Konn Lavery's Blog: Posts from konnlavery.com, page 32
May 9, 2019
Forecasting
Okay! So, April was an exciting month. We had a book signing
and then the Calgary Comic Expo which was a four-day fandom convention. I sold
a short story and revealed the cover to the short Mental
Damnation story that will be out with Constellate Publishing. On top of all
of that, the new novel, The White Hand,
has been going through formatting and I finally got the proof in my hand – woohoo!
That’s a busy month. None of it would have been possible if I wasn’t
forecasting the whirlwind of activity.
Welcome to Another Edition of Unprocessed Thoughts
There have been many projects since winter has come to an
end. The increase of work is typical with the design and web world. After about
five years of doing freelance work, I have become wiser at forecasting
workloads and adjusting accordingly.
For April, I have gotten no writing done. That’s right,
nothing. I still had flash fiction coming out and short stories being
announced. This was because of forecasting and being able to backlog some
writing in preparation for the busy season with graphic design and web
development. It worked out. Sure, the design work was crazy, days were long,
and deadlines were near, but it was far more manageable than having to do all
the writing on top of it.
Planning works wonders. Taking action during down periods
works wonders. If I hadn’t, I don’t think anything would have been completed in
time. That includes web design projects, short stories, and the new novel. Its
easier to schedule the blog for a couple of months and do a bunch of writing
over a few days rather than trying to squeeze it in between back-to-back
meetings, emails, and phone calls.
Calgary Comic Expo
Enough about forecasting. Let’s chat about the Calgary Comic
Expo. I organized a couple of panels like with other years and manned the booth
all weekend with some new adjustments to how I handle sales and presentation.
It was a success. This was the best expo to date and am humbled by the amount
of people who have enjoyed the stories and came back for more. Wow. That is one
way to become supercharged with purpose when writing.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Konn Lavery (@_konnartist) on Apr 25, 2019 at 12:19pm PDT
The Love of Writing
I am beyond excited to launch The White Hand in June and continue
to expand on writing. More exciting things are planned with the Rutherford
Manor universe. Not much to share now, but trust me, all good things.
The slasher novel is going through a third wave of beta
readers for one more set of feedback. It has expanded drastically from the
50,000 words of the original draft up to 65,000. As I have mentioned before,
this one I am holding onto. No rush to get this one out since The White Hand is the primary focus.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Konn Lavery (@_konnartist) on Apr 1, 2019 at 11:20am PDT
Then there is the Mental Damnation series. I made that cruel
April fool’s joke on the 1st of April. I must apologize (sort of)
for the joke. Steamy is not the fourth novel. I did however refresh myself on
the series by re-reading the three books and reviewing all of the plot notes to
date. Why? To finish of the series of course. No confirmed launch time yet, it
is still in the early plotting phase.
Think of it this way; the story progression had been frozen
since the original manuscript back in 2006. Lots of the plot has been altered
since then with the release of Reality in 2012, Dream and Fusion in 2014, and
the rereleases in 2017-2018 but the story arc up to the end of Purity remained
the same.
The ending of Mental Damnation has always been in mind, but
now it is about bridging the gap between where Purity ended and where the
series ends. It’ll be quite the challenge, and small steps are necessary. Hence
the forecasting at the beginning of the year and brushing up on the lore was vital
to start book four.
Beer Note: Hitachino Nest Red Rice Ale
This month I had Hitachino Nest’s Red Rice Ale. A Japanese
beer that has a 7% alcohol level with a rich amber flavor. It is pretty clean
and light too which makes it easy to sip on. If you enjoy amber beers this puts
a fun spin on it with the cleanliness.
The post Forecasting appeared first on Konn Lavery.
May 8, 2019
Interview on NF Reads
I had the opportunity to have an interview with Tony from NFReads.com where I chat about how I handle the difficulties of writing, provide insight into the craft, and about my latest work. We cover the following questions:
What is/are the story(ies) behind your book(s)?What inspires/inspired your creativity?How do you deal with creative block?What are the biggest mistakes you can make in a book?Do you have tips on choosing titles and covers?How do bad reviews and negative feedback affect you and how do you deal with them?How has your creation process improved over time?What were the best, worst and most surprising things you encountered during the entire process of completing your book(s)?What are your plans for future books?Tell us some quirky facts about yourself
The post Interview on NF Reads appeared first on Konn Lavery.
