Sep 22, 2013

Is anybody home?

Hello world, I'm back! Not that I've stepped out of the world by any means. I haven't disappeared in some sort of time warp, nor have I left on a rocket ship. Nope, I just was pretty unconnected to your internets. My smart phone decided it wanted to be a dumb phone, and that was my main source of interwebbiness. So I've been around, just not connected, which is pretty much the same thing to being gone from the world anymore.

Anywho, what have I been doing, the one person who reads these is surely asking me. I've been working at my day job more than anything else. That is not saying I have not been putting the ol' brain to work on fiction. Far from it actually. I am nearly ready to begin work on a brand new trilogy. More on that later, however, as I have not quite began writing the first draft of the first book yet. Almost ready to begin writing though. My actual writing work has been put into my first published book, Endospore.

But... but... that book is already published. Why, prey-tell, are you working on that oh purveyor of awesomely awesomeness?

Well, since you asked so nicely, as I already have stated, that book is being edited. Yeah, work on that has been taking forever to get done. Again, day job, curses! But the real reason more than anything else is that while Endospore is a good novel, it was my first published one (though fifth in writing), and there was a lot in it that people have had issue with. I'm working on resolving those issues and fixing some problems I've had with it myself. That means new content! And professional editing when I'm done. It is taking a while as my time is being unfairly stolen by the dreaded DAY JOB! If only I was willing to be a starving artist, and not a well fed one. But work is proceeding. As for a rerelease, I would guess by X-mass of this year. It will be released as a new title and the old one will be removed from sale about a month before release.

Now, I know some people will ask, "why should I invest into the current one if the new one will be coming in a few months?" Answer: The current edition is discounted down to just $0.99 on Amazon, and when the new edition comes out, it will run for free for five days, in which anyone can pick it up. I will announce the release date a month before when the old copy goes down, and will also announce the exact dates for the free run. The new copy will sell for more than the old one did as well, because of the greater investment in actual cash in editing that is coming directly from my pocket (well, from the publisher, but as I'm 50% owner of the publisher, it's coming from my pocket).

And the final reason to pick up the current edition is this: IT STILL IS A GOOD BOOK. The majority of the people who read it did enjoy it greatly. Only people that got caught up in the mechanics of the editing really had problems with it, which tends to be the minority of readers (they just tend to be the loudest, and with good reason). I agree with issues about mechanics, so I understand many of the complaints, and that is why I'm going through the necessary bits to remedy the issues and rerelease. I hope the final product is something that adds to the overall story for everyone. It certainly is for me.

But thank you to the one person who read all of this. I wish you the best in your future endeavors, and thank you for your support. And as always...

Happy Reading
R.A. Wilson

May 3, 2013

May Updates

If you are counting, Have You Seen My Meow? is in treebook format, and Wal-Mart Book of Ethics Abridged Edition is in treebook format now as well. So what about the other two books I have published, Endospore and The Tragedy of Macbeth: A Novel? They are going to be in print, but first they need to finish being edited.

Endospore is being worked over right now, and when done it will be rereleased on the Kindle and put into print. We're fixing typos and just plain grammar errors, but more than that, I'm making some of the more subtle story points a little more easily understood so there will be less questions left over when someone is done reading the book. I'm not going to be holding people's hands as I find that disrespectful to readers, but many things will be less obscure in the story. And finally MORE SEX. I know, but my wife asked for more. I think this is what she meant. ;-)

It will be out as soon as possible, but my day job is making it difficult to get it done swiftly. And Macbeth will be following shortly after.

Happy Reading
--R.A. Wilson

Apr 7, 2013

A Gift for my Readers

The professionally edited edition of the Wal-Mart Book of Ethics Abridged Edition is now available on Amazon.com. The book is priced at $0.99. And in a week's time, the print version should be available by the end of the coming week! By 4/13/13. Look out for it coming.

And now a second gift. Endospore, my top selling novel set in a post-apocalyptic world, is now marked at $0.99 for a short time. I'm working on getting this novel professionally edited as well, and until it comes out, it will remain at only a buck until re-released. After editing, the story will remain the same, just have any remaining typos removed and a couple things cleared up. And the awesome part, after the re-release, I will be asking Amazon to send the new edition to all of my readers! And this is my gift to you.

And as always,
Happy Reading
--R.A. Wilson

Mar 10, 2013

To My Readers

I just want to say thank you to the thousands of people who have downloaded one of my ebooks. I am very grateful for your support and enjoyment of my writing. Many of you have left comments on Amazon for one book or another, and I appreciate that too, even when the reviewer obviously did not like the book. Criticism is necessary to improve one's art.

