In Which I Offer Up My Services

Self-publishing isn't easy. As almost any self-published writer will tell you, self-publishing can be quite rewarding, but it also takes up a lot of time, energy, and money. Through the years I went through a lot of trial and error when it came to self-publishing. I've said it before and I'll say it again -- when self-publishing, it's crucial to have these three things: a great book, professional formatting, and professional cover art. If you have all those things, you can basically stand shoulder to shoulder with books being churned out by major publishers. How to sell those books is another thing entirely, but right now I want to focus on the production. Besides the fact that I pride myself on the novels I publish (otherwise, you know, I wouldn't publish them), I'm also quite proud of the formatting and cover design. A good portion of my covers are done by Jeroen ten Berge, who I believe is a magician of graphic design. He manages to create covers I don't think anyone else in the world could create. I could never match his skills, so that's why I typically always hire him.

When it comes to formatting my ebooks and paperbacks, however, I manage those on my own. I've spent the last two years perfecting my formatting, because as someone who often reads ebooks, I know the formatting is just as crucial to a reader's enjoyment as the book itself. Even if the book is one of the best written books in the world, sloppy formatting will make the whole experience less enjoyable.

Lately I've been helping some writer friends publish their own works. It's gotten to the point that one of them asked why I don't just make my services available to everyone. For starters, the reason I never did before is because of time. Time, despite how cliche it sounds, is precious, especially when it comes to writing. But like I said, I've spent years perfecting my formatting skills, so now I don't need to spend nearly as much time as I did before.

Anyway, I've decided to offer my formatting services for a limited time. Please note that this doesn't mean I agree to read your work, or edit it, or proofread it, or anything. I'm simply offering to format it for either ebook or paperback or both.

I don't believe there is any one right path for writers anymore. If you decide to go the traditional path, good for you. If you decide to go the self-published path, great. But be aware there are a lot of "publishers" out there. I'm not going to get into what that means, as it will take another blog post or two, but if your main goal is to see your work published either digitally or physically or both and don't want to go through a publisher and would rather pay an upfront flat fee for various services, then here's what I'm offering.

• I will format your work into an ebook into mobi (for Kindle) and epub (for just about everything else). This would cost between $75 and $100, depending on length and complexity. If you also wish to go through Smashwords, I can offer a Word document to upload.

• I will format your work into PDF which you would use to upload for a paperback. CreateSpace offers templates writers can use via Microsoft Word; when I first started publishing my novels in paperback, I tried those templates. I didn't care at all for what the finished product looked like. Word is a great tool for writing, but not so much for publishing. So I went and downloaded Adobe InDesign and, after much trial and error, figured out what I was doing. InDesign is the same program major publishers use to design their book. I'm offering this service for between $100 and $150, depending on length and complexity.

So again, my rate for formatting an ebook: $75 to $100. My rate for formatting a paperback: $100 to $150. If you'd like your book formatted for both, we'll work out some kind of deal. We'll also work out some kind of deal if you have several works that you would like formatted at the same time.

If you're interested, shoot me an email at robert (at) robertswartwood (dot) com, explaining your project and its length and your desired turnaround time.

P.S. You can check out the "Look Inside" feature on any of my novels via Amazon to see what my own formatting looks like for both ebook and paperback.

Seeds

My latest ebook is a nasty little story called Seeds. It's a short story, and it's free. You won't be able to find it at Amazon or Barnes & Noble or Kobo or, even, iTunes. No, the only way you can read this is to sign up for my newsletter. That's it. My newsletter subscribers have already received the ebook, and from now on anybody who signs up will immediately be sent Seeds. Every year, I plan to publish a special edition ebook that will be exclusive to my newsletter subscribers. Why? Well, because I love my readers and want to reward them any way I can, and this is just a small token of my thanks. So if you aren't already a subscriber ... WHY NOT?

