What’s wrong with New Pulp?

Posted on October 23, 2014October 23, 2014 by Percival Constantine

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. There’s a lot of reason to believe that pulp is alive and well in the mainstream. Seems like every new TV show has pulp elements in it. Superheroes, a total descendent of the mystery men from the pulps, absolutely dominate the box office.

Even with competition from far more visual mediums, pulp still manages to succeed in prose fiction as well. Self-published authors like Russell Blake and JF Penn do very well for themselves writing pulpy action/adventure thrillers, and Mat Nastos’ The Cestus Concern made it to the top of the Amazon charts.

But the rest of the New Pulp books? Not even close to doing that well. I don’t really know of any author who classifies themselves as a New Pulp author who is able to make a full-time living by writing fiction full-time.

I think the biggest problem is a lot of authors working in New Pulp approach it as a hobby as opposed to an occupation. And even those who do approach the physical act of writing with far more vigor than others, there are the other aspects of publishing that they take for granted.

Of course, for those who go through one of the New Pulp publishers, a lot of this is outside their control. Hard to put a link to a mailing list or to other books in the series if you aren’t the one who has final say over the ebook. But even still, one of the things that struck me about the informal New Pulp survey I conducted not too long ago was how few authors have websites they own or mailing lists and the results were shockingly low. Same goes for advertising on book lists, either free or paid. Some websites I’ve seen are a total mess without a listing of titles or buy links.

New Pulp has been kind of behind the curve and there’s no real reason for it. There are things that self-publishing and the Kindle revolution have made possible that are practically tailor-made for pulp. But New Pulp books were some of the last to make the switch over to ebooks. Even now, the majority of New Pulp books don’t include calls to action to pick up the next book in the series, leave a review, or sign up for a mailing list. There’s also the serial format, which has completely passed New Pulp by. I see an awful lot of collections of stories, so why aren’t those stories being released first individually in ebook format and then collected together in a bundle? Why isn’t anyone doing a weekly or monthly pulp serial on Kindle Unlimited?

Of course, this doesn’t apply to everyone in New Pulp. Pro Se Productions’ Single Shot Signatures line is a good example of what more people in New Pulp should be experimenting with. I’m also planning to release at least one serial in 2015, potentially two.

I think the overall thing here is I see a lot of people in New Pulp lamenting that they aren’t selling more books and aren’t getting more exposure. But then when suggestions are made, I see some of those same people then turn around and say, “well what we’re doing is just fine.” Or worse, I see some say, “yeah, we should start doing that,” and then they continue to do the same things they have been doing.

I’m certainly not a best-selling author so maybe I’m not the one to comment on this. But I am trying some new things and here are some words of advice I’d give to other New Pulp authors:

Try A Bundle – There are a lot of crossovers in New Pulp. Airship 27 and PulpWork Press recently released The Vril Agenda by Josh Reynolds and Derrick Ferguson. It’s a crossover novel featuring Jim Anthony, Super Detective and Dillon (and the cover should really carry both those logos, plus the subtitle on Amazon should include the characters’ names, but that’s another discussion). To try and drum up some more enthusiasm for this project, I think it would have been a great idea to sell a digital bundle featuring one or two Jim Anthony books and one or two Dillon books for 99¢, advertise the hell out of it, and include a link in the back of the book to The Vril Agenda. Or what about some multi-author bundles? A masked mystery men bundle or a horror bundle or a globe-trotting adventure bundle.
Update Your Back-Matter – If you have control over your books and your books are in a series, try to include links to the next book in the series, maybe even with a preview of the next book. Also include links to your website and mailing list. While we’re on that topic…
Get a Website and Mailing List – There’s one constant I’ve seen in all successful indie authors—they all have mailing lists. You can set up lists for free at both ReachMail or MailChimp (until you reach a certain number of subscribers), so there’s no reason not to do it. And everyone should really have a website they own. For one, it gives you a lot more control than a free site at Blogspot or WordPress. I use Bluehost with WordPress.org and I use a paid template (but you can certainly find very good free templates). I also use a plugin called MyBookTable, which offers a lot of ways to display my books with tons of buy links. And it’s even free or you can pay for an upgrade to get additional features.
Publish Frequently – This is tough if you’re going through one of the New Pulp publishers because you’re restricted to their release schedule. But if you’re self-published, try to plan your releases strategically. I’m doing this right now. My Vanguard serial will contain five books in the first “season” and I’m going to release it monthly. To make sure I can manage this, I’m not offering the first book for pre-order until the fifth book is finished. And yeah, this takes time, but it can be done. I’ve started setting myself a writing goal of 1K Per Day. With that, I can write a 30K novella in a month, or two 15K serials (or three 10K shorts).
Experiment – If something’s not working, change it. Sales on my Myth Hunter series haven’t been very good, so I’ve got plans to change things about them—new covers and I plan to finally write the third book in that series, then plan to write more. Never tried a serial? Give it a shot. Never done an ad campaign? Worth a try.

