HOBBCAT ON SCRIBD

Hey all, So below is the link to one of my Scrbd stories. You can read it here or go to Scribd and see both tales. If you're on Scribd or thinking of joining, look me up and check out my work. I have two stories up there now so check them out. And while you're there, become a fan of my page! Look forward to hearing your feedback! Marc L Abbott Bulletproof Dad">

RETURNING TO HOBBCAT FOR THE FALL

Hey all, So I have been away for awhile. I apologize for such an extended hiatus. I was extremely busy during the summer on many different projects. For those of you who came out to see Three Isn't A Couple, I hope you enjoyed the 6 shows featured in June and July. The cast and I had a blast and we enjoyed doing both the show and the Q&A afterwards. There are no planned performances of Three this fall but if that changes you will be the first to know. I was also involved in a small movie project based on my Dead Syndicate series. The film chronicles the main chartacter Clide after the end of book one. So if you haven't bought a copy of The Dead Syndicate yet, get it today. It's currently available through CreateSpace as well as my other titles. Etienne and The Stardust Express, my long awaited childrens book, is now on Kindle. After months and months of work, I was able to launch the book this summer. So if you have a Kindle Fire or the Kindle app for your IPad, get your copy for the kids in your life today! I have also started publishing short works on Scrbd. I wiull be posting a link to that site on here so that you have direct access to my stories and other works. And best of all, that work will be free to read!!! So if you haven't read any of my books, you will now have the chance to read some shorter and, at times, more personal works from me. It will be sometime before new video blogs come out. As I learn things, I will pass them on through that format this fall. So keep an eye out for those as well. Finally, I plan to have two new books out next year. With so much going on this year, I have had a hard time keeping up with them. But no worries, you won't have to wait too long. So there you have it, big things have been happening and more to come. Now that fall is nearly here, you will more updates and posts coming. Keep an eye out for the Scribd link and other goodies. See you soon! Marc L Abbott

EDITING WOES: EDITOR’S AND CHECKING YOUR WORK

It’s every writer’s worst nightmare. You spend months working on a book, you have everything together and you send it to print. Then someone comes to you with your book in hand, opens it up and says, "Ohoh, there’s an error here.”

You try to convince yourself that you can let it go and hope no one else sees it but it doesn’t go away. You have to go back and fix it. Your masterpiece is ruined because you missed that comma, misspelling or typo.

It has happened to all of us as writers. Even the big time writers, with major publishing houses behind them, from time to time, have errors in their books. It may not take away too much from the story but enough of them can become annoying to a more savvy reader.

It’s even more disheartening when you hire an editor to the job and, after paying for the job, you go to print and a reader says “I found several errors, you really need to get an editor.”

Newsflash people, editors make mistakes too. They sometimes miss things in a manuscript that, your English professor from college who bought your book, catches.

I have had this happen multiple times from four different editors. One of which was so bad I had to pull the book entirely. Granted the average person on the street who read my work may have found one or two obvious issues it was those who have experience in editing that found the big ones. What do you do? What’s the best route to take? Should you even bother getting an editor if this happens? Let’s discuss it.

First off, yes, you need an editor. Editor’s do more than just correct grammar and spelling. They provide valuable insight to your story, can help you shape it better with suggestions and ideas and make you revisit concepts that you may have thought were not important.

In my novel, The Dead Syndicate: Trial of the Archnemesis, the editor gave me great advice on how to start the book off. Although I liked what I had written for the prelude, the editor explained to me why it wouldn’t work. He suggested that I take the interludes in my book and mix them up so as to keep the story flowing better since the book was so heavy and rich with details. Of course, I didn’t need to take his advice but the fact that he gave it made me look at the book from a different angle. The angle turned out to be better than what I had originally written.

It’s always good to have someone that is not a friend, relative or teacher who can look at the story objectively. The three I just mentioned do come in handy in this process but I will get that later. For now, you want to get someone who doesn’t know you, the writer, and can take the work apart. Then put it back together to help you get the most out of your book.

Finding an editor these days isn’t as difficult as it used to be. Finding the RIGHT editor is. Many editors specialize in certain genres. For example, you wouldn’t want an editor who specializes in romance novels editing your science fiction novel about aliens taking over the world. They may be able to check for grammar but structure may be much more difficult because they’re not familiar with the genre you’re writing in. If you find an editor you want to work with, ask questions. Find out if they handle your kind of work.

Be sure to do your research when it comes to finding an editor online. As with many things on the web, there are some who are only out to take your money and will not do the kind of job you need. Read testimonials, ask questions and compare pricing. Make sure that you are getting quality work done for what you are paying for.

WORKING WITH AN EDITOR

You want to find an editor that you can have a good rapport with. Also, you have to be flexible and be ready to take criticism. Remember, the editor is trying to help you, not hinder you.

Editors will give you suggestions on how to make your work stronger. Now this doesn’t necessarily mean that the suggestions they give are 100% correct. In the end, you decide what changes need to be made, but you shouldn’t dismiss them. Editors will give reasons why they feel something works and others don’t. Take time to read and compare their suggestions with what you have written.

AFTER THE EDIT

I mentioned before about not having family, friends or teachers edit your work but I did say they would play a role later. This is when they play that role.

Editors are people. People make mistakes plain and simple. I have read books by authors who are published by big time publishing houses and found mistakes. Doesn’t mean that the editor is bad at what they do, things are missed sometimes. There are times though; you may get an editor that will fix the obvious but miss things like punctuation and, in some cases, grammar. When it comes to you proofreading your own work, you will miss these things too. This is when you enlist the help of the three I mentioned.

You should always get someone to proofread what the editor has done. I cannot begin to tell you how many times I have had something edited and my wife, someone in my writing group and even my brother, have found mistakes.

Some readers are more particular than others. While many of us who read may not pick up on everything, there are quite a few people out there that will find every little thing. I recommend finding someone like an ex-editor or English teacher who can do a clean read of your work. If they find a hefty amount of mistakes in your edit, you should contact the editor immediately and let them know what has been found.
Don’t pay an editor until you are absolutely sure your work is clean. Once that check or credit card payment clears, it’s too late. You can go back and complain but it will prove futile in the end.

EBOOKS: WHAT WORKS FOR YOU?

E Books have started to become the rave in literature. For a one time price a reader can download their favorite books, magazines and newspapers to their ereader device (Kindle, Nook, Sony, IPad) and enjoy reading their titles. The added bonus to having the ability to get their favorite book anywhere at any time is that they can carry as many as the device can hold at one time.

These devices are also changing things with self publishing. Now a writer can directly upload their books to the systems servers, set a price and start to bring in a return. But a question I often get from writers; Are publishing ebooks better than traditional publishing? Well, let’s compare the two.

I broke down the system of getting your book put together in another blog. With the exception of having to do a layout for your book, everything else still applies. You want your work to be at its cleanest so you cannot avoid those first steps. Having your work edited should always be a must and you do need to have a cover for you book to attract customers.

