Hello, fellow Goners, it’s Dave with this week’s newsletter.

Last week I told you about our book deal with Amazon Publishing’s 47North to publish two Kindle Serials.

Well, the first episode of our first Kindle Serial, Z 2134, is now available in the U.S.!

You can download it instantly to your Kindle app or device right now for just $1.99

www.amazon.com/dp/B009KTA8YA/

And while it’s cool for us to sign with 47North, the sci-fi, horror, and fantasy arm of Amazon Publishing, it’s also cool for readers, because when you buy a Kindle Serial, you pay just once, and the episodes are delivered automatically as they’re published.

And the price is super cheap — just $1.99 for what is shaping up to be an 80,000 word story (we’re working on the final episode of Season One right now, so we don’t yet have the exact word count).

We’ve gotten quite a few questions since we announced Z 2134 was being published, so we’re gonna answer them here. It’s followed by the book’s description in case this is the first you’re reading about Z 2134.

QUESTIONS ANSWERED

What if I already bought the original version of Z 2134? Do I have to buy it again? 

No. Amazon should have emailed you if you bought it via Amazon.com with instructions on how to get a new version downloaded to your Kindle. If you bought Z 2134 (FROM THE AMAZON.COM U.S. STORE) and didn’t get an email, email me at collectiveinkwellmedia@gmail.com and let me know the email attached to your Kindle account and I will pass it on to Amazon so they can check and take care of you. DO NOT EMAIL YET if you’re outside the U.S. (see the next question)

What if I bought your book but I’m not in the U.S.?

Non-U.S. readers may get an email once the international version is out. I’ll be announcing once the international edition is out, so if you don’t get an email THEN, email me and I’ll pass your info on to Amazon and see if they can take care of you.

Don’t email me now, however, or I WILL LOSE your email. Keeping track of so many serials is one thing. But keeping track of email beyond a week, is another entirely for me!

So hold tight until the full book is out and THEN email me if you don’t hear anything from Amazon.

I read Z 2134 when you originally published it, is there new material in this week’s release?

Yes. Our original first episode was close to 27,000 words or so. Amazon initially wanted to release it as six episodes ranging from 10,000 plus words and up per episode. However, since we’d already published (and took down) what could be deemed three episodes, they decided to publish the first three in one shot (today) so people who already read it won’t have to wait for two more installments to be caught up.

This edition has a whole new Jonah chapter which we originally planned to open up our second episode towards the end of this episode. So if you already read it, just skip to “Chapter 8 Jonah Lovecraft.” It’s around 3,000 words or so and you don’t wanna miss it!

We also made a few tweaks to the original material, but for the most part if you already read it, just read the last two chapters and you’ll be good to go when the next episode appears.

When are the next episodes coming out?

Today (October 9, 2012) is the first three episodes, which Amazon is calling Episode One.

Episode Two (which would be Episode 4 under the original plans, and the first entirely new episode) will be released on October 23.

Episode Three will be released on November 6.

Episode Four (the season finale) will be released on Nov. 20.

They will be delivered to your Kindle device or app automatically, as they’re released, if you buy the Kindle Serial.

Why aren’t Kindle Singles available outside of the U.S.?

I don’t know and would hate to speculate since people might read into it that I know more than I do. I really don’t know. But I’m hoping it’s something that if it does well in the U.S. will take off everywhere!

If we’ve discovered anything this year it’s that there are lots of readers worldwide who appreciate serials! I’m especially thrilled that our UK readership has grown so much. Some of my favorite TV shows, music, and internet friends come out of the UK, so I’ve always felt like I’d fit right in over there.

How can I read Z 2134 if I’m not in the U.S.?

Once the final episode of Season One comes out as a Kindle Single, on Nov. 6, Amazon is going to release it as a full book, which will be available worldwide. I believe it will be the same day, but I’m not certain. Once I know for sure, I’ll let you know.

How much will the full book be?

I don’t know. The Kindle Serials are priced at what I think is an introductory price of $1.99, but after the first season is complete, it’s only available as a full book. From what I’ve heard, I believe the book will priced close to what we currently charge for our other books, though.

Will there be a print version?

Yes! Which we’re super excited about! I believe the print version will be out on Nov. 6, but I’m not sure. Nor do I know the price.

Will there be an audio version? 

That depends on the serial, how well it does, etc. It’s a possibility, but beyond my control.

Will there be a second season?

Amazon has the option to buy a second season. I’m guessing if the book does well and we get reviews, the odds are good they’ll want more.

So please help us spread the word and leave reviews if you like it!

You said you’re signed on to do two serials, when is the next one going to be published?

The next serial, Monstrous, will start shortly after we wrap Season One of Z 2134. THAT serial will run in six weekly installments, as you’re used to with our serials.

I’ll tell you more about in the weeks to come.

Why did you sign with 47North? What’s the benefit over indie publishing?

Sean and I were not looking for a publishing deal.

