tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2479843424862573242024-03-12T18:56:32.556-07:00Timothy TrimbleAuthor and Technologistascriptorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16432796054560139686noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247984342486257324.post-30794604251860035842016-12-28T07:44:00.004-08:002016-12-28T22:09:00.646-08:00Ten Reviews and Counting<p><strong><u>The First Three Months</u></strong><br></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeIqhp8UgThZbM5bdrHbQka9p0RxahrEhDxpa5lQikpSL0uU9bOB_6CNS2fqngXdk07zErVhkxIt3mnrbT2KRRtsQXvIkzuQdhRFh5AZoyD5bsry5BC9TcxUwZFIcJWEz6ztPMCovO5Ww/?imgmax=9999" width="480" style="max-width: 100%;"></div><p dir="ltr">(Happy to be writing from the Table of Nalage! Yes, happy! Can't you tell?)</p><p>It's hard to believe that Air Born was released three months ago. It seems like only a month. But then, there has been a lot of activity since then. I visited a bunch of book stores in Indianapolis and New York, two very successful Author Events held (Third Place Books, The Neverending Bookshop), multiple blog entries, and now I've started on the outline for Air Storm.</p><p>A major milestone has been reached! Air Born received its 10th review on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Air-Born-You-Dream-Flying/product-reviews/1536873292/ref=cm_cr_dp_synop?ie=UTF8&reviewerType=all_reviews&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=recent#R22IDKCC29ZJX1" target="_blank" title="Air Born reviews on Amazon">Amazon</a> last week. Though it might be the shortest one to be posted, it is still a goodie.</p><p><strong>5.0 out of 5 stars - This is a great book. Suspenseful</strong><br>By MurseManon December 21, 2016<br>Format: Paperback<br>This is a great book. Suspenseful. The author does a great job of giving the background to the characters. I enjoyed it thoroughly!</p><p dir="ltr"><strong>5.0 out of 5 stars - Don't Miss This One - Really Fun to READ<br></strong>By Mother Margie on December 3, 2016<br>Format: Paperback|Verified Purchase<br>Really fun to read and just the right combination of realism, fantasy, suspense and adventure. Best of all, it was so interesting it got me back into the habit of appreciating the joy of reading before going to bed instead of watching TV and getting wired by the flashing lights and contrasts that can give you nightmares! My only complaint is that it was over before I wanted it to be so now I have to wait for the next episode to see what happens. Thanks, Mr. Trimble - You have a special gift - GOOD JOB!!</p><p dir="ltr">Okay, okay! I need to take a deep breath and deflate my head. These are all great, and actually, I'm very grateful for the kind words and support from everyone. I love my Air Born fans.</p><p><strong><u>The Neverending Bookshop Reading</u></strong></p><p>The reading at TNB was a great success. It was slow getting started since the weather was bad, traffic was bad, and it was a little hard to find. 2 pm came and aside from Annie, her husband, and a few of her friends, there was no one else. I waited 10 more minutes, thinking I'll be reading to 4 people this time. Then this beautiful family of 6 came in and took front row. I started 15 minutes later than planned. By the time I got through the first scene and looked up, every seat was full, and people were standing behind the seats. Nine books were signed and sold, and Annie took some extras as well. I highly, highly, recommend you giving this awesome bookshop a visit. And if you want an autographed copy of Air Born, just ask Annie. You can find this wonderful store at <a href="http://www.theneverendingbookshop.com/" target="_blank">www.theneverendingbookshop.com</a> Here are a few pictures from the event:</p><p>(Thanks for the b&w Instagram touch, Lyrickal & Jhurney.)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8JqYOjoMi6KZR1y-VsV0iUvfYkqz8KOPLfbZT8KaxUdaBuG7gtgyNe1rk1gr0Zzgo0TirIgt9tzOy7jDRoL-yxAs2WlMke5HQEC1r-r3w4ATADj5DStBZ3Vnx4042INLVUbf12mFD7Kg/?imgmax=9999" width="567" style="max-width: 100%;"></div><p dir="ltr">(Special thanks to Dakota. Oldest girl in the picture. She has attended several of my readings and wants to be a writer.)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ-b0o6ffaGZ3iZ65Wbj38Tf6voWa2ED-jQf0ifed_bGbpZyuAVdY_zvF4YDvnjDqq6xhacVDMrrivGuS9pnzTA4fmpYweS3PtrUP8Sn4niRWF1EOcGfNAxQ-zWt1vBFhhMUWh7zJEfBY/?imgmax=9999" width="480" style="max-width: 100%;"></div><p dir="ltr"><br><strong><u>Up Coming Event</u></strong></p><p>For my January event, I'll have a table at the Rustycon convention, Jan 13th to 15th, at the Seattle Airport Mariott. This is my first author's table at a Sci-fi convention. Not sure what to expect, but I'm sure it'll be fun. Click on the <a href="http://rustycon.com/" target="_blank">http://rustycon.com</a> link for details.</p><p><strong><u>Writing Progress</u></strong></p><p>Even though I'm tempted to sit around clicking on Amazon stats to see how Air Born is doing, (No, I'm not quitting my day job.) I'm getting focused on being productive and diving into more writing. Air Born is taking on a life of it's own, being out there in the wild, looking for readers. Success depends on who sees it, who reads it, who reviews it, and who has influence enough to take it to the next level. So, in the meantime, the 2nd book in the Air Born series has been rolling around in my head for awhile, and now I'm cranking on the outline for it. The working title for book 2?</p><p><strong>Air Storm - Do You Dream of Falling?</strong></p><p>I actually heard a squeal from someone when I announced this at one of my readings. And yes, I have a working title for book 3, but no announcement on that until Air Storm is done and in print or you convince me to do tequila shots and squeeze it out of me. (One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor!)</p><p dir="ltr">Thanks to the 4 day weekend, and some time at a couple amazing coffee shops, I got quite a bit done. The first 4 chapters of Air Storm have been outlined.</p><p>I've been getting some repeated questions at the readings and via emails. So, to provide a little enticement:</p><p>- Is Dr. Corellis still around? Yes. <br>- What happened to Jewels? She'll be back. <br>- What's going to happen to Angela? Sorry, I can't give that one away. ;)</p><p dir="ltr"><strong><u>Speaking of Awesome Coffee Shops<br></u></strong><br>A special shout-out for <a href="Red Cup Cafe 619 4th St, Mukilteo, WA 98275 (425) 348-4825 https://goo.gl/maps/T7XYux8fE9T2" target="_blank" title="Directions to Red Cup. Tell them I sent ya.">Red Cup Coffee in Mukilteo</a>:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5rk2hLXiYarp1zKAu494R1aBFBwcovM6StB7OGZ5l_JtqaK0tMAhQqWfYzSe9FDaoW-F5Ndoj9IYoh9Kd8x_rD3rcG53lTcrT4iYIExHyLsEiDPJY1YupDnW7DxnYSqz6qpefOTo4heM/?imgmax=9999" width="480" style="max-width: 100%;"></div><p><br></p><p>And <a href="file:///private/var/mobile/Containers/Data/Application/1F2DED50-55D9-4A39-BBFF-07A57777E77C/tmp/www/Walnut%20Street%20Coffee%20410%20Walnut%20St,%20Edmonds,%20WA%2098020%20(425)%20774-5962%20https://goo.gl/maps/nziZepjWCWr" target="_blank" title="Let them know I sent ya. ">Walnut Street Coffee</a> in downtown Edmonds:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3l9c4Cqm-oNi1i1zmK23BiHodjh8gdhSHXd7l2Y57hL3nXq8Lou6vAHhCkbWB7OQanG3d10xMpQLsIhswTj1ED7mcV9HPyBPBJbFm0wv6GxddGjIDCGLQGZm6o4AQ-PIZVdSoaAcB4tY/?imgmax=9999" width="480" style="max-width: 100%;"></div><p dir="ltr"><br><strong><u>Interviews<br></u></strong><br>I was recently interviewed by Annie Douglass about the fantasy environment of Air Born. It was an interesting exercise to go through. You can read it on her site here: <a href="https://anniedouglasslima.blogspot.com/2016/12/realm-explorers-part-xciv-visit-flights.html " target="_blank">https://anniedouglasslima.blogspot.com/2016/12/realm-explorers-part-xciv-visit-flights.html</a></p><p><strong><u>Mailing List<br></u></strong><br>If you want to keep up with some of the more secret stuff, such as recruiting for Air Storm beta readers, having a Air Storm private outline review, or an upcoming coffee clutch writers night, be sure to select the "Subscribe to Emails" on the right and fill out the form. I'll not be selling or giving your email addresses to anyone. Really! It just for me sending notifications and announcements about my writing and events. With my schedule, this will usually only be a max of once or maybe twice a month. (Most likely once every couple months.)</p><p dir="ltr">Thanks again for being a fan and for reading. Please spread the word about Air Born. Available for Kindle and in print online (link is on the right), and orderable from any bookstore.</p><p dir="ltr">P.S. After much searching I think I might have finally found an iPad app for doing my blog postings. I guess we'll see how this turns out. If it looks good, do a search in the Apple Store for Blogo. It has a few minor glitches when I tried to get it configured for blogspot.com, but after I figured out the issues it seemed to work fine. Give em a look.</p><p><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgltfFreLUKJ1LAqL6g1g2mvDRsscEXPSyd8TocDGE27p-WGlRDUIW7TckyATVAZKS0r78p_DCYo8xeucbKujfCz-8CdYpAM_yswbS5ODTHCwiOId81NypM0LyreA-H65ONL6MeTK2AFbk/?imgmax=9999" width="59" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br></p>ascriptorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16432796054560139686noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247984342486257324.post-55668837601363124012016-11-20T12:39:00.000-08:002016-11-20T12:39:23.033-08:00Air Born Events and Reviews<br />
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<u><b>Events</b></u><br />
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(Air Born Reading/Signing at Third Place Books)<br />
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First, I want to say thank you to everyone who attended my first official book reading and signing event at <a href="http://www.thirdplacebooks.com/" target="_blank">Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park</a>. This was a huge success and a great opportunity to meet many of the Air Born fans and readers. Plus, the Q&A session was very interesting, since I had no idea what anyone was going to ask.<br />
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The<b> next reading & signing event</b> will be on December 10th, at 2pm, at <a href="http://www.theneverendingbookshop.com/events/" target="_blank">The Neverending Bookshop</a> in Bothell, WA. I look forward to seeing you there.<br />
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<u><b>Reviews</b></u><br />
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I'm overwhelmed by the fantastic reviews Air Born is receiving. I admit to being very anxious prior to the arrival of the first review on Amazon. But, I'm now very happy to say the average rating on the reviews is 4.8. Not too shabby for my first full length fiction novel.<br />
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If you don't mind reading some spoilers, this review on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1809919444" target="_blank">Goodreads by Ines Ninous</a> is amazing. It's very detailed and she confirms the emotions and feelings I was trying to get across in the story and the characters. Plus, she raises the questions everyone else is asking about for the next book. Woot. <br />
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The latest review posted to Amazon:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_XaD-QCiJVfvC9ZdJ0r-slZ_XexzD18tGeUlOry6GW8nKScfIYirvJzvNbrwfS0YcVSFy9GLxYYCWeH9jO0rR4SNKy29HJtgRehnQnjXutPC65kdEvRVgOFI1IZeSuTonH1vWSK6kYuc/s1600/FiveStars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_XaD-QCiJVfvC9ZdJ0r-slZ_XexzD18tGeUlOry6GW8nKScfIYirvJzvNbrwfS0YcVSFy9GLxYYCWeH9jO0rR4SNKy29HJtgRehnQnjXutPC65kdEvRVgOFI1IZeSuTonH1vWSK6kYuc/s1600/FiveStars.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a class="a-size-base a-link-normal review-title a-color-base a-text-bold" data-hook="review-title" href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/RV8TUZXOCIE91/ref=cm_cr_getr_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=1536873292">Air Born is real</a><br />
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<span class="a-size-base a-color-secondary review-byline"><span class="a-color-secondary">By</span><span class="a-letter-space"></span><a class="a-size-base a-link-normal author" data-hook="review-author" href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/A31PW8VQOO4DUD/ref=cm_cr_getr_d_pdp?ie=UTF8">Amazon Customer</a></span><span class="a-declarative" data-action="cr-popup" data-cr-popup="{"width":"340","title":"Help","url":"/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=cm_cr_dp_bdg_help?ie=UTF8&nodeId=14279681&pop-up=1#tr","height":"340"}"></span><span class="a-letter-space"></span><span class="a-size-base a-color-secondary review-date" data-hook="review-date"> on November 17, 2016</span></div>
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<a class="a-size-mini a-link-normal a-color-secondary" data-hook="format-strip" href="https://www.amazon.com/Air-Born-You-Dream-Flying/product-reviews/1536873292/ref=cm_cr_getr_d_rvw_fmt?ie=UTF8&reviewerType=all_reviews&pageSize=10&sortBy=recent&formatType=current_format">Format: Paperback</a></div>
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<span class="a-size-base review-text" data-hook="review-body">Air
Born captures your youthful imagination by touching on one of the most
ancient desires- the desire to fly. It does this in an original and
eloquent way while pulling in factual context from the pacific
northwest, ancient Egypt, and the software development industry. The
story feels real and the words paint a beautiful picture of a world
where human flight is possible. Tim has really touched on something with
this story and I hope that one day I'll be able to see Air Born, the
movie, in theaters.</span></div>
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<span class="a-size-base review-text" data-hook="review-body">Wow. Movie deal would be nice! </span></div>
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<u><b><span class="a-size-base review-text" data-hook="review-body">Selfies</span></b></u></div>
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<span class="a-size-base review-text" data-hook="review-body">This selfie is proof that Air Born has truly gone international. This is Shau Keung from the UK. He heard about my reading event at Third Place Books, ordered the book, and posted this a few days later. I'm looking forward to seeing his review. </span></div>
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<u><b><span class="a-size-base review-text" data-hook="review-body">Promotions & Marketing</span></b></u></div>
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<span class="a-size-base review-text" data-hook="review-body">So much is going on, it's hard to keep track of it all. Air Born now has a page on <a href="http://www.hometownreads.com/city/seattle" target="_blank">Hometown Reads for Seattle</a>. </span></div>
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<span class="a-size-base review-text" data-hook="review-body">A promotion is starting on Nov. 22nd for <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BM87Q38" target="_blank">Zegin's Infection</a>. The Kindle ebook will be FREE for 5 days only. Yes, I said free! I'm actually surprised at the renewed interest in the Zegin stories since Air Born came out. This will generate some new interest and hopefully will draw some attention to Air Born as well. </span></div>
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<span class="a-size-base review-text" data-hook="review-body">And saving the best for last, the Kindle edition of Air Born will be half price beginning on Nov. 22nd for 7 days only. Aside from being promoted on Amazon, a special promotion will be advertised on <a href="http://goodkindles.net/" target="_blank">GoodKindles.net</a> - a very popular site for Kindle book readers. They will also be hosting an Author's page for me. </span></div>
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<span class="a-size-base review-text" data-hook="review-body">That's the latest from the exploits of a night writer for now. Thank you again for all your support and comments. I greatly appreciate it. </span></div>
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ascriptorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16432796054560139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247984342486257324.post-45690733209551202482016-11-02T23:00:00.000-07:002016-11-02T23:00:51.371-07:00Time for the Long Haul<b>The Indie Author Post Release Realities</b><br />
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While there are grandiose dreams of what will happen when a struggling author, who has spent years laboring over the correct positioning of words and emotions, first turns his work of art loose into the wild - the expectations are never fulfilled by the realities. No agents or movie producers are sending me emails requesting signed six figure contracts, sales are not jumping through the roof, and bookstores are not buying large amount of stock for their shelves. The reality is, this is usually the norm for independently published books.<br />
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I would be lying if I didn't say there was a little bit of a hope that Air Born would strike a tone with someone who was influential and it would become an instant success, I'd be financially stable, and I would now be sitting down at my desk to spend all my time writing the sequel without worrying about how to keep a full time job, take care of my family, continue doing community volunteer work, and find time to write. But, the reality of the life of a independently published novel, is that it takes time, effort, and longevity to find any success.<br />
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As the author of my first full length Young Adult, Urban Fantasy novel, I can truly say I have reached my immediate goals for this book. Which are:<br />
<ul>
<li>Release a quality, polished, full length novel.</li>
<li>Be officially accepted as a published author by my friends, family, and peers.</li>
<li>Give life to the feelings, emotions, and characters of the Air Born story.</li>
<li>Receive praise and five star reviews for the finished work.</li>
<li>Land a book signing and reading event at one of the most prestigious book stores in the area. </li>
</ul>
I can truly say, these goals have been reached.<br />
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<b>What about long term goals?</b><br />
<ul>
<li><b> </b>Break even or better in my book launch expenses.</li>
<li>Attract a recognized author to write an awesome introduction for Air Born.</li>
<li>Attract an agent who sees that I am truly serious about my writing and I have at least eight more novels in me currently.</li>
<li>Slowly increase sales via word-of-mouth and social media. </li>
<li>Get a following of fans who truly appreciate my stories and are chomping at the bit to get the next story. (Which is actually already happening.)</li>
</ul>
It's good to have goals for the short term, the mid term, and the long term.<br />
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<b>The "I'm Dreaming Goals"?</b><br />
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And what are the fantasy dreams of this author?<br />
<ul>
<li>Agent shops the entire Air Born series and lands me a six figure contract.</li>
<li>An option for a movie becomes available and I get to consult on the set.</li>
<li>One of my best friends gets a small role in the movie. ;) (Yes, Jordan, I was listening.)</li>
