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
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