My new book is ready to be published...but I"m not going to publish it until January 2.
This way, all the brou ha ha of Christmas, its aftermath and the Bowl games will be over with and people will be concentrating on buying books again.
Other bad times to publish books are during Thanksgiving, July 4th, etc.
(Note that print book publishers can bring out their books to coincide with holidays because the books are in stores - but for ebooks, that's not the case.)
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
New posting schedule
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Have 2 books in the series ready....
I'm working on a political project. I was originally going to get a book done quickly and publish it in December, then have the website for it, as well as the December book, published in January.
But I didn't have enough time so now I'm doing it more sensibly.
The November and December books will be published in January, and at that time the website will have enough data where it's worth looking at.
Sound cryptic? I don't want to give anything away until everything is launched, then I'll explain what I'm doing.
But I didn't have enough time so now I'm doing it more sensibly.
The November and December books will be published in January, and at that time the website will have enough data where it's worth looking at.
Sound cryptic? I don't want to give anything away until everything is launched, then I'll explain what I'm doing.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
If it's not one thing it's another
I've been trying to get to work on a new book which I plan to publish on the Kindle, but I've got so much stuff going on that I haven't been able to get to it.
My resolution for the new year - write and publish one book a month.
I'll let you know how it goes.
My resolution for the new year - write and publish one book a month.
I'll let you know how it goes.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Apologies....
It's been a long time since I've posted here... been a long time since I've uploaded anything to Kindle.
Now that Christmas is approaching...time to think of getting something new there...
Will post thoughts later.
Now that Christmas is approaching...time to think of getting something new there...
Will post thoughts later.
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Working on a *new* project
That always seems to be my refrain, doesn't it?
I put my latest Scrabble book for sale on Ebay...not because i wanted it to sell on Ebay (I'd send a mobi doc to whoever bought it) but because I wanted to increase the exposure of all my books.
But Ebay doesn't have a keyword function to put it a lot of keywords, so once again I don't think anyone can see it.
Very frustrating.
I put my latest Scrabble book for sale on Ebay...not because i wanted it to sell on Ebay (I'd send a mobi doc to whoever bought it) but because I wanted to increase the exposure of all my books.
But Ebay doesn't have a keyword function to put it a lot of keywords, so once again I don't think anyone can see it.
Very frustrating.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
How long to wait before advertising?
I just published my latest book on the Kindle and Nook. Kindle went live after bout 10 hours, the Nook took 3 days.
No sales for either, yet.
I was hoping that the keywords would be enough to bring the book to everyone's attention - who was interested in the subject matter.
Unfortunately, for the Kindle at least, there's so many books there on any subject matter that any new book will come up on the 3rd page of any search.
And since I"m not allowed to announce the books on the Kindle message boards where any interested folks might see it...I'm screwed.
I'll be working on a webpage to sell the book and see if that helps.
No sales for either, yet.
I was hoping that the keywords would be enough to bring the book to everyone's attention - who was interested in the subject matter.
Unfortunately, for the Kindle at least, there's so many books there on any subject matter that any new book will come up on the 3rd page of any search.
And since I"m not allowed to announce the books on the Kindle message boards where any interested folks might see it...I'm screwed.
I'll be working on a webpage to sell the book and see if that helps.
Friday, August 31, 2012
Posts resume Saturday
Posts resume Saturday! I'm getting ready for Labor Day weekend tomorrow (Friday.)
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Takes a while to recover from seething anger
Have recommenced working on my Kindle projects. Took me a while to want to get back into it, after the extremely annoying stuff from a few days ago...
Kindle really does annoy me. Not only do they not allow you to tell people - in a book forum - about your book, you're also not allowed to have a signature linking to your book.
And that's beyond the pale. What's wrong with having a signature link?
Nothing, except to the petty tyrants on these message boards -all of whom are extremely overweight or otherwise powerless, who thus like to come to message boards where they can throw their weight around (no pun intended). No one pays attention to them in their real lives, so they create an atmosphere where they can tell folks what to do.
Idiots.
Kindle really does annoy me. Not only do they not allow you to tell people - in a book forum - about your book, you're also not allowed to have a signature linking to your book.
And that's beyond the pale. What's wrong with having a signature link?
Nothing, except to the petty tyrants on these message boards -all of whom are extremely overweight or otherwise powerless, who thus like to come to message boards where they can throw their weight around (no pun intended). No one pays attention to them in their real lives, so they create an atmosphere where they can tell folks what to do.
Idiots.
Monday, August 20, 2012
Just what is spam?
I'm still seething about yesterday, when a bunch of idiots on an Amazon.com message board got all bent out of shape because some poor schmuck tried to tell them about his book.
I wish I'd posted this at the time, and it's too late now because I won't go back to the thread, it would infuriate me all over again to read their drivel.
The Amazon Kindle message boards are for discussing books. BOOKS. Books.
An author who has written a book therefore, and creates a post on Amazon's message board to announce that book, is not spamming. He - or she - is posting about a book in a book related forum.
If he was posting an ad for bras or hair restorer, in a book related forum, that would be spam, because bras and hair restorer have nothing to do with books.
But a newly published book? Why yes, that has everything to do with books.
I don't know why these idiots on these message boards can't see that.
It's not like it's two people standing around having a conversation,and some other guy comes up to them and says hey, read my book.
On a message board, each post has a title. You run your eye over the titles, and you open those posts that look appealing. You see a post for a book, published by it's author? GASP! Don't want to read it? Well, geez, then don't open it.
I wish I'd posted this at the time, and it's too late now because I won't go back to the thread, it would infuriate me all over again to read their drivel.
The Amazon Kindle message boards are for discussing books. BOOKS. Books.
An author who has written a book therefore, and creates a post on Amazon's message board to announce that book, is not spamming. He - or she - is posting about a book in a book related forum.
If he was posting an ad for bras or hair restorer, in a book related forum, that would be spam, because bras and hair restorer have nothing to do with books.
But a newly published book? Why yes, that has everything to do with books.
I don't know why these idiots on these message boards can't see that.
It's not like it's two people standing around having a conversation,and some other guy comes up to them and says hey, read my book.
On a message board, each post has a title. You run your eye over the titles, and you open those posts that look appealing. You see a post for a book, published by it's author? GASP! Don't want to read it? Well, geez, then don't open it.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
God I hate Amazon
Way back...last year I think, I started a thread on the Kindle message boards "Have you published a Non-fiction book? Tell us about it."
