Reena Jacobs's Blog, page 50

Novel Review: My Lord Hades by Stephannie Beman

I've been getting my feet wet lately with Indie authors. It's been an experience for me. It's taken me a bit to warm up to indie work, but I'm seeing many of the story lines are just as entertaining as works published the traditional way. Up this week, I decided to give My Lord Hades by  Stephannie Beman a try. I have to admit, I cheated before diving head first in this work. I headed over to Smashwords and download the sample. About 87% into the sample, I decided to hit up Ms. Beman on her giveaway offer. For a review of My Lord Hades, she'll provide you a copy for free. Her offer ends tomorrow, by the way. So it's not too late receive your own review copy. The blurb from Ms. Beman's website:

In a world where Gods rule and Daemons are feared, Hades, the most notorious Phlegethon daemon-god to roam the ancient world, is released from his prison in Tartarus by the Olympian Zeus to aid in the war against the Titians.

Past shrouded in darkness, Persephone, daughter of the earth goddess Demeter, heals from the ordeal that stole her memories and the magic that is an integral part of who she once was. When she meets a stranger in the woods, her life is forever changed. But does she have the courage to stand against the will of the other gods and claim the only man she has ever loved when any moment could bring back her memories and change her feelings for him?  Does she have the strength to keep what is hers when an ancient enemy returns to destroy all she has worked for?

Betrayed by the Gods he once served, battle-weary Hades promised to never allow another god power over him, but he didn't plan on the intervention of the Fates intertwining his future with the stunning woman dancing in the moonlight, or the rise of his Phlegethon nature that demands he claim her as his own. Persephone has become the siren calling him, promising the completion of heart and soul, but only a fool accepts the gifts of a siren, or fight against the will of the Fates.

I downloaded my sample and dipped my foot in. I was a little tentative… okay, a lot tentative. Am I going to like it? I hope it's good, my mind said as I read. A few hours later, the sun was rising, and I'd stopped squinting at My Lord Hades like it was out to get me. I could have starred in the Mikey Life Commercials. "She likes it. She likes it. She really likes it." I sent off a request and a coupon for a free copy was in my emailbox when I woke up the next afternoon.

Let's start with the characters.  Ms. Beman did a great job giving each of her characters a distinctive voice. Hades was burdened yet honorable. He was a break away from the gloomy Guses who are popular in many works today. Of all the characters, I'd say he was the most tenderhearted. Yet he was caring in a way which didn't detract from his masculinity. Well, done. I liked him.

Persephone reminded me of a butterfly or Snow White. Picture the scene where Snow White or any of the Disney Damsels who sing, dance, and just enjoy life. That was Persephone. I worried I'd grow tiresome of her frolicking, but as the plot unfolded, so did other facets of her personality. I admit, Persephone wasn't one of my favorite heroines. Mostly because I don't go for the damsels in distress type. However, Ms. Beman gave excellent rationales behind Persephone's early behavior and by the end of the story, there was definitely character growth.

Plot wise. I'm a sucker for Greek mythology. I got into it when I was a young girl, and it's held my interest ever since. I expected to read a typical mythology about Hades and Persephone with the same old storyline, but fleshed out as Ms. Beman gave it her own voice. Boy was I wrong. Ms. Beman took liberties in weaving this story. Much is the same, so that it has the Greek Mythology feel, but a few deviations here and there really added a flare. It kept me on my toes, since I wasn't sure how the storyline would differ from what I've read of Hades and Persephone in the past.

I know this is a nitpicking type of thing. But if you've read my other reviews, you know I'm prone to it. The story starts with a Prologue. Now I'm one to read prologues cause I'm afraid of missing things. This year, I found many people skip over the prologue. The prologue for My Lord Hades reads like a first chapter. It's a shame Ms. Beman didn't label it as such. I think she missed an opportunity there.

Characters were well-fleshed. Plot was interesting and fresh. Overall, I enjoyed it. Not bad for a debut novel. One item I believe this work could have benefited from was another pass at editing.

A couple of my favorite lines:

Yes, I've been lurking in the forest waiting to ravish you, Persephone.
"Has it been so long that you don't remember what men and women do behind closed doors?"

My Lord Hades is available on Smashwords

The Insecure Writer

I've been writing for a little over a year. Pride bubbled in me when I finished my first manuscript. I honestly thought I was ready to be published after the first draft. Okay, maybe after passing through it with one quick edit. Yeah, I know you're laughing. I just figured my job was to write the story, while the editor's job was to edit the draft. Boy was I wrong.

