Kathleen J. Shields's Blog, page 34
May 26, 2015
Writing Prompt! “He was my childhood friend…”
Okay fellow writers, here is another writing prompt – lets see where this one can go! Comment below.
“He was my childhood friend…”
I grew up with him. We had done everything together. I thought of him more like a brother and never once considered the what if… after a kiss like that. But here I was, my heart exploding with feelings I had no idea I had. He had just poured his heart out to me. I had just been laughing. Then he did that – and now – it seems everything had changed. As I watched him walk away I was so conflicted, however, the one thing I knew in my heart… I didn’t want him to leave.
How could you turn the story your own way? Write your story to this writing prompt below in the comments. Let’s have fun with creative writing!
May 16, 2015
I love to sing!
Square vs PayPal credit card processing
Many years ago my husband and I ran a business where we had a credit card processing terminal. It was a good size box that needed electricity and a phone line. Cost a monthly equipment fee, plus processing and transaction fees. It was quite nice to have even with the fees as it helped our business grow.
A few years ago they came out with the smartphone and we were able to incorporate the Intuit credit card reader which connects to Quickbooks. We got one of those before anyone else. I used intuit without any problems for many years even after square came out with their credit card processor. Why try something new if what you’ve got works just fine?
About a year or so ago, PayPal came out with a credit card processor right around the time that the Intuit card reader stopped functioning due to an update. Because I already used PayPal on my website I went ahead and I got that card reader because I wanted to keep everything in one basket.
Over the course of a couple of years of doing tradeshows every weekend I met a lot of vendors who were using the Square credit card processor and so I started asking them why they chose Square over PayPal or Intuit, their answers shocked me.
Square’s processing fee was less than PayPal.
Square provided a register and actual terminal that you could use at a store.
There was a receipt printing feature
It works even when there is no data service
and then there was the clincher…
Square provides an e-store online!
You can not only put your inventory with pictures and descriptions and reviews and price differences and shipping and tax, but they do all of that and provide an online page for you. The emailed receipts are so amazing!
It’s one online page. It has all of your information in one place. It cannot be customized or categorized or organized (yet). You can’t have more than one page. I couldn’t break up my books between children books and chapter books but still it was an all in one place ecommerce transactions that did not take you away from that page to process the transaction. I liked that.
Over the course of the last few weeks I’ve also discovered it processes the transactions faster and deposits the money quicker. They deposit my credit card processing from Saturday and Sunday on Monday morning not Tuesday or Wednesday (3 day wait for PayPal and Intuit).
I’ve been working on a new website platform one with which was able to take my e-store and convert it into an ecommerce store on my website with category breakdown. I am very happy.
I have absolutely no idea why I waited as long as I did to become a square customer.
So, if you are an exhibitor or vendor, and you are looking to do a show and you need to take credit card payments get Square even if you don’t have a smartphone you could still get the register.
Those are my two cents. I am not a paid sponsor of Square, just a happy customer. I hope you too find this helpful.
New websites, pictures, e-store!
I am so excited to announce that after many weeks of learning a new technology, incorporating e-commerce store functionality and moving my content – I now have a mobile-friendly, more modern and up to date website for Kathleen Books. Go check it out now!
www.KathleensBooks.com
Kathleen’s Books
Also, you may be noticing that my BLOG has changed significantly! Take a look at the home page and venture around the site. I hope you will be impressed.
Let me know what you think – I’d love to hear from you!!
Submitting your manuscript to a publisher
May 11, 2015
You’ve written a book and now want to publish it…
Lets skip the basics – write the book – edit the book – reedit the book and jump right into traditional publishing as a first step.
Traditional Publishing:
No matter what – you want to start here. While the rejection letters can be quite defeating, and can pile up quickly. Remember, while thousands of submissions are rejected daily 1% make it and it would definitely be nice to be one of the 1%. While many decide to jump into self-publishing first – I highly suggest attempting the traditional route. Trust me, while I know I’ve got great books, my job marketing would be a thousand times easier if I had Scholastics backing me up. It wouldn’t be nearly as hard getting into the schools with my books. So consider that first.
Step 1
Find a list of publishers. Go to a library, find books similar to your genre, make a list of the publishers that published them. This would be your key list. You could also go to PublishersGlobal.com for a complete list of publishers, but then you’d still want to cut that down to only those interested in publishing your book topic. You do not want to contact a publisher who primarily works on non-fiction biographies if your book is about cooking. You also wouldn’t want to contact a children’s book publisher if your book is a self-help health book. Be specific about who you contact.
Step 2
Go to their website – each publishers website. Just because publisher #1 has specific guidelines to follow for submissions does NOT mean publisher #2 has the same guidelines. Each publisher has their own rules and if you don’t follow those rules to a T you WILL be rejected. There will be query letters with SASE envelopes, outlines or chapters or complete manuscripts, the sales pitch, the proving of yourself as a writer and marketer… Read up and know each step each publisher wants you to take and always put your best foot forward. Edit your letter like your life depends on it.
Step 3
Start with those accepting unsolicited submissions or submissions without a literary agent. If you can get a deal without having to give a percentage of your advance to a literary agent, do it. While publishers shy from this practice, many allow unsolicited manuscripts so contact them first. PS don’t send out 100 queries at once. If you get a couple acceptances and choose publisher #1 and it doesn’t work out then publisher #2 is going to be upset that they were ignored or considered your second choice. Send them out one at a time and allow for the response before moving on to the next publisher. Yes it is time consuming, but if you are to do it right, you must follow the rules.
Step 4
When that list is tapped out, start searching for a literary agent. Again, find one who specializes in your genre. They need to believe in your product so your book must fall into their accepted categories. Don’t waste their time – a reputable agent does this job free of charge only getting pad when you sign a publishing contract. If they want money up front; run. If and when you find an agent, they will start contacting publishers on your behalf. Again, they only get paid when you do so they won’t take on your project unless they truly believe in it. You may get a ton of rejections from agents but don’t let that deter you. If you started with Step 1-3 you already know how much work this is, how much time is involved. Would you do that for a stranger if you didn’t believe wholeheartedly in the product?
Step 5
Being accepted by a traditional publisher. Yeah – you’re done – NOT! This is where even more work begins. They may request changes. They will provide a contract that you will want a lawyer to go over. You will want to understand every sentence in that contract and understand everything they are going to do for you and what they expect you to do for them. When you have signed the contract the advance will be paid to your agent who takes their cut and gives you the rest. Then you will want to take that money and hire a publicist. Then you will begin marketing your book, planning interviews, book tours, etc. It is a dream that must be worked towards and worked hard on. It is not easy and there are a lot more details that are required to know but this blog has gotten too long as it is.
In the coming months I am going to be working on adding even more details to this but in the meantime….
Want more information? This breaks down some of the information on choosing traditional vs small press vs self publishing:
Submitting your manuscript to a publisher
How to make a great book cover (self pub)
10 Most common Grammatical Mistakes
The book publishing snowman theory
Finding an editor for your book
Have you written a book and now want to publish it?
May 10, 2015
I am not home
Happy Mother’s Day to all women
May 3, 2015
Do I matter?