<li>Due to financial stability, I get to increase the amount of time I spend in community volunteer efforts.</li>
<li>The rest of my time I spend writing Air Storm, Air Bound, Eloquence, Love Letters from Mars, Descended, The Facility, Touched (The Novel), The Exploits of a Night Writer, and the continued Saturday Matinee stories of Zegin's Adventures. </li>
</ul>
Ambitious? Yes. I can't help it. They're all in my head, written down in Evernote, and ready to be written.<br />
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<b>Can You Help?</b><br />
<br />
Are there ways my fans can help? Absolutely! One slightly aging man can't do it all! What can you do?<br />
<ul>
<li>Be a member of my street team! Shoot me an email at timothy trimble at me dot com (no spaces and you know what to do with the dot.)</li>
<li>Write a review on Amazon.com, Goodreads.com, or anywhere you participate as a book reader.</li>
<li>Tell your friends how much you like my writing (only if you do, of course).</li>
<li>Tweet, facebook, Pintrest, and socialize my tweets, links, and comments about being a writer and about my stories.</li>
<li>Bug me about when the next story is coming out!</li>
<li>Follow me on Twitter (@TimothyTrimble), Facebook (AuthorTimothyTrimble) & (IamTimothyTrimble), and Instagram (TimothyTrimble).</li>
<li>Did I mention write a review? This is the most important thing you can do. It solidifies to the general public that it's a story worth reading.</li>
</ul>
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<b>Regrets?</b><br />
<br />
My biggest regret is that I didn't start this journey much sooner. I let other things in life get in the way. I don't regret being a performing musician for 11 years and that was an awesome ride! (Thank you WhoWeAre!) But, my true love of creativity is in writing. I have so many stories, so many characters to bring to life, and only so much time. Those of you who have put your trust and confidence in me as a writer - I deeply thank you! To my new found fans - I thank you!<br />
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<b>Around the World Air Born?</b><br />
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As seen in past postings, a special edition of Air Born was placed into the Little Library, next to Waterfront Coffee, in Edmonds, Washington. The goal for this book is to travel the world and to let me see those travels via emails and pictures from those who are reading it. The book was gone the very next morning after placing it into the box. Expectations were high! However, since then, there has been no news of the status of this book. Please, if you are reading this, and you have this copy of Air Born, give it life, show us where you are (even if you're only a block away), and share the journey of Air Born.<br />
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<b>Fan Pics</b><br />
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This far, I have a few fan pics to share from readers of Air Born. Feel free to email me if you are a reader and would like to share a selfie with the book.<br />
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Maryann at Red Cup Coffee in Mukilteo<br />
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Missy (NY) has it packed for a cruise<br />
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Sharon (NY) My adopted sister.<br />
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The gang from Indianapolis, Edie, Dave, Dale, Glenda, my wife and I.<br />
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The baristas from Starbucks in Edmonds, WA.<br />
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The baristas from Walnut Street Coffee in Edmonds, WA. <br />
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Justine - Seattle - Vlogger on Youtube<br />
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Enjoy.<br />
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BTW: Come and see me at Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park on November 12th, at 6:30 pm, for my first official book reading and signing of Air Born. <a href="http://www.thirdplacebooks.com/event/tim-trimble-air-born">http://www.thirdplacebooks.com/event/tim-trimble-air-born</a><br />
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Tim<br />
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<br />ascriptorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16432796054560139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247984342486257324.post-15217684111580865472016-09-21T12:48:00.001-07:002016-09-21T12:48:18.447-07:00Air Born is Launched!<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixEAbsBzpTQZsOcNm0EHYaR5OkpGPPS_lnH9MqUB8RZSSrh4nNENjZAkL3yGN1hG72JvgtEDBSCgj2SMRdCACWnSiENHqYNEGfGmFbtWAwJsxryZ7SJlHtmlmg3ZwlHwWHzRMqPPDeI-M/s1600/IndyStarbucks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixEAbsBzpTQZsOcNm0EHYaR5OkpGPPS_lnH9MqUB8RZSSrh4nNENjZAkL3yGN1hG72JvgtEDBSCgj2SMRdCACWnSiENHqYNEGfGmFbtWAwJsxryZ7SJlHtmlmg3ZwlHwWHzRMqPPDeI-M/s320/IndyStarbucks.jpg" width="320" /></a><u><b>Incredible Week!</b></u><br />
<u><b> </b></u> <br />
What an amazing week it has been! Air Born became available on Amazon.com 12 days ago. Already there have been copies sold, a five star review posted, a reading/signing has been scheduled, and bookstores have been visited.<br />
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It's been crazy busy. Remind me not to plan a vacation trip right after a book launch. On top of tracking new sales, and checking for reviews - I've been socializing from Twitter and Facebook.<br />
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<br />
<u><b>How?</b></u><br />
<br />
Most people I speak with are amazed I've been able to do this while working a full time job, taking care of family, other responsibilities, and doing weekly volunteer work in the local community. How? Well, one of these days I'll explain it in detail. In short form, I try to stay focused on the things most important to me. Faith, family, friends, work, and of course, writing. If there's any other time available for something else, it's just icing on the cake. Every now and then I squeeze in some TV time with my wife and friends. I no longer watch F1 racing (my guilty pleasure). I no longer play Eve-Online, which was a major time suck. I did get No Mans Sky and have sunk a few hours into it. But overall, I'm a writer, a "creative". I have to write. It's in my blood and my inner being. It's just something I have to do. So, I figure out how to make the time available to do it. And I'm proof that it can be done.<br />
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<u><b>Reviews</b></u><br />
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Reviews can make or break a book, and waiting for that first review is very nerve wracking. I breathed a HUGE sigh of relief when the first official review hit Amazon a couple days ago. Here it is:<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">"I can't wait for the next Born book comes out. I stayed up all night
reading this book. Much different than his other writings. I really
enjoyed the characters, tho Jewel kind of got lost somewhere...great
concept, neat story line, this book leaves many questions that I'm
looking forward to getting the answers in the next one. Very well
written. It's a story line that can keep going yet never get boring.
Thank you Tim for another entertaining story.<br />I purchased this book
even though Mr Trimble and his family are dear friends to my family.
Tell your mom hello for me. I hope she is still enjoying her hats. I
believe that to purchase his books and review them honestly, is the
best way I can support and show appreciation for his writing. Please let
me know as soon as the next book comes out." (TY to Monkey) <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1536873292" target="_blank">The Link.</a></span><br />
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And this morning a friend of mine sent me her comments directly:<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">"<span>I just got back to Japan. Read the whole
book on the flight over, and it was riveting. I especially like being
able to en-visualize all the locations described being familiar with the
PNW. And it was a perfect read while flying through the clouds on my
flight home. Wow. Really good read! Looking forward to the next book!</span><time class="_gaey8 _379kp" datetime="2016-09-21T09:32:26.571Z" title="Sep 21, 2016">" (TY to Bree)</time></span><br />
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<u><b><time class="_gaey8 _379kp" datetime="2016-09-21T09:32:26.571Z" title="Sep 21, 2016">Do It Right!</time></b></u><br />
<time class="_gaey8 _379kp" datetime="2016-09-21T09:32:26.571Z" title="Sep 21, 2016"> </time><br />
<time class="_gaey8 _379kp" datetime="2016-09-21T09:32:26.571Z" title="Sep 21, 2016">Not only do these reviews make me feel good, I know they are a great way to attract new readers. There are so many poor quality books on Amazon, the reader market has become cautious when it comes to buying something from an author they don't know. This is why I keep singing the tune of "Do It Right!" Hire an editor, hire a cover artist, use beta readers, and make it as high quality as you can. </time><br />
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<time class="_gaey8 _379kp" datetime="2016-09-21T09:32:26.571Z" title="Sep 21, 2016"><u><b>Gratefulness</b></u> </time><br />
<time class="_gaey8 _379kp" datetime="2016-09-21T09:32:26.571Z" title="Sep 21, 2016"> </time><br />
<time class="_gaey8 _379kp" datetime="2016-09-21T09:32:26.571Z" title="Sep 21, 2016">Yes, it's nice to get reviews, earn some royalties, and have people want your book. But, overall, as a writer, I find a huge amount of enjoyment in giving life to the Air Born story and sharing that enjoyment with its readers. The feeling of the freedom of flight and sharing a deep love for someone has been a core inner dream of mine since I was very young. Being able to finally express this into a story and have others enjoy it fills me with a major joy and sense of accomplishment. I wish I could personally thank every single person who has contributed to the birth of this book. The experiences I have had, the friends and relationships I've experienced, a portion of my dreams and imagination, teachers I've had, books I've read, movies and shows I've seen, feedback from beta readers, and followers on social media - these have all contributed to the creation of the Air Born universe. And for this, I am eternally grateful!</time><br />
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<u><b><time class="_gaey8 _379kp" datetime="2016-09-21T09:32:26.571Z" title="Sep 21, 2016">More to Come!</time></b></u><br />
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<time class="_gaey8 _379kp" datetime="2016-09-21T09:32:26.571Z" title="Sep 21, 2016">There are two comments I get from everyone who touches and reads this book: 1) Amazing cover (Thank you Russell!), and 2) When is the next one coming out? </time><br />
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<time class="_gaey8 _379kp" datetime="2016-09-21T09:32:26.571Z" title="Sep 21, 2016">Air Storm is in the works. It is a sequel to Air Born. I would love to get it out a lot quicker than it took me to write and publish Air Born (over 3 years). This depends on how much time I have to devote to it. Naturally, if the income from Air Born becomes significant enough to allow me to write full time, Air Storm will happen much quicker. But, I don't count on these things to happen till I see it. However, all fans of the Air Born universe can keep track of my progress by following me on Twitter at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/TimothyTrimble" target="_blank">@TimothyTrimble</a>, via this blog, or via <a href="http://www.facebook.com/AuthorTimothyTrimble" target="_blank">Facebook.com/AuthorTimothyTrimble </a></time><br />
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<time class="_gaey8 _379kp" datetime="2016-09-21T09:32:26.571Z" title="Sep 21, 2016">Thank you again, for all your love and support. </time><br />
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<time class="_gaey8 _379kp" datetime="2016-09-21T09:32:26.571Z" title="Sep 21, 2016">Timothy</time><br />
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<time class="_gaey8 _379kp" datetime="2016-09-21T09:32:26.571Z" title="Sep 21, 2016"> </time> ascriptorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16432796054560139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247984342486257324.post-67974583731075902122016-09-02T16:01:00.002-07:002016-09-02T16:01:22.647-07:00Going to Press!<b>Air Born is Going to Press!</b><br />
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I am thrilled to announce that Air Born will soon be available via Amazon.com in both ebook and print, and via Createspace. If you're anxious to get a copy just keep watching here or on my <a href="http://www.facebook.com/AuthorTimothyTrimble" target="_blank">Facebook</a> account.<br />
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It takes around 6-8 weeks for it to show up in the book store catalogs. You'll be able to order it from your favorite book store around mid-October.<br />
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I'll be offering hand autographed editions via this site beginning in October. And, of course, the beta readers and my street team will be receiving free autographed copies in early October as well. <br />
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If you here because you can't find it on inkitt.com - I'm sorry. I was going to try and keep it readable there for another few weeks. However, one of the requirements for getting it into Amazon's KDP program, was to make sure it was not available anywhere else in digital form. So, please accept my apologies if you were in the middle of reading.<br />
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Thank you again for all your help and support.<br />
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<br />ascriptorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16432796054560139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247984342486257324.post-7237559429871345992016-08-28T12:23:00.000-07:002016-08-28T12:23:46.507-07:00Air Born Submitted!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi19yl-7vLMSE611gouJgY7JoAC46XQf9UNHpGe0eBdVO9z222ghl1za0EAVbqHvg_LrGPQ7kUk4WQSep-pTrxKbFeEfq2rNbzOgPUxu8ddTuGMB1-jAbHM-vtSkC8sTvDjPa8DLHG2QDk/s1600/RedCupDesk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi19yl-7vLMSE611gouJgY7JoAC46XQf9UNHpGe0eBdVO9z222ghl1za0EAVbqHvg_LrGPQ7kUk4WQSep-pTrxKbFeEfq2rNbzOgPUxu8ddTuGMB1-jAbHM-vtSkC8sTvDjPa8DLHG2QDk/s320/RedCupDesk.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<u><b>Submitted! Woot!</b></u><br />
<br />
Hard to believe I've finally hit this milestone! I submitted Air Born to Amazon/CreateSpace this morning. It has been over three years since this adventure began with the writing of "Love Is in the Air", a short story for the Edmonds Write On the Sound Writers Conference. This story has been floating (pardon the pun) around in me ever since I was a kid, and now it's about to take on a life of its own.<br />
<br />
I am so thankful for all the support, feedback, comments, and love I've received during this journey. My family, friends, workmates, beta readers, associates, and yes - even strangers on the street, have contributed to the growth of this novel. The 3rd draft has been sitting on <a href="http://inkitt.com/stories/69552">inkitt.com/stories/69552</a> since early May and has received 877 reads as of today. I've handed out over 700 wallet cards to strangers, friends, and free little libraries. The beta readers have ranged from 11 years old up to 60's. Early reviews have been 5 stars and everyone says they can't put it down once they start reading. I'm trying not to let my level of excitement project grandiose fantasies of success. But it is satisfying to hear such positive comments from everyone.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFA_4oIpUs84GiaarR4UCEBxEyyKOFDNCTHDL1Z4kh2Zv6n1mgYJXzol1UjB8VAN_BEjjNTfJ4HPlKCG6zzj448v4sLmU3e4UWXhZxbEb3XHhUB5ZygcS4DeiAJO3pEELSjpRAA50n2l8/s1600/CoverWOPreRelease.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFA_4oIpUs84GiaarR4UCEBxEyyKOFDNCTHDL1Z4kh2Zv6n1mgYJXzol1UjB8VAN_BEjjNTfJ4HPlKCG6zzj448v4sLmU3e4UWXhZxbEb3XHhUB5ZygcS4DeiAJO3pEELSjpRAA50n2l8/s320/CoverWOPreRelease.jpg" width="320" /></a>Aside from the thrill of getting the book submitted today, I'm ecstatic over the cover art for the book. The artist is Russell Calhoun, a fellow workmate, and illustrative artist. Here's a peek of the cover. (Click on it and you'll get a bigger view with all the details.)<br />
<br />
<br />
<u><b> Air Born Around the World!</b></u><br />
<br />
I'm going to try something a little different with the official Proof Copy of the book. In this copy, and this copy only, is the following explanation:<br />
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<![endif]--><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="color: black;">I’ve always wanted to travel and see the world. There have been a
few trips over the years – England, Singapore, Mexico, and Canada. Currently,
I’m still land locked in the U.S. But, through you, the reader of Air Born, I
have an opportunity to travel and see the world. </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="color: black;">This is my personal “Proof Copy” of Air Born. First one off the
press! I’ve placed this in a Little Library in Edmonds, Washington. </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="color: black;">Help me make the journey around the world. Here’s how you can
help:</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><br />1) Read Air Born. <br />2) Sign it under the Reader Notes. <br />3) Take a picture or video of you, showing the cover of Air Born, in front of a unique, identifiable, location. (Please keep it PG rated.) <br />4) Send me the photo/video to: <a href="mailto:airborntraveller@gmail.com">airborntraveller@gmail.com</a> <br />5) Give the book to someone else who is travelling, would like to read it, and is willing to help in this journey.</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="color: black;">I’ll post your picture/video on my writing blog at </span><a href="http://www.timothytrimble.com/"><span>www.timothytrimble.com</span></a><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="color: black;">I’m not a rich man, but I will send a personally signed copy of
Air Born to the submitters with the most popular postings. </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="color: black;">Thank you for reading and travelling.</span></span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
I'll be sure to announce and post the video of launching Air Born into the wild here and on my other social media channels. <br />
<br />
<u><b>What's Next?</b></u><br />
<br />
It's till a challenge with juggling all that I have going on. Between full time work, volunteer community work, family, and marketing of Air Born, there's not a lot of extra time left. However, I have started on the next Zegin's story. The next two are completely outlined. And, the Air Born fans will be happy to learn I've started the outline for the sequel, "Air Storm".<br />
<br />
Until the next blog post, you can still keep up with my progress at:<br />
Twitter @TimothyTrimble<br />
<a href="http://facebook.com/AuthorTimothyTrimble">Facebook.com/AuthorTimothyTrimble</a><br />
<br />