The major differences between traditional and ebooks is pricing and printing.

There are no printing costs with EBooks. You do not need to keep boxes of books in your home to sell, no print on demand necessary nor to you pay a storage fee for distribution. The technology now has the customer simply download the book to their device.

If you need to make changes to your work, you can simply switch your ebook to draft mode, fix your document and upload it back. Unlike traditional where you have to recall the book, fix the problem, redo the entire layout then reissue the book which costs.

There are no barcodes necessary for ebooks, another cost saver. With ebooks, all you do is assign a price to the book and you’re good to go. You can also change the price without having to fix the cover. Barcodes on books are found on the back cover and to change them requires a recall of the book, reissuance then back to print. If you go with a regular printer and order 100 books then decide to change the price, those books you have can’t be sold in a store.

As for pricing your ebooks, the same concept applies here as it applies to your print books; you make up the price. But there are some things you need to consider about that.

With print books, take into consideration your printing costs. You need to price your book good enough to offset that price as well as tax. This way you get a decent return in sales.

Also with print, the size and texture of your book should be considered. Paperback books are always cheaper because shipping costs for them are lower. Hardcover books are heavier and cost more to ship. They also don’t sell as well as paperbacks because they both more money for the consumer and aren’t as travel friendly.

Ebooks tend to be very consumer conscious. Many of them are under $10. Kindle even has books that start at $.99. Kindle has a deal that as long as you set the price of your book below $9.99 you get 70% of your sales. You can set the price higher but, like hardcover books, people will tend to gravitate to the more affordable end of the deal. You will find that many people will ask if your book is on Kindle or Nook as that’s the way they like to purchase and read their books.

Publishing through ebooks does not exclude the fact that you still need to market your work. Even if you price your work for cheap, you still need people to get out there and purchase the book. Making sure you market your book is very important.

Now while the ebook way is cheaper and cost effective in many ways, I wouldn’t suggest it be the only way. It’s difficult to promote books at fairs and conventions when you don’t have something to show. You can carry an ereader around with you and show off your book, but potential buyers like to have a product they can hold. Also, most reviewers and book clubs like sample copies and won’t go out of their way to download a book to read or pay for it to review it. Also, you cannot sign ebooks and the novelty of having something signed by the author will never fade away.

Ebooks, though, can be great ways for you to push other works you may want to print but feel don’t warrant the full book treatment as well. Short stories can be sold for a dollar, maybe you have a novella you want to just get out there for your fan base. You could even put a companion piece to a novel you have already written and give a code to your readers to read it in one of your books.

The choice will ultimately be yours in the end. Check out both options and see what fits your budget and, more importantly, your goals.

A FLY ON THE WALL PREMIERE HAS BEGUN

The premiere of A Fly on the Wall has begun. The film is now up on YouTube and Vimeo for you to watch and enjoy. See the introduction of the film by me before watching all three parts of the film. The film can be viewed on channel Hobbcat2012 on YouTube and The Cat Lab on Vimeo. And feel free to comment. Thank you.

A FLY ON THE WALL: THE MOVIE

Hello everyone. I wanted to announce that on February 8th I will be launching my film from 2001 A Fly on the Wall. Long before i started writing plays and books, I was writing screenplays. This film was my first venture in directing. The film was shot over the course of three weekends in the month of May of 2001. The film was intended to go out to festivals but because of it's length (49 minutes) it was deemed either too long or not long enough. The film has sat dormant until now.

The film had to be broken into three parts because of time constraints on both YouTube and Vimeo. You can watch all three parts on both sites.

I hope you enjoy this little gem and feel free to comment on it.

Look for the film February 8th on Hobbcat2012 on YouTube and The Cat Lab with Marc L Abbott on Vimeo.

WRITERS WRITE: BLOCKAGE, MOTIVATION AND WORD FLOW

“There is no such thing as writers block!”

I have heard this said loud and clear. The explanation that followed was just as absurd. “Writer’s block happens because the writer isn’t serious.”

Now, I’m here to tell you that writer’s block does exist. It can come a variation of things; fatigue, lack of motivation, sometimes you just get stuck. Look, writing is a job. Yes, it’s an art form too but its work.

Most of us writers don’t live off their writing. The vast majority of writers I have met have other day or night jobs. Physicians, teachers, professors, security guards and even newspaper reporters. We love to write, it’s our passion, and it’s what we love to do. But it does take up hours in the day to do and concentration to do it. For some of us words come easy, others need to be more focused.

I am the kind of writer who can write nearly anywhere except a quiet room. If it’s quiet, I go to sleep. If the tv is on, or I’m at work on my break, I can write like there is no tomorrow. Writing is my distraction from the everyday and it helps me get through it all. But there are times when a story will just stop in my head and I can’t go around the wall.

My newest novel, The Dead Syndicate, took me close to 18 years to complete. Of course in that time I published other works, but this was to be my opus and every time I got to a certain point in the book, I would draw a blank. I would have to put it down and work on something else until the juices started flowing again.

How do we get past writers block? I am a firm believer in putting something to the side until it speaks to you again and going with the flow. If you have another story in your head or even an idea for one, write it out. Put it to paper and get it out of the way. Sometimes that’s what’s blocking your flow. A fresh idea can always lead you back to a piece you’re stuck on.

Sharing Your Work In ProgressConsider joining a writers group if you’re not part of one already. My experiences with a writers group have helped me immensely. By taking about my work and reading it aloud, I get feedback from the others that normally wouldn’t have crossed my mind. It’s a great way to get rid of that writers block, get motivated and get those words flowing again.

Script Writing Writing your work in script form can help with both dialogue and structure. Think of a script as the skeleton. You can build conversations and create description without getting bogged down with a lot of detail. Then go back and overlay the story, filling in the gaps along the way.

When I wrote A Gamble of Faith the play, it never occurred to me to do a novel version of it. The idea came from a member of the audience who had seen the play several times. The request that I write the book version sent me back to the script with a fresh set of eyes. With all the dialogue in place, I simply wrote the novel around it, keeping much of the dialogue intact.

What does have to do with writers block? Despite the fact that the dialogue was there, creating a story around it took some doing. But in this case I could read ahead through the dialogue and regain my foothold on the story.

Go someplace outside your comfort zone: Every writer has a place where they write; coffee shop, home, library. Sometimes, getting away from these places and writing someplace else can stimulate the brain and help formulate new ideas. I make it a habit to always have two composition notebooks and a journal with me where ever I go. Ideas can come at anytime. So if I am at home and nothing is flowing, I may go out to the park or jump on the subway and head to the city and ideas will come to me. A change in scenery is always helpful.

