Seasons greetings

I just wanted to wish everyone a happy holiday season, no matter what holidays you celebrate, or even if you don't celebrate. I hope everyone gets to spend time with their family, friends, and loved ones, and everyone stays safe.

The Smashwords sale is still going on

You still have until the end of the year to save up to 50% on my longer titles at Smashwords. Head over to https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jaerwine and start downloading today.

70 stories

I've been doing some organizing today, and in the process, I ended up counting the number of stories I've had published. Obviously I need to pay more attention. I thought I recently crossed the 60 story mark, but "Green Grievances" was actually my 70th story. That's a lot of words...

And if you'd like to read that 70th story, download it at https://amzn.to/46WQS4M

End of the Year Sale at Smashwords

From the Nomadic Delirium Press Blog:

It’s time for you to save up to 50% off of a wide variety of out titles. Check out the End of the Year Sale at Smashwords at https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/nomadicdelirium. It’s a great way to pick up some of our titles that we know you’ve been dying to download.

 

Smashwords 2023 End of the Year Sale

It's time for the annual Smashwords End of the Year Sale. This gives you the opportunity to pick up my novels and short story collections for half off at https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jaerwine, so hurry over and start downloading now!

A Kepler's Dozen

I haven't mentioned this collection in quite a long time, but A Kepler's Dozen was an anthology that featured one of my stories, and I felt, had one of the best concepts I've seen in quite some time. You can download it at https://amzn.to/47XITph

And what's it about?

A Kepler's Dozen presents thirteen action-packed, mysterious, and humorous stories all based on real planets discovered by the NASA Kepler mission. Edited by and contributing stories are David Lee Summers, editor of Tales of the Talisman Magazine, and Steve B. Howell, project scientist for the Kepler mission. Whether on a prison colony, in a fast escape from the authorities, or encircling a binary star, these exoplanet stories will amuse, frighten, and intrigue you while you share fantasy adventures among Kepler's real-life planets.

The Divided States of America on Sale

From the Nomadic Delirium Press Blog:

I'm not sure how long Amazon will keep this price in effect, but you can get the print or Kindle version of The Divided States of America Vol. 1 for just $3.27 each. That's a 67% discount on the print version. Pick it up today at https://www.amazon.com/dp/1727592085

No one can say with any reasonable certainty when the United States of America began to fall apart. Many point to the presidential election of 2016, but most believe the breakup started long before this. Now, in the year 2110, the former United States is made up of 13 nation-states and The Wastelands. Some of the nation-states have prospered under self-rule, while others have declined. Some nation-states are very accepting of outsiders, while others trust no one…sometimes not even their fellow citizens. There is chaos in some places, and order in others…sometimes too much order.

Do You Really Want To Be a Writer?

Sounds like a great title for a writing book, doesn't it? I agree! And that's why in early 2024 Nomadic Delirium Press will be releasing my book about the writing business with that very title. It will be a small volume, where I try to instill some of the knowledge I've learned from more than 20 years in the business. If you read my blogs regularly, you've already gotten a peak at a draft of one of the articles that will be in the book. That can be found at https://jalanerwine.blogspot.com/2023/11/why-hasnt-my-story-sold.html.

The articles in the book will be: Why Hasn't My Story Sold? How do I revise? Finding the Right Market. What To Do With a Rejection Letter. Somebody Wants To Buy Your Story, What Now? Reuse, Recycle. Expanding Your Short Story into a Novel. Using Social Media. Marketing Your Fiction, and Yourself. How To Survive Bad Reviews. Maintaining Your Sanity as a Writer. Creating a Short Story Collection. Writing for Anthologies. Writing Shared World Stories. Collaborations. Self-Publishing. Writing Science Fiction.

Like I said, look for this in early 2024. Hopefully it will be educational and entertaining.

Taurin Tales is the Deal of the Day

From the Nomadic Delirium Press Blog:

Today at DriveThruFiction, you can download Taurin Tales for just $1.60. Download it now at https://www.drivethrufiction.com/product/134975/. You can't beat a sale like that!