My first clue was after submitting my work to a critique group. I tell you, they ripped into my manuscript like they were shredding sensitive documents. It didn't discourage me though. I only became more determined to get it right. Cause I absolutely knew I had a novel worth publishing.

That's not to say I didn't have some tough times. A few times I cried over some of the things the meanies said about my work. But once the tears dried, I went right back to the drawing board, ready to prove them wrong.

So if I'm so determined, what's with the insecure writer crap? The second guessing! Oh My Word! Sifting through the critiques drive me insane. Everyone has their little pet peeve. There are a hundred billion gazillion guidelines folks think are "rules." And I'm constantly asking myself, "should I follow their advice?" "If I do, will I improve my work or make it drab?"

Then there's the whole, "I'm not so fond of this piece of advice; I'm not going to use it." Will the critter be offended when he/she sees the non-changes?

GAH! the stress of it all!!! And it all leads to, will readers love or hate my story?

So what do I do? Push on and hope for the best. It may not be the most effective method, but it's what I have for now.

How do you deal with writer insecurity?

NaNoWriMo – Update 4

One of the hardest things about writing my WIP is the fact the first draft sucks. I can only give NaNo part of the blame. Cause the first draft of my Shadow Cat novel also sucked. Not as bad, but pretty close. After a year of on and off editing, I believe Shadow Cat is starting to come together. I still have a lot of trimming, editing, and revising, but I'm confident the finished product will to my liking.

I have to remind myself that it's okay that Alley Cat (NaNo WIP) has scenes that won't remain and a lot of scenes that'll need rewriting… not just editing but a thorough reworking. One thing I can say about NaNo is it's given me the getterdun attitude. Something I haven't felt since Aug-Oct 2009 while working on the first draft of Shadow Cat. It's a great feeling to know I've written two novels, even if neither are ready for publication.

Once NaNo is over, I'm going to work on the edits of Shadow Cat while finishing Regina's Story. Remember Brandon's Wife from Control Freak? Yeah… that's the one. Then it's on to writing the sequel to Shadow Cat which only has about 10k words thus far. As I mentioned earlier, I skipped to the third and final book (Alley Cat) for my NaNo work because I'd yet to start it.

I think if I alternate between editing and writing a book, I can really give a serious go at a writing career.

This week went by quite well. I met my 2300 goal M-F everyday except for Wednesday. And even then I came in close with 2k. I even made a pretty good run on the weekend adding 3624 words. I ended my week at 47425 words.

As far as my novel itself, it's coming to an end. I've filled in most of the blanks. By this Wednesday I hope to have my 50k which should complete my first draft of Alley Cat. Perfect timing, cause I believe November 25 (Thanksgiving) is also the first date participants can validate their entries.

Novel Review: Touched by an Alien by Gina Koch

When I'd first heard about Touched by an Alien by Gina Koch, I was really excited. It truth, I didn't even know Sci-Fi romances existed before I came across this book on a blog. I was intrigued and started putting my hat in for drawings. After many many entries, I finally won this from Monica at The Bibliophilic Book Blog. I cannot tell you how excited I was to receive this book. I bumped it straight to the head of the line of my to read list. So, the blurb from Ms. Koch's website:

Marketing manager Katherine "Kitty" Katt joins forces with gorgeous aliens from Alpha Centauri to protect the Earth, kick evil alien butt, and save the day with hairspray and rock and roll – not necessarily in that order.

I really wanted to like this book. Honestly, I did. The first chapter started all tell and no show.  However, I pushed that aside, thinking it might just be a prologue labeled as the first chapter. It wasn't. It was the writing style. That's okay, I told myself. I've read a few books where the writing isn't my style, but the storyline rocked enough to make me forget. I'd heard so many great reviews about this book, I was hopeful. How could I not be?

This was written in the first person from Kitty's POV. I really had nothing against Kitty. On the other hand, I wasn't cheering for her either. She was a tough cookie, I'll hand her that. If you're looking for a strong heroine, she's your gal. But for some reason, I just didn't connect with her. I'm going to hazard a guess and say it was because she was just too damned perfect. Not only did she not make mistakes, but she had a solution for everything. EVERYTHING. And let me tell you, the book was riddled with sticky situations. Kitty had plenty of time to shine in this novel. As for me, I look for characters a bit more flawed. I want things to go bad for them so they can show their strengths. I want them to have trial by fire. Speaking of fire, look at that cover! You'd think the gal's been through hell and back. Not so. Kitty made the events in the story look like a stroll through the park. Add that to Kitty being a know-it-all, and well, I just couldn't muster up any feelings for her.