Walking Away: Believe it or not, a great way to motivate yourself and to break that writers block is to walk away from the writing for awhile. I sometimes will play a video game or go for a walk just to get away from the piece I’m working on to clear my head. There are times I will walk away from a piece for months and work on something else until I find the inspiration I need to go back to the story. This is something I always do when I’m writing a play and have a lot of dialogue to write.

PART THREE: SELLING YOURSELF/GETTING THE WORD OUT

This is the hardest part of being a self published author. I like to engage people, talk about my work, talk to people who have read my work and so on. But selling myself? Convincing people to buy my work? That’s another story all together.

As a self-published author, the work doesn’t end after you have written the book. Just because you have found a way to get your book on Amazon or Barnes and Noble website, it doesn’t mean that it will sell. Telling friends and family that you have published a book does not mean they’re going to go out and buy your book either. Besides, they are not your core audience. The people who read your genre of writing is your audience and that’s who you need to reach.

And even though you plan to attend that huge book fair near you, remember you are in competition with other writers. In some cases you may be up against big named writers so you have to step your game up. You need to make a business plan.

When you self publish a book, you are selling yourself to the public. You want them to read your novel but to get them to do that you have to get them to know you. So you have to get out there and sell yourself, right? But how? Here are some ways to get both you and your work out there.

WEBSITE: Build a website. You can either hire someone to do it or maintain your own. The website is your home base. It’s where you direct people to find out who you are, what kind of books you write, to get in touch with you and to sell through. Now when I say website I mean a site with multiple tabs and pages, not a single webpage with everything thrown on it. Not a blog page with multiple links to things. You have an opportunity on the site to offer people what you can’t in person such as discounts on books, contests where people can win copies of your book and sneak peeks like sample chapters of current or upcoming work. Make it inviting, easy to navigate and interesting. Be sure to update it regularly and keep your readers informed.

On my Hobbcat Website I have pages devoted to certain books, a library with links to my books as well as a photo gallery and media section with my reviews and interviews. People can easily track what’s going on with my work.

SOCIAL MEDIA and BLOGS: Social Media is another way to reach the masses. It’s free, it’s easy and the best way to reroute people to your website. The most important thing you should keep in mind is that your social media page should be kept separate from your personal media page. It’s always good to share your business information to friends and family but you want to keep business contacts and readers closer. They visit your page to be a part of your work. They don’t need to know about your family reunion in Vermont. Unless of course, you were selling books there.

On Facebook you should create a separate page for your company. Create a fan page for yourself and a group page that you can directly link friends and family to. Link your Facebook page to Twitter because when you update your status, Twitter is updated too. You don’t have to go back and forth. Use Linkedin for the more profession and business feel. Scribd is a popular site for writers you can also join as well.

Blogs are a great way to reach people who are interested in the same topics and dynamics you are. You can raise questions that attract both fans and other writers who may be able to help you in numerous ways. I like to use mine to pass on information to others and discuss my upcoming work. A blog can also inspire others and add to your fan base. That’s always good.


BOOK REVIEWS: You want to do this. Send your book to reviewers 6 months before the book is due to come out. You want to send it to reviewers no family and friends. They will not be a critical. You will want a write up done, especially if it’s a positive one. Taking a blurb from a positive review and putting on the book always helps.

You will also have to grow a thick skin which is not easy to do. Nowadays, thanks to the internet, people can go online and review your books who are not even book critics. They maybe avid readers of a genre you write in and if they feel strongly about what you do, they will voice it. Take into account you have to have a strong stomach for this sort of thing. Not everyone is going to like what you do. I have had some solid reviews come out about my work in the papers. But I had one online about a horror anthology I wrote that got a very mean review. I wasn’t prepared for it. In the review I was informed by the reader of errors in the book but they didn’t stop there. But the reader went on to not only bad mouth the work but bad mouth me. Naturally I pulled the book again and reworked it, but his review was seen by a lot of people and it cut me deep. I wasn’t sure what prompted such a mean review but I had to get over it if I was going to keep going. In the end, I needed that review because as a writer and, more importantly as a business man, I didn’t want my readers/customers unhappy.

INTERNET RADIO: There are so many book review radio shows out there. Blog Talk Radio is a large site that you can go through. I have been interviewed on at least four of them and soon after the interview I post them to my website for people to hear. These can be a great way for you to reach a mass audience. It’s free and the hosts are always looking for guests. Who knows, you could become a regular on one if the host likes you. You can also host your own. Talk about your work or talk about the genre you write in and have people call in. The more you put yourself out there the better.

PRESS KITS: Always have a press kit ready. You never know when a member of the press will pass by and you can give them a package. Put the essentials in there; Book launch announcement, post cards, business card, information about the book(s). In some cases you can even include a copy of one of your books. Get the press hungry for your work.

SAMPLE COPIES: This is the real tricky thing. We want to make money from our books; after all we are a business. But there will come times where you will have to give the product away to gain attention. Reviewers, book clubs, press and interviewers are usually the best people to give sample copies to. You will have to accept the fact that you will have to eat the money on this. But also use your judgment. For example, you may give a sample copy to the head of a book club but don’t give the entire club the book. The idea is so that they will go out and buy it. You may, if you are selling the book through your own website, want to offer them a bulk discount.

BOOK FAIRS: What you have to understand about book fairs is that it’s a double edged sword. Yes, you can sell books and yes, it’s a great place to network and be seen. But what you want to do is market yourself here. You need to reach out to the readers, talk with them and get to know them. You are on display here, not the books. The books are the bonus.

An example of this was at the Brooklyn Book Fair in 2007. I had unveiled my new book The Hooky Party. Unlike my first time going to a book fair with A Gamble of Faith I came prepared with postcards, a book review on poster board and a couple of friends willing to spend the day with me.

The book is a young adult novel so that was my target audience for the day. There were many young adults at the fair, most were with parents. So my friends would go over to the parents with the book and postcard, ask them did they remember when they were teenagers what it was like to be at a hooky party. The reactions to the question drew their attention to the book then to me. When the parents came over, I would just reminisce about the days when we were young then segue into the book. Meanwhile the teen is looking at the book and reading the back. They were so taken by what I was doing, boom, I’d make a sale. The fact that I was the author and willing to talk was the plus.

To the teens, meeting a ‘real author’ is the treat. So I would talk to them about school and trade stories and soon they wanted to know more about the Hooky Party so they bought the book. In that instance, I never really talked about the book but about me and why I wrote it. So they think there’s some secret in there they will learn so they bought it. At the end of the day, I went home with only three books left.

Book Fairs can be slow going and if you don’t have patience you may want to think twice before going. While you do want to make money that day, remember readers look for bargains and take little risk on new authors. So you have to sell them on you and why they should put money down for your book. My advice would be never to sell the book for cover price unless it’s already cheap. Meaning that if your book is $15, don’t sell it for $15 as an unknown author. No one will touch it. Shave off a couple of bucks. If you have more than one book, do a bundle pack. My books range in price but I will do a bundle if people are interested. If I have 2 books priced at $15 each, I will sell both for $25. I personally don’t charge for an autograph but some authors do. They will charge $12 for a book with the autograph, $10 without it. That’s completely up to you but I don’t do it.

