Paragraph Line

Our Air in the Paragraph Line #13 author call last night went great!  It was basically a mash-up of a book reading and one of those 80s party line chat phone things (you know, picture an ad on “Up All Night” with some dizzy actress saying “I like to meet singles online!  I like to just listen!  Only $1.99 a minute (toll charges may apply.”)

The call featured me, Ben Mack, Timothy Gager, Fiona Helmsley, and Aaron Carnes.  We talked about the book, questioned the Kindle, went on about Facebook, explained our stories, and discussed the crooked house that John Sheppard built.  The call went for about an hour, and was a lot of fun.

You can listen to an archive of the call at http://attendthisevent.com/?eventid=11623593 – it’s a streaming audio thing, or you can download the MP3 and listen to us drone on about publishing woes while you’re on the treadmill at the gym.  I’ve also archived a copy for download at http://paragraphline.com/media/aitpl13-author-call-030410.mp3.  (Right-click and save-as that, and it’s ten megs, so don’t do it a million times in a row.  And if you link to it, I’d prefer you link to this article instead.)

Many thanks to everyone who joined in and listened live, and to all of the authors who participated.  And thanks to Ben for setting this up.  Let me know what you think of the call, and if something like this (or maybe more one-on-one interviews) would be something you’d like to check out in the future.

Air in the Paragraph Line #13 is now listed at Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Air-Paragraph-Line-Jon-Konrath/dp/0984422307

It’s also available on the Kindle:

http://www.amazon.com/Air-Paragraph-Line-13-ebook/dp/B0038M2FSM

For issue thirteen, the theme was “Bad Luck”, and our writers had a lot to say on the subject.

Issue 13 contains fact and fiction by Keith Buckley, Aaron Carnes, Joshua Citrak, Daniel Crocker, Timothy Gager, Nathan Graziano, Fiona Helmsley, Rebel Star Hobson, Robert Howington, Jon Konrath, Ben Mack, Jillian Olenik, Hassan Riaz, John Sheppard, Todd Taylor, and Daniel Trask. Edited by Jon Konrath, with cover art by Kurt Eisenlohr and cover design by Marie Mundaca.

It’s 236 pages with a color cover, and costs only $9.95 plus shipping, or only $1.99 on the Kindle. I’m very excited about this issue, because we’ve got a lot of new writers and some excellent stories!

Well, here’s a first – Air in the Paragraph #13 is now available on the Kindle.  For only $1.99, you get the book in its entirety, delivered wirelessly to your Kindle.  And you get it probably about a month before you could get the physical print edition.

A couple of things – first, I know some of you will be all “DUDE WE HATE THE KINDLE BECAUSE WE’RE SUPPOSED TO BECAUSE OUR HIPSTER DOOFUS OVERLORDS MAKE US BE ALL CONTRARIAN ABOUT IT”.  And that’s fine – if you don’t want to shell out to buy a Kindle, don’t.  I’ve had one since Christmas, and even though I am a person with a lot of dead trees around the house, I also enjoy reading on the e-ink screen, and find that the only real problem with the Kindle is it makes it far too easy and convenient to buy books.  It’s like one of those morphine pumps that dump a shot of opiates in your IV tube at the press of a button, and that’s a bit dangerous to me.  If you’re not into buying one, I’m not going to twist your arm or anything.

(You could, if you really want, just download the Kindle software for your PC, iPhone, or Blackberry, then spend the two bucks on the book and read it a month before it comes out on paper.  And that’s cool too, although if you’re not reading an e-ink screen, you’re sort of missing the point.)

And yes, there is some huge price and format war bullshit going down with major publishers and the Kindle.  Some are arguing about hiking up their prices, and some are only putting out their e-book editions months after the hardcover publish date, so they don’t undercut sales or whatever.  But guess what?  I’m not a big publisher.  I am probably shooting myself in the foot, or at least taking a big gamble by releasing the Kindle version first.  I make more money off of the $9.95 print edition, but I also want as many people to read this as possible.  And I realize some of you would rather have the paper edition, and get the cool cover art and the ability to put this on the shelf with your other dead tree books and enjoy it for years to come.  And that’s fine, too.  The choice is yours, so feel free to check out either.