It all comes down to this one important point—no one cares about the pulp revival except pulp fans. And there are two ways to approach this. You can either shrug and say, “well then I’ll just focus on the pulp fans.” I think that’s a poor approach. For one, about half the pulp fans have already dismissed New Pulp just on the general principle that New Pulp wasn’t published during the heyday of the pulps. Two, look at how many New Pulp books are out there, and that number is growing. The existing New Pulp audience is so small that they simply can’t afford all the books that are released.

So I advocate the second way—expand the audience. To do that, you need to work harder at it, you need to invest some money into it, and you need to take it seriously. For those New Pulp writers that view this as just a hobbyist pursuit, hey good for them. This is more directed at those who seriously want to make a living at being a writer. We have to do the work or else it’s not going to happen.

And before anyone says anything, I fully acknowledge that I have not been doing this stuff myself. That’s why I’m changing things.

If you don’t want to do that, then fine, don’t do it. But then don’t go around complaining that you can’t make a living off writing and that nobody is buying or reviewing your books.

Luther Cross: The Reckoning now available!

Posted on September 10, 2014September 10, 2014 by Percival Constantine

HELL KNOWS NO FURY…UNTIL NOW.
NEW PRO SE SINGLE SHOT SIGNATURE SERIES DEBUTS- ‘LUTHER CROSS’ BY PERCIVAL CONSTANTINE

Continuing with its innovative approach to Genre Fiction and New Pulp, Pro Se Productions announces the debut of its newest Pro Se Single Shot Signature series of digital singles. Author Percival Constantine brings an occult action thriller to the Signature line centered around a man who has literally been through Hell. The Reckoning: Luther Cross Book One is now available from Pro Se Productions.

“Luther Cross,” says Tommy Hancock, Partner in and Editor in Chief of Pro Se Productions, “is a character and a series that will strike a few notes with Genre fans. It has a definite horror/supernatural angle to it and the action sequences sing like fine bloody opera, but the real fun here is the main character himself. Luther is simultaneously a skilled troubleshooter of all things strange and beyond and a man with his own troubled history, which definitely colors his view on the world. Also, Percival instills Cross with this sort of relaxed, deliberate approach to the world around him, both of them, and that makes the character both likable and more approachable to readers.”

Pro Se Productions goes to Hell and back with the debut of its newest Single Shot Signature Series. Author Percival Constantine introduces readers to the enigmatic, inexplicable Luther Cross.

Luther Cross has been through Hell—literally. Born of a mother he watched die, conceived as part of a demonic ritual, and raised by monks after being saved by a mysterious, murderous individual, Cross now makes what living he does through confidence schemes…and the death of demons. What led to a school shooting in a small town, and why is there a mystic component involved? The spirits of the victims call out for help, and only Luther Cross can answer their cries.

“Ebooks,” says Constantine, “have changed the entire market and I’m thrilled to be part of Pro Se’s efforts to take full advantage of the format with the Single Shot Signatures. With the ability to quickly and cheaply publish stories, eBooks are the pulp paper of the new millennium.”

The Reckoning: Luther Cross Book One features stunning cover art and design by Jeff Hayes, main title logo by Constantine, and eBook formatting by Russ Anderson. The first issue of the latest Pro Se Single Shot Signature Series is available for the Kindle via Amazon and for most eBook formats at www.smashwords.com for only 99 cents.

For more information on this title, interviews with the author, or digital copies for review, contact Morgan McKay, Pro Se’s Director of Corporate Operations, at directorofcorporateoperations@prose-press.com.

For more information on Pro Se Productions, go to www.prose-press.com.Like Pro Se on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ProSeProductions.

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Amazon wants my help now?