This was before Amazon decided that they'd let people publish their books to Kindle, but not let them tell anyone about it. "No "shameless self-promotion." I can't tell you how angry that phrase makes me.
I write books - good books. I have nothing to be ashamed about.
And how the hell are people going to know about my books if I'm not allowed to tell them - in a forum that people with Kindles read?
So today, some poor schmuck posts in that thread.... and some bitch named Topsy says, "You've all been reported to Amazon for breaking their rules."
I had that thread "tracked" so received a notice about it, so I go there and vent.
And five or six brainless airheads there get on my case - why do you think you deserve free advertising. Read the rules.
Idiots.
And of course they're getting instant action. All the prior posts in the thread are being deleted by Amazon. God forbid anyone should be able to advertise their books there.
I'm so mad I could spit.
This was before Amazon decided that they'd let people publish their books to Kindle, but not let them tell anyone about it. "No "shameless self-promotion." I can't tell you how angry that phrase makes me.
I write books - good books. I have nothing to be ashamed about.
And how the hell are people going to know about my books if I'm not allowed to tell them - in a forum that people with Kindles read?
So today, some poor schmuck posts in that thread.... and some bitch named Topsy says, "You've all been reported to Amazon for breaking their rules."
I had that thread "tracked" so received a notice about it, so I go there and vent.
And five or six brainless airheads there get on my case - why do you think you deserve free advertising. Read the rules.
Idiots.
And of course they're getting instant action. All the prior posts in the thread are being deleted by Amazon. God forbid anyone should be able to advertise their books there.
I'm so mad I could spit.
Monday, August 13, 2012
Spelling bee over, time to get to work
I've got a new project that I've been thinking of, and I'm about to get started on it. Shouldn't take too long to write.
More details soon.
More details soon.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
60 is the new 40
On August 10, 2012, the Cheyenne chapter of the AARP hosted a seminar
called Gray Matters - which was free and provided a free lunch -
unfortunately fish and cheesecake, blech - from 4 to 6 was a reception
for all travelers who had come in for the AARP National Spelling Bee to
be held on the 11th.
I attended that and it was a lot of fun. The emcee introduced a few folks, we talked about words, there was a "mock" spelling bee (which only consisted of about 20 people getting up and being questioned on one word...) and so on. And there were finger foods there - Chinese food to be precise. Don't know where they got it from or if they cooked it on site (Little America is a hotel and resort where people come to play golf among other things) but it was delish.
The spelling bee started at the ungodly hour of 8:30 am (Well...8:30 is not so ungodly but I had to get up at the ungodly hour of 6:30 to get there in time for registration, etc.) It started with 4 rounds of 25 words each - which was a Written Test.
The first 25 words were extremely easy. They asked words like "Greetings" and "Navel" and "Mince." I suppose a few might have been considered difficult... "Animus" and "Lacuna."
The second 25 words were equally easy, but I did miss MUGWUMP.
I assume they did this just to help everyone settle the nerves and get new people used to what was going on. People had trouble hearing some of the words (hey, they were all over 50 and most over 60) and the Pronouncer would come down and tell them the word face to face and have them say it back, etc. Indeed, the Pronouncer did an excellent job.
Third round was where they started asking the difficult words.
I missed:
QUESTIONARY INERCALATE
TUATARA
SKOSH
VIRIDITY
WIMBLE
The fourth round was the real killer. I only got 12 out of 25 right. I missed:
FELICIFIC
DOVEKIE
FLYTING
NAPERY
COTYLEDONARY
WELTSCHMERRZ
OPPUGNER
AECIOSPORE
SYNCYTIAL
KNUR
IRIDIUM
TUYERE
HYOSCYAMINE
I then stayed for the Oral rounds and was joined by one of my friends from my Scrabble Club. (I think an audience could have assembled for the Written rounds, too. There were chairs there and family were in them...but I think most people only wanted to come see the Oral rounds where you actually saw the speller's faces as opposed to their backs, etc.)
Two of the people I met last night at the reception made it to the Orals. One of them it was his first trip to the Bee and he was successful his first time out. Made it through about 10 rounds. (In the Orals, you miss two words and you're out.) Another one was an elderly woman from Minnesota who also got through about 10 rounds before being knocked out.
There were three sisters and a brother who had come as a sort of family reunion. The eldest sister made it to the Oral rounds but was bounced after only two rounds. This was too bad and it was because she was a bit unlucky - she got two 6-syllable words in a row while some of the others were getting much easier ones (but still, not ones I could have spelled). But she was disqualified along with several other people in the same round, so hopefully she didn't feel too bad.
The words in the Oral Rounds were extremely difficult. Several times more difficult than the toughest words in the final round of the Written.
But, had I studied for a year, I think I could have handled them.
And it is my intention to study for a year and get into the Orals next year.
So, why is the title of this blog entry 60 is thenew 40?
Because it is.
People are living longer. You don't want to outlive your money and more importantly you don't want to outlive your sense of enjoyment of life. And learning new things every day is enjoyment and keeps the mind active.
The AARP Spelling Bee is held every year, and it gives you an excellent reason to travel to Cheyenne and see The Cowboy State. You'll meet lots of interesting people.
You do have to study.
I studied very desultorily for about a month...combine all the time I studied and it was about 10 hours. Not nearly enough, but then, I'm a good speller so the Written Rounds were relatively easy - except for that killer last round.
Why learn words that you'll never, ever say in real life?Well, because they're interesting. And the concepts of what you'll learn, you can apply in other areas. So it's a win win.
So start planning to live a long, healthy, active, intellectual life, and do it now, however old you might be!
I attended that and it was a lot of fun. The emcee introduced a few folks, we talked about words, there was a "mock" spelling bee (which only consisted of about 20 people getting up and being questioned on one word...) and so on. And there were finger foods there - Chinese food to be precise. Don't know where they got it from or if they cooked it on site (Little America is a hotel and resort where people come to play golf among other things) but it was delish.
The spelling bee started at the ungodly hour of 8:30 am (Well...8:30 is not so ungodly but I had to get up at the ungodly hour of 6:30 to get there in time for registration, etc.) It started with 4 rounds of 25 words each - which was a Written Test.
The first 25 words were extremely easy. They asked words like "Greetings" and "Navel" and "Mince." I suppose a few might have been considered difficult... "Animus" and "Lacuna."
The second 25 words were equally easy, but I did miss MUGWUMP.
