B. Justin Shier's Blog, page 8

So what's the deal with Elliot College's robes?

What do they look like, exactly...and do they come in taupe?

Many questions have been asked. Few have been answered.

Until now...

+
Elliot College's tradition of fine seasonal outwear dates back to the mid 1600's, when the proud institution was founded in the newly established colony of New Haven. During their day-to-day business, Elliot students donned the standard academic regalia of Europe, now referred to in America as "cap and gown" attire. Thes...

We Have Liftoff!
I'm happy to announce that Zero Sum , the sequel to Zero Sight, is now available for purchase. Like it's predecessor, Zero Sum is provided to you DRM-free. That means you can read it however you want, on any device, or print it out onto linoleum siding.

[image error]
Zero Sum on Amazon Zero Sum on B&N
Zero Sum picks off right were Zero Sight left off. Lambda squad has been handed a heavy task: prove Talmax's ACT devices are made from contraband from beyond the frame. No pressure, though. Only ...

"Every artist was first an amateur ... Don't be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment."

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

Well, here goes nothin', Ralph...

B.

The Zero Sight beta is all patched up.

I'm formatting the EPUB and MOBI files now.

What do ya'll thinks about this blurb for Amazon + B&N websites:

+
The Great Slump continues. America is on the skids. The President calls for calm, but not even she knows the worst of it: America's magical factions have drawn blades, and the Department of Mana Affair's once omnipotent DEA agents have been left cowering behind their wards. Left undefended, the proud Magi of the West have been forced to flee their...

Earlier this week, I participated in an interview with Mihir Wanchoo over on Fantasy Book Critic. Despite their focus on mainstream titles, FBC has been tremendously supportive of new indie talent. They were good enough to review Zero Sight in October, and you can see many other indie reviews there each month.

Mihir asked me about the road I took to indie publishing and a bit about how the Zero Sight covers were created. We then moved on to talk about J.A. Konrath, the revolution in e-publishi...

The Zero Sum manuscript has now entered the second and final beta round. We are still on course for a late November release.

If I can figure out the HTML, there is going to be a cool map of Elliot included with the book. It is being drawn by an actual architect, who may or may not also be my younger brother.

I am truly sorry for the delays, but I've gotta make sure the typos are kept to a minimum. Some typos can be  laughed off, but accrue too many and it can turn into a total mess. The long an...

Less blood. More fireworks. Zero Sum's cover has arrived. The new cover was a blast to work on. Jon Steller (editor) and I shot the fingers during our lunch break at the psych hospital...and a big thank you to You-Know-Who for finger modeling instead of acquiring packets of mustard for your sandwich.

Jordan Kimura was in charge of graphic design for this cover as well. We sent her our over-saturated proofs. She let out a tired sigh (she claims it was a smile of delight), removed the nasty plas...

An incredibly exciting review of Zero Sight  was just published on Fantasy Book Critic. I'm sorta in a state of shock. FBC is the site I go to for reviews of mainstream fantasy releases for my own reading pleasure. Seeing a review For Zero Sight up there is kinda freakin' me out.


My thanks go out to the staff at FBC for taking the time to review indies. They took the time to review David Dalgish's newest a bit further down the page. 


Now back to nagging Zero Sum's beta readers...


B.

About Fantasy...

Phew. Finally got this silly thing to work.

I've added an Email List to the site for folks interested in being updated when new B.J. Shier authored works are released. (I'll also let you know if there are any super deals or chances to get advanced/free copies.) For added security, I'm using Google Groups to manage this service. No one but I will send you anything, Emailing will be kept to a minimum, your addresses will not be shared with third parties, and you'll be able to unsubscribe at any ...

Author Kristine Kathryn Rusch had a great article the other day on Business Rusch blog about her experiences with traditional publishers. At the end of the article, Ms. Rusch provided author Lee Allred's concise guide to the pros and cons of indie publishing. It's plain fantastic. I couldn't find the original post by Mr. Alred. If someone has seen it, please shoot me the link so I can properly credit him:

======================================Advantages with the traditional publishing/agent...