Mary Ellen Boyd's Blog, page 3
May 18, 2014
Never Ever Rush Again
I have already put up one post on my illness. Sometimes less is more, and sometimes less is just less.
I can't decide which this falls into.
One of the complications of my disease is that for whatever reason, periodically I go through what I call 'relapses,' weeks or months where it feels like I teeter on the edge of a paralytic episode all day, every day. When I am fighting off episodes of paralysis, during these periods of relapse or in the normal course of the disease, I seem to lose my ability to reason clearly. I call those 'mud-brain days' because it is like thinking through mud.
Last year when I was preparing my first book, Temper the Wind, I was in the middle of a relapse. I had two versions of the book that I was trying to blend into a single coherent whole. I thought I was doing fine, but I was not. Just how 'not fine' I was is glaringly obvious to anyone who purchased my book during that first month.
Every now and again I run into a review from some poor soul who purchased my book during that time and never got the notice from Amazon that a revised edition was available. Unfortunately, Amazon doesn't make these notices obvious, and the buyers have to do a bit of digging (which they of course don't know they need to do) to find it!
I owe so much to my very first reviewer, a woman who was much kinder to me than my first efforts deserve. She gave me 4 stars and her review reads as follows:
"This book reminded me of the biblical story of Rachel. The book flowed well and was interesting. The reason it's a 4 star instead of 5 is there are several places in the book where the author repeated entire sentences. If you like historicals, this is a must read."
To Amazon reviewer ReMMick, I say, A Thousand Thank you's for for your generous review and for preventing me from humiliating myself any further!
If you purchased Temper the Wind prior to June 18, 2013, my most abject apologies. A clean version is available, and you should be able to get it.
And I promise that I will listen to my body better, and not let urgency, excitement, or idiocy get in the way of producing a clean edition of each successive book.
I can't decide which this falls into.
One of the complications of my disease is that for whatever reason, periodically I go through what I call 'relapses,' weeks or months where it feels like I teeter on the edge of a paralytic episode all day, every day. When I am fighting off episodes of paralysis, during these periods of relapse or in the normal course of the disease, I seem to lose my ability to reason clearly. I call those 'mud-brain days' because it is like thinking through mud.
Last year when I was preparing my first book, Temper the Wind, I was in the middle of a relapse. I had two versions of the book that I was trying to blend into a single coherent whole. I thought I was doing fine, but I was not. Just how 'not fine' I was is glaringly obvious to anyone who purchased my book during that first month.
Every now and again I run into a review from some poor soul who purchased my book during that time and never got the notice from Amazon that a revised edition was available. Unfortunately, Amazon doesn't make these notices obvious, and the buyers have to do a bit of digging (which they of course don't know they need to do) to find it!
I owe so much to my very first reviewer, a woman who was much kinder to me than my first efforts deserve. She gave me 4 stars and her review reads as follows:
"This book reminded me of the biblical story of Rachel. The book flowed well and was interesting. The reason it's a 4 star instead of 5 is there are several places in the book where the author repeated entire sentences. If you like historicals, this is a must read."
To Amazon reviewer ReMMick, I say, A Thousand Thank you's for for your generous review and for preventing me from humiliating myself any further!
If you purchased Temper the Wind prior to June 18, 2013, my most abject apologies. A clean version is available, and you should be able to get it.
And I promise that I will listen to my body better, and not let urgency, excitement, or idiocy get in the way of producing a clean edition of each successive book.
February 18, 2014
Learning the Hard Way
Maybe other people learn faster than I do, but the list of mistakes I have made going from Kindle to paper is a mile long. Just for starters, Microsoft Word Hates Headers. I mean, really HATES them. I followed the instructions step by step, but did it make any difference? Nope. Sorry, Microsoft, but this part of your Word program needs a lot of retooling.
For starters, I wanted to put teasers of the other book in each, since they are loosely connected. Well! When I did the new header entry switching to the next book, Word forgot which page number I left off on. Literally! It jumped as much as 20 numbers. And convincing the stupid program that, in this case at least, I could count was a hair-pulling exercise in frustration.
If you see my previous entries or my Goodreads blog, you will notice I was on my way to paper books on November 20th. Of last year. 2013. It is now February 18, 2014. Do I have my books in paper yet? Nope. Hopefully tomorrow.
But each time I do that last preview before hitting the "publish" button, I find another mistake. Some simple, like overlooking a slash at the end of a scripture heading. (How did I do that? Haven't a clue.) Or overlooking the header miscount problem. (see above.) Or discovering I'd forgotten to put in the ISBN number. Or realizing the font on the header was different from the font on the page. OR - and I don't think this is my fault - having the font change halfway through the book from the new font back to the old font. How can that happen when I hit "select all" and the whole thing was highlighted? But it did.
