Cetus Insolitus

Sent to the printer... Sea monsters, sea serpents, giant squid, invisible octopuses, and more...

Stories

The problem with trying to put out reasonably thorough anthologies is that three months later, I'm going to run across a story I wish I had included. Thus, I guess I've started on my second cryptobotanical fiction anthology. A bit more difficult, though, as I'm only a few stories in, and it's unlikely I'll find many more public domain stories. At present, I'm trying not to spend money on licensing stories, but I suppose that's always a possibility in the future. (The market at present is a bit small...)

Don't Buy Invertebrata...Yet

I'm probably a day or two from approving Invertebrata for sales, but if it shows up on Amazon in a week, don't buy it yet unless you want to pay a premium... I forgot I was planning to rearrange my anthology prices, and set it at $19.95. I've got a price change request (it'll be $14.95), but that probably won't take place until after January 1st. I'm trying to finish up the sea monster anthology soon, and will make sure that is priced correctly when it comes out (before Christmas).

I originally had these anthologies set up with a bit of a higher discount for retailers, with the intent that they might show some discounting for buyers, but that's not happening often enough, so I'm shooting for a lower discount and lower overall pricing now.

Coming to Australia?

There have been rumors that LSI might build a plant in Australia or Hong Kong (or was it Singapore?), which would allow easier (less expensive) distribution to that region of the world. More recently, a print-on-demand book machine has launched efforts in Australia, and LSI appears to have agreements with that company. So, it's possible that publishers that work with LSI might just have reasonable access to the Australian market fairly soon.

Beyond the obvious (making my titles available to a large English-speaking market), it also means I can publish titles specifically for the Australian market (i.e., public domain there, even if still copyright in the US & UK). They wouldn't have direct marketing outside of the Australian market, of course, but would be available there (and could always be shipped...).

Invertebrata Enigmatica

Sent to the printer. (I think I'm going to stick to faux Latin titles for this subset of anthologies with crypto-related themes.)

Potential Books

I've been discussing the potential for POD with a possible author here in Lancaster Co. His books would include Lancaster County or Pennsylvania history (covered bridges, etc.), regional nature studies, and a few other subjects of local interest. He has his own distribution (stands at Roots and Green Dragon, speaking engagements, and the like), so it could work out.

Also, trying to nudge Bill Rebsamen into publishing his full-color crypto-art book. That was originally going to be published with another company, but fell through.

And, I'm now "digitally certified" with LSI, which means nothing to book buyers or authors, but will help me out substantially: should lower my upfront costs to put out a book, and possibly make the turnaround time much quicker.

Am going to try and send the invertebrate sci-fi/fantasy anthology to the printer this weekend, and possibly the sea monster anthology as well.

Translation is a Pain

I have two short stories (not so short) by classic (pseudonymous) French writer J.-H. Rosny (sr.), that I'll be including in some future cryptofiction anthologies. One is about an African explorer encountering some strange gorillas, the other involves giant intelligent vampire-bats and other creatures in an underground realm. (There may be a few more stories in this collection I'm using, but as I can't read French, I'll have to translate first and determine later.)

I've started on the gorilla/wild man story, but of course, mechanical translation devices (I'm using Google translator) only give the words, not the sense of what is being expressed. So I'm sure it will take me a little while to figure out how to convey it correctly. I do think it's odd nobody has translated these previously.

Also, I'm going to have to ditch the G. K. Chesterton story that involves a scientist and his bias against sea serpents, which I was planning to use from his posthumous collection The Coloured Lands. Copyright again rears its ugly head, though I'm not convinced that it is copyright here in the states. I've discussed this briefly with the literary agent, and she is not certain whether there was a simultaneous publication in the US and UK in 1938. If there was, then the collection is public domain here in the US, as it was not copyright renewed. If it was published in the UK more than 30 days prior to the US publication, then it is copyright protected here in the US, and will be until 1933. Either way, the collection goes into the public domain in the UK in 2009. (I'll say it again: US copyright rules are absurd.) From book notices in both the London Times and the New York Times, it appears the book may have been published simultaneously in December 1938, but I can't prove it.

I'd really like to include a few more sea monster/ aquatic creature stories in the anthology, so any story suggestions would be of interest.

Slight Delay

I'm trying to get digitally certified with LSI right now, which basically means I've got enough experience with their pdf submission requirements that I'll be able to submit new titles without undergoing their normal departmental checks. That should a) decrease the time it takes for a title to be approved and ready for print, and b) decrease my per-title submission fees.

In order to go through the certification process, I have to stick to a single title for submission this week, and that's going to end up being a book I'm doing for a friend of a friend; I'm doing the printing services (creating the files so that I can print copies for her as needed), rather than the full-scale publishing through Coachwhip. I don't usually offer this for self-publishers, but in this case it didn't take too much time. Once this is done, and hopefully it won't take more than a week, I'll be able to send Invertebrata Enigmatica (insects, arachnids, and other invertebrates in science fiction and fantasy) to the printer. Should be available, then, in a few weeks.

Current Projects

I've been a tad busy putting together a book for an author that she will be "self-publishing" (I'll just be providing printing services). Not my usual gig, but she's a friend of a friend.

In any case, for that and other scheduling issues, I haven't had much time for my straight cryptozoology texts. Those will probably get back on track after the end of the year.

I just found the last story I need for my sci-fi/fantasy bugs collection. Amazingly, found a great story involving the old legends of "gold-digging ants" (See Karl Shuker's writings for a cryptozoological perspective) and it doesn't appear in any of the sci-fi indexes that I have access to via Google books, apparently long-forgotten. So, will see if I can put this anthology together by end of week.