Taurin Tales is a shared world anthology featuring some of the top names in small press science fiction. The Taurins were created by science fiction writer, editor, and game designer J Alan Erwine. Once he had created them, he invited some of his favorite writers to play in the universe, and further flesh out these new aliens. Thus was born Taurin Tales.

The stories in this collection cover a large aspect of Taurin life…grand space adventures, small character studies, the tackling of difficult social issues, the past and the future of the Taurins.

Included in this collection, you’ll find David Lee Summers, D. Moonfire, Ian Brazee-Cannon, Tyree Campbell, Anna Paradox, Laura Givens, and Rick Novy.

 

The Lies of Belial is the Deal of the Day

My latest science fiction short story collection, The Lies of Belial, and other stories, which is still on the bestseller list at DriveThruFiction will be the deal of the day at the same website. You can download the collection, which usually sells for $3.99 for just $2. So, head over to https://www.drivethrufiction.com/product/461481 and download it today.

Welcome to the newest collection from prize winning science fiction author J Alan Erwine. This collection gives you Erwine’s 13 newest stories since the publication of the enormous tome, Manic Musings of a Maniacal Mind. In this collection you’ll find five of his Solar Federation stories, two stories from Nomadic Delirium Press’ Divided States of America series, and six independent stories, including the never before published title story.

Journey to distant planets, explore possible grim futures, and have your mind twisted around in a way that only Erwine can do.

NDP Holiday Gaming Bundle

From the Nomadic Delirium Press Blog:

Just in time for the holidays, you can download the core rulebooks for all three of our RPGs, Ephemeris, The Battle For Turtle Island: Buffalo Wars, and Rocks on the Other Side for just $7. That’s three different games for only $7!!! Head over to https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/462262/ and download today.

 

More about the new novel

Yesterday, I posted that I'd finished the rough draft of a "new" novel, Echoes From the Deep. I figured I'd fill you in on a few of the details. The basic premise of the novel is that a combination human and dolphin group colonizes a planet that once was inhabited by an alien species. The usual turmoil begins because, you know, humans just have trouble getting along, but then strange things start to happen on the planet.

An interesting thing I found while working on this was that three of the characters have the same names of family members, who weren't family members 25 years ago when I started the book. There's a character named Rebecca, and of course that's my wife's name. The governor's AI is named Alexis, which is my youngest daughter's name, and another character is named Francis, which is the name of my son-in-law. I didn't know any of these people when I started writing the book, and I'd thought about changing the names, but I figured I had a reason for selecting those names when I started it, so I stuck with them.

Another thing about the book is that since the governor's AI is named Alexis, whenever he needs to talk to her, he calls into the air, "Alexis." This was long before Amazon came up with the Alexa...just an interesting coincidence.

I'm looking forward to finishing the book and unleashing it on all of my readers!

The rough draft of a new novel is done

I just put the finishing touches on the rough draft of a new novel...well, ok, so it's not exactly new. I started this book about 25 years ago and then boxed it up. I found that box a few months ago, and after reading through it, I realized that my writing has really progressed because there was some really bad prose in what I had written, but more importantly, there was a really good story buried there. So, I set about reworking the book, and now I have a rough draft. This means that some time next year, you will all be able to read Echoes from the Deep.

I can't wait for everyone to read this. I've really enjoyed writing the book, and towards the end, I actually got choked up, which doesn't happen very often when I'm writing my own material because of course I know what's going to happen, but this got to me.

November Bestseller

This collection hit the ground running! My bestselling title for November was The Lies of Belial, and other stories. Apparently people want to read my latest stories, so you can grab my 13 newest stories at any of the following:

Order from Amazon: https://amzn.to/47MWW0x

Order from Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1484080

Order from DriveThruFiction: https://www.drivethrufiction.com/product/461481/

Why Hasn't My Story Sold?

 

Why Hasn’t My Story Sold?

By J Alan Erwine

So, you’ve written a little gem of a story, but so far, nobody has wanted to buy the story, why? Well, first of all, are you sure the story is actually a gem? Most beginning writers have to write a great deal of crap before they actually start writing prose that is really worth reading. Maybe you think that’s not fair, but it’s actually the truth, most of us, myself included, wrote a lot of material that will hopefully never again see the light of day. Believe me, when I look back at some of the first stories I was submitting, I now feel that maybe I should send those editors letters of apology.