One other thing is that I discover editing and polishing errors better in paper. Realizing I'd used the same word several times on a single page. Finding commas that should have been periods. Typing an "If" that was supposed to be "It." Both books changed - a bit - from the original version when I went into paper. Thank goodness reloading Kindle is simple. I just had both documents open and changed them at the same time.
So from here on in, it's Createspace first. When I get my paper proof, I will go over the book line by miserable line and make all the changes before either version goes up.
Yep, there are things where paper just can't be beat.
For starters, I wanted to put teasers of the other book in each, since they are loosely connected. Well! When I did the new header entry switching to the next book, Word forgot which page number I left off on. Literally! It jumped as much as 20 numbers. And convincing the stupid program that, in this case at least, I could count was a hair-pulling exercise in frustration.
If you see my previous entries or my Goodreads blog, you will notice I was on my way to paper books on November 20th. Of last year. 2013. It is now February 18, 2014. Do I have my books in paper yet? Nope. Hopefully tomorrow.
But each time I do that last preview before hitting the "publish" button, I find another mistake. Some simple, like overlooking a slash at the end of a scripture heading. (How did I do that? Haven't a clue.) Or overlooking the header miscount problem. (see above.) Or discovering I'd forgotten to put in the ISBN number. Or realizing the font on the header was different from the font on the page. OR - and I don't think this is my fault - having the font change halfway through the book from the new font back to the old font. How can that happen when I hit "select all" and the whole thing was highlighted? But it did.
One other thing is that I discover editing and polishing errors better in paper. Realizing I'd used the same word several times on a single page. Finding commas that should have been periods. Typing an "If" that was supposed to be "It." Both books changed - a bit - from the original version when I went into paper. Thank goodness reloading Kindle is simple. I just had both documents open and changed them at the same time.
So from here on in, it's Createspace first. When I get my paper proof, I will go over the book line by miserable line and make all the changes before either version goes up.
Yep, there are things where paper just can't be beat.
December 25, 2013
Writing with a Rare Illness
Normally, when I'm feeling well (which doesn't happen very often), I don't think of telling anyone and everyone who stops at my Facebook's author page or here on Goodreads that I suffer from - or live with every day - an incurable genetic illness. I have Hypokalemic Periodic Paralysis, which happens in approximately 1 out of every 100,000 people. I have had it for a very long time, much of which I spent fighting with doctors, trying to convince them that I was NOT crazy, that something very real was happening inside me.
This is a hard disease to diagnose. For starters, you need a doctor willing to believe you. You need an emergency room with enough time on their hands to run every test they can think of to figure out why this person can't speak, can't move, and is struggling to stay awake. You do not have 3 to 4 hours to wait in the waiting room. You need the potassium tested NOW. My episodes, the normal ones, are over in that amount of time. My potassium is then high enough for a medical professional to brush me aside as an hysterical female. It is never high enough for me to be properly functional, just high enough for no one to believe something is wrong, seriously wrong.
Most authors probably want to get out there, promote their books, browse the internet for marketing ideas, throw their energies into doing everything and anything to drum up attention and sales. I would love to have that energy. I just don't. Haven't for over 25 years. I am so grateful for Amazon, and for promotional tools like World Literary Cafe and their wonderful Facebook links. Without them I would have attracted little notice. With them, I have a way within my abilities to lure people to my Facebook page, and maybe garner a few more sales.
My goals are of necessity modest. I want to finish editing the books I have written over the past 25+ years. I want to get them listed on Amazon. I want to know that after all these years of my books sitting on my hard drive, at least people are finally reading them. And much to my delight, liking them.
Behind every author out there, there is a story. There may be children pulling at the leg or whining, or elderly parents needing as much care as those children at the leg. There may be loss, death of someone beloved that pulls at the spirit. There may be teenagers that require more attention than the little ones, teenagers sullen and frightening, while parents try to decipher what is wrong.
So we all do what we can with what we have. And we hope that someone will find our books when they are sent out into the big wide world filled with other books, bigger books, fancier books, that someone will buy them, and that same someone will love them.
And of course, that those same someones will give us a review!
This is a hard disease to diagnose. For starters, you need a doctor willing to believe you. You need an emergency room with enough time on their hands to run every test they can think of to figure out why this person can't speak, can't move, and is struggling to stay awake. You do not have 3 to 4 hours to wait in the waiting room. You need the potassium tested NOW. My episodes, the normal ones, are over in that amount of time. My potassium is then high enough for a medical professional to brush me aside as an hysterical female. It is never high enough for me to be properly functional, just high enough for no one to believe something is wrong, seriously wrong.
Most authors probably want to get out there, promote their books, browse the internet for marketing ideas, throw their energies into doing everything and anything to drum up attention and sales. I would love to have that energy. I just don't. Haven't for over 25 years. I am so grateful for Amazon, and for promotional tools like World Literary Cafe and their wonderful Facebook links. Without them I would have attracted little notice. With them, I have a way within my abilities to lure people to my Facebook page, and maybe garner a few more sales.
