#rogue ship

[tomoleary]

Peter Andrew Jones “Rogue Ship” by A. E. van Vogt paperback cover (1975) Source

[70sscifiart]

Uncredited and undated cover to a Belgian edition of A. E. van Vogt’s Rogue Ship

[lyricwritesprose]

Just a reminder

That Rogue Ship goes on sale on May 7th.  That’s the Star Trek-y Prime Directive one with the trans protagonist (not that that last is in the story much; I think it gets mentioned once).

Anyhow, that’s next week.  So check it out and see if you’re interested.

[lyricwritesprose]

Kindle Countdown Deal for Rogue Ship

So I finally got around to setting the Kindle Countdown Deal for Rogue Ship.  It’s going to run from May seventh to May fourteenth, with the best prices before May tenth.  This is the Star Trek-like book that some of you guys were interested in, so I’ll be sure to keep you updated and make more noise about it closer to the date of the sale.

[lyricwritesprose]

So I’m about at the point of publishing Rogue Ship, but . . .

But I have sort of a problem, that problem being that I’m ticked off at Amazon right now.  By which I mean this is a particular, “won’t drop the NRA,” specific issue with Amazon, not my usual general background radiation of “Amazon sucks.”

So I’ve got to figure out whether I avoid publishing on Amazon (writing them a note to that effect, because a boycott with no advertising isn’t worth the bother) or whether not enough people are doing it and I’m a single voice who wouldn’t be listened to.  And if I do avoid publishing on Amazon, I’ve got to format the manuscript for Smashwords, which is several times more irritating than formatting for Amazon.  (Not that I wouldn’t have had to do it eventually, but still.)

I guess what I need to know is, are other people working to boycott Amazon?  Is it worth it?

[lyricwritesprose]

I keep hesitating on “Rogue Ship”

I keep feeling like it’s not polished enough, or not something enough, and hesitating to upload the final text to Amazon.  In fact, I think that my hesitation is probably linked to the story’s derivative-ness, or the fact that there’s a character in there that’s nothing but pretty blatant setup for a sequel, or other structural issues that I can’t do much about.  I’ve been considering releasing it on Smashwords for free, and perhaps charging for future installments (I do have some things written in the same universe; I have similar hesitations about whether they’re any good).

What do you guys think?  Would you be upset at paying money for something that’s clearly derived from a popular piece of fiction, so long as it has something to say about that fiction?  I know more people would read it if I released it for free; would you buy more stories in the same universe?

I have to decide pretty soon, so any input is welcome.

[lyricwritesprose]

I think I’m doing better at cover-making

At least in knowing what free art to grab, anyway.  I just uploaded a new cover for Echoes of the Ancients, and it’s definitely more dynamic than the one I had before.  (The book is here, if you’re curious about it, and it already has the new cover on.)

I’ve also been working on a cover to Rogue Ship, which I plan to publish soon, maybe in March.  This is, of course, a way to procrastinate on actually editing the story, but I’ve been doing a bit of that too.  I’ve got a post about Rogue Ship over at my wordpress blog, and I’ll make one here in a little while.

[science70]

A.E. Van Vogt, Pour une autre Terre (Rogue Ship), (Marabout edition, 1976).