DOUGLAS SMITH | Writing the Fantastic

Friend and fellow writer Karen Abrahamson blogged recently on how indie authors who are going the ebook route (and print POD as well) need to consider developing a "brand" when they do cover design.

Karen was kind enough to use my new short story ebooks, with covers designed by Erik Mohr (a finalist for the Aurora Award this year as best artist), as one of her examples of how to do this. Check out her blog post here.

And you can check out all of my ebook covers at any of the major ebook retailer sites. I'll also be making these available for purchase directly via this website in the very near future. Stay tuned.

I recently sold reprints of two of my shapeshifter stories, "Out of the Light" and "Spirit Dance," to Best New Werewolf Tales, Vol. 1 and 2 (or maybe 1 and 3).

The sales are cool enough in themselves, and I (obviously) have a soft spot for were-beast stories, so just that news would have been good enough for me. But when I recorded the sales in my ever-so-big-and-complicated submission and sales tracking spreadsheet, I got a surprise.

Now, I track ever so much re my fiction subs and sales – subs, rejections, rejections before first sale for a story, total stories sold, sales by story, sales by country and by language, and more. And one of the stats I track is my total number of words sold and published.

When I entered these two sales, the cell in my spreadsheet for total words sold went all "######" on me, meaning that the result was too big for the current column size. So I expanded the column and what did I see? 1,001,866! Over one million words sold!!

Not bad considering that all of those words are from short fiction sales. So thanks to Best New Werewolf Tales for helping me hit a milestone. If you want to read these two stories, my bookstore links are shown above for both stories (available in all ereader formats). They're cheap and they're good. What more could you ask for?

My story "Scream Angel," which won the Aurora Award in 2004, has just been translated into Portuguese and reprinted in the premiere issue of the new Brazilian speculative fiction magazine, Hyperpulp, edited by Alexandre Mandarino. The cover looks gorgeous, and I'm proud to be part of the launch of a new genre magazine.

An early review described "Scream Angel" as "a true pearl of fantastic literature. Breath-taking." This is the thirteenth publication for "Scream Angel," and its tenth language. It remains one of my own favourite stories, and it's good to see that it still has legs (well, actually she has wings...).

I'll be a guest at Comic Con March 23-25, 2012 at the Direct Energy Centre at the CNE in Toronto. I'll post more details once I know them but at a minimum I'll be selling and signing Chimerascope, Impossibilia, the "By Her Hand" movie book, and ebook short stories. Hope to see you there!

I'll be signing at the Small Press Book Fair this Sunday at Hart House at University of Toronto, as part of ChiZine Publications presence at the Fair. Come down to sample the best of the small presses, and to meet the CZP staff and other ChiZine authors. The Fair runs from 11am to 5pm, and I'll be signing my collection, Chimerascope (which is on this year's Aurora Award ballot), from 2-3pm. Details on the Fair are here.

I did it! This past weekend, June 11-12, I was one of over 4,600 cyclists who rode in the 2-day major cycling event called The Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer. This is the fourth year for the Ride, which this year raised a record $17.5 million for The Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, to support cancer research, treatment, and services. The Princess Margaret is Canada's leading comprehensive institution devoted to cancer research and care.

And with help from many of you who read this blog, I raised $4,185 myself. Thanks to all of you who supported me!

On Wednesday June 22, I'll be reading at the eBar in Guelph, along with friend and fellow writer, Marcy Italiano. The eBar is connected to the bookstore, The Bookshelf, at 41 Quebec Street.

I'll be reading from my collection, Chimerascope, currently a finalist for the 2011 Aurora Awards. The readings run from 8-9pm, and then it's mixing, mingling, and munching. There will be books on hand to buy, and Marcy and I will be signing copies. If you're in the area, please drop by.

(November 2012 update:  The PS Publishing ebook version has now been replaced by my new version, in both epub and mobi formats.

