The Quest Is Dead...Sort Of...

They say a good blog can serve as a good marketing tool...

Yes, I suppose I have really messed that one up.

A great deal has stayed the same since the last Quest post, including zero book sales, little progress on the book-writing front and, of course, not many people really noticing.

So, this must be why people subject themselves to the humiliation of being rejected by dozens of literary agents and publishers. Because getting the word out is tough!

This is especially true when there are other things that are more important, like actually writing or the overbearing need to eat.

You know, trivial stuff.

And then, of course, comes the news that Lulu.com has done away with the Published By You package, where I would have been able to snap up an ISBN of my own. They've replaced it with two distribution packages that I couldn't explain if I lived to be 100.

Normally, this wouldn't have bothered me, seeing as how Stories from the Forester: Volume 1 isn't anywhere near close to publishing stage. However, this does leave Flagrant Foul in a serious state of limbo. Sure, you can still buy it at Amazon (Don't know why I pointed that out. If you haven't bought it yet, I'm doubting you're opening up the wallets now!). But it leaves far too many questions marks, namely the actual process of purchasing their GlobalReach package in the event I choose to do so (Which, after scanning through the site, I see no real help for Published by Lulu customers to do that!).

It's been a big enough pain in the ass to come up with idea for writing that clearly nobody's interested in. But to take the one thing that was quite simple and complicate it unnecessarily? Yes, this will truly inspire people to self-publish in the future.

Make no mistake, I'll never stop writing. But this Quest? It's dead.

For the two of three people who truly care, fear not. This blog may be getting dumped, but I've always got other things up my sleeve. Like a phoenix, something new shall rise from the ashes...

Or perhaps something old...

A Sign of Summer - Flagrant Foul Book Promotion!

You thought I gave up, didn't you?

Of course not. After all, we are talking about Flagrant Foul...

And, as such, in what seems to be the Promotion That Never Ends, it is, like it was last summer, time to start getting out there and putting the word out. This, of course, is the eternal drawback of a book that's not only self-published, but evidently non-selling.

Perhaps a discount can entice you?

How about 10 percent? You'll get it if you buy Flagrant Foul now and use the discount code JULYCONTEST10 at checkout.

Oh, and, of course, all reviews are graciously accepted, which, you can add on the book site.

And no, all proceeds will not go to me. All proceeds will go towards Lulu's Expanded Distribution package, a $49.95 value. Evidently, I'll be needing that to get Flagrant Foul added to the Indiebound, Barnes & Noble, Borders and Books-A-Million databases. That might help me a bit.

New Release Date for Volume 1: July 25, 2009

This shouldn't really surprise anyone.

As I continue to stare at a blank screen where a chapter of Unwritten should be, I have come to the realization (as if it wasn't already realized in my April 20th post!) that there's really no chance in hell that Stories from the Forester: Volume 1 will be completely ready for public consumption on June 21, 2009, as promised.

But fear not. While visions of other stories and other projects continue to race through my head (albeit not the screen!), I won't be giving up on getting Volume 1 done and ready for the masses! So, instead of canceling, I have bumped up the release date to July 25, 2009!

In the meantime, folks, I'm really looking to do this one right, and in order to do that, I'm going to try and get Lulu.com's Published by You option. However, as you know, that requires money; money that I currently don't have.

So, with that, I'm going to go ahead and ask for your help!

To keep from having the push my release date and further, please go ahead and purchase a copy of Flagrant Foul, available for the special Web site price of $19.99! Click on the link on the side bar to buy it! Of, if you have an Amazon Kindle or Kindle app for your iPhone, please buy Dilemma, available for only $0.99! Click here to purchase!

Thank you, and wish me luck!

Flying Solo By Choice (aka Why I Stopped Looking for a Literary Agent)

A little more than two years ago, soon after I finished my first draft of Flagrant Foul, I did essentially what most aspiring writers did. I searched around the Internet seeking contact information for literary agents. And I was on my way, armed with e-mail addresses, an e-mail query and some sample chapters.

