# Charity Anthology # 2! Can you donate a story?



## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

Dear all

Following on from Something to Read on the Ride, myself and Frank Zubek (now the marketing person behind book 1) thought it might be time to start rounding up some stories for a second anthology.

If you just have some short stories sat around waiting to be used then here is a chance to do something worthy with them, or write one especially!

The good cause is Wallace and Gromits Grand Appeal, which is a children's hospital charity. They do so many different things to help sick children, you can check it out here if you wanted http://www.grandappeal.org.uk/
So obviously no one gets paid for their stories but you do get a marketing opportunity as each writer can add a tag line and a link to their other work at the bottom of their story if they want to.

Stories to be roughly around 1,000 words, though a bit more or less is fine. Any topic is accepted, though nothing too violent or erotic as it must have mass appeal. Email submissions directly to me [email protected], you can send one or two stories.
Any questions please do ask!


----------



## momilp (Jan 11, 2010)

I'll go check my shorts' folder


----------



## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

That would be cool, thanks. Authors from book 1 are definitely encouraged. I dont have any more hanging around, but at only 1k words, I think I could write a couple for it.


----------



## momilp (Jan 11, 2010)

What's the timeline for this project? And do you have a theme in mind?


----------



## unkownwriter (Jun 22, 2011)

Hm, I wonder if I can write something this length? I've never tried before. Maybe I'll have to challenge myself! I'll take a look at some story ideas, and see if I can do it.


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Momilp

Frank here.... I would say the theme is the same as before. Any genre as it is an anthology of writers world wide. The core of the book is the same too--- literally something for people waiting for a bus or train or cab and wanting something to read during the ride to or from work (instead of the newspaper)

And long term, I suggested to her we aim for a trilogy with an eye toward an omnibus edition of the three books. That could REALLY generate some money for the Charity.

Perhaps really long term we can have an annual new book and have a franchise series of writers presenting their works to anyone who loves stories

But of course, we need to focus on Book 2 for now.
The title is "Something for the Journey"
Stella has a better idea on the deadline.


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

I would say that she is considering a holiday release close to Christmas.
So the sooner you send her a story or even create a fresh story the better your chance of getting in though if we get a bunch we could hold some for another anthology


----------



## momilp (Jan 11, 2010)

I'll work on it


----------



## ElHawk (Aug 13, 2012)

I'll send a couple your way and you can use them if you find them fitting!


----------



## 68564 (Mar 17, 2013)

I will have to think on this... I don't know if I can write something so short... but would love to help out.


----------



## Dan Fiorella (Oct 14, 2012)

Well, let's see what's in the hard drive...


----------



## 69959 (May 14, 2013)

I've got one that's exactly the length and has never been published. I'll send it to you.


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

For a few samples of work that short you can all check out http://www.everydayfiction.com/ 
They publish stories of 1,000 words. Right on the first page are several stories you can sample for an idea of the structure needed to tell a full story within 3 pages.

In fact, I had three stories published there so it can be done. It's tougher than having unlimited pages in a novel, for sure. But possible.


----------



## horse_girl (Apr 9, 2010)

How fortuitous! I just wrote a flash piece last night about an incident that happened earlier in the day but in 3rd POV. Luckily, I lived to tell about it, although I needed a chiropractor asap, which was today  Gonna be sore for a day or two yet, but I overcame the difficulty.


----------



## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

Hi all. Yes, I was hoping we could have the next one out to hit the 'kindle for Christmas' download rush.

I like the idea of it being a challenge! I challenge all you writers to do a 1,000 word story by 11 December. (That's a month today as I type this.)

Just to clarify, can you send submissions to me as a word attachment by email to [email protected]


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Hi all
I'm opening this up to the world so we can make sure to give everyone a chance beyond the kboard borders.

*Let me know if I cover all important points in the email message below a*s there are a few writing groups I know I want to send this message to.

Writers- known and unknown&#8230;
A new anthology is looking for stories. If you have some spare short stories in the hard drive then here is a chance to do something worthy with them, or write one especially for the anthology!
Basic details:
The good cause is Wallace and Gromits Grand Appeal, which is a children's hospital charity. They do so many different things to help sick children, you can check it out here if you wanted http://www.grandappeal.org.uk/
*So obviously no one gets paid for their stories but you do get a marketing opportunity as each writer can add a tag line and a link to their other work at the bottom of their story if they want to.*

The name of the anthology is "Something For The Journey" which is the second book of an intended trilogy of story collections with the endgame being an omnibus with all proceeds going to the charity. There is the possibility of an annual franchise series and every book is open to all writers so there are multiple opportunities to be seen. Everyone is encouraged to mention the book on their facebook and webpage as well as tweet the news so that, in theory, we cover a good deal of ground.

*All writers agree that Stella Wilkinson is the editor and has final word on all entries.*

"Something To Read On The Ride", the first book, is now on sale in paperback and kindle if you want to get a feel for what's needed. The target audience is anyone in the world who likes to read while waiting for or riding on a train, bus or a cab to or from work. That's potentially millions of readers from kindle alone! Now it's a known fact that anthologies don't sell as well as novels but we're still talking hundreds of thousands of short story fans out there eager to read YOUR stories.

The rules are simple.

1 Stories to be roughly around 1,000 words, though a bit more or less is fine. 
2 Any topic and any genre is accepted, though nothing too violent or erotic as it must have mass appeal. 
3 Email submissions directly to me as a Word attachment to: [email protected], 
4 You can send one or two stories.
*5 There is room for a few excerpts from novels in progress as long as they are self contained though short stories are best.*
6 While everyone will retain all rights to their stories, *we'd appreciate it if you allow it to be exclusive to the anthology for at least six months before submitting it elsewhere- where of course you'll need to let the new publication know it is a reprinted work.*
Deadline is December 11 so start typing!
Any questions please do ask!
Stella Wilkinson

question--- Six months is a reasonable request to hold a story before letting someone resubmit isnt it?


----------



## unkownwriter (Jun 22, 2011)

I think six month exclusivity is reasonable. Don't most other places ask for about that period?

I have an idea churning around in my head, getting close to having all the story worked out. I think it will be around the limit, but won't know for sure until I can actually write it.

The story will be soft horror, no gore or blood. Or guts. There won't even be any zombies. Imagine that!


----------



## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

Thanks Frank

I think you covered everything, now I just hope all you lovely people can find a story in you for charity  

I have used up mine, so will have to write another one specifically for this project... Hmmm


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Okay so I sent the notice to at least 3 writing groups locally I know of and I figure if we get maybe five writers from these we're in good shape.

But we'll still need more stories so don't be bashful. Step up and be counted!


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

http://firewireblog.com/2013/11/07/something-to-read-on-the-ride-an-ebook-charity-anthology-edited-by-stella-wilkinson/ And don't forget the first book is still on the front page of this webpage/blog and should still get noticed as it moves to page two.

Feel free to copy paste the link and pass it along to any writing ( or reading) friends or face book followers you know of.

And keep writing if you want to submit. December 11 is less than a month away!


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Did some more marketing today
Hash tagged the UK for both the digital and paper formats as well as my own country USA.

Don't forget- the ones who buy and read book 1 will probably want to buy and read book 2. 

Dust off a beloved story in the hard drive or think up and write a new one ( its just 1,000 words.... 3 pages). All genres, no erotica or excess violence.

December 11 is approaching faster than Christmas is...... so, no pressure!


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

I almost forgot
Remember-- none of the stories submitted can be elsewhere online.
Not free on your web page/blog/ face book or other writing critique pages
Not free on kindle to attract readers to your other books

It's best if it was a really good story that was submitted to other places but rejected- which happens to everyone-- and in the end you gave up and it sits in your hard drive.

Or better, if you're up to the challenge, something fresh you can whip up right now.

If we have anything amazon can sniff out online anywhere else they will flag the book.


----------



## unkownwriter (Jun 22, 2011)

I sent a story a couple of days ago -- freshly written and hot off the keyboard. Did it come in? Is the file readable?


----------



## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

Thank you to everyone who has sent me stories so far. I will answer all of your emails personally to confirm receipt in the next day or so, i'm just a tiny bit snowed under as my husband and two year old are both sick as newts. How dare they interfere with my hobby!


