James Alexander's Blog, page 6

It’s Official – I’m Now a “Tweeter”! Or is it “Twitterer”?

I finally have taken the plunge and set up my account on Twitter.  It’s still amazing to me that I have successfully avoided the Twitter craze for as long as I have.  It also amazes me how ignorant I am to how it all works.

Setting up my profile was very easy to do with the hardest part being the process of deciding on a username that wasn’t already taken: JamesAlexander – No, James_Alexander – No (How many of me are out there?), Alexander_James – No, JAlexander – Of course not, I even tried James_Alexander1979 – No again.  At that point I banged my head against the keyboard, mashing all the keys and leaving strange indents in my forehead to get username laksdjfajofiwej and guess what?  If you guessed it wasn’t taken, you’re right.  But why would I want that for a username?

In the end, I wound up with JAlexander_2012.  I know – not extremely original, but better then laksdjfajofiwej.

With all that out of the way, I proceeded to upload my photo – which I had to resize multiple times to get Twitter to accept.  Proud, I leaned back in my chair admiring my handiwork.  And there it was.  The number 0 staring back at me for the number of tweets I have made.  I needed to take care of that immediately!  140 characters are all I need.  That should be easy!

*Crickets*

OK, 140 characters and NO followers listed.  What do I tweet about?  I never realized I’d have that dilemma.  So I thought to myself, Really?  C’mon!  You can do this!

*Crickets*

Finally, with no genius ideas coming to mind, I decided I’d do what I do when I write and hit a wall of self-doubt or a block – just write anything!  This is what my first tweet was (Get ready!  It’s amazing!):

“This is the first tweet of my life!”

Yes, lame.  I know.  But it did get the ball rolling – at least until my next tweet.  So there is my writing tip – buried in this post.  If you don’t know what to write or are in a block – write.  Who cares if it’s garbage?  It can always be edited later.  True, in my case, my first Twitter post will haunt me forever, but I’m proud of it.  First, I’m on Twitter, which I never thought I would be, second, I pushed past my First Twitter Post phobia, and third, I can’t post any worse of tweet than that.  So my only way is up from there.

I’d love some followers on Twitter where I will be posting news on my current work as well as cool things about my projects I have already completed.  Who knows – maybe someday I’ll post something witty!

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2012Original content here is published under these license terms: X License Type:1License Summary:Tweet

It's Official – I'm Now a "Tweeter"! Or is it "Twitterer"?

I finally have taken the plunge and set up my account on Twitter.  It's still amazing to me that I have successfully avoided the Twitter craze for as long as I have.  It also amazes me how ignorant I am to how it all works.

Setting up my profile was very easy to do with the hardest part being the process of deciding on a username that wasn't already taken: JamesAlexander – No, James_Alexander – No (How many of me are out there?), Alexander_James – No, JAlexander – Of course not, I even tried James_Alexander1979 – No again.  At that point I banged my head against the keyboard, mashing all the keys and leaving strange indents in my forehead to get username laksdjfajofiwej and guess what?  If you guessed it wasn't taken, you're right.  But why would I want that for a username?

In the end, I wound up with JAlexander_2012.  I know – not extremely original, but better then laksdjfajofiwej.

With all that out of the way, I proceeded to upload my photo – which I had to resize multiple times to get Twitter to accept.  Proud, I leaned back in my chair admiring my handiwork.  And there it was.  The number 0 staring back at me for the number of tweets I have made.  I needed to take care of that immediately!  140 characters are all I need.  That should be easy!

*Crickets*

OK, 140 characters and NO followers listed.  What do I tweet about?  I never realized I'd have that dilemma.  So I thought to myself, Really?  C'mon!  You can do this!

*Crickets*

Finally, with no genius ideas coming to mind, I decided I'd do what I do when I write and hit a wall of self-doubt or a block – just write anything!  This is what my first tweet was (Get ready!  It's amazing!):

"This is the first tweet of my life!"

Yes, lame.  I know.  But it did get the ball rolling – at least until my next tweet.  So there is my writing tip – buried in this post.  If you don't know what to write or are in a block – write.  Who cares if it's garbage?  It can always be edited later.  True, in my case, my first Twitter post will haunt me forever, but I'm proud of it.  First, I'm on Twitter, which I never thought I would be, second, I pushed past my First Twitter Post phobia, and third, I can't post any worse of tweet than that.  So my only way is up from there.

