Saturday, March 21, 2009

Second Edition of Covenant Launches; Appetite Forthcoming

Covenant Covers, Then and Now
The new cover for Covenant uses tweaked sunset and summit shots that I took while walking around my neighborhood. Constructed using MS Paint, MS Photo Editor, and MS PowerPoint.

I've posted the following on my website:

How does one attract buyers in a world where the dollar has become increasingly tight?

I asked myself: What happens if you remove the dollar from that equation?

More than just money rides in this world. Time rides. Vision rides. I thank you if you've read my material (bibliography's here), because it means you've spent your hard-earned time paying attention to what I've put out there.

By offering free downloads of Covenant (Second edition, ISBN: 978-0-9819764-0-2, distribution allowed, all other rights reserved), I only seem as though I am giving something away. Your time, your interest, and your involvement in something that has stemmed from my ego are blessings I do not for one second take for granted.

And because you are readers, I ask that you share (in all the responsible ways) what you've read, if you enjoy the work as the reviewers quoted on the download page have done. That would truly rock my world.

I am not one to shy away from money offered freely, but I would suggest that if you do want to spend some of that, then support your local library. Or make a donation to the Preditors and Editors Defense Fund, or help out the SFWA Emergency Medical Fund. Even though no royalties have come to me from Aisling Press (more on that situation here), several pennies will go to the Emergency Medical Fund if you buy the first edition of Covenant through this Amazon link.

Or use the money you might have spent buying my book(s) to buy someone else's book(s). Or find your own cause that you care about. Pay it forward.

In his article "Macropayments" (Locus, Sept. 2008), Cory Doctorow writes, "In an ideal world, people without a lot of discretionary income are given the electronic edition (which costs [nearly] nothing to distribute) for free. They act like the breezes that loft the dandelion seeds — they go around, telling people about the book and its merits. In this regard, they’re better than random breezes, for they undertake a directed distribution of the book, seeking to bring it to the attention of people who are likely to have a positive response to it."

If I can come even a smidgen toward approximating an "ideal world," I'll have done my job.

In my current plans, offering Covenant up for free is just the beginning. "Current plans" is the operative term here, because plans can change depending on circumstances. For me, this is about more than having misplaced my trust in a publisher that defaulted. It's about making connections — about meeting readers who have enjoyed my visions (the best ego boost in the world!) and taking that connection further.

I still submit material the old-fashioned way. My website is the best place to check for updates on current and forthcoming work.

Thanks for coming this far with me, and for being there. If all goes well I plan to post the second volume, Deviations: Appetite, before the summer. I know some of you have been waiting for it, since its original release date had been set for September 2008. (Preview with Covenant spoilers here!)

Thank you for your patience and for your company on the journey!

— Elissa

P.S. I am indebted to Jeffrey A. Carver for his excellent how-to article, "Psst! Wanna Buy a Free Ebook?" (The Bulletin of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Dec. 2008-Jan. 2009). That article and its invaluable tips inspired me to reissue Deviations: Covenant as a free download. You can see what Carver's done with his own work here.




Cover for Deviations: Appetite
The cover for Appetite incorporates this shot from June 2006.






Cover for Deviations: Covenant, Second Edition Covenant, the first volume in the Deviations Series, is now available as a free download from the Deviations website. Click on the downloads link to access a variety of formats (second edition, ISBN 978-0-9819764-0-2).




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