Win A Copy Of Cry For Tomorrow

Right now you can register to win a copy of Cry For Tomorrow on Goodreads.com.  The promotion ends on January 1, 2012, so hurry to get in on this giveaway!

In other developments, Cry For Tomorrow has shipped from Smashwords to Apple, Barnes & Noble, and Diesel.  The eBooks will show up within the next ten days or so on these sites.

Cry For Tomorrow Updates

Here are some updates on what's happening with the book:

1. Amazon has dropped its price to $12.23, matching Barnes & Noble.
2. The Kindle edition is now linked to the print edition on Amazon's site.
3. Cry For Tomorrow (and I) can be found on the Goodreads site.  This is a great opportunity to get a non-Kindle edition (ePub) copy of the book for just $.99!  I will be doing some promotions on Goodreads in the near future, so look for a chance to win a free copy.
4. Smashwords, yesterday, approved Cry For Tomorrow for inclusion into its premium catalog.  I know I've been talking about this for a few weeks, but this is an exciting step.  The book will soon be available in Apple's iStore, Barnes & Noble (Nook), Diesel, and Kobo.  Look for a lower price soon as I attempt to create some momentum for the book.

Amazon's Look Inside Feature Now Enabled for Cry For Tomorrow

Well, it took a couple of weeks, but the really cool Look Inside The Book feature is now enabled on Amazon's Cry For Tomorrow page.  I've always found this feature to be an amazing plus for Amazon's site, and I've used it extensively to preview many books.  If you want to get a sampling of the book, the Look Inside is a great way to do it.

Some more updates:  I'm still waiting for Smashwords to approve the book for their premium catalog.  There was a snag last week because one of the title pages had red text.  This, evidently, is a big no-no for Smashwords.  Although this problem was corrected in short order, I'm still waiting for Smashwords to conduct another review.  So, I anticipate a response sometime this week.

I'm also waiting for Goodreads.com to link my account with my author account so I can start promoting my book there.  Goodreads is a site with about six million active members, so I'm very excited about the prospects of reaching new readers there.

There are other prospects for sales and promotion in the works.  Stay tuned!

Books-A-Million Now Has Cry For Tomorrow

Another major bookseller website now has Cry For Tomorrow.  Books-A-Million, a large book retailer out of Alabama now has the book.  Just go here.

It is exciting to see all of these websites carrying the book-but that doesn't necessarily mean sales.  Being fully aware of that fact, I'm going to be working in coming weeks and months to get the word out locally, regionally, and eventually nationally.  Please pray for God's guidance in this important phase for the book.

You can help, too!  If you've read the book and like it, please take a few minutes to write a review on Amazon, or one of the other bookseller sites.  Thanks to all of you in advance.

Just one more thought here.  It is interesting to see how different sellers have priced the book.  The list price is $16.99.  As mentioned earlier, Barnes&Noble has the book priced for $12.23, while Amazon has it for the list price and others have it priced somewhat higher.  My share of royalties is based on the list price, however, so I receive the same amount if a copy is sold on Barnes & Noble or Books-A-Million.  Amazon is different, since it is affiliated with Createspace.  Copies sold on Amazon net a higher royalty to me.  The bottom line for readers is to go to Barnes & Noble and save a few bucks and get a great read!

More Sites Carrying Cry For Tomorrow

The distribution march continues.  Cry For Tomorrow is now appearing on AbeBooks, Powell's, Amazon sites in Canada, UK, France (!), and Germany, Biblio, and Biblio's UK site.

More sites are forthcoming, especially once the book passes through the Smashwords review process (still waiting on that one). 

One thing I'd like to point out is that Cry For Tomorrow is a print-on-demand book.  The technology is very fast and the printed books are just as high quality as anything you'd purchase at your local bookstore.  For the environmentally conscious, print-on-demand means there are no copies floating around that haven't been ordered by readers or booksellers, so no extra paper's being wasted.  It is quite possible we will see more books published in this efficient and environmentally friendly way going forward.  If we do, it will be something we can all cheer about.

Barnes & Noble Now Carrying Cry For Tomorrow

Early yesterday, Cry For Tomorrow appeared on Barnes & Noble's website.  The price there is lower than on Amazon.com ($12.23 v. $16.99), so if you'd like to save a few dollars on the price, head on over to Barnes & Noble and snap up a copy. 

The Nook edition is still in the works, but is still waiting to move through the Smashwords approval process.  I hope to see this completed before the end of the week, but it may take until next week to see the book approved for the Smashwords Premium Catalog, which will allow Cry For Tomorrow to go out in digital format to a variety of different online venues.

Of course, I'll keep everyone updated.  For those who've already purchased copies, you have my deepest thanks.  I hope you're enjoying the read!  Of course, your feedback is always welcome.

Cry For Tomorrow Now In Amazon's Kindle Store

As anticipated by yesterday's post, Cry For Tomorrow is now available for Kindle here.  So, if you've been holding off, waiting for the Kindle edition, now you can fulfill your desire.  Merry Christmas!

