Publication...Sort Of

You'll obviously note that I haven't been around much.  I'd like to make some very colorful excuses about this and that, and so on, but the truth is that very few people are reading.  The original purpose of this blog was to promote my self-publishing, which has been a wash.  Maybe, if I see a little pick up over the next year I'll pop in here again for news and updates and so forth, but I've been getting a lot more out an offline journal that I've writing in.

Sorry bizarre public platform where anyone can say anything, it was fun.

Moreover, I'd also like at least plug my story that will soon be appear on digital screens near you.  I've recently discovered Jukepop, an indie publisher for serial fiction that accepts novels published chapter by chapter.  My first book (now currently title Hired Gun) will appear totally free to read in the coming weeks.  Once it's fully revised and ready to be read, I'll go ahead and drop it on Amazon or something.  I've pretty much decided that the big publishers can bugger themselves.  You can't get in unless you're already in.  How the bloody hell does that work?

I read an article today about whether or not you can make money with your novel, and the frank answer was basically "No".  It was very well supported and largely true (at least it coincided with the research that I did).  Agents and publishers are really only seeking books that will sell over 50,000 copies a year.  Most books will only sell about a tenth of that.  Furthermore, they advise you to get your start by publishing short fiction, but guess what?  Those short story magazines want to sign stories from big-name authors that are already published, too.

So, how does a regular Joe Blow writing about magic and dragons get published?  You really just don't.  Or, if you do, you have to wait two to three years for it and you still live in obscurity.  Blows ass, I know.  Anyway, whole reason I came here was to drop a link for Jukepop and show off the new cover, so here goes that.

I'm actually pretty happy with this one.  Not bad for five bucks.  You can find the story on Jukepop here.