Keep on reading and writing.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUvMPTN-Cdv4pNyU_qGW2DG2xBPAP6cXWnDCuZZQknEoMPTA9Le1iMZp9fdGE5Qb9toJdQGW8_Tay9nmIoMRxbiL7apHYSXybaWHUgU5DEAF1KqL3zqdffxK_nvPTs2Ri-iTOlRKiJmbo/s1600/TTInitials.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUvMPTN-Cdv4pNyU_qGW2DG2xBPAP6cXWnDCuZZQknEoMPTA9Le1iMZp9fdGE5Qb9toJdQGW8_Tay9nmIoMRxbiL7apHYSXybaWHUgU5DEAF1KqL3zqdffxK_nvPTs2Ri-iTOlRKiJmbo/s1600/TTInitials.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
ascriptorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16432796054560139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247984342486257324.post-68718757346560657762016-05-20T21:35:00.001-07:002016-07-28T08:08:34.547-07:00Announcing "Air Born - Do You Dream of Flying"<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn8B2FTAt5GR8Zx7NRPEvENy7GsoCOummiF58-U1CJ6QQXgPVpYa9gugKAutBCgo0IadXAQ2_w8AkKDmZ_nNFX9r0jnRxYIQB8YXPlwVID1esRmqpM7_GzE7HvhXEByev9RTgKDyU9Piw/s1600/MockCoverWTitle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn8B2FTAt5GR8Zx7NRPEvENy7GsoCOummiF58-U1CJ6QQXgPVpYa9gugKAutBCgo0IadXAQ2_w8AkKDmZ_nNFX9r0jnRxYIQB8YXPlwVID1esRmqpM7_GzE7HvhXEByev9RTgKDyU9Piw/s320/MockCoverWTitle.jpg" title="" width="320" /></a><u><b>Some "Air Born" Background</b></u><br />
<br />
Well, you may or may not have heard that I finally wrapped up the writing, editing, and formatting of Air Born. Whew. What a project. I poured so much effort, emotion, and passion into this story. I wanted to make sure it would touch the inner being of those who read it.<br />
<br />
Based on the feedback I've received from the beta readers (who have so kindly suffered with me through the 1st draft), I think I hit the mark with this one.<br />
<br />
You see, it's not just a story. Ever since I was a kid, I would have these amazing dreams of flying. Not just in the sky, soaring among the clouds, but in my house. I would slowly drift through the hallways, into the living room, and the kitchen. I could push off a wall and change my direction, roll my body around in all directions, or just hover still in one spot.<br />
<br />
Eventually, I turned this into a short story, for the Edmonds Write On the Sound Writer's Conference. That was almost three years ago. I felt really good about the story. It didn't win anything and there wasn't even a mention of it. Well, with over 300 well established writers, the competition was tough. But, as always, I was excited to share this story with my friends and family. Everyone who read it told me that I "HAD" to turn it into a full novel. Even my editor of the Zegin's Abduction story told me to stop working on Zegin's and get cracking on this one. Wow. Being as tenacious as I am, I had to wrap up Zegin's Abduction and get the Zegin's Aventures in Epsilon book into print first. One thing at a time, right? But, in the lulls of waiting for cover art and print copy for ZA, I had time to start on the outline. It flowed out of me easily. I did major research on ancient Egyptian culture and rulers. I dove into lessons on particle physics. Google Maps became my friend as I scoped out locations around the PNW - especially the University of Washington campus.<br />
<br />
Once ZA was in print and out the door. I did a very minor push of marketing for it and then dove into a frenzy of writing whenever I had the chance. I gave up computer gaming. (Sorry, Eve-Online.) Every now and then Minecraft would get a small piece of me. I quit watching football, except for the Superbowl. My only guilty pleasure was Formula One Racing. Even then, I felt bad about the time I was wasting, and not spending it writing. (Keep going <a href="http://valtteribottas.com/" target="_blank">Valtteri</a>! You'll soon be standing on the 1st podium!)<br />
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My beta readers, and my supportive wife, kept me going. I received amazing feedback about the story and corrections about things I had missed. One friend of mine didn't do email much. So, I actually printed out a chapter for her when it was complete. Little did I know she was holding off on reading it until it was done. But, her husband, who had no interest in Young Adult Urban Fantasy, would get the print out from me when she was not able to meet with me. He started reading it and became hooked. He would ask me when the next chapter would be done. He ended up reading the entire draft before his wife, and gave me very nice praise about the story.<br />
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After the first draft, I did a complete re-read, and edit. Whew! What a lot of work that turned into. Well worth it however. I caught some things that the betas didn't. Then I knew I needed to have another set of editing eyes on it. Unfortunately Azy was busy (my ZA editor). The name of one of my old WhoWeAre band mates came up and I threw it his directly. (My most profound thanks to Mark Hammer.) He amazed me at his editing skill in catching the things I though were solid. Especially with some of the action scenes.<br />
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<b>Important note to those of you who are self publishing your stories:</b> Always, always, always - did I say Always? Always, use an editor for your work. I've lost track of the number of books I've bought from Amazon for Kindle and quickly deleted after the first chapter or two. Really! There's a lot of poor writing out there and it gives the indie writers a bad name. Do your absolute BEST to deliver a quality story with good writing. Yes, it takes time. Yes, it may cost you some money. It's well worth the effort. That goes for Cover Art as well. Spend the $$, and get it done right. Okay, I digress. (Steps off of soapbox.)<br />
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How About Some Music?<br />
A great idea I had while writing, or at least I thought it was a great idea, was to put a QR Code at the top of each chapter which would direct the reader to a YouTube video, or a Spotify link, for playing a song that sets the tone and mood for the upcoming chapter. I even started to build the web redirection from this site to send the reader to the song. I hit a wall with that one. Everyone I spoke with said it was an awesome idea. However, it turns out, any use of someone's music in a commercial interest, is going to take issue with your use of their music. Even if it's a link to their music. I thought about the possibility of doing it anyway. But, the though of getting sued by some ambitious lawyer is not something I would want to deal with.<br />
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That being said, there's nothing wrong with me building a Spotify list for the book. So, if you're interested in listening to the music I personally recommend for introducing each chapter, feel free to give it a listen here: <a class="twitter-timeline-link" data-expanded-url="http://spoti.fi/23UWSU6" dir="ltr" href="https://t.co/FSjhO0HzhQ" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="http://spoti.fi/23UWSU6"><span class="invisible">http://</span><span class="js-display-url">spoti.fi/23UWSU6</span><span class="tco-ellipsis"><span class="invisible"> </span></span></a><br />
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<span class="tco-ellipsis"><span class="invisible">Feel free to let me know what you think of my selection. </span></span><br />
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<span class="tco-ellipsis"><span class="invisible">So, the big announcement is this: Air Born has been submitted to the Grand Novel Contest on inkitt.com. The contest runs till June 17th and the stories with the most votes gets a publishing contract. I did a lot of research on the inkitt folks before I made the decision to submit it there. My initial plan was to just go the independent publishing route, get the cover done, do the formatting, and post it to Amazon. However, the inkitt folks are serious about what they're doing. They have a lot of funding, they have contacts in the publishing industry, and they have a great process for submitting stories and letting readers provide feedback. I liked the site and I posted all my short stories there as a test. I was pleased with the results. So, I proceeded to do the same with Air Born, and to submit it to their contest. </span></span><br />
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<span class="tco-ellipsis"><span class="invisible">I'm not holding my breath about winning. But, I do think it will bring some good exposure to the story. I still own the distribution rights and can go elsewhere if it doesn't pan out on their site. </span></span><br />
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<span class="tco-ellipsis"><span class="invisible">So, this is where I plea comes in. Please give Air Born a look at <a href="http://www.inkitt.com/stories/69552" target="_blank">www.inkitt.com/stories/69552</a></span></span><br />
<span class="tco-ellipsis"><span class="invisible">If you like what you are reading, please give it a vote. And if you're interested in being a part of the Air Born Street Team, give it a shout out on all your social media areas (Facebook, Pintrest, Instagram, Twitter, etc.) Please help me to get the word out. Feel free to let me know via Twitter and/or Facebook that you want to be a part of the Street Team. In return for your efforts, you'll be getting a free autographed printed copy of Air Born. I'm limiting this to the first 30 people who respond. So, please shoot me a note if you're interested. </span></span><br />
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<span class="tco-ellipsis"><span class="invisible">As an ex-musician, one of my greatest experiences was seeing people enjoy my music, sing along with the lyrics, and meet with me afterward to express how much they enjoyed it. It means that I was able to reach out and bring some temporary joy to others. It is my hope that I can do the same with Air Born. </span></span><br />
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<span class="tco-ellipsis"><span class="invisible">Thanks again for visiting the blog. I really, truly, appreciate it. </span></span><br />
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<span class="tco-ellipsis"><span class="invisible">Tim</span></span><br />
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<br />ascriptorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16432796054560139686noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247984342486257324.post-51469558197843690952015-12-16T18:31:00.001-08:002015-12-17T11:31:39.958-08:00Confessions of a WriterWell, it looks like I've been tagged for an interview. Here goes:<br />
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<span style="font-size: 14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">When did you first start writing? Was being a writer something you always wanted to be?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px;">It was as a journalist on Traparia till I wrote a scathing article about an alien who became the local mayor. Due to the resulting death threats, I teleported to Earth and decided to start writing fiction stories while masquerading as a junior high student. A writer is what I always am! I’ve always thought of myself as a writer, even before I finally was published. I did get a bit sidetracked for awhile with family and a stint as a performing musician, where my writing itch resulted in a bunch of music. Now that I’ve gotten past the whole rock star persona, I’m back to creating fantastical worlds and characters through story telling.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">What genre do you write?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px;">Initially, science fiction, since that’s the type of reading I devoured as a Traparian, er, a junior high student. But I’ve also become enamored with young adult urban fantasy. I figure most of my writing from here on will bounce between the two genres. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Can you tell us a little about your current work in progress?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px;">I just completed a novel called "Air Born", which is a YA Urban Fantasy story about a secret race of people who live among us, who have the ability to fly. It’s currently sent out to a literary agent for consideration. If they pass on it, I’ll be publishing it independently. I currently have another short story in the works called The Pendant, and I’ve started on the outline for the Air Born sequel, called “Air Storm”. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">What was your first piece that you can remember writing? What was it about?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px;">I can’t remember the title, but it was about a teenager who stumbled across a rock in his parents closet. His father had disappeared months before. When he held the rock he shrunk down to sub-atomic size, to a world smaller than a molecule. That’s where he starts looking for his father. Unfortunately, I never finished the story, but it was a great start. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">What’s the best part about writing?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px;">I absolutely love creating the characters, the environments, the background stories, and the outline for the story. Once it’s all mapped out, I dive into the actual writing, which I also love since I get immersed into the characters and their situations. It’s like watching a movie unfold inside my head. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">What’s the worst part about writing?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px;">Personally, not having the time to do all the writing I want. Since I work a full time job, have family, and I do volunteer community work, it’s a challenge finding the time. I have so many stories mapped out and not enough time to write them all. One of my favorite lines is, "Too much to do. Not enough Tim.” I keep hoping one of the stories will become enough of a hit to allow me to write full time. (The ultimate dream of all writers.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">What’s the name of your favourite character, and why?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px;">Zegin. He’s the main character in my Zegin’s Adventures stories. He most resembles my inner geek. He’s basically a futuristic MacGyver. A spaceship troubleshooter who keeps getting caught up in dangerous situations. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">How much time a day/week do you get to write? When is the best time for you to write (morning or night)?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px;">It varies of course. Anywhere from 3 to 10 hours a week. I squeeze it in whenever I can. I prefer a good 1-2 hours early in the morning, before work. But that’s only when I can drag my keester out of the bed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Did you go to college for writing?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px;">The school of hard knocks. Actually, I dropped out of school at 16. I took the GED test and passed it without studying. I then became a computer programmer for a career. So, no formal training in writing. In hind sight, I wish I had paid more attention in English class. Although, I’ve always enjoyed reading the assigned books. Personally, I have to credit my parents for the inspiration. They bought be a set of encyclopedias which also came with a set of books of the classics - Shakespeare, Aesop’s Fables, Greek Mythology, Lewis Carroll, Mark Twain, and many others. From that point I read everything I could get my hands on. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">What bothers you more: spelling errors, punctuation errors or grammar errors?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px;">Punctuation is the source of my nightmares. That’s all I have to say about that. Oh, wait, is the comma in the right place?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px;">Ignore the critics. Write what you want. Keep writing. You can only get better by reading and continuing to write. That’s the only way you can find your voice.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">What advice would you give to another writer?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px;">Write, write, and write some more. Any ideas you get - write them down and build on them. Turn off the TV, get off the internet, and focus on your writing. Make it your passion, your desire, your priority, and your goal. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">What are your favourite writer sites or blogs that you turn to for help, tips and encouragement?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px;">By far, above all the rest, is <a href="http://absolutewrite.com/">Absolutewrite.com</a>. Then there’s the Grammar Girl at <a href="http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-girl">http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-girl</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px;">For raw inspiration, it hard to beat the passion and determination of Ksenia Anske. <a href="http://www.kseniaanske.com/blog/2015/12/15/rosehead-audiobook-is-here">http://www.kseniaanske.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Besides writing, what else do you enjoy doing? What are your hobbies?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px;">Every now and then I escape into minecraft. I admit it. It’s my guilty pleasure. Aside from that, hanging with my friends and family keeps me grounded. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px;">I haven’t even seen it yet, but I know it’s going to be the best movie for me this year - Star Wars!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">What is your favourite book or series of all time?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px;">Currently, I love the Jumper series by Steven Gould. But for series of all time, I’d have to say the Dragonriders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Who is your favourite author?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px;">This is really tough. It’s a big battle between Orson Scott Card, Steven Gould, David Brin, Anne McCaffrey, and Larry Niven. Drum roll… I would have to give the torch to Orson Scott Card, for his ability to get me all wrapped up with the main characters. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">What are your plans for the rest of the year in terms of your writing?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px;">I really want to wrap up the outline for Air Storm. I have a lot of expectations for the Air Born series. Everyone who has read the first story has given me a lot of great feedback and I’m wanting to live with these characters for awhile. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Where else can we find you online?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px;">Just Google me and it's hard to not find me. Otherwise, I’m on Twitter at @TimothyTrimble, Facebook at \AuthorTimothyTrimble, and my blogging site <a href="http://www.timothytrimble.com/">www.timothytrimble.com</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 14px;">You can also find some of my short stories on <a href="http://www.medium.com/@TimothyTrimble">www.medium.com/@TimothyTrimble</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px;">Thanks to Nicolette Elzie <a href="http://nicoletteelzie.com/">http://nicoletteelzie.com/</a> for starting this madness and a special thanks to Kevin Ansbro (@kevinansbro) for tagging me via Twitter. You can also find a full list of writers who have been tagged from Annelisa Christensen at </span><a href="http://www.scriptalchemy.com/">http://www.scriptalchemy.com/</a> <a dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/Alpha_Annelisa"><s>@</s><b>Alpha_Annelisa</b></a> <span style="font-size: 14px;">It’s been fun. Thanks for the tag. </span>
