Alpha and Omega is the fifth annual anthology by writers from my area of Australia.
We have more than 20 writers each year contribute short stories and poetry.
As a journalist, I am the only professional writer in our group but we have produced a good-looking product with some cracking yarns and thoughtful poetry.
The 2014 WAG short-stories anthology Alpha and Omega is available in print and eBook world-wide from October 25.
On that day in Australia we will have the physical launch at Pine Rivers Art Gallery.
For those flying over from London, New York and Paris for the launch starts at 1pm.
Last year, Writers’ Anthology Group (WAG) in conjunction with Bent Banana Books produced the popular collection Serendipity. Again Alpha and Omega has short stories and poetry, illustrated by local artists, mainly photographers
Now available world-wide in every format
This year saw the launch of the Peter Campbell/ WAG Literary Awards with the champion’s trophy going to Paimarire Teague, a Year-11 student from Dakabin State High School.
Reason #1 why you want to buy Alpha and Omega
Paimarire’s story Hope amid War is a dystopian story and, as they say, a page turner.
Reason #2 why you want to buy Alpha and Omega
We All Meet in the Stars by Phil Devine is a fascinating real-life account of how Phil provided free viewings through his relatively powerful telescope.
It was a celebration of the 2009 International Year of Astronomy in the desert heart of Australia in Alice Springs. Superbly told, this story is a wonderful and surprising tribute to the human spirit.
Reason #3 why you want to buy Alpha and Omega
A young story-teller is 16-year-old Sarah L Wilson.
Her futuristic story, First Do no Harm, is set in a youth orphanage. It is a tough exciting moral tale which breathlessly rushes the reader to its denouement.
Reason #4 why you want to buy Alpha and Omega
Journey’s End by Sue Sander is a modern classic about the death of a loved one.
Without giving the plot away, I will simply say you will remember this one long after the last word. Superb.
Reason #5 why you want to buy Alpha and Omega
Anne Olsson’s A Step Too Far is a brilliant telling of the progress through life of a group of high-school friends.
Distinctly Australian, the story nonetheless will touch the international soul.
Reason #6 why you want to buy Alpha and Omega
Some people believe that self-promotion is an evil of the modern age.
I will simply say, you may enjoy my quirky suspense story The One About the Farmer's Daughters
Reason #7 why you want to buy Alpha and Omega
There are another 15 stories, not to mention good poems and attractive artwork.
All this is at a most reasonable price given the collective labors of love that have produced it.
It is about time Bent Banana Books explained itself as we prepare to publish
our first eBook titles in January 2012.
The ultimate aim is for Bent Banana Books to promote as eBooks some of the best
self-published titles from around the globe.
The baby steps in January set us on the path by ePublishing three
quality titles from out home-town district of Pine Rivers. Australia.
Self-published authors now have the opportunity to attain world-wide
distribution through Google or Amazon and Apple will be a player shortly.
The problem for self-published authors without a marketing team behind
them is how to present their book to the eyes of potential readers when there
are a million books between their masterpiece and those eyeballs.
Bent Banana Books thinks self-publishers marketing their books under one
brand could be one way to go.
We will find out soon enough if the idea has legs.
If your eyes glaze over when it comes to maths, just try to absorb the
following figures. Of you thinks my maths Or the assumptions behind it when it
comes to book royalties are dud, let me know.
If a writer under contract with one of the Big Six international publishers
receives a 25% royalty, that is a quarter of the PUBLISHER’S RETURN from book sales.
Let us say the publisher has a generous 70% deal with retailers –
Google, Amazon, Borders and so on.
The author’s royality is now 17-5% of the eBook cover price less any taxes or
duty payable on the book’s sale. That is still a lot better author’s royalty than
on a paperback version of that eBook.
Let’s say a self-published writer is on a less generous deal from the retailer,
say 50%. (There are a lot higher deals out there but as the percentages rise so
too do the restrictive publication clauses and/ or additional charges.
The self-published author receives 50% of the cover-price less any taxes
or duties.
Sounds like heaven compared to the paperback author receiving as little
as 5% of the cover price and an average of probably 8%.
But of course you as a self-published author have to sell the book, the
hard part, handled by a team of experts in the case of the paperback writer.
That is where we think Bent Banana Books fits in.
The self-published author receives 70% of the 50% of the eBook cover
price (35%) and BBB does the selling and product uploading for you. There is a
bit more to it than that, but that is the bare bones of it.
How’s that sound? If you are interested in this deal froma any
perspective - writer, self-publisher, ethical book buyer – visit www.bentbananabooks.com.au
