The Website for Author Seth Skorkowsky http://skorkowsky.com Fri, 11 May 2018 19:35:53 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.6 90302483 Ibenus is Back on Kindle http://skorkowsky.com/ibenus-is-back-on-kindle/ http://skorkowsky.com/ibenus-is-back-on-kindle/#respond Wed, 14 Mar 2018 18:02:18 +0000 http://skorkowsky.com/?p=2428

I’m very happy to announce that Crossroad Press has edited and re-released Ibenus back on ebook. Paperbacks for the first 3 Valducan books are in the works, so soon we can be back on track after my Ragnarok break-up. I’ll be honest, the months since I left my old publisher haven’t been that easy.  Most of it is all sorted out now.

Redemptor has been doing wonderfully. We’ve already broken the 100-rating mark and still climbing. Reception for it has been awesome.

That’s all for now. No big updates to report in the way of new sales. However, my little YouTube Experiment has been gaining a lot of traction. My channel just broke the 18,000 Subscriber mark, which is very cool. Hopefully it can keep the momentum going.

 

 

 

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Redemptor is out http://skorkowsky.com/redemptor-is-out/ http://skorkowsky.com/redemptor-is-out/#comments Wed, 31 Jan 2018 02:48:10 +0000 http://skorkowsky.com/?p=2413

 

I’m extremely pleased to announce that Redemptor is now available on Audible. Once again, R.C. Bray has done a fantastic performance. 

Because it’s an Audible Original Production, the book will be Audible-exclusive for six months. After that time, we’ll do a paper and ebook release.

In the meantime, Crossroad Press has officially released the new ebook version of Hounacier. Paperbacks to follow. Also, we’ll be getting Ibenus re-edited and hopefully re-released soon.

Finally, Crossroad has released the new paperback edition of Mountain of Daggers. So for anyone wanting to get your hands on a physical copy, those are out now.

-Seth

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Redemptor Preorder is Live http://skorkowsky.com/redemptor-preorder-is-live/ http://skorkowsky.com/redemptor-preorder-is-live/#respond Wed, 10 Jan 2018 19:18:46 +0000 http://skorkowsky.com/?p=2396 The wait is nearly over. The Audible edition of Redemptor (Valducan #4) is available for preorder.

R.C. Bray has returned to the recording chair to voice the heroes. It comes to just a little above 9 hours. Release date in January 30th.

You can find it Here.

Paper and ebook editions will follow in 6 months.  In the meantime, I’m finishing up the final round of edits on Hounacier’s re-release with Crossroad Press, so that should be coming back soon.

-Seth

 

 

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Dämoren is Back, Podcast, and Redemptor News http://skorkowsky.com/damoren-is-back-podcast-and-redemptor-news/ http://skorkowsky.com/damoren-is-back-podcast-and-redemptor-news/#respond Wed, 06 Dec 2017 19:21:32 +0000 http://skorkowsky.com/?p=2381 I’m very happy to say that Dämoren has been re-edited and released by Crossroad Press.  It’s cleaner, tighter, and ready to entertain.

You should check it out 🙂 It’s on Amazon HERE.

Hounacier and Ibenus will be coming back soon once they’ve gone through their own round of fresh edits.

Next, I’m over at the Archivos Podcast talking about writing, gaming, YouTube, and all sorts of other stuff.

You can find it HERE.

 

Finally, I’m happy to officially announce that R.C. Bray has returned to the microphone to lend his golden voice to Redemptor. After Dämoren and Hounacier both made the Audie Award finalist lists, hopefully we can pull it off on our newest collaboration.  The Audible edition will release in late January 2018.

That’s all for now.  Hope to have some new updates soon.

 

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Black Raven Flies Again http://skorkowsky.com/black-raven-flies-again/ http://skorkowsky.com/black-raven-flies-again/#respond Wed, 15 Nov 2017 18:12:38 +0000 http://skorkowsky.com/?p=2368 Now that my 90-day separation with my old publisher has completed, I’m very pleased to announce that Tales of the Black Raven has been re-edited and released by Crossroad Press.

 

A huge thank you to David Wilson and David Dodd for all their support and help in bringing my little Sword & Sorcery adventures back to the public.