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ascriptorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16432796054560139686noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247984342486257324.post-69665267952975226572015-12-02T21:20:00.000-08:002015-12-02T21:20:30.128-08:00Air Born Manuscript Done!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAghZI94NRAWyrYiuhs_bF78tpfGUvqpK1VaFYawZHqAKsKgOZc3hQl-d7ZTTxWsZTukRbgcgkk-RXkgzwcV_lEfix5x2SlId037F7DDfYt0gAYG69pJTGwWQ6jUJD_2ZklwfyCnvNdwE/s1600/IMG_7904.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAghZI94NRAWyrYiuhs_bF78tpfGUvqpK1VaFYawZHqAKsKgOZc3hQl-d7ZTTxWsZTukRbgcgkk-RXkgzwcV_lEfix5x2SlId037F7DDfYt0gAYG69pJTGwWQ6jUJD_2ZklwfyCnvNdwE/s320/IMG_7904.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<b>Done!</b><br />
The manuscript for Air Born is done! It's hard to believe, but I finally did it. 23 months of writing, 18 chapters, 67k words, and a ton of passion and dedication. When working a full time job, doing volunteer work, and taking care of family - it's hard to imagine being able to find the time to write a novel. I'm proof that it can be done.<br />
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However, the task is not done yet. I did the writing and a first pass edit. I've written a query letter and within the past week, I've received one "not interested" and I just turned it around and submitted to another agent today. It could be a couple months before I hear back.<br />
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What to do now? Keep on writing! I've already started on the outline for the sequel, "Air Storm." Plus, I have another short story in the works, called "The Pendant".<br />
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(Picture: Pleased to have typed "The End" at Red Cup Coffee in Mukilteo)<br />
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<b>Short Stories</b><br />
Speaking of short stories, I decided a few months back to utilize medium.com as a platform for hosting my stories. Instead of seeking to submit these to various publications, all while trying to crank out a novel, I decided to post these as freely available for reading. It's my way of giving back to the fan and writing community. Plus gain a little free exposure for my stories. You can find these at <a href="http://www.medium.com/@TimothyTrimble">www.medium.com/@TimothyTrimble</a>. Enjoy! Recommendations are greatly appreciated. <br />
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<b>Social Networking</b><br />
One of the reasons this blog has seen so little love, is due to my ongoing postings via Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus - mostly on Twitter. I'm amazed, and thankful, for the fan base that's starting to build on Twitter. Anything I post about Air Born with #YA and #Urbanfantasy tags gets retweeted by a devoted group of followers. I personally have almost 5400 twitter followers. Which is not bad for almost 3 years of effort to grow my followers. The big surprise, however, is with the re-tweets. Thanks to the fans re-tweeting, my postings about Air Born are reaching over 300,000 twitter accounts. Wow!<br />
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<b>It's Social Networking - Not Social Selling!</b><br />
If you're following me on twitter, you know that I'm not interested in trying to hard sell my books or stories. I totally believe in using the social networking platforms for establishing relationships with my followers and letting them discover who I am as a writer. Personally, I don't appreciate it when I follow another author and I immediately get a direct message from them, asking for me to check out their book. Now, I will admit, I've personally purchased a couple books due to finding out about them via the twitter postings. But, I still not appreciate the feeling of the only reason someone engages me on Twitter is so they can start advertising to me.<br />
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I also make it a point to thank each and every single one of my followers. Originally, I did this via a tweet. But, I felt it was pretty annoying for my other followers to see a blast of 20+ new thank you messages show up in their feed on a regular basis. So, now I thank my followers via a direct message. It's more personable and less of a "spammy" posting.<br />
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If you're interested in following my postings, you can find me at:<br />
Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/TimothyTrimble" target="_blank">@TimothyTrimble</a><br />
Facebook: <a href="http://facebook.com/AuthorTimothyTrimble">Facebook.com/AuthorTimothyTrimble</a><br />
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<b>Air Born Plans?</b><br />
While I'm making a couple attempts to seek representation from an agent, if it doesn't pan out, I'll be taking the indie route. While I do prefer the control and flexibility presented by independently publishing, I just don't have the time to conduct the level of marketing and promotions necessary to make an indie title succeed. I could be wrong about that however. I'll test the waters with a few queries. If that doesn't pan out, I'll turn Air Born over to my personal editor, spend a few months doing the edits, and then publish via eBook and Print-on-Demand.<br />
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I do have plans for introducing something new into the book which I've not seen done before. Kind of a integration of another supplemental media for setting the tone and mood of the story. I'm not quite ready to announce this yet, but I hope it's groundbreaking and will raise the bar for indie publishing, and interaction with the fans.<br />
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Well, that's my quickie blog posting for now. I hope to do some more postings in the near future with progress of Air Born and the sequel.<br />
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Thanks for reading.<br />
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<br />ascriptorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16432796054560139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247984342486257324.post-61740446338570136992015-02-18T19:41:00.000-08:002015-02-18T19:45:01.948-08:00Air Born Description Revealed!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvuQK8odENMJAHTeHb5jI3PwOkKVaeaBTnQouw4A6_OXqVxwAfDvwwuFMsdgLmHtpYZ7vhfgJTbhiK8wuCCr4yO_mEQyCwvCJSZwEu3vjPQYp79jOSwc1awksYZzjiePmf4VK3Ip6JLfo/s1600/HeadShot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvuQK8odENMJAHTeHb5jI3PwOkKVaeaBTnQouw4A6_OXqVxwAfDvwwuFMsdgLmHtpYZ7vhfgJTbhiK8wuCCr4yO_mEQyCwvCJSZwEu3vjPQYp79jOSwc1awksYZzjiePmf4VK3Ip6JLfo/s1600/HeadShot.jpg" /></a><b>Bill Gates? Really? </b><br />
I had my first author's interview last month by writer and reviewer, <a href="http://willmarck.com/" target="_blank">Will Marck</a>. I stumbled across Will's twitter posting and saw that he did author interviews on his site. Figuring "what da heck", I decided to contact him about an interview. Not only was I pleasantly surprised by his questions, I found them to be hilarious. Especially since he seems to think I'm really Bill Gates in disguise. You can check it out here:<br />
<a href="http://willmarck.com/2015/01/27/interview-tim-trimble/" target="_blank">http://willmarck.com/2015/01/27/interview-tim-trimble/</a> <br />
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<b>Fan Pics!</b><br />
Zegin's Adventures in Epsilon has only been out for a couple months and already I have a few fan pics to share.<br />
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Thanks for the picture Glenda and for being a reader.<br />
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And there's Mary at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RedCupCafe" target="_blank">Red Cup Coffee</a> in Mukilteo, where a good portion of this book was written. <br />
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What I find interesting, for a geeky science fiction book, which has a predominantly male market, that my first two book selfies are from women. Not that I'm complaining. And another female reader (and a close friend), who normally is not into Sci-fi, told me that she really enjoyed the book and that she couldn't put it down. My daughter-in-law's mom (who is totally into Sci-fi) stated it was awesome and she wanted to know when the next story was coming.<br />
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So, guys, that's four responses from the ladies and I've not heard anything back from the guys yet! Hint, hint. However, I'm very pleased to see that the ladies are taking an interest in the Young Adult Science Fiction genre.<br />
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<b>Air Born Progress and Description Reveal</b><br />
I've been making good progress on Air Born. I just completed chapter ten, with eight more chapters to go. The story is getting exciting and I've grown to have a major attachment to the main characters in the story. The feedback from the beta readers has been good, at least from those who actually have provided feedback. Out of fifteen beta readers, I usually get feedback from three or four after the release of each chapter.<br />
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So, I'm going to open this up a little more. I'm willing to invite five more individuals to become beta readers for Air Born. This is with the stipulation that you will read each chapter as it's released, and you'll provide me with feedback about the characters, the flow of the story, and the story line (plot). I'm not really concerned with technical feedback (punctuation, syntax, etc.) since I'll have a professional editor go over it once the full draft is completed.<br />
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<b>How to become a beta reader?</b><br />
Send me an email to tim dot trimble at gmail dot com with the following:<br />
<ul>
<li>Why you want to be a beta reader of Air Born.</li>
<li>Confirmation that you'll read it fully to catch up, and each consecutive chapter as they're released.</li>
<li>Confirmation that you won't share the story via public media (web, reprint, emails, etc.).</li>
<li>Confirmation that you will share it with your immediate family members and talk about it with your friends. (Create a buzz.)</li>
</ul>
<b>What Do You Get as a Beta Reader?</b><b> </b><br />
<ul>
<li>You'll receive an electronic PDF file with the current draft of Air Born, currently the first ten chapters.</li>
<li>You'll receive each chapter new chapter as they're completed. Since I'm a night writer, maintaining a full time job while writing, each chapter takes me around 2 to 4 weeks to complete. </li>
<li>When the final book is released, you'll receive a free autographed copy of the book.</li>
<li>You'll be getting a sneak peek at something new that I'm introducing into the world of story publishing, which has not been done before, and just might have a major impact on the industry. (Yet to be announced since I'm still gathering information.)</li>
<li>Bragging rights!</li>
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<b>Air Born Description Reveal!</b><br />
Now that I'm more than half way through the writing, I would like to introduce my proposed Story Description. This is the description that appears on the back of the printed book. The goal is to grab the attention of the reader and hopefully encourage them to purchase the book. I'm revealing the description here to let you all see it, and to hopefully get feedback from you all on if you think it's appropriate for the story.<br />
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For those of you who are beta reading - does this give a good representation of the story? <br />
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For those of you who are not beta reading - does this description make you want to read the story?<br />
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Here it is:<br />
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<i><b>Air Born - A Young Adult Urban Fantasy Novel</b></i> <br />
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<i>The Eighteenth of Ahmose have been hunting the Avitorians for thousands of years - with limited success. Now they rest their hope on advances in technologies which will enable them to capture individual Avitorians and learn their secrets of flight.</i><br />
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<i>Leif is a young Avitorian who discovers his true and secretive heritage, and the girl who'll become the love of his life - only to be suddenly thrust into the threat of capture by The Eighteenth as they seek to uncover the source of the Avitorin's abilities. </i> <br />
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There it is. Drop me a note and let me know what you think. There will be more information coming about Air Born, video's of readings, and the introduction of a new approach to printed story telling. <br />
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<br />ascriptorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16432796054560139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247984342486257324.post-89148228847868999282014-12-25T16:18:00.002-08:002014-12-25T16:18:48.996-08:00Thank You, Apple!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs3DZW5f2zS62xGOVtLzn62LYkd7IAUKuGyPmGRP2JLjDsShELVCYHe6leekxV45ZJHbs4-mBjkk53qmg79s-f4SGDOsKS_zCL5grLrQh7zyPVB5UGjEzsLUwAzC3yJhDOqgBKdgzguhU/s1600/TimNBooksZoomed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs3DZW5f2zS62xGOVtLzn62LYkd7IAUKuGyPmGRP2JLjDsShELVCYHe6leekxV45ZJHbs4-mBjkk53qmg79s-f4SGDOsKS_zCL5grLrQh7zyPVB5UGjEzsLUwAzC3yJhDOqgBKdgzguhU/s1600/TimNBooksZoomed.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a><br />
Since the release of Zegin's Adventures in Epsilon (three weeks ago) most of my free time has been taken up with promotions, set up of my Square card reader account, getting my financial tracking spreadsheet configured, and a book reading. Unfortunately, very little writing on Air Born has happened in the past couple months. And for that I apologize to my beta readers and to myself. I feel that the characters in Air Born have been standing around, tapping their feet, with their arms crossed, and giving me "the stare". <br />
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Last Sunday I had grand plans of squeezing in some writing time. I sat down at my desk, turned on my MacBook (without looking at it), turned on my PC, and waited for the boots to finish. What? No Wall-E noise from the mac? When I turned to look I was devastated by what I saw. The screen had vertical tracks from water down the middle and a puddle sat on the top of my keyboard. I quickly disconnected the power and called for my wife to bring me a towel for dabbing up the water. After the dabbling with the towel I closed the lid and held the laptop at an angle. I came to tears as I watched the water pour out the USB ports. Knowing that time was critical, I located my micro screwdrivers and removed the bottom panel. I wanted to remove the battery but I didn't have the special 3-nib screwdriver for it. Fortunately, I had a unused can of of cleaning duster which I used for pushing any remaining droplets off the motherboard and various components. My wife and daughter-in-law rushed to grab a trash bag and a large bag of rice. We poured rice into the trash bag and I laid the base cover and the closed laptop on about an inch of rice. I then covered up the laptop with the rest of the rice, tied up the bag tight, and then backed away from the disaster scene. Needless to say, I felt like I had lost an arm the next 31 hours.<br />
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After getting home from work on Monday, I carefully removed the mac from the trash bag and examined the motherboard and components. Everything looked dry and there were no scorch marks. I blew out rice kernels and re-attached the base plate. I carefully opened up the lid and attached the power cord. A nice green glow from the plug appeared, as if to console me and say, "It'll be alright." I pressed the power button and held my breath. Two seconds seemed like eternity until the re-assuring Wall-E boot tune sounded. I continued to hold my breath while the white apple appeared and the progress bar slowly danced across the screen. I had to start breathing before I passed out, while waiting for the desktop to appear. Once booted, I ran it through loading various apps, tried printing, and made sure I had internet connectivity. Not a single glitch, scar, or burp occurred any differently than the usual, normal, functioning. I sat there in dis-belief and then got up to do a happy dance, while proclaiming to my family, "It's alive!"<br />
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Whew! If this isn't a testimony to the tight manufacturing standards of Apple equipment, then I don't know what is. I'm certain that if this had happened to my wife's Toshiba laptop, there would be no recovery. I'm still blown away that my heavily used MacBook has plodded along the past 5 days without a single hiccup. Apple, if you're listening - Thank You!<br />
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(Why do I now think of having sushi when I power up the Mac?) <br />
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<b>Autographed Copies</b> <br />
BTW: Thanks to my functioning MacBook, I now have a Square account and I'm taking orders for Autographed copies of Zegin's Adventures in Epsilon. Unfortunately, the link I enabled on this site is not working correctly (I've provided feedback to Google). So, if you're interested in a signed copy, feel free to go to <a href="https://squareup.com/market/timothytrimble" target="_blank">https://squareup.com/market/timothytrimble</a> and place your order. Be sure to include who you want me to autograph it to and any special note you would like me to include. <br />
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<b>Future Readings</b><br />
Once we get into the new year, I'll be scheduling some book readings in the local area. I'm hoping the next will be at <a href="http://www.thirdplacebooks.com/" target="_blank">Third Place Books</a> in Lake Forest Park. I'll be sure to announce via my normal channels and will post it here once it's scheduled.<br />
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Keep on reading and writing, and keep the MacBooks dry.<br />
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ascriptorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16432796054560139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247984342486257324.post-79445446891756697232014-12-08T20:52:00.002-08:002014-12-08T20:53:07.302-08:00Milestones<br />
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I am excited to finally announce the release of my first science fiction book in print, Zegin's Adventures in Epsilon. It is now available via the <a href="https://www.createspace.com/5110318" target="_blank">Createspace site here</a>. This is a compilation of Zegin's Infection and Zegin's Abduction, with a bonus addition of Zegin's Universe Glossary. I've also added Jezi's Dilemma and a sneak peek of the first chapter from Air Born. It's still a fairly short read at 110 pages, but it's a major accomplishment for me.<br />
