Spinward Fringe Broadcast 7: Framework Release Date

Due to technical difficulties and scheduling issues, the Spinward Fringe podcast will be very late. A new episode may not be available until as late as Wednesday the 21st, 2012.

On the brighter side, I'm proud to announce the release date of Spinward Fringe Broadcast 7: Framework.

On November 21, 2012, Spinward Fringe Broadcast 7: Framework will be available on Smashwords. It will appear on Amazon through Kindle later that day or early the next (the delay is thanks to Amazon's submission system). Over the following days the book will appear at the iBookstore, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and other EBook retailers.

Print copies will be available shortly afterwards through Amazon (unsigned), and the Home Store (signed - see the link on the right hand side of this blog).

I enjoyed writing this, the most difficult Spinward Fringe book, and I hope it meets your expectations. This book is filled with character development, and concludes several plot lines that have run for a long time now.

In this book I reveal most of the secrets I've been keeping for over four years, and I'm finally pleased with the way they've been presented. Through story and character development, a large part of the Spinward Fringe universe has finally been realised. It's my pleasure to invite you into this part of the story, the universe, and to experience these characters again.

I thank everyone who has supported me so far by buying the books and spreading the word. I am truly grateful to everyone who is joining me for this part of the story.

RL

[If you've never heard of Spinward Fringe, you can check the first book out for FREE through Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, the Kobo, or the iBookstore.]

[There was a side novel released between Spinward Fringe Broadcast 6: Fragments and Broadcast 7: Framework called The Expendable Few, you can find it on Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, or in the iBookstore.]

Don't Resist The Reader

The release of The Expendable Few has become a massive learning experience. Even with extra editing work, the cooperation of a digital formatting house and the announcement of the location and timing of the launch, there were difficulties.

Someone launched a fake version of the book on Amazon, a few people still had difficulties with their own devices, and there were a couple other problems that kept this from being a completely smooth launch. The funny thing is, those negative parts of the experience didn't detract from the marvellous success that the Expendable Few has become early on.

Amazon was quick to respond to reviews and complaints from readers about the fake copy of Expendable Few. It happened so fast that, by the time I got in touch with Amazon Legal, their only response was; "We know - see? It's already disabled." They are refunding payments to anyone who bought the book and reports a problem. Readers also helped each other read the book on their devices properly when there were problems. They even helped each other find the download page.

As of this writing, The Expendable Few is the best selling book in the last 90 days on Smashwords.

What's even more surprising is that you readers put Spinward Fringe at the top in a more general sense. Not only is Spinward Fringe Broadcast 6: Fragments the number one best selling novel of all time on Smashwords, but a total of 7 Spinward Fringe novels occupy the top 25 all time best seller list. You readers did that, I'm more grateful than I can express.

That's why, when pressure to distribute the Expendable Few outside of Smashwords didn't let up after release, but increased, I had to rethink my promise to offer the book there exclusively for 30 days. I have the files required to offer the book on Amazon (US, FR, UK, etc...), and Mark Coker has made it absolutely clear that he and his staff are eager to distribute the book to B&N, the iBookstore, KOBO and numerous other retailers, so there's no reason not to put the book in the pipeline earlier than planned.

I don't even think Mark Coker would be offended. In fact, I really hope he won't be, he's been good to my readers and I.

The files are ready, you readers have demanded broader distribution and are responsible for my success, so I'm giving you what you want. Starting on March 9, 2012, The Expendable Few will begin appearing on Amazon and other retailers. By March 14 it should reach most retailers, but it could take weeks longer, so be patient. Everyone is working as fast as they can to get this out.

There is a negative side to this, however. Thanks to the way the ebook market works, and the contract I have with distributors like Amazon, the price of The Expendable Few will change on Smashwords to $2.99 as of March 9, 2012. That's over $2.00 below the average readers elected to pay when they used the option to name their own price when buying the book.

My hope is that this book gets out to all of you the way you want it, and that you enjoy it even more than the previous Spinward Fringe novels.

What's next? I'm currently working through an edit of Broadcast 5 in preparation for a return to work on Broadcast 7. Broadcast 7 is currently 110,000 words long, and I think I may be half finished. I expect to be writing more new material for that by the end of next week.

Once I'm finished with my run through of Broadcast 5, it'll see more work from an editor and 52 Novels, the formatting company I use before getting updated everywhere. The update will be available for free if you already own Broadcast 5: Fracture.

Thank you for your support, there's more Spinward Fringe on the way!

RL

For anyone who doesn't want to wait, here's the link to the book on Smashwords! I'd like to thank Mark Coker and everyone at Smashwords who helped make my overall experience there fantastic.

Expendable Few Facts

As I come to the last writing on the final draft of the Expendable Few, there are finally a number of certainties surrounding the book, its release, and how it fits into the Spinward Fringe series. Here's a list!

Facts about Expendable Few:

Expendable Few is currently 31 chapters +1 Epilogue. That's after cutting / substituting 9 chapters and taking 5 cracks at the epilogue.

Instead of writing a short novella, the Expendable Few has grown to the size of the average science fiction novel (about 85,000-100,000 words).

It'll be released on Smashwords first, and available for whatever people are willing to pay ($0.00 to $?.??)

A print version will be available within a month of the EBook's release.

30 days after the release on Smashwords, Expendable Few will appear on Amazon.com. Pricing will partially be dictated by Amazon. Within a few weeks of the book's appearance on Amazon it will pop up on Barnes and Noble, the iBookstore, Kobo and other retailers. It is important to mention that Smashwords will provide versions of the book for all readers, so no matter what you're using you can get the book on day one there.