I get it. You're going to hear a lot of rejection. It comes with the territory. But after some thought, I began to wonder if it was really worth my while to send out inquiry after inquiry to no avail. Most of the inquiries I either never heard any kind of response or received the boilerplate "Sorry. This isn't a match. Good luck with your future endeavors" letter.

So last year, instead of wasting time trying to gain notice among the sea of manuscripts, I went solo, posted Flagrant Foul on Lulu.com, converted that and Dilemma into Kindle books, and started jumping on every social network I could think of.

OK, I have no book sales, electronic or otherwise. I'm struggling to find an identity and key demographic and I'm suffered from an ugly case of writer's block that has kept me from finishing Stories from the Forester: Volume 1.

But it's out there. Had I went the literary agent route, there's a good chance nobody would have ever known that I had written anything.

The choice is yours. We all go our different paths. I'm not sorry I went mine.

You never know, though. Perhaps I'll let a stray inquiry letter loose in the future.

So, I Used to be Good at Deadlines...

About a two months ago, I thought that it would be a good idea to set a publishing date for Stories from the Forester: Volume 1. I figured, hey, it'd be a great 1000th Twitter post, and it would be the right motivation to get the second story, Unwritten, finished.

Here we are, though, April 24th, and I'm no closer to being finished that I was when I made that announcement.

Sure, I might be able to get it written, edited and formatted for public consumption by that time. But, really, who are we fooling?

Besides, it's not like Flagrant Foul is flying off the shelves. In fact, the only person who's actually bought that book is ME!

So, I suppose it's one of those cases where I have to ask, "If a tree falls in the woods and nobody's there, would it make a sound?"

I'd ask for some motivation, but that generally goes unanswered as well.

Yes, it's been that kind of 2009...

Stories From the Forester - Volume 1 Drops June 20th

The Quest has begun anew...

In connection with my 1,000th update on Twitter, I thought I'd add a little spice to the occasion by throwing in this major (well, at least for me) announcement:

Stories From the Forester - Volume 1, which includes the stories Dilemma and Unwritten, will be released on June 20, 2009, first exclusively on my Web site, www.flagrantfoul.com, then to bookstores everywhere!

For those of you scoring at home, Dilemma is the first story of the series, in which Reggie McCaffrey, fresh from a full-time newspaper gig, returns to Forest State University and the school paper defeated, down-trodden, but hopeful of winning the affection of Brenda Alvarez, the Forester's News Editor. The second story, Unwritten, centers around the inevitably of graduation for Reggie and Editor-in-Chief Jim Case, and their uncertain futures.

But there's more! Because Dilemma has been finished for some time, I am giving it away as a PDF e-book absolutely FREE and as a Kindle Book for only $0.99! Apparently, Amazon doesn't want me giving stuff away, so I apologize in advance!

So, with four months until the release, there's plenty of time to get ready, as opposed to the rushed approach taken with Flagrant Foul. Maybe I can avoid repeating the same mistakes twice!

On thing's for certain, I will be doing some promotions, which I will announce in the coming weeks. Two events I know for sure will be happening, with more on the way. And the more the merrier! Advance copies of the entire book will be available in early May, so anyone interested in reviewing can go ahead and drop me a line, and I'll have you on the mailing list!

And with that, off we go!!!

Where the Readers Are...

Marketing books is full of all kinds of small, tactical errors, especially when doing it on your own.

This, however, may be the worst...

For months, I've been banging my head, like many Questers have undoubtedly have done. And then the lightbulb comes on.

I've been doing it all wrong! Most of the places that I've been plugging both Dilemma and Flagrant Foul are decidedly not anywhere near my demographic, and therefore probably about as likely to read these books as I am to go to a Billy Ray Cyrus concert.

So, where are these people that I seek?

Well, I found a couple of answers: Goodreads and Shelfari.

First, there's Goodreads. Not only can users come together and talk about popular books, authors can join in the conversation! All it takes to create an author account is to search for books, click on the author name and submit a form, explain which books you've written. Once you get confirmation, you're ready to go!