My final word on book fairs is to do your homework about them. What do I mean?

The Brooklyn Book Fair is a book fair, meaning the only thing you will see being sold and displayed are books. I have been to book fairs where there are people selling music CD’s, jewelry, t-shirts, scented oils, food, none of which have anything to do with books. Some even invite street vendors selling popular book titles for dirt cheap which, of course, takes away all potential customers from you. Then, peppered throughout the fair, are actual authors trying to sell. In essence the fair is more of a flea market than a place to sell books. There is a 99.9% chance you will sell nothing at all and worse, draw no attention to yourself. That’s a complete waste of time and money. So you should always plan to visit the fairs first and plan to sell the following year. Get out and experience them.

CONVENTIONS: Always great for networking, not always a great place to sell unless it’s a genre convention like Comic Conventions or Fantasy Conventions if that is what you write. If you plan to sell at one of these, build a fan base before you do. People who are familiar with you, your blogs or your marketing will want to meet you and thus bring potential buyers of your work to you. But networking, making yourself seen and getting your name out here is what’s important.

You should attend a couple of conventions first so you can get an idea of their set up, what people sell and how you will fit in. Unlike a book fair, Conventions are filled with a host of other events like panels and signing by celebrities. There are also a wide range of vendors selling collectables and other paraphernalia.

As a self published author you cannot be a recluse. Nobody knows who you are if you don’t come out or people meet you. The best promotion is self promotion. Be seen, talk about what you do and get people interested in your work.

GRANT APPEARANCES: For book clubs, offer to come and meet with the club about the book and answer questions. Make yourself accessible.
In the end, it boils down to the amount of time, effort and money you feel you want to put into being a self published author. Not everyone is cut out for it, not everyone can afford it and not everyone wants to do what I have above.

Writers write, that’s what we do, end of story (no pun intended). For the majority of us, getting published is the goal but it can a long time to reach. I’m not saying that self publishing is the quick and easy way to get published, it’s not. But is an option you have available for you.

THE VIDEO BLOGS ARE UP!!

Announcing Hobbcat2012 on Youtube. Go to Youtube and join Hobbcat2012 to see my video blogs. Get further information about self publishing and writing from me via video. Click the link below and check them out.

http://youtu.be/PR3HpykzvoU


Next blog coming next week.

PART TWO: COMPANY, OWNERSHIP & PRINTING

If you are ready to move to the next phase of self publishing, these next few steps are essential. You might be asking yourself why I would mention starting a company when we’re talking about writing your own book. Well, if you’re going to self publish, you’re going to want to establish a name for yourself via a company. Also, many printing companies only provide services to those with tax id numbers. But take a look at some of the next steps you want to take.

Since you are self-publishing, you want to establish a brand name. This brand name will be key for your fans that will come to know your work. Establish a company name and make sure it’s not taken by someone else. Try to avoid using your name for the company. Be creative but not silly that way people take you seriously. For example my company name, Hobbcat, was named after my house cat.

You may also decide if you want to become and Incorporation or an LLC. Before you make that final decision, be sure you do your homework on the difference between the two. Most people go with the LLC because it’s easier to deal with for tax reasons. Incorporations require much more attention to detail. You will want to find out your state tax laws and how you need to file. Do not make this decision lightly or you will pay for it down the line. You can either check with your state website or Legal Zoom about the differences.

Next you will need to get ISBN (International Standard Book Number) numbers and barcodes for your books. This is that 13 digit number you find with the barcodes and inside the copyright page of the book. Why do you need to buy this number is you are going to self publish?

Let’s go back to IUniverse. Remember when I told you I went to them first to self publish my book because I was considered the self publisher and retained my rights? That was only half right. I will explain.

When you publish with them, you retain your copyright which means you keep ownership of the book. But the ISBN is assigned to you by them. That number is owned by the company, IUniverse, thus making them the publisher, not you. That means you cannot duplicate that book with that ISBN number anywhere because you don’t have that right. If you own your own ISBN, then you are the publisher. It is linked to you. You need that number to sell in bookstores and abroad. Without it, you won’t be able to get it in the stores.

The Barcodes contain the price that you set for your book. How do you determine how much to set the price for? It all depends on you. Really, it does. As the publisher you set the price. Keep in mind what you’re spending to put the book together and printing costs. If you’re not sure how much to price your book for, my advice is to go to the book store and look at the shelves. Hard cover books often cost much more than soft cover book. One reason for this is both shipping and printing costs. The heavier the book, the more you will pay across the board. Soft cover book vary in size and price so depending on what size you want to print, you should adjust your price accordingly. Again, go to the bookstores and check out the shelves and see what prices have been set on the books. Remember now; think about your printing costs and how much you want to take in.

PRINTING: There was a time when printing was done in bulk. Traditional Printing, as it is called, is still done. But for the most part self published authors tend to avoid bulk printing unless it’s necessary. It used to be that if you took your book to a printer to have copies done you had to print a minimum amount of copies. Anywhere from 200 to 1000 and then you had to store them someplace.

There isn’t anything wrong with traditional printing. If you have only one title having five hundred copies of the same book on hand for when you are doing speaking engagements or signings is always a good idea. However if you are a self publishing author with multiple titles you may not want to have five hundred of the same titles sitting around you home. You may not even have room for it all. So what can you do in that case?

Well printing has changed. Now a day you don’t have to do traditional printing. There are a lot of companies offering what is called print on demand. They are offering discounts for ordering in bulk and even shipping directly to other addresses per your request. It is more cost effective for the self published author to go this route unless you prefer to have thousands of copies of your book on hand.

So what is print on demand?

Print on Demand (POD) is a printing service by which books are printed in the amount they are requested. As opposed to having to order a set amount of books, you can choose to print only what you need. You can order one book or a hundred. I have found this process to be the best for me especially since I have multiple titles under my name. Since I also don’t sell too many books out of my home, I can always order what I need for events.

For example, if I am going to be at a book fair or a convention and I know that certain titles will sell better than others, I can order up just enough of the best sellers to have on the table.

When you are ready to print, you should look into Lightning Source as a way to go. They not only offer good prices on POD but they when you sign up with them they will list your books on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. It’s always a plus to have your work listed on these sites.

If you are willing to put in the time and the money to follow the above steps, you are halfway there to self publishing your own book. If not, that’s okay. But you still need to follow that editing step before you send a manuscript out to a publishing house. The cleaner your work is, the better it will be received.