----------



## 68564 (Mar 17, 2013)

Stella Wilkinson said:


> Thank you to everyone who has sent me stories so far. I will answer all of your emails personally to confirm receipt in the next day or so, i'm just a tiny bit snowed under as my husband and two year old are both sick as newts. How dare they interfere with my hobby!


Ugh Sorry to hear that!

I am gonna try and write one for you - never tried something any where near this short before so it might be a disaster.


----------



## 68564 (Mar 17, 2013)

944 words for my rough draft! Just shy of your 1,000. Got a couple of my trusted readers looking at it now to see how horrible it is.. hope to email you the story before I turn in tonight.


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Another weekend folks. Its colder in a good number of locations. Please take a moment today if you're a tweeker and zap a link on amazon for the first book.....
Push the fact that for under 5 bucks they can read it with hot chocolate
Push the fact its ALSO available in paperback!
Push the fact its for charity

Thanks! ( also remember to make time this weekend to keep typing. Another page of material will get you closer to a first draft of 1,000 words and then even closer to a second draft, a polish, and then a finished new story---- or take the time to rifle through the hard drive this weekend. Maybe you have a story in there we can use. Dust it off, give it a once over and send it in. Then go have a cup of hot chocolate!)


----------



## 68564 (Mar 17, 2013)

Are we limited to one story?


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Limited to TWO actually. So send them both!


----------



## 68564 (Mar 17, 2013)

FrankZubek said:


> Limited to TWO actually. So send them both!


Hmmm... I might just whip out another one then. Had a bunch of fun writing that first one last night.


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

That's the spirit Vydor---
Remember to send it to Stella when ready [email protected] with it attached in Word.

The rest of you.....27 odd days to go til Dec 11.
Tick tock tick tock......


----------



## 68564 (Mar 17, 2013)

Weill you report back after a while and tell us how much we helped raise?


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Absolutely 
Its still a bit early  book just came out- but Stella told me to date we sold ten copies. More so from the UK than U.S.

This is why- and yeah, we're all busy with real life stuff- it's important for as many of the writers of the book to get into twitter and talk it up with a link. Go on your own personal face book and suggest it ( the holidays are here). They make great gifts for our literate friends who love to read.

And a marketing hint--- ON face book there is a literary group in town where they gather once a month and swap books with each other. This way you get an interesting read as well as maybe meet a new friend. Meantime I commented in there on how I have to work tonight and wish I could be there too. MAYBE.... a few face book folks will be curious and click onto my name and see that I am promoting the book....."Gee," they'll ask themselves, "Whats this? An anthology! Let me go to amazon and sample a story in the LOOK SEE sampler. You know, this looks like something I'd be interested in."


.................................. CLICK!    And there we sold another book.
Now if even half of us 27 writers take a moment this weekend to do that kind of self marketing and even HALF of the half of that group of people who see it out of curiosity and actually buy a copy, that's roughly 7 more copies sold in one weekend.

We do that every weekend leading up to Christmas and I'd call that some pretty good bottom line.


----------



## 68564 (Mar 17, 2013)

BTW - if you give me your advertising copy, I can post this to another writers forum I am active in. Might get a story or two from there.


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Vydor copy/paste this in its entirety

Hi all
A new anthology is looking for stories. If you have some spare short stories in the hard drive then here is a chance to do something worthy with them, or write one especially for the anthology!
Basic details:
The good cause is Wallace and Gromits Grand Appeal, which is a children's hospital charity. They do so many different things to help sick children, you can check it out here if you wanted http://www.grandappeal.org.uk/
So obviously no one gets paid for their stories but you do get a marketing opportunity as each writer can add a tag line and a link to their other work at the bottom of their story if they want to.

The name of the anthology is "Something For The Journey" which is the second book of an intended trilogy of story collections with the endgame being an omnibus with all proceeds going to the charity. There is the possibility of an annual franchise series and every book is open to all writers so there are multiple opportunities to be seen. Everyone is encouraged to mention the book on their facebook and webpage as well as tweet the news so that, in theory, we cover a good deal of ground.

"Something To Read On The Ride", the first book, is now on sale in paperback and kindle if you want to get a feel for what's needed. The target audience is anyone in the world who likes to read while waiting for or riding on a train, bus or a cab to or from work. That's potentially millions of readers from kindle alone! Now it's a known fact that anthologies don't sell as well as novels but we're still talking hundreds of thousands of short story fans out there eager to read YOUR stories.

The rules are simple.
1 All writers agree that Stella Wilkinson is the editor and has final word on all entries.
2 Stories to be roughly around 1,000 words, though a bit more or less is fine.
3 Any topic and any genre is accepted, though nothing too violent or erotic as it must have mass appeal.
4 Email submissions directly to me as a Word attachment to: [email protected] Any questions please do ask!
5 If you happen to have two stories please send them but just one each is fine.
6 There is room for a few excerpts from novels in progress as long as they are self contained though short stories are best.
7 While everyone will retain all rights to their stories, we'd appreciate it if you allow it to be exclusive to the anthology for at least six months before submitting it elsewhere- where of course you'll need to let the new publication know it is a reprinted work.
8 NOTHING can be already published on your blog or webpage or even a critique group or as a first story/prequel reader enticement for a series.

*Deadline is December 11, 2013 so start typing!*
Any questions please do ask!
Stella Wilkinson


----------



## 68564 (Mar 17, 2013)

Okay, I posted it. Good luck!


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Changed my pic to show off my story in the book.

Once again-- THANK YOU Stella!


----------



## unkownwriter (Jun 22, 2011)

Stella, hope the hubbie and kiddo are feeling better. I'll try to get something posted on my blog today (I try to post a short story every Saturday), which might spark some interest in the project.


----------



## 68564 (Mar 17, 2013)

Ok I just sent one in!


----------



## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

Thank you guys! Still not got round to responding to the emails as everyone still sick in my house and going down fast myself now Bah!
But sales of book one climbing every day, and I think I have about 10 stories in for book 2, and more promised and I havent even added my own yet, so I think this one will come together pretty well. Any offers of help in collation would be appreciated whilst I feel so rotten, but hopefully I will buck up before the weekend is out. X


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Awwww, poor Stella. Hope you get better soon.

I am working on a story so save me a spot!

I asked a few other blogs to give us some room but so far no response.


----------



## 68564 (Mar 17, 2013)

FrankZubek said:


> Awwww, poor Stella. Hope you get better soon.
> 
> I am working on a story so save me a spot!
> 
> I asked a few other blogs to give us some room but so far no response.


I am adding an advert for the first book to two of my blogs... well that is my plan, only partly through writing it for the first one so far!


----------



## JamieCampbell (May 29, 2013)

Just sent two stories. I hope you like them


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Sunday reminder from your marketing man.
Submission deadline is December 11
It'd be a good day to take a few hours and work on that story. The sooner you get it to Stella the sooner she can read it and request a polish or small change or whatever. (That's what editors do. Not quite the same as being a bus driver but she is the driver)
24 days to go......not counting today


----------



## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

Hey Frank
Is your picture you with the paperback version?


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Stella Wilkinson said:


> Hey Frank
> Is your picture you with the paperback version?


Stella I don't quite understand the question. The new avatar pic of me here on the boards is of me behind the anthology opened to my story.


----------



## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

FrankZubek said:


> Stella I don't quite understand the question. The new avatar pic of me here on the boards is of me behind the anthology opened to my story.


Sorry, what I meant was: Are you holding an _actual copy of the paperback_ version? Or is it just a paper copy of your story or is it an electronic copy on a devise that looks like a book?

And if it is the actual paperback, how does it look? Is it good? I've ordered but not received yet (it has to cross the blue stuff to reach me)


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Yes that's the actual paperback copy of the first anthology opened up to the first page of my story and it came out great! I'm very happy with it. (Even showing off the same pic on my blog and my webpage )


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

And I might add each writer in the book should have a copy. Not just so the charity gets the cash but it IS a great way to show off the fact to family and the local publishers that you are in fact a published author. I am a big advocate for kindle but yeah, seeing the story and your name in print on traditional paper and seeing it on display in the kindle ARE two different experiences.