You can find the new Kindle editions here:

Mountain of Daggers – Book 1 (11 stories)

Sea of Quills – Book 2 (9 stories)

New paperbacks will soon follow.

As for my Valducan series, those will be returning again soon after a re-edit.  Stay tuned.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Publishing Announcement: Valducan and Black Raven Return http://skorkowsky.com/publishing-announcement-valducan-and-black-raven-return/ http://skorkowsky.com/publishing-announcement-valducan-and-black-raven-return/#comments Tue, 17 Oct 2017 14:37:56 +0000 http://skorkowsky.com/?p=2364 I’m very excited to announce that Crossroad Press has picked up my Valducan Series and Tales of the Black Raven.

Currently, I’m finishing up the remainder of my 90-day separation from my previous publisher, which means ebooks aren’t available and they are still selling off the remaining inventory of printed books. Audio is still available. Crossroad Press will be running the titles through a fresh round of edits and then putting them back out there for readers to enjoy.

Future Valducan and Black Raven titles will be published through Crossroads as well.

Established in 2009, Crossroad’s authors include Clive Barker, Joe Lansdale, C.T. Phipps, and even the Stargate novels. I’m extremely honored to be among them.

Re-release dates are not set yet. We still have a month left before we can even release, but it should be soon.

Thank you, everyone. I look forward to getting them back out there.

 

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Publishing Announcement: Redemptor is coming http://skorkowsky.com/publishing-announcement-redemptor-is-coming/ http://skorkowsky.com/publishing-announcement-redemptor-is-coming/#comments Wed, 27 Sep 2017 16:47:15 +0000 http://skorkowsky.com/?p=2354 For those of you wondering when you can get your hands on REDEMPTOR (Valducan #4), prepare your ear holes.  Audible Original Publishing has signed Redemptor for release. AOP will release the novel as a 6-month audio exclusive. After that, it will become available in print and ebook editions.

Release date is still unknown (we just signed it, so there’s still editing, recording, editing the recording, and a bunch of other steps somewhere in the middle). But it will happen. No idea yet if R.C. Bray will narrate it, as he has the other Valducan novels. I hope his schedule allows for it. I’ll post more as I learn more.

Now, as for paper and ebook editions of Redemptor and the rest of my Valducan and Black Raven books, which will no longer be carried by my former publisher, I have a second announcement coming soon.  We just need to make sure all the final steps are in place, but they have found a home. More to come.

 

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Life Comes At You Pretty Fast: A General Update http://skorkowsky.com/life-comes-at-you-pretty-fast-a-general-update/ http://skorkowsky.com/life-comes-at-you-pretty-fast-a-general-update/#respond Sat, 16 Sep 2017 09:43:31 +0000 http://skorkowsky.com/?p=2337 Things have been busy since my last post, but it’s a Good Busy and not that Oh, God, Kill Me Now Busy.

While the separation from Ragnarok Publications is still ongoing, my Black Raven Series has found a new home. I’m mostly sure the Valducan Series has also found a new home, but we’re still in talks and I’ll make a big announcement once we’re all signed and pretty.  I’m not worried. 

 

Achievement Unlocked

In the middle of this all, I spent 10 days touring Israel with a 2-day hop into Jordan to explore Petra. It was amazing. I walked in several ruins, visited historic sites, floated in the Dead Sea, stood atop an aqueduct, visited many museums, and petted more than a few stray cats.  I have piles of notes to use for future stories and even made several updates to Ashes of Onyx in some related areas (Those who follow my blog know that travel is my #1 source for inspiration).

My YouTube Channel has been shooting up in popularity.  I had my first video to break the 100,000 views milestone. While I’m still but a tiny channel in a sea of giants, I’m growing.  It’s currently at 4,500 Subscribers and has now made enough revenue to have covered my meager expenses (which means I’ll be spending even more on costumes and some half-decent equipment).  

This upcoming weekend (September 22-24, 2017) I’ll be a guest author at FenCon.  You can find my schedule HERE.

Finally, ASHES OF ONYX is complete. It surpassed my initial estimates and came in at 114,000 words. I’ve completed my full read-through, made many changes, and BETA Reader response has been extremely positive. It’s currently in the Querying Phase, which means its still a long, long way from any release.  While a complete stand-alone from any of my other works, I have started toying with the idea of a second story set in the same universe. Still too early to tell.