I assume they did this just to help everyone settle the nerves and get new people used to what was going on. People had trouble hearing some of the words (hey, they were all over 50 and most over 60) and the Pronouncer would come down and tell them the word face to face and have them say it back, etc. Indeed, the Pronouncer did an excellent job.
Third round was where they started asking the difficult words.
I missed:
QUESTIONARY INERCALATE
TUATARA
SKOSH
VIRIDITY
WIMBLE
The fourth round was the real killer. I only got 12 out of 25 right. I missed:
FELICIFIC
DOVEKIE
FLYTING
NAPERY
COTYLEDONARY
WELTSCHMERRZ
OPPUGNER
AECIOSPORE
SYNCYTIAL
KNUR
IRIDIUM
TUYERE
HYOSCYAMINE
I then stayed for the Oral rounds and was joined by one of my friends from my Scrabble Club. (I think an audience could have assembled for the Written rounds, too. There were chairs there and family were in them...but I think most people only wanted to come see the Oral rounds where you actually saw the speller's faces as opposed to their backs, etc.)
Two of the people I met last night at the reception made it to the Orals. One of them it was his first trip to the Bee and he was successful his first time out. Made it through about 10 rounds. (In the Orals, you miss two words and you're out.) Another one was an elderly woman from Minnesota who also got through about 10 rounds before being knocked out.
There were three sisters and a brother who had come as a sort of family reunion. The eldest sister made it to the Oral rounds but was bounced after only two rounds. This was too bad and it was because she was a bit unlucky - she got two 6-syllable words in a row while some of the others were getting much easier ones (but still, not ones I could have spelled). But she was disqualified along with several other people in the same round, so hopefully she didn't feel too bad.
The words in the Oral Rounds were extremely difficult. Several times more difficult than the toughest words in the final round of the Written.
But, had I studied for a year, I think I could have handled them.
And it is my intention to study for a year and get into the Orals next year.
So, why is the title of this blog entry 60 is thenew 40?
Because it is.
People are living longer. You don't want to outlive your money and more importantly you don't want to outlive your sense of enjoyment of life. And learning new things every day is enjoyment and keeps the mind active.
The AARP Spelling Bee is held every year, and it gives you an excellent reason to travel to Cheyenne and see The Cowboy State. You'll meet lots of interesting people.
You do have to study.
I studied very desultorily for about a month...combine all the time I studied and it was about 10 hours. Not nearly enough, but then, I'm a good speller so the Written Rounds were relatively easy - except for that killer last round.
Why learn words that you'll never, ever say in real life?Well, because they're interesting. And the concepts of what you'll learn, you can apply in other areas. So it's a win win.
So start planning to live a long, healthy, active, intellectual life, and do it now, however old you might be!
Friday, August 10, 2012
No posts today
I'm participating in the AARP Spelling Bee held in Cheyenne on
Saturday, Aug 11. Today, Friday, there's a day-long "orientation," talk
about keeping active, and mock spelling bee, and I want to attend it.
Will let you know on Sunday how I did...I'm not expecting to win but I do hope to get out of the writtens into the orals. There are 60 participants which must be whittled down to 15 - done so by 4 rounds of 25 written words each. I should be able to beat out 45 people to get on to that platform for the oral round, even if I lose on the first question!
Well, we'll see.
Will let you know on Sunday how I did...I'm not expecting to win but I do hope to get out of the writtens into the orals. There are 60 participants which must be whittled down to 15 - done so by 4 rounds of 25 written words each. I should be able to beat out 45 people to get on to that platform for the oral round, even if I lose on the first question!
Well, we'll see.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Something you've got to get used to: there's always something!
First I had to housesit my sister's house. She lives in downtown Cheyenne (I live 15 miles outside of Cheyenne) so I spent my time there driving around taking photos for my Cheyenne book. But it was ssssssssoooooo hot that I hardly got a third of what I wanted to get done, done. I'm also studying for the Aug 11 spelling bee - $1,000 prize so it's not peanuts...
Books are in the works, will share more later.
Books are in the works, will share more later.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Apologies...
Seems like I do nothing but apologize these days.
If I've got any readers left after a 7-day absence, I apologize!
I have a lot of blogs...I needed to take a 7 day hiatus to attend Cheyenne Frontier Days because I've got a book idea .... I scheduled 7 days worth of posts to most of my blogs... but did not post in this one!
Well...once again I'm working to come up with an original book idea....
I live in Cheyenne, Wyoming, our biggest yearly event here is Cheyenne Frontier Days, so I'm going to write about it.
If I've got any readers left after a 7-day absence, I apologize!
I have a lot of blogs...I needed to take a 7 day hiatus to attend Cheyenne Frontier Days because I've got a book idea .... I scheduled 7 days worth of posts to most of my blogs... but did not post in this one!
Well...once again I'm working to come up with an original book idea....
I live in Cheyenne, Wyoming, our biggest yearly event here is Cheyenne Frontier Days, so I'm going to write about it.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Write a Tourist's Guide to Your City
If you live in a city, you probably know it pretty well. If you don't - learn it - and then write up a guidebook to it, featuring those locations and events that you most love.
With Kindle and Nook, it's easy for you to take your own photos and put them in the book, and you can make the book of as few or as many pages as you like.
So get writing today.
With Kindle and Nook, it's easy for you to take your own photos and put them in the book, and you can make the book of as few or as many pages as you like.
So get writing today.
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Time Goes By So Fast...
Sorry for the dearth of posts here...
Published a new book on women in aviation which sank like a stone...
Working on more projects.
Published a new book on women in aviation which sank like a stone...
Working on more projects.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Working on my next project
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Back to our regularly scheduled blogging
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Another book idea bites the dust
I'd had the idea of writing a serial story, only selling it as a monthly book rather than as a blog, but ...no luck.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
A hard row to hoe
Haven't posted here for a while...apologies...
Still recovering from my Scrabble debacle...two months of great sales at B&N, followed by nothing, cuz a competitor went in and undercut my price.
So I'm kind of leary of posting my ideas for new books here...
Although the latest one I've published isn't selling either...
Ever seen those ads for VistaPrint on your computer - usually show up at Yahoo.com.
They had a sale on car door magnets - I got 4 of them. One for my Scrabble club, one for a website called Let Joy and Innocent Prevail, one for my Cheyenne website, and oe for my new book idea.
So, I received 'em yesterday, have to get my car washed and the magnets applied (they are the teeny kind, 1 foot wide rather than two feet) on each door, and then we'll see if anyone will notice.