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

http://whatbrickwall.blogspot.com/

Reminder to the 27 authors in Book 1
Do a fresh entry like mine on your blog this week
Some of you get a few hundred visits from around the world and others get a few thousand..... if we get even a few sales from each of your blogs that would be great for the charity! And out of THAT number maybe a few of those readers will suggest the book to a friend or family member and that's even more sales.

But again- just a suggestion on my part. (You'd think McDonald's wouldn't need to advertise and yet there they are week after week pushing the burgers and fries. Stay in the public eye folks ( twitter/facebook) or you'll get lost in the ocean of other ebooks that come out every day)


----------



## unkownwriter (Jun 22, 2011)

Stella, hope you're feeling okay -- it's hard when the whole family is sick. 

I put up a little something on my blog on Saturday. I don't get a lot of hits, but every little bit helps, right?

Oh, I really need to get the blog link back in my signature! Here it is, if anyone wants to check it out:

http://newsfromsheilasworld.blogspot.com/


----------



## Paul Kohler (Aug 14, 2013)

I'm in for another short story!  I just have to pick/choose which to ship off to you, or just write a new piece.  Decisions, decisions...

As for the print copy, I received mine early last week!  Haven't read any of the other stories yet, as I have been bonkers-busy working on my next release, due out early December.


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

3 weekends to go before the deadline for Book 2 for those of you keeping track


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

*UPDATE Nov 21.....*

Stella said we could use a cover for Book # 2
So this is an open call for anyone here on the boards to get some publicity.
The deal is this:
You *donate* a cover to the upcoming anthology.
Hopefully both kindle and create space will accept the image or we'll have two diff images the way we did with Book 1.

In exchange........
You get a great marketing opportunity since a number of the authors will more than likely place the book in their signature as well as on their own personal webpages and blogs and face book pages so there is no telling how many potential new cover seekers will see your work !!
1. A mention in the acknowledgement page and a thank you.
2. AND a link in the book to your webpage ( we're talking a link in the kindle as well as the paperback versions of the book).
3. I have been marketing Book 1 as best I can through face book and twitter so I'll do the same for Book 2 ( which, of course, will feature YOUR cover!)

If you are interested or have questions contact Stella direct >>>>> [email protected]
Thanks!
Also if a few of you happen to know someone who bought and read Book 1 see if they are finished and see if they might be interested in posting a review for the book?
It'll help......

Thats the news for tonight- thanks again


----------



## 68564 (Mar 17, 2013)

Blast.. wish I was a good artist.... I would make you a cover to die for!


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Remember folks-
20 writing days til the deadline
Keep typing


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Two more weekends after this one til deadline.

*>>>>>>>>And you cover artists out there the offer is still open for anyone who wants to donate a cover.
*
Contact Stella if interested [email protected]
Thanks!

Since its release we've sold 20 copies. So that's good but we need to keep at it. Like for instance, this weekend the eastern US is due for alot of snow which means a number of folks ( after rushing to grab food and shoveling the drive) will be stuck inside. Reading a book is a perfect thing to do. YOU can let them know about it!
Its Black Friday next week too-- go on your face book and let people know to buy a copy of the paperback for friends and family. Everybody knows at LEAST one book lover.


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

It's Sunday morning over the pond so I just flashed the UK link of the book on twitter about 5 times to remind people they could be reading the book instead of worrying about negative stuff in the morning newspaper.

How about a little challenge to a few of you over there to do the same in the next few minutes so we can get a few sales today? Hmmmmmm?

Thanks guys. And if you can't and there's the usual Sunday routine you follow don't worry about it. This is after all a long term project and we're just building up to speed. But readers need to know this little book is out there 'cause there's a few dozen collections that will get released over the next month and we want our share of the market.


----------



## MrBourbons (May 1, 2013)

I have an idea for a story to include, but I'm trying to leave November to NaNo. I should be able to turn it around it for the 11th.


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Bring it on- its just 3 pages/ 1,000 words.


----------



## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

Hi All,
I've had a few people tell me that NANO is taking up all their November. But hopefully you should still have plenty of time to knock out a short in early December!
Seriously, it is only a thousand words and could easily be done in a day, also it doesnt have to be 1000 words! Less is ok too. We had one story in book 1 that was 480 words, so go on, take an hour and bang out 500 words and see if you have anything... LOL, or press delete and swear at me


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

The next few days is a great time to push the book- remind Black Friday shoppers planning to wait in line that reading the book on their iPad, phone, or kindle is a great way to kill time before the stores open. Good conversation starter too!

Hit twitter and copy/paste the link on your face book page.....


----------



## CoraBuhlert (Aug 7, 2011)

I just mailed you a story. Hope you like it.


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

A basic "Official" Face Book page for the proposed three books in the series is now live
Any comments or suggestions are welcome just Message me and I'll look into tweaking it over the next few days.
https://www.facebook.com/somethinginternational?skip_nax_wizard=true


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Same as a number of you- I have a full weekend ahead.
I also have no smart phone- just a tracfone
But I'll check in each evening and do damage control on face book or in between tweets to promote the book during the big Black Friday weekend ( any of you can jump on tweet and do the same thing-- it'll help sales and your own webpages etc)


----------



## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

Hi all, thank you for all submissions and if I havnt responded to anyone yet, then forgive me, I will defo do it this weekend.

We have about 20 submissions now, so need about another ten. Go poke your author friends   Christmas is a great time to get people to do something for Charity so lets get this ball rolled up.

Thanks again x


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

I'm gonna go hooah up a few early risers on twitter right now. Bound to be a number of writers across the planet tweeting who may not even know we're here and inviting them to participate.

So off I go.....


----------



## MrBourbons (May 1, 2013)

Hope there's enough time for me to throw a story in then. I'll try to do it over the weekend.


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

.............and I'm back
Tweets and private messages to a few face book writers I found

The reality of it is if we get one story from that handful we're doing well.

After the turkey is eaten and the Black Friday madness evaporates I challenge a number of you to make contact over the weekend with anyone you haven't yet tried.

And you NANOWRIMO folks still have 11 days in December to type up 3 pages. Don't panic. It CAN be done. ON my few best days I can get a 3 page first draft done in a few hours and then over the course of 3 or 4 days polish it up and on a few ocassions I have been known to sell that story! So thinking it up, hammering a first draft out and then rewriterewriterewriterewriting it until its complete is entirely possible


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Also I think I got a nibble from a very cool sci fi writer I admire. I even gave him a 5 star review his book was so good. Sounds like he is interested as he asked what the deadline is.

Cross your fingers. 
Well, AFTER Thanksgiving dinner. No sense getting blood all over the mash potatoes.


----------



## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

Excellent work Frank! I'll go tweet now.


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Finished my story-Beta readers have it now.
All I'll reveal is that its called Curbside.

So we still need about nine more to fill the book. Think of something during that nap you're all going to enjoy later this afternoon.

Have a good Thanksgiving to those of you who celebrate it (and be careful if you go out tonight for Black Friday)


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Bumping the thread.
Dec 11 is the deadline. Just a few short days away.
Stella plans to begin editing soon so it makes the Holiday shopping crunch.

Stella should be checking in soon to update everybody on the status of the project.


----------



## MrBourbons (May 1, 2013)

I've written mine, but it may need a little more editing before I send it over Stella. I will do either today or tomorrow.


----------



## unkownwriter (Jun 22, 2011)

I sent a story for consideration a while back, but have yet to receive any confirmation that it even came through. Is Stella still backlogged due to the sickness in her family?


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

That might be the case Sheila.
I'll email her and give her a small nudge to visit the thread in the next few hours or days.

3 days left for everyone else.
Dec 11.


----------



## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

hi all, sorry just back from a weekend away at a family funeral (don't worry no one especially close), It's late here but I am aware that due to sickness and death and all that rubbish, I have been remiss in getting back to everyone who has been so wonderful as to donate to the charity anthology.  The deadline is looming (11 Dec) and as soon as it is here I will start collating all the stories and let anyone know if we need some tweeks etc. But it's looking fantastic so far.... Keep them coming and I will try to be much more on top of things this week x


----------



## unkownwriter (Jun 22, 2011)

Sorry about the death in the family (even if it wasn't very close to home). Always a sad day.