My goals are of necessity modest. I want to finish editing the books I have written over the past 25+ years. I want to get them listed on Amazon. I want to know that after all these years of my books sitting on my hard drive, at least people are finally reading them. And much to my delight, liking them.
Behind every author out there, there is a story. There may be children pulling at the leg or whining, or elderly parents needing as much care as those children at the leg. There may be loss, death of someone beloved that pulls at the spirit. There may be teenagers that require more attention than the little ones, teenagers sullen and frightening, while parents try to decipher what is wrong.
So we all do what we can with what we have. And we hope that someone will find our books when they are sent out into the big wide world filled with other books, bigger books, fancier books, that someone will buy them, and that same someone will love them.
And of course, that those same someones will give us a review!
November 21, 2013
Some Thoughts about Kindle Select
Having been on Kindle Select for several months now, I feel slightly qualified to discuss its merits. They are many. When I ran my first Free Promotion, one of Kindle Select's main advertising features, I worried that everyone who wanted my book would snap it up for free, I would make no money and never sell another book. It's hard to quantify the magnitude of the world's reading audience. And the spread of tablets and e-readers.
There are a lot of people out there, folks, who buy books for electronic gadgets! The problem is reaching them. Unfortunately, just as there are a lot of readers, there are a lot of e-books for them to read. I once talked to an Amazon Support person who told me that books are e-published at the rate of 200 a day. That was a couple months ago, the rate may even have gone higher.
So how do you stand out from the competition? Kindle Select's Free Promotions, that's how. People can search in any category for free books. Before Amazon's front page changed, they used to have deals there, and my free promotions would show up, rotating with other free books. Just to give an idea of what can happen, and I'm not even a best seller (-yet, the eternal hopefulness of the author), my first promotion for my first book, I sold 1241 books in 2 days. My second book's first Free Promotion, in 2 days, sold (for free, let's not forget) 2,565 books!
But what happens after is wonderful and mysterious. Far from having reached your only audience and everyone who wanted your book now has it and you have earned nothing, the sales pick up. In my case I went from just a few a month to several a DAY. Amazon does ask their authors to keep their sales private, but just think. One Free Promotion, and even after it was over, my sales still continued. And at a higher rate.
You also want ratings. Stars for people to look at in a glance, 'is this book worth my time.' My chiropractor told me when he does surveys, it takes 300 happy customers to get 1 - count 'em, ONE - person to send in a good review. I say on Amazon the rate is much, much lower. When I see books with 100 or 200 ratings, I wonder how long it took them to get that many.
The other advantage of Kindle Select is that it opens up other countries. Don't think for a minute that you will be fine if your book just sells in the US. My books, the first 2, are based in ancient Israel. Americans got my books when they were free, but I gotta say, Americans (and I include myself in this group) love a bargain. Free Promotions earn you nothing. It makes happy customers, it increases the odds of you getting those all-important stars, but you will earn zip. I have discovered that in other countries, people still buy books for real money. At least my books. Perhaps my next books will strike a cord in the U.S., but these first two have found a home someplace else and are residing there happily. Which makes me happy, too. And it's early days yet. I've only been out for 6 months, I have years ahead of me to grow my audience.
And let's not forget the advantages of Amazon Prime. Prime members can check out Kindle Select books for free and keep them as long as they want. AND YOU GET PAID! Let me tell you, Amazon Prime members check out Kindle Select books! This is a very valuable source of income for Kindle Select authors. You get paid nicely.
And now the latest and newest sales weapon in the Kindle Select author's arsenal: The Countdown Deal. My books are inexpensive, but when I did my first Countdown Deal early this month, I got 2 options, 99 cents and $1.99. You can run the Deals for an extended time (I didn't look to see just how extended, I only did 2 days), you can have the price change, and a clock runs so people who have been debating your book can see just how long they have before the price goes back up. Plus, Kindle has an option on the bar on the left for Countdown Deals. And people look there!
So after all this, do I recommend joining Kindle Select? You bet I do!
There are a lot of people out there, folks, who buy books for electronic gadgets! The problem is reaching them. Unfortunately, just as there are a lot of readers, there are a lot of e-books for them to read. I once talked to an Amazon Support person who told me that books are e-published at the rate of 200 a day. That was a couple months ago, the rate may even have gone higher.
So how do you stand out from the competition? Kindle Select's Free Promotions, that's how. People can search in any category for free books. Before Amazon's front page changed, they used to have deals there, and my free promotions would show up, rotating with other free books. Just to give an idea of what can happen, and I'm not even a best seller (-yet, the eternal hopefulness of the author), my first promotion for my first book, I sold 1241 books in 2 days. My second book's first Free Promotion, in 2 days, sold (for free, let's not forget) 2,565 books!