But, that’s neither here nor there, let’s actually say that your story is a gem, but still nobody wants to buy it. There could be some very good reasons for this, so let’s take a look at some of them.

Manuscript formatting

When you’re going to submit to any publication, the first thing you should do is read their guidelines. Don’t try to argue that if the story is good enough, the editor will just take it no matter how you submit it. This simply isn’t the case. If you don’t follow a publication’s guidelines, your little gem of a story might not even get read!

So, you pull up those guidelines on your computer screen, and you read them in detail, and I do mean in detail. Take note of everything they’re asking for. If they’re not asking for anything specific, or if they’re asking for standard manuscript format, then standard manuscript format is what you send them.

Wait a second, you’re saying you don’t know what standard manuscript format is…well, you should really look it up, but here are the basics. Double spaced with one inch margins. Make sure you’re using an easy to read font like Times New Roman or Arial. Don’t try to be cutesy with your fonts, make them easy to read. You don’t want an editor struggling to read your manuscript, that will just make them cranky, and a cranky editor almost always results in a rejection. That’s just a simple fact.

If you want a word italicized, then you underline it. And again, this can be why it’s important to read those submission guidelines. Why? Well, if you’re submitting to me at Nomadic Delirium Press, I want you to italicize the words yourself. Italicizing for one editor will make them cranky, while not italicizing for another editor will make them cranky. Yeah, we’re a difficult group, but if you follow the specific guidelines for the publication, you won’t have any problems.

There’s more to proper format, but this gives you the basics, and I encourage you to learn the rest because proper formatting makes for happy editors, and this will mean that your manuscript will get read instead of being rejected because you can’t follow instructions.

Revisions

I know that Robert Heinlein argued that an author should never revise their work unless asked, and then only grudgingly. Did Heinlein really write perfect prose in his first draft? Maybe, maybe not. I never met the man, so I can’t say for sure, and from what I’ve heard, he could be quite cantankerous, so I doubt that people who did know him really know if this was true or not.

However, you are not Robert Heinlein, and you need to revise. I would strongly recommend doing three, four, and maybe even five drafts of your little darling before you even think about submitting it. I’ve heard many writers say that it should be the editor’s job to edit the story, thus their title…but the more editing an editor has to do on a specific piece, the less likely they are to accept it. You should be sending your best to an editor, and if your best is filled with misspellings and grammatical errors, then an editor isn’t going to want your story, no matter how good it might be. This isn’t to say that a story has to be absolutely perfect. That’s very hard to do, and even after your editor has a crack at it, there’s still a good possibility that there will still be errors, but you want to show them that you know how to use the English language properly. After all, you’re supposed to be a wordsmith.

Now, I can’t say with absolute certainty, as editors vary greatly, but the higher up the ladder a publication is, the more polished your work needs to be. The truth is, the smaller presses are usually more lenient because there are usually only a few editors, and they’re really looking for the best stories that they can find, and so you will tend to have a little more slack with them. For example, I have one author I’ve worked with on a number of occasions who sends in what I would call “less than perfect” manuscripts, but I know this author can tell a story, so I’m willing to put in a little extra work on their manuscripts. I won’t do this for just anyone, and I also think that these “less than perfect” manuscripts could be keeping them out of some of the larger markets…but hey, that’s just my opinion.

The long and short of it is, polish those manuscripts to the best of your abilities, maybe even have someone else look it over. Again, a well-polished manuscript makes for a happy editor, and it lessens your chance of a rejection before the editor has even had a chance to realize that you have a good story.

Is it the right market?

This one almost seems like a no-brainer, but when you’re reading those guidelines, make sure that the publication actually publishes the kind of work you’re trying to submit. At Nomadic Delirium Press, we primarily publish science fiction with a smattering of fantasy, and yet we still get horror submissions, and even an occasional mainstream submission. If you send this type of work to us, it’s going to get rejected outright. There’s always a possibility that we might publish out of our current genres, but we would only take a chance with an author that we already know, and even then, they’d have to query us first.