Of course, I live in Cheyenne, population 50,000, so I'm not sure what to expect. If an idea is an interesting idea, 1 out of 400 people who see it will look into it. Because it's a car door magnet, that might drop down to 1 out 800 people, since folks write down things and then either lose them, lose interest in them, or just forget about them.
So, we'll see. Each website has a counter which tells me where a click comes from, so if I get any clicks from Cheyenne, I'll know the door magnets worked.
Still recovering from my Scrabble debacle...two months of great sales at B&N, followed by nothing, cuz a competitor went in and undercut my price.
So I'm kind of leary of posting my ideas for new books here...
Although the latest one I've published isn't selling either...
Ever seen those ads for VistaPrint on your computer - usually show up at Yahoo.com.
They had a sale on car door magnets - I got 4 of them. One for my Scrabble club, one for a website called Let Joy and Innocent Prevail, one for my Cheyenne website, and oe for my new book idea.
So, I received 'em yesterday, have to get my car washed and the magnets applied (they are the teeny kind, 1 foot wide rather than two feet) on each door, and then we'll see if anyone will notice.
Of course, I live in Cheyenne, population 50,000, so I'm not sure what to expect. If an idea is an interesting idea, 1 out of 400 people who see it will look into it. Because it's a car door magnet, that might drop down to 1 out 800 people, since folks write down things and then either lose them, lose interest in them, or just forget about them.
So, we'll see. Each website has a counter which tells me where a click comes from, so if I get any clicks from Cheyenne, I'll know the door magnets worked.
Monday, April 9, 2012
It never ends redux
Now my computer monitor is going on the fritz...shorts out every few seconds and then comes back on...
I'll buy a new one tomorrow, and will get my posts started then!
I'll buy a new one tomorrow, and will get my posts started then!
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Easter Pause
So sorry to have missed so many days of posting - unexpected family matters cropped up.
And now it's Easter, so more family matters.
Will get back on track Monday.
Thanks for your patience.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Blog report finally updated
After about a month of inactivity, the blog report that Amazon is supposed to update daily, finally has started updating again.
And all of my blog numbers have held steady...none have increased.
Which is something I have to admit I find really odd, since the "subscription" number on each blog's page on Amazon has changed. People have been subscribing. I can see someone subscribing and unsubscribing... but every single person who subscribes unsubscribes? That seems weird to me...
And all of my blog numbers have held steady...none have increased.
Which is something I have to admit I find really odd, since the "subscription" number on each blog's page on Amazon has changed. People have been subscribing. I can see someone subscribing and unsubscribing... but every single person who subscribes unsubscribes? That seems weird to me...
Monday, March 19, 2012
Blogs are the Kindle's "red-headed stepchild"
It's been atleast a month since my "daily" blog report has been updated.
I've introduced a few new blogs and I'd sure like to know if they are getting any subscriptions.
It used to be, up until several months ago, that you'd know this within a couple of hours. As soon as one of my new blogs became active I'd subscribe to it - tocheck to make sure it was feeding properly - and within 2 hours that sale would show up on the Amazon page - via a ranking number.
For the last several months thouhgh, that hasn't happened. I'd subscribe, and nothing would show up for weeks on the Amazon page (though the "daily" report would have it.
I've asked about this on the Kindle Publisher's Support Forum - and received no answer.
Pretty damn irritating.
I've introduced a few new blogs and I'd sure like to know if they are getting any subscriptions.
It used to be, up until several months ago, that you'd know this within a couple of hours. As soon as one of my new blogs became active I'd subscribe to it - tocheck to make sure it was feeding properly - and within 2 hours that sale would show up on the Amazon page - via a ranking number.
For the last several months thouhgh, that hasn't happened. I'd subscribe, and nothing would show up for weeks on the Amazon page (though the "daily" report would have it.
I've asked about this on the Kindle Publisher's Support Forum - and received no answer.
Pretty damn irritating.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Back to blogs
Well, after two months of joy with my scrabble books, I'm back to despair. They are not selling on either Kindle or Nook, thanks to rival books that undercut my price.
So, I'm going back to concentrating on blogs.
There is such a thing as KDP - Kindle Select - if you publish your book exclusivey on the Kindle you can get it offered for free for a certain time - which would help with the advertising... but I haven't felt creative enough to start writing another book, and the two books that I have written (The Coldest Equations, under my pseudonym Caroline Miniscule) are offered at both the Nook and Kindle and even though I haven't sold one on the Nook, I still don't feel like taking it off.
Well, we'll see if I start feeling creative later on this summer.
So, I'm going back to concentrating on blogs.
There is such a thing as KDP - Kindle Select - if you publish your book exclusivey on the Kindle you can get it offered for free for a certain time - which would help with the advertising... but I haven't felt creative enough to start writing another book, and the two books that I have written (The Coldest Equations, under my pseudonym Caroline Miniscule) are offered at both the Nook and Kindle and even though I haven't sold one on the Nook, I still don't feel like taking it off.
Well, we'll see if I start feeling creative later on this summer.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
KDP Select
Amazon's Kindle has offered a new feature where, if you agree to offer your book exclusively for 90 days, you can offer it for free - for a period of six days - to get publicity.
If you've got books on both Amazon and Kindle, and they're not selling at all, give KDP Select a try.
If you've got books on both Amazon and Kindle, and they're not selling at all, give KDP Select a try.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
1-star reviews don't kill you, someone undercutting your price does
Just figured out why my great sales for my Scrabble book on the Nook have dipped into the toilet - someone's published a similar book, at a cheaper price.
Actually that should have been obvious to me from the start when I was no longer getting purchases... after all when the book had one bad review people still bought it, so why should 3 bad reviews stop it.
Nope, someone saw I was having success with it - someone who reads this blog here, I have no doubt! - and pipped me at the post, stealing my sales away.
Extremely annoying, but then, I only have myself to blame for giving away the secret.
At any event, I'm not too pleased right now.
Actually that should have been obvious to me from the start when I was no longer getting purchases... after all when the book had one bad review people still bought it, so why should 3 bad reviews stop it.
Nope, someone saw I was having success with it - someone who reads this blog here, I have no doubt! - and pipped me at the post, stealing my sales away.
Extremely annoying, but then, I only have myself to blame for giving away the secret.
At any event, I'm not too pleased right now.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
3 1-star reviews are the kiss of death
I was doing so well at the Nook with my Scrabble book - I haven't had any sales for a week. Reason - 2 more people gave me bad reviews, and they wrote text.
It's a good book, but if two people don't like it and say so... that is apparently all she wrote.
A bit heart-breaking.