The URL for the Kindle edition: http://www.amazon.com/Air-Paragraph-Line-13-ebook/dp/B0038M2FSM/ If you do check it out, please let me know what you think – I’m curious to hear from others if this is a service I should offer on future books, too.

Look what showed up at my door today!

It’s the proof of Air in the Paragraph Line #13, hot off the presses.  When you set up a book with Lightning Source, they overnight you a copy and you look to make sure the cover isn’t upside down and backward or that it’s not on the wrong size paper or missing a UPC code or something like that.  Trouble is, UPS’s definition of “overnight” changes meaning over a three-day weekend, so I didn’t get it for a few days.

The good news is, I can do the proof thing in one step now.  Back with Lulu, I had to do a proof of the book with no ISBN number or barcode, then buy a distribution package, have them lay on the barcode, then order a second proof.

The book looks great, and I approved the proof, so now it goes through the series of tubes and ends up on Amazon in a matter of weeks.  If the suspense is killing you, email me and I can sell you copies direct (although I can’t confirm or deny my wholesale price here, due to some business-type legalese.)

It also looks like the Kindle edition may hit Amazon well before the print one, so both of you that actually have a Kindle will be able to get that version for way cheap.  More on that later…

I’m happy to say that I just finished sending off Air in the Paragraph Line #13 to the printer.  That means I now wait a few days to see a proof, and when I approve it, there’s roughly a 2-8 week delay as it knocks around the series of tubes and finally shows up at Amazon.com and other booksellers.

This issue is 236 pages, like #12, but instead of having a list price of $14.95, this will be available for only $9.95.  It will have the same print type and quality (a 6×9″ perfect-bound paperback with a glossy color cover) and it’s even printed at the same exact place, but because I cut out the middleman, I can sell this one for about a third less.

Here’s a list of what’s in the next issue:

• Life, As It Turned Out, Was Not a Free Ride  by John Sheppard
• Zeigarnik by Ben Mack
• Of Crackheads and Convenience Stores by Rebel Star Hobson
• Banjo Alien Zen by Todd Taylor
• Welcome Aboard Monstrosity, Jack by Hassan Riaz
• Big Tit Cum Suckers by Robert W. Howington
• The Curious Mermaid by Jillian Olenik
• Joe the Salamander by Timothy Gager
• Killing Time on Planet Earth by Aaron Carnes
• The Decline & Fall Of The Roman Empire by Keith Buckley
• Faberge Eggs and Four Wheelers by Daniel Trask
• Burial Ground by Jon Konrath
• Oh You Lucky Man by John Sheppard
• The Tao of Dolton by Nathan Graziano
• I Wish I Knew How to Quit You by Fiona Helmsley
• Ruby, Ruby by Daniel Crocker
• Bad Luck Bunny by Keith Buckley
• Larry Walker Me by Joshua Citrak
• My Friend the Jihadist by Jon Konrath

The cover art this time was by Kurt Eisenlohr, and the cover design was by Marie Mundaca.

Stay tuned for more details on availability!

Hey all,

Just a reminder that you can read issues 1-12 of Air in the Paragraph Line for free online.  They’re all available in PDF format for download, absolutely free.  The only catch is that I’d appreciate if you told your friends if you dig it, and if you’re really cool, you might want to buy the paper editions and stay tuned for the future ones.

Check out the archive here: http://paragraphline.com/journal/archives.html

Two things: first, I am alive.  Things have been dormant here, and I apologize.  Global downturn, pressing work schedule, zombie invasion – you name it.  But I’m back, and I’m busy at work trying to get some momentum going here again.

Second, I am publishing Air in the Paragraph Line #13. And I am looking for a few more writers to fill the pages.  Issue 13 will be about all things bad luck related.  If you’re interested, please check out or contributions page, and drop me a line.

The deadline for #13 will be February 1.  Please let me know quick if you are interested; spots are filling quickly.  And if you are new to this game, please check out our back issues to see the kind of stuff I like to publish.