New fantasy author: Lynna Merrill

LynnaMerrill · 09-20-2011, 11:01 PM

30 March 2012 update, FREE BOOK: The Weavers of Paths is now free, for a limited time. You can grab yours on Amazon, as well as on my website in various formats, and elsewhere (Smashwords, B&N, Kobo, Sony, Apple, others).

Hello everyone,

I am a fantasy writer who finally released the first three books of her series as Kindle and Nook e-books, as well as CreateSpace paperbacks. This is a fantasy series with dystopian and romantic elements. Nine books are planned.

I am a computer scientist, so I am technical and had no problems with that aspect of the publishing process. I learned to be an artist, too, in order to make my own covers. I will be happy to give advice to others, especially about publishing from a Linux platform without using Microsoft Word and without owning a Kindle or a Nook. However, promoting my books is very new to me. (Though, interestingly enough, I got a sale for each of my Kindle books on the second day after I posted them, with no promotion whatsoever.)

My books are available as e-books at my website, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords and various other online retailers, and as trade paperbacks at CreateSpace. Check out my website at http://www.lynnamerrill.com for more information and excerpts as well as links to the books.

The books are:

The Seekers of Fire (The Masters That Be #1)

The Makers of Light (The Masters That Be #2)

The Weavers of Paths (The Masters That Be #3)

I hope you will be intrigued and check the books out, and perhaps review them.

Thanks for looking!

Lynna Merrill

basschick · 09-21-2011, 02:10 AM

welcome, and i look forward to checking out your books. btw, any chance you'll be offering them at smashwords?

JeremyR · 09-21-2011, 05:03 AM

They don't seem to be my cup of tea, but at least it's non-urban fantasy, and no sign of vampires, so good luck.

rhadin · 09-21-2011, 07:37 AM

Look interesting, but like Basschick, I ask: Will they be made available at Smashwords?

LynnaMerrill · 09-21-2011, 10:43 PM

Thanks everyone for your kind words. It is encouraging to find such a friendly community.

basschick and rhadin: My books are not on Smashwords because Smashwords won't accept anything but a .doc file, and I don't have one. I wrote my books in vim (a plain text editor) in the LaTeX format, from which I easily generate a .pdf file and, not so easily, an .html file and an .epub file. Anything Microsoft Word, however, would be a mess. Indeed, anything Microsoft Word seems to always be a mess, which is why I don't use Microsoft Word or Windows in the first place.

May I ask, why would you prefer my books to be on Smashwords? Is it because of the different converted file formats that they offer? I am not sure whether you know this, but Barnes & Noble use the open .epub format for their Nook books. All my books are DRM-free, both at Barnes & Noble and Amazon. If people are interested, I could also list various file formats on my own site, with a PayPal shopping cart. Let me know. Your advice is greatly appreciated.

BrowseTheStacks · 09-22-2011, 12:02 AM

I think some people who want smashwords want it for international reasons. Kindle charges a $2.00 international surcharge to some countrys. B&N does not sell internationaly at all if i remember correctly.

LynnaMerrill · 10-10-2011, 11:36 PM

People have been asking me if there is a way to buy my e-books without going through retailers such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble. For various reasons, such as high international electronic delivery fees, or ease of use and convenience, many would prefer an alternative way of getting their books.

So, I would like to let you all know that I now have my own e-bookstore, at http://www.lynnamerrill.com/zencart , where anyone with a credit card or a PayPal account can buy the EPUB, PDF, and MOBI versions of my books.

My books are also still on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Goodreads. I will be happy if people get them from my own bookstore (sparing me the retailer's fees)---but I will also be happy if people buy them elsewhere, wherever is most convenient for them. Your choice.

It is interesting to see all the tasks writers need to perform as the self publishing world evolves. Most of us have to also be programmers, book cover artists, typesetters, and indeed specialists in everything.

rhadin · 11-07-2011, 06:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LynnaMerrill

I wanted to let you know that, as a Halloween special, my book "The Makers of Light" is available for free at my bookstore as a ZIP file (PDF+EPUB+MOBI) and at Goodreads as an EPUB (click on "read book").

I missed this offer but I am curious: Why did you choose to offer the second book in the series as the free book rather than the first? Had I been in time for the offer, I might have downloaded the book "just in case" I ever got around to buying the first book, but I would not have read it until I had read the first book in the series.

Usually authors offer the first book in a series as the free book, hoping to interest the reader enough to go and buy the other volumes.

I'm also curious as to why you chose to offer the book at Goodreads rather than Smashwords. I prefer to buy my ebooks at Smashwords because I can choose the format I want and get a DRM-free version. If I buy at B&N, I have to strip the DRM and Goodreads appears to let you read the book online, something I never do, but not download an ePub version (unless I'm missing something about Goodreads).

As a Sony owner, my usual ebookstore haunts are Sony, Smashwords, and B&N (because it is easy to strip the DRM).

LynnaMerrill · 11-07-2011, 09:56 PM

rhadin, I chose the second book based on advice from other people who claimed success with this approach. I might offer the first book in the future.