PART ONE: PUTTING YOUR BOOK TOGETHER

Like any business, it costs money to be a self publisher. Regardless to the fact that we are in the age of Kindle, Nook, E-Reading where uploading a book for you to these services are free, you still need money to self publish. Book covers are still needed, editing services are a must and you will need to purchase sample copies of your books to make sure everything is done right. If you plan to print books, either traditional printing or print on demand, you need to buy copies of your books to sell. You should research how much it will cost to do all of this. If you choose to skimp on quality, you will get what you pay for. Here are some essential steps.

Drafts: Before anything you will end up writing several drafts of your book. Take your time. A book does not need to be rushed. Since we are talking self publishing here and you are not on a publisher’s deadline, you have time to get things together. When you are done with your draft, re-read it and make corrections. Look for as many mistakes that you can find. Give it to someone else to read and let a fresh set of eyes look for mistakes. Do this and make as many rewrites as you can before you send it to an editor. The fewer mistakes you have in the manuscript, the easier you make it for the editor to concentrate on editing the structure of the story.

Editing takes place after writing the final draft of your book. You need to find someone to do a good copy edit which means they will not only work on grammar and spelling but story structure as well. A really good editor will give you some great tips on how to make you work stronger and more appealing to your readers.

Do your homework and make sure you get a reputable editor. Although we live in a time where going online to look for our needs in the norm, you will want to do more than surf the web for an editor. Talk with other writers who have success with them. Get recommendations. Do not just trust testimonials on editor websites, be proactive and try and reach out to the clients they serviced. There are some good editors out there but there are a lot of shams out there as well.

Editors are not cheap. The most disheartening thing for a writer is to pay a lot of money for a service and it turns out to be terribly done. I fell victim to this. I had two books that I paid a lot of money to be edited by professional editors I found online. Six months after they were on the market, readers and former editors informed me that my books were filled with mistakes. Keep in mind that even top selling authors books from major publishing houses sometimes have mistakes in them. But there were so many mistakes in mine that the books had to be recalled. I had to suspend working on new work and spend months fixing them.

When that editor is done, you give it to someone else to proof read and make corrections. Then you get a proof reader to proofread that. Regardless to the fact that I proofread it before giving the final payment, I missed things. If you are a writer and do not have editing experience or know what to look for, you will not pick up on these; as is my case. I am not a former English teacher or editor and I can find the basic errors. But a really good editor will find the mistakes. But even they miss things so it’s always better to get another set of knowledgeable eyes to look over your work. I will have another blog just on this situation coming soon.

Copyright your work and make sure you copyright your work through Washington DC copyright office. Although you are considered the sole owner of a piece the second you put pen to paper, for legal reasons, you want to be on file with them. www.copyright.gov There are several different stories out there about poor man’s copyright, the most notable is mailing the documents to yourself and not opening it. Whether this is a myth or not, you don’t want to leave anything to chance. The fee to copyright is a small price to pay to ensure ownership. It will take a few weeks to get the official; document back for your work but you can continue to move forward on the rest of your duties.

Book Covers are very important and would be the next thing you want to do. Prices on these will vary and depending on the quality of what you want, can be worth the price. You will often hear people say go to a book store and look at the books and see how your genre covers are done. I will add one more to that; go and look at movie posters too. Ever notice that after a book becomes a movie, that movie poster will appear as the new cover? Movie posters can provide further in inspiration for your covers. Can you do a book cover yourself? Sure, if you have a friend who does great work who can do it for little or nothing. If you are an artist yourself and can do it, by all means take that route. But remember the cover catches the eye like a movie poster. Poor or very generic looking covers will shun potential readers. No matter how well the story is inside, the cover is important. When I published my first book, A Gamble of Faith, I used the cover art from the playbill of the stage play. It was a very wonderful drawing and I thought that it would go over well with readers. I took the book to a writer’s conference and a book reviewer took one look at it and said “You need to get rid of that cover.” I asked why and he told me that because it was a drawing, it looked more like a book for teens than a book for my target audience which was adults. He told me that it looked childish (this was not a knock against the artist in anyway) and that no adult would buy it. I did explain that I kept it because people were familiar with the art and he said “That’s understandable if you were just selling the book at the play, but this is the book business. No one will buy it.” I took his advice and found a professional book cover artist to do a fresh cover based on the story.

The professional book cover artist took time to create something that matched the book. He talked with me and ran off ideas. With the new cover, I did see a change in sales. More people came to my table at the book fairs to get a closer look than they did before.

Book Layout will be the next thing you have to do. That’s the inside of the book. Font size, spacing, page numbering all have to be clean and straight. Next to editing, this too needs to be proof read so that you don’t send a book to print with. When you are done with your manuscript, apply for an LCCN number from the Library of Congress. You can file for one at www.pcn.loc.gov . The number is free and takes a few days to get. Once you have the number place it on the interior of the book where you put your copyright and ISBN number. You will have to send them a copy of the book for their records. I will address those in a minute.

So once you have done these things, it means you’re ready to print and sell right? Not just yet. Remember, it’s a business. You have a few more things to do that will add to your costs.

IS SELF PUBLISHING RIGHT FOR YOU? INTRODUCTION

I am often asked by writers if it’s a good idea to just go ahead and self publish their own material. Rather than try and get a publishing house to publish their work. The answer to that all depends on whether or not you are willing to do the kind of leg work to be a self published author. I can only speak from my experience as to the choice a person should make. I will share that with you now. First you have to understand what self publishing means. Self Publishing is publishing. Publishing is a business. So when you hear someone say I’m a self published author it means they are in the publishing business for themselves. They are not doing books for multiple authors, just their own work. So essentially they are doing everything a traditional publisher would do and more.

As a self-published author your work doesn’t end when you have finished the manuscript. It’s actually beginning. You will be putting the entire book together, from cover to cover. Overseeing every detail for your book. It’s going to take up a lot of time. So you need to educate yourself on the things that you will need before you put the book to bed. It requires time, money, patience and perseverance. Once you decide to publish the book on your own, you now have stepped into a world that requires your full attention. It’s not an undertaking you go into lightly.
If you have no desire, beyond just writing, to do the leg work it will take to get your books out there, stick with sending your manuscript out to publishing houses and/or agents.

But if you want to go forward with it, allow me to help you get on your way with some pointers and lessons I learned along the way. Let’s start from the beginning.


When I decided to self publish in 2004, I had no idea what I was in for.

My first novel A Gamble of Faith was based on a play I wrote. I took the advice of a former classmate of mine to publish through IUniverse. At the time, IUniverse was the way everyone who self published was going.

Several things attracted me to them. They touted that you are the self published author. You retain all the rights to your work. They took care of it all, the cover, layout, printing and a direct link to Barnes and Nobles after your book was printed. You also got print on demand which also meant that I would only have to print the amount I needed, not 1000 copies up front like you would have to with a regular printer. What aspiring writer wouldn’t pass up a deal to be on Barnes and Nobles? I would be selling thousands in no time. So I went with them, got the book done, sent a blast out to friends and family and waited. I was under the assumption that all I had to do is get the book to print, get the word out and I was on my way.