I emailed you this morning asking about the story, but I see you still need some catch up time.  No problem, just let me know as soon as you can.


----------



## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

Thank you to everyone who has submitted. Today is the last day if you want to send me anything [email protected]

I'll be a few days reading through everything and putting it into some kind of order, but will be in touch with you all soon x


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

I'm getting all goosebumpily with excitement


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

As marketing person for the book I challenge all the writers who have a story or two IN the book to get social this weekend and talk it up on twitter and face book so we have a chance at  a few dozen sales.

And then again the following weekend as well. It'll be Christmas after that though we still need to grab the folks who got money for the holidays and might need a hand knowing where to spend it all.

Thanks.
I now return you all to your regularly scheduled evenings wherever you may live.


----------



## 68564 (Mar 17, 2013)

When does it go live? Do we have any ad-copy for it? Banners? Blurb? Anything?


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

VydorScope said:


> When does it go live? Do we have any ad-copy for it? Banners? Blurb? Anything?


I'm referring to Book 1 Something For The Ride which is on sale now in ebook and paperback formats

Stella is presently in the middle of reading/editing the newest entries for Book 2: Something For The Journey, which will hopefully go live at least during the week of Christmas.

So if we can talk up Book 1 over the next two weeks that's be great.
And as soon as Book 2 goes live we should talk THAT up as well.

As far as I am aware Stella has no plans for additional media support such as banners or you tube trailers or the like. I know I certainly don't have any spare cash for anything.
It would be cool if someone wouldn't mind donating their time to doing a video trailer for the book- contact Stella if you want to do this.

Despite the fact we haven't got a standard marketing budget we DO have each other- and each others twitter accounts and face book accounts so the possibilities of networking are big if we all get together and spend a few minutes each day talking up the book(s)


----------



## 68564 (Mar 17, 2013)

Do we have a cover yet for book 2?


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

VydorScope said:


> Do we have a cover yet for book 2?


Last I knew yes, there is one being worked on.

I dare say by Saturday or Sunday we will know so much more than we do tonight.
I'm excited.


----------



## 69959 (May 14, 2013)

FrankZubek said:


> Last I knew yes, there is one being worked on.
> 
> I dare say by Saturday or Sunday we will know so much more than we do tonight.
> I'm excited.


I can't wait! I'll promote it however I can.


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Thanks Stacy!


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Brief update for you lurkers...
It may be a few more days for any news from Stella

But here is what I know personally
I do know Stella is editing the book ( formatting)
She may or may not contact a few of you if she needs a tweak or something 
( whatever it is that editors ask for in the editing process)

And as  far as I know we do have a cover

We don't have ( quite yet)
A release date

Meantime- have a pleasant Sunday


----------



## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

Hi Everyone, I just wanted to confirm that I am working on it, but trying to keep the internet switched off as formatting is a real pain and I get easily distracted lol!
I am slowly but surely going through it and then will contact you all. I'll also try to send you the cover this week and I have hopes that it will be out before Christmas! Yay!


----------



## 68564 (Mar 17, 2013)

Stella Wilkinson said:


> Hi Everyone, I just wanted to confirm that I am working on it, but trying to keep the internet switched off as formatting is a real pain and I get easily distracted lol!
> I am slowly but surely going through it and then will contact you all. I'll also try to send you the cover this week and I have hopes that it will be out before Christmas! Yay!


YAY! Thanks for all your hard work on this!


----------



## CoraBuhlert (Aug 7, 2011)

Stella Wilkinson said:


> Hi Everyone, I just wanted to confirm that I am working on it, but trying to keep the internet switched off as formatting is a real pain and I get easily distracted lol!
> I am slowly but surely going through it and then will contact you all. I'll also try to send you the cover this week and I have hopes that it will be out before Christmas! Yay!


Thanks for the update.

I'm sending out a new release newsletter before Christmas anyway, so I'll include the anthology.


----------



## RJ Kennett (Jul 31, 2013)

D'OH! I just submitted a story. That'll teach me to check the date/time stamps on message boards!


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

I'm going to be loading the interviews into my blog and my webpage through this morning and then more as they arrive in my email.
Soon as the book itself goes live (If I'm home of course) I'll pop the amazon link in there too.

Thanks to everyone so far who has responded to the Q&A- your enthusiasm is great!


----------



## 68564 (Mar 17, 2013)

FrankZubek said:


> I'm going to be loading the interviews into my blog and my webpage through this morning and then more as they arrive in my email.
> Soon as the book itself goes live (If I'm home of course) I'll pop the amazon link in there too.
> 
> Thanks to everyone so far who has responded to the Q&A- your enthusiasm is great!


You get my Q/A this AM. It is all typed up, I am just letting it ferment in my email box a bit before sending.


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

So you guys know my blog www.whatbrickwall.blogspot.com/ got the largest spike in its history this morning- 300 hits! It usually takes a month to reach that. I usually average 300 to 400 hits a month ( many hits from around the world like Malaysia, Russia, some China, France etc) Doesn't mean all of that is transferring into actual sales but there IS a great deal of curiosity.

Feel free to link to the blog and put it on your own blog or facebook and also tweet it

My webpage however seems to have developed a twitch and its a huge pain to add new interviews in there- much easier to add to the blog so I might just REALLY make this all exclusive and stick to the blog instead of transferring back and forth

I am also working on a guest blog swap with Wendy Ewurum and her blog http://fabulosityreads.blogspot.com/
Its based in South Africa and gets lots and lots of eye traffic
So thats next week and I plan to talk up both anthologies


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

http://whatbrickwall.blogspot.com/
The cover is up!
Go check it out

Tentative release date is Dec 22- ish
Interviews are there and they are now exclusive to my blog. I took them off my webpage as it was too difficult to tweak the software there for some dumb reason

So there is enough there to peak interest- go announce it on facebook and twitter!

By the way the blog just hit 400 hits and still counting! ( and the book isnt even for sale yet!)


----------



## 68564 (Mar 17, 2013)

FrankZubek said:


> http://whatbrickwall.blogspot.com/
> The cover is up!
> Go check it out
> 
> ...


Tossed you on my FB and twitter.. so maybe you will hit 402 now


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Actually I checked the stats on the blog over 340 of the hits are from Malaysia
I doubt I have that many fans there
I'm gonna change my password to the blog to be safe

sigh...... stupid geeks should get a life...... It takes so much more effort to do bad things than it does to obey the law. At least thats my experience


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Vydor  did you send your Q&A yet? Send it this afternoon I'll try to post it tonight or tomorrow ( have to work this afternoon)


----------



## 68564 (Mar 17, 2013)

FrankZubek said:


> Vydor did you send your Q&A yet? Send it this afternoon I'll try to post it tonight or tomorrow ( have to work this afternoon)


Yes and you posted it


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

UH.....  oh, okay ( sheepish)
Guess its time to take a break from the laptop ha ha ha ha ha

Have to go to work anyway


----------



## 68564 (Mar 17, 2013)

Feel free to post it again if you think it will help!


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

No, that's fine. One Q&A per writer is more than enough 
........though mistakes do happen.


----------



## CoraBuhlert (Aug 7, 2011)

Just linked to the Q&As from my blogs and plugged the anthology, while I was at it.


----------



## Paul Kohler (Aug 14, 2013)

Sorry for the delay, Frank.  I'll get you my Q&A thingy done shortly.  I'm wrapping up my second book, and I am neck deep in edits.  I'll try and squeeze it out tomorrow, Thursday at the latest.

Paul


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Okay, Paul- no problem.


----------



## 69959 (May 14, 2013)

Glad I saw this. I forgot about the Q&A - just sent it off.


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Thanks Stacy


----------



## 10105 (Feb 16, 2010)

I'm sorry. I didn't know about the Q&A. Haven't been keeping up with this thread. If it's not too late, and you can point me to the Qs, I'll write some As.


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

If Stella has contacted you and confirmed you are in the book here are the questions

Where do you live and what's the day job?

What inspired this story?

How long have you been writing?