Posted on August 9, 2014August 10, 2014 by Percival Constantine

Today, I received a very interesting email from Amazon:

Dear KDP Author,

Just ahead of World War II, there was a radical invention that shook the foundations of book publishing. It was the paperback book. This was a time when movie tickets cost 10 or 20 cents, and books cost $2.50. The new paperback cost 25 cents – it was ten times cheaper. Readers loved the paperback and millions of copies were sold in just the first year.

With it being so inexpensive and with so many more people able to afford to buy and read books, you would think the literary establishment of the day would have celebrated the invention of the paperback, yes? Nope. Instead, they dug in and circled the wagons. They believed low cost paperbacks would destroy literary culture and harm the industry (not to mention their own bank accounts). Many bookstores refused to stock them, and the early paperback publishers had to use unconventional methods of distribution – places like newsstands and drugstores. The famous author George Orwell came out publicly and said about the new paperback format, if “publishers had any sense, they would combine against them and suppress them.” Yes, George Orwell was suggesting collusion.

Well… history doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme.

Fast forward to today, and it’s the e-book’s turn to be opposed by the literary establishment. Amazon and Hachette – a big US publisher and part of a $10 billion media conglomerate – are in the middle of a business dispute about e-books. We want lower e-book prices. Hachette does not. Many e-books are being released at $14.99 and even $19.99. That is unjustifiably high for an e-book. With an e-book, there’s no printing, no over-printing, no need to forecast, no returns, no lost sales due to out of stock, no warehousing costs, no transportation costs, and there is no secondary market – e-books cannot be resold as used books. E-books can and should be less expensive.

Perhaps channeling Orwell’s decades old suggestion, Hachette has already been caught illegally colluding with its competitors to raise e-book prices. So far those parties have paid $166 million in penalties and restitution. Colluding with its competitors to raise prices wasn’t only illegal, it was also highly disrespectful to Hachette’s readers.

The fact is many established incumbents in the industry have taken the position that lower e-book prices will “devalue books” and hurt “Arts and Letters.” They’re wrong. Just as paperbacks did not destroy book culture despite being ten times cheaper, neither will e-books. On the contrary, paperbacks ended up rejuvenating the book industry and making it stronger. The same will happen with e-books.

Many inside the echo-chamber of the industry often draw the box too small. They think books only compete against books. But in reality, books compete against mobile games, television, movies, Facebook, blogs, free news sites and more. If we want a healthy reading culture, we have to work hard to be sure books actually are competitive against these other media types, and a big part of that is working hard to make books less expensive.

Moreover, e-books are highly price elastic. This means that when the price goes down, customers buy much more. We’ve quantified the price elasticity of e-books from repeated measurements across many titles. For every copy an e-book would sell at $14.99, it would sell 1.74 copies if priced at $9.99. So, for example, if customers would buy 100,000 copies of a particular e-book at $14.99, then customers would buy 174,000 copies of that same e-book at $9.99. Total revenue at $14.99 would be $1,499,000. Total revenue at $9.99 is $1,738,000. The important thing to note here is that the lower price is good for all parties involved: the customer is paying 33% less and the author is getting a royalty check 16% larger and being read by an audience that’s 74% larger. The pie is simply bigger.

But when a thing has been done a certain way for a long time, resisting change can be a reflexive instinct, and the powerful interests of the status quo are hard to move. It was never in George Orwell’s interest to suppress paperback books – he was wrong about that.

And despite what some would have you believe, authors are not united on this issue. When the Authors Guild recently wrote on this, they titled their post: “Amazon-Hachette Debate Yields Diverse Opinions Among Authors” (the comments to this post are worth a read). A petition started by another group of authors and aimed at Hachette, titled “Stop Fighting Low Prices and Fair Wages,” garnered over 7,600 signatures. And there are myriad articles and posts, by authors and readers alike, supporting us in our effort to keep prices low and build a healthy reading culture. Author David Gaughran’s recent interview is another piece worth reading.

We recognize that writers reasonably want to be left out of a dispute between large companies. Some have suggested that we “just talk.” We tried that. Hachette spent three months stonewalling and only grudgingly began to even acknowledge our concerns when we took action to reduce sales of their titles in our store. Since then Amazon has made three separate offers to Hachette to take authors out of the middle. We first suggested that we (Amazon and Hachette) jointly make author royalties whole during the term of the dispute. Then we suggested that authors receive 100% of all sales of their titles until this dispute is resolved. Then we suggested that we would return to normal business operations if Amazon and Hachette’s normal share of revenue went to a literacy charity. But Hachette, and their parent company Lagardere, have quickly and repeatedly dismissed these offers even though e-books represent 1% of their revenues and they could easily agree to do so. They believe they get leverage from keeping their authors in the middle.

