Webmaster for Terry Brooks - Song of the Fell Hammer

scspeakman · 10-10-2009, 04:37 PM

Hi Everyone,

My name is Shawn and I am the webmaster for fantasy authors Terry Brooks, David Anthony Durham and Greg Keyes. I am also the owner of the signed book business The Signed Page and I am the Editorial Coordinator for the Random House blog Suvudu.com!

All of that together might get me a subway token when it comes to publishing my own work.

In all seriousness, I wrote an epic fantasy three years ago titled Song of the Fell Hammer. It was a learning book more than anything, a solid good book but nothing groundbreaking. It was rejected by many of my agent and editor friends in New York for not being original enough in a market over-saturated with epic fantasy. Several of them asked me to write something in the vein of paranormal romance or urban fantasy, and my second book, The Dark Thorn and an urban fantasy, is now going through rewrites.

Terry read it, loved it, but hated one character is having me rewrite those POV chapters.

While I have no doubt that The Dark Thorn will be published -- I already have numerous people in New York interested in it -- Fell Hammer will probably not be published for many years. Therefore I decided to give into all of those fans who have asked for it and have now made it available on the Kindle.

Linky for Song of the Fell Hammer by Shawn C. Speakman.

This is all quite new to me. I'd love to meet some new people, get some advice from those of you who have been doing this for a while, and hopefully gain some new readers. As I've been in the publishing industry at varying levels and roles for 12 years, I am also very willing to share my experiences and give any advice for people with questions.

Hope you all are well! And I hope this is the place to post a message like this. haha

Best,
Shawn

DMcCunney · 10-10-2009, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scspeakman

While I have no doubt that The Dark Thorn will be published -- I already have numerous people in New York interested in it -- Fell Hammer will probably not be published for many years. Therefore I decided to give into all of those fans who have asked for it and have now made it available on the Kindle.

Linky for Song of the Fell Hammer by Shawn C. Speakman.

<...>

Hope you all are well! And I hope this is the place to post a message like this. haha

Best,
Shawn

Welcome to MobileRead, Shawn.

This is certainly a good place to post it, and thank you for the kind offer,

However, there is a lot more to the book world than the Kindle and Kindle editions, and MR has many users in areas where the Kindle isn't available. Is there a possibility of getting the Song of the Fell Hammer in other formats, so that, for example, folks with a Sony Reader, Bookeen Cybook, or EB1150 can read it?

(If you're willing to do that, you'll find lots of willing assistance here on format conversions.)
______
Dennis

jaxx6166 · 10-10-2009, 04:48 PM

Shawn! I was wondering when you'd make your way over here. Welcome Welcome. =)
How's Dark Thorn coming along?
I don't think I've really spoken with you since...*thinking*...when Knight of the Word came out. Or maybe a little later.

jaxx6166 · 10-10-2009, 04:51 PM

I'm one of those heathens that has both a Kindle and a Sony...Listen to DM and make it available in as many formats as possible. You'll thank yourself later.

I just picked up Fell Hammer. I've wanted to see what it was all about since you posted your samples up.

Anyway - hope you're going to hang around here for a while.

basschick · 10-10-2009, 08:17 PM

welcome, Shawn. any chance you can offer your book in another format - mobipocket would be my personal choice, but there are many others. then you could sell it on fictionwise.com or booksonboard.com maybe - or from your own site. i don't have a kindle - i have a cybook gen3 - but would be happy to buy and read your book when it's in a compatible format.

junkml · 10-10-2009, 08:26 PM

I'll chime in that I'd give your book a read if you provide it in a format the Sony can read.

AnemicOak · 10-10-2009, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

Welcome to MobileRead, Shawn.

This is certainly a good place to post it, and thank you for the kind offer,

However, there is a lot more to the book world than the Kindle and Kindle editions, and MR has many users in areas where the Kindle isn't available. Is there a possibility of getting the Song of the Fell Hammer in other formats, so that, for example, folks with a Sony Reader, Bookeen Cybook, or EB1150 can read it?