Then there's Martini. He rubbed me wrong from the beginning. The guy seriously had tunnel vision with the jump Kitty's bones thing. There was no romanticizing. It was, Marry me, and I'll fill your belly with my spawn. I imagine some guys think like that, but most are smart enough to keep their mouths shut and at least offer a rose here and there. On top of that, the aliens, including Martini were as lacking in common sense as Kitty was resourceful. Sure, the A-C were brilliant in the brains department. Give them an equation, and they could solve it in a fraction of a second. Have them apply that knowledge to an everyday situation, and they were stumped. Okay. Now that I think about it, they didn't lack common sense. Kitty just seemed to connect two and two together without there being any leads whatsoever. So it kind of made the aliens look stupid.

As to the plot, it had potential, but the info dumps really slowed the entire story down. Something significant would happen, followed by 20-30 pages of folks catching Kitty up to speed. No action, no moving the story along, just pages and pages of info. I understand the purpose of story building, but I would have liked to see a bit more balance.

In terms of romance, yes Kitty and Martini had sparks flying and ricocheting off the walls. But from Kitty's viewpoint it really seemed like a arbitrary first-come-first-serve kind of situation. All the aliens, she found hawt. I got the impression if any other alien had shown interest first, Kitty would have been fine to let that alien into her pants.

This is one of those novels I complained a lot while reading, but in all honesty, it wasn't a horrible book. I can see the appeal others might have with it. It reminded me a lot of Men in Black but with a woman as the main character. The dialogue was quirky and brought many a smiles to my face. But in the end, it just didn't fit my personal tastes. It was more of a bleh book. I didn't feel like a total loser finishing it, but can't see myself recommending it either.

I still left with a few favorite lines, though.:

"The dramatic pause is great, only it's lacking that certain something. Like actual information."
I'd never had an orgasm at second base before, and I hoped the rooms were soundproof, because I was yowling like a cat in heat, and for the same reasons.
He didn't say "duh," but I could feel him thinking it.

As I mentioned, this was my first sci-fi romance. Though this wasn't for me, I haven't given up on the genre. Tell me folks: What's your favorite sci-fi romance.

Touched by an Alien is available at the Book Depository!

Giveaway: Indie Appreciation

Today I'm giving thanks to an author for writing such great story. Who you ask? Susan Bischoff–author of Hush Money. And I want to offer her novel to you in a giveaway.

[image error] Hush Money by Susan Bischoff

Be normal, invisible. Don't get close to anyone. Kids with psychic abilities tend to mysteriously disappear when they get noticed. Joss has spent years trying to hide. Now she has an unasked-for best friend, who is the victim of an extortion plot by the school bully, who used to like Joss, who is best friends with her long-time crush, who is actually talking to her. Life just got more complicated.

With Hush Money, I never knew what would happen next, so I just kept turning the pages. Pretty much each scene ended on an 'OMG! I can't believe that just happened' moment. Then we get to the place where a lot of books have what folks call "the saggy middle." In the case of Hush Money, this was where all hell broke loose. I didn't even have time for a breather. This book was super fast pace and so intense, it left me exhausted. The only thing I hated about the plot was not being able to read it fast enough… Read complete review here

To enter, please fill out the form.

So the rules!

You'll earn 1 point for completing the form and additional point if you tweet and leave the link.
You may tweet once per day after your initial entry for an extra 2 points.
Comments are appreciated, but only entries from the form count.
Please read the giveaway policy for the nitty gritty.

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If you want to keep up to date on what's happening on Reena's Blog, there are 12,203 ways on the left side widgets. Okay, maybe only a handful.

By the way, what's your favorite indie read this year? I'm looking to add more to my favorites this year.

Interview: R.C. Rutter on Editing

I've seen it; you've seen it. Self-publishing nightmares where authors take Do It Yourself (DITY) to a new level as they attempt to edit their own works. Please welcome R.C. Rutter as he reveals pitfalls and helpful tips on editing.

Tell us a bit about your work.

