kickstarter | Alex Shvartsman's Speculative Fiction

UFO3 is Funded

February 18, 2014

The UFO3 Kickstarter campaign has funded! 263 people raised $8052, allowing the project to move full speed ahead with no cutbacks in the amount of stories and illustrations I hope to include.

This was a true photo finish. We were $500 short with an hour to go, and $300 short with 30 minutes to go. We reached full funding literally five minutes before the time ran out! For those of you unfamiliar with Kickstarter, the project must reach 100% of its funding goal or the creator gets nothing at all to work with — so you can imagine what a stressful wild ride those last couple of hours were. But, all is well that ends well.

I am finishing work on the Dark Expanse anthology for Deorc Enterprise (more on that very soon) and am looking forward to reading UFO3 submissions very soon now! The submission window is going to open on March 1. Meantime, a huge thank you to everyone who supported this campaign!

#SFWApro

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Posted by Alex Shvartsman

UFO3 Kickstarter Ending Soon

February 16, 2014

UFO3 Kickstarter campaign will be ending on Tuesday evening.

As of the time I’m writing this, we raised just about $5500 but there’s still a long way to go. If you like the series and would like to see it continue and prosper, please consider pre-ordering your copy of UFO3 through the campaign instead of waiting until the book is released. Getting access to the funds early will allow me to invest into buying more stories, promoting the book and the series better, and commissioning more pieces of interior art.

In addition to all the UFO books there are unique cool rewards available, such as becoming a character in stories written by Gini Koch and by me, getting a critique for one of your own stories, or even having your name mentioned in the foreword.

There are also prints of the gorgeous cover art above, which can be added to any pledge level for an additional $10.

I really enjoy editing the UFO series. Although I hope it will turn a profit someday, I have not taken any pay to date, and have invested a lot of my own money on top of what’s been raised via Kickstarter to publish and market previous volumes. UFO is growing, but at this rate it will be a few years yet before it becomes self-sustained (especially since I want to keep raising the pay rate for authors as aggressively as possible). So if you’re able to help out — whether by pledging any amount, or letting other readers know about the campaign — please do. Thank you!

#SFWAPro

Comments Off on UFO3 Kickstarter Ending Soon | Publishing | Tagged: anthology, crowdfunding, humor, kickstarter, UFO3 | Permalink
Posted by Alex Shvartsman

Some Good News for UFO2

January 28, 2014

I just got word from Barnes & Noble — they are going to be carrying UFO2 (alongside UFO1) in their physical stores!

This is a pretty big deal. Few books from very small publishers like UFO Publishing are accepted for placement in physical B&N locations. They’ve been carrying UFO1 for about a year now, and I’ve received reports of it appearing in places like Texas and New Hampshire. This, combined with the best Amazon sales month ever, is really good news for the long-term viability of the series.

Of course, it takes a wheelbarrow of money to put together each book. That’s why Kickstarter has been so instrumental. It doesn’t cover 100% of the costs, but it covers a large enough chunk to make it possible for me to do All The Things in order to produce the best book I can.

To that end, I’ve been doing a bit of a media blitz, promoting the current Kickstarter campaign, such as this interview. I’ll be appearing on a few more blogs and podcasts in coming weeks to drum up support.

Also, SF Signal is running a giveaway for copies of UFO1 and UFO2. Click here for details!

#SFWAPro

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Posted by Alex Shvartsman

UFO3 Cover Art and Kickstarter

January 19, 2014

#SFWAPro

I’m thrilled to share cover art and the line-up of headliners for UFO3 with the world today! Although not yet listed on the cover mockup, NYT bestselling author David Farland just joined the list of headliners earlier this week. We’ll add his name on there shortly!

The Kickstarter campaign for the book launched today, with many lofty goals. I appreciate the help of anyone able to pledge, but even if you can’t spend the extra dough, please help by letting as many new people know about the UFO books as possible!

Click here to visit the Kickstarter page.

2 Comments | Publishing | Tagged: David Farland, Esther Frisner, Gini Koch, Jim Hines, Jody Lynn Nye, Karen Haber, kickstarter, Mike Resnick, Piers Anthony, Robert Silverberg, Tim Pratt, UFO3 | Permalink
Posted by Alex Shvartsman

Things I’m Geeking Out About Today

July 18, 2013

This is not, strictly speaking, a writing-related post, but there are lots of cool pop-culture news I found out about today that make me smile, and I figured many of my readers would enjoy them, too:

Simpsons / Family Guy Crossover

FOX announced that they will air a Family Guy episode in Fall 2014 where the Simpsons are going to meet the Griffins. The only thing that’s not awesome about that? Waiting over a year to see it!