What are you working on next?

Can people visit your web-page or blog?

Can people contact you?

See my blog if you want to check out the other authors already there
www.whatbrickwall.blogspot.com/

Be funny- be serious- or not. *You do not have to do this.* I offer it as a possible additional way to bring traffic to your webpage/blog.
I average around 400 to 500 hits a month from around the world- possibly more if the book gets good sales and the more people read the book chances are they might explore the blog because I will be talking it up on face book and twitter ( as should many of you too)

And as each person gets back to me I'll pop it in at the end of the line in the thread on the blog. When we do the third and final book I'll do the same thing.


----------



## 10105 (Feb 16, 2010)

Sorry again. I must be in the wrong thread. The anthology Stella contacted me about is titled _Something for the Journey_.


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Al Stevens said:


> Sorry again. I must be in the wrong thread. The anthology Stella contacted me about is titled _Something for the Journey_.


NO, my fault sir.
The Q&A up there IS for Something for the Journey
I saw that and deleted it.
This IS for Something for the Journey
Answer the questions- send it to me at my email [email protected] and I'll
post it.

so sorry for the confusion


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Al, you're up. Thanx

11 author interviews to date
and don't forget- you have my permission to copy paste the link of my blog and tweet it as well as copy paste the link on your OWN face book page as a way to network and get the word out there- especially if you live outside the confines of the USA ( where I live)


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Reminder--- push Book 1 with a link on your facebook at least a few times this weekend as we approach Christmas. This way a few folks will read it, like it, and grab Book 2 in anticipation of reading that as soon as they finish Book 1

And it'd be less than 6 bucks if they get the ebook versions.

Hit that twitter as well!


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Stella should be prepping the book for tomorrow so keep an eye on amazon
As far as I am aware the initial roll out is for the ebook version- she hasn't mentioned a date for the paperback as yet.

Be ready to post the link on your blogs and face books
Remember *DO NOT *copy paste yours or anyone else's work as an excerpt anywhere online! The book will have a few samples in the Look See feature already. We don't need hassles from Amazon.

So post the link on face book and tweet the link over the next couple of days as we head into Christmas and especially AFTER the holiday as a huge number of new kindle owners will no doubt be surfing through amazon looking for "Something to read" (pun intended)

Also feel free to post the link to my blog on your face book or blog so anyone who wants to read an interview by a number of us who have stories in the book( some readers love behind the scenes features)
I plan to post both the new book and Book 1 on Book Bazaar tomorrow

Good luck to us all!


----------



## 68564 (Mar 17, 2013)

Yay!

Some of my readers have been asking about it! So you'll get at least a couple-few sales from my peeps.


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

With the book due tomorrow I thought you all might like to see a sampling of just who is dropping by on the blog ( www.whatbrickwall.blogspot.com/) 
These are the current stats for a month ( covering November 21 to today)
Malaysia is over 500 hits but I suspect theres a group in a warehouse over there just trying to hack into the blog 
United States  373 hits
Germany  21
China 15
Russia  14
United Kingdom  9
Italy  9
Ukraine  8
Poland  5
France  3

I assume out of all that we should get a dozen sales if not more-- depends how well we all do a networking surge over the next week



The interview post itself to date has gotten nearly 60 hits


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

THE BOOK IS LIVE! i BOUGHT IT AND IT LOOKS GREAT

REPEAT THE BOOK IS LIVE !!!!!!!!!


----------



## 68564 (Mar 17, 2013)

FrankZubek said:


> THE BOOK IS LIVE! i BOUGHT IT AND IT LOOKS GREAT
> 
> REPEAT THE BOOK IS LIVE !!!!!!!!!


Just bought it and stole your ad copy for my blog post.


----------



## 69959 (May 14, 2013)

I grabbed mine too, and have been sharing online. I know of one FB friend who already got it.


----------



## CoraBuhlert (Aug 7, 2011)

I blogged, pinned and Google-plussed the anthology and will also plug it in my new release newsletter tomorrow.


----------



## CoraBuhlert (Aug 7, 2011)

Amazon.com rank was around 25000 when I last checked, which is pretty good for a brand new release.

We should also add the anthology to Nathalie's _Find Read Love_ page for some extra exposure, though I think Stella would have to do it.


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Once again I wanted to say congrats to all.
Its a handsome book.

Don't forget to tweet and throw a link on face book at least once every day leading up to the holiday.

Then after Christmas we dive into the second wave and hit the shores hard. Have to get noticed by all the brand new kindle owners ( that Firewire post should help that so once it appears be sure to copy paste the link that will feature our book---    I'll be pasting that link here so readers will go straight to our book ON that Firewire page and not get distracted by everything else)


----------



## MrBourbons (May 1, 2013)

It's up on my blog, Twitter and Facebook. Hopefully both books will do great over Christmas.


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

I told Stella to hold this info til January for Book 3 prep but I thought maybe it best to say something now- or at least a hint since I am handing out info on my personal technique on marketing and I didn't want anyone to accidentally stumble on my connection and pepper them with questions

saying that......*We've landed a "NAME" author as a guest writer for Book 3*
He is one of my friends on my face book list of friends (not that we ARE actual friends of course this person merely agreed to return my friend request for networking purposes)

You can go to my face book list and GUESS but please don't go in there asking them all I don't want to bother this person.

But this is a hint as to what I did to get this person.
I went through my favorite books on my book shelf and went to face book to see if they had a page and if so I followed them and then sent a private message. I was very polite and brief and told them what we're doing ( not even saying the charity by name though I did give the link to my blog ( as you all can do to to promote the book) - as the name of it is there

Then I went away-- if they write back fine and if not I assume they are busy OR chances are they may have an agent or traditional publishing contract that forbids them to act independently-- which is fine.
Not everyone wants to donate and they have a right to not offer anything.

But once in a while one out of six attempts- which is what happened in this case- WILL respond positively.

So you all have different authors you have read 
I would suggest you contact them and hope for the best
be polite
be brief
give my blog link
then leave them alone. Chances are we might get one or two more for Book 3 which would add a lot to the marketing push

so I'll reveal more in January or February but so you all know, we have a story coming from an author "of note".

If we can get a few more it'll be great. If not we can always say we tried.


----------



## 68564 (Mar 17, 2013)

Great!   Now I will have to see if lightning can strike twice and write my second ever short story...


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Here is some marketing help for those of who have the time to jump on face book AND SEND PRIVATE MESSAGES ONLY DONT PUT ALL THIS ON THE MAIN FACE BOOK PAGE

This can also be used if the author you seek has an email address
But again- don't beg- don't pester- be polite but not a fan boy

And I *totally understand *a number of you don't have the time to do this and that's fine. If you do have some time to help in the marketing thank you so much from Stella and myself

_Hello ( name of author here)
I'm participating with a number of ebook writers in a project of three
anthologies where the proceeds will benefit a UK charity. We'd love it - if possible- if you could contribute something to the upcoming third book. I understand you may not be able to due to contract obligations but if you can we would love anything you might have.

The unique thing about these books is they are anthologies with a wide range of genres
( though no erotica-- we're seeking a mass audience)
See this blog by marketing person, Frank Zubek for details
www.whatbrickwall.blogspot.com/
Book 1 Something to Read on the Ride came out in October
Book 2 Something for the Journey came out now
Book 3 ( the proposed final book) is due to accept submissions starting January 1 with the final cut off date of February 20 2014 We are aiming for a mid March roll out.

Rules 
1 All stories are donations- no money will be paid to authors as all proceeds are from the book
are intended to raise funds for Wallace and Gromit's Grand Appeal, A Children's Hospital Charity in the UK
2 Any genre ( though no erotica or extreme violence)
3 Needs to be 1,000 words but if it goes over a hundred words or so that's fine.
4 Can be a stand alone piece from an upcoming novel but cannot be posted free anywhere online like a blog or webpage.
5 Really should be an original unpublished work - no second printings though you CAN re submit the work elsewhere all we ask is you give us a 6 month exclusive to the anthology.
6 If you haven't got a beloved yet unpublished piece collecting dust in the hard drive feel free to think up an original piece for submission.
7 You'll also be invited to participate in a brief interview that will be posted on Frank Zubek's blog www.whatbrickwall.blogspot.com/
within the thread for the book ( examples already on his blog for Ride and Journey) You don't HAVE to do the interview and we thank you for the story
8 You're allowed to post an email and blog or webpage link at the end of the story-- one advantage of this is the potential to attract an international audience through the book you may not have found otherwise.
9 There is a limit of two stories per author but if you only have one that's good too.
10 All authors must agree that stories submitted will be read and approved by the book's editor Stella Wilkinson but we'd appreciate it if you have it edited and proof read before submitting
You can submit to the editor direct 
[email protected] 
Or the marketing person [email protected]

I look forward to hearing from you if you have any further questions.

