the casual reader and the science fiction enthusiast for years to come. R.I.P.
The fat police are are out to get your super-sized sugar drink
So Bloomberg has hit another one out of the ballpark. Raising the bar on his absurd health related antics, he has pushed through a law banning any sweetened drink larger than 16 ounces from regular food vending sources.
Talk of Big Brother! Next, it will be what you can eat, the color of your underwear, and the days you can have sex…I mean, really! Just goes to show what a man will do when he has achieved all that he set out to do and has nothing in front of him other than endless trivial ludicrousness and the Machiavellian pleasure of messing with other people’s lives.
“All universal moral principles are idle fancies.” Marquis De Sade.
Newest ebook out on Smashwords
Thrilled to put out another short story on Smashwords. Finding it a bit of a nuisance to publish separately on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, but it seems like the best way to go. Those editions should be available by week’s end.
This one’s a story set in a past fictional Sri Lanka aka Ceylon, The particular myth that fostered this story has been rattling around in my head for quite a while. I tried to research the topic and found very little online, so I thought I’d create my own fictional tale and weave in the elements of the legend. Hope it captures something of the strangeness of that myth.
Here’s the link-
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/165043
Salyuta now available at Barnes and Noble online.
My ebook Salyuta is now on the Barnes and Noble website in addition to Amazon and Smashwords. It can be reached via the following link.
Salyuta at Barnes & Noble online.
Decisions, Decisions…BookBaby vs. Smashwords
Came across an interesting blog-post today about the relative merits of two major players in the self-publishing field. Interesting comparison. I would just add that if you are publishing short stories (or micro-books, as they are called today), Smashwords seems the way to go given the price factor on BookBaby.
Click the link below to see the post.
I have a new free story on Smashwords
A free ebook by Bryan Knower
I have a new short story, Improvised Explosive Device, up on Smashwords for free. It’s about 1800 words and is an odd little tale set in the background of the Iraq war. Some of you may already have seen this via my now defunct newsletter, but I’d appreciate a click through. Doesn’t cost a thing 🙂
Click the book image to the left to go to Smashwords and download your copy.
The Enterprise come to New York
The space shuttle Enterprise comes to New York. A majestic sight and a feather in New York’s cap, specially since the shuttle will be visible for viewing on the Intrepid come July. However, nobody’s pointing out that the Enterprise was a prototype that never flew into space with a regular crew, unlike the other shuttles, which have all gone to more ‘favored’ locations like The Smithsonian in Washington DC and also California.
In fact, The Enterprise has been living all this while at the Smithsonian, and they got rid of it to make room for the shuttle Discovery. So, in spite of all the hoopla, we’re just getting the stuff that the Smithsonian is throwing out. Still, maybe they’ll let you climb into the cockpit when it’s on the Intrepid.
SYNAPSEONFIRE 