Work on Broadcast 7 is starting back up as I work on the extra chapters in Expendable Few, no more material will be cut from EF, unless the editors require it.

I expect to have a release date for this book by Feb 14, hopefully MUCH earlier.

Our ebook formatting partner has been contacted, and they will be giving us a submission deadline today.

This book is experimental in every way, and unlike anything I've written in the genres of horror, fantasy, or science fiction, while drawing from all three genres.

It will read short - meaning that it is fast paced, and you'll be finished before you realize it.

All the central plotlines that begin in this book end in this book.

The book eventually connects to the Spinward Fringe series.

Expendable Few Still In The Works

Even though the Expendable Few draft is finished, editors are still reviewing it, they need time. I was hoping our formatters would be able to pencil us in, but there just won't be enough time to get everything done by the Holidays, which are very close at hand.

That being said, the first two thirds of Expendable Few are getting very high marks from the editors. I'm ready to address problems if they come up, and our formatting partners are excited to work on another Spinward Fringe book.

The bottom line is that we have a lot of work done, so the chances of Expendable Few being out in January are very high. The moment the book gets a pass from an editor, and I get on our formatter's schedule, I'll have a firm release date for you.

I hope everyone has a fantastic holiday season. I feel blessed to have so much support, and owe all of you my thanks.

RL

Expendable Few Draft Completion

The Expendable Few novella has become a small novel, and I'm finished drafting. I had several goals and a story to tell with this book, and I think I've accomplished what I set out to do.

Now I'm doing my last editorial pass, and sending chapters to both my editors as I finish polishing. The Expendable Few became a very difficult project. Some chapters took several weeks to think through, and I've never had a short work generate so much cut material. The cut material isn't the result of sloppy writing, most of it was experimental content that didn't work for the story, the characters, or it took the book in the wrong direction.

Like any experimental work, I was actually a little afraid to finish it, and I'm terrified to release it. History has shown me that, as long as my editor(s) sign off on the story, the book will do well, but the jury is still out.

I expect to finish my pass early this week, and the editors are already getting new chapters. Here's hoping that this book meets their standards. If it does, I may be looking at a release around Christmas Day. If the editors tell me it needs a little more work on my end, I expect it'll come out in late January or February.

After Expendable Few is finished I'm taking a month off to clear my head. For the last few months my brain has been occupied with the Expendable Few and Broadcast 7. I've taken some great notes that will help me finish 7,  but I want to clear my head before I sit down and edit what I have, then get to work on the second half of that book. I'm glad I wrote Expendable Few, it was instrumental in figuring out a few things for Broadcast 7 and beyond.

I'll share the editor's verdict once they share their thoughts.

Thank you for your patience,

RL

Spinward Fringe Broadcast 7 & Expendable Few Update - September 2011

 The pressure to get a book out is beyond anything I could have ever imagined. Fortunately, I've experienced pressure before, so the previous statement is more an idle observation than it is any kind of complaint.

The absence of pressure would indicate a lack of demand. So, bring it on.

I can't provide a release date for The Expendable Few or Spinward Fringe Broadcast 7: Framework, but I will do the next best thing.

I've set a deadline for the completion of the Expendable Few. I will finish writing this book by October 7, and attempt to get it to the formatters by the end of that month. Test readers will see chapters during October as well.

The Expendable Few has hit more creative roadblocks and faced more in-process revision than anything I've ever written. In an effort to present a full fledged science fiction novel with all the trappings that I want for this story and the characters, I've increased the book's size to about 80,000 words, and drawn ideas I had reserved for other books in. The book needed it, and as for size, it might become even longer.

There was a time when I just wasn't satisfied with how the second half of this book was turning out, and I didn't know how to fix it. I'm past that now, and am writing the chapters that bring it up to snuff. There are ideas in this book that span politics, technology, character development, and take the book straight into strange fiction. Now it's something I know I'd enjoy as a reader.

There are at least a dozen chapters left, and there could be more. Getting this done before or on October 7 will be an interesting challenge.

What about Spinward Fringe Broadcast 7? It's about to enter its third and final draft. The existing 120,000 words are mostly going to remain the same, with a few additions and slight modifications - but that's what you do when you draft a book you've mostly been away from for a couple months. The work I'm doing on the  Expendable Few novel (formerly novella), has prompted me to up my game for Broadcast 7's last third. That's right, 120,000 words in I'm about two thirds done, so you can expect at least another forty thousand words in Broadcast 7.

Parts of Broadcast 8 may be pulled into 7 simply because there is no reason to keep a couple story lines in reserve. Without spoiling anything, there are whole sections of Broadcast 7 that introduce an entirely new side of the Spinward Fringe universe that I've been waiting to write about since The First Light Chronicles. Introducing that side of things is proving to be very important to the story, and to the development of several characters.

A few people have asked how tightly intertwined are the Expendable Few Novel and Broadcast 7 books? I can only say that you're going to want to read the Expendable Few before reading Broadcast 7. If you don't, you may not know you're missing something, but you will be. Since the Expendable Few is an unexpected novel, it'll be offered for free for all readers on Smashwords and for $0.99 on Amazon for the first month, possibly longer.

I'll be honest, I'm looking forward to finishing my work on the Expendable Few so I can get back to Broadcast 7. Everything is taking longer because I'm more interested in telling stories that best my previous work by far. The simple solutions, easy situations, vanilla characters and settings don't work for me regardless of how long or short they exist on the page. I'm also paying more attention to quality these days, in all aspects of what comes across my desk. So, sorry for the extended wait, I'll try to make it worth your while.

RL

[Next on the blog: Cosmetic and systemic changes are coming.]