That’s it for now. I hope to have some more announcements soon.

 

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Moving On http://skorkowsky.com/moving-on/ http://skorkowsky.com/moving-on/#comments Mon, 14 Aug 2017 17:37:26 +0000 http://skorkowsky.com/?p=2316 After three years and five books, I’ve decided to end my relationship with Ragnarok Publications.

I won’t lie. This wasn’t easy. But it had to happen.

I’m not going to go into much detail here. There’s several reasons, some big, some small, but the short of it comes down to business.  Writing is a business. Publishing is a business. And Ragnarok hasn’t paid me what they owe me.  How much? I wish I knew.

This isn’t a new problem. Other authors have left over the past year for the same reason and more.  It sucks. But business is business.

I’m not interested in trash-talk. So don’t expect that. I will always be grateful for Ragnarok being the first publisher to take the risk on me. I’ve made a lot of good friends there and many special memories.

So what does this mean?

Well, it’ll take a few months for the transition to take effect and all rights to return to me on the books already in publication.  So, I have until then to figure it out.  Hopefully, I will find a new publisher with a solid reputation who wants my Valducan Series (anyone know a good agent?).

What about Redemptor?

Well, Redemptor (Valducan #4) is completely back in my hands. Technically, it never left. Due to a merger and some other reasons, Ragnarok never sent me a contract (Crazy. I know.) So as of this moment, I have the full rights to it.

However, this also means that it will not be releasing this November. I’m terribly sorry for that.

Hopefully Redemptor will find a new home soon.

This isn’t a post I wanted to make. I wanted to post about how Redemptor is coming soon and about how Ashes of Onyx is nearly complete. But business is business.  Sometimes it isn’t fun.

-Seth

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So You’re on a Convention Panel: 5 Things You Should Remember http://skorkowsky.com/so-youre-on-a-convention-panel-5-things-you-should-remember/ http://skorkowsky.com/so-youre-on-a-convention-panel-5-things-you-should-remember/#respond Mon, 07 Aug 2017 15:19:28 +0000 http://skorkowsky.com/?p=2304

Last weekend I was given the privilege of being a guest author at a writing convention. It was fun. I met a lot of people and caught up with several friends in the writing community. I spent some time on a few panels and watched some others. One thing that struck me was a common theme that I’ve noticed at a lot of conventions lately, and that’s that many people don’t quite know how to act on a panel.  It was a minority of panelists that missed the memo or never received it. I’d say 1 in 6. Unfortunately, when most panels have 5-6 members, that means that most panels had at least 1 member who wasn’t versed in proper panel etiquette. So allow me to explain a few things to remember in case you find yourself at a convention as a guest speaker/panelist.

 

1:  Be Approachable – Many people attend conventions to spend time with fandom and meet some of its movers and shakers. If you’re a panelist or speaker that means you fall into the category of Mover or Shaker. Congratulations. People will want to meet you, and chances are high that you want people to know you, like you, and hopefully buy your book.  Connecting with fans at conventions is easy. They’re literally all around you. So mingle. Be approachable.

I often describe working a convention as a 48 Hour Job Interview. You’re here to impress. If you’re like me and have a “resting bitch face” remember to keep it in check.  I can’t help it if my neutral face looks like I’m considering murder. I’m not (usually). And I don’t want that moment when someone works up the nerve to say hello to me to be dashed because I look angry. So I smile. I smile a lot. By the weekend’s end my face hurts. 

So smile.  Keep yourself in approachable places where fans and potential fans might see you and talk to you. Try to be aware of where you are so that it’s easy as possible for people to meet you and hopefully like you enough to buy your book.

 

2:  Arrive On Time – When it comes time for your panel or presentation, you need to be on time. Remember, you’re working this convention and Panel-Time is Go-Time. Show up before the panel starts. Get set up, maybe chat with people in the audience. People are depending on you: the Convention, the Guests, the Other Panelists. Don’t make them wait. Don’t show up three minutes in with lame excuses and interrupting someone else’s introduction because they eventually had to start without you.

Once again, this convention weekend is a job interview. You wouldn’t show up late to a job interview, would you?

