Tag Archives: paperback

Paperback Rising?

It has been six months since the second edition of At The Walls Of Galbrieth was released. Thank you to all who purchased the book, all who will read it, and those who have already read it and sent me such lovely, warm notes.

Galbrieth cover.5th.anniversary

What has been interesting is that I am selling, for the first time (as far as I know), more paperbacks than e-books. Given the competitive way in which bookstore place novels, it is extremely difficult for authors not on the A-list to find shelf space, even with the most tenacious publishers backing them.

I market my book towards the e-book crowd. The financial investment in taking a chance with a new author is so much smaller than a tree book and, between you and me, I am rather fond of trees.

However, there is a problem with this strategy when it comes to the Young Adult market. To purchase an e-book, one needs a credit card, and the young adult does not spread the plastic (as a father I should add, Thank the Holy Auditor). S/he needs to ask permission to buy a book and while most parents I know are happy to buy it, there are several steps involved that could sideline the request – making dinner, walking the dog, homework – you know, life.

The other issue with trying to sell e-books to a Young Adult market is that not all parents approve of their children having more screen time. Hands up if you told your kid to get off their phone and, with a roll of the eyes, they hold the screen in front of you to show they are reading a book or article, or worst of all, doing homework?

 

images-1

So, I am wondering whether I should change strategy. Time is limited (this blog used to be weekly) and I am a considerably happier and more congenial chap when writing or editing my next novel.

I have given up on the bookstore appearances (thank you Independent Bookstores for offering this wonderful service to the community) or book fairs. The ROI is negligible and again it is a time issue.

What are you doing? Are you writing for a young adult audience and having a similar experience? Are you a parent who encourages their children to read e-books? I would love to hear in the comments below.

Anyway, thank you again to all who support my work and the travails of Seanchai and the Wycaan Masters.

Good reading,

Alon  

——————————————————————————————————

Alon Shalev is the author of the 2013 Eric Hoffer YA Book Award winner, At The Walls Of Galbrieth, and five other Wycaan Master books all released by Tourmaline Books. Sign up for more information about Alon Shalev at his author website.

 

 

A Birthday Wish

Dear Friends,

Today is my birthday. I guess we still celebrate in our 50’s, right? My birthday didn’t stop me firing up the computer and Keurig at 7.30am and getting in some writing at the quietest part of my day. Guess it’s in my DNA. 

I’m a lucky man. Blessed with a wonderful family, an inspiring job and (healing knee aside) good health. But, if you have a few minutes to to give me a gift, and it’s your time not money I want, here is how you can help me get the publishing contract I am chasing. 

As you know, Inkitt, a publisher, has taken an interest in my latest manuscript – an edgy magical realism novel. They are offering free downloadable copies and I request that you take a minute to click into the website and download a copy today.

Kingfisher: Slave To Honor – Free Novel by Alon Shalev

They have a complex set of algorithms that will help them decide whether to sign me which includes how it takes you to read the novel and they measure what pages you are on. If you get through the book, then a review is critical. Please be honest – I never want someone to write something they don’t believe.

Author Review 02

Thank you for your support. This is a very exciting opportunity for me and a publishing contract would make a mighty fine birthday gift!

The idea of helping struggling artists resonate more these days, so if you still have a bit of time, please help another author realize his/her dreams:

feature_2015_05

Thank you, as always for your support,

Alon

——————-
ALON SHALEV
At The Walls Of Galbrieth, Wycaan Master Book 1, 2013 Eric Hoffer Book Award Winner – YA Category.

Learn more about the Wycaan Master series at http://www.alonshalev.com/

Today’s the Day! Calhei No More – Released!

It all started six years ago in 2010, a whim to engage my sons on a camping trip in an ancient redwood forest.

At The Walls of Galbrieth won the 2013 Eric Hoffer YA Book Award and a rollercoaster journey was set into motion.

It ends today with the launch of Calhei No More, available in paperback and e-book.

Calhei No More_full res2 (4)

Thank you for joining me on this epic adventure. Please leave reviews on Amazon and keep in touch – you can leave comments here on the elfwriter blog and on twitter @elfwriter, and I always respond on my email is anelfwriter@gmail.com.

It has been fun and sometimes tortuous – characters have a habit of not doing what they are supposed to. Writing has entered my DNA and there are various projects in the pipeline, so please keep following the blog or sign up for my newsletter (4-5/yr) here.