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Don't be fooled by all those books and adverts which say you can become a writer and publish a book in three easy steps. It's not as easy as it sounds. This was a major learning curve for me. I've mentioned before the importance of having a professional editor and a artist for the cover. Throw in the need for patience and be ready for some frustration while trying to get the printed version of the book to show correctly. After months (yes months) of editing, and then five passes at the cover art, we (my editor/artist and I) are finally happy with the outcome.<br />
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Why go with the printed version when I already have these as ebooks on Amazon? There's something about being able to touch and physically hold a printed book in your hands. And I've noticed that when I show people my book on an computer tablet or ereader, they're just not much impressed. Show them a physical book with your name on the cover and their eyelids get raised. It's interesting that the industry is making such a major transition to ebooks when readers still like the look and feel of real paper.<br />
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Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not doing this for the purpose of trying to impress people. Okay, maybe just a little itty, teeny, tiny bit. ;) But, I know I won't be taken seriously as a writer until I have something on paper. And having physical books sure makes it easier to schedule a book reading that people are willing to come and listen to, and possibly purchase signed copies. Sorry, but it's pretty hard to autograph a ebook tablet. People get mad when you scrawl your name with a sharpie on their device.<br />
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This is also a tool for building my market. I have a lot of plans for having a significant market by the time my full length YA novel "Air Born" is completed. Zegin's Adventures helps me to grow that market. And after Air Born is done the next in the series of Zegin's Adventures will be started on. Yes, I have a ton of storylines already in my mind. Oh, and did I mention my intention for a book called "The Facility", and then there's "Eloquence", and "Love Letters from Mars". Whew. If only I had more time for writing. (Any sponsors out there?) <br />
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Appearances<br />
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My first book reading is coming up this Sunday. I'll be reading from Zegin's Adventures at the <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Cafe+Louvre/@47.80917,-122.377792,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x54901afa1374f77d:0x7d4c3a6e6c609a6e" target="_blank">Cafe Lovure in Edmonds, Washington</a> on 12/14. The readings begin at 3pm. Feel free to stop by and say hello. Hopefully, I'll have some books available for signing as well.<br />
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Thanks for reading.<br />
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<br />ascriptorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16432796054560139686noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247984342486257324.post-37142819022358934852014-10-17T19:28:00.003-07:002014-10-17T19:28:40.647-07:00Night Writer in Seattle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Being a night writer, while working a full-time job, volunteering for local community services, and making sure that I don't alienate my better half, is - needless to say - a major challenge. However, it's not impossible to make progress. And thus, I'm proud to announce the release of my new book, "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OFG2ZLW" target="_blank">Zegin's Abduction</a>" onto Amazon. Proof again, that it can be done.<br />
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It was a little frustrating. Originally, I wanted to release it last February. Then my editor got it. There was the first pass - plot issues. Then the second pass - just didn't flow well. Third pass - terminology, phrasing, and punctuation. Fourth pass - in-line edits. Whew! Now it's October and it's finally out. All this for a story that barely fits into the 'Novella' category.<br />
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Worth it? Yes, totally! Just the initial reviews and comments I've received so far have been that it's a solid piece of work compared to the first story. Not only is it more polished, but I have learned so much from my editor. Especially - trust!<br />
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And I have found that my taste in quality has gone through changes as well. I've actually tossed around a half dozen books off my Kindle device due to poor writing. I get through one or two chapters and I realize how sloppy the story, plot lines, and writing is. While it's a blessing for writers, because it's so easy to publish work as an eBook, it's also a curse. The reading audience will not tolerate a sloppy book and if a writer releases poor work, it's going to be difficult to re-gain the trust of the readers when the next release is posted.<br />
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Did I pay for the editing? Yes. Did I pay for the cover art? Yes. Am I in the hole financially on this one? Yes. But, I AM a writer. I have to write. I want to be good at it, I want the readers to enjoy what I write, and I want to be known as a writer. It might take two stories or it might take nine. Regardless, it is my goal, and I know I'll eventually get to a point where my primary source of income is from writing. Although, that might be when I'm on SSI, and too old to be employable. ;)<br />
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<b>Statistics</b><br />
I'm going to back off on the stats for now, except for saying that my twitter audience has really taken off. I'm currently at 3475 followers. I'm amazed that so many are interested in seeing what I have to say while I live this life of a night writer. No where near as many as our local, indie writer <a href="https://twitter.com/kseniaanske" target="_blank">Ksenia Anske</a>, and her 59K followers - Wow! But then, I'm a geek, and she dances around in a tutu. ;)<br />
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<b>Up and Coming?</b><br />
I'm combining Zegin's Infection and Zegin's Abduction into a print-on-demand book via Amazon's Create Space service. I'm hoping to release within the next few weeks. This will allow me to have something physical to hand out to folks, and to do local book readings.<br />
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What I'm really excited about is the Young Adult Urban Fantasy novel that I'm working on. I'm through the first eight of eighteen chapters. I have around a dozen beta readers and they're all giving me good feedback. Now that Zegin is out, I'll have more time for Air Born. (And maybe a few more blog postings.)<br />
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Thanks for reading.<br />
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ascriptorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16432796054560139686noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247984342486257324.post-9748113972677616172014-02-23T17:29:00.001-08:002014-02-23T17:46:05.005-08:00Plethora of Networks <div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSnXFGNBIogOXjbxTv-D1hYVsC8sbgniD178hq0xJ9r9KXp6FIzh4VNJe2DTf0AqOuUtbSI8QtQDF8LWLrWTCxceckJNUjjKC6j0HPrAxWJHzh_dRq1K6IlGj9hO5JtZ6Fv1atwQZKPHM/s1600/ZAManuscript.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSnXFGNBIogOXjbxTv-D1hYVsC8sbgniD178hq0xJ9r9KXp6FIzh4VNJe2DTf0AqOuUtbSI8QtQDF8LWLrWTCxceckJNUjjKC6j0HPrAxWJHzh_dRq1K6IlGj9hO5JtZ6Fv1atwQZKPHM/s320/ZAManuscript.jpg" /></a>Yep. The blog has suffered a severe bout of neglect. Mostly due to my not wanting to take the amount of time necessary to write and create a new post for it. With the abundance of my postings to Twitter, Google Plus, and Facebook, I've been relying on my ongoing postings there to make up for what I would normally post on the blog. Which would usually be my progress with the writing, promotions, and marketing.</div>
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As a quick catch up:</div>
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<li>Sales of Zegin's Infection have dropped of. Which is to be expected. It was over a year ago when I posted it to Amazon. Aside from my promotions on Twitter and G+, I've not been pushing it. It's mainly a tidbit as an introduction to more in the series, and to me as a writer.</li>
<li>The draft of Zegin's Abduction has been completed and is in the hands of my Editor, Azi Parker. She did a draft edit of the first half the story and was instrumental in directing major improvements in my plot line. As a result I feel that it's a much stronger story. She now has my last full draft and I'm hoping to have it on Amazon this quarter. </li>
<li>I wrote a short story called "Love Is In the Air" for last year's Write On the Sound writers conference in Edmonds. Everyone that I shared the story with had the same response - "You've got to do a novel on this!" So, that has been my primary focus since finishing the draft of ZA. I've mapped out the entire story as an outline, created all the characters and the background story, and I'm now in struggling while working writer mode while trying to crank out a chapter each week. I currently have 5 beta readers who are receiving each chapter when it's completed and are giving me great feedback. </li>
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<b>My latest social media stats are</b>:</div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.285999298095703px;">Klout Score: 55 and holding pretty steady</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.285999298095703px;">TT.com Page Loads for the past month: 89 Way, way down. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.285999298095703px;">Twitter Followers: 2286 and slowing rising</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.285999298095703px;">G+ Peeps Following: 1763 - This is a huge jump and an indication that G+ is becoming the new FB.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.285999298095703px;">Zegin's Infection Sales/Downloads: 50/582</span></li>
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</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.285999298095703px;">I'm sure that once Azi is done with the edits on ZA that I'll be diving into getting it updated and ready for publication. My plan is to do a single eBook release on Amazon, a combined eBook release on Amazon, and a printed combined release on Amazon (CreateSpace). I'll also do a free promotion on ZI with a link for ZA. And I'll be doing a very short free promotion on the ZA eBook. </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.285999298095703px;"><br />
</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.285999298095703px;">While I can't guarantee that I'll be updating the blog any time soon, I can guarantee that you can watch my progress and postings via the other media networks. You can find me at:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.285999298095703px;">Twitter : </span><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.285999298095703px;"><a href="https://twitter.com/TimothyTrimble">https://twitter.com/TimothyTrimble</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.285999298095703px;">Facebook : </span><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.285999298095703px;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/AuthorTimothyTrimble">https://www.facebook.com/AuthorTimothyTrimble</a> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.285999298095703px;">Google Plus : <a href="http://www.google.com/+TimothyTrimble">www.google.com/+TimothyTrimble</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 20.285999298095703px;">When I post to Google Plus, it will usually also go to Twitter and Facebook, with a link back to the GooglePlus posting. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;">If you're really interested in seeing more Blog postings, let me know how you feel. I do enjoy writing the postings and letting everyone know how it's going. It's just the process of taking a precious hour away from actually doing some story writing that I have a difficult time with. If more folks poke me with a blog stick I might be more prone to post here.</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;">Well, enjoy the stories. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;">Keep on writing. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;">Tim</span><br />
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ascriptorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16432796054560139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247984342486257324.post-8703693916484333532013-05-29T19:55:00.002-07:002013-06-01T16:58:44.312-07:00Where Are You?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>I'm Here!</b><br />
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Yeah, I've been negligent in keeping the blog up to date. Feel free to whip me a hundred lashes with a wet lasagna noodle. Mainly, I've just been focused on trying to put the ribbon on Zegin's Abduction. I've gotten so wrapped up in the story - I purposely have ignored the blog. My bad!<br />
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But, the good news is that I'm getting close to having the draft completed. Once again, I'll be using a professional editor to run through it for me. And I'll be picking some new art for the cover. <br />
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So, would you like a small taste of the story? Well, here's a sneak peek at a portion of Zegin's Abduction - raw and pre-edit (so be kind):<br />
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<b>Zegin's Abduction (Sneak peek)</b><br />
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<div class="p1">
“More sleep, more credits, and fewer scars,” Zegin mumbled to himself. “Well, at least there are fewer scars.” He smirked at his own statement while controlling the zipcar on his way to the Cydonia spaceport. There was no one to listen to his snide remarks, which was all for the best anyway. “Best to keep my remarks to myself,” he continued mumbling. “Especially when enlisted with Navy Command.” He chuckled at himself while remembering why he mustered out of the United Terranian Navy Command. </div>
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He was one of the best at Cyber and A.I. Forensics but UTNC tends to chew up their best. Lack of sleep, too much to do, and high risk discrete operations took their toll. He mustered out and took his pension after 12 Sol years to become a starship troubleshooter, with the hope of getting more sleep, more credits, and fewer scars. “That’s right! Fewer scars.”</div>
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Zegin always talked to himself when he was tired. He hoped it would keep him from falling asleep at the controls. He could have used automated nav, but he would fall asleep for sure - which wouldn’t look very good when he arrived to meet his next customer. Between the late conversion with Rebecca about her day at work and the howling of the neighbor’s banderdog, there was little sleep to be had the night before. </div>
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Contributing to the lack of sleep was his curiosity about his new customer - Mr. Criswell, of Criswell Shipping Lanes. Net research the night before revealed very little about Mr. Criswell or his business. There was one entry for a port landing a few months ago, only for a half hour. Barely enough time to take on fuel and refresh the ship’s systems. Something in the back of his mind told him not to take the job, but he felt he was being overly cautious. The lure of some quick credits, in a slow period, was strong motivation for this sleep deprived shooter.</div>
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"That's odd," Zegin stated as he pulled the zipcar to dockside of port 73. "It’s a shuttle - not a ship."</div>
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3 men were standing outside the shuttle. They watched patiently as Zegin grabbed his gear and released his D-rack diagnostic robot from the back of the zipcar.</div>
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"Good morning gentlemen," Zegin said as he approached the men. "I understand you're having some problems with the navigation computer on your ship, or is it with this shuttle?" Zegin started to feel a little uncomfortable. Rarely were there three people meeting him for his jobs and these three didn’t seem normal. Something was a little different about the look of these three and as he got closer old memories came to mind.</div>
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"Haas low, Miiistar Thooomaaz,” the smallest of the 3 men stepped forward while bowing slightly. He held his hands, finger tip to finger tip, on his chest, in a contemplative sort of way, slowly tapping each in succession.</div>
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Zegin froze at hearing the strange greeting as his D-rack bumped up against the back of his legs and stopped. Zegin noticed the man's hands had no fingernails and the man’s eyes seemed to be recessed back farther than normal. <i>These guys are Sarreth, </i>Zegin realized. A chill ran up the back of his neck. Thoughts of his encounters with them while enlisted with the UTNC quickly flashed by. They are barbaric and slow of speech. No fingernails, strange faces, and not exactly friendly with Terranians - especially after the mining belt encounters.</div>
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"Are you Captain Criswell?" Zegin asked while taking a quick look at the other 2 aliens, standing to one side of the smaller man. He was still stunned at the realization that they had managed to penetrate the defense grid and actually land at the Cydonia port. </div>
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Their gazes from recessed eyes were directly at Zegin, adding to his discomfort. "Kaaap tan inn shhhhip," the little man, or alien, stated as he gestured toward the hatch of the shuttle.</div>
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Zegin decided this was not going to be his gig for today. He needed to quickly get away and alert the authorities. "Well, sir. I'm sorry, but I'm not going to be able to help you out today." He pulled out a quick excuse. "You see, my D-rack is having navigation problems and I need to fix those before I can do any other jobs." He kicked at the D-rack with one foot, trying to push it back toward the zipcar. The D-rack squawked in defense and started to drift toward the zipcar.</div>
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"Yooo muuussst coommmm," the short alien gestured again toward the shuttle hatch. </div>
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Zegin stepped back while keeping an eye on the shorter alien and trying to make a quick glance at the other two. His heart raced as he calculated his exit away from the aliens.</div>
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Zegin noticed a small glint of reflection out the corner of his eye. He turned to face one of the two other aliens as a small object hurled toward him, striking him under his right ear as he flinched from the movement. A combination of fear, anger, and surprise swept through him as he watched the ground rapidly approaching his face. He felt hands grab at his arms, stopping his impact with the ground. He shivered at the thought of alien fingers with no fingernails gripping him tightly. The revulsion was soon replaced with blackness.</div>
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(End of the sneak peek)</div>