 

3: End On Time – This might be jumping ahead, but while we’re on the subject of your panel/presentation’s time-slot, you need to end it on time.  I know that the schedule block shows you there for an hour, but it’s wrong.  You have 50 minutes. At 45 minutes you need to be wrapping it up, maybe take that “One Last Question.” At 50 minutes you need to thank everyone for coming and dismiss. At 55 minutes you need to be out of the room for the next panelists using the room to have time to set up and for your co-panelists and audience to run off to the restrooms and then maybe to another panel/presentation.

It’s extremely rude to hog the room for a wide variety of reasons. But one of the most important is that if your panel runs late, you risk the serious potential of throwing the carefully oiled machine of con-scheduling completely off track. If you force the panel or presentation behind you to start 5 minutes late because they couldn’t setup in time or because they had to awkwardly ask you to move a conversation outside, then they now run the high risk of running late, as well.  Not just for your room, but your other panelists and the guests will be arriving late to their next panels. A domino-effect can happen and no one wants that. So, watch the clock and end ten minutes before the next panel begins. This isn’t a request.

 

4:  Share the Stage – If you’re giving a 1-person presentation, then awesome. Have fun. But if you’re on a multi-person panel, then remember that every single person up there is not only another convention guest, but also a Mover and Shaker like you. Be aware if you’re talking too much. Let everyone speak. Try not to speak more than everyone.  Many people in the audience came to see your co-panelists. They’re not here to see you, but this is your chance to make a good impression and win them over. So don’t be remembered as the jerk who hogged the stage and didn’t let anyone else speak.  Interact with your co-panelists, have a dialogue, endear yourself to your co-panelists and the audience.

For the love of God, don’t steamroll your co-panelists. Trust me, no one is impressed and it doesn’t look as cool as you think it does. Be polite. The people on stage are your partners and co-workers. Be a good partner. 

If you’re a bad partner, trust me, all the other Movers and Shakers are going to hear about it, and that might hurt your chances of a convention invite in the future.

 

5: Your Time On The Panel Is Not The Time to Self-Promote – This might come as a shock to you, but unless the panel is clearly described as being about you and about your book, then it’s not. Most panels are over a wider topic in the genre, the fandom, or the industry. You were brought in as a panelist or speaker on this subject because of your knowledge and expertise. And while yes, you may think that this is the perfect time to plug your book every 3 seconds, it’s actually not. This is where you need to address your vast expertise on the topic and not yourself. 

For example: I was recently on a panel about Fantastic Setting. While I have written a fantastic setting or two, I never once mentioned my own work. I spoke about Edgar Rice Burroughs, Clive Barker, William Gibson, Anne Rice, Mark Twain, and Scott Lynch. I explained what made them good and what we can learn from them. After it was done, I met fans who liked what I had to say, complimented my knowledge and analysis of the subject, and I even sold a couple books. Had I instead used my time on stage to lay out my own books, people would have zoned out and stopped listening because that’s not why they were there.

I understand the desire to link the topic to your own book because obviously the audience is interested in this topic and therefore might like your book, but please resist. You were selected for the panel because of your expertise that allowed you to write this book. This is where you need to let that expertise shine. If you impress your audience with your vast knowledge on the topic, then they are more likely to buy your book than if you just tell them you wrote a book.  Panels last about 50 minutes. You get about 30 seconds during your panelist intro to say “I wrote a book”, and then the rest of the panel is about your expertise. After the panel or between panels you can self-promo to your heart’s content. That’s why you’re here. Your knowledge that you and add to the panel itself is why the convention invited you and that is NOT the time to talk about you and your book. This is paying your dues to the convention for inviting you. It’s NOT a sale-pitch.

But what if someone asks a direct question about my book?” you ask.

Good question. In the event someone asks about your book or how you handled a topic in your book, you have been given audience permission to discuss it. This is not free-reign. This is a 30-second window. Answer the question and then move it off of yourself. Maybe even bounce the question on a co-panelist to see how they addressed the issue in their own work. 

EXCEPTION: Like with writing, every rule has an exception. If you speak about a mistake you made in your book and how you learned from it, then feel free to mention it if it relates to the topic and as long as you are sure that you’re not twisting it into a “clever sales-pitch” of “Buy my Book”. Trust me, the audience and your co-panelists can tell the difference.

 

So now you know. As long as you can stick to these five simple rules, you’ll have a lot of fun at the convention and might find yourself invited to even more. 

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