Boy was I wrong. I saw barely saw any money come in other than the copies I sold at the plays performances I was still doing. What went wrong?
I had published a book with no plan. No idea of who to sell to, where to sell, no marketing concepts (other than selling at plays) and pretty much not clue as to what to do. That was my first mistake, not having a plan.

A trip to a writer’s conference taught me a few other things I was completely unaware of. I would have to start all over again if I wanted to do it right. Just because the book is on the Barnes and Nobles list didn’t mean it was going to sell. I had to get out there and talk to bookstores, go to book fairs and make appearances to get the book known. I was in business whether I knew it or not. The business of selling a book and myself.

Putting Pen to Paper: Getting Started on the Path to Writing

I am at a signing or convention. Someone will walk up to me, tell me they have a story they have always wanted to write. It’s a really good story they feel will make a good book. The only problem is that they have no idea how to go about writing it. They tell me their issues with writing and want to know how I am able to sit and write an entire novel. Here are some of the things I am told and how I respond.

“I just don’t have the discipline to sit and write.”- Okay, you want to write a book. You have the story in your head but you don’t have the discipline to sit down and spend a few hours a day to write. Well here is the bottom line, if you don’t have discipline, you can’t be a novelist. You can disagree with me all you want but this goes for anything you pursue in life. You have to have discipline to be a writer. The book is not going to write itself because you will it to do so.
First and foremost, writing is not only work, its hard work. I cannot stress this enough. Authors enjoy writing but the process takes awhile. When you pick up a book from the bookstore and take it home, does it ever cross your mind how much time and effort is put into a novel? Every single word on the page was thought out by the author then edited many times before reaching your hands. Authors spend many hours in front of their computers and/or notebooks fleshing out stories. It takes time and patience to do this, especially in a series.

I often hear people ask “Why does it take so long for my favorite writer to put the next part of the series out? All he/she has to do is write. It shouldn’t take that long.” News flash, just like you go to work from 9 to 5 and labor, so do writers. Yes, writing maybe the only thing we do for a living (if many of us are lucky to do that) but it is still work. Some stories require months of research. Others take longer because of a pace the writer maybe working at. Sometimes, a writer may have more than one series they are working on and tend to work on what is speaking to them at the time.

“But I just can’t sit in silence and write.” - Who says you have to sit in silence? Every writer is unique in their own way. Some writers can sit in silence for hours and work. Others listen to music that inspires their work. I like to work in a place where there are distractions (i.e. work, bar, television playing). It keeps my brain active and distractions force me to focus on my story. You have to find what works for you. Once you do, you can find your rhythm


“Do I need to write an outline before I can start writing a novel?” – There is only one time I don’t write an outline and that’s when I am doing a short story. An outline is very important and necessary when writing a novel. You might have an idea for a great story but you’re going have to break it down into chapters. By outlining each chapter beforehand it helps you make the story flow better. This also gives you the chance to design the characters better by working out their back story and strengthening your plot.

Writers will tell you that a story has a nasty habit of going where it wants to go, not where you tell it. So you may start out coming up with a story and heading down one path then all of a sudden something unplanned happens and you end up going in a different direction. By having an outline written and following that, you can determine just how far off course you can go. You might find yourself coming up with a completely better story than you first came up with.

“How many hours do I need to work on my novel?” – This goes back to discipline. You should devote how many hours you feel your work deserves. I personally devote about three hours in the evening to writing and leave Saturdays and Sundays up in the air. Even a writer needs to take a day off from the voices in their head.

Even if it’s not a major piece, I am always writing something in that time frame. Just to keep the creative juices flowing.
Come up with a time frame that works for you and use it. You can write in the morning, during your lunchtime, break the time up into different points of the day. But use that time to the fullest.

"Do you need to do research if you are writing a fiction novel?" - I do. It does help to make your story more believable if you have facts tied into it. Some writers like to put fictitious characters in real world settings. A good example of that is historical fiction. John “Jack” Aubrey is one such character. The famous character from the Patrick O’Brian books (Master and Commander, Far Side of the World) commands ships on the high seas during the Napoleonic War. Though he never existed, most of his naval battles and adventures are drawn from actual Royal Navy history.

I spent five years reading about angels for my book The Dead Syndicate. Learning about their powers, their weapons, what they look like. It helped me to build a world around them that was believable.

With horror stories, I watched a lot of the Discovery Channel and followed up reading up of various animals and insect that became characters in my stories. In my book Anthorrorgy, the story called Vampsquito is based on some research I did on mosquitoes. Knowing the habits of mosquitoes and what makes them annoying to people helped make the story more realistic. That helped me to create the monster that terrorizes a town.

Even though its fiction, it still has to be believable to the reader.

“Should I go to school for writing or take a class?” – There is nothing wrong in furthering your education. Sometimes just taking a simple class can help you tighten your technique; build upon your story structure and how to create an effective plot. It all depends on what you feel you will need help with in order to make you a stronger writer. It’s not a requirement that you go to school to be a writer but every little bit does help.

“Can I just write my entire book by hand? Do I need to type it because I don’t know how to type?” – I know what you’re thinking and the answer is yes; someone actually has asked me about that. You can write the draft of a novel anyway you feel comfortable. But if you plan to print or even try and sell your manuscript, you better learn how to type. Even if you have to do it hunt and peck style, it has to be typed. No one will read it in a hand written form.
Your manuscript will go through a lot of drafts before its ready to be put out on the market in any form (publishing house or self-published) and it will be 100x’s easier to retype the work on a computer than hand writing the pages.

“I don’t have the patience to sit and write for hours.” – I put this statement last because I'm usually very blunt about answering it. It's not to be mean but I take writing very seriously. This statement is a tad bit different than the discipline one. Whereas you find it hard to sit and focus on what you have to do to write, this means you lose interest quickly and just stop doing it. There is nothing wrong with taking a break to recharge your batteries to keep going. But if being out with friends is more important or playing that video game is a must and seems better than sitting for how ever long you need to write, you’re not ready to be a writer. I tell people flat out you either do it or you don’t. Writing, whether a career or hobby, does require a level of devotion. If you can't give it the attention it needs, writing may not be for you.

Overall,if you have a passion for writing, sit and write. It's that simple. Writing is like any other venture in life. It requires time and focus. Give it that and the return will be great.

Next up I will talk about self-publishing and give tips on going down that road.

Do you have any questions about writing? Let me know how I can help.

Message from Marc L Abbott

Good Evening,

I first want to thank all of you who have supported me and my work these past seven years. The journey so far has been an eventful one.

After seven years, I have decided shut down Hobbcat Publishing Inc. It was not an easy decision to make but something I had to do. My books will still be available and my revised editions will be launched through Hobbcat LLC. Under the new company I will be broaden my work through theater and film as well as books. A new undertaking I am excited to begin.

