Release Date Set

The date for the second book in the series, A New World is set for 23 September, 2011.  A New World: Return will be available on this date in eBook format for Amazon and Smashwords with the book becoming available at Barnes & Noble, Sony, iTunes, Diesel, and Kobe in the following weeks as it propagates out to them.

The first book, A New World: Chaos will continue to be on sale for $2.99 through the rest of September.  I want to thank everyone for the great reviews and for supporting my Indie endeavor.  The sales for the first book have exceeded any expectations I have had and it is truly my hope that everyone who has read it enjoyed it.

I am really enjoying writing this series and it makes me happy to think that you are enjoying the book.  I hope that you enjoy the second book as much.  Off to finish the editing and I wish everyone a great Friday!

John

Fantastic News!

First, Happy Monday to everyone!

The book sales on the first book, A New World: Chaos have skyrocketed in the past two weeks.  I would like to thank everyone for supporting my endeavor.  I have completed the second book, A New World: Return.  I have the book back from the editor and am now going through those edits.  I may have to change the publication date for this book for several reasons.  One is that JL Bourne is releasing his third book on September 27th and I don’t want to step on his opening.  Another is that I may not be able to make the edits in time to get the book out before his release thereby pushing the publication date out to October.   The learning experience from publishing the first book makes me want to put out a finely-tuned, edited edition the first time.  I found several mistakes in the first book and had to republish that one.

Now, for the great news and one other reason the second book may be pushed back.  I have been contacted by Permuted Press and offered a publishing deal for the first three books in A New World.  I don’t know what this means for the current publication nor for the second book’s publication date as yet.  I don’t know whether to take the deal or not as yet as I do like retaining the rights for my babies – yes, that is how I think of them.

If anyone has any opinions or experiences with the Indie versus traditional publishing, I would certainly enjoy hearing from you.  I am stuck on the royalty, book momentum, and rights aspects.  Overall though, I am ecstatic over the deal and feel very privileged to be contacted and offered a deal.  It makes me feel good about the book and that the readers are enjoying it.

I wish everyone a great day!

John

New Cover Art!

The new cover art by SM Reine arrived last night.  I loaded up the new cover art for A New World: Chaos late last night to Amazon and Smashwords.

Here is the cover art for A New World: Chaos and A New World: Return:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am still waiting for A New World: Return to get back from the editor and then it is announcement and publication date.

For those of you looking for a cover artist, seriously check into SM Reine.

smreine (at) gmail (dot) com
http://smreine.deviantart.com/

Off to the editing world for a little while.  I wish everyone a very happy Tuesday!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great Day for A New World!

First of all, I hope that everyone had a great Labor Day Weekend!  The sun has finally come around and I want to thank everyone who sent some of their sun out way.

It has been a busy few days.  The first run-through’s on the edits for the second book, ‘A New World: Return,’ have been completed. and it is off to the editor for the red mark annihilation.  I am hoping the final editing will be finished within the week and will be looking for a publication date around the middle of the month which, miraculously, was my target.  I will announce the actual publication date soon.

I also found an amazing cover artist:
SM Reine
smreine (at) gmail (dot) com
http://smreine.deviantart.com/

If you are looking for cover art, she does great work, her response is quick, and her rates are very reasonable.  We have completed a cover art revision for the first book, ‘A New World: Chaos’ which will be uploaded within the next day or so.  I will make sure and put the new cover art on here to share.

Finally, I have begun formatting both books for print publication in paperback versions.  I plan to test the waters on Amazon first and then expand out to others depending on the response.  The response for ‘A New World: Chaos’ have been great in the last couple of weeks and I want to thank everyone who had a chance to read it and those that submitted reviews.  I wish I could thank everyone in person.

Here are the links for the first book:
Amazon kindle:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004W0CL2Y

Smashwords:
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/57851

Barnes &Noble Nook:
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/New-World/John-OBrien/e/2940011299674?itm=1&usri=a+new+world+chaos

 

Sony:
http://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/john-o-brien-jr/a-new-world-chaos/_/R-400000000000000387087

iTunes/iBooks:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/a-new-world-chaos/id440693135?mt=11
It has been a busy one and still continues to be.  Once I get the second book published, it will be onto the third book.

Again, thank you and I hope the rest of your day treats you well!

John

How I published A New World: Chaos with Smashwords

 

I had a story to tell and had to put it write it down as I wanted to share it with others.  I wrote the series with one thought in mind – What would I actually do in the event of an apocalyptic event?  This story and series being true to the actual skills and experiences I possess. No super heroes or someone possessing miraculous abilities, just a normal person seeking to survive in a post-apocalyptic world.

Months later, the first book in the series was complete.  But not my feeling of completeness as it wasn’t being shared with readers.  The thought of getting it published was daunting.  First, because I had heard the stories of how hard it is to get published.  Second, because I was stepping into completely unfamiliar territory.  But, I was determined and really wanted to share what I had written.

Rejection after rejection came from agents.  And then, I happened across Smashwords.  The ease of getting published with them was mind-blowing.  And they have a fantastic distribution channel allowing me to get my book out to all of the major distributors through one outlet.  I found that I don’t have to manage a lot of sites at once.  Their guidelines are easy to follow and adopt.

I only had to read their ‘how to publish’ document How to Publish and Distribute with Smashword  and follow the easy to use style guide  Smashwords Style Guide.  I was and still am amazed at how easy it was to get my story out and the response has been overwhelming.  I read about and talk with other authors, who are either finishing their books or have finished them, who worry about getting published.  I tell them the success I have had with Smashwords and how simple, easy, and quick it was to get my book in front of readers.  I would recommend this to all who read this blog as well.