Shelfari, which is now owned by Amazon, has a similar set-up. The only difference, at a glance, is that Shelfari does not have the author account application that Goodreads does. No matter. As long as you have your book on Amazon, just add it to your profile and share!

That said, I'm on both, here and here. Feel free to add me as a friend. And even better, drop in some reviews!

Identity Crisis

For about the last eight months of so, I have been trying to figure out the best ways to market the Stories from the Forester, particularly the completed Flagrant Foul, online. And yet, I have come to it with very little success (i.e. Zero sales in any format).

So, while I'm in back-to-the-drawing board mode. It makes sense, since the entire series is, at the present, incomplete, with the second story in Volume I, Unwritten, still in the works.

Even with that, Flagrant Foul still is available and is now on Amazon. I've given thought to abandoning the series, but that makes no sense whatsoever. The groundwork has already been laid. To quit now would be, at the least, lazy, and, at most, defeatist. And I don't like to lose.

However, the issue I have with Flagrant Foul that has dogged me since I finished it is one of identity...

What is it?

I can say for sure that Flagrant Foul is, first and foremost, NOT a sports book. However, that has not prevented a number of potential readers and even reviewers from making at assumption, and therefore not taking a look.

Thankfully, once more parts of the series are released, readers and reviewers alike will see the whole picture. Understandably, it's not helpful that I finished Flagrant Foul first. Of course, I hadn't intended for it to mutate into the series of stories as it has.

But then, I get past that, the issue of genre comes up. Who am I targetting?

In an ideal world, the obvious demographic would be the same demographic as the characters - college-aged. But does it mean these are young adult books? Looking around, the bulk of the YA titles I've seen are set in high school and seem to cater to a much younger crowd.

I guess what I'm saying is that I'm clearly in need of some help. If you're someone who's written or reviewed books like this or, even better, someone who's a YA book reader, drop me a line at bobmc@togsolutions.com. No advice will be turned down!

The Long Road Back

Can I explain why I've been gone so long?

Well, there's not real explanation, likely a combination of the holidays and non-writing distractions that have hampered my ability to get my butt back on here and post something on a regular basis (and I was doing so well!).

In my semi-absence, unfortunately, I have found that the news on my site has become overrun with spammers. Oh joy. Plus, I keep getting nagging e-mail form responses from presumably same spammers.

So, I guess it's time for a reboot, huh?

First, The news on the front is gone. In its place will be the Quest for an ISBN RSS feed. You're more interested in that anyway.

Second, keep moving on with the story. In this case, the story is Unwritten, which has been living up to its name, hasn't it?

Finally, try way better to keep the Quest updated. Sure, I haven't sold one book. But that's not to mean it's time to stop trying!

Lulu.com Author Interview

This is what we call an interesting turn in the road...

Lulu.com Author Interview: Bob McDonald | Lulu Blog

This is also one of those occasions where spending an inordinate amount of time on Twitter will eventually net some feedback. A simple tweet reply to Lulu.com's Dan London was all it took.

And this was only the second-most interesting thing I saw on Twitter today. I also found out that Shaquille O'Neal's on Twitter no. Really, it's him!

The Book Tour - Plotting and Scheming

Now that I've finally gotten an ISBN for Flagrant Foul, I figured it would probably be the best thing to spend the six weeks that it will probably take for it to appear on online stores like Amazon (though you can buy it on flagrantfoul.com now!) drumming up some publicity...again.

I know what you're saying, fellow Questers. I already did all of this already. True, I was on Pete Klein's Adirondack Book House radio show in July and received a good review from Shannon Yarbrough, but really, was that enough?

Nope. Not even close. So, with the leaves turning and the time to promote more appropriate (Flagrant Foul, of course, takes place during basketball season), it's time to begin plotting anew, and maybe this time, someone will actually buy a copy (as opposed to the copies I've given away).

Where do I start this time around?

Good question.

First, there's the Quickest Blog Book Tour Guide Ever, a great site that details the 10 steps every Quester should take to plan and execute and effective blog book tour. So, where am I at on the list?

Let's see...

