Dear Textnovellers:
This is Volume 3 of the Textnoveller Newsletter!
Updates to the Site: easy additions by email or text. Some of us have struggled with adding new chapters by email or text. We forget to the put the Story Code into the subject line. NO WORRIES! With the latest changes, if you send in an update from your registered cell phone number by MMS text or email, or from your registered email account, it won't matter if you forget the Story Code. We'll just add whatever you send to the last story you worked on. If that's the wrong story, you can go in and copy it out and move it to the correct story. Try it out! Just send anything you want to add@textnovel.com and it will automatically append to the last story you edited. No need to type the Story Code into the subject line.
Textnovel Contest: As you know, we are getting closer to the final contest deadline of December 31, 2008. Don’t forget, in order to have a shot at winning the $1,000 prize, you need to have at least 20 chapters up by the deadline. Winners are chosen based on votes and editorial input. See contest rules for more information.
Voting: Take a moment and vote for your favorite stories. Nightlife by Valerie continues in first place by votes, but A Testament to Living by Heather Schimel has been quickly moving up the rankings.
Editor’s Picks: Check out our recent Editor’s Picks (make sure to subscribe to those that are still In progress):
· Remote Control by Cheryl K. Tardif – dark supernatural comedy about a lazy plumber who wishes for fame and fortune by best-selling Canadian author Cheryl K. Tardif. In progress.
· Blog Love Omega Glee by Wred Fright – futuristic comedy about two bloggers who fall in love, a sort of funny yet terrifying look at a future that is not so far away! In progress.
· The Doppelganger Protocol by Patrick Astre – thriller about genetically engineered animals who were designed to track and kill enemy soldiers in Vietnam. These animals are now in the wrong hands! Complete.
· Haldona Land of Mignon by Robin Stark –a novel for the young at heart about a strange land called Haldona, and a young boy’s journey to lead the strange beings of that land against the ruling tyrant. Complete.
· Mismatched by Thorns of Beauty – supernatural novel for young adults about a girl with a green and a blue eye, and the strange things that occur when she meets a boy with the same colored eyes. In progress.
If you think your story should be on the Editor’s Picks, send us a short email to info@textnovel.com and tell us the name of the story and why your story deserves extra attention.
Member Highlight: Thrill-Crazed Space Bugs Swarm Through World’s Longest Novel
This month we’re highlighting Textnovel author Mark Leach. Got some spare time? The world's longest novel is available on Textnovel! Coppell, TX writer Mark Leach is serializing his apocalyptic novel Marinebad, My Love on Textnovel. This is an expanded 12.6 million word edition. It's nearly ten times longer than the official record-holding longest novel, Proust's In Search Of Lost Time, not to mention the previously longest science fiction novel, L. Ron Hubbard's Mission Earth. And Leach says he's just getting warmed up. How does he fill so much space?
Marienbad, My Love is the story of a film-maker who believes he's God, or that Jesus is talking to him, and he decides to make a science fiction movie that pays tribute to one of the world's worst films, Last Year At Marienbad, in order to end the world. The novel is peppered with David Lynch references as well as sections from a faux novel in the style of later Kurt Vonnegut. And "thrill-crazed space-bugs," the Cicadians show up, probably to assist in the metafictional destruction of the universe. Plus there's a giant UFO hanging over Earth, Nazi/alien collaborators, mind control, alien abductions, and a mad scientist who's adding a substance called Fluoride9 to the water to create the world's first privately owned deity.
Here's a quote from Leach's press release: “If you’re going to destroy the world, you really ought to do it big,” Leach said. “When I released the first edition of "Marienbad My Love" in March, the original length of 2.5 million words seemed plenty long for a 21st century Apocalypse. But the ideas kept coming, and the story kept growing. Now I feel like I'm just getting warmed up.”
Besides being crammed with weird ideas, Leach says Marienbad, My Love includes:
- the world's longest word. Also called "the holy Jah," the 4.4-million-letter noun is a coinage of words from the world's faiths. It means "god within."
- the world's longest sentence (3 million words).
- the world's longest book title (6,700 words).
Who wants to be the first to read the whole thing and report back to us? At a minimum, subscribe for updates so you can read new chapters as he adds them.
Check out our interview with Mark.
If you're willing to subject yourself to the Textnovel spotlight next month, send us a note at info@textnovel.com.
Publicity for Textnovel.com!
A major national magazine is doing an article on cell phone novels in Japan and interviewed our founder Stan Soper. The author is still finalizing the article. Not sure when this is coming out -- but watch for it soon!
Getting Publicity for Your Story?
Just sit back and watch an expert show you how. Check out the following posts from Cheryl K. Tardif, a best-selling Canadian author who joined Textnovel.com last month and is serializing Remote Control and Ouija on Textnovel.com. And this is just a small sample of the incredible publicity Cheryl has been able to generate:
http://www.kunati.com/cheryl-kaye-tardif-blog/2008/10/28/textnovelcom-serializes-remote-control-by-cheryl-kaye-tardif.html
http://cherylktardif.blogspot.com/
http://cherylktardif.blogspot.com/2008/10/textnovelcom-serializes-remote-control.html
http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewnews.asp?id=25424
http://twitter.com/cherylktardif/status/980109194
http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/A28SDQQVF42ZB5
http://blog.myspace.com/cherylktardif
Thanks Cheryl and way to show the rest of us how to do it!
Thanks to all of you for your continued excellent writing. And keep Textnovelling!
Stan, Founder
Textnovel.com
Hint of the Month: this is a tool very few users are exploiting -- the Invite tool. You can use it to push your own story to the top of Most Popular and increase your chances of winning. Come on guys, somebody has to take a run at Nightlife by Valerie (even though it is an incredible story). Get out and get the vote!
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