If you can do this it would certainly add a large degree of status to the book. I look forward to hearing from you and either way have a great holiday!_

Go get 'em folks. Lets make book 3 a big collection!


----------



## 68564 (Mar 17, 2013)

BTW - has anyone told the Charity about these books?


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

You can do it Vydor
Breathe deep
Have some wine
Use the What If game.....
( I'll use my own stories as examples here)
What if a garbage man- who has had a troubled life of his own and would rather be anywhere than stuck as a garbage man- is on his route one day and happens across a desperate man who had just lost his job? That's the idea behind Curbside- its in the book if you want to read it. Then I wrote the scenario out keeping in mind the 1,000 word limit. I opened it fast too since there was no time for character build up.
Bam he meets the guy while working
Bam the guy says he lost his job
Bam I added some drama where the garbage man's partner wants to get moving so the garbage man suggests a cigarette break to kill time
Bam we reveal stuff about both men
Bam I have the garbage man offer a solution
and then..... I added a twist to the story and then ended it

Carrie's Gift
The story of a single mom with a kid who wants to go to school to get the papers she needs to open a real hair salon except she hasnt got the money

I added her father who had felt bad that he had told her she already HAS a good job and starting her own business is risky but then he feels bad about the fight they had so he stops by and offers her the  money for college

Its actually just a human interest piece but there are a number of readers who like that kind of thing and if not- the beauty of this anthology- is that the next story of a whole different genre is just a click away

Some pointers though
I will reveal that I didn't exactly make sure it was quite as polished as Stella required and we had to go back and forth to tweak a few things in the story. I should have made sure it was perfect when I sent it in which is good practice for each of you when submitting-- especially when pushing that button to publish your own works.

You want to avoid those dreaded one star reviews over a number of spelling errors

So there's two samples I did
It so happens I had nothing sitting in a hard drive collecting dust so all 4 stories I wrote had to be thought up from scratch in a very limited amount of time for the needs of these books

I happen to be good enough (and lucky enough) to have pulled it off
but if you're the kind of write who needs a few weeks to think up an idea and then more weeks to write it out I suggest starting now

Our proposed submission date is in January and we're thinking wrapping it up late February so there is time to edit and get it ready for a March roll out

This is ( as far as I am aware) the final book we'll be doing as Stella is busy as am I
Then again I never say never

But everyone is invited back for more but if you know you have trouble thinking up stories its best to start now.

if there are any other marketing questions ask them here
I'll do my best to help/ suggest/ coach/ whatever you need


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Vydor
The charity is aware of the project
Stella herself handled the details with them

We had a few other places ( maybe even more wider known in fact)  in mind but the paperwork and legalities were a hassle ( and thats a whole other post) but she was lucky enough to find these kind folks.

So now its on us to raise awareness online and get a number of readers who enjoy story collections to try this one out.


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

And now I have some chores to run and get to work
No computer access and I wont be back online here til maybe 9 pm ohio time

Behave yerselves......


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

One thing while I'm gone

Larry Fire of the Fire Wire has the copy and cover pic of the project- I emailed him last night

Chances are it will go live today
http://firewireblog.com/

Keep an eye open for it
When it appears you can open it up on its own by clicking on the title of the post

From there copy/paste that link and then go to your own face book and paste it into there
This way all your followers will be aware of our project

Larry has a few thousand loyal followers who stop in there daily/weekly to see whats new in the world of pop culture

Our first book was featured here too and I think we had a few sales from the webpage but I'm greedy- I want more.
This one site alone has a great deal of potential for the book so keep the marketing going
but again, remember, be professional, be polite.

I'll be back later tonight
If you're going out today for holiday shopping be careful-- everybody has a million things on their mind and the back of your car is NOT one of them!


----------



## PaulLev (Nov 2, 2012)

Here's my blog post about how I came to write a story for the second antho http://paullevinson.blogspot.com/2013/12/something-for-journey.html


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Thanks Paul

Hey everyone I was on amazon UK and we're # 25 of best selling anthologies
Not bad, not bad.

I just spent a few minutes tweeting around too- I'm sure there's a few readers not out there shopping who are just bored and surfing around on twitter tonight..... hopefully I caught someone's eye.....
Well, a few dozen eyes actually. But I'll settle for one sale an evening.


----------



## 68564 (Mar 17, 2013)

How are the US sales looking?


----------



## PaulLev (Nov 2, 2012)

VydorScope said:


> How are the US sales looking?


Pretty good: rank 12,843 as of now; #33 in Kindle Store > Books > Fiction > Anthologies


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Paul from everything I have seen from the kboards- those numbers aren't exactly as accurate as they seem to be. I asked Stella for an update on actual sales and I expect she'll let me know soon as she can. She's sleeping now.


----------



## PaulLev (Nov 2, 2012)

FrankZubek said:


> Paul from everything I have seen from the kboards- those numbers aren't exactly as accurate as they seem to be. I asked Stella for an update on actual sales and I expect she'll let me know soon as she can. She's sleeping now.


Thanks, Frank! Sweet dreams, Stella!


----------



## CoraBuhlert (Aug 7, 2011)

The anthology also hit the category top 100 list at Amazon.de (which may well be due to me buying a copy). Unfortunately, Amazon was laggy as hell, so we didn't get maximum visibility, even though I timed my buy, so that a lot of people would see it.

Still, here is the rank:

   Amazon Bestseller-Rang: #19.649 Bezahlt in Kindle-Shop (Siehe Top 100 Bezahlt in Kindle-Shop)
       Nr. 30 in Kindle-Shop > eBooks > Fremdsprachige eBooks > Englische eBooks > Belletristik > Populäre Belletristik > Anthologien
       Nr. 39 in Englische Bücher > Belletristik > Populäre Belletristik > Anthologien

I blogged again about the anthology yesterday and will also plug it in my new release newsletter, which goes out today.


----------



## CoraBuhlert (Aug 7, 2011)

I just announced the anthology in my new release newsletter. Of course, I only have 23 subscribers, but every little bit helps.

As for anthology No. 3, I just looked through my files and found two 1400 word SF short stories, which might fit.


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

CoraBuhlert said:


> I just announced the anthology in my new release newsletter. Of course, I only have 23 subscribers, but every little bit helps.
> 
> As for anthology No. 3, I just looked through my files and found two 1400 word SF short stories, which might fit.


Cool- polish and tweak them to perfection and send 'em in!

Uh.... wait til like the first or second week of January though or so. Let poor Stella have a bit of a break.


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Hi all
Stella and I are penciling in a schedule for Book 3

It's looking like we will accept stories from January 1 thru to February 29

We're looking at a mid March or late March release

Meanwhile- I plan to take Christmas off (Ohio time)
Yeah, the whole day. Then we should focus on pushing the book thru to New Years and into the winter ( don't forget Book 1 also)

Sales....  she said we've sold 17 units to date.
No doubt a portion of that was some of us buying our own copy.


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Shot for the moon and asked Stephen King's secretary
There appears to be a private message area on his official board so I asked.

_Ms Mod Is Mr King open to donating a short story to an anthology that is to fund a charity in the UK?
Details are on my blog www.whatbrickwall.blogspot.com/ If not him- perhaps one of his two sons might be interested? And if not- we at the book wish him, you and the whole staff happy holidays. Let me know at your convenience here if you can. Thanks so much Frank (Tuttle300) Zubek_

*And then she replied about an hour ago-*
_I don't think he has any that aren't under other contractual restrictions for such a use. I don't work for either of his sons so wouldn't have any insight as to their availability but they both do have web sites where you could contact them._

So no Stephen. I didn't think it would work anyway but hey, never know til you ask.