It's a good book, but if two people don't like it and say so... that is apparently all she wrote.
A bit heart-breaking.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Your Book Description is Important
I visited the page for The Forgotten Stars, by David Bowman
http://www.amazon.com/The-Forgotten-Stars-ebook/dp/B0075RE11A/ref=sr_1_17?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1329246921&sr=1-17
Here's the description of it:
Well, gee. Actor's biographies. How nice.
Here's my question. Surely an obvious question. WHAT actors?
Is it too much to ask that the list of actors be included in the description??
The book does have the capability called "See inside the book" so if you take that extra step you can see the Table of contents.
Just FYI, the actors included are:
Nigel Bruce
Helen Chandler
Dwight Frye
Martin Kosleck
Otto Kruger
Frank McHugh
Warner Oland
Edward Van Sloan
Conrad Veidt
Frederick Warlock
Now there are actually a couple of actors there I'm interested in, and the book only costs $2.99, so I may eventually get it..
But it sure would be nice to have the list of those names in the Description to begin with!
http://www.amazon.com/The-Forgotten-Stars-ebook/dp/B0075RE11A/ref=sr_1_17?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1329246921&sr=1-17
Here's the description of it:
Profusely illustrated biographies of great forgotten actors and actresses of Hollywood's golden age. This is a book to be read for the fun of it and returned to from time to time to enjoy the illustrations. Written by a film historian who has published in magazines such as FILMFAX, CULT MOVIES, and SCARLET STREET.
Well, gee. Actor's biographies. How nice.
Here's my question. Surely an obvious question. WHAT actors?
Is it too much to ask that the list of actors be included in the description??
The book does have the capability called "See inside the book" so if you take that extra step you can see the Table of contents.
Just FYI, the actors included are:
Nigel Bruce
Helen Chandler
Dwight Frye
Martin Kosleck
Otto Kruger
Frank McHugh
Warner Oland
Edward Van Sloan
Conrad Veidt
Frederick Warlock
Now there are actually a couple of actors there I'm interested in, and the book only costs $2.99, so I may eventually get it..
But it sure would be nice to have the list of those names in the Description to begin with!
Friday, February 10, 2012
What To Price Your Book?
It's difficult to know how to price an ebook. If you're an independent publisher, that is.
The print publishers charge the same for an ebook as they do for a paperback or hardback. Which in my view is ridiculous. Most of the cost of producing a print book is not the printing - it's the storage at a warehouse. And the cost incurred when a publisher orders a box from storage to be sent to them via a truck haulage company.
Yes, the publisher has to make a profit and the author has to make a profit in royalties.
But an ebook - sure there might be a fee incurred to take the files of a print book and convert it to a digital file... but there's no printing, no shipping...
An ebook should cost no more than 2/3rds what a print book costs.
But what if the book is available only as an ebook? And put out by an independent publisher?
Well..if you charge even $5.99, no one will buy it. Well..I say that, I suppose it depends on the subject matter. If it's something rated X they probably would...
But, most people only want to spend $1.99 or $2.99 on a book.
A book that you've spent months writing, and which you think is pretty good. Pretty damn disappointing.
Well, that's where your website comes in, with a sample chapter and a blog and so on. Something to let readers not only know that your book exists but also that it's good. Because most people think an independently published book is by its nature not very good - poor writing, poor proof reading and poor editing.
That's why you've got to pay a professional to have your book proof=read and edited, and if your editor suggests changes, make them.
The print publishers charge the same for an ebook as they do for a paperback or hardback. Which in my view is ridiculous. Most of the cost of producing a print book is not the printing - it's the storage at a warehouse. And the cost incurred when a publisher orders a box from storage to be sent to them via a truck haulage company.
Yes, the publisher has to make a profit and the author has to make a profit in royalties.
But an ebook - sure there might be a fee incurred to take the files of a print book and convert it to a digital file... but there's no printing, no shipping...
An ebook should cost no more than 2/3rds what a print book costs.
But what if the book is available only as an ebook? And put out by an independent publisher?
Well..if you charge even $5.99, no one will buy it. Well..I say that, I suppose it depends on the subject matter. If it's something rated X they probably would...
But, most people only want to spend $1.99 or $2.99 on a book.
A book that you've spent months writing, and which you think is pretty good. Pretty damn disappointing.
Well, that's where your website comes in, with a sample chapter and a blog and so on. Something to let readers not only know that your book exists but also that it's good. Because most people think an independently published book is by its nature not very good - poor writing, poor proof reading and poor editing.
That's why you've got to pay a professional to have your book proof=read and edited, and if your editor suggests changes, make them.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Website for your books
I've posted about this before, but it can never be posted too often.
If you've written a book, you need a website to publicize it.
As the publisher of the webzine The Thunder Child (http://thethunderchild.com), first-time, self-published authors send me their books all the time for review.
They also include postcards with the book cover, or a bookmark with the book cover.
It may make sense to do the postcard thing. Then send them around to various sci fi conventions (or whatever genre the book is about) in the hopes that the cover image will catch someone's eye and cause them to buy the book... but bookmarks? Those I think serve no purpose.
But whether you do the postcards and/or bookmarks or not, one thing you absolutely must do is have a website for you book - with a sample chapter, and links to order it from Amazon, the Nook, or straight from you if its a print book.
Have a blog, too, in which you talk about the book or the subject surrounding the book - to attract readers for your blog who will then see and buy the book.
If you've written a book, you need a website to publicize it.
As the publisher of the webzine The Thunder Child (http://thethunderchild.com), first-time, self-published authors send me their books all the time for review.
They also include postcards with the book cover, or a bookmark with the book cover.
It may make sense to do the postcard thing. Then send them around to various sci fi conventions (or whatever genre the book is about) in the hopes that the cover image will catch someone's eye and cause them to buy the book... but bookmarks? Those I think serve no purpose.
But whether you do the postcards and/or bookmarks or not, one thing you absolutely must do is have a website for you book - with a sample chapter, and links to order it from Amazon, the Nook, or straight from you if its a print book.
Have a blog, too, in which you talk about the book or the subject surrounding the book - to attract readers for your blog who will then see and buy the book.
Monday, February 6, 2012
You Must Have Your Book Professionally Edited
A few days ago I told a story on myself - how I'd uploaded my Scrabble book to the Nook...then discovered that the Nook does not use "Page Break" to do its page breaks, but rather "Section: New Page". While I was going over the book changing that, I discovered several errors - inept errors.