<div class="p1">
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<div class="p1">
<b>Where to go after KDP?</b></div>
<div class="p1">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="p1">
My exclusivity has run out with Amazon's KDP. I now have the option of posting Zegin's Infection on other eBook sites and make it available via print. I just need to take the time to investigate where to post. All I need is time - and maybe a clone. If anyone has recommendations, I'd be happy to hear them. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<b>Latest Statistics</b></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
Klout Score: 51 (-2)<br />
TT.com Page Loads for the past month: 1100 (+230)<br />Twitter Followers: 1935 (+332)<br />G+ Peeps Following: 889 (+310)<br />Zegin's Infection Sales/Downloads: 45/558</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
Not sure what I think of Klout. I know for a fact that I've increased my Twitter activity. I'm posting more and receiving more interaction. But my score has been hovering around the same and dropping. I'll keep at it for a little while longer to see if it's really worth tracking. </div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
Twitter and GooglePlus followers are up significantly. Mostly due to my interaction on both. Most of my postings have been on Twitter with an occasional post onto G+. I still haven't found the perfect tool for syncing Twitter, G+, and Facebook.</div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
Sales for ZI have dropped off a little. Once again, I don't have huge expectations for this release. I think it'll pick up more once I get Zegin's Abduction released. ZA will be a much longer story, not quite as pencil headed geeky, and will provide some background for what's going on in Zegin's universe. It will lead the way to more stories as well. Anyway, I hope that my next blog posting will be the announcement of completion of the first draft.</div>
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Till then, keep reading and writing. </div>
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<span style="background-color: #d0ae81; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></div>ascriptorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16432796054560139686noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247984342486257324.post-37197142092045098682013-03-30T08:36:00.000-07:002013-03-30T08:36:20.710-07:00Grandiose Plans<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0onEtCk7VnOHe5P-jdTPbfA6OSM8EtgSSVKwXdnqvmfe0gEClScNA8sIPL5HPqgLh4oF6DBj4bF6ujle43t0GAGXXHmi6ts-urK9e5X6XqS0se3rhe8JRxhbuAE0RCVX2eHEmRDJd2A4/s1600/IMG_1733.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0onEtCk7VnOHe5P-jdTPbfA6OSM8EtgSSVKwXdnqvmfe0gEClScNA8sIPL5HPqgLh4oF6DBj4bF6ujle43t0GAGXXHmi6ts-urK9e5X6XqS0se3rhe8JRxhbuAE0RCVX2eHEmRDJd2A4/s320/IMG_1733.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">El Tajin Ruins - Big show the evening before Spring.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>"Life is what happens when you're making other plans!"</b> (Author unknown)<br />
<br />
Ever since I first saw that phrase on a wall in the movie "Kuffs", it has been one of my favorites. Because it is so true, as I have recently discovered, once again. <br />
<br />
I had a lot of grandiose plans for book promotion, marketing, and taking advantage of the Amazon KDP Select promotions. This all came to a screeching halt when a member of my family had a medical emergency. It was one of those situations where I had to just drop everything and handle necessary matters. It turned out to be a full week of unplanned activities, all prior to a planned week in Mexico to visit with friends and family. The good news is that the family member is doing quite well now. And thanks to my many loving friends and family members, I was able to continue with my trip to Mexico. Fortunately, for you, I won't step through all the details and pictures from my trip. (As awesome as it was!)<br />
<br />
What's this have to do with writing? Well, per the phrase at the top, things happen. There are things that carry more weight than my personal desire to write. I thrive on my relationships with my family, friends, and my spirituality. My writing takes a back seat to these things. This also helps me to keep my balance. Sure, it would be nice to just lock myself up somewhere and do nothing but crank out words till a book is completed. But life doesn't work that way for me. I would like to think that keeping this view helps me to be a happier and well balanced person.<br />
<br />
Okay, yes! There is a point here. Don't let life interrupting situations deter you from your goals! Just because I've had to put things on the back burner for awhile, it doesn't mean I've abandoned my goals and my direction. It also helps to be flexible. Realize that there will be things that interrupt the writing process. Go with the flow. Take care of what is important and then continue. The books and stories might not happen when you originally thought they would. But if you keep at it, they will happen, and you will reach your goals.<br />
<br />
<b>Driving to a Destination</b><br />
<br />
One thing I will mention about my trip to Mexico is that I got to do some driving while I was down there. It was a enlightening experience. Road markings, signs, lines, and lights are merely suggestions. It's not NASCAR driving but it IS like Formula One. You get as close as possible, dive for position, with as much speed as nerves will endure, and just go for it. In a sense, it was actually refreshing. And when I reflect on the whole experience, it has the appearance of a large dance in which everyone enters a room surrounded by doors. Everyone manages to reach their destination with a minimum amount of contact.<br />
<br />
So, I'm back on track. I've reached a destination and I've actually managed to pick up a passenger along the way. I had one of those moments where I was dreaming and I was able to wake up well rested and still had the dream in my mind. It sparked an idea for a book. I spent several hours that day writing down the ideas. It was pretty exciting. Each idea and plot in the story lead to more ideas. I can't wait to get started on it. <br />
<br />
However, first things first! I have to put the ribbon on Zegin's Abduction, get it edited, and then published as the next story in the Zegin's Adventures series. I'm preparing to do some promotions via Amazon's KDP Select program with the help of a few promotional outlets on the web. I'm hoping for some good results.<br />
<br />
Speaking of results:<br />
<br />
<b>Latest Statistics</b><br />
<br />
Klout Score: 53 (+1)<br />TT.com Page Loads for the past month: 870 (-207)<br />Twitter Followers: 1603 (+190)<br />G+ Peeps Following: 578 (+153)<br />
Zegin's Infection Sales/Downloads: 17 <br />
<br />
The lack of promotional activity for two weeks has contributed to the drop in the page loads. Plus, I've not posted to the blog for a while. However, the Twitter and G+ increases are nice. I'm starting to post the book downloads as well. Yes, this is pretty low. But with all things considered, I'm actually pleased. Aside from some Twitter and G+ postings, I've really not done much promoting. <br />
<br />
I did receive another review on Amazon while I was in Mexico. While it's for 3.5 stars (rounded up to 4 on Amazon), it's a very fair review and I'm pleased with it. I haven't been fishing for reviews so I feel pretty good about what has been said.<br />
<br />
Well, that's the update for now. Keep on reading and writing!<br />
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ascriptorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16432796054560139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247984342486257324.post-17049300029834211132013-03-06T20:04:00.002-08:002013-03-06T20:04:58.361-08:00Post Release Post<b>After the Release</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-GLGFCae1UMLCYU5rw7HmzHjCfE3v_22yMsm9o9zic-dAr4ouEI0_q23a715C8JNn2d5dqeHmNJ26Ucv0L_hq5ANYG_pamBGY86vA9qPY9PlfOnuypzc1nxHV-reZzKv5qoZb9q7RNoc/s1600/ZegCard.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-GLGFCae1UMLCYU5rw7HmzHjCfE3v_22yMsm9o9zic-dAr4ouEI0_q23a715C8JNn2d5dqeHmNJ26Ucv0L_hq5ANYG_pamBGY86vA9qPY9PlfOnuypzc1nxHV-reZzKv5qoZb9q7RNoc/s320/ZegCard.png" width="320" /></a></div>
Zegin's Infection has been on Amazon for a whole 7 days. Needless to say, I've been busier than a one legged skate boarder on a sail boat. Mostly with marketing and promotions via Twitter, Google Plus, word-of-mouth, emails, and a Book Card (left). <br />
<br />
The book card took several attempts to get just right. I kept messing with Microsoft Word (again, I learn the hard way) which took a whole evening to tell me that it wasn't going to do what I wanted. When I went to Avery.com to get one of their templates for my card stock, I discovered that they have a very cool online card designer that does a pretty good job of integrating images and text. I managed to have a nice set of hand out cards in less than an hour of layout and printing. And I've been handing these out to friends, family, waiters, baristas, gas station attendants, etc. While the use of self-printed card stock is okay, I do plan on ordering some professional looking cards as well.<br />
<br />
<b>Sales?</b><br />
<br />
So, I know you're itching to hear the figures. Book has been out for a week. How are the sales? Well, are you sitting down? Here it is - <b>twelve</b>. Yes, just 12. But hey, I'm a new fiction author, no current fan base (aside from some folks at work, a few friends, and family members), and it is a "short" story. I actually like to call it a "lengthy" short story. ;) Anyway, it's a good start with all things considered. I'll admit that in the back of my mind I was thinking how nice it would be for 1-2% of my Twitter followers to be interested in buying. Let's see - 1413 followers x .01 = 14. So, I'm 2 short of my Twitter market goals. Heh. <br />
<br />
Actually, I'm not disappointed. This is just a start and it is going to take a while to build a following. As word spreads and reviews come in, I'm sure the sales will pick up. I don't expect to make my investment back any time soon. But once I get the next release out (Zegin's Abduction) and demonstrate that I'm serious about this series, the sales will pick up. This is a long term effort and I went into this knowing it would take time and persistence. <br />
<br />
<b>A Check List</b><br />
<br />
I came across a wonderful check list on one of the Google + communities that I visit on a regular basis. I wish I had this list when I started this whole process. But I was quite pleased to see that I'm pretty close on following this list. The list is from the book, Indie & Small Press Book Marketing<br />
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by William Hertling. Thankfully William has provided a dropbox link to the PDF file for this checklist. Which is also a great idea for promoting a book - give something away for free! Here's the link: <a href="https://dl.dropbox.com/u/14405212/BookMarketingChecklist.pdf">https://dl.dropbox.com/u/14405212/BookMarketingChecklist.pdf</a> And yes, I did ask William for permission to re-post. (Thanks <a href="http://bit.ly/indiebookmarketing" target="_blank">William</a>.) <br />
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<b>First Review</b><br />
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The first review from a reader has been posted on Amazon.com today. It is a nice and fair review (even if I do say so myself) and I will say that it came from one of my co-workers who purchased and read the book. Feel free to check out the review <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Zegins-Infection-Adventures-ebook/product-reviews/B00BM87Q38/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1" target="_blank">here</a>. Four stars for my very first fiction release - woot! (Does a happy dance.) <br />
<br />
Regarding Amazon.com, I just discovered yesterday that I could create a Author's Profile page. (Thanks to <a href="http://wordsbyalexandra.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Alexandra Apostol</a> for the tip.)<br />I should have known this since I had a book on Amazon since they started. But part of the reason I didn't know about the profile is due to it not being a link from the KDP site. It has to be set up and configured from author.amazon.com. So, now my Author's Profile can be found at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/author/timothyltrimble">www.amazon.com/author/timothyltrimble</a> <br />
<br />
<b>Latest Statistics</b><br />
<br />
Klout Score: 52 (+2)<br />TT.com Page Loads for the past month: 1077 (-199)<br />Twitter Followers: 1413 (+196)<br />G+ Peeps Following: 425 (+65)<br />
<br />
Twitter and Google + have had nice jumps. Klout continues to make a slow gradual climb up. I'm sure I'll hit some type of plateau there since I'm not engaging in massive amounts of Twitter spam. The drop in the blog visits I attribute to my not writing a significant posting for a couple weeks (not counting the small release announcement).<br />
<br />
In a few weeks I'll be taking a break from the marketing and postings to focus more on getting some actual writing done. I figure that I'm currently spending around 4-6 hours a week on postings, marketing, and reading other posts/blogs. That is significant when I could be spending that time writing. And all while holding down a full time job, 10-13 hours a week in community services, and taking care of my other responsibilities. Whew. How do I do it? No TV! Okay, I might watch a hour or two each week but that's about it. And I have significantly reduced my gaming. I said goodby to Eve-online and rarely hop onto Minecraft or Star-Trek Online. It's all a matter of priorities. <br />
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So, set your goals, keep reading, and keep on writing.<br />
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<span class="Wp mc"><span class="Ri lu"><a class="g-M-n g-s-n-aa ik Bf" href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/104404280022827262939/posts/Zj8CSD9CXkV" target="_blank" title="Mar 5, 2013 12:51:33 PM"></a></span></span>ascriptorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16432796054560139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247984342486257324.post-66519843531279890502013-02-27T21:31:00.000-08:002013-02-27T21:31:20.815-08:00It's Alive!<b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BM87Q38" target="_blank">Zegin's Infection</a> is on Amazon</b><br />
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It's finally published! Zegin's Infection is now a real eBook on Amazon. This is my first self published eBook and will be the beginning of many more. But it's not the end of the blog postings. Now that I've revealed how much I've invested I'm going to be posting how many sales I get. Since this is a short story (33 pages) it's only selling for $.99. However it serves multiple purposes:<br />
<ul>
<li>I gathered an education on the whole process from beginning to publishing.</li>
<li>I now have a pretty good idea of the cost and effort required to have a quality book published.</li>
<li>It introduces me and my fiction writing to a new market, thus getting my name and style out there.</li>
<li>It opens the door for more Zegin's Adventures stories.</li>
<li>And by the time I get my full length book done, I hope to have an established fan base.</li>
</ul>
And let's not forget that I get to blog about the ongoing process as well. ;)<br />
<br />
I will say the formatting and submission process was a significant education. I'm pretty geeky when it comes to the use of computers and software. But there were some frustrating moments when I just couldn't get it right with Microsoft Word. Seems I was taking a step backward when I copied from Scrivener to Word and thus saved as HTML. I learned if I just keep everything in Scrivener and save into eBook format for Kindle, it's a much smoother process. I'll soon be discussing this whole process via this blog in the near future.<br />
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I'm keeping it short and sweet for this posting. Being the proud author of my first Amazon release, I have to give myself a blatant plug:<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><b>Check out Zegin's Infection! It's only .99 cents, it's a cool sci-fi technology story, and it includes a bonus short story called Jezi's Delima. You can't go wrong for only a buck! All you have to do is click <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BM87Q38" target="_blank">here</a>. </b></span></span></div>
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[Set blatant plug off] <br />
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I would love to hear any feedback. It's okay. I can take it! No, really, I can. And if you're itching to write a review and submit it to Amazon - I'll be eternally grateful.<br />
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Check back in a few days and I'll give you all an update on my social marketing statistics and how the new book is doing.<br />
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Keep reading and writing!<br />
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<br />ascriptorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16432796054560139686noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247984342486257324.post-18081869651213663172013-02-24T16:36:00.000-08:002013-02-24T16:36:00.841-08:00We Have Ignition!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>The Submit Button</b><br />
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I just hit the submit button less than 15 minutes ago! Whew. What a journey this has been. The past week has been full of formatting and layout for the final submission up to Amazon. If there's one single most important thing that I learned this week that is worth sharing - it's "Be sure to set up your Styles in MS Word before doing anything." There's a great thread on the <a href="http://kdp.amazon.com/community/thread.jspa?messageID=335297#335297" target="_blank">Amazon KDP Support forum</a> for this. It was a little hard to read through (and I'm tempted to re-write it to make it easier to follow) but it was well worth the effort.<br />
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If I consider the end of the Edmonds Writers' Conference as the beginning of my goal of getting this story published, I'm looking at 4 months of activity. It has been a great education and it has given me a lot of confidence in the process. But it doesn't end here. I can't just sit back and wait for the royalties to pour in. It just doesn't work that way. Now comes the promotion (without nagging and spamming), completion of the next Zegin story, and the ongoing writing of the full length novel. The work is just beginning!<br />
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<b>Zegin's Infection Audience?</b><br />
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Someone asked me recently who my target audience was. That question really made me take a long pause. Basically, science fiction is the easy answer. Some would call it hard sci-fi since I try to deal with technologies that are feasible. More toward the Star Trekish side of science fiction. I love Star Wars too. But, I'm not one for delving into fantasy type forces as a writer. While my stories deal with a lot of technology, I'm very sensitive to not detracting from the characters. I feel that if the technology gets in the way of the reader trying to relate to the characters then I've failed. There are two books that I recommend for describing how to do this:<br />