May 1, 2019
GeekNerdNet Interview
During Edmonton Comic Expo 2018 GeekNerdNet did an interview with me.
The following interview was recorded and written by Chris Doucher, Managing Editor for GeekNerdNet. (Photo credits to Charles Cousins and Chris Doucher.)
Give it a listen below:
The post GeekNerdNet Interview appeared first on Konn Lavery.
April 30, 2019
Calgary Horror Con 2019
This year I am pleased to announce I will be a part of the Calgary Horror Con!
There are many special guests, screenings and vendors at this convention.
Find the map and full list of vendors on the Calgary Horror Con website.
When?
June 22nd & 23rd, 2018
11:00 am – 7:00 pm daily
Where?
Clarion Hotel
2120 16 Ave NE
Calgary, AB T2E 1L4
The post Calgary Horror Con 2019 appeared first on Konn Lavery.
The White Hand Official Launch
Based on the award-winning Canadian haunt and forthcoming television
series, The White Hand brings you into a historical thriller of
mobsters, forbidden love, old souls, and betrayal.
The White Hand dives into the dark world of resurrectionists during
1890 in Illinois. Headmaster Alastor Flesher and his business partner,
Spalding Savidge, find themselves desperate to provide for their
families. They willingly partner with the Irish mob – The White Hand –
to sell corpses to anatomists. The deal twists while secrets are kept
between the families. Spalding develops uncertain emotions for Irene,
the daughter of The White Hand’s boss. With a dash of foul play and new
allies, Spalding is forced to become the voice of reason within
Rutherford Manor while he loses his sense of judgement.
Join the Fleshers and the Savidges as they plummet into an
era-altering series of events that will change Rutherford Manor forever.
When?
June 19th: Reading 7pm -8pm
IntroReading/explain researchQ&A
Signing 8pm-9pm
Where?
Audreys Books Ltd
10702 Jasper Ave, Edmonton, AB T5J 3J5
The post The White Hand Official Launch appeared first on Konn Lavery.
VIP Book Launch – The White Hand
RUTHERFORD MANOR VIP BOOK LAUNCH PARTY!!!
Come join us at the launch party for the next saga in the world of Rutherford Manor with the release of THE WHITE HAND by horror/thriller author, Konn Lavery.
Based on the award-winning Canadian haunt and forthcoming television series, The White Hand brings you into a historical thriller of mobsters, forbidden love, old souls, and betrayal.
The White Hand dives into the dark world of resurrectionists during 1890 in Illinois. Headmaster Alastor Flesher and his business partner, Spalding Savidge, find themselves desperate to provide for their families. They willingly partner with the Irish mob – The White Hand – to sell corpses to anatomists. The deal twists while secrets are kept between the families. Spalding develops uncertain emotions for Irene, the daughter of The White Hand’s boss. With a dash of foul play and new allies, Spalding is forced to become the voice of reason within Rutherford Manor while he loses his sense of judgement.
Join the Fleshers and the Savidges as they plummet into an era-altering series of events that will change Rutherford Manor forever.
EVENT DETAILS:
The Canadian Brewhouse (Sherwood Park, Alberta) 270 Baseline Rd. Unit 200, Sherwood Park, Alberta T8H 1R4
Arrive: 6:30 PM
Live Reading: 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Book Signing: 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Party Time: 9:00 PM onward
Arrive: 6:30 PM
Live Reading: 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Book Signing: 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Party Time: 9:00 PM onward
LIMITED SPACE – RSVP REQUIRED
Other Details:
This is a Free Event open to anyone! Space is limited so please indicate if you are coming ASAP. Attendees will be responsible for their own food and drink. Books will be available for purchase at the event.