I'd love some followers on Twitter where I will be posting news on my current work as well as cool things about my projects I have already completed.  Who knows – maybe someday I'll post something witty!

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2012Original content here is published under these license terms: X License Type:1License Summary:Tweet

Characters in Conduit: The Beginning

Now that my book "Conduit: The Beginning" is starting to reach some readers, I'm hoping to start some discussion around the many characters in the book.  I'm anxious to hear what character people loved to read about the most.

I will be starting another category for all the characters in Conduit and will start in the order as characters are presented in the story.  First up is Jack Connor.

Jack Connor, an average man, who cares for his family above all else is the kind of person most people would want for a friend.  Dependable, easy-going, hardworking, and kind are all words that describe Jack.  Though Jack tends to want everyone to get along, he isn't one that can be pushed.  Hurting those he loves is the worst thing you could do, because Jack will not back down from a fight.

Not to give the story away, Jack is a very important character that saves the life of Marcus as a baby, who will grow to be the only hope for humanity through an alien invasion.  Without thinking, Jack puts himself in harms way to save a baby he had never known.

My goal for this character was to show how an ordinary person, everyone can relate to, can rise to take action when necessary and how important they are to our world.  Anyone can rise to be a hero, regardless of their work or history.

Jack hates his job.  It is demeaning to him and he feels deep down that he is meant for more then what he does for work, yet he goes to work everyday because he cares about his family and needs to support his wife and child.

Caught in the usual daily events, Jack's life takes a sharp turn when an event at a mall occurs and turns Jack from an everyday man into a hero.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2012Original content here is published under these license terms: X License Type:1License Summary:

Amazon Promotion Success!

I have been away from my website for a few days recovering from an eventful week-end.  Saturday and Sunday I ran a promotion for my new book, "Conduit: The Beginning", by offering it on Amazon for FREE!  I believe it to have been a very successful campaign, though I believe there was a glitch with Amazon which may have robbed me of some potential readers.  Several people have told me that my book was not being displayed as "free" when they went to grab a copy.  From what I have read on the support forums, others have had similar issues in the past.

Ignoring the glitch that occurred, "Conduit" managed to hold a spot within in the top 10 free list under Science Fiction/Adventure by Saturday evening with its subcategory, Mystery/Thriller/Suspense, it had landed in the top 30.  I was elated when I went to bed that night.  Being a new author with little knowledge of self-publishing, I was overjoyed that my book was moving so quickly.  Then came Sunday.

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Obviously, checking to see how "Conduit" was doing was the first thing I did Sunday morning.  I had successfully maintained my hold on #10 and #30.  My overall rank on all of Amazon had moved up from a dismal 200,000 all the way up to 530!  All day long I was on the phone,  watching my book climb the ranks – I think my wife was about to throw my phone away on me.  By midday, I had overtaken several spots under Sci-Fi/Adventure to land at #6 and #21 for Thriller/Suspense.  I can't explain how exciting it is to see the book that you have worked on for so long land in the hands of so many readers.  Yes, I know, it's free.  But I really don't care.  I hope that people enjoy my story as much as I did writing it.

In the end, I had climbed all the way to #4 in Sci-Fi/Adventure, landing right next to H. G. Wells' Time Machine in #3.  In Thriller/Suspense, I managed to land in #12.

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Not bad for a new guy on the block!  "Conduit" fared well, landing in two top 100 lists.  If you missed the chance to grab a free copy, I am running a discount through the week-end, selling my story for .99.  Not free, but close!

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2012Original content here is published under these license terms: X License Type:1License Summary:

Posting a Story to Amazon, Part 2: KDP Select? What is that?

As I had mentioned in an , I hoped to help those thinking about publishing their books online themselves, by sharing some of the pitfalls and troubles I have experienced with the process of publishing my novel with Amazon.  My first post related to forgetting to enter the author name.  I'm still amazed at how I managed to fall for that one but from what I've read online in the Kindle support forum, it's a fairly common mistake.  At least that is what I keep telling myself.

Today's post is not about forgetting names, but is about Amazon's option to publish through their program, KDP Select.

What is KDP Select?

It took me some time to understand, but in summary, KDP Select is a large fund for authors who enroll their books in the program.  I believe that this month's fund is $600,000.00.  The amount is adjusted every month based on how many participants have signed into the program.  What the fund covers are the books that are "borrowed".  The books that are eligible to be borrowed are those where the author has chosen to participate in KDP Select.  Every time a book is borrowed, it is assigned a portion of the fund.  It is a very small percentage so to make any decent amount of money; a book would have to be borrowed a lot.