My name is R.C. Rutter and I am the author of the fantasy novel Cave of Forlorn which is available in Kindle (ebook) and Lulu.com (paperback). When considering all the options of publishing, it became obvious that the best method to publish is as an indie author/writer. Yes, there are challenges but the rewards far outweigh the negatives.

Okay, I'm an indie writer; I've bypassed the editors at the traditional houses. Now I'm stuck finding a way to get my own work edited. How important is editing for indie writers?

Lack of editing or poor editing are the main reasons indie book writers have a bad reputation. Imagine trying to read a book that is full of grammatical errors. Or perhaps, the verbiage is correct but the story line falters; characters appear and disappear at will; or change locations

without moving. It would be very difficult to read a book like this. Yes, I have personally seen all of the above and more. Editing is a must!!!

Copy editing, line editing, proofreading, etc – what's the difference?

All of the above terms define different levels of editing. Definitions will vary somewhat depending upon the person asked but we can summarize editing as follows:

Line editing is another term for copy editing. This is the tedious editing that looks at spelling, style, punctuation, grammar, and usage. This is done line-by-line in the book.

Overall editing: Story flow, character development, etc. Is it well written? Is anything missing?

Proofreading: final check of layout and punctuation (final step of editing to possibly catch anything that was missed in the line editing).

How much can a writer expect to pay for editing?

The cost for editing will range from several hundred to several thousand dollars depending upon the services requested.

Money's tight. What are some cost saving techniques for writers wanting to present quality work?

This can be a very dangerous route to take. With very few exceptions, a writer cannot edit his or her own book. When writing the book, you already have an image of what the characters and scenes look like so you will have a tendency to gloss over or fill in the words in your book, ergo missing errors. If you take this route, I would recommend that you set aside the book for a minimum of thirty days. Don't look at the book, don't think about it. Then pick it up and do a quick read through, marking any problems. I am a firm believer in the barter system.

Do you have a service or product that you can trade for editing? Use your imagination!

An alternative is to give your book to someone for editing, perhaps a friend or family member. Can you trust that person? Would they give out copies of your work? Would they put their own name on it and publish it?  Would they steal your characters or storyline? Think carefully before you answer. You have just spent x amount of months and years writing.

As a test of your writing, give the first few chapters to people who are well read on your subject matter. Try to avoid anyone who thinks you are wonderful as that will cloud their judgment. Ask for constructive feedback. If they ask for more to read; that is a great sign that you are on the right track.

Do not overlook the title. That is the first impression! (And cover art as well!).

Where do I find editors?

The unemployment line! Yes, the major publishers have all reduced their editing staff and freelance editors abound. Local sources can be found at writers groups. Unfortunately, there is not one concise list and anyone can claim to be an editor.

It seems like people are advertising their editorial services at every turn. What are some tips on choosing an editor?

Experience and efficiency are paramount. A timeline should be discussed regarding the approximate date of completion. The date has to be fluid. The more work required, the longer it will take. An editor should have experience in the genre of the book. You must check references and examples of pre- and post work.

Any additional advice on editing?

When you think you are done, put the book aside and leave it for a few weeks. Then go back and do a quick read checking once again for story flow. Once you are satisfied that it is ready, you can then scope out the different ebook publishers to ascertain their required formats for uploading books. Will a MS Word document suffice? HTML? PDF?

Did you think writing a book was going to be easy?

For more information, where might folks find you?

www.rcrutter.com

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NaNoWriMo – Update 3

The week started off well. Monday, I hit my goal. Tuesday I had an appointment and got a late start. Still managed my goal. I was kicking butt. Then Wednesday came around. I cannot tell you how much I did not want to play NaNo on Wednesday. I actually considered giving myself a break for the day. Still, I got to it and eked out a few hundred words before I was set to give up. Finally I decided to skip ahead… way ahead. Pulled out the NaNo suggested minimum (1667 words) and took a break. Came back and squeezed out the last 600 words I needed to hit 2300 for the day. I cannot tell you how thankful I was when that was over.

Sometime during the week, the worries started to hit. I'd outlined my story from beginning to end. For the most part it'd been a pretty stable outline. I'd added a scene here and there and split some chapters. I'd even considered deleting a few scenes. But overall, my outline had been good to me. Which was why I started to worry the closer I got to the end. I finished Friday at almost 29k, and I only had 2 scenes left to write. I estimated it'd add 3-5k to my manuscript. I thought, holy cow! I've written a novella, not a novel.