Cry For Tomorrow Now Available for eReaders

As promised, Cry For Tomorrow is now available in digital format for eReaders via the Smashwords website.  There, you can download versions for Kindle, Sony Reader, NOOK, Kobo, and iPad.  Within twelve hours Cry For Tomorrow will also be available for Kindle on Amazon.com.

Why publish through Smashwords?  Well, it's a tremendous distribution platform that covers all the major stores for ebooks.  Once Cry For Tomorrow is included in the Smashwords premium catalogue, it will be distributed to online retailers like the Apple Store and Barnes&Noble.com.  And all of this is for free - that is, there is no up-front cost.

There is also the possibility of producing an audio book for Cry For Tomorrow and I will be looking into that shortly.  Stay tuned!

Cry For Tomorrow Description

Since being released on Saturday, Cry For Tomorrow's Amazon page has not included the book's description.  The description can be viewed on Cry For Tomorrow's CreateSpace page, but I'm posting it up here since my blog posts are getting onto Amazon:

In 21st-century America's future, the American dream borders on extinction. Propped up by massive debt, the economy produces no real goods. The rest of the world starves while America stockpiles food. Large cities thrive, but infrastructure crumbles in less populated areas. The government teeters on the brink of insolvency as it mortgages America's posterity.

Like many citizens, cynical ad executive Mark Reardon is too busy to notice the country's decline. Working 100-hour weeks directing ad campaigns for multi-national corporations, Mark has neither the time nor the inclination to take on small clients. Hence, when a religious fringe group, The Society for Truth, comes seeking representation, Mark only meets with them reluctantly. However, he is stunned when offered a $3 billion contract to warn the world of impending disaster. Quickly forgetting his reservations, Mark accepts the deal, but soon finds things are not as they seem.

Before he realizes his peril, Mark's family is missing, his Society contact is dead, and he is in the hands of an ever-watching and all-encompassing enemy known only as The Company. Fighting to escape and locate his wife and daughter, Mark is pursued by clones, betrayed by friends, and tormented by prophetic visions. Not knowing who to trust, Mark bounces between The Company and The Society, eventually facing his past and embracing his destiny as God's final prophet preceding the coming judgment.

"Cry for Tomorrow" is an apocalyptic thriller highlighting the economic and technological factors contributing to societal collapse. While portraying mankind's inability to save himself and his world, the novel explores the dichotomy of spirituality and materialism and the conflict these values create for Mark Reardon and his family.

In this time of uncertainty, "Cry for Tomorrow" points readers toward an eternal and unchanging hope.

Cry For Tomorrow Released

It only took four years.  After a nearly a year of writing followed by three years of repeated editing, proofing, and formatting, the print edition of Cry For Tomorrow was finally released Saturday.  The book is available for immediate purchase on Amazon.  The Kindle, nook, iPad, and Sony eReader editions will be released very soon.  The Kindle edition will be released directly through Amazon and the others through the incredibly amazing Smashwords website.  Also, Cry for Tomorrow can be purchased through the CreateSpace website. 

So, what's next?  Well, I need to start working on the sequel.  Cry For Tomorrow wasn't meant to be a one-shot deal.  What will happen to Gina and Dr. Tuzak?  Who will the new world leader be?  Have we seen the last of Mark?  The answers - and several surprises - will be in the sequel.  

At the same time, I'm working on my start up company in the hopes of bringing relief to people who've hit on hard times.  Read about that here.  And, of course, Cry For Tomorrow won't sell itself, I have to work on marketing the book.  As it turns out, I'm extremely busy - and I don't even have a job (that was actually a part of why Cry For Tomorrow took four years - I spent thirteen months in job purgatory).

My goal in self-publishing is to sell enough copies to garner the attention of a major publisher.  I admit, this is a long shot, but it's better than begging agents to submit my work for me and enduring continual rejection (some agents don't even bother to respond).  There's no doubt the publishing world is undergoing huge change.  With authors able to self publish and distribute their work to the same venues as established publishers, the playing field has suddenly leveled dramatically.  Suddenly, an author can be successful without an agent or a publisher behind him.  Although I still think those things help, the author is now less dependent on these two industry mainstays.  What will separate successful independent authors from the unsuccessful?  It shouldn't be a surprise: hard work, good writing (which includes knowing what to write about), and marketing savvy.  I think, in the long run, we're destined to see better quality coming to the market through all this, with the market being the ultimate decider of who gets recognized instead of a small group of people sitting in offices in major cities.

Who can say?  These are exciting times - possibly as revolutionary as the introduction of the printing press.  It may be that in five years, agents will no longer be part of the publishing game.  I'm sure they will fight hard to ensure their own survival, but it seems they will be hard pressed to prove their worth.  As for the publishers, they may be in the same boat if they cannot show they provide real value to the process through superior marketing and distribution.  If I were Stephen King or John Grisham, I think I would seriously consider leaving my agent and publishing company behind.  Then again, I'm still trying to get there.