- The Craft of Writing Science Fiction that Sells, by Ben Bova<br />
- Characters & Viewpoint, by Orson Scott Card<br />
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Thus, the audience? Technology sci-fi with strong characters and story lines. <br />
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<b>Waiting</b><br />
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So, now I wait for the conversion and publishing process to be completed. One of two things is going to happen. One - I'll like the result and will start promotions. Two - The layout will stink and I'll go back and re-do it. I guess I won't know for another 12 hours. Humm, that would put me at around 4am. You might see me tweet around that time. ;)<br />
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<b>Socializing Progress</b><br />
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Here are the latest figures for this milestone event:<br />
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Klout Score: 50 (+1)<br />TT.com Page Loads for the past month: 1276 (+35)<br />Twitter Followers: 1217 (+148)<br />G+ Peeps Following: 360 (+46)<br />
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These are good numbers for this week. That extra Klout point was a tough one. But I feel that it was a good hurdle to jump. Twitter is making a nice climb. Page loads are pretty steady. And Google Plus is taking a nice jump.<br />
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Most likely I'll be blogging again in the next couple days to discuss what is happening with the story release. Thanks to everyone who has provided me with feedback about my very open discussion of my progress. If anything, I hope it'll help others who are wanting to make the jump.<br />
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Keep writing. Check back soon!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizxhw8AA4AJ15o2VoyVxXz8bJp8wD2gpXyRiZBDczXvXT-QVgH373EfwTPP6RG08iHQ52yvmggk92km4Duwzh93kyXpzY9RS2fEK9nzotd0EFaJI_CcrYHovfX_nN58yPMAk14EVXrhIU/s1600/TTInitials.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizxhw8AA4AJ15o2VoyVxXz8bJp8wD2gpXyRiZBDczXvXT-QVgH373EfwTPP6RG08iHQ52yvmggk92km4Duwzh93kyXpzY9RS2fEK9nzotd0EFaJI_CcrYHovfX_nN58yPMAk14EVXrhIU/s1600/TTInitials.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />ascriptorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16432796054560139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247984342486257324.post-35465374827854442502013-02-17T19:21:00.000-08:002013-02-17T19:21:10.069-08:00Cover Is Done<b>The Cover Is Done!</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQFdisP75Y1nITwjhR6pnXavbKgQOwkxtobyd7gMyWlVURsjCvwwlHboGWGJtP4-9YhsBqf1KH254J9KOcrR5jEWFu23jWQkXRsI7TRletVO8Yfdvy1zMPoF3CsLH9pxMu_tXWnTsE5sw/s1600/Zegins_Final_Pass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQFdisP75Y1nITwjhR6pnXavbKgQOwkxtobyd7gMyWlVURsjCvwwlHboGWGJtP4-9YhsBqf1KH254J9KOcrR5jEWFu23jWQkXRsI7TRletVO8Yfdvy1zMPoF3CsLH9pxMu_tXWnTsE5sw/s320/Zegins_Final_Pass.jpg" width="249" /></a></div>
Woot! I received the final cover art from Sean Hill this week and it looks great. It has the look and feel that I was aiming for. Even though it was all done on computer it has a very artsy freehand feel to it. Great job Sean!<br />
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The next step was to pick the font, effect, and layout. I wanted to keep it clean and use a font that gives it the sci-fi and geeky feel. After scouring <a href="http://dafont.com/">dafont.com</a> and locating 8-10 font candidates, I had to figure out how to install the fonts on my Mac. Turned out to be very easy. Just had to know which folder to drop the files into. I then used iStudio Publisher to review and select the titling to use. This actually ended up taking a significant amount of my day. I had a Google Image view of "sci fi covers" in one browser tab, a listing of "science fiction" books sorted by popularity on Amazon.com, and my wife peering over my shoulder.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9XKbkhavYDOLxYLVFnm68qwzxZGyTnVvHJiF6ZXI5ZqS5R21t6-VoQps-yk9hRdLpu08pMYWnu_qBfI_t4ualn3niA6Pq6luiLtvHEe7_ZIzctyHoC6NI9gDNY-CtF6Z5AQB3QyTZ418/s1600/ZICoverWTitle.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9XKbkhavYDOLxYLVFnm68qwzxZGyTnVvHJiF6ZXI5ZqS5R21t6-VoQps-yk9hRdLpu08pMYWnu_qBfI_t4ualn3niA6Pq6luiLtvHEe7_ZIzctyHoC6NI9gDNY-CtF6Z5AQB3QyTZ418/s320/ZICoverWTitle.png" width="249" /></a></div>
Once the font (Ethnocentric) was selected I added a very subtle red blur shadow effect to the title and my name. I also added "A Zegin Adventure" in a standard Courier New Bold font using CRT green as a computer geek touch. And no, I'm not an expert at this stuff. I may have been around computers, programming, and networks for many years but I'm far, far, away from being any kind of a graphic artist. Anyway, I think the end result turned out pretty good and I'm going to run with it. My next step will be to see how it looks on a Kindle Fire HD.<br />
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<b>In the Red</b><br />
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As I've been touting via this blog and I've been taught from other writers in the community, it is very important to make an investment in time, effort, and money to have a successful release. This all started with a story idea and several rewrites to embellish the story. I could have posted to Amazon at that point and hoped for the best. But I decided to jump through the extra hoops, take the time, spend the money, and do what I could to make this a quality release. So, where am I at financially in this? Here are my numbers:<br />
<ul>
<li>Professional Editing : $100</li>
<li>Custom Cover Art : $350</li>
<li>iStudio Publisher Software : $29.99</li>
</ul>
Total expenses thus far : $479.99<br />
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That's not a small chunk of change to spend on a short story eBook release! There's no guarantee in any of this. I might end up being in the hole on this first push into eBook publishing. But I can say that I've learned a lot and have opened up a lot of doors during the process. I feel pretty good about where I'm at and I'm getting excited about the upcoming release. The trick now is to take a deep breath, keep working through all the details, and not get a bad case of hurry-up-itis. <br />
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<b>Next (Tim Conway) Steps</b><br />
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Now that the story is done and the cover is done, I have a few more steps to go through:<br />
<ul>
<li>Write the Intro page and credits page</li>
<li>Include Jezi's Delima story</li>
<li>Add a teaser for Zegin's Abduction</li>
<li>Format all the content (Cover and text) for Kindle eBook</li>
<li>Set up the Amazon KDP account </li>
<li>Obtain the ISBN </li>
<li>Publish</li>
<li>Tell everyone I know and don't know about my new book (Twitter, G+, etc.)</li>
</ul>
<b>Social Media Progress</b><br />
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The latest statistics:<br />
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Klout Score: 49 (No change)<br />TT.com Page Loads for the past month: 1241 (-39)<br />Twitter Followers: 1069 (+90)<br />G+ Peeps Following: 314 (+24)<br />
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Woot! I passed the 1k milestone on Twitter followers. Thank you all! Klout seems to be stuck at 49. I keep tapping on the screen to unstick the indicator but it doesn't seem to be working. And again, Google Plus is just slowly climbing up. <br />
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Once the story hits Amazon I'll do a big push on the social media marketing. Then I'll be diving back into the rest of the writing and get Zegin's Abduction out next. Gotta keep the pipeline busy.<br />
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Keep reading and writing!<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(<span style="font-size: x-small;">C</span>over art is Copyright (c) 2013, Sean Hill)</span>ascriptorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16432796054560139686noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247984342486257324.post-10674961638894323322013-02-11T16:55:00.000-08:002013-02-11T16:55:10.901-08:00Tim Conway Steps<b>Tim Conway Steps</b><br />
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Usually, the phrase is "baby steps". But I prefer the use of Tim Conway steps (as the old man). That's the method a writer should use for getting something published. One tiny step at a time. When I started this new direction to fiction writing, I had attended a local writers' conference, and I defined some goals last November for myself. These were:<br />
<ol>
<li> Expand my audience via social media marketing (Twitter, Google Plus, Blogger, Word of Mouth).</li>
<li> Write more!</li>
<li> Find an editor to work with.</li>
<li> Write more!</li>
<li> Find a graphics artist for quality cover art.</li>
<li> Write some more! </li>
<li> Track my ideas.</li>
<li> Sample/publish some writing.</li>
<li> Publish a story on Amazon.</li>
</ol>
For this initial project I'm down to the last 2 steps. But I should adjust it some. My steps should become ongoing processes to be stepped through over and over. So, here is my adjusted list:<br />
<ol>
<li>Keep writing!</li>
<li>Keep editing and use professional editor when needed.</li>
<li>Add professional cover art when needed. </li>
<li>Submit completed work to various markets and/or self publish.</li>
<li>Continue marketing via social media. </li>
<li>Read other authors work.</li>
<li>Note (journal) new ideas. </li>
<li>Do not wait for acceptance notices - go back to step 1.</li>
</ol>
I figure that if I can just stay focused on this process, the success and the sales will eventually follow along. <br />
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<b>Zegin's Infection Progress</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLAtzw8U1nnIoBA4T3gjpeJ68lcDY_c3gErCzgbIKfLH9X12hFuBn10qaBrWy6UAiKrf66231Ecao9wLprklrPZ0YugOA3C4tNsQEAYlxRdLQH0fv7r1pTnjaB9TD3Lj7Fgmirt71W4Jw/s1600/2_7_13_Zegen_Concept.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLAtzw8U1nnIoBA4T3gjpeJ68lcDY_c3gErCzgbIKfLH9X12hFuBn10qaBrWy6UAiKrf66231Ecao9wLprklrPZ0YugOA3C4tNsQEAYlxRdLQH0fv7r1pTnjaB9TD3Lj7Fgmirt71W4Jw/s320/2_7_13_Zegen_Concept.jpg" width="249" /></a></div>
The story is done and ready for Amazon formatting. As a bonus, I've decided that I'm going to include a teaser for Zegin's Abduction and one of my other short stories. I'm leaning toward including Jezi's Delima - about a space traveler who is misrouted while she is in stasis. <br />
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The cover art is coming along quite nicely. This is the latest update from Sean Hill. Zegin's diagnostic robot is getting re-worked and is pending some additional textures. And some of the external space port textures are in process. I'm looking forward to the final. (No pressure Sean!) ;)<br />
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<b>Social Media Progress</b><br />
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Here are the latest statistics:<br />
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Klout Score: 49 (+1)<br />TT.com Page Loads for the past month: 1280 (+239)<br />Twitter Followers: 979 (+218)<br />G+ Peeps Following: 290 (+72)<br />
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Big jumps for Twitter, page loads, and Google Plus. I've been trying to increase my activity on Twitter and including my page link in my Follow Thank You messages. This seems to have helped with the page hits. Regarding Google Plus - I believe the increase is due to the increase in usage by other authors. I'm still looking for a good process for posting to both Twitter and G+ at the same time. <br />
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Now back to reading (Impulse! by Steven Gould) and hopefully some more writing.<br />
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Keep on writing!<br />
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<br />ascriptorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16432796054560139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247984342486257324.post-89977709613703592472013-01-27T15:50:00.003-08:002013-01-27T16:02:26.802-08:00Frame by Frame<b>Progress</b><br />
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It has been a very productive week. Now that I have all the edits completed on Zegin's Infection, I went back and applied what I learned from Debra and did revisions to "The Wings of Leonardo" (WOL), "Invis", and "Jezi's Delima". I received a rejection of WOL from <a href="http://www.intergalacticmedicineshow.com/" target="_blank">Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show</a> (Whew, what a title!) So, I just turned it aournd and I submitted WOL to <a href="http://escapepod.org/" target="_blank">Escape Pod</a> in the hopes it will get picked up for their podcast magazine. Escape Pod is pretty cool. They turn the stories into spoken podcasts for their subscribers to listen to. I think it's a great idea and I'm actually pretty excited about the prospect of having WOL as a narration. I also submitted "Invis" to <a href="http://www.kasmamagazine.com/" target="_blank">Kasma SF Magazine</a>. I figure I'm paying my dues for having it so easy in the non-fiction market.<br />
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Non-Fiction : 42 articles, 3 manuals, 2 Books - only 2 rejections<br />
Fiction : 14 rejections & no sales yet<br />
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What a difference! But it is a totally different market and industry. Basically, it's as if I'm starting as a brand new writer. However, I do know that eventually I will sell something. One of my goals is to not just get a sale but to be able to meet the criteria for joining <a href="http://www.sfwa.org/" target="_blank">SFWA</a> (Science Fiction Writers of America). One sale will make me eligible for an Associate Membership. Three sales of short stories or one novel will make me eligible as an Active Member.<br />
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<b>Frames of Art </b><br />
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Sean Hill has been making great progress on the cover for Zegin's Infection. He's been a pleasure to work with. I really appreciate that he's willing to ask for and receive feedback about the art.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghiAiAlOZOEA56Ufa_rFzXVPCIOf0I36kUA7XN0XdI6orGSm-vbk-B3-v9jc3REipib1bbypB3n117UlD8p_DgdWMe7lH9KmRTMslIdjMSg4Zksi2oOYJuuRd14w6FLVUZaNQQS1g3mlA/s1600/Zegen_Concept_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghiAiAlOZOEA56Ufa_rFzXVPCIOf0I36kUA7XN0XdI6orGSm-vbk-B3-v9jc3REipib1bbypB3n117UlD8p_DgdWMe7lH9KmRTMslIdjMSg4Zksi2oOYJuuRd14w6FLVUZaNQQS1g3mlA/s320/Zegen_Concept_1.jpg" width="249" /></a></div>
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This is the first concept drawing that Sean provided to me. To get to this point I provided Sean with a copy of the story and a small sample of the type of art that I was looking for.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(BTW: All of these pictures are Copyright (c) 2013, <a href="http://www.seanhill.me/" target="_blank">Sean Hill</a>. Please do not copy and/or distribute without written permission from Sean.)</span><br />
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The next piece that I received from Sean shows a significant amount of work. This provided me with a view of the textures that he was using and content of the spaceship loading dock. However, I felt that some of the perspective angles were not quite right and I provided some feedback to him by overlaying the red lines (from SnagIt). Turns out he was already aware of the issues with the perception lines and had started on fixing those.<br />
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As can be seen in this next piece, the perception lines have been fixed and Sean is beginning to do more work on the interior of the spaceship.<br />
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When I received this next piece I had a "Oh, wow!" moment. I love what Sean is doing with the textures. I provided some feedback about the light sources and the hovering d-rack behind Zegin.<br />
<br />
While Sean is not done with the cover art yet, I wanted to at least give a glimpse of the process. One of the things that was hammered into us writers at the Edmonds Write On the Sound conference, is the need to have professional and quality editing and art for anything targeted for the eBook market.<br />
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It has become so easy for anyone with a story idea and a computer to just throw something together and throw it up on Amazon with the expectation that it's going to become a huge success. However, the truth is that a lot of "junk" writing is appearing on the market with poor grammar, inconsistent story lines, and clip art covers. The author might get some sales initially. But sadly, as we all know, first impressions are the most important and the sales dry up.<br />
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Personally, I think it's great that writers now have a new medium for expression. And with quality work, it is very possible to get to market in the span of a few months instead of the traditional 12 to 24 months for printed media.<br />
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I'm far from being an expert in this side of the fiction industry. I'm learning as I go along. And I'm hoping that this preliminary work, time, and investment will pay off. I don't plan on breaking even with Zegin's Infection. But I do plan on using it to introduce myself to the market. If all goes well, more Zegin stories will follow (2nd is in the works), the audience will grow, and readers will find as much enjoyment in reading my stories as I have found in creating them.<br />
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<b>Social Media Progress</b><br />
<br />
Here are my latest statistics for this past week:<br />
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<b>Klout Score</b>: 48 (+2)<br />
<b>TT.com Page Loads for the past month</b>: 1041 (+125)<br />
<b>Twitter Followers</b>: 761 (+148)<br />
<b>G+ Peeps Following</b>: 218 (+9)<br />
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Great progress, especially with Twitter. My goal is to have 1k+ followers by the time Zegin's Infection is ready for release. <br />
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I really appreciate the follows and I hope I'm providing a good forum and example of how someone can get published in the fiction market with some time and effort.<br />
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<b>I'm Reading</b><br />
<br />
Part of being a good writer is being a good reader. If you're not spending time reading then you're not going to be able to be a good writer. Plain and simple - fact of life.<br />
<br />
I just completed "7th Sigma" by Steven Gould. It was a good read and I enjoyed it. But it did take me a bit of time to get wrapped up in it. I would recommend it if you're a hard core Steven Gould fan.<br />
<br />