We will never give up our fight for reasonable e-book prices. We know making books more affordable is good for book culture. We’d like your help. Please email Hachette and copy us.

Copy us at: readers-united@amazon.com

Please consider including these points:

– We have noted your illegal collusion. Please stop working so hard to overcharge for ebooks. They can and should be less expensive.

– Lowering e-book prices will help – not hurt – the reading culture, just like paperbacks did.

– Stop using your authors as leverage and accept one of Amazon’s offers to take them out of the middle.

– Especially if you’re an author yourself: Remind them that authors are not united on this issue.

Thanks for your support.

The Amazon Books Team

I did not email Hachette as they asked, in fact I removed the email of Hachette’s CEO from this quote (you can find it yourself if you so desire). I honestly could not care less about Hachette. Screw ’em, not my business.

But Amazon’s gall here is what has annoyed me.

Yes, Amazon has been very good for me as an independent author. But they could also be a whole lot better. And you know how they could be better? By not paying lip-service to being rah-rah indie.

Other ebook vendors give self-published authors the ability to set their books for free for any length of time, even if you make those books permanently free. That’s your choice. Amazon lets you do this…if you’re enrolled in KDP Select and give Amazon exclusivity over your book. And even then, you’re given a maximum of five days to set the book free during a 90-day period.

Other ebook vendors offer self-published authors the ability to accept pre-orders for their books. Amazon does not allow self-published authors to do this at all. In fact, it’s something specifically reserved for traditional publishers.

Last month, Amazon unveiled Kindle Unlimited, where for $10 a month, subscribers get to read as many books as they like. Traditional publishers and a select few self-published authors are given 60% of the list price for every borrow, and they can still sell their books outside of Amazon. The rest of us must be exclusive to Amazon and we get a percentage of an arbitrary fund Amazon sets aside for us. In contrast, Scribd and Oyster give self-published authors 60% of the list price and no exclusivity requirement.

So I’ll make a deal with you, Amazon—give me the same deals you give traditional publishers. Give readers the ability to pre-order my books. Give me 60% of the list price of KU borrows without forcing exclusivity on me. Give me the right to make my book free whenever I want and for however long I want without forcing exclusivity on me.

Do those things, and then maybe I’ll consider stepping up to the plate for you.

Until then, you can fight your own battles. Keep me out of your pissing contest with Hachette.

Why I Won’t Be Joining Kindle Unlimited

Posted on July 20, 2014July 20, 2014 by Percival Constantine

Amazon’s new Kindle Unlimited has been in the news a lot lately. The deal with Kindle Unlimited is it’s basically like Netflix or Spotify, but for books. You pay $9.99 per month and that gives you access to an unlimited number of books to read on your Kindle or any other device that has a Kindle app.

Let me get this out of the way right now: I think this is a very bad idea. I know some readers are excited about the prospect of getting access to an unlimited number of books, but what’s getting lost in all the excitement is how the writers will be compensated for their work. And the answer is not very much.

“But wait, Perry. Don’t you have books available on Scribd and Oyster? Aren’t those the same thing as Kindle Unlimited? What’s the difference?”

I’m glad you asked, and I’ll tell you the biggest differences:

Royalties

My books are available on Scribd and Oyster through my Smashwords account. The deal I have with Scribd and Oyster is the same every author has—each read basically counts as a sale and I get 60% of the list price of my book. With Amazon, I get…well, nobody yet knows what indies get. Because one of the things Amazon is doing is treating indie authors like second-class citizens. See, traditionally-published authors, their borrows are treated as sales, which is how it is with Oyster and Scribd. I think a few select, high-selling indie authors are getting this deal as well. But the rest of us? Doesn’t matter if your book is 99¢ or $20, you get paid a percentage of the global KDP fund. This fund is how Amazon authors in Select are paid for borrows through Amazon Prime. But the difference is that with Prime, users are limited to one book borrow a month. Unlimited doesn’t have that cap. Your earnings depend on how your book does on KU in comparison to other books.

