Patty Jansen

Spaceships & Dames is a brand new multi-author collection of first-in-series novels that is available for free on all retailers. This book joins four such collections I've made in the past: Galactic Empires Future Adventures Sword & Magic Sorcery & Warlocks Each of these books contains a set of full length novels by different authors surrounding the same theme. Each book is the first in a series....

Spaceships & Dames - Must Use Bigger Elephants Spaceships & Dames is a collection of nine full length novels by nine different authors with the theme of strong (older) women in space.

There is this thing called "trope graphics" that's been really popular on social media. You can apparently make them with Canva (I don't have Canva. Shame on me, they're an Australian company) and they display the book with arrows and whichever tropes are in the book. Tropes are elements of story that are often typical for a genre. For example, for a romance, trope graphics could advertise "Friends to lovers" or "bi-racial romance" or "second chance"....

Trope graphics - Must Use Bigger Elephants Authors have been posting trope graphics with cute arrows to tell readers what tropes are in their book. Here is a twist on the concept.

Authors and Tiktok PSA: No, you really do not have to do TikTok. While there are some cases of author success on the platform, in reality it's FAR too random to respond to advice about TikTok hacks on how to do well. TikTok is also famous for yoinking your account away and/or your views suddenly dropping off a cliff without rhyme or reason....

pattyjansen.com

Yes, I'm totally taking the p**s out of these "trope graphics" but these are things that happen in the book https://pattyjansen.com/pages/dragon-soup-ads/

My friend Mary McGuire, who is an author and one-time stand-up comedian in the UK, is doing a Kickstarter for an eyebombing book. What is eyebombing? It's to stick googly eyes on everyday objects to make them look like faces. Funny faces, serious faces, angry faces, surprised faces. The result is a hilarious book full of funny pictures. Digital and physical copies available. Check it out here

Eyebombing: something fun you should support - Must Use Bigger Elephants My friend Mary McGuire, who is an author and one-time stand-up comedian in the UK, is doing a Kickstarter for an eyebombing book. What is eyebombing? It’s to stick googly eyes on everyday objects to make them look like faces. Funny faces, serious faces, angry faces, surprised faces. The result... ...

The cat goes hunting...

The cat goes hunting Patty Jansen published a post on Ko-fi

For a laugh: skateboarding giraffes.

Skateboarding Giraffes Patty Jansen published a post on Ko-fi

Ending very soon!
Your last chance to get this great photo book. Photos all by me.

While You Were Sleeping - Sydney before dawn A book of the photos I took ridiculously early in the morning around Sydney - Make 100 project

The Kickstarter for While You Were Sleeping ends soon!

This is a full colour photography book that contains photos that I took with my professional camera around dawn over a number of years at many locations around Sydney.

I've formatted the book (some sample pages below) and it's all ready to go. The main format is hardcover, but digital options are also available. Link in the comments.

More photos from my

I created a new Pixabay account for digital images I don't plan on using exclusively for any of my projects.

With dust bunnies!

New place for images Patty Jansen published a post on Ko-fi

The Kickstarter is funded so it's definitely happening.
Jump in to get this book of photos. It won't be on retailers.

Let's talk about author mailing lists. Recently I've been doing some big maintenance on my mailing list. I hadn't done this for a while and whenever I dive into my list, I'm struck by how if I didn't have this list, I'd have no career either. I have two lists that I maintain from the same account. There is my author mailing list that you can get onto by downloading the free starter library....

Author mailing lists - Must Use Bigger Elephants Author mailing lists: why it's important to have your own mailing list

While You Were Sleeping is live!
A beautiful book with over 200 of the best photos I have taken.

While You Were Sleeping - Sydney before dawn A book of the photos I took ridiculously early in the morning around Sydney - Make 100 project

This is not a cat

This is not a cat Patty Jansen published a post on Ko-fi

Made from 100% organic ring-spun cotton, this unisex t-shirt is a total must-have. It's high-quality, super comfy, and best of all—eco-friendly. • 100% organic ring-spun cotton • Fabric weight: 5.3 oz./yd.² (180 g/m²) • Single jersey • Medium fit • Set-in sleeves • 1 × 1 rib at collar • Wide double-needle topstitch on the sleeves and bottom hems • Self-fabric neck tape (inside, back of the neck)...

Red Riding Hood Unisex organic cotton t-shirt - Patty's Art and Things Made from 100% organic ring-spun cotton, this unisex t-shirt is a total must-have. It’s high-quality, super comfy, and best of all—eco-friendly. • 100% organic ring-spun cotton • Fabric weight: 5.3 oz./yd.² (180 g/m²) • Single jersey • Medium fit • Set-in sleeves • 1 × 1 rib at co...

Protect your laptop in style—get this snug, lightweight laptop sleeve! To prevent any scratch marks, it contains an internal padded zipper and its interior is fully lined with faux fur. What’s more, it’s made from a material that’s resistant to water, oil, and heat, making sure your laptop sleeve looks as sharp as you any day of the week! • 100% neoprene…...

Bin Chickens Laptop Sleeve - Patty's Art and Things Protect your laptop in style—get this snug, lightweight laptop sleeve! To prevent any scratch marks, it contains an internal padded zipper and its interior is fully lined with faux fur. What’s more, it’s made from a material that’s resistant to water, oil, and heat, making sure your laptop s...

Show off your taste and dine in style! Every set comes with 4 high-quality, water-resistant placemats, all with a unique pattern for that special touch. Whether for daily dining or festive feasts, these placemats will add a dash of personal charm to your every get-together. • 100% polyester fabric broadcloth • Comes as a set of four • Size: 18″ × 14″ (45.7 cm × 35.5 cm)...

