Great voices of science fiction. Douglas Adams Where did the idea for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy come from? DA: Various different places. The actual title came when I was hitchhiking round Europe in 1971. I was lying drunk in a field in Innsbruck – I've now told the story so often, I can only remember the story and I can't remember the event any more, so I have to take my own word for it that it's true – I was lying drunk in this field in Innsbruck and I had with me a copy of the Hitchhiker's Guide to Europe.
And it occurred to me as I stared up at the night sky that somebody ought to write a hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy. But had you been keen on science fiction before, was it your thing? DA: Yes and no. So Hitchhiker's got rather more to do with Monty Python than it has Asimov? DA: In a way I think so, yes. Did the names of the characters mean anything – Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect, Zaphod? DA: They were just made up. It was one of the most perfect radio creations, wasn't it? DA: Absolutely. An awful lot?
Books and eBooks. Quest - Write text adventure games and interactive stories. Quest lets you make interactive story games. Text adventure games like Zork and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Gamebooks like the Choose Your Own Adventure and Fighting Fantasy books. You don't need to know how to program. All you need is a story to tell. Your game can be played anywhere. In a web browser, downloaded to a PC, or turned into an app. Watch a quick screencast ...and you're free No restrictions.
This means you can download and modify the Quest source code, and do whatever you want with it. You can sell the games you make with Quest. You don't need to ask for permission - you already have it. Get started quickly You don't need to know how to program to use Quest. Everything about your game is displayed in plain English, but the source code to your game is also viewable and editable for the more technically minded. A full tutorial is included, and help is always available on the forums. Ever wanted to... Surprisingly powerful Quest is a powerful game platform. Any language. WritersCafe.org | The Online Writing Community.
Tor.com - Science fiction & Fantasy Blog, Books, Stories, News, Forum. Self-publishing a book: 25 things you need to know | Fully Equipped. Note to readers: I originally published the article back in 2008 and have updated it a few times, most recently on June 13, 2012. This article primarily addresses self-publishing a print book, though many of the tips apply to e-books as well. For specific information about publishing an e-book, see my companion article, "How to self-publish an ebook. " I know, I know. This is a column about cutting-edge electronics. So, apologies to gadget-heads as I take a brief sojourn into the land of self-publishing, which has become a lot more high-tech than a lot of people realize.
A few years ago I wrote a book. Its short history is this: I worked on it for several years, acquired a high-powered agent, had some brushes with major publishers, then, crickets. I could have tried to go for a small publisher, but I was told mine was "a bigger book" with more commercial aspirations and prestigious small publishers were interested in more literary tomes. 1. Self-publishing a print book is easy. 2. 3. 4. Write Better, Get Published, Be Creative. Writing and Publishing News, Marketing, E-Books—Authorlink.com. Book-in-a-Week | Where Writers Write Together. Self-publishing a book: 25 things you need to know | Fully Equipped. Stop the press: half of self-published authors earn less than $500. Despite the splash caused by self-publishing superstars such as Amanda Hocking and EL James, the average amount earned by DIY authors last year was just $10,000 (£6,375) – and half made less than $500.
With Hocking raking in sales of $2.5m, Fifty Shades of Grey's James signing up to a mainstream press for a six-figure advance and a slew of deals for other self-published successes, the sector is starting to look like a gold mine for would-be authors. But a survey of 1,007 self-published writers – one of the most comprehensive insights into the growing market to date – found that while a small percentage of authors were bringing in sums of $100,000-plus in 2011, average earnings were just $10,000 a year. This amount, however, is significantly skewed by the top earners, with less than 10% of self-publishing authors earning about 75% of the reported revenue and half of writers earning less than $500.