Ain’t it Cool News is one of the many sites that has details as well as some videos for you to peruse.

Name of the Wind TV Series

The popularity of HBO’s Game of Thrones is already paying off dividends for the rest of us. 20th Century Fox will produce a TV series based on Patrick Rothfuss’ epic novel series. I’m still waiting on HBO’s adaptation of “American Gods” as well, but this is definitely another one of those must-try shows for me, and yay for more epic fantasy coming to prime time. TOR.com has the news.

Firefly MMO

Firefly MMO social role playing game has been announced, and they’re already taking sign-ups.

As a certified, card-carrying fanboy, I’m very pleased with all of these developments. More days like this one, please!

On a completely unrelated note, Daily Science Fiction launched a Kickstarter campaign yesterday. They publish a ton of excellent material and all of it is available online for free. They also pay their authirs very competitive rates, respond to submissions promptly, and treat writers the way every market should. Please consider supporting them, and you can even get physical books of their stories as a reward. I own the Year 1 book and it’s enormous!

Click here to view their Kickstarter campaign.

Comments Off on Things I’m Geeking Out About Today | Uncategorized | Tagged: crowdfunding, daily science fiction, Family Guy, Firefly, HBO, kickstarter, Rothfuss, Simpsons | Permalink
Posted by Alex Shvartsman

Good News Galore

July 15, 2013

So many good news to report lately, so little time to blog. I’m going to use this post to catch up:

* “A Gnomish Gift” was published in issue 361 of Weird Tales, out this week. Weird Tales has been around for approximately ever, and has published the likes of Howard and Bradbury, so appearing on their pages is a special treat for me. Having cool original artwork drawn for my story (love the angry little gnome!) and sharing the TOC with the likes of Peter S. Beagle and Tanith Lee? That’s just a bonus:

* Sold “Worldbuilding” to Daily Science Fiction.

“Worldbuilding” is a tongue-in-cheek flash story that makes fun of the common SF tropes. Daily SF is a great home for it, and it will be my sixth story appearing under the DSF rocket.

* “A Shard Glows in Brooklyn” will be reprinted two more times. In September it will appear in an e-book anthology Urban Harvest: Tales of the Paranormal in NYC edited by Donna Ansari. This is a charity project and all proceeds will be donated to City Harvest. This same story is also going to appear in the Write1Sub1 anthology, whenever that ends up getting put together.

* The Coffee anthology reached its initial funding goal on Kickstarter! There is approximately a week left in the campaign, and any additional contributions will help me buy more original fictions at professional rates. If we reach $2000, a cool final stretch goal will be unlocked!

* In related news, The Coffee anthology is open to both reprint and original submissions. I am getting a steady stream of stories and responding promptly, so send something while there isn’t a long queue 🙂

* UFO2 is off to the designer. I hope to have ARCs ready by the end of the month.

* Beyond the Sun anthology is off to the printer and should be shipping in August.

* I return to the DJ Grandpa podcast this week and we talk about Coffee, anthologies, and the challenges of crowdfunding. DJ Grandpa is one of the best–if not the best–crowdfunding podcast around. Be sure to check it out!

* There’s a new book store opening up in NYC (in Astoria, Queens to be precise), specializing in science fiction, fantasy, and mysteries. The owners want to build it up it as a cool local hangout, where people can not only buy books, but also socialize and participate in fun special events. The soft launch is this coming weekend, and while they’re still working on a web site, you can visit their Facebook page for updates. Local book stores are a rare breed these days, and local stores specializing in genre even more so. So stop by the Enigma Bookstore and help support these brave entrepreneurs!

Well, there you go. It’s been a busy week. I hope to report more good news soon, but for now — back to writing!

2 Comments | Acceptances & Publications, Publishing | Tagged: beyond the sun, City Harvest, coffee, crowdfunding, daily science fiction, DJ Grandpa, Donna Ansari, kickstarter, podcast, UFO, Weird Tales | Permalink
Posted by Alex Shvartsman

The COFFEE Anthology Launches, Seeks Submissions & Funding

June 23, 2013

UFO Publishing launches COFFEE: Caffeinated Tales of the Fantastic.