1. Start your own blog - Well, that's an obvious check.
2. RSS feed and bookmark link - Check (And while I have your attention, be sure to Digg this entry!)
   
3. Cyber-schmooze - Yep. As a matter of fact, if you're not already following me on Twitter, Facebook or MySpace, go ahead and do so!

So now, I'm at Step 4, choosing my tour hosts. Now, this has always been the stumbling block for your hero, so I'm going to have to get creative on this one.

Now, I've also posed the question, why not a Twitter Book Tour? Sure, people can throw questions at me and I can answer them. Create some publicity that way.

As you can see, I'm still thinking about that one...

Chapter 1 of the New Book, Unwritten!

As I start getting back into the swing of promoting Flagrant Foul, I thought it might be good to start putting up some previews of the future of the Stories from the Forester series. With Dilemma also written (and also available for sale, I might add, goofy picture or not), I'm moving on to the next book in the series, Unwritten. Set in early 2001, it picks up where Dilemma left off. When finished, Dilemma and Unwritten will comprise Volume I of the series that will be available in one book, which had been my original plan.

Here's the first of four chapters that I will be posting here, a chapter every Friday. Feel free to post up your comments. I'm always looking for feedback!

Chapter 1 - Business As Usual

CRASH!

The thundering sound of chairs being thrown around the Forester offices could only mean one thing: Production Night was in full swing. On this cold Sunday night in the middle of February, it was the same problems Editor-in-Chief Jim Case had constantly run into, which were computer problems and more computer problems.

“Why is it every time I turn around, this damned scanner freezes!?!” Jim bellowed. “How am I supposed to get anything done around here?”

As had been the case then entire school year, there was only one true voice of sanity in these situations, and it came from Jim’s right-hand man and Sports Editor, Reggie McCaffrey. However, it was nights like this that made him wonder why he ever thought it was a good idea to come back to Forest State.

“Jim, how many times do I have to tell you that you have to let this equipment warm up before you start getting all angry at it?” Reggie said in a vain attempt to try and calm his friend and boss down.

“Reg, how can you stay calm in all of this?” Jim boomed. “The driver’s going to be here any minute now to pick up the print, and we still don’t have a front-page graphic!”

This prompted another voice in the office, Brenda Alvarez, the News Editor, who said, as she had been the entire school year, “Jim, we really could have solved this problem a long time ago by putting articles on the front page, like a real newspaper?”

A statement like this that was intended to create a solution always ended up causing more problems.

“Are you telling me that we’re not a real newspaper, Alvarez?” Jim thundered.

“Once again, you’re reading too much into what I’m saying,” Brenda shouted back. “I’m saying that if you got your head out of your ass and listened to what I had to say once in a while, you wouldn’t be screwed like you are now!”

“Are you trying to get yourself fired?” Jim screamed.

“Now, you know that’s never going to happen, right,” Reggie chimed in. “Brenda’s the best journalist you’ve got in the outfit, and that includes both you and me.”

“Is that so?” Jim demanded.

“Hey, neither of us are up for Society of College Journalists awards this year, are we?”

As much as he tried to come up with a good counter-argument, Jim knew that Reggie was right. It wasn’t surprising to Reggie, of course. He knew that writing was in Brenda’s DNA, given that her mother, Lucinda, had been a Forester contributor back in the 70s.

None of his opinions, of course, had anything to do with the fact that he had been in a serious relationship with Brenda for more than six months.

By the time Jim had relented that he once again flew off the handle, as Reggie had predicted, the scanner was warm enough to starting working again, and as had been the case all year, the paper was ready for the driver to pick it up and deliver it to the printer.

After things had died down considerably, Jim retreated to his office, where he found solace in his Editor’s desk, his cigarettes and his bottle of Jim Beam, which had become tradition at the Forester since the summer. Reggie and Brenda, as they had as well, entered moments later for a post-mortem and a swig of booze.

“You’re going to work yourself into an early grave,” Reggie said as he put the paper cup of liquor to his lips. “Remember, Jim, you’re not a spring chicken anymore, man. What are you now, like 45?”