The post VIP Book Launch – The White Hand appeared first on Konn Lavery.
Book Signing at Southpoint Chapters
On May 11th I will be at Southpoint Chapters for a signing of all five of my books. Drop in for a meet & greet the author, artwork, and of course, the books themselves.
When and Where:
Saturday, May 11th from 11:00am – 4:00pm
Chapters Southpoint
3227 Calgary Trail NW
Edmonton
T6J 5X8
The post Book Signing at Southpoint Chapters appeared first on Konn Lavery.
April 22, 2019
Goat Wisdom
The first period of the day is coming to an end. Three friends are exhausted from hearing their teachers talk all day about nonsense – time to skip class, smoke up, and relax. During the get-away, one of the friends finds himself in a difficult dilemma after being given the best advice of his life from an unlikely source.
Goat Wisdom is April’s flash fiction that brings readers into the eyes of a teenage boy who is stuck in a weed-induced conflict that will change his high school experience forever. Enjoy the story in written word, audio, artwork and soundscape.
Goat Wisdom
In Hell
It was one of those days at school. A day you wish you
didn’t have to go because the teachers breathe down your neck about everything
you do, and the other normie-kids talk about stupid music and TV shows. Not to
mention you see your crush hitting it off with her new boyfriend – the
quarterback of the football team. Honestly, a day like this was a typical day at school. I can’t really recall a
good one. Oh well. Cheers to the best times of my life.
I fiddle with my pencil, carving into the desk’s wood,
following the texture of the plank, filling it with lead. It was a mundane,
pointless activity that I like to do
while I was in the classroom. Carving lead into the desk was better than
listening to Mr. Patton ramble on about physics. Where am I even going to use this
stuff? I don’t want to be some sort of Einstein. Apparently, we’re supposed to take all types of sciences in grade 10 so we
can decide where we want to go. I know where I want to go: cloud 9.
“I want you all to turn to page 27,” said Mr. Patton. “Read
the assignment. You can do the first portion of the assignment for the rest of
the class and the second portion when you’re
home.”
The whole class – of
about 30 –pulled out their pencils, turned to the right page and began reading. Some of the keeners in the front were the quickest
to turn the page, probably because they were following along with Mr. Patton unlike
me. I just flipped open to a random page to look like I was paying attention.
“Hey man,” whispered the boy next to me.
I turned to look at the boy, Alex, one of my good pals. For
the first time today, I noticed his Goat Lord T-shirt – a kick ass death metal
band we enjoyed. We actually had the same
shirt and made sure we didn’t wear it on the same day. He could wear it on
Wednesdays, I wore mine on Tuesdays. The last time we matched shirts, the jokes were aplenty about us being a
couple. Now we avoid that risk.
“Yeah?” I asked.
“You want to get out of here when we are done class?” He asked.
“Damn right I do,” I said.
“Right on, you got some green in your locker?” Alex asked.
“Sure do,” I said with a grin. “We should get Felicia in on
this too.”
“You just want to try and stick your hands down her pants,”
Alex said.
I tightened the grip on the pencil. Alex’s words irritated
me because they were right. He was a good
friend and had the rights to remind me if I was doing something stupid. I just
didn’t want to hear it. I couldn’t understand why she would go for someone like
Don. I suppose being quarterback made you cool despite being a complete dud. Then
there was his goofy face.
“Well,” I said. “If I run into Felicia, I will talk to her.
If I don’t, we can just head to the ravine instead.”
“Sure, whatever you say,” Alex said. “As long as she is cool
with my mixtape.”
“Totally, she’s into metal.”
“Yeah, the mainstream stuff,” he mumbled while staring down
at his book. His face painted confusion while reading the text – probably a
very similar version of my own expression throughout the class. Neither of us was interested in physics. Got to love that
forced education system hey?
For the rest of the period,
we stared at our assignments, pretending to work. Alex was doing something in
the book while I doodled around the edges of the paper. Unfortunately, Mr. Patton watched everyone like a hawk,
waiting to strike its prey. He loved catching students misbehaving. That’s why
we pretended to work. Later, we would pay off one of the smarter kids to help
us with our assignment. Smart kids like drugs too.
