Of Past, Present, and Future Things!

Those who know me well know that I’ve been a storyteller all my life. I initially wrote them long hand on legal pads then later on a manual typewriter my parents bought me. My first (very) short story got published in the Arizona Republic newspaper back in the early ‘70s.

The dream of every writer is to get published. While the books I’ve worked on as part of my job with the U.S. Air Force and with Fire Protection Publications count as publication, I still looked forward to the day when I could add published novelist to my list of accomplishments.

The advent of e-publishing helped me achieve part of that with the release of my seven novels and sole how-to book as e-books through Smashwords.com at first then later through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing. Still, I felt something was missing. While I could state unequivocally that my e-books exist, it is as digital files, little combinations of ones and zeros. The only physicality they possess is through whatever device they have been downloaded onto for reading.

Now with Amazon’s Kindle Print-on-Demand publishing, my novels have physical presences as well as digital. There’s just something to be said for the feel of a paperback book, the heft of its weight, and the smell of new paper and ink! And now I have in my possession paperback editions of my first seven novels!

I have to give credit as well to my sons, Kyle and Sean. Kyle is my co-author on two novels, Foothold on Terra-Bravo, and Crisis on Terra-Bravo. He and I hope to visit Terra-Bravo again one day soon! Sean has provided covers for my Arizona State Guard series and Death Haunts the Stars. He’s working on the cover for the sequel to Death Haunts the Stars and is designing the intro for my videos. I owe them my profound thanks!

The one drawback to self-publishing is the lack of a dedicated sales staff working 24/7 to sell my books for me. I’m the one responsible for my advertising and the time spent doing it is time not spent writing! What I DO have is you, my family and friends who help me by spreading the word about my novels! I’m forever grateful for all you’ve done.

The next step is to become a commercially successful novelist! Yes, I’ve made (some) money from my book sales thus far. But, not a lot of money. So, in my next phase, I plan to look for additional means to advertise my books (in both formats). What will entail? At this point, I’m not sure…but I’m going to find out!

Meanwhile, please continue to get the word out to family, friends, and the miscellaneous mad scientists in your social circles.

Thanks!

Jeffrey

Jeffrey M. Fortney - 2017

The Past Week and Looking Forward!

So this last week has flown by...and not all in a good way:

1) My eldest son and his family were involved in a nasty car accident on Friday a week ago. They pulled over for an emergency vehicle and the idiot in the truck behind them was too busy fumbling for his cellphone to stop. He plowed into the back of my son's vehicle! The good news is everyone is okay. The bad news is my son's vehicle is totaled...because some jackass was messing around with his cellphone instead of focusing on his driving. Kudos the firefighters at Stillwater FD Station #4 who provided extrication and first aid to my family members.

2) Last Saturday, I went to Tulsa for the IFSTA Validation Conference. Spent Saturday afternoon through Tuesday morning with wonderful people making significant progress on a number of our IFSTA training manuals.

3) While I was in Tulsa on Saturday, the Missus called to say that our water heater died and was leaking. Fortunately, Julie, Sean, and Kyle were able to perform the replacement!

4) On Sunday, I received word that Kirk Harrigan (a friend, mentor, and Brother from my days at Davis-Monthan AFB during the early part of my fire service career) passed away. Kirk, our buddy Tim McPheron, and I rode Rescue together at D-M in 81-83. I credit them with getting my Fire Service career well into gear! Kirk will be sorely missed.

The good news from last week arrived in two parts:

1) The 2017 IFSTA Validation Conference was quite successful. Each of the committees meeting met or exceeded their validation goals. We had an awesome visit to the Fire Protection Publication office on Sunday. 

2) I got to see two more of my Print-on-Demand paperbacks sell on Amazon. I'm sure they're going to a good home and will look nice on my bookshelf right next to my other P-o-D paperbacks! (And I get some of my money back in royalties!!!) Have you bought your copies yet?

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Tomorrow night I begin editing Camadin Station Two: Last Stand! My batteries are recharged and I'm ready to hit it hard. I've given Sean my basic cover idea and am eager to see how he makes it come alive. More updates on edits and art in the weeks ahead!

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Speaking of my books and e-books, they are still available through my Amazon Author page at www.amazon.com/author/jeffreyfortney! Please let people know about the site and my novels!

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Let's be careful out there, folks! Cellphone calls and texts are NOT worth someone's life. Remember your children and your pets in this Summer heat. Stay hydrated and stay alive!

Jeffrey

Jeffrey M. Fortney - 2017

Newly Reformatted and Now LESS Expensive Paperbacks!