Exclusivity

Another thing Amazon requires which Oyster and Scribd don’t is exclusivity. For authors to enroll their books in Kindle Unlimited, their books have to be enrolled in KDP Select. What that means is authors cannot have their books available anywhere else in digital formats. Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, can’t put any of your books in those channels. And also, there’s no opt out. If you’re in Select, you’re in Kindle Unlimited, period. The only way to get out of KU is to get out of Select.

Unfair Terms

Some indies are under the impression that this will mean indie authors will get more exposure. I sincerely doubt that. One of the best avenues indies have had for getting the attention of readers has been competitive pricing. Traditionally published ebooks are the same price (or sometimes more) as the print counterparts. Indie books tend to be priced much cheaper, usually under $5.99. But with Kindle Unlimited, that price difference is gone. And if you go to the Kindle Unlimited homepage, about 99% of the books that are spotlighted are traditionally published. Amazon is allowing traditional publishers to make the list price off this and they don’t need exclusivity, while indies are being tossed pennies and being asked to subsidize the big guys.

The idea here is that people will go to KU for Hunger Games and Harry Potter, and then they’ll discover indie books later. Basically, the same theory that applies to trickle-down economics. And we’ve all seen how well that works (hint: it doesn’t).

Currently, the books in my Myth Hunter series are enrolled in Select and as a result, KU. At the moment, I am keeping them enrolled for a little longer, because I have a promotion through Select that I’ve already bought ads for (a promotion that was scheduled before this KU thing started). If not for that promotion, I would remove them immediately from Select.

The Spotify comparison is a very good one for this. Spotify has been extremely bad for musicians, as it requires several thousand streams of a song before a musician makes the equivalent of the sale of one LP.

In order for authors to continue writing great books, we need to be well-compensated for our work. Kindle Unlimited is undercutting and undervaluing the hard work of indie authors.

Today is Digital Book Day!

Posted on July 14, 2014July 14, 2014 by Percival Constantine

Digital Book Day begins!

Indie authors from all over the world are making their books free for today, July 14th.

I’ve decided to participate in this as well, by making SoulQuest available for free. There are also several other New Pulp books available on the site, plus some great reads from a bunch of other indie authors. Definitely worth your time to check out what’s available. I know I’ve already downloaded a bunch of stuff.

The DBD site has been giving me some loading problems. It’s probably likely to experience some heavy traffic given all the authors who are advertising this event, so just be patient if you can’t get through.

If you only want a free copy of SoulQuest, though, then you can go directly to Smashwords and download it right now for free. But if you are having trouble, with the DBD site, just be patient. Lots of great stuff there worth the effort, especially since they’re all free.

Head on over to DigitalBookDay.com to see the complete list of titles available! If you enjoy these books, the best way to thank the authors for providing them free of charge is by posting a review on Amazon and Goodreads. Thanks for your support!

Why Reviews Are Valuable

Posted on July 10, 2014July 10, 2014 by Percival Constantine

Have you read one of my books?

You have? That’s awesome, thank you.

Have you left a review?

If you haven’t, or if your review is only posted on your own blog, then please do me a favor and go over to Amazon or Goodreads and please post a review of it. There are two reasons why this is crucial:

Most readers will read reviews of a book before they click the buy button. It’s usually a make-or-break situation. If a book has little to no reviews on it, then that reader may not think it’s worth their time. This is the obvious reason why reviews are important, but there’s an even more crucial reason.
There are a lot of book promotion sites out there. People who sign up to these lists to receive book recommendations do so because they trust that the lists will only send them books that are of a decent level of quality. That means these lists have to vet the books and one of the ways they do it is by reviews. If a book does not have a high number of quality reviews and a number of good ratings, the chances of the list advertising that book are far less.

The only way I can grow my business is by having other people help me out. If I’ve sent you a review copy of one of my books, the reason being is because I wanted a review, and whether or not you provide that review will determine whether or not I send you another copy in the future.

New Pulp Categories

Posted on July 6, 2014July 6, 2014 by Percival Constantine

So, here’s the deal.

Amazon gives you a choice of two categories for your book. And those two categories are pretty broad. For many pulp authors, that doesn’t express just how diverse our books are. As one example, Love & Bullets is an action/adventure book (a sub-category of literature & fiction). But it’s also a book about assassins (which is a sub-category on Amazon). And it’s a pulp book, another sub-category. It’s a thriller, yet another category. It’s women’s adventure. It’s even romantic action/adventure.