Eventually, the heavens heard our agony, and the bell rang.
Finally, I
thought. That class could not have ended
soon enough.
Gathering the Goods
Alex and I packed up our things and hurried out of the
classroom. We had our exit strategy on routine and were often the first one to
leave the class, despite being in the
back of the room. Alex and I walked through the hallway to our lockers. They
were at the opposite wings of the school. It was kind of a bummer, but we
always knew where to meet up when skipping class. Physics was pretty dull, but the next period was social sciences.
God no.
I hurried through the hall to get my locker. My route when leaving
physics class took me right past Felicia’s locker. On most days I could see her
making out with Don. That creep would have his hands all over her body. The
rage I felt mostly comes from jealousy. Truthfully, that’s what I wanted you to
her.
Just like every other day, she was at her locker. Lucky for
me, today, Don was not here.
Looks like Felicia can
have some fun, I thought.
Slowing my pace to a relaxed
stride, I approached Felicia as she sifted through her locker. I nodded my head
at her, saying, “hey sup?”
“Hey!” Felicia jumped and smiled at me. There it was, that
deadly smile, one that could freeze even the most willful of souls. She had a way
with her grin – and maybe her whole mouth. I’d love to find out. Either way, I
sometimes wondered if she was friendly to everyone or she actually liked me.
We’ve known each other since junior high. My feelings for her just multiplied
over the years. It probably had something to do with teenage hormones.
“Alex and I are going to the ravine to have some dope. You
want in?” I asked.
“Yes! I do.” Felicia shut her locker and adjusted her
backpack. “We going now?”
“Yep, going to meet Alex just out by the east wing.”
“Think we have some time to grab Don?” Felicia asked.
“Uh, probably not,” I
said. “Doesn’t he have to go chase around
some boys on the football field?” I said humorously.
Felicia giggled and brushed her red hair aside, exposing her
neck. “So how was Mr. Patton, Is he still running that dictatorship of a
classroom?”
“You betcha,” I said as the two of us began to walk. “How
about you?”
“Oh, you know, math is math. I don’t mind it. I just can’t
wait to get the hell out of here.”
“Two more years,” I said.
Felicia and I reached my locker where I snagged the small
jar that contained joint. I always tried to reduce the smell by hiding it
inside a glass container with the cork. It reduced
the scent a bit. The method wasn’t
perfect though. As long as I kept it at the bottom of my backpack, no one would
know as we left the school. With the joint obtained, Felicia and I left my
locker and went to find Alex.
The two of us continued to walk down the hall to the
opposite wing of the school. Alex’s locker was right beside the exit to the
football field and the track and field course. The two of us chatted during the
walk about the same stuff we usually did: movies, music, and video games. Time
was a blur with that girl.
Blow This Pop Stand
Felicia and I exited the school find Alex leaning against
the brick wall. The boy saw us and perked up.
“There you are,” Alex said. The statement was obviously
directed towards me. Alex was not too fond Felicia. He could see how this girl
had me wrapped around her finger – whether she knew it or not. Plus, Alex was
kind of a purist when it came to music. If anyone didn’t fit within his
criteria of taste, they were not cool enough to hang out with them. He probably
tolerated Felicia just because I liked her.
“Yeah man,” I said. “I was just grabbing my stuff.”
“Cool,” Alex said while walking with Felicia and I.
“I’m so glad you guys can get your hands on some dope,” Felicia
said. “My dad would kill me if he knew I was into this.”
“Me too,” I said. “I just don’t give a shit.”
The three of us laughed as we walked across the grass. Felicia’s
eyes seemed to look at the football field as we moved by it. The football
players were all training together in their uniforms while the coach directed
them to perform specific tasks. That
never looked fun. But I knew Felicia was not looking at the scene, she was
trying to see if Don was there.
That douche, I
thought.
Eventually, our path
took us to the fence at the end of the school’s property. This fence was
directly beside the river valley where we were able to move down the dirt path.