I have learned a great deal in those seven years and I want to share that with you. Over the next few months my posts will be filled with information on self publishing, tips on being a better writer, mistakes to avoid and announcements of my new work. I look forward to your feed back and I hope that my future posts help inspire, educate and prepare you on your future endeavors as a writer.

Marc L Abbott
Hobbcat LLC

DEAD SYNDICATE ISSUES

For those who brought the errors to my attention regarding The Dead Syndicate I want to let you know that the book was sent to an editor.

A-1 Editing Services, which I found online and hired to edit my tome, is the company that edited the manuscript. I published the final edit that was emailed to me by the editor who was supposed to do a full edit including grammar, spelling and structure. I felt it was my duty to let you all know who the editor was as you have now seen the level of work they do.

I have had another editor rework the book and I am currently working to get a proper copy put out for 2012 before the launch of Hobbcat LLC. I have pulled the book from Kindle for the time being and will be pulling the print copy as well.

I apologize for giving you a subpar product and promise that for the coming New Year, and beyond, that no more of my books will be published without proper post edit review.

ANTHORROGY BEING PULLED

To my readers.It has been recently brought to my attention that Anthorrogy sufferes from serious editing problems. Rest assured I would not have released this work if I had known this.

Therefore I am pulling the book from both Kindle and print until they are corrected. I am sorry for any disappointment you have with my work. it is important that you receive the best quality work.

Once I have corrected these issues I will let you all know.

Again, I am sorry for the issues you have had with this piece and I hope to have it back up again soon.

Marc L Abbott

WRITING TIP: DIALOGUE

One of the hardest parts of a story for some writers is dialogue. How much to use, when to use it and most importantly; what to say. Normally dialogue is infused as the story unfolds around a series of sequences and descriptions. But I found a way that can make it easy.

Many people have often commented that my work reads and sounds like a movie. You want to know a secret? They read that way because much of my work started out in script form. That’s right, at one time I aspired to be a screenwriter and wrote a lot of scripts in college.

In fact, A Gamble of Faith and The Hooky Party, started out as scripts before I turned them into books. I spent hours writing dialogue for characters and immersed myself in their conversations. I didn’t really have to worry too much about being very descriptive like I do in a book, so I would gloss over the rest of the script. Creating brief details with the scene descriptions and shot designs, dialogue got most of the attention.

When I decided to write the books, I simply used the scripts as the skeletons and filled in everything around the dialogue. So for example, in the Hooky Party screenplay, I briefly describe the locker area as being “a corner section of the hall with blue and brown lockers”. After that I get into the dialogue. For the book, I expanded on the locker area by being more descriptive about the lockers themselves, who hangs out there, their importance to the characters that are in the area and why they are the color they are. That description is not important in a screenplay and if in fact some of that is relevant, a character can be given a couple of lines to mention it. In the book, that detail allows the reader to visualize the place as they read. All I had to do with the dialogue after that is make small revision to it or, in most cases, never touched it.

Writing your stories out in script form before the novel is a great way to concentrate on your characters voices. It also enables you to build better scenery around it. Little nuances like the description of leaves blowing in the wind, textures of faces or items, and even action or romance sequences can get the just attention they need instead of you worrying about getting everything down at one time.

So on your next project, try writing your work out as a script first and get involved with your characters dialogue. You just might find that everything else will fall into place.

EBooks: The Self Published Authors Perspective

Recently, I have been getting messages and articles sent to me informing me about the new trend; Ebooks. Much of this information is given to me to convince me that ebooks are now the way to go and why I should let go of print publishing. Yes, I still print books and I will not stop printing books until printing goes the way of the 8 Track and Laserdisk. I am a firm believer that printing will not actually die out but it will take a backseat to ebooks. I mean, let’s face it, you can read the newspaper online for free but people still like to buy it, grab the free copies and even have it delivered. Book Fairs are still very popular and people flood them to get their hands on famous and local favorite books. So printing's not down and out just yet.

With that said, I have been intrigued by the ebook. Many people swear by them and love he convenience of them. No more paperback or hardcover books to carry around. Now it’s all about ereaders and tablets. You can even buy books to read on your phone. They have certainly come a long way from reading them on your computer. I certainly see the appeal and I will be the first to admit that I own one and, from time to time, downloaded a book or two. Yes, even an old print lover like me finds the ebook and ereader a great tool to enjoy.

The steady appeal I have been noticing isn’t so much the idea of books disappearing, but the advent that now anyone or everyone can now publish their works to sell to consumers nearly worldwide. Writers no longer need to go to traditional publishing houses to try and get signed to book deals. Pretty soon authors will forgo setup sites like Xlibris and IUniverse for the opportunity to call their own shots in pricing and sales distribution.

This is especially the case with Kindle and their Self-publish with us program which offers writers up to 70% of their profit of sales. No writer today could ask for a better deal than that. The deal sounds even sweeter when reports pop up of authors making close to millions of dollars in ebook sales alone. But as I always say, the Hollywood side of the story always sounds better.

I call it the Hollywood side because the end result always sounds so glamorous. The over night sensation who is outselling established authors or that writer who appeared from nowhere and is now a phenom in sales and fans. It does happen but this is not the norm for many writers. One rule still applies, whether print or ebook, anyone deciding to go forward as a self published author has to work very hard at it. Understand that the “e” in ebooks doesn’t stand for easy. It’s not an easy way out from conventional publishing, just a different way to publish. Hard work is still necessary.

As a self published author with my own label, I have thought a lot about the effects of ebooks. True printing isn’t down and out, and it may never be, but one thing history has taught us is that you have to move with the times. So I decided to look at how self publishing benefits from the ebook. It has its pros and cons, as you will read what I have written below. But understand, though, my points come from the inside looking out, not vice-versa. But both sides are important to look at.


AFFORDABILITY: If you have ever self published a book, you know that a great deal of money is spent in the process. Everything from editors to cover artists to layout; it can get pretty pricey. Ebooks cut out a small portion of this. You no longer need to hire someone to lay out the book as files are transferred onto a digital platform. HTML coding does the rest. If you are cover savvy, you can design and upload your own cover rather than hire someone to do it. Also, in most cases, you don’t need an ISBN number to assign to your book. I noticed this with Kindle and anyone who has had to buy those blocks of numbers know, that’s a major cost you save on as well as bar codes.

PRINT NO MORE: Ereaders make it so you no longer have to print and store copies of books at home. There was a time where if you printed your book with a conventional printer you had to order thousands of copies of books for the printer to do business with you. That was a requirement. Then along came Print on Demand which meant that you could print only the amount you needed or wanted at a time. You only need 50 books, that’s all you had to print. Of course shipping charges and applicable taxes were added in, but it was better than bulk purchasing. Now, with Ebooks, you don’t need to print at all. A considerable price that is lifted off your shoulders.