For those that read my last blog post, you know that I recently reformatted my e-novels for Print-on-Demand release as paperbacks. While I'm very pleased with the printing, binding, and overall look of my paperback novels, I wasn't pleased with their pricing. As published, they ran about $3.00 to $5.00 more than a conventional paperback. This wasn't Amazon's fault, when I prepped them for P-o-D, I forgot to modify the font size and line spacing of the body text throughout each book. (Hey, I'm new at this part of the busy!)

Yes, the paperbacks are slightly larger (5" x 8") than regular paperbacks and the print was larger and spaced further apart making them look like large print editions. But, that came at a price...they cost more to print. And thus cost my customers more money. The good news is that I'm the only one who's bought any of them.

So...

I've reformatted them (again) to reduce the font size to 11 and the line spacing to 1.15. This has reduced the overall size of each book by an average of 33%. With that, I can lower the prices of each of the novels.

The new paperback prices are:

       Arizona State Guard: Bloody Border ($7.99)

       Arizona State Guard: Target Terror ($8.99)

       Arizona State Guard: Freedom’s Forge ($9.99)

       Chaos on Terra-Prime ($8.99)

       Foothold on Terra-Bravo ($8.99)

       Crisis on Terra-Bravo ($9.99)

       Camadin Station One: Death Haunts the Stars ($8.99)

These prices are now more in keeping with current paperback prices. (Shipping extra.)

My novels (e-books and paperbacks) are available through my Amazon.com Author Page at Arizona www.amazon.com/author/jeffreyfortney. Check 'em out! Tell your family and friends about 'em! 

Heck, tell EVERYONE about 'em!

Cheers!

Jeffrey

Jeffrey M. Fortney - 2017

Of New Novels and New Formats...

Okay...so the title isn't as sexy as "Of Mice and Men", but it doesn't involve either, so who cares!

What it DOES involve are two topics dear to me heart: 1) my latest novel and 2) my existing novels!

1) The first draft of Camadin Station Two: Last Stand is COMPLETE! Finished it a couple of days ago and I'm in my cool down/re-charging phase before beginning edits. I've also got to come up with a cover idea to give to Sean to create an artistic masterpiece (as he does). So for the next couple of weeks, I'll be sketching (yeah, I know, scary huh?) some ideas. Of course, I'm a writer, not an artist so it'll be VERY rough. 

Camadin Station Two: Last Stand WON'T be a mystery. The best way I can describe it is...SPACE OPERA, much like the works of E.E. "Doc" Smith or Edmond Hamilton of years past. I want it to be a fast pace, roller coaster ride through part of a massive war in space.

2) On another front, I've recently made my current books (with the exception of the Terra-Bravo Saga compilation book) available as Print-on-Demand. I've already purchased three of my books (the Terra-Bravo Saga) and received two of them. They are nicely printed and bound, easy to read, and professionally done. (Props to Kindle Direct Publishing's Print-on-Demand division!!!)

However, I'm NOT pleased with the pricing of the new books which average about $3.00 - $5.00 more than a conventional paperback. A big part of this is the size of the books. I've chosen 5" x 8" which is slightly wider and larger than conventional paperbacks (and their smallest dimensions). But I was reading a paperback by favorite author G. Harry Stine and I came to a realization...I goofed!

In reformatting from e-books to P-o-D, I forgot to adjust my font size and line spacing! Examining a number other paperbacks in my library, I've determined that many use an 11 font size and a line spacing 1.1 to 1.2. I'd carried over my 12 font size and 1.5 line spacing. It may not seem like much, but in modifying my Word files for each book, I've been able to reduce the size of the books by an average of 33%!

That alone would reduce each book by 100 pages or more and fewer pages means it would cost less for each book to be printed. As the print price is incorporate in the purchase price, this will help me reduce the purchase price and encourage people to buy my books because they are priced closer to conventional paperbacks!

So, I'm working over this Independence Day Holiday to get my books reformatted and uploaded to Amazon's KDP ASAP to bring a better value to readers of paperback books!

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As I just mentioned, Independence Day is almost upon us. While some call it the 4th of July, once again I think people are forgetting the "reason for the season". We're not celebrating that it's the 4th day of July; we're celebrating American Independence from England! We broke from our mother country and began a journey into history that has seen this nation reach some pretty awesome heights (like the Moon and deep space, if you are a space buff like me!). Did we have some stumbles and bumbles along the way? Yep. And so have other nations. No one is perfect; but this nation has accomplished so much and, if we don't get side tracked, can accomplish so much more.

So I wish each of you a safe and fun Independence Day! Let's be careful out there...the fingers and ear drums you save may be your own!

Jeffrey


Jeffrey M. Fortney - 2017