This path was made mostly by students. It wasn’t paved or covered in gravel
which meant roots were sticking out. Bumps and ditches were also throughout the
trail. The three of us had to pay close attention
as we descended deep the ravine. We continued through the forest until we found
our familiar secluded spot. It was off the beaten path and difficult to see due
to the thick foliage and dense trees.
Getting High
“Secluded enough?” Felicia said.
“Well, we don’t want to get caught,” Alex said as he pulled
out his portable boombox from his backpack.
“This is the usual spot Alex and
I go to smoke,” I said while taking the glass container out of my backpack
along with a lighter.
Felicia began to play with her hair saying, “boy I feel
special.” She smiled. That deadly smile again. It caught me, and I couldn’t look away.
Blaring metal music shot me back into reality, and I looked away from the girl to see Alex had
put a CD into the boombox – good old Goat Lord. I didn’t even realize how long
I was staring at Felicia for. Thankfully, she was staring at me, and she didn’t
look away after the music started.
She’s into me, I
thought. Oh, how I would love to make some kind of move on her.
Feeling cool since I had Felicia’s attention, I took the
joint out of the glass container and lit it. I brought it to my lips and took a
puff, embracing that sweet taste of green. The smell of marijuana filled my
lungs and the air around us. I passed the joint to Felicia. She inhaled and then
exhaled slowly, letting the smoke ease its way out of her mouth and past her
lips.
“That’s smooth,” Felicia said while passing the joint Alex.
“The best,” Alex said while taking the joint and having a
puff.
We continue to pass the joint around, each embracing the
wonderfulness of the drug. Each puff that we had caused the weed’s effects to grow stronger in our systems. We
laughed, joked, and chatted until there was nothing left of the joint. At this
point, all three of us were feeling pretty good. Each of us gazed into different directions, downing our
ears to Goat Lord. Felicia began playing with her hair while using a stick
drawing the dirt. Alex was laying on his back looking up at the leaves. His
head rested on his hands. He had a funny smile on his face that just wouldn’t
go away. That is what made weed so awesome – it always put you in a good mood.
As for me, I tried not to stare at Felicia. Man,
she is hot.
My mind wandered from the girl into bigger picture stuff,
like what was the purpose of school? Society forced the youth to work so hard at
pointless subjects. They want us to learn things
we don’t care about. We barely even know ourselves, and we are trying to understand how particles move? It’s
ridiculous. The other part of my mind got sucked back into the Felicia fantasy.
She sat close to me. I wasn’t sure if it was the weed, or if she actually was
leaning a little closer. It was a bit hard
to tell while being high.
“KISS HER,” came a whisper.
I looked around, trying to see where the voice came from. It
had to be Alex. The sound was a raspy
male voice.
“DO IT NOW,” came the voice.
The voice came from Alex’s direction, yet his lips weren’t moving.
Where was it coming from?
“KISS FELICIA,” came the voice again. This time I could see
that the sound came from the Goat Lord T-shirt.
The animal’s mouth moved as it spoke.
No way, I thought.
This was the most intense experience I had ever had on weed. That goat was actually
talking to me.
“KISS HER NOW, OR YOU WILL REGRET IT,” said the goat. The
illustration of the goat looked directly at me while it talked. The mouth moved
in a very human-like motion.
I was not a fool, I knew that T-shirts couldn’t talk let
alone give pretty good advice. Even though I knew it was the drug talking, I
liked what the goat had to say.
I looked away from the goat illustration and at Felicia. Her
red hair, green eyes, smooth legs… everything about her. That goat was a
reflection of my deepest desires. All I wanted to do was take Felicia into my
arms and start playing suck-face. It’s all I ever wanted to do. From what I
could tell she was into me too, despite being with Don.
I leaned in slowly towards
the girl and then paused. No, I
thought.
A moment of clarity hit me: if I kissed Felicia, what would
that mean? Felicia was seeing Don, and things seem to be going well with them.