I tried to stay calm though. I still had some partially written scenes which only had a few notes or significant pieces to complete. But 15k worth? Doubtful. I ended up adding a couple more scenes to beef up the romance, which was lacking. Haven't written them yet, but I'm thinking it'll add a few thousand words. So I'm feeling a bit better.

I've also gone back and started writing the partial scenes and the scenes I'd skipped. Depending on how my numbers look after I finish the first draft, I might just start editing. I find I'm more likely to add during the second draft. It's not until the final draft where I find myself cutting like crazy. And since I'm ahead of the game, I think it'll be okay to start fleshing out my work after I get the initial story written.

All in all, I did pretty well the second week. I met my 2300 word quota Tuesday through Friday and yesterday, completed about 1800 over the weekend, and ending week two at 33061 words.

Novella Review: Hush Money by Susan Bischoff

[image error]I purchased Hush Money by Susan Bischoff over a month ago, and shame on me, I put off reading it. You see, I was kind of scared I wouldn't like it. In fact, I figured if it wasn't good, I'd just not finish it and not have to worry about a review. Anyway, I ramble. Before I get into what I really thought, the blurb from Ms. Bischoff's website:

Be normal, invisible. Don't get close to anyone. Kids with psychic abilities tend to mysteriously disappear when they get noticed. Joss has spent years trying to hide. Now she has an unasked-for best friend, who is the victim of an extortion plot by the school bully, who used to like Joss, who is best friends with her long-time crush, who is actually talking to her. Life just got more complicated.

Okay. Back to me.

Page one, this book transported me back to grade school and kept me there. Ms. Bischoff captured the details exactly–the insecurities, the joys, the trials. Talk about reminiscing.

After a few pages, I didn't want to put this book down. Only sanity telling me I should sleep at some point before the kids started to wake in 2 hours got me in the bed. Then I forced myself to knock out my daily word count goals before picking it up again. This was the type of book that made me want to write… not just write but come up with a kick ass storyline. Cause Hush Money definitely had one.

I'm going to let you all in on a little secret. I absolutely hate knowing there's information to be had, but for some reason the author chooses to withhold it. Thank you, Ms. Bischoff for not doing that to me. All the information was right there when I needed it. No teasing lines like, "I'll tell you later"or "we don't have time to talk right now." No. When the hero/heroine found out information, I got it too. I loved it. Why do I mention this? Because there was one particular chapter which ending on a cliff hanger. I was sure Ms. Bischoff was going to pull one of those stunts where I'd have to wait 12 chapters before the reveal. But no! I flipped… okay… not really flipped because it's an eBook, but I hit the next page and everything was unraveled in the next few paragraphs. I didn't even have time to get irritated. My gosh, you're good!

So what about the characters? Joss, I loved. She reminded me so much of my oldest daughter. Invisible, but not quite. Because really, being the unnoticed one in high school is enough to make you stand out. Odd how that works. That was Joss. That's my daughter. But there was more to her Joss–hidden, scared, alone… flawed. At one point I remember thinking it was so sad to watch bad things to happen to others and let people do bad things to you because you're afraid. She had so much room for personal growth. I loved watching her blossom.

Dylan, well it took me a while to warm up to him. He spent a lot of time rehashing/examining prior events. Yes, I felt for the predicament he was in, but not really for him. Once he really got into the action and made choices, I really got into the boy. He became a real hero rather than just a secondary character with a few scenes in his POV.

Even the villains were great. I don't know their whole story, but Ms. Bischoff wrote them in a way that had me wondering what got these folks to this point. Sure they were wicked and troublesome (yeah, understatement there), but they had a three dimensional kind of feel to them. Take Marco, for  instance. He was villain enough to be a major problem. A real bully as Kat called him. Yet he was also purposeful in his actions.

The only thing I found lacking was the matter of character physical descriptions. Other than who was taller than whom and Kat being black (I think), I didn't know too much about what they all looked like. For instance, I gave Marco a buff build. But he was a teenager, and I doubt he'd have the time to bulk up to be the incredible hulk. I also started off all the guys as tall. But then I remembered, the average height for a female is about 5'4″, so most guys would be taller than the girls even if they'd only hit 5'8″.

So plot. There were times in the book, I thought there was no way this work could stay this good. No way she could keep the momentum going. Somewhere it's going to crash and burn. I didn't want it to happen, but it was inevitable. And then I hit the end, still running at full speed.