I have noticed a vast majority of the complains that have come in are mostly over editing issues. I am well aware these issues exist. If you have never written a book, it is hard to explain why a writer cannot fix all of this in their own manuscript. If you are a writer, I don't need to say anything. You already understand. But this is the truth for most writers, that you cannot edit yourself into a clean manuscript. I have been looking for a copyeditor for a while that is not cost prohibitive. I have found someone who is working with me under terms we both find agreeable.

The first work to be looked over is the "Wal-Mart Book of Ethics Abridged Edition". If everything goes well, the new edition will be released on Amazon to replace the current copy, and the thousands who already have a copy will receive an email (Amazon willing) linking to the new download so it does not have to be repurchased. That book will then see it's first print run, just as "Have You Seen My Meow?" has.

If all of that goes smoothly, then "Endospore" will be next, and then finally "The Tragedy of Macbeth: A Novel" will be last. Every book going forward then will be copyedited before being released. (I just can wait to begin really talking about the next series I'm currently working on!)

I do hope that those who found the books difficult because of the errors will give them a second chance once the updated copies are available. And those who have read them and enjoyed the books, maybe you will find an even deeper love for the books afterward.

Happy Reading
R.A. Wilson

Mar 6, 2013

Our first Tree Book!

And so it happened. The first paper book to come out of AlyMur Productions, and it is "Have You Seen My Meow?" To celebrate, the ebook will have a free run on Amazon from 3/15 to 3/19. When then? Because the print book will be on Amazon at that time as well! For now, you can find it here: https://www.createspace.com/4186126

Feb 15, 2013

Endospore FREE Audiobook

And the long promise is finally ready for your enjoyment. The Endospore audiobook is live on Podiobooks. Check it out here Endospore on Podiobooks. Remember to comment and click Like to keep more free content like this coming.

Happy Reading Listening
--R.A. Wilson

Jan 21, 2013

Free Books on Amazon!

The Wal-Mart Book of Ethics: Abridged Edition is now exclusive on Amazon, available for free download on the Kindle Owner's Lending Library. And further more, from January 25th for five days, it will be available for free for everyone!

Endospore has also been placed on the Lending Library, and it too will have a 5 day free run, beginning on February 1st.

Purchase for free, read, and review! Thanks for everything and enjoy.

Happy Reading
--R.A. Wilson

Jan 9, 2013

Real Life Warp Drive

This is just too cool! NASA, mutha frickin NASA scientists are working on a real to life warp drive like in Star Trek. They are saying it is possible in our lifetimes for this technology to be usable, allowing speeds of 10c (that's ten times the speed of light if you're wondering).

I've always said, just because I was born on Earth does not mean I want to die here. Come on!

Check out the article here.

Jan 6, 2013

Changes in Publishing

SO, some of you may be noticing two of my books are no longer posted anywhere other than Amazon. AND, my other two books will be disappearing during the next two weeks on everything but Amazon. So... why?

Here's the truth. I am an independent publisher and author. I do not have the ability to spread word of my writing around in magazines, newspapers, tv. All I have is word of mouth and the few places I can put it out there online for others to discover me. Then why would I want to remove my books from multiple listings and put them all down to one? The numbers support this decision.

These are not the final tallies for the whole of 2012 mind you. I moved about 1600 books from January to October 2012. Of those, less than 100 came from sources outside of Amazon.com and it's wonderful little Kindle. About 80 were from Smashwords during a free promotion, and the rest were from a handful of sales between iTunes and Barnes & Nobel. And as for revenue, the sources outside of Amazon brought in less than $.20 per book sold as the majority of sales were only because it's easy to give things away for free... usually.

But even then, why take the books off of these other networks? Isn't every book moved and every cent made progress? It is, but at what sacrifice? The truth of the matter is, being exclusive on Amazon brings many different perks. They support the independent author much more than these other networks (don't misunderstand me. Some of these other networks cater exclusively to indie's, but the internet presence is much less).

So while I hate to pull back out of these other networks, it just makes more sense in my strives to grow my brand to do so. I hope it will be a short term decision to be exclusive to Amazon as I do plan to test the waters again elsewhere. For the time being, nobody else can help me get my books out there as well as Amazon is currently. Thank you, Amazon, for making it possible for me to strive for my dreams by sharing my stories with the world. And thank you, all of my readers, of every country that has read one of my books on any network they have been read on. I cannot say that enough.

Here I am, looking forward to 2013 with great hope. 2 new books should be coming, along with 2 audio books (the first should be available in just a month or 2). Stick around, and we will build worlds together.

Happy Reading
R.A. Wilson