I can not believe that I uploaded a book which had that many inept errors...but I did it.
It was because I was too impatient.
I am a professional editor and proofreader as well as a writer...so I just told myself that I would write - and proofread and edit - at the same time.
That's not possible and I should have known it.
What I should have done was set the book aside for a couple of days, then returned to it with fresh eyes and my "proofing and editing" hat on.
One guy who writes his own books sends the completed manuscript to three proofers. And, according to him, each of these proofers finds different mistakes.
Proofreaders and editors can be found on Elance, and doubtless on other sites as well. Or there might even be a writer's group in your own area, from whom you can find someone who is a proofreader.
Do not do what I did! Have your book proofed and edited before uploading it - or you will most definitely regret it.
I can not believe that I uploaded a book which had that many inept errors...but I did it.
It was because I was too impatient.
I am a professional editor and proofreader as well as a writer...so I just told myself that I would write - and proofread and edit - at the same time.
That's not possible and I should have known it.
What I should have done was set the book aside for a couple of days, then returned to it with fresh eyes and my "proofing and editing" hat on.
One guy who writes his own books sends the completed manuscript to three proofers. And, according to him, each of these proofers finds different mistakes.
Proofreaders and editors can be found on Elance, and doubtless on other sites as well. Or there might even be a writer's group in your own area, from whom you can find someone who is a proofreader.
Do not do what I did! Have your book proofed and edited before uploading it - or you will most definitely regret it.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Do Not Typeset Until the Book is Done!
In addition to writing my own books, I'm also a freelance proofer and editor.
About a month ago, a client sent me half a book. It was only half-finished, but he was excited and impatient and wanted the proofreading/editing process started immediately. He also wanted an index, which I also do.
Either English is not his first language, or he hired someone to write the book for whom English is a second language. In any event, I proofed what I had, and fixed a myriad of problems. I told him I wouldn't do the index until the book was done.
In hindsight, that was a mistake. Word has a function that allows the writer to set both Table of Contents and index as you go along. You just highlight the appropriate word with a little electronic symbol. When you're done, you choose "Create Index and word creates the index. When you typeset it, the page numbers automatically change - no need for you to go in and redo them. Then you paste the final version into Quarx Xpress (well...that's what I used to use when I did this, now its Indesign and Idon't know hoow to use that...)
I should have explained that process to him, but didn't. I didn't expect him to have the book typeset until it had been finished, and proofed, and edited. Until it was done.
Long story short. My client finished the book and had it typeset. On day 1 he sent me the Word doc and wanted me to proof and edit that.
I told him it would take a couple of days. I did my work on it on the first day - and intended to use the second day to go through it again, make sure I liked the changes I'd made and to see if I could catch any other mistakes.
On day 2 - before I had sent him what I had done- he sent me a PDF of the typeset version.
The two versions didn't match, and I'd already done all my work on the Word version.
If I'm to ignore the Word doc and work completely from the Typeset doc, he's going to have to pay me more, because I'll just be duplicating my work. Annoying and time wasting. Not good. Time is too precious to waste in this manner.
About a month ago, a client sent me half a book. It was only half-finished, but he was excited and impatient and wanted the proofreading/editing process started immediately. He also wanted an index, which I also do.
Either English is not his first language, or he hired someone to write the book for whom English is a second language. In any event, I proofed what I had, and fixed a myriad of problems. I told him I wouldn't do the index until the book was done.
In hindsight, that was a mistake. Word has a function that allows the writer to set both Table of Contents and index as you go along. You just highlight the appropriate word with a little electronic symbol. When you're done, you choose "Create Index and word creates the index. When you typeset it, the page numbers automatically change - no need for you to go in and redo them. Then you paste the final version into Quarx Xpress (well...that's what I used to use when I did this, now its Indesign and Idon't know hoow to use that...)
I should have explained that process to him, but didn't. I didn't expect him to have the book typeset until it had been finished, and proofed, and edited. Until it was done.
Long story short. My client finished the book and had it typeset. On day 1 he sent me the Word doc and wanted me to proof and edit that.
I told him it would take a couple of days. I did my work on it on the first day - and intended to use the second day to go through it again, make sure I liked the changes I'd made and to see if I could catch any other mistakes.
On day 2 - before I had sent him what I had done- he sent me a PDF of the typeset version.
The two versions didn't match, and I'd already done all my work on the Word version.
If I'm to ignore the Word doc and work completely from the Typeset doc, he's going to have to pay me more, because I'll just be duplicating my work. Annoying and time wasting. Not good. Time is too precious to waste in this manner.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Put all relevant info in the 1st paragraph of book description!
I had always known my Scrabble book would be in two volumes, And in the descriptive text of the first book, which came out first, I stated this... in the third paragraph.
Unfortunately B&N's Nook book pages cut off the info about the book at about the 2nd paragraph, one has to "Click to read more" to see the rest of the text, which includes the fact that this book is Vol 1 of 2.
So my Vol 2, which I published about a week after Vol 1, has sold only 1 copy, whereas I had expected it to be bought as a set.
Annoying.
Then again, it might be that people bought volume 1, liked it enough to keep it, but not enough to buy Vol 2. I'll never know. If the text had been properly written, I could make a more informed decision!
Unfortunately B&N's Nook book pages cut off the info about the book at about the 2nd paragraph, one has to "Click to read more" to see the rest of the text, which includes the fact that this book is Vol 1 of 2.
So my Vol 2, which I published about a week after Vol 1, has sold only 1 copy, whereas I had expected it to be bought as a set.
Annoying.
Then again, it might be that people bought volume 1, liked it enough to keep it, but not enough to buy Vol 2. I'll never know. If the text had been properly written, I could make a more informed decision!
Sunday, January 29, 2012
It never ends
My mom is having some major health issues...so much so that I'm not going to be able to post here for another couple of days while we get it straightened out.
Note to all my readers: If you have high blood pressure, make damn sure you take your medication or 20 years later you'll have congestive heart failure and wham, bam goes your quality of life.
Note to all my readers: If you have high blood pressure, make damn sure you take your medication or 20 years later you'll have congestive heart failure and wham, bam goes your quality of life.
Friday, January 27, 2012
One Sells, the Other Doesn't
Still waiting to reap the benefits from Vol 2 of my Scrabble book. The first volume continues to sell well on the Nook - haven't sold a single vol 2 and I don't really understand it!
Meantime, no sales at all on the Kindle for either one.