“And like you’re not getting out of here until you’re collecting Social Security,” Jim retorted.

“I’ll have you know, Case, that this is, in fact, my final semester,” Reggie proudly stated.
“After slacking off for far too many years, I am a mere 14 hours away from being all the way done!”

“And how, pray tell, do you plan to only take that many hours and proceed to return to slacking off?” Jim challenged.

“Well, I haven’t been able to in Dr. Gresh’s Political Communication,” Reggie admitted.
“However, since this is my last semester, it’s time for that five-semester Seminar, and guess who’s teaching it?”

Jim rolled his eyes. “Dr. Melch.”

“While certainly a good teacher, he is a, how shall I say this, lenient grader. I should also mention I am also enrolled in three credits of independent study with his guidance, of course.”

“That still leaves two hours left.”

“Four, as it turns out,” Reggie corrected. “And for that? I get Far Eastern Art.”

“Far Eastern what?”

“I need a non-Western civilization class, and Third World Politics was booked. Besides, I got a helluva study buddy out of it.”

“And who is that?”

Brenda slyly raised her hand. “I’m not ending up like Reggie. I plan to get out of here in four years.”

“Hey, thanks a lot,” Reggie grumbled mockingly.

Jim grabbed the bottle of Jim Beam and poured another cup. “You know, Reg, you really don’t drink as much as you used to.”

Reggie’s eyes narrowed. “Just because I’m not sucking down booze doesn’t make me a lightweight, pal! You know I’ve always been a beer drinker.”

“It’s true, Jim” Brenda affirmed. “As a matter of fact, I’d rather he not get too stuck in that liquor bottle. He’s got to get out of here.”

“Wow,” Jim said, surprised. “I’ve gotta admit, when you two first got together, I didn’t think it was going to work out very well. But look at you now. You’ve got a girlfriend, who also doubles as your conscience.”

“Don’t forget academic advisor,” Reggie added. “She is the one who came up with the Eastern Art idea.”

Jim rolled his eyes and took another drink. Reggie and Brenda excused themselves and left the office, walking towards Brenda’s multi-colored Ford Escort hand-in-hand. As they got to the car, Brenda wrapped her arms around Reggie.

“I really think Jim need to find a girlfriend,” Brenda said as she fiddled with the back of Reggie’s neck.

“That would be a rough gig,” he joked. “Can you imagine the kind of crap she’d have to put up with from him? I wonder if Cleveland’s got a roller derby team. Those chicks seem tough enough to take Jim on.”

“You know what I think? I think he’s freaked that he’s going to be graduating soon.”
Reggie nodded. “Yeah, I guess I would be, too, if I had to adjust my work habit to refrain from throwing chairs. Sure, there are a couple of jobs where he wouldn’t have to worry about it, but he’s too small to be a wrestler, and I really don’t think they pay extras on the Jerry Springer Show that much.”

Brenda laughed lightly, then looked Reggie directly in the eye. “What about you? Aren’t you a little worried about graduating?”

Reggie, who tried to keep from getting lost in Brenda’s deep, dark eyes, replied, “Not really. I left once already. I’m pretty sure I can do it again, except this time, I’m better the degree will help.”

“Do you even know what you’re going to do after school?” Brenda asked.

“Not in the slightest. Writing’s out of the question. I’ll tell you that much. No way I can find a writing job around here that would pay the bills, that’s for sure.”

“I thought we talked about this, Reggie. I don’t mind if you look for a writing job out of town. You know I’d follow you anywhere.”

Reggie smiled and shook his head. “I know you would. But you’ve got a bright enough future without me screwing it up. We can leave after you graduate. In the meantime, I’ll get a 9-to-5 somewhere around here.”

Brenda reached up to Reggie and kissed him. “Did I ever tell you how wonderful you are?”

“Don’t let that get out,” he dead-panned. “I do have a reputation to uphold.”

After five more minutes, Brenda took off for home, leaving Reggie standing in the parking lot unsure about a lot, but sure about at least one thing.

The Quest Has Ended...For Now...