[Self-Promotion deleted - MODERATOR]

Smashwords won't accept anything but a .doc file. I wrote my books in vim (a plain text editor) in the LaTeX format, on Debian. What I have as a result is a .pdf file, an .html file, and an .epub file. I use Calibre, so I can produce many file formats, but .doc is not one of them. Since Smashwords seems to be so important for people, I guess I will find a way to produce a .doc file. Still, considering that Smashwords convert the .doc to an .epub, they should be more accommodating to people who produce their own .epub-s.

My books don't have DRM on Barnes & Noble or anywhere else. As for Goodreads, one can actually download the .epub there, but I agree that the interface could be better. You get the "download .epub" link if you click on "Read the ebook" and leaf through the free sample (10%). The link is at the end of the sample.

rhadin · 11-08-2011, 06:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LynnaMerrill

rhadin, I chose the second book based on advice from other people who claimed success with this approach.

Hmmmm! Seems illogical to me. After all, it is usually the first volume in a series that introduces the main characters and ropes the reader in. By the time the second volume comes around, either the reader is captivated by both the storyline and the characters or loses interest -- unless, of course, each book is written as a standalone that can be viewed as either a part of a sequential series or as part of something that is a series only in the sense that the characters are continuous but the storyline really isn't dependant on anything learned in earlier volumes.

Well, I admit I'm now curious, so I've put volume 1 on my wishlist. Next time I make a book purchase I may include it.

LynnaMerrill · 11-09-2011, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhadin

Hmmmm! Seems illogical to me. After all, it is usually the first volume in a series that introduces the main characters and ropes the reader in.

True, I would certainly prefer to start with the first book in a series even when the books can stand alone. In my case, each of "The Masters That Be" books builds upon the previous one, so order is essential.

Some writers have had success with offering the second book in a series for free and pricing the first book low; saying that in this way more people were interested in both books. Other writers have had better success with offering the first.

Of course, it all boils down to reaching people and letting them know that the books exist and are available for them to read. After that it is up to the book's own merits to withstand scrutiny, ignite interest -- and, hopefully, touch people's feelings and/or make people think.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhadin

Well, I admit I'm now curious, so I've put volume 1 on my wishlist. Next time I make a book purchase I may include it.

Great, I would be interested to hear what you thought about it.

rdjack21 · 11-22-2011, 11:40 PM

Hey at that price I'll bite

I'll even grab them off your web site so you keep more of the money. Now the question is when will I get to them because my to read list is getting pretty long..

LynnaMerrill · 11-23-2011, 12:53 AM

Thank you, rdjack21! I hope you enjoy the books.

rhadin · 11-30-2011, 05:09 AM

Just bought all 3 at Smashwords. Thanks.

LynnaMerrill · 12-07-2011, 03:18 PM

Hi folks,

The Weavers of Paths is currently #6 in the Amazon.fr bestseller list for English-language epic fantasy: http://www.amazon.fr/gp/bestsellers/..._kinc_1_7_last . The Seekers of Fire and The Makers of Light are also in the top 100. The $0.99 promotion has also been extended for the December holiday season.

Best,
Lynna

09-21-2011, 10:43 PM	#5
LynnaMerrill SF/F writer, programmer Posts: 34 Karma: 509838 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: USA Device: Kindle 4	Thanks everyone for your kind words. It is encouraging to find such a friendly community. basschick and rhadin: My books are not on Smashwords because Smashwords won't accept anything but a .doc file, and I don't have one. I wrote my books in vim (a plain text editor) in the LaTeX format, from which I easily generate a .pdf file and, not so easily, an .html file and an .epub file. Anything Microsoft Word, however, would be a mess. Indeed, anything Microsoft Word seems to always be a mess, which is why I don't use Microsoft Word or Windows in the first place. May I ask, why would you prefer my books to be on Smashwords? Is it because of the different converted file formats that they offer? I am not sure whether you know this, but Barnes & Noble use the open .epub format for their Nook books. All my books are DRM-free, both at Barnes & Noble and Amazon. If people are interested, I could also list various file formats on my own site, with a PayPal shopping cart. Let me know. Your advice is greatly appreciated. Last edited by LynnaMerrill; 11-07-2011 at 09:58 PM.

11-07-2011, 09:56 PM	#9
LynnaMerrill SF/F writer, programmer Posts: 34 Karma: 509838 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: USA Device: Kindle 4	rhadin, I chose the second book based on advice from other people who claimed success with this approach. I might offer the first book in the future. [Self-Promotion deleted - MODERATOR] Smashwords won't accept anything but a .doc file. I wrote my books in vim (a plain text editor) in the LaTeX format, on Debian. What I have as a result is a .pdf file, an .html file, and an .epub file. I use Calibre, so I can produce many file formats, but .doc is not one of them. Since Smashwords seems to be so important for people, I guess I will find a way to produce a .doc file. Still, considering that Smashwords convert the .doc to an .epub, they should be more accommodating to people who produce their own .epub-s. My books don't have DRM on Barnes & Noble or anywhere else. As for Goodreads, one can actually download the .epub there, but I agree that the interface could be better. You get the "download .epub" link if you click on "Read the ebook" and leaf through the free sample (10%). The link is at the end of the sample. Last edited by Dr. Drib; 11-09-2011 at 05:35 AM.

