MetaGame (new sci-fi novel for $1.59 (in the USA))

[Sam Landstrom]

My novel MetaGame is FREE as an IBook. Just search on "MetaGame" in your IPad IBook Store. Also, here's a link that might work: http://itunes.apple.com/book/metagame/id365938813

It already has great reviews on Amazon and it's FREE so no reason not to download it. This is not a promotion, this is a COMPLETE book with no strings attached. Heck, it's not even part of a series (not yet), so it's not bait for other books. The paperback doesn't even come out until September, so you're getting an early version thanks to your high-tech proclivity.

BTW, someone please reply to this thread to let me know if it looks OK on the IPad (I don't have one).

Thanks,
Sam

P.S. here's the blurb about the book:

/////////
Blurb:
Life is a game, literally. Winners earn immortality, while losers are condemned to aging and death. D_Light, a gifted player, knows this all too well and he's willing to do anything to win-even kill. It is no wonder then that when given the chance to enter a MetaGame-an exclusive, high-stakes, anything goes contest-he's quick to jump at the opportunity. The MetaGame starts out well enough for D_Light, the first quest being to hunt down a dangerous fugitive, but through his own ambition, the tables turn and D_Light finds himself the renegade. Now, D_Light pits himself against his world to find the truth behind "The Game" and must decide between winning it and saving what's left of his humanity.

This novel blends emerging political and cultural trends, such as gaming culture, globalization, and the ever-increasing hegemony of corporations, with technological trends, such as genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality. Emerging from this stew is an original world to explore through the point of view of several of its "players".
////////

[scottjl]

Just downloaded and it looks fine on the iPad. I'll try and give it a read soon. Thanks!

[leebase]

Thanks for the heads up - just downloaded it. Looks interesting.

Lee

[DixieGal]

Got it! THANKS!

[froggie731]

I just downloaded it, thank you!

[Sam Landstrom]

Originally Posted by scottjl

Just downloaded and it looks fine on the iPad. I'll try and give it a read soon. Thanks!

Thanks Scott!

Question for anyone: Does the IBook Store have best seller lists? Do they include free books? I don't have an IPad and am not sure how to check.

Thanks,
Sam

[Sischa]

Yes they have the same list you maybe know from the app-store. A Top List of paid books (left) and free books (right) ...

[andymillson]

Looks great on the ipad, very nice job

fyi Metagame is currently listed at #84 in the top chart for free books

Way to go

Andy

[Sam Landstrom]

Originally Posted by andymillson

Looks great on the ipad, very nice job

fyi Metagame is currently listed at #84 in the top chart for free books

Way to go

Andy

NICE!

Wonder if it's possible to hit top 10? That'd be downright AWESOME. Don't know what the competition is... Maybe some public domain books like Dracula.

Anyway, thanks Andy for the download!
Sam

[kjk]

Looks great Sam!

Here is what it looks like in iBooks:
http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/1802/photox.png

One thing you should be aware of-chapters do not show up in the TOC.

[rrburton]

downloading now. sounds like a good story thanks!

[Sam Landstrom]

Originally Posted by Sischa

Yes they have the same list you maybe know from the app-store. A Top List of paid books (left) and free books (right) ...

Thanks Sischa!

Does anyone know if there's a way to directly link to an iBook on the iBook store or do you have to just search for the title or author (e.g. search on "MetaGame)? I'd like to provide such a link in this thread.

Also, I'm curious if the rank of the book has since gone up. Getting into the top 10 would be a dream come true.

[Sam Landstrom]

Originally Posted by leebase

Thanks for the heads up - just downloaded it. Looks interesting.

Lee

Thanks leebase! Hope you enjoy it.

Sam

[Sam Landstrom]

Originally Posted by afa

First of all, congrats on the publication. Secondly, thanks for the free ebook. Just for that, here's some karma.

Now, I have a question. How come you're providing it for free if it's being published? From my (rudimentary) understanding of the publishing industry, publishers wouldn't come near a novel that is already available for free on the net. In fact, I believe they are reluctant even if you've made a 'significant' portion of it available freely.

As grateful as we all are, I think maybe you should rescind the offer.

Good question. (:

AmazonEncore isn't as controlling as most in this regard. They figure that the book is going to be re-worked and then marketed anyway. I actually took down the Amazon version myself because I wanted to build up a watershed on that outlet (where I expect to make most of my sales).

AFAIK, the way AmazonEncore does it is that they mine their own website (Amazon.com) for the top indie books as measured by reviews, promising discussions, sales, and perhaps other criteria I don't know about. Their aquisition editor then reads the book, and if all is well, they propose a deal with the author. They supply new cover art, an editor, promotion, etc and the author gets a royalty based on sales--just a typical publisher/author exchange.

In addition to finding books my mining, they appear to be finding books through some other means since I've noticed them acquiring some yet unpublished manuscripts too.

Anyway, that's just a long winded explanation of why they're dealing with a previously released book.

Truth is that if I didn't give it away here, you probably wouldn't buy it anyway and at least now you've heard of the book... Maybe I'll even get some additional sales down the line from word of mouth. And of course if you love the book, you might want to read the new version when it comes out!

Thanks,
Sam

[FourOhFour]

They don't make it easy, but this should work: http://itunes.apple.com/book/metagame/id365938813

Got the URL by using the send to a friend link and emailing it to myself.