I'm trying to get "Raisins of Wrath" ready for publication but need to do the cover.

My wife usually does the cover but she's too ill to do anything at the moment. So I thought of giving it a shot myself. I have the rough drawing in place, but not sure how it'll turn out.

#Writing #Art #FediBooks #IndieAuthor
A rough sketch for a book cover…

@elysegrasso You don't have a lot of control over the process. They let you choose from a list of voices and if I recall correctly, that's about it. You are totally hands-off after that.

They used the EPUB version of my book and I was not provided the option to proof it after the conversion to audio book was complete. It just went up for sale and I was informed that the audiobook is now up for sale.

So yeah, not a lot of control or QA at all. Unless of course, Apple does the QA at their end, but I doubt it.

The voices are better than the usual very computer sounding ones you get with text-to-speech readers, but not as good as an actual voice.

I did do another version of the book with somebody on a profit sharing basis via acx.com and that was very good and at no cost to me, but then the resulting book is limited to Audible. The process was longer but if you find the right person willing to work with you, the end result is much better.

All a matter of what compromises you are willing to accept I guess?

@elysegrasso Draft2Digitial has a new free audiobook publishing promotion using digital voices via Apple Books. I published two of my books as audio books via that.

They say that it will take a couple of months for a book to be published, but in my case I think it took about a month. No sales that I know of, but the book is available on Apple Books as an audio book.

@crcollins Thank you 🙂 Can't really claim inspiration since it was there for the taking ....

I've also started work on a new novel based on a dream I had about a world of hallways and those living underground. "Outside" is just a myth to them.

Got about six chapters written but a ways to go before that one will be ready.

#AmWriting #Writing

Trying to get "Raisins of Wrath", my novella about a cult (and a conspiracy) surrounding sentient raisins out.

Just need to get the cover done, the book laid out, and a few other things done first while juggling health issues in the family.

#AmWriting #Writing #Bookstodon #FediBooks

Last day of the #Smashwords #ebookweek25 sale!

It ends 11.59pm Saturday 8 March Pacific Time (which is 3.59pm Sunday in Perth, Australia, and that’s the last timezone help I can give anyone 😂)

It’s a great chance to stock up on DRM-free ebooks — browse those two hashtags to check out the huge range of Mastodon indie authors with their books on sale.

https://www.smashwords.com/shelves/promos/

#books @bookstodon #ebook #IndieAuthors #IndieBooks #DRMFree

Read an Ebook Week promo ends today! Find my entire collection at a promotional price at @Smashwords till end of the day. Find my books and many more at https://www.smashwords.com/ebookweek

If you like humorous scifi with a bit of social commentary, check out my books 🙂

#ebookweek25 #Smashwords
A promotional image for Smashwo…

@angusm Thanks, Angus. That's good advice. Will try what you suggested. And if you don't ask, you don't get anyway, right? 🙂

@angusm Thank you for the info. I do love good cover artwork 🙂

Never had the money to pay for a good cover artist (the first one I asked about 20 years ago wanted 2K 😛) but would definitely keep Martin in mind should I get to the point where I can afford to pay for cover art.

Today is the 7th anniversary of the launch of my debut book, a space opera novella called "The Warrior Within”, published by Tor.com.

It wasn’t a huge seller, but I'm still fond of it. And I'm currently working on taking the story that it tells further …

#ScienceFiction #SFF #SciFi #books

https://angus.pw/writing/warrior-within/

@angusm The cover looks beautiful and invites you to read the book 🙂

Very nice UC Davis student I know lost their job and needs help until they can find sustaining work.

Please boost.

Please donate if you can.

https://chuffed.org/project/120254-funding-for-necessities-after-job-loss

V: https://venmo.com/u/a-l-24
CA: https://cash.app/$allyl24 #MutualAid

Smashwords are celebrating Read an eBook Week - and so am I! All my titles are half price, so do drop by for all the goodies from me and other authors.

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/juliebozza

#ebookweek25 #smashwords #sale

I am now unemployed. I'm scared, but I'm so fluffing relieved to be out of that company.

If you are or know anyone in Sydney looking for an experienced IT generalist with experience in helpdesk, data recovery, networking, etc.? Please do hit me up <3

Happy Read an Ebook Week! To help you find a book to celebrate, you can find my entire collection at a promotional price at @Smashwords from March 2 - March 8. Find my books and many more at https://www.smashwords.com/ebookweek #ebookweek25 #Smashwords
A promotional image for Smashwo…

I know there are more Muppet fans here. There just have to be! Please help me find them by boosting this. #Muppets #FraggleRock #SesameStreet

Does this #fedihired thing work?

I'm looking for part-time stuff right now. Based in Brighton UK, remote is good too.

I can do:
- websites, fedi sysadmin
- graphic design, video editing, VJ
- audio editing, mixing, mastering, remixes
- bartending & retail
- email & socials marketing, "content"
- any office stuff, spreadsheets, all that exciting stuff

#FediHire

I was talking about Van Vogt yesterday. Apparently he arranged to have himself woken up every 90 minutes to write down his dreams. And his stories were based on his dreams.

Don't know if it was that, or me being feverish, or both, but had a series of dreams last night which resolved in to a story.

@bok I think I read Van Vogt first around mid 80s possibly? I remeber "Slan" distinctly and I know that the "Weapon Shops" books also left an impression. I think I tried to find as many books of his in the library as I could but in those days, it was hit or miss to get the full list of books for an author in Sri Lanka 🙂 You got what you got and that was it ...

I don't remember now if I read anything further by him back then, but he and Gordon R. Dickson tackle certain themes that have really appealed to me.

I just learnt about the "something should happen every x words or so" thing from his Wikipedia entry yesterday. I didn't know about it before. I found this really interesting and was trying to see if I can emulate this in my own writing — not sure if I could be that organized/detailed.

I hadn't thought of Van Vogt in years. I do need to re-read them again and this time, I want to pay attention to how things are crafted instead of just getting lost in the story 🙂