We’ve heard enough horror stories with big publishers not paying well, limiting how much you can write, etc. And before now, publishers weren’t exactly handing out deals for serials! That’s the whole reason we went with self-publishing via Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing, we wanted to write serials!

A “traditional publishing” deal didn’t appeal to us unless it was under the right circumstances.

We’ve found an audience of people who get what we’re doing and are enjoying the ride. We wouldn’t want to change that or have some publisher tell us we have to wait forever to publish our next book.

When we heard that Amazon Publishing was launching Kindle Serials, we were thrilled!

Amazon’s KDP has done more for indie writers than any other company ever. They allowed us to not only write our serials, but actually make a living writing for you. And there’s a lot of other great writers with their own success stories, all thanks to Amazon KDP.

So we kinda have a crush on Amazon, if we’re being frank.

If Amazon Publishing can do for serials what KDP has done for indie writers, I believe we could all be looking at the serial’s second golden age!

And as big fans of the format, that excites Sean and I.

So when 47North contacted us and said they loved what we were doing with Yesterday’s Gone and asked if we’d like to do something with them, we said “hell yeah!”

47North offers us an opportunity to work with a publisher that not only GETS sci-fi, horror, and fantasy (the genres we write in), but also GETS serialization!

For the first time, we’ve also got access to top-notch professional editing and cover artists, which means Sean and I can focus more on the actual story and less on the constant editing.

This doesn’t mean we won’t still be editing — we still rewrite stuff over and over before sending it to Amazon’s editors. However, it DOES mean we’ll have a lot less typos, and we hope a bit more time to focus on the story.

This deal also provides more exposure to what we’re doing. We’re featured on the Kindle Serials home page, so people who never heard of us or Yesterday’s Gone might now  discover us.

Will you still be self-publishing?

Yes. Plans haven’t changed for our other series. There will still be second seasons for WhiteSpace (this winter), ForNevermore (sometime after WhiteSpace), and a fourth season of Yesterday’s Gone kicking off next summer.

What about Available Darkness: Season Two?

We originally planned to follow the first season of Available Darkness up immediately with Season Two. We’re pushing that back a few weeks so we’re not in the middle of writing two series at once, which can get confusing.

However, we’ll still have weekly releases for as long as we can keep it up. In between seasons of Available Darkness, we’ll have some new Dark Crossings stories.

After we finished that last batch, we got on a role, and have a ton of ideas we can’t wait to write. And some of the stories might serve as pilots for longer series, if enough people like them. (Kinda like Hugh Howey did with Wool.)

Additionally, the next couple of Available Darkness: Season One episodes might appear on Wed. or Thursday instead of our usual Tuesday releases. We apologize for the delay.

This all happened so quick, and we’d already committed to the AD revision, so we’re currently working pretty much non-stop to put out two books per week to keep our prior commitment to you. We thank you for your patience. And this only a temporary thing. We should be caught up and ahead of schedule (for the first time all year) soon.

On the plus side, we’re releasing the full season of Z 2134 long before we would have if we didn’t sign the deal!

What can I (the reader) do to support you? 

If you’ve not yet bought Z 2134, now’s a great time to do it. The same with reviews and word-of-mouth.

We’d love to impress the hell out of 47North by showing them how awesome our readers are, and that we can deliver a top-notch serial with our trademark great characters and WTF endings!

If YOU turn out and buy the book, review it, and talk about it, you can make this our most successful series yet!

What’s the book about?

Glad you asked! Our “elevator pitch” is “The Hunger Games meets The Walking Dead by way of 1984.”

But that’s just the start. We wear our inspirations proudly, but Z 2134 is very much an original Sean and Dave story, which we think might be our best yet.

Here’s the back-of-the-book description.

Z 2134

It is the year 2134 in a dystopian America, following a series of zombie plagues which infected and decimated much of the world’s population starting 100 years ago.

Those left, formed six walled Cities throughout the continent, all under the rule of a totalitarian government which enforces strict control over its populace.

You must obey your government.

You must be a good citizen.

You must be a productive citizen.

You must not break the law.

Or The City Watch will find you and arrest you.

Jonah Lovecraft, a former Watcher, was arrested for the murder of his wife. And like most criminals, he has one chance at freedom — to participate in The Darwin Games, a televised survival show which pits two players from each city against one another in The Barrens, the uninhabited areas outside the City Walls.

He’ll also have to face another enemy — the zombies which still roam The Barrens.

As he fights for his freedom against impossible odds, his daughter, Anastasia, stumbles into people who have information about her father — information which will change her life forever.

But it will also put her in the crosshairs of her father’s enemies.

z 2134 is a thrilling new serial in the spirit of 1984, The Walking Dead, and The Hunger Games, from the writers of the post-apocalyptic smash hit serial, Yesterday’s Gone.

Z 2134 is now available at Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009KTA8YA/

Thank you for reading,

David Wright

www.collectiveinkwell.com

www.facebook.com/collectiveinkwellpublishing