I was already not in the good books with the football team, how much more
difficult would that make my life? At the core of my relationship with Felicia,
I was her friend. I truly cared about her. What if she wasn’t giving me hints
and I did kiss her? She would feel betrayed and creeped
out. Don would kick my ass.
“DO IT NOW!” came the commanding voice of the goat
illustration. “DO IT NOW BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.”
I froze. This was a dilemma I never thought I would have to
experience in my life. On the one hand, the
girl wanted was right beside me – being questionably close. On the other hand,
I could not tell if this was all just the weed. After
all, I was getting advice from a talking goat illustration on a T-shirt.
“YOU MUST,” the goat said.
“No!” I shouted.
My shouting caught the attention of Felicia and Alex. Hell,
I startled myself too. The sudden sound threw us all off, killing the weed-vibe
we were experiencing. Felicia scooted away from me while Alex stood up,
brushing the dirt and grass from the back of his shirt.
“What time is it?” Felicia asked.
“Probably getting close to the end of the period,” Alex said
pressing stop on the boombox and grabbing it.
I stared at Alex’s T-shirt, my eyes fixated on the goat
illustration. It was no longer animated. The eyes were as lifeless as they were
before the weed. Its mouth didn’t move. There were no voices.
Regret
I got up on the grass scratched my neck, I felt nervous that
I shouted out some words to my friends that had no context to the situation.
“Smoke much, man?”
Alex said with a grin.
“I guess so. Shit, I
had some bizarre thoughts,” I said. “I’m wondering if that thing laced with something
else.”
“Doubt it. Seemed normal to me,” Alex said. “I think you
just tripped some serious balls.”
Felicia giggled while the two of them began to walk back to
the school. I followed them, and the
three of us walked as a group. I wanted to tell my friends about the ridiculous
experience I had with the auditory hallucination. The rational part of me said no.
It was a ridiculous story, and it might weird Felicia out. Maybe I could
tell Alex later. For now, this stayed with me.
The three of us exited the ravine and returned to the school
property. We walked across the grass until we made it near the football field
where the football team was just
finishing up their training routine.
One football player noticed us, and he stepped away from the group, waving.
Oh no, I thought.
Right away I knew it was Don.
Felicia waved at the boy at the football field. He began to
jog toward us. Felicia hurried towards
him, leaving me with Alex behind.
“There goes your girl,” Alex said.
“Yeah,” I said. There really wasn’t much else to say. Felicia
had the most popular guys in school for her boyfriend. I was just her stoner
buddy, watching in disgust as Don and Felicia embraced one another. Her arms wrapped
around his neck. His hands firmly gripped her ass. The two of them began to
make out disgustingly. I just couldn’t
look at anymore.
“Let’s get something to eat,” I said. Truthfully, I wanted
to get out of there.
He was right, I
suddenly thought.
In that doped-up state-of-existence, I heard words of wisdom from an unlikely source. Instead of listening to the strange goat’s words, I decided not to. With a clear mind, I recalled the scene in the ravine: Felicia and my knees were nearly touching, she kept playing with her hair while leaning towards me, and she was looking at me for prolonged periods. She was just too shy to make a move – just like me. The goat was the voice of reason in the situation who was trying to guide me into something that would have been beautiful. The goat was providing words of wisdom, and I did not listen. I should have never doubted the Goat Lord.
The post Goat Wisdom appeared first on Konn Lavery.
April 15, 2019
Moving from KDP to IngramSpark
During August and September of 2018, Createspace officially merged with Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), and the usage of the previous interface, rules, and pricing were no longer valid. The migration process was a bit of a learning curve for many people and caused some indie authors and publishers to steer away from Amazon’s services altogether. Each person has their reasons as to why they want to move away from Amazon’s KDP, this blog post is not to discuss the why. So where do you go and how do you do it? There are other print on demand services out there such as Lulu, Blurb, and IngramSpark. In this post, we’re going to look at moving from KDP to IngramSpark.
Why IngramSpark?
Competitive pricing and customization. Some of the other
print on demand services offer excellent products as well. I have used Blurb
before and like it. However, they don’t have the same customizations or price
point per book as IngramSpark has.