The main point is, don’t send stories that don’t fit whatever it is the publication publishes. You might have a wonderfully written romance story, but sending it to Analog will get it rejected unless it has a very strong science fiction element.

Submitting to a market that doesn’t publish your genre is just a waste of your time. Don’t do it.

Be honest about your talent level

All of us would like to think that we’re the next great author that’s going to hit it big, but there are only a few of those authors, and a whole lot of us other guys, so be realistic in your goals. If you’re writing science fiction, for example, by all means, submit to Analog or Asimov’s, but don’t expect to get published by them. They’re very hard markets to crack, and maybe you just aren’t there yet. There are a number of mid-level and small press publishers that are always looking for great stories, and your gem that’s not quite right for the big guys might be perfect for one of these smaller publishers. To completely corrupt an acting axiom, there are no small presses, only small authors.

Publish in the small press. They can be great for your career. I’ve edited authors in the small press that went on to the larger presses, and even a few that have gone on to Hugo Awards. As an author, my short stories have appeared in small press publications next to names like Robert Sawyer and the late, great Jay Lake, neither of whom thought they were “too big” to appear in a small press magazine.

As an author, know your talent level. Certainly shoot higher because you never know what might grab an editor’s eye, but also don’t look down on the little guys who might nurture you and even give you advice, and maybe even help your career along. You have to start somewhere, right?

Don’t irritate your potential editor

Something to keep in mind is that editors do talk to one another, so don’t do anything to irritate your potential editor.

Don’t send nasty letters to an editor because they rejected your story. You have to keep in mind that editors turn down stories, not people. I’ve had authors that have submitted to me over and over again with no luck, but their sixth, seventh, or eighth story suddenly hits with me, and they’re published.

Don’t submit simultaneously to different publications if they don’t accept simultaneous submissions. At one con, I had taken some submissions to read, and I was sitting at a table with another editor, and he happened to glance at the cover page of the story I was about to read. Turns out, he had the exact same story in his slush pile. The result was that author got two rejections. I’m not sure if the other editor blacklisted them or not. I didn’t, but I did send the author an angry rejection, pointing out the error of their ways. They never submitted to me again, but then again, I’ve never seen their name in any magazines, so I’m not sure what might have happened to them.

Speaking of conventions, don’t bug editors at conventions. It’s ok to approach an editor, if they’re not busy, and mention your work, but the editor isn’t going to commit to you right there. The most likely response you’ll get is “Send it in.” Having said this, let me reiterate, never, never, never bother an editor when they’re in a conversation with another editor or author, and certainly not if they’re having dinner with their family. If they’ve just finished a panel, or if they’re at a signing table, that would be the perfect time, but there are hundreds of you wanting to do the same thing, so don’t take too much of the editor’s time.

All of these things might get talked about between editors, and believe me, they will use names, so don’t shoot yourself in the foot before you’ve even taken your first step into the door of publishing.

 

In conclusion, there can be a lot of reasons why a good story doesn’t get accepted. Will following these points guarantee that a well-written story finds a home. No, of course not. The market fluctuates, and your story might get read by an editor who has just had a fight with their spouse, or has kids screaming in the next room, and they’re too irritated to see the glories of your story. Editors are only human, and they will make mistakes. I’ve passed on stories that I later saw in another publication, and I suddenly realize that I’d made a mistake.

 

The best piece of advice I can give any aspiring author is to keep at it. Perseverance can often beat out talent. I’ve known many talented writers who didn’t want to keep jumping through the hoops of the publishing world and gave up, and I’ve known even more authors who weren’t naturally gifted, but could still put a subject and predicate together fairly well that just kept trying and working, and after many many years of effort, they were able to actually build a writing career of some kind.

So, if you actually have some writing talent, keep at it, and keep submitting. Maybe some day you will have the career you’ve always envisioned.

 

A DriveThruFiction Bestseller

My latest short story collection, The Lies of Belial, and other stories is currently in the top 100 selling titles at DriveThruFiction. Check it out at https://www.drivethrufiction.com/top_100.php and be sure to order a copy at https://www.drivethrufiction.com/product/461481 to see if we can push it higher up the list.