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09-20-2011, 11:01 PM	#1
LynnaMerrill SF/F writer, programmer Posts: 34 Karma: 509838 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: USA Device: Kindle 4	New fantasy author: Lynna Merrill 30 March 2012 update, FREE BOOK: The *Weavers of Paths* is now free, for a limited time. You can grab yours on Amazon, as well as on my website in various formats, and elsewhere (Smashwords, B&N, Kobo, Sony, Apple, others). Hello everyone, I am a fantasy writer who finally released the first three books of her series as Kindle and Nook e-books, as well as CreateSpace paperbacks. This is a fantasy series with dystopian and romantic elements. Nine books are planned. I am a computer scientist, so I am technical and had no problems with that aspect of the publishing process. I learned to be an artist, too, in order to make my own covers. I will be happy to give advice to others, especially about publishing from a Linux platform without using Microsoft Word and without owning a Kindle or a Nook. However, promoting my books is very new to me. (Though, interestingly enough, I got a sale for each of my Kindle books on the second day after I posted them, with no promotion whatsoever.) My books are available as e-books at my website, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords and various other online retailers, and as trade paperbacks at CreateSpace. Check out my website at http://www.lynnamerrill.com for more information and excerpts as well as links to the books. The books are: The Seekers of Fire (The Masters That Be #1) The Makers of Light (The Masters That Be #2) The Weavers of Paths (The Masters That Be #3) I hope you will be intrigued and check the books out, and perhaps review them. Thanks for looking! Lynna Merrill Last edited by LynnaMerrill; 03-30-2012 at 08:58 PM.

09-21-2011, 02:10 AM	#2
basschick Wizard Posts: 1,096 Karma: 4695691 Join Date: May 2008 Device: Kindle Paperwhite	welcome, and i look forward to checking out your books. btw, any chance you'll be offering them at smashwords?

09-21-2011, 05:03 AM	#3
JeremyR Guru Posts: 973 Karma: 2458402 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: St. Louis Device: Kindle Keyboard, Nook HD+	They don't seem to be my cup of tea, but at least it's non-urban fantasy, and no sign of vampires, so good luck. Last edited by JeremyR; 09-21-2011 at 05:05 AM.

09-21-2011, 07:37 AM	#4
rhadin Literacy = Understanding Posts: 4,833 Karma: 59674358 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: The World of Books Device: Nook, Nook Tablet	Look interesting, but like Basschick, I ask: Will they be made available at Smashwords?

09-22-2011, 12:02 AM	#6
BrowseTheStacks BrowseTheStacks Posts: 127 Karma: 24316 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Tampa FL Device: Kindle 3 3G + WI-FI	I think some people who want smashwords want it for international reasons. Kindle charges a $2.00 international surcharge to some countrys. B&N does not sell internationaly at all if i remember correctly.

10-10-2011, 11:36 PM	#7
LynnaMerrill SF/F writer, programmer Posts: 34 Karma: 509838 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: USA Device: Kindle 4	People have been asking me if there is a way to buy my e-books without going through retailers such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble. For various reasons, such as high international electronic delivery fees, or ease of use and convenience, many would prefer an alternative way of getting their books. So, I would like to let you all know that I now have my own e-bookstore, at http://www.lynnamerrill.com/zencart , where anyone with a credit card or a PayPal account can buy the EPUB, PDF, and MOBI versions of my books. My books are also still on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Goodreads. I will be happy if people get them from my own bookstore (sparing me the retailer's fees)---but I will also be happy if people buy them elsewhere, wherever is most convenient for them. Your choice. It is interesting to see all the tasks writers need to perform as the self publishing world evolves. Most of us have to also be programmers, book cover artists, typesetters, and indeed specialists in everything.

11-22-2011, 11:40 PM	#12
rdjack21 Groupie Posts: 153 Karma: 3241792 Join Date: May 2011 Device: Elocity A7, Nook STR, Galaxy Nexus	Hey at that price I'll bite I'll even grab them off your web site so you keep more of the money. Now the question is when will I get to them because my to read list is getting pretty long..

11-23-2011, 12:53 AM	#13
LynnaMerrill SF/F writer, programmer Posts: 34 Karma: 509838 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: USA Device: Kindle 4	Thank you, rdjack21! I hope you enjoy the books.

11-30-2011, 05:09 AM	#14
rhadin Literacy = Understanding Posts: 4,833 Karma: 59674358 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: The World of Books Device: Nook, Nook Tablet	Just bought all 3 at Smashwords. Thanks.

12-07-2011, 03:18 PM	#15
LynnaMerrill SF/F writer, programmer Posts: 34 Karma: 509838 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: USA Device: Kindle 4	Hi folks, The Weavers of Paths is currently #6 in the Amazon.fr bestseller list for English-language epic fantasy: http://www.amazon.fr/gp/bestsellers/..._kinc_1_7_last . The Seekers of Fire and The Makers of Light are also in the top 100. The $0.99 promotion has also been extended for the December holiday season. Best, Lynna