Flash of Aphelion!

[kailhofer]

If only we could! Of course, autographs and return trips by 17 people living on 2 separate continents may be a bit difficult to coordinate.

A few teeny-weeny updates to Dan's editorial. Officially, I think it was Hero who suggested doing some kind of anthology, and he did all the 3-D renderings that are on the cover, and I think they look excellent.

At this time, it is available as a paperback and pdf download, not a real ebook. However the ebook version is in the review stage right now, and may be ready for upload as early as next weekend. As soon as possible we will add a hardcover version, too.

There are 74 stories, to be exact. It says 70 on the cover because it looked less impressive when it didn't end in a 0 or a 5. So, let us say the extra 4 stories were thrown in there as value added to your purchase.

As everyone can tell from Dan's editorial, we're very open about the costs and payments made to the authors. Someone asked me, so let me explain: this was entirely a cooperative effort, sharing all profits between the authors. We earn a dime per story per book. There's an extra dime for all my editing, and another dime for the cover design and art. The rest is all Lulu's charges. Aphelion the website doesn't earn anything, because the site is all about helping authors grow as a nonprofit venture. This was an enterprise directly between the authors involved.

Can we interest you in one?

[kailhofer]

That's ok. I just didn't want someone to make a mistake and assume the wrong thing.

I have nothing against doing something that's used directly to defray zine expenses, but that would take a change in policy.

I was also trying to show there was a good reason for the book's cost. I thought it was wrong to ask someone to put their story into a book if they wouldn't make at least a dime on it. Literally. That's why everyone earns a dime per story. The rest is Lulu's cost, and POD is more expensive, because there are no large runs to lower costs (but no thousand unsold copies sitting around in our dens, either). A person protested to me, "But I can buy a book that size for eight bucks down at my local Barnes and Noble." That's a very different deal, and I don't think I was able to convince him of what all the differences were.

Nate

[Lester Curtis]

Library donation sounds like a splendid idea . . .

Just out of curiosity, though . . . when I first looked at this, my first thought was, "Why pay for these stories when I can read them for free here on the archive?"

So, I'm wondering -- have these stories been removed from the archive? In a way, it would make sense to do so . . .

[kailhofer]

Library donation sounds like a splendid idea . . .

Just out of curiosity, though . . . when I first looked at this, my first thought was, "Why pay for these stories when I can read them for free here on the archive?"

So, I'm wondering -- have these stories been removed from the archive? In a way, it would make sense to do so . . .

No, they're still there and still free. It's an attempt to reach the highest audience possible. Baen releases a lot of their books as free ebooks first. It actually improved sales. Our ebook version won't be free, but the stories in the index will still be.

Some people won't read online. My mother, for example, who is now reading something her son wrote for only the second time. Other people shop for reading. Both would never see the index.

You could see it as supporting your fellows, or maybe getting a more permanent piece of fiction. God(s) forbid it should ever be so, but websites die and disappear every day. Bits of data drop out of daily use and become very hard to find. The book is always there.

Of the people I've convinced to buy a copy, they really like that they're short and they can read them anywhere. So, Rick does kind of have a point...

Nate

[kailhofer]

Just released as an ebook, too, without DRM.
http://www.lulu.com/product/ebook/flash ... k/11041623


Flash of Aphelion - ebook

By Nathan Kailhofer, By Daniel Hollifield, By Richard Tornello - Steel Mouse Trap Publications, LLC, By Mark Edgemon, By Larissa March, By Robert Moriyama, By McCamy Taylor, By Kerry Callaghan, By Joseph Nichols, By Casey Callaghan, By Bill Wolfe, By J.B. Hogan, By David Alan Jones, By Rob Wynne, By Jaimie L. Elliott, By J. Davidson Hero, & By Chris Callaghan


Ebook, ePub Format

Price: $10.99
Available for Download immediately at Lulu.com

A collection of more than 70 1,000-word Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror stories by 17 authors from flash fiction writing challenges at aphelion-webzine.com.


Or go to the paperback link by clicking the banner below:

[kailhofer]

It seems to be a problem with the Lulu store itself. I tried it with a few books from other people, and they show blank pages, too.

Plus, I saw some help posts from other people, asking about the same errors. Some sort of system outage/down, I guess. Hope they fix it soon.

[Edit, 2 p.m.: Now, it says "We are currently performing site maintenance. We'll be back shortly!" At least it's finally being worked on.]

[Robert_Moriyama]

I don't have that many people I would feel comfortable guilting into buying copies... only a couple that read much in the sf / fantasy / horror genres. But this is my small contribution to the pot o' pennies.

RM

[kailhofer]

Good lord. I haven't even had time to finish the hardcover version of this one yet. Paperback, ebook, or pdf download are your only options so far.

Will there be more in the future? I have no doubt. That genie is out of the bottle now. What or when beats the heck out of me!

[Robert_Moriyama]

My two print copies were waiting for me when I got home tonight. Damn, it takes a long time by snail mail.