Meantime, no sales at all on the Kindle for either one.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Find a niche for the Kindle
My Scrabble book continues to sell well on Nook - not at all on Kindle. That's because on the Nook, there is no competition - anyone doing a search on Scrabble finds 10 results. (And it's screwy. My book sells very well, but I'm still listed at #8 on search results. You'd think I'd be at #2.)
The Kindle has been around a lot longer than the Nook, and I don't think that there is any niche left for the Kindle that won't return four pages of results after a search. And of course any new book will be at the bottom of those search results.
But if you want to get into publishing books for the Kindle - that will be bought - that's what you have to do. Find a niche that, if someone searches for it, only has about 10 books on offer. This would be non-fiction books, not fiction books. Fiction writers are screwed on both Nook and Kindle, I'm afraid. In order to advertise those, you've got to have a website that draws lots of people.
Back to Non-fiction
*I just did a search on Wind Farms on the Kindle. That returned only 19 results. So if someone wanted to write a book on wind farms, it would be easily be found by searchers. Make it a good book with an eye catching title and cover, and bob's your uncle, as they say in England.
*There are 452 results for sharks, but only 42 for sea turtles.
* There are only 4 results for the Keystone Pipeline - and that's big in the news.
* No articles used about that Contra Cruise Ship that is off the coast of Giglio right now - write a quick book about that and it would probably sell well
* Indeed, any book/pamphlet on a current event would probably sell well
The Kindle has been around a lot longer than the Nook, and I don't think that there is any niche left for the Kindle that won't return four pages of results after a search. And of course any new book will be at the bottom of those search results.
But if you want to get into publishing books for the Kindle - that will be bought - that's what you have to do. Find a niche that, if someone searches for it, only has about 10 books on offer. This would be non-fiction books, not fiction books. Fiction writers are screwed on both Nook and Kindle, I'm afraid. In order to advertise those, you've got to have a website that draws lots of people.
Back to Non-fiction
*I just did a search on Wind Farms on the Kindle. That returned only 19 results. So if someone wanted to write a book on wind farms, it would be easily be found by searchers. Make it a good book with an eye catching title and cover, and bob's your uncle, as they say in England.
*There are 452 results for sharks, but only 42 for sea turtles.
* There are only 4 results for the Keystone Pipeline - and that's big in the news.
* No articles used about that Contra Cruise Ship that is off the coast of Giglio right now - write a quick book about that and it would probably sell well
* Indeed, any book/pamphlet on a current event would probably sell well
Monday, January 23, 2012
The Nook Saga, part 2
Had a very good day yesterday, Nook-wise. 8 sales of my Scrabble book. Only problem is, I have no way of knowing if people are buying the old, improperly formatted book, or the new, correctly formatted book.
Both Amazon and Nook allow you the capability of replacing the content of your book - once published.
With Amazon, if you do it, the book is frozen for a while. It still shows up in searches, but no one can buy it until the new text replaces the old. This takes a couple of days.
With the Nook, that "freeze" didn't happen. I replaced the book around midnight, by noon the next day someone had bought it. Yet the message I'd received when I'd replaced the book said it would be 48-72 hours before it was available.
On sober second thought, I should have just unpublished the book completely, then republished it with the correct text. Then I'd know for sure that the book with the correct format was the one people were buying.
Since I own a Kindle, I'm able to check these things myself on Amazon. I don't own a Nook...
I guess the acid test will be when Volume 2 of the Scrabble book becomes available in a couple of days. If people buy both volumes in one day, then it'll be a safe bet that the formatting of volume 1 is correct.
Of course all this angst could have been avoided if I'd just read the Nook instructions to begin with...but who would have thought they'd have arranged things so that a Page Break command wasn't good enough? Who uses Section - Add New Page? Certainly not I!
Both Amazon and Nook allow you the capability of replacing the content of your book - once published.
With Amazon, if you do it, the book is frozen for a while. It still shows up in searches, but no one can buy it until the new text replaces the old. This takes a couple of days.
With the Nook, that "freeze" didn't happen. I replaced the book around midnight, by noon the next day someone had bought it. Yet the message I'd received when I'd replaced the book said it would be 48-72 hours before it was available.
On sober second thought, I should have just unpublished the book completely, then republished it with the correct text. Then I'd know for sure that the book with the correct format was the one people were buying.
Since I own a Kindle, I'm able to check these things myself on Amazon. I don't own a Nook...
I guess the acid test will be when Volume 2 of the Scrabble book becomes available in a couple of days. If people buy both volumes in one day, then it'll be a safe bet that the formatting of volume 1 is correct.
Of course all this angst could have been avoided if I'd just read the Nook instructions to begin with...but who would have thought they'd have arranged things so that a Page Break command wasn't good enough? Who uses Section - Add New Page? Certainly not I!
Saturday, January 21, 2012
The Difference Between Formatting for Nook and Kindle
Oh - my - god.
No one to blame but myself, of course.
For the Kindle, if you are uploading a word document, you use page breaks to, you know, have page breaks.
Fot the Nook, doing the page break is not good enough. The Nook parser does not recognize page breaks.
You have to go into BREAKS (on our work document) and choose NEW PAGE section.
I have to admit I had seen that my page breaks didn't work properly when I uploaded my Scrabble book to the Nook, but I thought it was just the previewer acting funny.
Then, today, I took a look at my Scrabble page on the Nook - my book had been selling so well - and there was a 1-star review. Of course the idiot who did the review did not write any text - just labeled it one star. Note to reviewers - if you dont like a book, say why, don't just give it one star with no explanation.
I took a look at that one star and had a sinking feeling... the contents of the book was good...obviously the formatting was off. And for a book that is a series of flash cards - a question on one page and the answer on another, the page breaks had to work.
So I took a look at formatting tips, and there saw what I should have seen several days ago - don't use page breaks, use Section New page.
How stupid is that?
Well, I've just got done replacing 2000 page breaks with 2000 Section New pages.
Reuploaded the book to the Nook, and now have to wait 3 days before it's on sale again. And at the same time pray that none of the other 15 people who bought this book in the last three days writes a bad review - otherwise I'm well and truly screwed with no one to blame but myself.
No one to blame but myself, of course.
For the Kindle, if you are uploading a word document, you use page breaks to, you know, have page breaks.
Fot the Nook, doing the page break is not good enough. The Nook parser does not recognize page breaks.
You have to go into BREAKS (on our work document) and choose NEW PAGE section.
I have to admit I had seen that my page breaks didn't work properly when I uploaded my Scrabble book to the Nook, but I thought it was just the previewer acting funny.