The one tip I can give is to follow the style guide line by line and letter for letter.  I did this one step at a time with my manuscript and my book was accepted on the first try.

Get your work out so you can continue your writing rather than spend time worrying about publishing the one you finished.  Keep writing and have a great day!

Rough Draft Completed

Hello and good morning everyone,

I finished the rough draft of the second book in the New World series on Friday.  No, not the baseball game unless you count the games as an apocalyptic event.  Which I am sure some do.  I am currently a little over half of the way through the first pass edit.  I tell you, this is the hard part and not the most exciting by any stretch.  Rather boring at times to be honest.  And after that will be the design of the cover art.  I am hoping to have the book “A New World: Return’ published and available to the eBook world by the middle of September.  I will be setting an exact date here shortly.

My mind is a little fried after the marathon of writing to finish it but I am rather pleased with the result.  There were some twists I didn’t expect and one part I thought would be in this one that will have to be carried to the next as it didn’t quite fit in with the flow.  As I said in earlier posts, I don’t think I am actually writing the book as much as I am a conduit through which the story flows.

I am excited to be finished and to be able to get it out.  I hope those that read it will enjoy it as much as the first and as much as I enjoyed telling it.  I am off to the never-ending editing – Oh Yay!  I hope this day treats you well and it is an enjoyable one for you!

Winding Down

I haven’t written much on the ‘ol blog lately as my writing has been concentrated on the book the second book in the New World series.  This one will be titled ‘A New World: Return’.  The story has been pouring out of me and onto the screen to the point where I should finish the rough draft today provided I don’t procrastinate too much.  That does have a high likelihood of happening.

There is only about 5,000 words remaining to the end and I am quite happy with the story and flow.  I didn’t think it would be as good as the first in the series – ‘A New World: Chaos’ – but as the story went on, I am just as, if not more, happy with the result so far.  A few stuck moments but I am ahead of the time line I set for myself to be done by the end of the month; much to my surprise.  I am hoping to do the rewrite and editing quickly in order to have it out and published by the middle of September.  Then, it is a possible very short break plotting the ideas for the third book and back to the keyboard once again.

If anyone does happen to get any of the eBooks most places eBooks are sold, feel free to leave a comment or review.  Your support is very much appreciated.

I hope this day treats everyone well!

Lazy Sunday!

Well, made it to the two-thirds point yesterday evening.  The frenzy of words flying across the screen has slowed down somewhat.  I am coming up on having to plot the next series and not really wanting to as there is a tremendous amount of information to impart and not quite sure of the format I present it with.  Once I do get it down, the words should flow once again until the ending of this part in the series.  I am still on track to finish the rough draft by the end of the month which is a surprise to me.  I would like to get the finished book out by the middle of September.

I spent the morning updating the product description for the first book in the series – A New World: Chaos – on Amazon and Smashwords as well as updating this web site.  Writing shall commence shortly but I think I will find a nice coffee house to hole up in for the day with the laptop.  Or maybe I will just leave the laptop there and the story will can write itself.  Maybe not as I do like seeing the story come together but am very much looking forward to the rewrite, meaning, the draft will be done.

Okay, the caffeine has had no effect this morning and strongly suspecting that my coffee beans have been secretly replaced with decaf.  So not cool!  Enjoy your Sunday everyone!  I’m off do to that writing thing.

A New World: Chaos Premise

The basic premise for the New World series is really not that far-fetched.  We have seen several pandemic scares come along in the recent past that could have threatened our survival as a species or at least brought about death on a large scale.  As the virus’ mutate and adapt, it is really only a matter of time before one comes along that does just that very thing – creates a pandemic that mows through the world’s population.

As for the vaccine creating changes, well, that is not that far-fetched either.  Just look at the ads for the drugs on the market now.  They create more problems than they supposedly fix.  I mean, who wants to be bleeding from various orifices just to relieve a headache.  I can say for one that I don’t.  And the pharmaceutical companies are manufacturing illnesses to match what new drugs they create can fix.  The plausibility of a vaccine rushed to market in the event of a quick spreading virus is real.

So basically, today is just speculating on the basic premise of the series before I dive back into the story for the day.  The survivors of the apocalypse await as they are poised on possibly finding some information they need to survive in the long term.  I don’t know where today’s part of the story will lead, but I am excited to find out.

Enjoy this gorgeous day all!

Midway and Rolling!

I reached the half way point yesterday after a few days or furious writing.  Some of it the ‘bang your head against the wall’ writing but, for the most part, it flowed along.  I started last Monday with 20,000 words and finished last night with just over 50,000.  And, that was taking two plays days so I am extremely pleased with both the progress and story.

I really enjoy writing because the story is created right before me.  Sure I have a story line and a general direction, but when I get into that trance of hammering away on the keys, the story just takes off on its own to some degree.  I just let the action and event happen right before me and sometimes it’s just as new to me as to you first reading it.  I have the start and end result in mind and then let the story take shape between those two points.  Living the moment of the book.  It is a living entity to me.

I will be at it again today but perhaps not as furious as in previous days, but, you never know.  I am on pace to finish my goal of having the rough draft completed by the end of the month, hopefully releasing it by the middle of September.

I with everyone a great day and hope it’s an enjoyable one for you!