After careful deliberation, I finally took the plunge and got the Published by Lulu distribution package for Flagrant Foul. As always, I wonder why I take so long to do what's right in front of me.

So, if you visit Lulu.com, you can get a copy of Flagrant Foul for $25.99, plus shipping. However, if you visit the Stories from the Forester site, http://www.flagrantfoul.com, you can buy a copy for $19.99, with free shipping!

What does this all mean? Will this spell the end of Quest for an ISBN? Not really. After all, there are other Quests to be had. Not to mention, if I'm going to get anyone to buy this edition of Flagrant Foul, I'm going to have to market the hell out of it! And for free! No easy feat, especially in these economic times.

We'll be seeing you on the blog tour circuit, and best you believe with basketball season here, it's a good time for it!

Writing Rule No. 1 - Keep On Writing

All Questers probably have this in their memory banks already, but it does bear repeating.

Just keep writing.

And it doesn't really matter where. And it also doesn't matter if you're getting paid or not, though I'm sure some money would be nice (Yes, I saw Almost Famous recently). And, if you are writing pieces for blogs, you may get noticed even more. The Lulu Blog has a good story about blog promotion that's worth a read.

But the most important thing for Questers is this - No matter if you're writing to the masses, putting the finishing touches on your next book or even scribbling a short story that only you will ever see, you're still writing. You're still practicing your craft.

I'm sure I don't have to tell you that writing is a labor of love. We aspire to make it our full-time profession because we love doing it so much. And if it doesn't happen, we can always take comfort in the fact that nobody can tell us we can't write anymore.

That's what I'm doing right now. Despite not really getting too far with Flagrant Foul or Dilemma at the moment, it hasn't stopped me from pressing on with the next book, Unwritten. It also hasn't stopped me from posting more Quest entries, or even the new blog I am working on, the Crossroads Career Transition Blog.

And it shouldn't stop you. In fact, I'm sure it hasn't stopped you.

Early Adopters vs. Target Audience

You always wonder if you've made the right move.

With the advent of devices like the Amazon Kindle and the Sony Reader, and with news of another competitor, Plastic Logic. projected to come to market next year, it's no real secret that authors like myself are slowly but surely trying to latch on.

Amazon's made it the simplest by allowing authors to self-publish their work using their Digital Text Platform site or, in another end-around, using Mobipocket, which was snapped up by Amazon in 2005, most likely as a precursor the the development of the Kindle.

But the early adopters, are they really my demographic?

Amazon hopes so.

BusinessWeek had this story about Amazon prepping for the next version of the currently-bulky Kindle and how the company's gunning for the college crowd. They're banking on the same crowd who gobbled up iPods and iPhones like they were going out of style will find the new Kindle a viable alternative to the hundreds of dollars in books they're currently lugging around.

For me, however, this prospect, which may include a price drop from the current $359 down to as low as $249, doesn't necessarily benefit me now.

So what shall become of Flagrant Foul and Dilemma? Oh, they'll be there...

...and maybe a couple of additional Kindle Books along with them, perhaps?

A Long Overdue E-Book Introduction

It had to be done...

Months after I converted Dilemma into an e-Book, thanks to the folks at Mobipocket, and after months of struggling to figure out why it was a good idea to hold off for so long, I finally made the right move and put Flagrant Foul into the same format.

We all know what this means, of course. Within the next week or so, Flagrant Foul should grace the pages of Amazon finally as an e-book for the ever-popular Kindle device.

If, as you're reading, you think that I'm touting Kindle to be the iPod for books, well, you're probably right.

Of course, I own neither a Kindle nor an iPod. But hey, I don't begrudge those of you out there that do!

So, if you've got a Kindle and have some extra cash, give this book a shot!

And for those that don't, it is still available in paperback at Lulu...

After All That???

Now that it's the beginning of August, I must take personal stock in how the Quest is going.

Um, not so good...

Sales so far:

Flagrant Foul (from lulu.com): 0
Dilemma (from lulu.com): 0
Dilemma (from Mobipocket/Amazon): 0
Average daily hits on http://www.flagrantfoul.com/ (Main site, not the Quest): 1.17

So, I take this to mean one of three things. Either...

