I woke up to the fantastic news this morning that my latest novel, TIME RATS 1: The Trouble with Time, has been selected for publication by Kindle Press. (I blogged earlier about Kindle Scout here.)I'll be a hybrid author! And Amazon is the only publisher about whom I feel enthusiastic. I'm as pleased as Punch and Judy, as the offspring used to say.
It's difficult to predict which books on the KS site will be selected; of the five I've nominated so far, only one has been chosen. That was The Girl who Heard Demons, by Janette Rallison, which I thought was a shoo-in.
My estimation of my chances fluctuated wildly during the thirty-two day wait. No one knows the precise criteria for selection, beyond the books being proofread to a publishable, or near-publishable standard. (Near-publishable, since Amazon editors check the text and make suggestions if necessary.) A look at the list Published by Kindle Press on the Kindle Scout site suggests the books have to be competently written. Many of the chosen authors have already published several books.
But any selection process has an element of personal taste to it. Last Friday afternoon I was judging the modellers' section for the Goldsmiths' Craft and Design Council. There were three judges, and we all agreed almost without discussion on the worst entries to be immediately discarded, and the excellent entries to be considered for awards. Only when it came to awarding gold, silver and bronze was there a mild disagreement over which was the best; and I think this came down to a matter of personal taste.
It gives a sense of perspective, to be judging one day, and judged the next.
Did I mention how pleased I am? I am very, very pleased. Dancing about pleased.