It's Time To Walk The Sky

The weird western I co-authored with David B. Silva is finally available from Thunderstorm Books, in two different formats (and featuring the brillant cover art of Vincent Chong). Before I tell you about that, though, here's what the book is about:

Things are bad for Clay Miller and George Hitchens.

For starters, they’re on the run from a posse out for blood. Then, as they ride through the Utah desert, the two come across the crumpled body of a young boy on the brink of death. The boy can’t speak, but it’s clear he’s frightened of something in the area. When asked what’s got him so scared, the terrified boy writes three letters in the dirt ...

DED

By nightfall, Clay and George are tied up in jail. They can’t move. They can’t speak. They can do nothing but listen to the boy, outside, screaming for his life.

Yes, things are bad for Clay and George.

And they’re only going to get worse.

Thunderstorm is presenting Walk the Sky in two formats: Hard Rain and Douglas Western. What's the difference between the two? From the publisher:

The Hard Rain edition is limited to 75 signed, unnumbered copies. The book is produced with the cover art printed on the boards (no dustjackets), and the trim size is 6″x9″.

The Douglas Western deluxe edition is limited to 75 signed, individually numbered copies. The book is produced with upgraded boards (no dustjackets), and specialty endsheets; the signature page is full color; decorative stamping on the spine; and a ribbon page marker. Also included are two additional bonus stories, 2 rewritten chapters, and a conversation between Robert and David highlighting the thought process of the project.

One of the bonus stories in the deluxe limited edition is my story "The Cactus," which I wrote back in high school, had accepted by a magazine that eventually folded before it could publish the story, and which has always stayed with me, so much so that it was the inspiration for Walk the Sky. "The Cactus," just like everything else in the Douglas Western format, will never be published elsewhere.

Note that if you purchase either formats of Walk the Sky, you are entitled to the ebook. Just forward your receipt to robert (at) robertswartwood (dot) com and you'll be sent the ebook a week before it's officially released later this year.

On a personal note, this is my very first limited edition hardcover. I'd like it sell out as soon as possible. So, you know, please buy a copy!

In Which I And Others Become Un-STRIPPED

So remember last year me telling you about this anthology I was in called Stripped, A Collection of Anonymous Flash, edited by Nicole Monaghan, where all the stories were printed without bylines? Well, a full year has passed with all the authors remaining mum on which stories were theirs, and now finally Nicole has posted the full table of contents. My story? It's called "The Ballad of This and That." It's actually one of my favorite recent flash fiction pieces. It's also one of the last flash fiction pieces I've written. I've sort of "retired" from writing flash fiction. For a while I was writing it all the time, and having quite some fun, but in the past few years I've been concentrating more on novels. That isn't to say I won't write more flash or even hint fiction in the future, but right now don't expect any from me. Which means you should definitely check out Stripped, both for my story and all the rest of the great stories. And hey, I'll be down in Philadelphia next Saturday at Fergie's Pub, from 2 to 4 pm. PS Books is hosting an event for PS authors and the Philadelphia Stories Winter Issue authors to read, and they've asked Nicole to invite local contributors to read as well. So I'll be there, reading my story. If you're in the area, stop by and check it out.

The Inner Circle Gets Mentioned

Some writers fall all over themselves and do whatever they can to get mentioned on year's end best-of lists. I'm not one of those writers. Still, I was thrilled and pleased to see that Brian Keene named The Inner Circle as one of his top ten books of 2012, alongside Stephen King, Joe Lansdale, and Tom Piccirilli. Here's some of what he says:

Critics love to attach comparisons to this new generation of authors. I don’t know that such comparisons do anyone any favors, but they do alert the previous authors audience to the presence of an author whose work they might also enjoy, so it is with that in mind that I offer this: Robert Swartwood is the next F. Paul Wilson — if F. Paul Wilson’s DNA was spliced with Michael Marshall Smith. The Inner Circle is a crafty, clever, white-knuckle thriller. If you haven’t yet read Swartwood, you’re missing out.

Thanks, Brian!

You can read the rest of what Brian said, as well as check out the rest of the books on his list, here.