Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Update: A Space Station for Now

with apologies to RJD2 for the title...

I wanted to let readers know what's happening with Empyrean Dreams.  Posting has slowed down again, but there's activity behind the scenes.  I've written another long story in the Empyrean setting, titled "Labyrinthine".  It won't appear here, since I'm still trying to publish it in a science-fiction magazine.

The problems with selling our already self-published work and our new stories specifically set in Empyrean have started Laine and I thinking... why not keep doing it ourselves?  We're planning out several volumes of the stories we have already, plus one or two new, unpublished tales for each book.  For example, in one volume, I would put together all the Scape Grace space pirate stories, adding one of the new stories I've had planned for ages.  That way, you get the reading convenience of print (or electronic copy), plus new content, as an incentive to purchase.

Another book would contain all the Stchvk detective stories; a third would be short stories from both Laine and I.  If "Labyrinthine" doesn't sell, it becomes the bonus content for the short story book.

We're just getting started, compiling existing material and seeing how long each book would run.  The next step will be editing and layout, not to mention writing and polishing the new stories.  We'd love illustrations, but if that doesn't happen, it won't be an obstacle. 

We'll also be comparing publishers to get the best bargain on printing and promotion.  Any feedback would be welcome, though if you are selling publishing services, please don't spam.  Over-insistent salespeople have turned me away from more than one company already. 

If all goes well, though, we might have books available for purchase sometime next year.  I'm planning to put some copies on shelves at local bookstores, to start, as well selling online.  It will be a learning process, but it's worth the trouble for material we already have written and love sharing.  If people want to pay money for it, that's a bonus.

This plan will mean fewer content updates on the site, for which I apologize.  We won't disappear entirely, though.  We'll give progress updates as the project continues, and there might be some stories posted as side-effects of the process.

Watch this SPACE.

-Nathan