I have been spending the morning asking other authors too. I figure even half of us ask 3 writers-- chances are we'll get maybe 4 who might be interested. It would really add some weight to the book and bring in the kind of money the charity could use. Of course, everything WE'LL be doing is nice too but more money would really be sweet.

I hope you're all well wherever you are.


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Okay well I sent a message to Owen King and Joe Hill
Both are the sons of Stephen King for those of you who don't know

Again.... I kinda doubt it. Maybe Owen might since he is just starting off and hasn't yet gotten the spotlight Joe has gotten. Then again, he might be reclusive. We'll see.

I think I'm gonna start to lighten up now. Everyone is no doubt busy prepping for Wednesday.

But I expect to see a few of you hammering up marketing shout outs Thursday at some point....


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Update
So you all know so none of us double team someone

we now have Ron McLarty (The Memory of Running)
and

Kevin J Anderson ( The Dune series)

Yeah.... how cool is that?

Still have yet to hear from Joe Hill, Owen King, Carolyn Parkhurst, Joyce Brabner (The late Harvey Pekar's wife) and Bev Vincent


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

One thing--
Please don't announce these guys on your own blogs or face book yet
We want to hold back on that info for marketing purposes ( and March is a ways off yet)

Also if anyone else grabs someone place the name here so we can all keep track


----------



## 68564 (Mar 17, 2013)

FrankZubek said:


> Update
> So you all know so none of us double team someone
> 
> we now have Ron McLarty (The Memory of Running)
> ...


So they are confirmed, or only that you already asked them?


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

FrankZubek said:


> Still have yet to hear from Joe Hill, Owen King, Carolyn Parkhurst, Joyce Brabner (The late Harvey Pekar's wife) and Bev Vincent


On these, I messaged each of them either on private message on face book or email thru their webpages. I have not yet heard back from any of these people- though it is a holiday and they may be busy. I DO have positive YES replies from McLarty and Anderson


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Okay folks. There are a good deal of freshly gifted kindles out there.
Many of these folks are no doubt grabbing free books but we want them to grab ours too. The only way to do that is to let them know its online.

Go get 'em....


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Millions are off today and tomorrow
Hundreds of thousands - if not more- got a kindle for Christmas
We want them to spend 2.99 on ours.
But you have to let them know it's there.
So hit face book and twitter

Use the hash tags to target specific countries (I hear India is big on literacy)

Pump it up a notch this weekend


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

IN another day or two the paperback will be available so when that happens be sure to mention it and specifically use THAT link for the reader. Lots of people enjoy and prefer the reading experience with paper. So let them know its there.


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Stella said we've sold about 20 copies.
So lets see if we can double that by Monday! Its a big weekend- lots of folks are off all week.
IN between returning gifts and looking for sale items they are all going to have down time at the mall with lunch or potty breaks or just relaxing.

A huge number of them are going to be checking their twitter.

Get them to notice the books ( we have two now remember) (Mention a third, final book is due in March)

Whooooo yahhhhhhhhhhh   !

(Uh..... just don't mention that we happen to have a few famous writers ok? Not yet. We want these folks to focus on Books one and two right now. We'll get the excited about Book 3 in late February)


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

3 am here and I had a brainstorm
I asked Icon Joyce Carol Oates

My face book message to her
We'll see what she says-- don't get your hopes up but you never know.....

Ms Oates. I am the marketing person for a 3 book anthology who's sole purpose is to raise funds for  Wallace and Gromit's Grand Appeal, A Children's Hospital Charity. We'd love to have you donate something- either an unsold story from the hard drive or a stand alone piece from an upcoming work as long as it isn't available on your blog (Amazon frowns on that).
I can tell you that we ALSO have Kevin J Anderson and Ron McLarty who have agreed to donate a story. 
Details can be found on my blog www.whatbrickwall.blogspot.com/ 
And of course, if you are unable to do so due to contract obligations or just any other reason I understand and have a pleasant weekend. But if you can- we'd certainly love to have you. [email protected] 


Remember- the tentative submit dates are Jan 1 thru to feb 28
So start writing or hunting thru the old hard drive for an unused unsold story
And nothing that was ever posted for free on a webpage or blog
Or think up something original
Overall the word limit is 1,000 words but whatever the invited authors send us they send us.
Their names will definitely lend the book some weight for sales.
This is the third and final book in the series so if you want bragging rights to say you shared a book with big shots this is it folks!
I'm going back to bed its 3.15 here    Yoiks


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

http://whatbrickwall.blogspot.com/ I tweaked my blog so that eagle eyed folks will see right up front that the third book will be a bit different than the first two.

I've been tweeting my butt off this morning- I'm not alone there am I?


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

I updated the rules a bit
Here are the rules of submission for Book 3

1 We're looking for fictional stories and we're open to all genres.
No extreme violence or erotica.
(There ARE one or two sample stories from Books 1 & 2 you can read in the Look Inside feature on amazon for a feel of the material.)

2 All stories are to be considered donated works. We deeply appreciate your contribution.

3 We'd appreciate it if you let us use the story for at least six months for the book. Then, if you wish, you can re-submit it elsewhere. If you do you have to let future publishers know it has been previously published.

4 All submitting writers agree that Stella Wilkinson is the editor has final word about stories as well as story order.

5 We'd appreciate it if you have the story edited and polished and ready to go when you submit it to Stella. The stories will be proof read for grammar tweaking purposes only.

6 You are allowed to post a very, very brief bio, your email and blog or webpage at the end of the story if you wish.* Do not include a direct link to your books. These books are on Smashwords as well as amazon and poor Stella has to go through deleting all that stuff so Smashwords will accept it. Thanks. *

7 1,000 word limit. (It CAN go over by 100 words or so if you need that)

8 It can be an original unsold piece you have sitting in the hard drive.
Or, you can write a brand new piece. *But it cannot be something you posted for free anywhere online like in a critique group or on your blog. Amazon has drones that seek these out and they may flag the book.*

9 The stories will be featured in an e book and paperback version and possibly an omnibus in 2015.

10 All writers who participated in the first two books are free to submit to Book 3 if they like.

11 All new writers are invited to participate in a Q & A interview that will be featured on my blog www.whatbrickwall.blogspot.com/ . Interviews from books 1 & 2 are already there. You don't *HAVE* to do the interview but if you do I will send these out in February and they will be placed on the blog a week or three before the book is released to get curiosity going. Maybe even March 1st since all stories should be in by then.

12 All writers are encouraged to promote the books on social media ( tweet/face book/webpage/ blog etc) but be careful when mentioning the charity. We'd appreciate a very brief mention like, The book is a Charity Anthology to raise funds for Wallace and Gromit's Grand Appeal, A Children's Hospital Charity.But thats it. Best to focus on letting your followers know that you have a story in the book.

13 *We're accepting stories Jan 1 thru to Feb 28*. 
send stories to Stella at her email [email protected] We expect the book to go live mid March 2014.

Yes, we do have celeb writers of note that will add some weight to it for sales but don't mention that yet. Let's wait til early March as the release date approaches.

I think that's all for now.
If anyone has anything else feel free to jump in and shout it out


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

'Morning all. Five days to go and then we start accepting stories for the final book.
February 28 is the deadline and you writers know better than anyone how much time flies......

So, uh, who's typing?


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

I updated the blog
This means the interviews sunk a bit on the page when people arrive but we do need to start thinking about book 3. http://whatbrickwall.blogspot.com/


----------



## 68564 (Mar 17, 2013)

Probably should update the subject of this thread...


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Stella usually starts the new one
Just waiting on her.....    it is the holiday- let's give her a day or two.


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

http://www.amazon.com/Something-Journey-Charity-Anthology-Read/dp/1494769387/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1388150125&sr=1-1&keywords=something+for+the+journey

I noticed its available in paperback now in the USA 
copy/paste and throw it on twitter today at least once


----------



## Evenstar (Jan 26, 2013)

Hello folks, just popping in now everyone here has gone to bed.

