Phew! It’s been a busy first 10 days of the Inkshares Mystery & Thriller contest. I’ve managed to get 225 orders for over 300 books, which is very exciting! This puts me around 40% of the way to the goal. We’re still early in the process, but thanks to all your support Gumshoe Rules is in the #1 position. 

A few people have asked me about Inkshares and why I chose this route to publication. There were several reasons, but perhaps the most important is that I know two successful authors who have used Inkshares: Tal Klein (The Punch Escrow) and Christopher Huang (A Gentleman’s Murder).  Their books are available in bookstores and on Amazon. Coincidentally, they both sold film or TV rights, which is awesome. If you like Science Fiction, The Punch Escrow is a real treat. For fans of “golden age” mysteries, A Gentleman’s Murder is a modern take on a classic 1920’s genre. But why choose? Buy ’em both!

The other reason I chose Inkshares is more subtle. The publishing industry has gone through tremendous consolidation over the last 10 years. With the advent of the Kindle, eBooks and self-publishing, it seemed like the old model of spending a year to find an agent, pitching publishers and eventually get a book deal seemed like a slow boat to nowhere. Inkshares is a disruptive approach to publishing that takes out the gatekeepers and lets readers decide what kind of books they want to read.  Inkshares seemed like a good middle ground between traditional publishing and the wild-west of self-publishing. They get good distribution through retail channels and the process moves faster than traditional publishing. Seems like a win-win to me!

I’ve spent several weeks emailing everyone I know  and I’ve found that to be 10x more effective than Linkedin or Slack and 100x more effective than Twitter or Facebook. If I can ask you to email two or three friends or colleagues about the book, that is greatly appreciated. Every unique order counts towards the contest, so no one should feel pressure to order multiple copies. Send them a link to:  https://www.inkshares.com/books/gumshoe-rules   With your help I know we can get to 400 orders and beyond.

In subsequent updates, I’ll talk more about the authors who have influenced this book, where readers are coming from as well as answer any questions you have.

Thank you so much for your support!
--Z.Z. Traver
PS. At the Bouchercon mystery writer’s conference, I was able to hang out with Christopher Huang, author of A Gentleman’s Murder, also published by Inkshares 

Dear friends and followers,

We are now one week into the campaign for "Cat’s Paw", and we’re standing at a somewhat precarious 2nd place in the Inkshares Mystery & Thriller Contest. Some of you have already got on board with that campaign, and I am grateful for your ongoing support. I hope more of you will consider doing the same. "A Gentleman’s Murder" has done quite well since its release, and I would like to think that it’s demonstrated my capabilities with a word processor; but one can’t just stop there. It doesn’t pay to be complacent.

Click here for the "Cat’s Paw" project page.

"Cat’s Paw" is somewhat darker than "A Gentleman’s Murder" was, having actually begun as an idea for a horror story. But then, I know mystery a lot better than I know horror, and so it’s classed as a mystery ... albeit one with its roots in a very dark place. But then again, some people would just call that "Noir".

In the meantime, I should like to draw your attention to a Facebook fundraiser a friend of mine started for the American Cancer Society. Cancer is a nasty business, to put it lightly, and these people are doing some very good work about it. I hope you’ll give this fundraiser some consideration.