It's been a heckuva journey around the sun since the publication of The Contest and Other Stories in BW and color interior print editions. As publisher at Tootie-Do Press as well as co-author of the collection with Joe DiBuduo, I've been neck-deep in marketing considerations, including sending out copies for review and to indie book contests, two of many ways to boost one's profile in the noisy and competitive world of indie publishing.Needless to say, I've not yet resumed writing much of anything except marketing copy, press releases, and PR posts on social media because of the long learning curve with this unique book. The post-publication process, having to make a definite monthly salary in my freelance editorial biz, plus various personal adventures and obstacles (moving from one end of Cali to the other and back again in just nine months - a rebirth of sorts!) kept me from the fun of creative writing. I'd never intended for the press or the editorial biz to outweigh the writing life, and I miss it deeply.
In fact, I've never participated in NaNoWriMo before and was determined to start a novel sequel to Heart of Desire: 11.11.11 Redux today, but haven't, due to - you guessed it - The Contest and Other Stories!
Is it a trick or is it a treat to be so encumbered? *Sigh* That said, I've certainly learned quite a few publication and PR routines and tricks that I can now share with my clients and interested writer friends, especially those with similarly complex manuscripts. I love learning and sharing - but even more fun is winning some awards along the way!
First off, the stunning cover, designed by the amazing Clarissa Yeo at Yocla Designs, is a 2018 Eric Hoffer - da Vinci Eye Finalist for Excellence in Cover Art and Book Cover of the Year at Cassie Loves Covers! We are ever grateful to Clarissa for her wonderful abilities and to the Eric Hoffer Award and Cassie for the opportunities to show off Clarissa's work. We're quite proud that The Contest and Other Stories is now a New Generation Indie Book Award Finalist in the New Young Adult (17 Years and Up) category. We also gained two new stand-up editorial reviews, that can be read as paraphrased on the Amazon buy page and at Goodreads, with a RECOMMENDED status from The US Review of Books.
As if that isn't enough goodness and light, we're thrilled to announce the 2018 release of The Contest and Other Stories in Kindle ebook, exclusive at this time to all international Amazons! Generally I produce both ebook and print editions together when birth a book, but the complexity of the dual print publications wore me right out this time around. I decided to delay ebook release until I could feel thoroughly excited about it!
Naturally, the ebook price is far lower than print and makes the collection accessible to far more readers, another reason we're enthused! However, because of the illustrations and features like dropcaps, The Contest and Other Stories looks best on the most recent Kindles (fair warning).
We hope that you'll enjoy the read as much as we enjoyed writing it!
Autumn's bright blessings to all,
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Joe DiBuduo & Kate Robinson
Tootie, the intrepid editorial assistant
Tootie-Do Press
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