(If you're willing to do that, you'll find lots of willing assistance here on format conversions.)
______
Dennis

Very good advice. While the Kindle's a good starting point since they make it easy to get your book out, check out Smashwords as a way to make it available in other various formats.

Lemurion · 10-11-2009, 12:41 PM

Thanks for thinking of us

Dr. Drib · 10-11-2009, 12:49 PM

Hi, Shawn, and welcome to MobileRead.

You'll find quite a number of interesting discussions here, and we always welcome astute readers, writers, and editors - of which you seem to be all three rolled up into one package.

Thanks, also, for the link to your book. The price seems quite reasonable and will gather some readers.

A number of members here mention that if you could make your book available in a choice of formats. This would be a good idea (in my opinion), if you can do that.

Again, please settle back and explore MobilerRead.

Above all, HAVE FUN!

Don
(Moderator)

scspeakman · 10-11-2009, 05:57 PM

Hi All,

Thanks for the nice welcome! Much appreciated! A lot of this is very daunting to me despite my experiences, so I am quite pleased to see so many willing, helpful people!

Quote:

(If you're willing to do that, you'll find lots of willing assistance here on format conversions.)

I'd love to get Fell Hammer into other formats when I can find the time. I have it in .doc but can easily convert it to .html or .pdf. If there is a link out there that would help me learn how to convert to Sony Reader, etc., definitely shoot it my way. I'll use it.

Unless if I only need read up on Smashwords. Then I'll use that.

Quote:

How's Dark Thorn coming along?

Hey Jax! Yeah, been a long time, of course. Thankfully time has been pretty good to me. I hope it has for you too!

The Dark Thorn is coming along great. It's finished and with Terry's comments I am now in deep rewrites. It's going to take me a while to finish them off but Terry is quite adamant that it is 1) worth my time, and 2) it took him seven years to finish up The Sword of Shannara. I figure I have some time to do it right and slowly but surely am making it so.

I hope.

Fell Hammer is a learning book. I am fairly open with that information. So if you enjoy Fell Hammer, you'll probably love Dark Thorn. Better written. Less cliched. Dynamic characters.

Quote:

Again, please settle back and explore MobilerRead.

I'm a troublemaker, Don.

I'm sure I'll like it here.

jinlo · 10-11-2009, 06:16 PM

For what it's worth, here's my suggestions on making new formats available.

Since you say you have the source file in .doc format, I will assume you have MS Word. Download the Microsoft Reader Read in Add-in to create .lit files for MS Reader. You can get it from the following page at Microsoft's web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/reader/deve...loads/rmr.aspx

This add-in creates a button on Words tool bar. Just click the button and follow the instructions.

I would then suggest you download a great program called Calibre from:

http://calibre.kovidgoyal.net/

Calibre will allow you to take the .lit file and create .epub, .mobi, and .lrf files.

With these 4 new file types, along with your html and txt files, you have most of your bases covered.

Good luck.

10-10-2009, 04:37 PM	#1
scspeakman Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 98 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Seattle, WA, USA Device: none	Webmaster for Terry Brooks - Song of the Fell Hammer Hi Everyone, My name is Shawn and I am the webmaster for fantasy authors Terry Brooks, David Anthony Durham and Greg Keyes. I am also the owner of the signed book business The Signed Page and I am the Editorial Coordinator for the Random House blog Suvudu.com! All of that together might get me a subway token when it comes to publishing my own work. In all seriousness, I wrote an epic fantasy three years ago titled Song of the Fell Hammer. It was a learning book more than anything, a solid good book but nothing groundbreaking. It was rejected by many of my agent and editor friends in New York for not being original enough in a market over-saturated with epic fantasy. Several of them asked me to write something in the vein of paranormal romance or urban fantasy, and my second book, The Dark Thorn and an urban fantasy, is now going through rewrites. Terry read it, loved it, but hated one character is having me rewrite those POV chapters. While I have no doubt that The Dark Thorn will be published -- I already have numerous people in New York interested in it -- Fell Hammer will probably not be published for many years. Therefore I decided to give into all of those fans who have asked for it and have now made it available on the Kindle. Linky for Song of the Fell Hammer by Shawn C. Speakman. This is all quite new to me. I'd love to meet some new people, get some advice from those of you who have been doing this for a while, and hopefully gain some new readers. As I've been in the publishing industry at varying levels and roles for 12 years, I am also very willing to share my experiences and give any advice for people with questions. Hope you all are well! And I hope this is the place to post a message like this. haha Best, Shawn

