The Urbanite notes a new Baltimore-cop novel,
Eliot,
a purportedly fictional revenge fantasy set in the Eastern district, written by Sergeant Michael A. Wood Jr. (l) and published via Amazon's self-publishing arm.
Based on the three-page sample it looks a little testosterone-soaked and under-edited for my taste (unless there's a ton of sex in it, of course, but that seems unlikely). But perhaps you would enjoy a little of the old
ultra-violence, dear reader:
"With my left knee pinning his nuts to the concrete, right knee pinning his left arm down, left hand holding his head up, and right hand crushing his esophagus, I look into his eyes, “Are you the one who took from me?” Emptiness. “Are you the one who did it?” Emptiness. I can see in his eyes that this fucker has no idea what I am talking about."
10 comments:
I'm all for free speech, and even encourage everyone to turn a buck by writing a book if they think they can do it. However, iTunes and Amazon has unleashed a torrent of truly awful downloadable tomes filled with uncorroborated accounts, bad data, plagiarized passages and zero fact-checking. Editing challenges are just the icing on the cake. We're in the eye of the hurricane right now where there is an onslaught of would-be authors stampeding to these sites where they spend $125 for an ISBN and then they sign a boatload of legal documents rendering Amazon and iTune harmless, after which they think they are going to hit a big payday earning a dollar or two by chance somebody might want to pay for their spew.
It's a very small matter of time before one of these would-be runaway best selling authors gets the pants sued off of them.
(If you don't believe me, the book festival occurs on the 3rd weekend in September. If you want to know what desperation smells like, go there)
can't depants the pantsless!
I think you'd be surprised, Eliot, is more about the motivations and that story versus the violence, which drops off significantly after the first chapter.
www.michaelawoodjr.com
email me your address and I can get you an e-book or paperback, as long as you promise to post up an honest review.
...and yes there is a lot of crap out there in this new publishing world. I have reviewed some of it. http://criticalcriticreviews.com
Last thing...
If you are trying to make money writing, then you are in the wrong business for sure. Almost all authors do this for fun or on the side.
I simply want to entertain you for a little while.
Check out some of the other reviews and articles.
I did every last thing myself, What could you possibly be sued for? Empty pockets doctrine with authors.
Amazon gives 70 percent royalty is priced between 2.99 and 9.99. Publicity is a serious challange though so I am still trying to get a literary agent.
Like you said, niche markets sure, but anything else toss out the idea of making money without a pre established brand.
Ebook or paperback? I have some paperbacks where is printer messed up the back cover. I can spin that as a collector's item to send you. Haha
I actually do make money writing and have for a decade now, and also I'm in the wrong business, for sure. But I don't do it to be entertaining, I do it to be useful, which is a whole other scene. I'll take a paperback but note I am probably not your prospective demographic and usually have about 4-6 books going at a time, almost always nonfiction, which I read until I get bored and probably end up finishing less than half. (Up now: a plodding history of the Puritans vs the Quakers, Caitlin Moran's "How to be a Woman," which is excellent, Anthony Bourdan's scraps, Alison Bechdel's memoir, just finished the Hunger Games trilogy that I had to screen for preteen appropriateness and finished but what a crap ending.)
So I'll work Eliot in the rotation and I'd never say anything crappy about a book someone sent me, but also can't guarantee I'll feature it in any meaningful kind of way. But if you still want to send me an 'irregular' email me, address is on front page right bottom column.
Michael A. Wood Jr. is still trying to get a literary agent. Hmmmm.....
Marcie, you may be making a deal you'll regret. The next few weeks are going to be some trying times. Good luck.
What's with the prejudice and negativity Charm? Are you regretting the dreams you never persued?
Most authors spend years getting an agent. I've only been at this a few months.
Clearly, you've only been at this a few months. Marcie's been at it for the long haul, and I'm no slouch myself.
I'd try to help you out, but I don't think you'd listen so it isn't worth my time.
Clearly how? Please explain.
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