Yes, Amazon’s KDP is still cheaper, but this post isn’t
about convincing you why you should move from Amazon’s KDP. We’re going to
assume you already made your choice why, for whatever the reason may be. This
post is about how to do it.
From the time I migrated my first book over to IngramSpark –
which was January 2019 – there was very little information online. The process
I took was trial and error, a couple of months of determination, and some
costly mistakes. I hope the information here helps you avoid some headaches during
your migration!
Step One: Do you own your ISBN?
Okay, so we’re ready to migrate our book from KDP to IngramSpark.
The first question to ask yourself is: do you own your ISBN? Or did Amazon provide
one for you? If you own your ISBN, then great, you can migrate the same version
of the book over to IngramSpark. If you don’t own your ISBN (Amazon provided
one for you), you cannot migrate this edition of your book. This is a critical step.
The process below is intended if you own your ISBN and need to make the migration
over to IngramSpark.
Why Transfer an ISBN Vs Making a New One?
The benefit of keeping your ISBN vs just making a new one is
you keep the edition of your book. All sales, stores, libraries, and archives
reference the ISBN to know what book is what. When you get a new ISBN, you are
creating a new version of your book, and it needs to be resubmitted to book
stores like Indigo, sites like Goodreads, etc. Basically, you are publishing a new
book.
Step Two: Creating an IngramSpark account
This should be a no-brainer but make sure you create an account on their
website. Follow their steps which are very similar to Amazon’s KDP. There are a
few different choices on terminology, but that is all.
Do not begin
re-creating your title in IngramSpark yet. Doing so, your re-created title
on Ingramspark will be replaced with the latest-live Amazon version if you
migrate the same ISBN version. Read the steps below to see if you need to
create the title or not.
Using a New ISBN
For those that do not own their own ISBN, you need to obtain
a new one. This process is more straightforward than transferring an ISBN you
own. In Canada, they are free through the Government’s website. If you’re in
the USA, IngramSpark does let you buy an ISBN through Bowker. Once you obtain a
new ISBN, you can follow the steps of creating a new novel on IngramSpark’s
website, order a proof, and publish.
Step Three: Migrating Your Existing ISBN
Remember, with Amazon, once your book is published, it can
never officially be removed from Amazon. Even if you unpublish it, the book
still appears on search results and your author page. It’s up to you if you
want to continue having your book available on Amazon for people to buy or if
you want to unpublish it completely. The steps below are the same.
Log onto KDP and edit the paperback you wish to
migrate.Go to Paperback Rights & PricingUncheck “Expanded Distribution”Both KDP and IngramSpark have a distribution with
the same resellers and leaving this checked on creates a conflict between the
two distributors. Be sure to uncheck it, so the book is only on the Amazon
marketplace.Contact
Amazon by going to their help, under Book Details and ISBN. Choose either
E-mail or Phone, whichever you prefer.For email, be very specific what you want to do.
For the subject: Migrating my ISBN 000-0-0000000-0-0
over to IngramSpark
For the message include this sentence: Please
release my ISBN 000-0-0000000-0-0 to allow IngramSpark to migrate the book.
Amazon’s support prefers exact instructions. I failed to mention IngramSpark
the first time, and they denied releasing my ISBN. Be polite and respectful too.
It gets you a lot further than demanding.
Step Four: Inform IngramSpark
After you have finished the initiation process with KDP,
inform IngramSpark through their Live Chat which ISBN and title of your book
you are migrating. Inform them that you want to distribute through IngramSpark
and have already requested for KDP to release the ISBN.
Ingram will send you a transfer form for you to fill out and
send back to them. Once this is complete, the process can take about 30 days
for the migration to be finished.
Step Five: Review
Now, you wait 30 days. You will get an email when the
migration is complete which can take less time. If it does, be sure to order a
proof copy of your book and review all settings and metadata to ensure it is correct.