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10-10-2009, 04:48 PM	#3
jaxx6166 Wizard Posts: 1,222 Karma: 769316 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Eternal summer Device: 350, iPad, PW	Shawn! I was wondering when you'd make your way over here. Welcome Welcome. =) How's Dark Thorn coming along? I don't think I've really spoken with you since...thinking...when Knight of the Word came out. Or maybe a little later.

10-10-2009, 04:51 PM	#4
jaxx6166 Wizard Posts: 1,222 Karma: 769316 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Eternal summer Device: 350, iPad, PW	I'm one of those heathens that has both a Kindle and a Sony...Listen to DM and make it available in as many formats as possible. You'll thank yourself later. I just picked up Fell Hammer. I've wanted to see what it was all about since you posted your samples up. Anyway - hope you're going to hang around here for a while.

10-10-2009, 08:17 PM	#5
basschick Wizard Posts: 1,096 Karma: 4695691 Join Date: May 2008 Device: Kindle Paperwhite	welcome, Shawn. any chance you can offer your book in another format - mobipocket would be my personal choice, but there are many others. then you could sell it on fictionwise.com or booksonboard.com maybe - or from your own site. i don't have a kindle - i have a cybook gen3 - but would be happy to buy and read your book when it's in a compatible format.

10-10-2009, 08:26 PM	#6
junkml Addict Posts: 277 Karma: 1004969 Join Date: Mar 2007 Device: Sony Reader	I'll chime in that I'd give your book a read if you provide it in a format the Sony can read.

10-11-2009, 12:41 PM	#8
Lemurion eReader Posts: 2,750 Karma: 4968470 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Note 5; PW3; Nook HD+; ChuWi Hi12; iPad	Thanks for thinking of us

10-11-2009, 12:49 PM	#9
Dr. Drib Grand Sorcerer Posts: 45,358 Karma: 59451559 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Peru Device: KINDLE: Oasis 3, Scribe (1st), Matcha; KOBO: Libra 2, Libra Colour	Hi, Shawn, and welcome to MobileRead. You'll find quite a number of interesting discussions here, and we always welcome astute readers, writers, and editors - of which you seem to be all three rolled up into one package. Thanks, also, for the link to your book. The price seems quite reasonable and will gather some readers. A number of members here mention that if you could make your book available in a choice of formats. This would be a good idea (in my opinion), if you can do that. Again, please settle back and explore MobilerRead. Above all, HAVE FUN! Don (Moderator)

10-11-2009, 06:16 PM	#11
jinlo aka coco jinlo Posts: 415 Karma: 500002 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: NJ-USA Device: Just purchased Sony 505, but alas, it is for the wife	For what it's worth, here's my suggestions on making new formats available. Since you say you have the source file in .doc format, I will assume you have MS Word. Download the Microsoft Reader Read in Add-in to create .lit files for MS Reader. You can get it from the following page at Microsoft's web site: http://www.microsoft.com/reader/deve...loads/rmr.aspx This add-in creates a button on Words tool bar. Just click the button and follow the instructions. I would then suggest you download a great program called Calibre from: http://calibre.kovidgoyal.net/ Calibre will allow you to take the .lit file and create .epub, .mobi, and .lrf files. With these 4 new file types, along with your html and txt files, you have most of your bases covered. Good luck.

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