With Hush Money, I never knew what would happen next, so I just kept turning the pages. Pretty much each scene ended on an 'OMG! I can't believe that just happened' moment. Then we get to the place where a lot of books have what folks call "the saggy middle." In the case of Hush Money, this was where all hell broke loose. I didn't even have time for a breather. This book was super fast pace and so intense, it left me exhausted. The only thing I hated about the plot was not being able to read it fast enough.

I really wished someone would make a movie out of this one. Cause really, this book defied The Laws of the Universe. Yeah, I stole that line.

So, a few of my favorite lines:

"Marco, honey, I'm gonna have to wreck your fantasy and tell you that not only are Joss and I not involved with each other, and not only are we both straight–which you'd think any straight guy would realize–but I would do her and half the guys at this table before I would even let you watch me change my shoes."
I would have loved to choked him with one of his ridiculous Looney Tunes neckties just then.
But if she ever found out and felt the need to throw herself at me, I figured I'd catch her. [Definitely one of those aww moments.]

One thing that's not clear to me. Do adults not have Talents?

By the way, check out my favorites 2010 reads on the right widget. That's right, this one made it. I loved this the way I loved Comfort Food (see review here) and the Hunger Games (see review here).

As a side note, I'm really impressed with some of the indie works I've gotten an opportunity to read. What indie works have absolutely blown your mind away?

Interview: Stephannie Beman on ISBNs

Stephannie Beman contacted me shortly after the Shout Out to Indie Authors. She was gracious enough to grant me an interview on ISBNs which was a convoluted mess to me. Please welcome her as she de-mystifies ISBNs.

Thank you, Reena, for having me here to today.

Tell us a bit about your work.

I decided to self-publish my novels in late 2009 after looking into the publishing industry and deciding I didn't like my options in that department. In January 2010, I created a small publishing company, Ruis Publishing, to publish my first novel, My Lord Hades, a paranormal romance which came out in June 2010 and a co-authored fiction under the name Timothy Reese Richards titled Footprints on the Beach that was published October 2010. Since then I have signed on one other author whose manuscripts I find to be quality work.

First things first. What the heck is an ISBN?

ISBN is an acronym that stands for International Standard Book Number and identifies the one who holds the publishing rights. It can be a 10-digit or 13-digit number that is used by readers, booksellers, libraries, universities, wholesalers, and distributors to establish and identify the publisher of a book. Only books with ISBN's can be added to Book in Print which are sent out to said booksellers, libraries, universities, wholesalers, and distributors.

Where does one obtain an ISBN?

T here are over 160 Agencies worldwide, each agency being responsible for the publishers residing in their area. I bought my ISBN's at http://www.bowker.com, but http://www.isbn.org is another reputable seller. A word of caution, if you encounter an offer to purchase single ISBNs at special offer prices, you should be wary of purchasing from this sources because: 1) last I checked ISBN were not sold separately but in groups of 10, 100, 1000, etc.; 2) if source is listed as the publisher who bought the numbers, then you'll not be correctly identified as the publisher of record in Books In Print or any of the industry databases such as Barnes and Noble, Amazon, or those of wholesalers such as Ingram, because publishers cannot resell, re-assign, transfer, or split its list of ISBNs among other publishers–a guidelines that has been established to ensure the authenticity, accuracy and continued utility of the international ISBN standard; 3) there will be no change in the publisher of record for any ISBN in the block as originally assigned, therefore, searches of industry databases for that re-assigned ISBN will identify the original owner of that assigned prefix as the publisher rather than the second publisher (which would be you).

To fix this later can be expensive because you'll have to apply for a new prefix, have a new ISBN re-assigning to you, and potentially may lead to the application of stickers to books already printed and in circulation.

Are there any special criteria folks need to meet in order obtain an ISBN?

First, check with your state laws for establish your self-publishing business identity, every state is different. After you do this, create your self-publishing business identity, including the name of your "publishing house" (hint: don't make this your name) and the address and telephone number(s) you have chosen to use. These will be listed as your contact information in Books in Print after you apply for your ISBN registration. Go to http://www.bowker.com or http://www.isbn.org, fill out their application and you should receive your ISBN log fourteen days after they process your application.

What are the costs associated with ISBNs?