IngramSpark copies the last live published version of your
book from Amazon KDP. Ordering a proof is a good indicator to ensure that you are
printing the right file. Unlike KDP, there
is a charge for updating the file. To avoid future charges, be sure that
your proof is correct before hitting publish.
Summary
Moving from KDP to IngramSpark is a lengthy, technical, process.
Be patient and professional during the process, and it will go as smoothly as
it can. Again, for whatever the reason is for you to move from Amazon’s KDP, I
hope this guide offers some clear direction on the process. When I went through
the process, most information I could find was out of date and inaccurate.
If you have some of your own experiences with migrating from
KDP or have questions, please share in the comments.
The post Moving from KDP to IngramSpark appeared first on Konn Lavery.
April 10, 2019
H.M. Gooden – YA, Fantasy, and Paranormal Author
This month’s guest author is H.M. Gooden who writes young
adult, fantasy and paranormal novels. Her first release was Dream of Darkness. She is a full-time
worker bee, mother and writer by the wee hours of the day. Even with her busy
life, she still finds time to write her trilogy and beyond, Let’s learn more
about that and welcome H.M. Gooden to the blog!
Thank you for joining us H.M. Gooden, can you give us a brief introduction
to yourself?
Thank you for having me!
I am a married mother of four children, the oldest just
turned 16 and the youngest just turned 4, I work full time in the health field,
which I love, but can sometimes be draining.
I started writing again after a very long break during my
education and early career and family years, and picked it up again after my
youngest was born. I had been saying I would write a book “one day” and maybe
it was being up at all hours of the night that made me just crazy enough to
start but I did, and now here I am, loving every moment of it!
Since your first novel release, Dream
of Darkness, you have a total of ten books. Impressive! A lot of writers
struggle to find time, how do you balance writing with life?
It is more of a juggling act or a teeter-totter than actual
balance haha! I sometimes can’t squeeze in even a free second, and other times
I find my brain is too full with all my responsibilities. Mostly, I do at least
15-30 min of writing a day in the “edges” as it were. Either very early, very late,
or while driving.
Can you share a bit about your writing process that allows you to write so
effectively?
Dictation has been a life saver or perhaps has made my life
crazier, I’m still unsure which it is! I can now easily get through a first
draft in about a month or so, as I do it during my commute and can sometimes
get 5-10,000 words in if things are flowing. But the problem of course is I
still don’t have more time to complete the edits, and that means I have about
10 more books I need to finish edits and final drafts for!
Tell us about your latest novel, The
Raven and the Witch Hunter: Honeymoon and Full Moon Blues?
This book was fun to write. It combined two of my favorite characters with France, a country that I love. I used real events from history that had a spookiness I enjoyed and created this as a consequence. What is better than a Honeymoon in France? Fighting supernatural evil of course!
You currently have three series, do you have a new one in the works or will
you keep developing these storylines?
Oh, I have three in the works right now. One series is a spin-off from book 4 of the Rise of the Light, which will hopefully launch this fall. I’ve also drafted out another two series that take place in the same original town as my Rise of the Light series. I hadn’t planned to do it, but it seems as I’ve created a world of my own.
Back to the writing and time, what pushed you to take your writing from
just a draft, to where you are at today?
My strongest motivation was likely that I would be one of
those people who regretted not doing something when I died. I like to think
that I can do anything I put my mind to, and writing is one of those things. I
don’t want to sit back and say one day anymore- I’m far too busy to put it on
the tomorrow to-do list these days, and regret is too time consuming. In my
line of work I see too many people who have died full of sadness over the
things they’ve never tried, and very few full of regret for trying and failing.
Let’s thank H.M.
Gooden for joining us again to the blog!
You can find her work on her website, amazon, and the
various links below:
Website: hmgoodenauthor.comAmazon: amazon.com/H.-M.-Gooden/e/B078JXQZQR/Twitter: twitter.com/hmgoodenauthorGoodreads: goodreads.com/author/show/17229510.H_...Facebook: facebook.com/HMGoodenAuthor
The post H.M. Gooden – YA, Fantasy, and Paranormal Author appeared first on Konn Lavery.
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