I will start a thread for the third anthology, but definitely not until January. Lets use this Christmas boost to sell books one and two. I really hope though that we can get as many authors as possible from the first two involved in the third and make it a really big volume! I'm super excited about some of the bigger names, but love all those who already made it into books one and two just as much.

Frank is doing an excellent job of pushing them, and I hope others will help too as it's great for the charity. I know I am, but if you are anything like me then it's pretty hard to find time amoungst all the marauding family at this time of year! So dont fash, anything at all is good xx


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Stella Wilkinson said:


> Hello folks, just popping in now everyone here has gone to bed.
> 
> I will start a thread for the third anthology, but definitely not until January. Lets use this Christmas boost to sell books one and two. I really hope though that we can get as many authors as possible from the first two involved in the third and make it a really big volume! I'm super excited about some of the bigger names, but love all those who already made it into books one and two just as much.
> 
> Frank is doing an excellent job of pushing them, and I hope others will help too as it's great for the charity. I know I am, but if you are anything like me then it's pretty hard to find time amoungst all the marauding family at this time of year! So dont fash, anything at all is good xx


Okay so I guess I jumped the gun a bit
Lets wait til Stella starts the new thread for book 3
I messaged Ann to take the book 3 thread down that I started today


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Update number 298.....
I sent some interview questions to a blogger in South Africa to promote her blog on mine thru janaury---plus the intent is for her to interview me about the books here on HER blog so we get some international traffic ( yeah, thats speaking from my Ohio point of view so I apologize. But that IS why I'm doing it. Wherever it is you do live the books need a lot of eye traffic in order to get a few sales-- its a matter of numbers)

I wrote one or two other authors whos books I love but again- to date- we only have the two.
Which backs up my point of sending out a lot of feelers in the hopes of gaining at least one celeb writer and we got lucky and got two.

I asked everyone once and they all have the deadline. No sense bugging them so I'm moving on though I am hoping a handful are simply on vacation for holiday and when they return they'll be surfing thru the backed up face book messages and see mine. They're tough to miss as I tend to talk a lot so there's a lot of text there. ha ha ha ha

What else.....
Please help push the books on twitter as much as you can. Even once a day before bedtime will help. Thanks.

I don't intend to bother Stella unless an emergency comes up as she told me she has a lot of family at home and they need her attention over the holiday and thats understandable

Heck- you all have family and are enjoying the holidays arent you? So forgive my nagging. IN fact, I'll take down a notch til Wednesday. (But if a few of you can break off from festivities and tweet the books once or twice between now and Wednesday that would be great for the books. I mean Stella and I really truly appreciate the donated stories. BUt just this morning I'm sure a dozen other short story collections went live on amazon. We need to let story collection lovers know we are here. If they aren't aware they sure won't be able to have an opportunity to buy it. So....thanks for any help a number of you can throw my way. Have a good weekend folks)


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

I have a growing anxiety that everyone I face booked or emailed ( at least a dozen- I lost count) will return from holiday on Wednesday or Thursday and decide to reply and say "Yeah- I'd love to donate a story!"

Not the worst problem in the world to have and yet...... lol


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

I updated the rules a bit
Here are the rules of submission for Book 3

1 We're looking for fictional stories and we're open to all genres.
No extreme violence or erotica allowed.
(There ARE one or two sample stories from Books 1 & 2 you can read in the Look Inside feature on amazon for a feel of the material.)

2 All stories are to be considered donated works. We deeply appreciate your contribution.

3 We'd appreciate it if you let us use the story for at least six months for the book. Then, if you wish, you can re-submit it elsewhere. If you do you have to let future publishers know it has been previously published.

4 Also once published its best not to even post a brief excerpt of yours or any other story in these books on a blog/webpage or face book. We don't want to flags from amazon.
I hate to lean toward anal-ness with this long list but I want these books to be something we can all be proud of as well as have them be issue free while they are online.

5 All submitting writers agree that Stella Wilkinson is the editor has final word about stories as well as story order.

6 We'd appreciate it if you have the story edited and polished and ready to go when you submit it to Stella. The stories will be proof read for grammar tweaking purposes only.

7 You are allowed to post a very, very brief bio, your email and blog or webpage at the end of the story if you wish. *Do NOT include a direct link to your books. These books are on Smashwords as well as amazon and poor Stella has to go through deleting all that stuff so Smashwords will accept it. Thanks.
*

8 1,000 word limit. (It CAN go over by 100 words or so if you need that)

9 It can be an original unsold piece you have sitting in the hard drive.
Or, you can write a brand new piece. But it cannot be something you posted for free anywhere online like in a critique group or on your blog. Amazon has drones that seek these out and they may flag the book.

10 The stories will be featured in an e book and paperback version and possibly an omnibus in 2015.

11 All writers who participated in the first two books are free to submit to Book 3 if they like.

12 All new writers are invited to participate in a Q & A interview that will be featured on my blog www.whatbrickwall.blogspot.com/ . Interviews from books 1 & 2 are already there. You don't HAVE to do the interview but if you do I will send these out in February and they will be placed on the blog a week or three before the book is released to get curiosity going. Maybe even March 1st since all stories should be in by then.

13 All writers are encouraged to promote the books on social media ( tweet/face book/webpage/ blog etc) *but be careful when mentioning the charity. We'd appreciate a very brief mention like, The book is a Charity Anthology to raise funds for Wallace and Gromit's Grand Appeal, A Children's Hospital Charity.But thats it.* Best to focus on letting your followers know that you have a story in the book.

13 *We're accepting stories Jan 1 thru to Feb 28.*
send stories to Stella at her email [email protected] We expect the book to go live mid March 2014.

Yes, we do have celeb writers of note that will add some weight to it for sales purposes but don't mention that yet. Let's wait til early March as the release date approaches.

*Especially number 7. Please adhere to this one.*

I think that's all for now. Thank you all so much for the donation.
If anyone has anything else feel free to jump in and shout it out


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Guest writers checklist for book 3
Again-* please don't say anything on social media until at least March*

Kevin J Anderson ( co-author of current Dune book series) 
said yes *story arrived*

David Gerrold (Wrote Classic Trek Trouble with Tribbles and novella Martian Child)
said yes waiting for story

Ron McLarty (wrote Memory of Running) 
said yes waiting for story

Still have at least 15 invites out to other writers of varying degrees of fame
Still waiting for 15 replies

We're accepting stories Jan 1 thru to Feb 28.
send stories to Stella at her email [email protected] We expect the book to go live mid March 2014. Rest of the rules are up there scroll up to check them. *As of today December 30 They have been tweaked just a bit. Go double check them before submitting* Meanwhile we do have the first two books online ready for sale-- I'd appreciate it if each of you take a minute every few days and tweet a blurb or on face book as well


----------



## CoraBuhlert (Aug 7, 2011)

Just finished my story. By the time I'm finished with proofreading, it's January 1, so off to Stella it goes.


----------



## 68564 (Mar 17, 2013)

Just wrote the first draft of mine. I think I am going to test you on that 1000 word limit though!  Looking for stuff to cut now....


----------



## CoraBuhlert (Aug 7, 2011)

Mine came in at 1141 words, though there'll probably be some cuts after editing.


----------



## 68564 (Mar 17, 2013)

CoraBuhlert said:


> Mine came in at 1141 words, though there'll probably be some cuts after editing.


Hmmm we could make new compound words to save some... like shesaid and hescreamed.


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

I haven't even begun mine...... better get cracking.


----------



## 68564 (Mar 17, 2013)

1050 words after first edit. Probably be around there when done.


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Submission begins in just hours
Jan 1 thru to Feb 28 then we release the book in March

........start typing.....


----------



## 68564 (Mar 17, 2013)

FrankZubek said:


> Submission begins in just hours
> Jan 1 thru to Feb 28 then we release the book in March
> 
> ........start typing.....


I will probably do another editing pass today then let it sit and ferment a bit.


----------



## 68564 (Mar 17, 2013)

How are sales looking on this?


----------



## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Stella said about $ 60.00 total but that's in UK dollars.
I assume it's a mix of the ebooks and the paperback.

So you know, we started a new thread for book 3.
http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,172862.0.html


----------