<u>Currently reading:</u> <br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Impulse-ebook/dp/B00AEC8OUW/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1359329744&sr=1-1&keywords=impulse+steven+gould" target="_blank">Impulse</a> by Steven Gould</li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Double-Bubble-Murders-ebook/dp/B007WGFP46" target="_blank">The Double Bubble Murders</a> by Azalia Yadinah-Parker (a very entertaining short story well worth the price).</li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Write-Good-or-Die-ebook/dp/B003H4QZOG/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1359329869&sr=1-1&keywords=write+good+or+die" target="_blank">Write Good or Die</a> by multiple authors and edited by Scott Nicholson. Currently free and I highly recommend it.</li>
</ul>
<u>In the queue:</u><br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/APE-Publisher-Entrepreneur-How-Publish-ebook/dp/B00AGFU5VS/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1359330151&sr=1-1&keywords=ape+guy+kawasaki" target="_blank">APE</a> How to Publish a Book by Guy Kawasaki & Shawn Welch </li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mastermind-Think-Sherlock-Holmes-ebook/dp/B008EKOSXS/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1359330188&sr=1-1&keywords=Master-mind" target="_blank">Master-Mind</a> by Maria Konnikova (How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Collapse-New-America-Book-One-ebook/dp/B008HYUFWO/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1359330239&sr=1-1&keywords=collapse+richard+stephenson" target="_blank">Collapse</a> by Richard Stephenson. Proof that Twitter works. I discovered this writer on Twitter.</li>
</ul>
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Whew! My short post became a lot longer than I anticipated. Thanks for reading and feel free to drop me a line here, on Twitter, or on Google Plus to let me know if you're enjoying the posts.<br />
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Keep on reading.<br />
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<br />ascriptorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16432796054560139686noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247984342486257324.post-41810095578101037432013-01-19T08:17:00.003-08:002013-01-19T08:17:45.912-08:00What a Character!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzwduaihnLLHejNrI79apOzeM2cAXmrg_w_GwlrzArINes-gmjRQkY_E9al0oLxYCpjcTh_gmVYW9gJ6Nb2o_8wrvqeDFghTWhyXPX0ZYZIy4_LKJIYB7U9gGDJ14VCKYJYKToZLZzZ-c/s1600/redcup.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzwduaihnLLHejNrI79apOzeM2cAXmrg_w_GwlrzArINes-gmjRQkY_E9al0oLxYCpjcTh_gmVYW9gJ6Nb2o_8wrvqeDFghTWhyXPX0ZYZIy4_LKJIYB7U9gGDJ14VCKYJYKToZLZzZ-c/s320/redcup.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
The nice thing about writing a series of stories is that I don't have to let go of the lead character. After all, he is a little bit like me. At least on the geeky side. Dr. Doyle provided a nice complement in her critique of "Zegin's Infection":<br />
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<span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It moves fast, it's heading in a
definite direction rather than wandering around all over the place,
and it focuses on a competent character working in his area of
expertise, which is always a plus when you're thinking about the core
audience for science fiction. It's been observed, more than once,
that science fiction fans have a serious "competence kink"
-- they are far more likely to sympathize with competent characters
who can rise to an occasion than they are with ordinary or
less-than-competent characters. </span></span></span></div>
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Then she proceeded to let me know what I needed to fix. ;) But I really appreciated what she said about the main character. Zegin is an expert at what he does - starship diagnostics. Think of a futuristic MacGyver who knows how to program computers, minus the bad haircut.</div>
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It has to be a fine balance though. If the character is too strong then the readers loose the ability to relate to him (or her). Which is why the lead has to have a "achlles heel" - something that they are struggling with. Superman has kryptonite, Batman has his internal dark thinking, and Zegin is a bit sensitive and worries too much. But when there's trouble he's always willing to jump into the fray.</div>
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<br /></div>
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My only concern with the Zegin stories is the level of geek speak. At times the story will get a little technical. I try to counteract this with dialog as Zegin tries to convey his technical actions. Early readers have stated that it does get a little geeky but that they were able to stay involved with the story. I guess I'll find out once the first story is released.</div>
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<b>Making Progress</b></div>
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It has been a good week. I completed the revision of Zegin's Infection from Debra's edit and critique. I'm very pleased with the end result. It has a smoother flow. And the additional content helps to provide more of a background story and will lead to some interesting stories in the series. </div>
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The next steps are to wait for Sean to finish the cover art, get the title placed on the cover, and then get it formatted for Amazon. And to finish up the writing on "Zegin's Abduction" - the next story.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Stats for this past week are:</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Klout Score</b>: 46 (+1)<br /><b>TT.com Page Loads for the past month</b>: 916 (-38)<br /><b>Twitter Followers</b>: 613 (+112)<br /><b>G+ Peeps Following</b>: 209 (+10) </div>
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<br /></div>
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My goal for Twitter is to have 1k followers by the time I release Zegin's Infection to Amazon. That will be a nice round number for getting some statistics for Amazon sales.</div>
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<b>Ongoing and Future Projects</b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Aside from the various story lines and adventures I have in mind for Zegin, I also have a full novel in the works. I'm currently 5 chapters into "TransOp" - a near future story where corporations are the government and one company abuses their technological power to manipulate the general population. And Steven Gould's new book "Impulse" arrived on my Kindle this week. All I need is more time. Cloning is out since my wife refuses to let me do it.</div>
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Keep reading. </div>
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ascriptorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16432796054560139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247984342486257324.post-24787741244345800072013-01-12T12:08:00.000-08:002013-01-27T15:59:38.458-08:00Ball Is In My Court<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghiAiAlOZOEA56Ufa_rFzXVPCIOf0I36kUA7XN0XdI6orGSm-vbk-B3-v9jc3REipib1bbypB3n117UlD8p_DgdWMe7lH9KmRTMslIdjMSg4Zksi2oOYJuuRd14w6FLVUZaNQQS1g3mlA/s1600/Zegen_Concept_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghiAiAlOZOEA56Ufa_rFzXVPCIOf0I36kUA7XN0XdI6orGSm-vbk-B3-v9jc3REipib1bbypB3n117UlD8p_DgdWMe7lH9KmRTMslIdjMSg4Zksi2oOYJuuRd14w6FLVUZaNQQS1g3mlA/s320/Zegen_Concept_1.jpg" width="249" /></a></div>
<b>Editing</b><br />
<br />
It was nice having some time the past few weeks to cough up a lung, sleep a lot, take lots of meds, and recover from a bad chest cold! (Not) As if the cold itself was not enough, I received the edits back from my editor. Which actually, were quite good! However, I just didn't feel like a rewrite and I reasoned that having a cold and a chemically induced stupor was not conductive for writing. But now that I'm feeling much better I'm back on the court and swinging away.<br />
<br />
Now that I have the edits back and I'm quite pleased with my editor, I think it's time to sing her praises. I had spent almost a month putting the word out that I was looking for an editor for my first soon to be self published short story. After receiving a few offers but not being pleased with the lack of experience in my target genre, I decided to seek out a recommendation from Steven Gould (<a href="http://eatourbrains.com/steve/" target="_blank">Author of the book, Jumper</a>). Steven is one of my favorite authors but I had never been in touch with him before. I found a "Contact Me" link on his site and I mentioned that I was looking for a good editor with experience in our genre. Several weeks later I actually received a response and a recommendation to use <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debra_Doyle" target="_blank">Dr. Debra Doyle</a>. At around the same time, I received several recommendations from folks on the Absolute Write forums to use Dr. Doyle as well. So, after some correspondence and a paypal payment, the Doctor started her work. I'm very pleased with the edits and feedback that she provided. She is very detailed but has great insight on the market and provided some kind, but spot on, recommendations. So, now I'm editing and doing a bit of rewrite on the story.<br />
<br />
<b>A Picture is Worth...</b><br />
<br />
The picture on the top right is the first concept sketch from the cover artist, <a href="http://www.seanhill.me/" target="_blank">Sean Hill</a>. Sean is a student of the <span class="Yta Zta">International Academy of Design and Technology and </span>was recommended to me by one of my co-workers. The cover art work is progressing nicely and I'm looking forward to the final. I'm quite pleased that he's one of those artists who is willing to get a lot of details on what is needed before starting the work and he's been great with asking for feedback during the process.<br />
<br />
<b>Social Marketing Progress</b><br />
<br />
<b>Klout Score</b>: 45 (+1)<br />
<b>TT.com Page Loads for the past month</b>: 954 (-71)<br />
<b>Twitter Followers</b>: 501 (+139)<br />
<b>G+ Peeps Following</b>: 199 (+36) <br />
<br />
The bulk of the growth has been on Twitter. I'm amazed at the increase even though I haven been very active on the number of tweets I do. I'm also finding twitter to be a great source of information for writing related sites. However, at 500+ followers, I'm finding that watching the twitter feed is kind of like trying to drink from a garden hose. To help, I'm using a product called YoruFukurou that I found on the Apple App Store. I have no idea what the name means - a colorful metaphor? All I know is that it allows me to create columns that show tweets from a list of folks that I want to specifically follow. Such as close friends, favorite authors, etc. I've yet to find another twitter application that does this.<br />
<br />
I'm also finding that I have to limit my time spent on twitter and Google Plus. There is a ton of great content on the new G+ Communities. But if I was to join every invitation sent to me I would have no time for writing, eating, or sleeping. So I've kept it down to 6 communities - and I may be dropping a few of those in favor of focusing only on those that have the most impact on what I'm doing.<br />
<br />
<b>Wrap Up </b><br />
<br />
Unfortunately, having a cold doesn't provide much opportunity for finding a humorous tidbit to share with you all. Instead, I want to mention that Steven Gould has a new book out this week - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Impulse-Steven-Gould/dp/0765327570" target="_blank">Impulse</a>! It's a continuation in the Jumper series and I'm very excited about diving into it. I highly recommend him as a writer. And if you come across his book on the shelf in any bookstore, do me a favor and send him a twitter pic. I'm sure he'll appreciate it. He can be found at @stevengould<br />
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Thanks for reading folks.<br />
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<br />ascriptorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16432796054560139686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247984342486257324.post-90399485125956144682012-12-29T09:08:00.000-08:002012-12-29T09:08:35.806-08:00Zegin's Universe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Mapping Zegin's Universe</b><br />
My vacation week of writing was pretty successful. I didn't crank out a full length novel but I did get over a significant hump I was having with Zegin's Abduction. I would read through what I have done so far, feeling that something just wasn't right. But I would go ahead and start writing. Each writing session I would repeat. Finally, after 3 sessions of writing I decided that I better do something. After all, if I'm not feeling good with the story then the readers are not going to feel good with it either.<br />
<br />
After some in-depth analysis, I finally determined that the story was just dragging. I put on my editing hat and thought about those chunks of deleted scenes that get added as extras to the "Special Edition" DVDs of movies. When I watch those I usually agree that they needed to be cut out of the movie to keep from slowing it down. That's what I ended up doing with ZA. I cut some major chunks out of it that just were not necessary. Too much detail can detract from the story. While it took some time and struggle to chop it up, it was well worth the time. The story flows a lot better now and I feel better about writing it. I'm enjoying the writing of the story. ;)<br />
<br />
Another step I took was to produce a Zegin's Universe map - a graphical layout of the characters, places, things, organizations, and situations in the world of Zegin. Since I'm developing a full set of short stories all based on this environment, the map is a great help in keeping everything straight. I guess it's something that I learned as a programmer. In order to develop a good application I need to have a road map of the functionality and a diagram of the database. (Seems a lot of folks are interested in that too since a major portion of the hits to my site are from searches on Entity Relationship Diagrams.) Sorry, I'll take the geek hat off and put the writer's cap back on.<br />
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If you're struggling with keeping details straight about your story (or series of stories) I highly recommend taking the time to build a map of the universe. After all, isn't world/universe building half the fun of fiction writing?<br />
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<b>Social Networking Progress</b><br />
Wow! Oh wait. That's what I said last week. I just can't help to be impressed with the growth of the statistics.<br />
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<b>Klout Score</b>: 44 (+1)<br /><b>TT.com Page Loads for the past month</b>: 1025 (+9)<br /><b>Twitter Followers</b>: 362 (+133)<br /><b>G+ Peeps Following</b>: 163 (+63) <br />
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The Twitter and Google Plus followers have both made significant jumps. While this is still just a few atoms in the bucket compared with the likes of <a href="http://www.marissameyer.com/" target="_blank">Marissa Meyer</a>, <a href="http://authorstephenamesberry.com/" target="_blank">Stephen Ames Berry</a>, or one of my favorites - <a href="http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">David Brin</a> - it's not a bad start for someone who hasn't published anything in the fiction market yet. It does make for a good experiment and exercise in the value of social network marketing. Especially with the huge growth of eBook sales and the fact that around one third of the entire world's population is now using the internet. It will be interesting to see how the statistics improve once something is published. In the meantime, I like to think that you're all enjoying my postings here and will continue to visit, and allow me to share my ride.<br />
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<b>My Love/Hate Relationship with Yoplait</b> <br />
I love Yoplait Yogurt! It is soooo smooth and creamy. I can have a nice satisfying treat without worrying about having to do an extra five minutes on the elliptical (which does feel like an extra lap around the sun by the way). However, I have a major hate of the container! Now I can understand some marketing person, or group, coming up with the decision to shape the container in a very appealing way. Or maybe it's all scientific and the shape helps to keep all those "Live & Active Cultures" from escaping. Regardless, I don't think there was much QA (Quality Assurance) testing or user testing involved. I'm sure that the note taking ended before the last 5% of the yogurt eating activity was completed.<br />
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The first 95% of the event is pure pleasure. The gentle fingernail scraping of the foil cap in a circular rotation of the container is a great endeavor for anyone that has engineering genes in their blood. Removing the cap in a single fluid motion while retaining its flatness is a great accomplishment. This allows for a complete removal of the sweet yogurt essence from the bottom of the cap in a single flick of the tongue. Then the process of consuming heaping spoonfuls of the luscious, creamy, and flavorful yogurt is enough to make the eyes roll back and induce a catatonic state of yummyness. (Yes, I made up that word.) The next process of scraping the inside of the container is also very satisfying. The gentle scrape of the spoon as remnants of the yogurt are piled into tasteful lumps. It is at this point that spoon licking begins. Top, bottom, sides, and even the stem of the spoon are fair game for finding left over molecules of flavor. <br />
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But then the pain and frustration begins. There's still yogurt under the lip of the container! And regardless of how hard I try with the spoon, I can't get it all. I pronounce curses of "may your blaster get jammed in a fight with a Bantherdog" toward the engineers who decided to put those four indentations at the top of the container - preventing me from getting a smooth spoon scooping of remaining yogurt. I stick my tongue under the lip of the top and twirl the container in the hope to gold dig out the yogurt remnants, resulting in a small groove being cut into the tip of my tongue. I realize that this is the same physics as a circular saw as I withdraw my tongue from the container. But being tenacious, I go in for another lap around the rim, using less pressure to prevent loosing the tip of my tongue into the container. And what's with that gap between the walls of the container and the base? There's still yogurt sitting down there! My tongue won't reach! I bet Gene Simmons doesn't have this problem. And the opening of the container is too small for me to fit my head into it! The base appears to be welded on and thus prevents me from removing the bottom. Then I notice the words on the side of the container - "PROTECT WILDLIFE CRUSH CUP BEFORE DISPOSAL". What? No comma? And then I have visions of squirrels digging through the trash with little Yoplait containers stuck to their heads because they were digging for the last remaining bits of yogurt in the bottom. Well, if the Yoplait folks would let me eat the last of the yogurt we wouldn't have this problem - would we!?! I gladly crush the container before flinging it into the trash.<br />
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I pause to calm down and relax - then reach for a second container of Yoplait. Yep. It's a vicious cycle.<br />
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Enjoy reading (and your yogurt). ;)<br />
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