SFNovelists Sampler – A Year’s Worth of Reading! at SF Novelists

Mindy Klasky August 1st 2011

SFNovelists Sampler – A Year’s Worth of Reading!

About a month ago, Laura Anne Gilman (a member of SFNovelists) said, “Wouldn’t it be interesting to put together an ebook sampler of first chapters from all of us?”

And I, being an annoying sort of person, replied, “That sounds like you’re volunteering!”

And that’s where things got interesting. Because, you know, usually when someone has an idle thought involving lots and lots of work, the thought never goes any farther. But Laura Anne said, “Sure. I’ll do the organizing. But someone else has to do the tech stuff.”

And then, Joe Nassise, another stellar SFNovelists member, said, “Hey, I’ll do the tech stuff. No problem. But someone else should design the cover.”

And then, Jenn Reese, yet another incredible SFNovelists member, said, “I do cover designs all the time, for my business, Tiger Bright Studios. I’ll design a cover for an SFNovelists sampler.”

And so, from start to finish, it took less than a month to bring you OPENING ACTS, a sampler of 25 first chapters from 25 of SFNovelists’ members. And best of all (from your perspective): it’s free! And available in a multitude of formats! And you can read it, pass it on, share it with your friends!

So? What are you waiting for? Laura Anne, Joe, Jenn, and 25 authors have all done their part. Now, it’s just up to you, to do yours!

The free sampler is available in epub, mobi, LRF, and various Smashwords formats. The selections are:

7th Sigma by Steven Gould
Bone Shop by T.A. Pratt
Bones of Faerie by Janni Lee Simner
The Brahms Deception by Louise Marley
Carousel Tides by Sharon Lee
The Cloud Road by Martha Wells
Dangerous Water by Juliet E. McKenna
The Dread Hammer by Trey Shiels
Flesh and Fire by Laura Anne Gilman
Fright Court by Mindy Klasky
The Heretic by Joseph Nassise
House of the Star by Caitlin Brennan
Indigo Springs by A.M. Dellamonica
Jade Tiger by Jenn Reese
Kat, Incorrigible by Stephanie Burgis
Medium Dead by Chris Dolley
Midnight at Spanish Gardens by Alma Alexander
Play Dead by John Levitt
Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready
The Snow Queen’s Shadow by Jim C. Hines
Spellcast by Barbara Ashford
The Spirit Lens by Carol Berg
TruthSeeker by C.E. Murphy
Up Against It by M.J. Locke
With Fate Conspire by Marie Brennan

Go forth and read! (And tell us what you think about this idea. Because honestly? There’s a lot more where this came from, and if this sampler is well-received, we’re likely to do more.)

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There are 13 comments. Get the RSS feed for comments on this entry.

1. mamculuna on Aug 3rd, 2011 at 1:55 pm

I downloaded the mobi file, but Kindle says it can’t upload. Any idea what the problem could be?
2. Mindy Klasky on Aug 3rd, 2011 at 2:06 pm

I don’t, but I’ll pass on your problem to some of our more-technically-minded folks, to see if they have any ideas…

Mindy
3. Phil Sevetson on Aug 3rd, 2011 at 4:36 pm

Just got pointed here by a friend, will link on FB. Cool idea!
4. Mindy Klasky on Aug 3rd, 2011 at 4:39 pm

Mamculuna – here’s one possibility (suggestion provided by SFNovelists member Chris Dolley):

It all depends on the exact problem the person is having. Some people are used to having their ebooks emailed direct to their Kindle and don’t know how to transfer the ebook from their computer to their Kindle.

In this case the answer is

1. connect their Kindle to their computer with the supplied USB lead.
2. open the documents folder in the Kindle
3. Copy the mobi file from the computer to the Kindle documents folder.

* * *

Otherwise, Mamculuna, can you tell me more about the problem that you’re having – what type of error message you’re getting?
5. Linda Nagata on Aug 3rd, 2011 at 4:46 pm

Hi mamculuna,

This sounds silly, but the first step on the debug checklist is to make sure you grabbed the right file. File extension should be “mobi.” If you have a windows machine that doesn’t show extensions, right-click on the file, select “properties,” and make sure it’s the mobi version. I’ve mistakenly sent epub files to my Kindle and have gotten an email back saying the file wasn’t the right type to upload.

Do you email the files to your Kindle or do you upload them by attaching the Kindle to your computer?

If you email, know that the mobi file is large, over 9MB. Most email clients allow files of this size, but it’s a possible problem spot.

I did test the file after I saw your post, and the file itself seems fine. Please let me know if you’re still having difficulties and we’ll see if we can figure it out.
6. catie james on Aug 4th, 2011 at 1:35 am

I think this is a *great* idea! There are so many authors listed I’ve been curious about, so I’m thrilled to get a sampling. Thanks so much.
7. Stuart on Aug 4th, 2011 at 9:50 am

Link shared through Twitter and blog. Not a large audience, but doing my part. Great idea. (File saved for after work reading…)
8. Deirdre Saoirse Moen on Aug 4th, 2011 at 3:00 pm

Brilliant idea! I’ll be reading those chapters!
9. Ian Creasey on Aug 4th, 2011 at 8:18 pm

This is great. I bought a Kindle a few days ago, but it’s daunting trying to figure out what to read — there just isn’t the equivalent of browsing in a bookstore. I will definitely be looking at all these samples. What I like about this approach is that it’s the writing itself which will grab me or not — it’s not about the cover art or the self-promotion or the networking or anything else.

Had no problems getting the file onto the Kindle, by the way.
10. jmd on Aug 6th, 2011 at 11:33 am

Hi, got the link from Jim Hines’ LJ. I only have Kindle for PC, no problem getting it loaded and opened.

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Author Information

Mindy Klasky

Mindy Klasky is the author of eleven novels, including WHEN GOOD WISHES GO BAD and HOW NOT TO MAKE A WISH in the As You Wish Series. She also wrote GIRL'S GUIDE TO WITCHCRAFT, SORCERY AND THE SINGLE GIRL, and MAGIC AND THE MODERN GIRL, about a librarian who finds out she's a witch. Mindy also wrote the award-winning, best-selling Glasswrights series and the stand-alone fantasy novel, SEASON OF SACRIFICE. Visit site.