A big thank you to Tourmaline Books for keeping the faith, to my editor Monica Buntin, cover artist William J. Kenney, and the folks at The Fast Fingers who set the internal book matter. We’ve been together a long time and I have only reached this wonderful stage with your help and partnership.

Thank you to everyone for your readership and fellowship, your feedback and enthusiasm, and your willingness to join the Wycaan Masters to create a better world for themselves and their people. Hoping we can do the same for each other – perhaps there is not such a gap between fantasy and reality – and maybe there never should be.

Alon

————————————————————————————————

Alon Shalev is the author of the 2013 Eric Hoffer YA Book Award, At The Walls of Galbrieth, and five more novels in the Wycaan Master Series – all released by Tourmaline Books. Calhei No More, the final book in the series will be released November 15, 2016. It will all end on the Plains of Shindellia.

Shalev is also the author of three social justice-themed novels including Unwanted Heroes. He swears there is a connection. More at http://www.alonshalev.com and on Twitter (@elfwriter). Hang out with Alon on Google+ 

At The Walls Of Galbrieth – Launched!

A couple of weeks ago, I posted that the imminent release of At The Walls Of Galbrieth was like seeing your child leave home. Well this weekend,  Book 1 of the Wycaan Master series, was busy packing its bags, saying goodbye to its friends, and reminiscing about how its laundry always got done and there was food in the pantry.

Okay, I’m stretching this, but like a parent who constantly peers into their child’s now empty room, I am peeking at Amazon.com, staring in disbelief that my book is finally out there in the big wide world.

But it is there and on Tuesday, the family (the real one) sat around the dinner table and ceremoniously opened the brown cardboard package and held the first paperback copy. My oldest, who deserves a lot of credit for initiating this project, sat and read and reread the dedication to him and scanned the rest of the book. It was rather challenging to get him to relinquish the book so that the rest of us could look.

Just like the child leaving home, it is the end of one stage of life and the beginning of the next. A few days earlier, I received the manuscript for the second book, The First Decree, from my talented editor, Monica Buntin. The next day, I saw the first sketching of that book’s cover by artist, William Kenney. In the past two months, I completed my first serious edit of the third book and I am itching to sink my teeth (or fingers) into writing the fourth. 

This is how it all began – deep in a redwood forest.

I’m glad my wife and I decided on only two children because there are still a lot of books to write and nurture to launch day!

Have a great weekend. If you buy the book, please let me know what you thought. I can’t wait to hear.

Alon Shalev – elfwriter

——————————————————————————————————

Alon Shalev is the author of At The Walls of Galbrieth, Book 1 of The Wyccan Master series, which reached the Quarter Finals of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award 2012, released by Tourmaline Books. The First Decree, the sequel is due out in early 2013. Shalev is also the author of three social justice-themed novels: Unwanted Heroes, The Accidental Activist and A Gardener’s Tale. More on Alon Shalev at http://www.alonshalev.com and on Twitter (@elfwriter).

 

 

 

Farewell My Other Son

I’m dreading the day my sons leave home. Even though they mess up the kitchen, their clothes get strewn on the floor, and they vie with me (and win) for music, TV, and that last chocolate cookie, I’m dreading seeing them walk out the door.

There is something totally scary in that you are no longer there to nurture, protect, guide, or even to bask in their glory, for their glory is their own and perhaps always was.

That is how I am feeling right now with At The Walls Of Galbrieth. This week, the internal formatting was finished and sent in, the cover joined somewhere in the publishing process, and sometime in the next few days the ebook will be published, with the paperback following in a week or two.

It is out of my hands. Like an anxious parent, I will look on, watching how many people become friends with it, how it succeeds with grades (reviews), and whether it will establish itself in the real world of fiction.

But there is nothing left for me to do, except move on to Book 2: The First Decree. As that fine Professor Tolkien once said in a little-know Hobbit novel: “Remember what Bilbo used to say: It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.”

Have a great Thanksgiving, everyone. May you spend it round a mighty table laden with food and love. But keep an eye out for a misplaced ring, a dragon on the loose, an elf who has drunk all your mead …

…or the coming of The Wycaan Masters.

——————————————————————————————————

Alon Shalev is the author of The Accidental Activist and A Gardener’s Tale. He has written three epic fantasy novels and the first, which reached the Quarter Finals of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award 2012, is due out in December 2012 by Tourmaline Press. More on Alon Shalev at http://www.alonshalev.com and on Twitter (@elfwriter).