REACHING THE MASSES: The biggest concern of a self published author is getting your book into the bookstores and on the shelf. Whether it is the big chain stores or your local mom and pop, getting your book out there for all to see has been the number one priority. With Ebooks, there is no worry of getting on the shelf. With Kindle, your book is posted right on Amazon for millions of readers to see. The same goes for Nook as you will be posted to Barnes and Noble.

INSTANT CONSUMER GRATIFICATION: Ereaders now allow readers to get their ebooks instantly anytime and anywhere. Instead of making trips to the store, they can by from home, at the office or any wifi hotspot.

A GREAT TOOL: Now just because Ebooks have become popular, doesn’t mean you should immediately stop offering your print books to the masses. Ereaders are a hot item but there are still many who still prefer to buy print books. Also, print books are a great selling and marketing tool at conventions and fairs. Readers like to browse, thumb through the pages and get a sense of how much reading they will get out of your book. An Ebook can be your added bonus for the consumer that may not be 100% sure they want to take a chance on buying your paperbacks. Ebooks are a great alternative.

MARKETING EBOOKS NOT EASY: If you read about the million dollar sellers, many of them have sold so many Ebooks because they have a heavy blog or weblit fan base. You must understand that or you will be gravely disappointed with your sales. Ebooks, like print books, do not sell themselves and just because you made the book affordable doesn’t mean the world will come flocking. You have to market yourself. As I said before, they are a great tool. That being said, they are not the easiest things to market at conventions or fairs. I have yet to see a person pull out a Kindle at a book fair and say “Here is my book.” Build author pages on Amazon, keep an active website going offering the ebook versions for sale on them. But above all, build a fan base online. Those are the people who surf to learn more about you and your work and will buy. Build Facebook fan pages, link them to Twitter and keep people coming back to want your work.

PRICING: While I like the fact that you can make 70% from ebooks (an yes, three of my titles are available on ebooks) consumers are not going to pay full price for your book. What does that mean? Along with the ease of acquiring titles and the ability to carry many titles in an ereader, the consumer likes a bargain. They do not expect to pay the same price for your book on an ereader as they do in the store. And here is where many believe publishing companies are going to get hit hardest the most. Most readers rather not pay more than $5 for an ebook (average price for paperback goes from $9.99 - $15.00 Hardcovers are always more).

The fact is, many of the titles that sell really well fall into the $.99 - $3.00 range for ebooks. Since printing costs are non existent, setting a high price for an ebook makes it less appealing. So does this mean that setting a low price for your book compromises your integrity as a self published author? That is a question only you can answer. Even at fairs, I never charged cover price for my books because I knew the consumer liked a good deal. Keep that in mind when you look to price your ebooks. Will you make money with such low prices? Go back and see what I said about marketing. How you market yourself will determine if you will sell well or not. Remember, if you want to see those hefty returns they write about in some articles you have to sell a lot of ebooks.

PHYSICAL PRODUCT NOT AVAILABLE: If there is one con I have with ebooks, it’s that they are not physical books. Now one would say simply; that’s the whole point. And to that I say, “You have to be an author to understand.” One of the best and most self gratifying things for many self published authors is to be able to sign their work for a fan. I’m not talking some digital signature, I mean your own. You cannot do that with an ebook. The only real setback I see in the ereader/ebook world.

In all, I feel that ebook is staking its claim well in the literary market. Much like audio books have, and still do. It is a new tool on the block that will advance in its own way and its own time. While I will flow with the tides of time, I still like to crack open a paperback too.

Happy reading everyone.

Marc L Abbott

FEBRUARY 2011 UPDATE

Hello one and all. We are in the second month of the year and this is the first post update for the New Year.

I have been very, very busy getting things up and running for the New Year and trust me you will not be disappointed.

First I want to thank all of you who have been purchasing my work on Kindle. i hope to have all my titles there by the end of the year. It seems that A Gamble of Faith has become a very hot title amoung my book on Kindle so for all of you who have been reading it, I have big news.

The stage play version of A Gamble of Faith will be back this spring. We are in rehearsals at the momen tand hope to have a show up by May. I will keep you posted on the progress and when to expect to see it up and running.

There are changes coming to my website soon. I will no longer be selling books through the company but each book will have a link to where you can purchase those and their Kindle counter parts. Also the Dead Syndicate book review will be available soon as well.

My new novel The Dead Syndicate is out at bookstores. It won't be available for Kindle for a while so don't wait, order your copy today at your retail bookstores. If you live in the NY/NJ/CT area I will be at this years Lunacon in Rye, NY selling and discussing The Dead Syndicate. Lunacon is running March 18th-20th and you can learn more about it at http://2011.lunacon.org/

My long anticipated childrens book will be out late April/early May entitled Etienne and the Stardust Express.

Two new horror stories will be available for Kindle in September.

So get ready for a very active year from Hobbcat Publishing. I'll be back soon for Lunacon announcements.

Be well!

OCTOBER UPDATE

Happy October,

I’d first like to thank all of you who came out to the Brooklyn Book Fair last month. I was great seeing old faces and meeting new ones. There is a lot to announce so without further adieu lets go down the line.

After 18 years and countless rewrites, the first book in my Dead Syndicate series made its debut at the Brooklyn Book Fair. The Dead Syndicate: Trial of the Archnemesis, which chronicles a fallen angels’ fight in the war between good and evil, is available now in limited run. The book officially launches at the end of the month just in time for Halloween. You can check out the blurb in the bookstore on the Hobbcat website. Those of you who have Anthorrorgy and have read The Diary of the Archnemesis already know the troubles Archnemesis Clide is facing, this first book will take you further down his dark path. So if you haven’t gotten a copy of Anthorrorgy yet, this will be the perfect time to purchase a copy.

Many readers have asked me when will I make some of my books available for the popular eReaders. In the beginning I had my doubts about the devices but I caved in a bought one for myself. After a smooth test drive of the product I made the decision make my work available. So I am excited to announce that The Hooky Party, my most popular novel and first book published under Hobbcat Publishing Inc., made its debut on Kindle last month. If you have any of the Kindle eReaders , you can purchase the book for ½ off the cover price at the Kindle store on Amazon. The other novels will follow in months to come. By next year, all of my titles will be available for all eReaders. So stop by the Kindle store and get your copy of The Hooky Party and don’t forget to tell a friend.

A Gamble of Faith is in the works again to be brought to the stage. I am working with a new producer and in talks of bringing the stage play back in the New York area and possibly further. The play is due to go up early 2011 and may go on the road as the year progresses so I will keep you posted on that.

I will be adding a new section to my website soon called Shorts! which will feature a short story, poem or excerpts from upcoming larger works of mine. Right now I am putting together a small collection that will change from month to month. Availability for download to eReaders will also be made available for a small price. How small, well you won’t break the bank I promise you.

That’s all for now. Stay tuned for the next set of announcements during the month of October.

Until next time!