Amy Kulp's Blog, page 8

Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: April 2024

Hello everyone,

I have a couple of book corrections for the month of March:

March 11th-24th: A Pity Party Is Still A Party by Chelsea Harvey Garner
March 24-29th: Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
March 29th-29th: The Littles to The Rescue by John Peterson
March 30th-Ongoing: The Referral Program

Check out April's reading month :)

​- Amy
March 15th-Ongoing: March 30th-Ongiong:

Self-Publish Advice: Ebooks

Hello everyone,

I am here with another group of self-publish advice. This time it is about the formatting of your book: ebooks, paperbacks, and hardcovers. All of these depend on how much money you're willing to spend and what your distributors say. 
EBOOKS This blog post is going to focus on the ebook version of books. Ebooks are fairly cheap to produce, but harder to format.

PRODUCTION: Bare minimum formatting. Write your drafts with very little formatting (lines or dots). One of the things most places that sell ebooks will not allow you to do is TAB or have different "headers" or do section breaks. Depending on what website you use to distribute, there is varying requirements. This can be incredibly tedious and frustrating. Table of content is needed in MOST requirements.

ISBNs: Most ebooks do not need ISBNs. The only time you would need an ISBN is if you are distributing to MULTIPLE websites. 

POPULARITY: Ebooks have grown in popularity. The reason the formatting is minimum is because of people's ability to increase font size and how much they can see on the screen at once. They are fairly cheaper in price than paperbacks/hardcovers which is why it might be more popular.

Hope you find this advice useful. There will be three more installments: paperbacks, hardcovers, and audiobooks.

​- Amy :)

Hobbies: Swimming

Hello everyone,

One of my last hobbies that I have is something that I can only do in the summertime - swimming! I am not a professional swimmer who can do laps underwear with a swim cap on her head. I just enjoy swimming around a pool with floating, beating personal bests, and doing some handstands.

If it is above seventy degrees, then I am swimming! I love feeling the fresh and cool water against my skin. I do mostly the doggy paddle and my own forms of swimming. The pool my family has is an above-ground pool that is circular. I swim in circles for a while and then usually when I am done, I will lounge around with a doughnut swim tube or do some tricks. Some of the tricks I like to do are handstands, twirls, and flips underneath the water. I can hold my breath so that I am able to do nine flips!

I try to outdo myself every year with more intense goals to beat: how long can I hold my breath?, how many laps can I do without touching my feet to the bottom?, is it possible for me to do this?, etc.

I'm surprised I don't have a mermaid tail and gills at this point! What's something you do in the pool that is incredibly fun?

​- Amy :)

Physical Reading Log

Hello everyone,

I have reached my goal of reading 12 books this year (one per month!). This feat was accomplished by me having a physical reading log. I have tried GoodReads, my notes, and posting it on here, but I often don't get as much satisfaction from them. With my physical reading log, I can color it in and I always have it ready (doesn't need to be charged!)

So let me take you on a tour of the reading tracker I am currently using.
2024
reading tracker
book log - reading stats
​DESIGNED BY NOVELLY YOURS
my goal for 2024 When you first open the cover, it explains terms and lingo used throughout the book. Then it has an ultimate goal of how many books you want to read. Mine was 12, but now I'm changing to 24. You can also fill in other yearly goals. (My only other goal was "read at least 1 book a month").
anticipated new releases I only have one written down here: Simply The Best books i didn't get to last year & backlist One of Us Is Next, Icebreaker, How She Died. How I Lived., Twisted, A Pity Party is Still a Party, The Referral Program, The Forest Grimm, Night of the Witch, Rouge, All these Bodies, I Hunt Killers, Kill Joy, Everyone in my family has killed somebody, The Mary Shelley Club, Butcher & Blackbird. series to finish Harry Potter, One of Us is Lying, Fallen, Gallagher Girls, Light as a Feather, Flawed, Twilight, Heist Society this year's wish list One of Us is Back, Cold as Marble, Silent as the Grave, Perfect 2024 READING LOG Here all you write is the title. You color in what you rate it out of 5 stars. They are numbered so you know how many you have read. You are able to fill in 320 books. (I definitely will not meet that goal). There is more to the book, but I am going to split this into multiple sections: challenges, series tracker, monthly pages, yearly pages.

I hope you enjoy :)

​- Amy

Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: March 2024

Hello everyone,

I have some corrections to post about my last monthly reading wrap-up. Unfortunately, my online presence had plummeted last month due to my computer breaking. The hinges were beginning to pop out of the frame! I have had this happen on an old computer and it completely ruined it. My regularly scheduled posts should be coming back on.

January 27th - February 13: Icebreaker by Hannah Grace
February 14 - February 18: Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
February 19 - February 22: How She Died. How I Lived. by Mary Crockett
February 23 - February 26: Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

​ Enjoy!

​- Amy :)
February 27th - March 5: Twisted
Laurie Halse Anderson

I have had this book on my shelf for about a year. I am excited to finally be able to read it. However, I am a little saddened that I didn't realize it was told by a male narrator. I tend to not like those as much as female or third person narrators.

DNF: Read 28% of the book before finishing.
March 5th- 10th Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince
J.K. Rowling

Book 6 of 7Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's StoneHarry Potter & The Chamber of SecretsHarry Potter & The Prisoner of AzkabanHarry Potter & The Goblet of FireHarry Potter & The Order of the PhoenixHarry Potter & The Half-Blood PrinceHarry Potter & The Deathly Hallows***
March 10th - Ongoing: A Pity Party is Still A Party
Chelsea Harvey Garner

​Giveaway Win March 15th - Ongoing: The Forest Grimm
Kathryn Purdie

ARC / Giveaway win

Hobbies: Bees

#element-9372c875-b1d5-4293-a880-86675af56b36 .content-color-box-wrapper { padding: 20px; border-radius: 0px; background-color: #2a2a2a; border-style: None; border-color: #555555; border-width: 3px;}Hello everyone,

I don't really have an explanation for this blog. I just really like bees! Specifically bumble bees! Those chubby little fat guys are so darn cute! Anytime I see one, I am mesmerized by them.