But here’s the problem: I can only choose two categories. And most of those categories I mentioned are more specialized and aren’t available as a choice with those two categories. So some of you may be wondering, “how do I get my books into those categories?”

This is something I recently learned when CE Martin told me about it on my podcast, The Exploding Typewriter. And now I’m going to pass on this information to other New Pulp authors.

I took some screenshots. These are from the KDP page for The Lost Continent.

You should all be familiar with this, when you choose your categories. You pick the two categories you want, pretty self-explanatory right? Click add categories and you get this window.

If you’re a New Pulp author, one of your categories should probably be Action & Adventure. Even if you’ve got a sci-fi book, don’t select two sci-fi categories and I’m about to tell you why.

Right before you get to where you upload your cover, you have the choice to enter up to seven keywords. Most people waste these keywords. You know how I know? Because Amazon has a pulp category (again, thanks CE for pointing this out). As of this post, the pulp category has 375 titles in it. Of those 375, there are about twenty New Pulp titles.

“But wait, I make sure to have pulp as one of my keywords! In fact, I have pulp a few times—pulp, pulp fiction, new pulp, etc.”

Yes, but you don’t have it in the right category.

Amazon’s pulp category isn’t a main category, it’s a sub-category. The hierarchy goes Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers > Pulp. Which means if one of those two categories you selected isn’t thrillers, then you’ve just wasted three keywords on those pulp terms.

To be smart about your keywords, look at the categories Amazon has. To see them, go to the Kindle Store. Now scroll down and watch the left sidebar. Once you get to Kindle eBooks, click on Mystery, Thriller & Suspense. Then click on Thrillers. Now look at the sidebar again.

Not only do you have more sub-categories that might fit your book, but you’ve also got moods & themes, characters, and settings. Most sub-categories have this kind of thing. Your keywords should match these (when applicable). You may not be able to get much traction in a large category like action, but if you’re in action > men’s adventure, you might have more luck.

So say you’ve already figured out all the keywords to use and you still have some extra. This is where things like characters and moods and themes can come in handy. For SoulQuest, one of my keywords is “pirates.” The reason I chose pirates is because those are characters under the fantasy > swords & sorcery sub-category. If someone’s looking for a sword & sorcery book, I’ve got to compete with about 9,000 titles. But if they’re looking for sword & sorcery books that feature pirates, there are less than 90 listed. That gives me a much better chance of being discovered.

Be smart about your keywords. You’ve only got seven and you should use them strategically. Because the fact that only 5% of the pulp list on Amazon is represented by New Pulp (and most of that is because CE is a prolific writer) is a shame. Don’t let your books get lost in Amazon’s ecosystem.

Want a Discount eBook? How About a Free One?

Posted on July 2, 2014July 2, 2014 by Percival Constantine

Been a long time, unfortunately have been very busy with classes—both teaching and taking them. But what I have to bring you today is two great offers!

First, for the month of July, you can pick up SoulQuest for the sale price of 99¢! It’s available on all platforms, so whether you’re an Kindle, Kobo, iOS, or Nook user, you can get access to it. One of the reasons for this sale is because I’d like to boost up the reviews for the book. So if you buy and enjoy it, then please post up a review on Amazon or Goodreads. Without reviews, it’s very hard for indie books to find an audience.

The next thing to offer is “The Wild Hunt.” If you’ve previously bought a copy of the PulpWork Christmas Special 2013, then you’ve already read this story featuring Asami of The Myth Hunter series. But if you haven’t, now you have the chance to read it for free! How do you get it? All you have to do is subscribe to my mailing list.

Check out the details for both books below:

SoulQuest

Author: Percival Constantine
Genres: Adventure, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Steampunk
Tag: Standalone

In a world of magic and monsters, a ragtag group of pirates, ex-soldiers, mystical beings and creatures of the night must seek out powerful artifacts to prevent a twisted sorcerer from gaining godlike power!

More info →

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Announcing Pro Se Single Shots!

Posted on April 6, 2014May 30, 2014 by Percival Constantine

Pro Se Productions has just announced a new line, the Pro Se Single Shot Signatures.