I'm very pleased to announce that my first collection, Impossibilia, published in 2008 by the award-winning and most excellent UK press, PS Publishing, is now available in ebook format in both .epub and .mobi (Kindle) formats. You can buy directly from PS Publishing or from Amazon at the following links:

• PS Publishing ordering link (.epub or .mobi formats)
• Amazon ordering link (Kindle / .mobi format)

Impossibilia was a finalist for the 2009 Aurora Awards for best long form work. The lead story, "A Bouquet of Flowers in a Vase, by Van Gogh," was also a finalist for the 2009 Aurora for best short form work. Another story in the collection, "Spirit Dance," won the Aurora in 2001 for best short story.

From the reviews:

"...stories that are so unusual and beautiful that no other name than Impossibilia could possibly describe this collection."

"Impossibilia is a treasure to be savoured, like gourmet chocolates and fine wine...beautifully written and wondrously imagined."

"The writing is superb. Douglas Smith is an artisan and his stories beautifully crafted. ... In my search for the perfect short story, the three in this volume certainly qualify."

"Each tale was rapture and ecstasy, magical and mysterious, perfect and implausible."

"Highly, highly recommended."

"...echoes of Ellison and Bradbury..."

"There is a certain exhilaration that comes from reading the book’s complex and powerfully emotional stories couched in that deft and smooth prose."

"A fun romp that delivered something different......exhilarating, enjoyable..."

"I loved them all from the first word to the last."

"A book that ably demonstrates what Smith is capable of as a writer..."

"Smith [lays] bare the psychological and emotional fragility that motivates his characters."

"A wonderful book...Each [story] is an example of how a master at the art tells a story."

"An amazing little collection."

"[Smith deserves] to be known to by a very wide audience indeed."

"I don’t know what else to say...except READ THIS BOOK!!!"

And of course, you can still order the signed and numbered, limited hardcover edition (cover at left).

Just a reminder that on June 11-12, 2011, I'll be participating in the Ride to Conquer Cancer, a 2-day major cycling event sponsored by Enbridge and benefiting The Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, one of the top 5 cancer research hospitals in the world.

I'll be cycling over 200 km that weekend, from Toronto to Niagara Falls, with thousands of other riders. All the proceeds will go to The Princess Margaret to support cancer research, treatment, and services.

Thanks to an invitation from the nice people at the Edmonton Public Library, I will be in Edmonton this weekend, May 28-29, to do a reading / workshop on Saturday May 28, and a reading on Sunday May 29. The Saturday workshop will be 1:30-4:00pm at the Strathcona Branch (8331 - 104 Street) and will be a joint effort by me and Diane Walton, Managing Editor of the most excellent Canadian speculative fiction magazine, On Spec.

The workshop structure (more of a lecture with Q&A, actually) will follow a finished story from marketing to sale to post-sale, from the perspective of both a writer (me) and editor (yes, you're right, Diane). Here's what Diane and I are planning:

• Did you know that you never actually "sell" a story?: Licensing rights to fiction, both from a writer's and an editor's perspective
• So you've written a story. Now what?: How to market short fiction. How to choose markets. How an editor chooses a story. Tips from a writer and an editor.
• So you've sold a story. What happens next?: Contracts, editing requests, copy edits, getting it noticed, etc.
• Your story's been published. Is that all there is?: Selling reprints and other rights. Awards. Best of Anthologies. Collections.
• Ebooks and self-publishing: What this means for the short fiction writer and for a short fiction print publisher.
• Question and Answer session
• Reading

On Sunday May 29, I will be doing a reading at the EPL's monthly Writers' Corner at the Stanley A. Milner Library (Downtown). Audrey's Bookstore will be on hand at both events if you'd like to pick up a signed copy of either of my collections, Chimerascope (now nominated for the 2011 Aurora Award) or Impossibilia (a 2009 Aurora Finalist). If you're in Edmonton, it would be great if you could drop by either (or both!) of these events. Hope to see you there. EPL's Writer-in-Residence, Marty Chan, also did an interview with me around the upcoming readings.