I've started a Bee plushie/crocheted family: BEEatrice, BobBEE, BarBEE, AbBEE, and GabBEE. (I like puns!).

My hobby of collecting plushies of bees extends farther than that: I aspire to be a beekeper when I am older. I think it would be so cool!

Do you have any additional Bee pun names for me? Let me know down below!

​Amy :)

Self-Publish Advice: Cover Design

Hello everyone,

I haven't given advice in QUITE SOME TIME. So, I feel that is it only fair to give advice now. This time, about cover design!

You've heard people say "don't judge a book by it's cover!", but let's be real, everyone does! It's what captivates us and gets us engaged. I definitely do it - I can't help it! If the cover grabs my attention, I look at the back cover to see if I actually like it. Sometimes the great cover will make me buy the book anyway. Sometimes a bad cover will make me put the book back. In that regard, COVER DESIGN IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS THE MATERIAL INSIDE. At least one of those covers got  your attention. Innocent - I did that cover when I was new to publishing and didn't know anything. Do I like it? Not really, but I created it and I needed something cheap. Plus, the heart necklace was an important part of the story.

Missing - I did NOT create this cover. In fact, Arley did. I loved this design and this was the first time I had considered getting someone to make a design for me.

Wanted - I did not create this cover either - MadliArt did. I loved this older rendition of the cover of Missing. This is my favorite covers.

The next two covers, I absolutely loved. I created them through Gimp. I highly recommend it. If you have questions, I just search Google and they come up with everything I need to know! However, those are simple designs that I could make.

The next four covers, I have visions for that I cannot replicate. I just do not have the skill. Depending on your budget, I would go to reedsy.com and hire a cover creator. Make sure it is someone who YOU can rely on and voice your opinions. MadliArt did amazing on the cover.

However, Wanted had three OTHER covers. Two I made that I could not replicate what I wanted. One, was nothing like I wanted. MadliArt NAILED it on the head. DO NOT SETTLE WITH YOUR COVER ART.

That is MY advice. If you have the patience and could make something yourself, go on Gimp and try. If you cannot replicate exactly what you envisioned, hire someone to do it. Depending on your budget, you may not get the best quality.

Find someone who listens to you. Don't use the cover if they won't give you what you want. It's just a headache in a half.

What book cover did you like the best? Comment down below!

​Amy :)

Voting Closed - Times Leader Best of the Best 2024

Hello everyone,

Thank you so much for everyone who had voted for me on the Times Leader's Best of the Best Award 2024. I wanted to thank anyone who had told me they voted and couldn't have asked for a better support system! It truly means a lot to me that so many people believe in me as a writer.

​- Amy

Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: February 2024

Hello everyone,

How I make my blog posts for the reading wrap-up is by scheduling a post. That way, in case I forget to post or update the blog, it will still post on the date. In saying that, some of my dates are incorrect when they are posted. Here is the updated dates:

​January 21st - January 27th: Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
January 28th - Ongoing: Icebreaker by Hannah Grace

Forgive me! These will probably be a new addition to these blog posts!

​- Amy :)
January 28th - Ongoing: Icebreaker
Hannah Grace

I am actually super excited to read this! I don't usually go for romance books, but it reminded me of Go Figure!. A Disney channel movie about a figure skater who has to join the hockey team to earn a scholarship. I know it's not exactly the same premise, but I've heard it's also enemies-to-lovers which is my favorite trope!

Hobbies: Gymnastics

Hello everyone,

Another rendition of what my hobbies are! This time, I'm focusing on my love for the sport of gymnastics. Now I know what you're thinking, did you ever do gymnastics? I never have, but I fell in love with the sport while watching the 2012 Olympic Trials for the United States. My favorite gymnast at the time was Aly Raisman (and she still is).

I like to compare my love for gymnastics the same way men love football. I keep tallies, I watch all of the broadcasts and competitions, I make fake teams, and I even run a fan-made website! I have watched every single Olympic and World championship that I could find on YouTube. I found all of the United States' National Championships too.

In saying that, I also wanted to predict who my 2024 Olympic Team is. Realistically, this won't be it.

Women:Konnor McClain - She hasn't competed in a national competition since 2022, but her beam work was AMAZING.Shilese Jones - With all of the recent success at world championships and national competition she has had, I HAD to pick her.Simone Biles - If I didn't have her on my team, I would be delusional.Skye Blakely - I'm torn. I'm usually switching her out with Jade Carey or Joscelyn Roberson. Amazing at beam work though. She has really improved on all apparatuses!Zoe Miller - Amazing bar worker! If she got her other apparatuses up to par, she would be a real threat. I am also always switching her out with Jade Carey, Joscelyn Roberson, and Jordan Chiles.Men:Asher Hong - Consistent, but needs to start performing harder skills.Brody Malone - This prediction is pending on his recovery from his High Bar injury.Curran Phillips - Parallel bars score. He needs to get more consistent though.Donnell Whittenburg - Give this man his Olympics already!Ian Skirkley - He probably won't be on this list long. I'd trade him for Stephen Nedoroscik if he gets back to his 2021/2022 era.
I am still going through the Olympic, World, and National broadcasts for the men. Once I am done with the men, I am going to try going through the Rhythmic history too.

Do you have a favorite gymnast? (Past or present)?

​- Amy :)