Seastars Placemat Set - Patty's Art and Things Show off your taste and dine in style! Every set comes with 4 high-quality, water-resistant placemats, all with a unique pattern for that special touch. Whether for daily dining or festive feasts, these placemats will add a dash of personal charm to your every get-together. • 100% polyester fabric...

Crafted from resilient fabric, this table runner is both soft and enduring. Whether for everyday elegance or holiday charm, it will make meal times with loved ones a little more special. Treat yourself to this delightful table accessory or consider it as a thoughtful gift for someone special. • 100% polyester • Full coverage sublimation • Size: 90″ × 16″ (229 cm × 41 cm)...

Seastars Table runner - Patty's Art and Things Crafted from resilient fabric, this table runner is both soft and enduring. Whether for everyday elegance or holiday charm, it will make meal times with loved ones a little more special. Treat yourself to this delightful table accessory or consider it as a thoughtful gift for someone special. • 10...

There was a great discussion on Threads the other day about the cost of publishing. It was a very large discussion, and many people took part it, and it was like a multiheaded hydra that went in many directions, not all of them helpful. The discussion started when one author posted a statement that you should not spend any money on self publishing books, and do everything yourself until you can afford to pay for someone....

The artisan author - Must Use Bigger Elephants The concept of the artisan author is that books are individual works that are different and quirky and are appealing for that reason.

In this post, I'm going to discuss the most important things for selfpublishing where you should consider spending your time. It is brought to you courtesy of the questions asked by writers who are beginning or who haven't published yet, about activities they should be doing once their book is out. These include a lot of things that big traditional publishers do, like book launches, tours, signings and industry reviews....

The most important things for selfpublishing - Must Use Bigger Elephants In this post I discuss what are the most important things for a selfpublished author to spend their time on

The Ebookaroo newsletter went out today. If you missed it you can see it here:

preview.mailerlite.io Picture this: you've somehow come into the possession of a dragon (long story--you can read the previous book if you really want to know, but it's kinda embarrassing, so you don't need to).

Here is a snippet from Star & Flame, the third book in the Starfire Trilogy. Lana climbed up the ladder first, followed by Harek and one of the ship’s crew. It wasn’t easy doing this while dressed in the suit that was too big for her. The crewmember whistled through his teeth when seeing the carnage inside the capsule. "Don't touch anything with your bare hands,” Lana said....

Star & Flame snippet - Must Use Bigger Elephants A sample from Star & Flame, the third book in the Starfire Trilogy by Patty Jansen, dark post-apocalyptic fantasy

Wow, time flies, especially this time of the year. I'm done with the Christmas shopping and in the back yard we're done with the pool deck. The weather has heated up sufficiently to start killing my lettuce. I harvested the potatoes and was amazed at how well they did (I didn't have high hopes when I planted them). I dug up and replanted the ginger, also amazed at how well it grew....

Progress post, new look Ebookaroo - Must Use Bigger Elephants Wow, time flies, especially this time of the year. I’m done with the Christmas shopping and in the back yard we’re done with the pool deck. The weather has heated up sufficiently to start killing my lettuce. I harvested the potatoes and was amazed at how well they did (I... Continue reading

I tried something different with the Ebookaroo newsletter this week.
I like to make my website's pages automatically with the aid of a google spreadsheet. The new Mailerlite gave me the option to code HTML/CSS newsletters from scratch.
The newsletter went out on Tuesday. Open rates are much higher than for the newsletters using their template.
But one reader mentioned an issue with large images. It's a MS Outlook issue and I think I can contain it.
There was one broken image link in it which was totally my fault.

But I'd like to know if anyone else had any issues with the newsletter so I can re-jig the code for the next one.
If you have no idea what I'm talking about, the Ebookaroo newsletter contains deals and promos of SF/F books, mostly not mine.

If you're interested, you can subscribe here:

Ebookaroo – Patty Jansen Pages A mailing list for readers who like sales, giveaways, new releases and audio books. The list is run by authors. 100% non-commercial, a goodwill project. INTERNATIONAL focus. None of these US and UK only deals. Genre fiction: Fantasy and Science Fiction

All the fruits. Mangoes never ripen in Sydney btw

I want to say a few things about print books for indie authors, because the subject keeps coming up on social media. In the first place, a lot of people seem irrationally attached to the print medium. Yes, there are bookshops, and yes, this is probably the most visible way in which you can see books being sold, but there is an extensive stitched up (by the trad industry, that is) mechanism behind bookshop supply....

Print books for indie authors - Must Use Bigger Elephants A few words about print books for indie authors: please do not pay for a print run until you're confident you can sell these books.

Here is a general news post with what I've been doing recently. I was reminded this week by our local newspaper that I took part in a random email email survey where I said that I wasn't planning on taking part in any Black Friday sales. Well, guess what? I bought Topaz Gigapixel, which is awesome photo-enhancing software that does a much better job at sharpening and enlarging images than Photoshop....

New email service, book progress - Must Use Bigger Elephants Here is a general news post with what I’ve been doing recently. I was reminded this week by our local newspaper that I took part in a random email email survey where I said that I wasn’t planning on taking part in any Black Friday sales. Well, guess what? I... Continue reading

Authors ask: when is it okay to self promote? Nope, wrong question. Step back and consider why it is necessary to ask this question. Is it because writers are insecure, and we are people-pleasers, and don't want to upset anyone? And because we don't want to upset anyone, we are likely to self sensor, and because we don't want other people to get ahead doing things that we feel uncomfortable doing, we tell other people not to do it either?...

When is it OK to self-promote - Must Use Bigger Elephants When is it OK to self-promote? Many self-published authors ask that question because they are afraid to annoy people.

Everyone is doing sales and discounts. Here is mine:

Discounts on entire science fiction series by Patty Jansen 30% off entire science fiction series by Patty Jansen including the Ambassador series and the ISF-Allion series.