A. I'm not applying myself.
B. My books really are crap.
C. This is a tough, tough racket to break into.

For the time being, I'm going to choose Answer C, and press on. And instead of moping, I'm going to just turn it over to you guys. How has your Quest been going? What's your experience been like so far. I've got a couple of different Quest reports posted already. Come join in! I know I'm not the only one!

The Lost Week...

Well, after my interview with Pete Klein on BlogTalkRadio (which you can still listen to here!), the rest of my week has, to be honest, been completely shot.

...no promotion...

...no writing...

This is not a week any Quester should have! But here I am!

So, it's time to get back up and keep on moving! After all, I still have my proof copy of Dilemma to look over. Plenty of work to be done!

Plus, it looks like I've got to give Flagrant Foul yet another once over. You would think after five years it would be perfect! Sheesh!

Putting the Q! in Quest (aka the Australia Experience)

Make a mental note - The Aussies are your friends.

During the brief time on this Quest, I have found a surprising section of folks Down Under who, like me, are fellow Questers and are willing to help out writers get the word out.

First, there's Metha Metharom. The Brisbane native and author of numerous books in his own right, has set up both an Author's Spotlight and a Book Review blog. I have been fortunate to be featured in both, though I blame myself for the 3-star review of Flagrant Foul. Rule No. 1, folks: ALWAYS give the reviewer a full copy of your book!

And from the Victoria province, there's Kevin Balshaw. Talk about someone who's been busy. For proof, just go to his Q!2write Web site. Not only are there a ton of resources for the up and coming writer, there's a showcase of books and writer bios! Plus, I've been promised that there will be more to come in the near future.

I expect plenty more from this part of the world as time progresses!

Get Back in Line!

As I'm patiently waiting for my proof copy of Dilemma to show up at my doorstep, I am often brought back to the original question of why this book got in front of the ISBN line instead of Flagrant Foul, which is the basis of the Quest. As I've posted previously, I thought it to be a test of what an ISBN could do to increase exposure (Paraphrasing, of course).

But now, maybe that's not the real reason...

While the Quest, along with every other bit of promotion (radio, reviews, etc.), is primarily dedicated to Flagrant Foul, Dilemma remains, in fact, the first story in the Forester rotation. And as such, there is ample justification as to why it is already available on Amazon as a Kindle Book, along with the aforementioned Published by Lulu venture.

Regardless, the Quest will continue, now for both books. The question that remains, of course, will be which one will come out of the gates of popularity first?

(BlogTalk) Radio Days

Long, long ago, I often wondered what it would be like to be able to put together a radio show on the Internet. Those dreams were dashed by the fact that at the time, the cost and time of putting it together, not to mention the level of technical expertise, became major deterrents.

Fast forward to 2008, and the landscape has changed considerably. And I plan on using it as part of the Quest.

BlogTalkRadio, for those of you who didn't know, allows anyone anywhere to have their own live, streaming broadcast, complete with audio archives and everything! All you need is a phone line (users call a number provided to broadcast) and you're all set!

How will this help the Quest? Do a BlogTalkRadio search for books or writers...

I've lost count on the number of shows solely dedicated to books and writing. And I fully anticipate requesting an audience with all of them. But baby steps, first.


The first appointment will be with Pete Klein on Saturday, July 12th at 6:30 pm. We'll be talking about Flagrant Foul, and, most likely, the rest of the Forester series. Be sure to listen and I'll even take some questions!

30 Seconds...

Yep. You get the idea...

Someone Else's Quest

Since I've started my Quest, I thought I'd share the story of another writer who's documented their own Quest. Shannon Yarbrough, the author of The Other Side of What and, most recently, Stealing Wishes, created the POD Diary for Stealing Wishes. For anyone who plans to go on their own Quest, it's certainly worth a read.

Incidentally, Shannon also runs the Lulu Book Review, which features reviews of self-published books, including, I'm happy to say, Flagrant Foul. Plus, there's plenty of news about self-publishing as well. All in all, it's a great resource!