We’re seeking to collect 40-50,000 words of fiction where coffee or tea is an integral part of the plot in some way. For the moment we’re considering reprint stories, but will be able to purchase some original fiction if the anthology is fully funded via Kickstarter.

The Kickstarter campaign launched tonight to help fund this anthology. We’re offering great rewards such as copies of the three released and upcoming UFO Publishing titles (UFO, UFO2, and COFFEE), posters of Maggie McFee’s “Boom” artwork (pictured below), and other cool items.

Please help us by spreading the word of this campaign via social media, and pre-ordering copies for yourself and all the coffee addicts in your life!

#SFWAPro

“Boom” by M. McFee. Get a poster as one of the Kickstarter backer rewards!

1 Comment | Publishing | Tagged: anthology, coffee, fantasy, kickstarter, science fiction, short stories, tea | Permalink
Posted by Alex Shvartsman

UFO2 Kickstarter Campaign Ending Soon

May 2, 2013

Just over four hours remaining in the UFO2 Kickstarter campaign. We raised nearly $6500 so far, with $1500 to go! Over 200 people backed this project already, and if you haven’t yet, please do, and help us reach our goal.

I added my short story ebooks as an extra reward for everyone who pledges $25 or more. So, on top of the signed copy of UFO2 (or whatever else you select), you will get $5+ worth of eBooks (everything I release in 2013). This is the preview of the cover for the ebook version of “A Shard Glows in Brooklyn,” which I will release as an e-book along with “Requiem for a Druid” in early June:

I should also add that we received around 100 submissions in the last 36 hours! Associate editors and I are reading furiously and will begin sending out responses in another day or two.

So please pledge to the UFO2 campaign and spread the word of it to others!

1 Comment | Publishing | Tagged: anthology, crowdfunding, ebook, fantasy, humor, kickstarter, science fiction, short story, UFO | Permalink
Posted by Alex Shvartsman

UFO2 Submissions Open Tonight

April 30, 2013

The submissions are opening tonight for the UFO2 anthology and will remain open throughout the month of May. Please read the guidelines here and feel free to submit when ready (yes, a few hours early is OK.)

I would also like to remind everyone that the UFO2 Kickstarter campaign has entered its final 48-hour stretch. At this point we still need to raise nearly $3,000 in order to be funded. The anthology will be published regardless, but our level of success on Kickstarter will determine the overall volume of fiction I can buy for this book, whether I can afford to buy additional content for the web site, whether I can afford to pay for the highest-quality copy-editing and book design services… In short, I need the extra funds to make UFO the best possible book I can produce.

Please consider pre-ordering your copy via Kickstarter as well as spreading the word about it to anyone who might possibly be interested in the next two days. Thank you!

Click here to view the UFO2 Kickstarter page.

Comments Off on UFO2 Submissions Open Tonight | Publishing | Tagged: anthology, crowd funding, fantasy, humor, kickstarter, science fiction, Submissions, UFO | Permalink
Posted by Alex Shvartsman

How to Get a Free Copy of UFO

April 23, 2013

Heads up! There is less than 48 hours remaining in the Goodreads giveaway for a signed trade paperback copy of Unidentified Funny Objects. All you have to do is follow this link and click on the giveaway. It’s 100% free. They won’t try to sell you a condo or sign your dog up for a credit card. Honest.

The only downside to the Goodreads giveaway is that you are competing with hundreds of readers who want the book as much as you do. Last time I ran a giveaway, over 1500 people signed up. Right now there are already over 800 people signed up. Still, it’s free.

Want better odds than that? UFO Associate Editor and contributor Nathaniel Lee is running his own UFO giveaway on his blog. Just post a joke in the comments to enter, and if you’re one of the super-nice people who backed UFO2 on Kickstarter, you get an extra entree! And, I bet, if you are really nice to Nat, he might even sign the book for you.

As for UFO2 — it is possible to get a free copy of that as well. It’s called a contributor copy. All you have to do is sell us a story! Remember — submissions will open on May 1, and there are convenient guidelines posted here.

1 Comment | Publishing | Tagged: anthology, crowdfunding, goodreads, humor, kickstarter, nathaniel lee | Permalink
Posted by Alex Shvartsman