Save 25% off Rocks on the Other Side

Ready to play our latest game? You can now save 25% off the core rulebook for Rocks on the Other Side at https://jalanerwine.gumroad.com/l/rocksontheotherside/y24a0k0

The year was 2032. It will always be remembered as the year that the leaders of the world truly lost their minds. That was the year that they unleashed the massive nuclear arsenals they had been stockpiling. That was the year they tried to wipe out all life on Earth because of petty differences, differences that could have easily been overlooked if they would have just had open minds, but let’s face it, how often did the leaders of the world ever actually have open minds?

Now, two years later, civilization is gone, most of life on Earth is gone, but there are still pockets of humanity that try to eke out an existence. Some of the Earth’s flora and fauna have also survived the nuclear holocaust. Unfortunately, now everyone is trying to survive, and that means that everyone else must be viewed as a potential enemy. Even worse, nuclear mutations have created horrible lifeforms. Some used to be human, some were animals, and some were plants, but now they’re horribly deformed, and incredibly dangerous. Not to mention the fact that there are pockets of radiation all over the world that threaten life that comes anywhere close to it.

And, of course, there’s no longer a need to worry about global climate change since the world is stuck in a perpetual nuclear winter, killing more and more of the life on Earth.

Radiation everywhere, almost constant cold and snow, mutated people, animals, and plants…this is the world that waits for you in Rocks on the Other Side. Do you dare venture into this world and try to survive?

A little holiday fun

Just for fun, I decided to throw a little collection of some of my short stories together as a special holiday collection. Don't worry, these aren't actually holiday stories. Can you imagine me writing about Santa? How many different ways would I find to kill the jolly old elf off? Don't believe me? Keep in mind that I absolutely love the song, "The Night Santa Went Crazy" by Weird Al. That should tell you a little bit about where my brain is...assuming you haven't already figured that out from reading my fiction.

This collection is only available at Amazon, and if you're a Kindle Unlimited member, you can read it for free! So, head over to https://amzn.to/47RvDSW and order now.

So, what do you get in this collection? Glad you asked. You get my Solar Federation story "Greenie" and my Divided States of America story "Fight or Flight." You also get my story "A Problem in Translation," which eventually became the first chapter of my novel of the same name. "Lowering One's Self Before Fate" is also here. This was an early story of mine that had the most unique writing concept of any of my work. There's also "The Galton Principle," one of my first forays into writing about dystopias, and it's still a story that people are asking me to novelize. "The Lives of Billions" is also here, a little story about alien life on Mars, and a story that Tyree Campbell seems to absolutely love. Then there are two of my more experimental stories, "Entropy" and "Reality." Overall, the collection should give you a bit of a peak into the different ways my writing often goes, and hopefully if you've never read any of my work (and why haven't you?), it will help you find something of mine that you like! And remember, this is only available during the 2023 holiday season, and it's FREE. Did I mention FREE!!!

The Lies of Belial, and other stories

Welcome to the newest collection from prize winning science fiction author J Alan Erwine. This collection gives you Erwine’s 13 newest stories since the publication of the enormous tome, Manic Musings of a Maniacal Mind. In this collection you’ll find five of his Solar Federation stories, two stories from Nomadic Delirium Press’ Divided States of America series, and six independent stories, including the never before published title story.

Journey to distant planets, explore possible grim futures, and have your mind twisted around in a way that only Erwine can do.

Order from Amazon: https://amzn.to/47MWW0x

Order from Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1484080

Order from DriveThruFiction: https://www.drivethrufiction.com/product/461481/

Green Grievances

From the Nomadic Delirium Press Blog:

We have a new story in The Divided States of America series…

The Green States of America is a fairly peaceful nation, but not everyone is happy with the current government, and when armed terrorists take over the congressional building, it’s up to Speaker of the Month Robert Nesmith to fight back for his nation, but what does he have to use against armed militants? Only his words.

Order from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CNWT23HT

Order from Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1483950

Order from DriveThruFiction: https://www.drivethrufiction.com/product/461405