The line features thirty-eight writers who will be producing stories, ranging between 3000-15000 words, on a consistent basis. They will either be an original series featuring recurring characters, or individual stand-alone tales with the unifying title of “From The Pen of…” followed by the author’s name. These short tales will be released in digital format only (print collections at a later date are a possibility, though) at a price point of 99¢ per story.

When Tommy Hancock, Pro Se Editor-in-Chief, invited me to this line, I wasn’t sure I would say yes. I’m already planning on doing something similar on my own, with the Vanguard series I’m currently writing and with other ideas waiting in the wings. However, I decided to take advantage of the opportunity and experiment with a different publisher.

To that end, I’m happy to announce that I will be writing Luther Cross, one of the Pro Se Single Shot Signatures!

Luther Cross is a demon/human half-breed, who has grown into a paranormal investigator. Possessing some degree of demonic abilities as well as knowledge of magic and the occult, Cross makes his living hunting down demons, ghosts, and other creatures of the night.

I originally conceived of Luther Cross several years ago and I began work on an introductory novel featuring the character. Unfortunately, the novel was never completed, but Luther stuck in my head and I always wanted the opportunity to get back to writing him at some point in the future.

I’m very excited to have the opportunity to revisit him in this new format. It’s one that I think suits the kind of stories I’m planning to tell with Luther far better than the format of a novel. In fact, I’ve already completed the first tale and sent it off.

Below you can read the full press release from Pro Se Productions. More information will definitely come:

PRO SE PRODUCTIONS TAKES SHORT FICTION TO THE NEXT LEVEL

A leading independent publisher of Genre Fiction, Pro Se Productions announces an innovative new Fiction line today.

In 2010, Pro Se Productions debuted as a small press focused on ‘Puttin’ The Monthly Back into Pulp!’ The company originally produced a line of three magazines that featured ‘New Pulp’ short stories, that is stories written by modern writers very much in the style and feel of tales featured in classic Pulp magazines in the early 20th Century. When Pro Se made the move into publishing novels and short story anthologies, it closed the magazine line, only to restart the concept as a single magazine title due to popular demand. PRO SE PRESENTS grew into an award winning magazine that ran for 20 issues, its final installment released in February 2014. With the end of the magazine, Pro Se Productions closes one era to enter another, one that readers got a taste of in December of 2013.

“We are always,” says Tommy Hancock, Partner in and Editor-in-Chief of Pro Se, “focused on producing the very best in New Pulp and Genre Fiction in all aspects, including the format which we present it in. It’s no secret that Publishing in the last five years, particularly for independent presses such as Pro Se, has moved more and more into the digital realm. Not only can readers carry more books around on their Ereaders or their phones, but the price point is tremendously better in most cases over print books. Digital publishing also affords writers and publishers to produce any size work they wish, including single short stories that can be offered for less than a dollar each. Pro Se Productions decided to dip its foot in that pool and in December we held a grand opening of sorts for our new imprint- Pro Se Single Shots.

“The success we had,” continues Hancock, “with the first volley of Single Shots was quite amazing. No one’s getting rich on them, but the interest readers showed in being able to drop 99 cents and get a good, solid short story that they could read in a single sitting was staggering to us right out of the gate. This combined with the fact that our second magazine line had run its course we felt in its current format, gave us a few ideas. Chief among them was the fact that we could take each story that would have appeared in a PRO SE PRESENTS and offer it individually to readers in a digital format. That way a mystery fan could pick up the mystery stories he or she wanted for a reasonable price without having to feel like they were buying other stories they may not enjoy. But an even more intriguing idea presented itself rather quickly.

“The concept of digital singles affords Pro Se the ability to really bring the concept of Pulp storytelling and even, in a indirect way, the idea of recurring tales from a consistent stable of authors on a regular schedule –much like classic Pulps did- into the 21st Century. This kernel of an idea took root with us rather quickly and brings us now to possibly the most exciting announcement Pro Se has made in a long time. Pro Se Single Shot Signatures.”

The Pro Se Single Shot Signature line brings together 38 writers from across the spectrum of Genre Fiction. Each of these authors will be producing either an original series of his/her creation featuring recurring characters and concepts or writing an imprint of individual stand alone stories entitled ‘From The Pen of…’ and the author’s name. Multiple genres are represented, from jungle tales to horror stories to some that defy description.