For a set of 10 ISBNs you are looking at about $280 including the set up fees, and when you purchase a larger block of ISBNs, the price per ISBN decreases. At the same time you might want to have your ISBN translated into a worldwide compatible bar code which allows your book to be sold through bookstores, online or off, or by distributors. Barcode scanning is a required step for many retailers in the sales transaction process for book publications and book-related items. You can obtain the barcode in several different formats: a film that can be "stripped" directly into your book cover art, an electronic file that can be incorporated into your electronic art, or a hardcopy that you can paste onto artwork. It can be requested directly online at www.isbn.org or www.bowkerbarcode.com. Barcodes usually cost less than $100. For a list of companies that provide barcodes, visit http://www.isbn.org/standards/home/is....

I was told by a friend that works in retail that http://www.racoindustries.com/barcode... and http://www.tux.org/~milgram/bookland/ are also good Online generators for barcodes. And that a good one page guide can be found here: http://www.athleticaid.com/yaquinapre...

I want to put my books out in eBook, print, and gobs of other formats. What are my ISBN considerations in this case? What should I consider when determining the number of ISBNs to purchase?

Some people have suggested buying 100, because the smaller amount of numbers reflecting badly on publishers. I suggest getting enough for what you have or think that you will use in the next five years. And remember you must apply a separate ISBN to each edition and format of the book you publish, for example, if you are offering the same title in a hardcover edition, a paperback, audio, e-book, etc. Each of these editions would require a separate ISBN. This enables a bookstore or customer to order the correct edition of the correct book. If you heavily revise a book, I'm not talking grammatical changes or punctuations, but changes to scenes, sentence structure, etc, or change its cover later, it will need a new ISBN. It is always best to select the block that will last you for a few years because you'll be able to maintain one publisher prefix, and minimize the unit cost per ISBN.

I see this thing called an ASIN on Amazon. How is that different from an ISBN?

The ASIN is an Amazon specific number that is used by the Amazon network to track its merchandise. It will not take the place of an ISBN, though some authors have used it as such with success.

Since authors can publish without an ISBN, what are the benefits of obtaining them?

To establish and identify the publisher of a book to booksellers, libraries, universities, wholesalers, and distributors. If you're not interested in your book going to any of these places, you don't need an ISBN. If you one day hope to see your book in any of these places, then you'll want an ISBN.

If you are going with a self-publishing company, the ISBN may be rented from or given to you by a self-publishing company that you print the book with, however, that doesn't mean you own the number. I'm sure there are those that will disagree with me about this, so here is the proof from R.R. Bowker where everyone eventually gets their ISBN's. "ISBNs cannot be transferred on an individual basis. If a self-publisher wants to be identified as the publisher, the self-publisher must get their own ISBN. A printing company or publisher services company cannot sell, give away or transfer one of their ISBNs to a customer…. The ISBN identifies the one who holds the publishing rights—that is, the publisher who should be contacted when ordering the book." This helps you and them "identify and circulate your books properly in the industry supply chain."

Any additional advice you might give in terms of ISBNs?

Once you've assigned an ISBN to a product, you need to file an "Advance Book Information" form (ABI) to submit to Bowker. You can also register your book information online at the BowkerLink Publisher Access System (http://www.bowkerlink.com). You'll have to register for a password to use the system. You can also use this site to change information about your books or publishing company (e.g., to change your address). They'll add your title to the database of record for the ISBN Agency. As a publisher you are eligible for a free listing in various directories such as Books in Print, Words on Cassette, The Software Encyclopedia, Bowker's Complete Video Directory, etc. Having your ISBNs does NOT guarantee title listings, you must submit the title information to get into the database. After you've received your ISBNs, you must then inform Bowker of your new title(s). Otherwise, your book won't be listed in Books in Print and other references — which means that it won't be listed on Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com, or be orderable through bookstores.

Thanks for giving us the lowdown on ISBNs. For more information, where might folks find you?

I can be found at http://stephanniebman.com or email me at stephanniebeman@aol.com. Also at http://ruispublishing.com, or email ruispublishing.@aol.com.

Thanks again for

Cover Art Take Two

I received quite a bit of feedback from my early cover art designs of Shadow Cat. Very helpful. I took them into consideration and got rid of the animated images which many said gave it an amateurish look.

So, I got rid of the CGI and used real photos. So this is what I came up with for Shadow Cat AND the other two novels in the series.

Well? Comments? Criticism? Feedback? Yay? Nay?