It took me some time to decide if I wanted to enroll in the program.  Not because I thought the earnings would be minimal on borrowed books – I believe that by participating in the Kindle library it in increases a book's reach, but because Amazon requires that an author make the book exclusive to Amazon for ninety days.  This means that the author's work cannot be posted anywhere else electronically for that period of time.

To help sway people to still participate after the exclusivity contract, Amazon adds in a five day promotional period that can be used at any time during the ninety days.  I read that section and thought, "Great! I'll do it!"  That was until I read the next statement that any books bought during a promotional period are free.

A lot of people swear by the program and an equal number of people hate it.  So why do it?  I'll save that for another post.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2012Original content here is published under these license terms: X License Type:1License Summary:

But I don't have a Kindle!

Shortly after posting "Conduit: The Beginning" to Amazon and blasting out the news that my novel was available for purchase, I received numerous comments that people would like to buy the book but do not own a Kindle.

Due to restrictions on publishing work to Amazon, I am unable to open my novel up to other platforms such as the Nook, iPad, or Sony Reader for ninety days.  After the ninety days is over, I will be pushing it out to the other readers in addition to the Kindle.  Unfortunately, for those that do not own a Kindle, they will have to either download a free application that allows the purchase of ebooks from Amazon or will have to wait until the exclusivity period is over and "The Conduit" is available for purchase on other readers.

Amazon offers free Kindle applications for many different platforms including:

iPhone
Windows
Mac
Blackberry
iPad
Android
Windows 7 Phone

Simply click on the link that applies to you and follow the instructions on the page.  Once installed, enter the user information to access the Kindle store.

I hope this helps so that more people may enjoy my story.  It's a good one!

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2012Original content here is published under these license terms: X License Type:1License Summary:

Big Announcement!

This is going to be a very quick note to let everyone know that my story, "Conduit: The Beginning", is now available for purchase for the Kindle at Amazon.com.

I am of course very excited, but I'm also extremely busy trying to get the word out.  For those that read my novel and enjoy it, please let others know about my story.  Publishing a novel is but one step of the process, but the other step of getting the word out so that people know the story exists is probably the most difficult.  At least that it is what I have discovered.

I'm off to blaze a trail in cyberspace now.  Wish me luck!

 

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2012Original content here is published under these license terms: X License Type:1License Summary:

Posting a Story to Amazon, Part 1: Don't Forget Your Name!

It's done!  I uploaded my story, "Conduit: The Beginning", to Amazon yesterday.  I had a lot of questions related to posting my work to Amazon and other platforms.  Many blogs out there have advice on why to self-publish through the Kindle or other platforms such as the Nook, but I had a hard time finding any step by step directions and tips on how to do it.

I really didn't want to look like a fool and make some stupid mistake.  I've written my story, gone through countless edits, and even worked to get a nice cover.  The last thing I wanted to do was send it out there for the first time with problems.  I scoured the internet looking for tips on how to proceed and most of the time I would find conflicting advice from one blog to the other resulting in aggravation and bad headaches.

Hoping to save others the cost of several bottles of Tylenol, I decided to devote some of my blog to explaining the steps to getting a story out on Amazon and show some of the issues I ran into along the way.  I will be categorizing my tips under the category labeled "Self-Publishing Tips".

I already mentioned how I hoped to avoid making any silly mistakes with posting my story.  I haven't said yet that I already did make a silly mistake.  As I anxiously waited for my story to move from the review stage to the publishing stage, I wondered why it was taking so long.  As it turns out, I checked everything twice to make sure I had everything correct before hitting the submit button to send my story for review.  What I hadn't checked was where I was supposed to enter my name as the author.  Needless to say, I felt brilliant after realizing why Amazon ended up sending my story back to the draft state for resubmission.

So there is my first tip for submitting a story to Amazon as commonsensical as it sounds.  Make sure the author's name field is completed.

Now, I'll cross my fingers once again and anxiously wait for my story to magically appear on Amazon.com!

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2012Original content here is published under these license terms: X License Type:1License Summary:

Book Cover Dilemma: To Pay or Not to Pay?

The release day of my story Conduit is fast approaching. As of late, I have been working with a talented artist on the design of my cover. I had originally tried to design the cover myself but found I'd be better off hiring someone with more skill then I possess in the Photoshop realm – sadly learned from experience.