Regardless if an author is doing a series or imprint, they will all be working on a regular production schedule established based on their own ability to produce quality work. Some will produce stories on a bi weekly, monthly, bi monthly, quarterly, or bi annual schedule. Each story will range in length from 3,000 to 15,000 words. Also, debuts of the individual series and/or imprints will be spread out over the remaining months of 2014, with at least three titles debuting in April.

Pro Se Productions proudly announces the inaugural cast of authors in the Pro Se Single Shot Signatures line. They include:
David Foster
PJ Lozito
Russ Anderson
Sean Taylor
Teel James Glenn
Fuller Bumpers
Tommy Hancock
Morgan Minor
Mark Bousquet
Philip Athans
Jim Beard
I. A. Watson
Joshua Reynolds
Bobby Nash
Greg Norgaard
Mark Gelineau
J. Walt Layne
Nikki Nelson-Hicks
D. Alan Lewis
H. David Blalock
Gary Phillips
Sean E. Ali
Barry Reese
Percival Constantine
Jeremy Hicks
Logan L. Masterson
Chuck Miller
Alexander S. Brown
Adam Lance Garcia
David White
Kevin Rodgers
Derrick Ferguson
Aaron Smith
Frank Schildiner
Brad Mengel
Richard White
Terry Alexander
Terrence McCauley

Each Pro Se Single Shot Signature Series and Imprint will feature cover art by Artist Jeffrey Hayes.

If the author of a series or imprint chooses to, print collections of his or her stories will be produced at later dates as agreed upon by Pro Se and the individual creator. Hancock also stated that Pro Se will continue to produce stand alone Single Shots as they did in December and again in March.

“The Signature line,” Hancock says, “is a very exciting prospect for Pro Se, the authors and artist involved, and the readers I believe. It puts these fantastic New Pulp tales in a quick, easy to digest format, makes them inexpensive, and opens readers up to a whole host of ideas and authors that they may never have been exposed to otherwise for whatever reason. It may not be the same feel as having a paper magazine to fold up in your hand, but the Pro Se Single Shot Signatures line definitely makes Puttin’ The Monthly Back into Pulp something Pro Se can do in a big way.”

In coming days, news concerning the individual authors and the series and/or imprints they are working on as well as production schedules will be released from Pro Se Productions.

For More information on Pro Se Single Shot Signatures, to be placed on a review list for upcoming releases, or for interviews with the authors involved, please contact Morgan Minor, Director of Corporate Operations for Pro Se, at directorofcorporateoperations@prose-press.com.

To learn more about Pro Se Productions, go to www.prose-press.com and like Pro Se on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ProSeProductions.

Ron Fortier tackles SoulQuest!

Posted on March 20, 2014May 30, 2014 by Percival Constantine

Ron Fortier has just posted up a review of SoulQuest at Pulp Fiction Reviews. Here’s a bit of what he had to say:

“Soul Quest” reminded me a great deal of those early Ace Paperbacks in which I first discovered science fiction and fantasy as a teenager. The action never stops; the heroes are true romantic rogues in the classic sense and the villains as dastardly as they come. For a big book, “Soul Quest” moved at such breakneck speed, I read through it quickly only to be both satisfied and sad to see it end. Zarim and the crew of the Excalibur are wonderful characters and I really am keeping my fingers crossed we’ll see them again soon.

Thank you for a wonderful review, Ron! If you want to see why Ron’s raving about this book, then what are you waiting for? Go pick up a copy of your own!

SoulQuest

Author: Percival Constantine
Genres: Adventure, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Steampunk
Tag: Standalone
Publisher: Pulp Corner Press
Publication Year: 2013
Length: 350 pages
ASIN: B00GZ0CF4I
ISBN: 1491262346

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About the Book

In a world where magic and technology exist side by side, Zarim and his crew of sky-pirates live on the fringes of society, stealing what they can and evading the authorities. But a debt of honor compels Zarim to take on the dangerous task of seeking out five mystic artifacts before a sorcerer with power both mystic and political can obtain them. Zarim and his crew must seek out unlikely allies and traverse uncharted territories filled with all manner of strange beings. For if they fail in their quest, control over reality itself will fall into the darkest of hands!

SoulQuest reminded me a great deal of those early Ace Paperbacks in which I first discovered science fiction and fantasy as a teenager. The action never stops; the heroes are true romantic rogues in the classic sense and the villains as dastardly as they come.

– Ron Fortier, Pulp Fiction Reviews

Look Inside

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