R.M. ArceJaeger's Blog, page 23

Busyness with Business!

I realized today that I haven't written a post in a while. The reason is this: I just started a part-time job as a Naturalist at the caves near my house, I'm trying to build two (soon to be three!) websites in addition to this one (one is for my soon-to-be-released book Robin, one is for my publishing press, and the other is a commission for another author), I'm getting ready to publish House of Cuts by June Gillam, and I'm finishing the final edits for my book so it can be published, too!

Wow...

Governor Brown Eliminates $1 Billion in California Income Overnight

Yesterday, June 29, 2011, California Governor Brown signed his state's budget into law. Though this budget has many good points, it also includes the Affiliate Nexus Tax, which destroyed over $1 Billion in California income the instant Brown made his affirming sweep of the pen.

For those of you who don't know, affiliates are people who help direct traffic to internet companies. For instance, Amazon has an affiliate program where you can link to their products (either through text links or...

New Look

I've updated my website! I miss the stars in from my old site, but I do like how this one looks. I hope you all like it better, too. Feel free to give me your suggestions of what you do and do not like! I'll do my best to add it in.

EBook Royalty Rates for Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, etc.

The following is a comparison of the eBook royalty rates offered by Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Apple iBookstore, etc. This is the percent of the book's list price that the publisher (or you, if self-publishing) will receive if an eBook is sold through the following vendors:

List Price
Amazon.com*
Barnes & Noble
Apple iPhone/iPad
Smashwords


FREE
0%
0%
0%
0%


$0.99-$2.98
35%
40%
70%
60%-85%*


$2.99-$9.99
70%
65%
70%
60%-85%*


$10-$199.99
35%
40%
70%
60%-85%*


$200+
0%
0%
0%
0%

Note...

Self-Publishing vs. Traditional Publishing

People often ask me what is the difference between self-publishing and traditional publishing, and more importantly, which is to be preferred. Here are some definitions and a chart which will hopefully provide a quick answer:

Traditional/Legacy Publishing

This is where an author writes a book, submits their manuscript to a traditional publisher (e.g. Scholastic, usually through an agent), gets rejected a lot before at last being accepted, does some back-and-forth with an editor, and then...

It is Summer…Isn't It?

Normally by the first week of May, my California home has experienced its first 90-degree day. Rain showers have all but ceased, and by the first week of June, the heat wave has officially begun.

This year, I feel like I'm still in the first week of December. Two weeks ago, it actually snowed at my house! Rains storms and thunder storms have plagued the forecast for the last few days, and the temperature outside my house has averaged about 61-degrees (inside, it's about 55-degrees).

Where is...

Boy or Girl – The Gender Trap

I used to love McDonalds — not because the food was great, or the place tidy, or the playgrounds clean. But because every time I got a Happy Meal, I also got a toy. Unfortunately, these toys tended to be frilly, fairy-style dolls whereas I wanted the cool-looking racing cars I could see in the plastic display. When I would take the toy back and ask them to trade, I would be told by a blank-faced employee: "But that's the girl's toy."

I hated that assumption that just because I was a girl, I...

X: A Fabulous Child's Story

By Lois Gould

Once upon a time, a baby named X was born. This baby was named X so that nobody could tell whether it was a boy or a girl. Its parents could tell, of course, but they couldn't tell anybody else. They couldn't even tell Baby X at first.

You see, it was all part of a very important Secret Scientific Xperiment, known officially as Project Baby X. The smartest scientists had set up this Xperiment at a cost of Xactly 23 billion dollars and 72 cents, which might seem like a lot for...

Barnes and Noble Appearance – May 26, 2011

I will be appearing at Barnes and Noble today, May 26, 2011, from 6:30-8:30 pm. I will be there along with several other authors to help promote my upcoming book, Robin. The address of the Barnes and Noble is 4950 Pacifico Avenue (at Weberstown Mall), Stockton, CA. Drop by and say hi!

Doomsday — Who Cares?

At this moment, a woman near my hometown is passing out flyers saying, "The Rapture is coming and will happen on May 21." Ironically, she gave one such flyer to a cashier while purchasing tomatoes to plant in her summer garden. Another couple in the New York just quit their jobs because they believe the Rapture will happen on May 21, 2011, too, and feel it is their duty to warn people that "the end is near."

My response is: WHO CARES?

For those of you who don't know, the Rapture refers to the...