I have to give myself a pat on the back though, my attempt wasn't too bad. Especially for someone who had only used Photoshop in college years ago. Compared to a lot of DIY covers out there, I think it would hold its own well enough. I had some grand ideas of what I wanted my cover to be and I began to dig into the free trial only to realize how much things have changed since my coursework in 1998. I remembered completing my project for the class which consisted of a giant squirrel crushing an image of the hotel I was working at through my college years. The image of a giant Mr. Clean, the hotel's mascot at the time, stood laughing in the background (I really didn't have anything against my job. I was actually enjoying it and even shared the image with my manager who thought it was quite funny – so it wasn't a disgruntled employee sort of thing.)

With my hopes set high, I started drafting the image from a blank slate and then it hit me. Back in the day, there weren't all these stupid rules around rights to images. One could open up the web browser – which happened to be Netscape at the time – and find images to their heart's content so long as the page didn't have copyright signs posted throughout the site. (That is at least what the instructor informed the class. Maybe she's in jail now?) Now there are sites dedicated to clipart and images that designers pay money to use. Even images of toilette paper can be right protected. Good luck finding any decent free use image.

Still determined, I whipped out my digital camera and began snapping images of cross necklaces – my wife was good about it and lent me her jewelry and granted me all rights to the images I created. One hurdle out of the way, but I really wanted a needle in the picture since the theme in my story is science vs. religion. I'm no addict and I don't have any diseases, at least that I know of and prefer to happily remain ignorant of it if I do, that require injections. So where would I find a needle?

Again, I have to give my wife credit. Using a dropper from baby Advil and a needle, she snapped a picture. It fooled me, but that's not saying much.

Now, with all the layers I needed, I put them together. A day later, I sat and stared at the picture with triumph. I happily began to share the picture with friends and family to get their opinions. The responses I got ranged from a flat, "Yeah, that's neat." to a boring, "eh." So I went back to the computer and stared at the image with a new perspective. After a moment of swearing to myself once I realized everyone else was right, which I hate to admit, I took some advice and decided to pay for someone else to do it.

After a few different versions of the artwork, I decided that I've tortured the poor artist enough. Everything that I received was excellent, but I couldn't quite fit them to my story. I believe with this latest round, there are some versions that fit perfectly. Now I have the hard task of deciding on which I want to use.

If you have read this far, you may be wondering what the point was to all my ramblings. To summarize it all as one quick tip for authors who aim to self-publish their work: hire someone to design the book cover. Unless an author happens to be a maverick of all trades and has a reservoir of artistic ability to draw upon, I guarantee they could never create cover art as well as a person who specializes in graphic arts. I especially realized this when I saw the first images that came through from the artist. I had to force myself to swallow my pride and pony up the funds.

If my book tanks, at least it will tank with a nice cover.

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Submissions Pet Peeve

I have a pet peeve – I know, I have many. I promise to make it short. As a new author trying to get my work to a publisher, I find myself scouring the listings of publishers that will still accept un-agented submissions. My heart skips a beat when I find one, since most publishers these days do not want to have to wade through all the paperwork themselves. What publisher would want to? When agents can do most of that work, why spend the time and resources on tackling the daunting task of telling authors they don't want the project they had spent days and sometimes years on creating?

Excited, I start reading the submission policies. Usually a huge listing of requirements ranging from typeset all the way to how you seal the envelope. OK, that last part is a bit extreme and I made it up. There are a lot of requirements though. Some publishers are easier going – especially the ebook publishers because there is less to lose then going to print.

I read each requirement carefully, checking them off as I go. Then I see the waiting time to expect a response if I'm lucky enough to get one at all. Usually around 6-12 months. Yikes! My hope fades as I think to myself, "Great. More waiting", followed by, "Oh, stop being a whiny ass and do it." I take a deep breath and read further.

There it is. The part that peeves me the most. It's not the fact that a response could take a year or that I may not even get a response. It's the part where they will not accept submissions that another publisher may be reviewing as well. No wonder it can take years for a book to be published! Not all publishers list this requirement, but I am finding that many do. I find myself wondering how they could possibly know anyway. Still there is always the off chance that an editor may talk to another editor and the subject of the story that had been submitted to both publishers comes up. I guess at that point, the author will look pretty stupid.

I understand why publishers put this requirement out there. They are flooded with submissions and it is inconvenient for them to spend time on a story that may have been accepted by another publisher down the street a day before. But isn't the game we all play? The early bird gets the worm, right?

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