Hey, Nate -- aside from membership in the Editorial Mafia, was there any reason why my name is second in the list of authors on the back cover? I'm pretty sure there are people who have entered something almost every month (and some who have won the fabulous prize ("fabulous" - from the word "fable", for a fantastic tale, usually with a moral (which in this case would be, "Hey, you could probably have made a few bucks placing this with a flash fiction magazine!"). I hate undeserved honors, because folks who know they're undeserved ask probing questions (like "Who did you bribe?").

RM

[kailhofer]

Hey, Nate -- aside from membership in the Editorial Mafia, was there any reason why my name is second in the list of authors on the back cover?

Well, it wasn't at all scientific, and explaining the order will probably take more time than it did to write it. Reason one is the editors save me are at the top of the list in honor of their years of service. Second, figuring someone may actually read the back cover preview before purchasing, my impression is Dan has the most name public recognition amongst the editors, with you second, with your Ralan involvement and contests at the Toronto Star (and your 1,858 posts here). After that, it was kind of a toss-up amongst editors, but my impression of Rob Wynne from the one time we've spoken is that he's the sort of gentleman who lets ladies go first. Larissa may correct me later. JB has the most print credentials, followed I believe by Hero. Bill had more stories in, followed by Casey. I didn't want put all the Writing Callaghans together because that looked weird, so I tried to space them out among the others. Jaimie had the next most credentials, and in all honestly I probably should have put him higher if I'd have remembered that at that moment. I don't know. I wasn't really trying to be political anymore in the list at that point...

I know I put me last because my name was already in enough places.

[kailhofer]

Hey, I received via mail the two copies of the book and I noticed that at least two among the authors published are from Wisconsin...where I plan to be (only one day) for holidays while on travel from U.S.A. to Canada after summer, so I hope...visiting Kenosha interesting Civil War and Natural History Museum, so I plan...eh,eh...
And other two writers are from South Africa...interesting indeed, good of you...eh,eh

Glad you bought one, and thank you from all of us!
Three from South Africa, actually, all from the family Callaghan. And a wonderful family, too, IMO.

Hero and I used to live about 5 doors from each other in the dorms in college, which is where we met, over 20 years ago now. He married an excellent woman, too, who just happened to be another friend of mine. I haven't seen him in person in many years now, though. We really ought to fix that, although he does live about 4 hours away. (Goodness, that was before you had kids, wasn't it?)

Nate

[Robert_Moriyama]

Hey, I received via mail the two copies of the book and I noticed that at least two among the authors published are from Wisconsin...where I plan to be (only one day) for holidays while on travel from U.S.A. to Canada after summer, so I hope...visiting Kenosha interesting Civil War and Natural History Museum, so I plan...eh,eh...
And other two writers are from South Africa...interesting indeed, good of you...eh,eh

Glad you bought one, and thank you from all of us!
Three from South Africa, actually, all from the family Callaghan. And a wonderful family, too, IMO.

Hero and I used to live about 5 doors from each other in the dorms in college, which is where we met, over 20 years ago now. He married an excellent woman, too, who just happened to be another friend of mine. I haven't seen him in person in many years now, though. We really ought to fix that, although he does live about 4 hours away. (Goodness, that was before you had kids, wasn't it?)

Nate

Sounds like a Russian spy's cover story.

Alert the FBI! The only thing more suspicious than this would be if Nate claimed to be from Canada. (Of course, I'm from Canada. And I'm not a spy, and don't call me Evelyn.)

[Robert_Moriyama]

lulu.com just sent me a message saying that the princely sum of $23.10 US has been deposited in my Paypal account.

At $0.70 (7 x $0.10) per copy, that means sales up to the time of calculation of the amount of 33 copies. (I thought that we had more friends and relatives than THAT (sob)...)

[kailhofer]

lulu.com just sent me a message saying that the princely sum of $23.10 US has been deposited in my Paypal account.

At $0.70 (7 x $0.10) per copy, that means sales up to the time of calculation of the amount of 33 copies. (I thought that we had more friends and relatives than THAT (sob)...)

It's 39, actually. 37 paperbacks, 2 pdf downloads, and zero ebooks. (You have some funds in your account that weren't paid out yet.)

Someday, if I ever get off my lazy rear and finish it, there will be a hardcover version, which I think will result in some more of those friends and family sales.

I surely do wish more copies were sold, for all of you. It's rather disappointing, especially considering all the work that went into it, Dan's editorial for advertising, everywhere we posted it for attention, and our own word of mouth efforts. I'm no marketing wiz, but I think I hit all the areas I could by myself, and many others did, too.

Nate

[kailhofer]

Premium hardcover version now available. Visit the store by clicking on the Flash of Aphelion box in my signature and get your choice of hardcover, paperback, pdf download, or ebook today!

[Lester Curtis]

Well, I finally got a couple copies ordered. More pennies for the starving authors . . . maybe you'll get the chance to return the favor for me some day -- providing I can ever finish a book.