Then, today, I took a look at my Scrabble page on the Nook - my book had been selling so well - and there was a 1-star review. Of course the idiot who did the review did not write any text - just labeled it one star. Note to reviewers - if you dont like a book, say why, don't just give it one star with no explanation.
I took a look at that one star and had a sinking feeling... the contents of the book was good...obviously the formatting was off. And for a book that is a series of flash cards - a question on one page and the answer on another, the page breaks had to work.
So I took a look at formatting tips, and there saw what I should have seen several days ago - don't use page breaks, use Section New page.
How stupid is that?
Well, I've just got done replacing 2000 page breaks with 2000 Section New pages.
Reuploaded the book to the Nook, and now have to wait 3 days before it's on sale again. And at the same time pray that none of the other 15 people who bought this book in the last three days writes a bad review - otherwise I'm well and truly screwed with no one to blame but myself.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Nook Seems to Have Some Uses
There are a few places to offer one's ebooks for sale. I use only Kindle and Nook. Smashwords is another one.
My Whose Body Annotated is available at both places. I get a handful of purchases from the Nook a month. But I get at least one purchase a day from Amazon. That's because Dorothy Sayers is a famous name, Whose Body is the first book she wrote, and so it comes up in the top 10 of any search results.
Not so all my other books. I've published a few other books on the Nook - my science fiction ones and my aviation ones, and they've not been bought. And on Amazon Kindle only a handful of these are bought a month...if that.
But now my Scrabble book...I dare to hope it's taken off.
And it's taken off on the Nook. Haven't sold a one on the Kindle (because in a search for Scrabble, it comes up on the third page of results), but I've sold 5 in 3 days on the Nook.
I'm thinking this is because there are not a lot of Scrabble books on the Nook, so when they do a search on Scrabble game...my book must be at the top of the queue.
So that's one way - the only way - to get your book noticed. Choose a topic where there's one very successful title, but no others, so that you can ride it's coat-tails.
I'd love for people to do a search on Caroline Miniscule (my fiction and aviation work) as a matter of course, or Eve Le Qinu for my scrabble stuff, but that time is not yet.
My Whose Body Annotated is available at both places. I get a handful of purchases from the Nook a month. But I get at least one purchase a day from Amazon. That's because Dorothy Sayers is a famous name, Whose Body is the first book she wrote, and so it comes up in the top 10 of any search results.
Not so all my other books. I've published a few other books on the Nook - my science fiction ones and my aviation ones, and they've not been bought. And on Amazon Kindle only a handful of these are bought a month...if that.
But now my Scrabble book...I dare to hope it's taken off.
And it's taken off on the Nook. Haven't sold a one on the Kindle (because in a search for Scrabble, it comes up on the third page of results), but I've sold 5 in 3 days on the Nook.
I'm thinking this is because there are not a lot of Scrabble books on the Nook, so when they do a search on Scrabble game...my book must be at the top of the queue.
So that's one way - the only way - to get your book noticed. Choose a topic where there's one very successful title, but no others, so that you can ride it's coat-tails.
I'd love for people to do a search on Caroline Miniscule (my fiction and aviation work) as a matter of course, or Eve Le Qinu for my scrabble stuff, but that time is not yet.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Eve Le QiNu's WordFlash - Unofficial Scrabble Study Guide
That's the title of my new book, published last night.
Eve Le QiNu is an anagram of Evil Queen, and I've chosen Magic Mirror as the name of the publisher... on second thought I probalby should have anagrammed that as well...ah well
This is volume 1 of a 2 volume set designed to help folks memorize the 2 and 3 letter words needed for Scrabble.
I stopped halfway through because the file was getting too unwieldy, and also I was putting in so much work and didn't know if it was worth it. I have to work for months and months on a book, only to find out not a soul is interested in buying it.
So I broke it into two parts. If this volume sells, I'll finish off volume 2.
This is something anyone with knowledge of a certain subject can do - create a flash card type game out of it. For example, do a What happened on this date book. Have the date of an event on the first page, they go to the next page and learned what happened on that day.
And if they go from back to front - they see the event and have to come up with the date.
Books like that are easy to do if you have the necessary knowledge.
Eve Le QiNu is an anagram of Evil Queen, and I've chosen Magic Mirror as the name of the publisher... on second thought I probalby should have anagrammed that as well...ah well
This is volume 1 of a 2 volume set designed to help folks memorize the 2 and 3 letter words needed for Scrabble.
I stopped halfway through because the file was getting too unwieldy, and also I was putting in so much work and didn't know if it was worth it. I have to work for months and months on a book, only to find out not a soul is interested in buying it.
So I broke it into two parts. If this volume sells, I'll finish off volume 2.
This is something anyone with knowledge of a certain subject can do - create a flash card type game out of it. For example, do a What happened on this date book. Have the date of an event on the first page, they go to the next page and learned what happened on that day.
And if they go from back to front - they see the event and have to come up with the date.
Books like that are easy to do if you have the necessary knowledge.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Welcome new subscribers!
I've been fixating on my blogs of late, but as I'm sure you're here to learn how to publish books, I'll veer over to that side starting tomorrow, especially as I'm about to bring out a new book...should have it completed in another couple of days.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Status Report for Jan 9, 2012
I'm about done with a book I've been working on... I hope it will be done tomorrow and when it is - and when it's actually for sale on Kindle and the Nook, I'll talk about it in more detail here.
Blogs? Much the same as usual. All of my blogs seem to have peaked and are now on a downward spiral. My Rush Limbaugh blog had about 480 subscribers 6 months ago...now I'm down to 420 subscribers with 30 of those new ones. Not good.
My weight loss blog is also a few old subscribers below .500... I peaked there at 130 about 6 months ago and haven't been able to get it back up there.
All my other blogs have about 10 subs or below - I finally gave up on a few blogs that had had only 2 subscribers for over a year. While I cherish those subscribers, I just don't have the time to blog for only two people.
Anyway, more later.
Blogs? Much the same as usual. All of my blogs seem to have peaked and are now on a downward spiral. My Rush Limbaugh blog had about 480 subscribers 6 months ago...now I'm down to 420 subscribers with 30 of those new ones. Not good.
My weight loss blog is also a few old subscribers below .500... I peaked there at 130 about 6 months ago and haven't been able to get it back up there.
All my other blogs have about 10 subs or below - I finally gave up on a few blogs that had had only 2 subscribers for over a year. While I cherish those subscribers, I just don't have the time to blog for only two people.
Anyway, more later.
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