This is the ninety-ninth installment of West Wind, your weekly drop of thoughts, ideas, and info for this Season. Today is also Veteran’s Day, so take a minute to thank anyone you know who has made that honorable and unenviable sacrifice to serve their country.
I’m not going to discuss Veteran’s Day today, but rather that most difficult of November events, Black Friday. You’ve probably been getting emails from all your favorite stores and marketers promising unbelievable deals and savings, and you might be a little worn out by now. But it hasn’t even started yet!
This cavalcade of commerce only begins with Black Friday, transitioning into Small Business Saturday, where you are supposed to spend money on independent products instead of the major megastores you visited the previous day. Then there’s Sunday, when no one spends money (right?), and the next week starts off with Cyber Monday, when you spend money online, as though you haven’t been doing that the whole time.
Next is Giving Tuesday, when you feel bad about all the money you just spent on yourself, and should then spend more by donating it to charities instead of getting more stuff. And then you have to start on Christmas shopping right afterward!
It’s rough, I understand. Now is the time when independent authors and creators like myself are supposed to be planning holiday sales and promotions as well. The problem is, though, I have a hard time running sales since all of my stories are available for free. I have fair luck selling paper copies of my books every few months, but margins on them are so thin I can’t really discount them a whole lot. I can give away ebooks for free, but I do that all the time anyway. What I can do, though, is offer my loyal readers a gift.
I want you to be able to read fresh new chapters of Counterbalance, right off the vine as they ripen. So far, I haven’t had many takers on this offer, so I’m prepared to open the gates of the garden a little wider for a short while.
By filling out the form below, you can claim a coupon code that will get you one (1) month of access to the ZMT Books Community Supported Literature membership portal1 absolutely free. You’ll be able to download DRM-free copies of every published story, including MP3 audio files for narrated stories, which aren’t downloadable at their story pages. As of this writing, there are four chapters of Counterbalance to read, with three more on the way. Oh, and the ranch boss says there’ll be a new Frontier Flora story very soon too.
There are ten of these complimentary slots available, and only for readers who are already subscribed as of the time this email goes out. If you’re brand new, welcome! You can get your seat through the regular means.
So, if you’re interested in reading the newest Euphony of Seasons story as it’s written, or just want some free books, click buttons and make it happen. I’ll see you in the garden!
If the button isn’t working, click here instead
Fancy counter provided by ProWritingAid’s Novel November
The story is coming right along! The good parts are just about to begin, too. Pick it up today and have less reading to catch up on!
1 ZMTBCSLMP, for short