But what happens after is wonderful and mysterious. Far from having reached your only audience and everyone who wanted your book now has it and you have earned nothing, the sales pick up. In my case I went from just a few a month to several a DAY. Amazon does ask their authors to keep their sales private, but just think. One Free Promotion, and even after it was over, my sales still continued. And at a higher rate.
You also want ratings. Stars for people to look at in a glance, 'is this book worth my time.' My chiropractor told me when he does surveys, it takes 300 happy customers to get 1 - count 'em, ONE - person to send in a good review. I say on Amazon the rate is much, much lower. When I see books with 100 or 200 ratings, I wonder how long it took them to get that many.
The other advantage of Kindle Select is that it opens up other countries. Don't think for a minute that you will be fine if your book just sells in the US. My books, the first 2, are based in ancient Israel. Americans got my books when they were free, but I gotta say, Americans (and I include myself in this group) love a bargain. Free Promotions earn you nothing. It makes happy customers, it increases the odds of you getting those all-important stars, but you will earn zip. I have discovered that in other countries, people still buy books for real money. At least my books. Perhaps my next books will strike a cord in the U.S., but these first two have found a home someplace else and are residing there happily. Which makes me happy, too. And it's early days yet. I've only been out for 6 months, I have years ahead of me to grow my audience.
And let's not forget the advantages of Amazon Prime. Prime members can check out Kindle Select books for free and keep them as long as they want. AND YOU GET PAID! Let me tell you, Amazon Prime members check out Kindle Select books! This is a very valuable source of income for Kindle Select authors. You get paid nicely.
And now the latest and newest sales weapon in the Kindle Select author's arsenal: The Countdown Deal. My books are inexpensive, but when I did my first Countdown Deal early this month, I got 2 options, 99 cents and $1.99. You can run the Deals for an extended time (I didn't look to see just how extended, I only did 2 days), you can have the price change, and a clock runs so people who have been debating your book can see just how long they have before the price goes back up. Plus, Kindle has an option on the bar on the left for Countdown Deals. And people look there!
So after all this, do I recommend joining Kindle Select? You bet I do!
November 20, 2013
Paper books, here I come!
I have had just one too many people tell me they'd like to read my book, but not until it's in paper. I also noticed that my books are selling well in Some Country Not The U.S. As an experiment to see which sells best in the US, paper or ebook, and to satisfy all my friends who insist on a paper version of the book, I decided right around the time of my last blog post to take the jump into paper through Amazon's Createspace.
So I began the work. And believe me, it IS work. I removed the linked chapters from my Kindle WORD document, and reformatted the margins. Createspace recommends you start writing with document margins in the size you want your book, but that's not going to happen with any of the books already written. I didn't want a 6x9 book, I HATE trade paperback sizes for novels, but when Createspace says they recommend 6x9 they mean that if you try another size you will have difficulties, headaches and glitches.
So I re-margined the book. Thank goodness there is a nifty blog that walks you through the best margins for a paper book. Here it is:
https://www.createspace.com/en/commun...
(This does have the 's' at the end of the 'http,' which means it is a secure site. I can get in without being logged into my Createspace account, so I think anyone else should be able to get in, too.)
After that I had to learn headers and footers, since I decided to do the page numbers on the bottom. You can put them wherever you want, I just wanted them on the bottom. I knew nothing about footers as page numbers. I will do another post about how to make page numbers number, for those who like me couldn't get them to work. I even had one version where every page of my book was numbered "1." One thing I learned - when you add a section break you lose the header and footer connections to the section you just left.
I also wanted to put in the preview of the next book at the back, just like I had done in Kindle, but I didn't want the header to keep the title Temper the Wind. I did want my name continued, which was the left side header, I just wanted the right-side header for the preview to have its own title. That was another steep learning curve.
And then I had to do a full spine and back cover for the book. Since I now know that I can use my professional stock photo covers for the front, all I needed was the rest of the cover. Once again, Createspace has a template you download and open in whatever photo manipulation program you use, Photoshop or as in my case, GIMP.
They have a Cover Creater section that I HIGHLY recommend. Pick the cover you like and use it as is, with just your title and name. Bear in mind, if you use one of their covers you will look like an awful lot of other books because they don't have that many different covers to choose from. If you have a cover from Kindle and just need the back and spine, try the sample cover "The Pine" in their Cover Creator templates. That one is set up to let you put in your own covers and make a spine and back yourself. Making my own covers is one of my favorite things! I will gladly forget laundry and supper, ignore people who are talking to me, and not even answer the phone to make covers. I just saved the template in my Picture file and opened it in GIMP, pasted in my premade Kindle cover, then made the back and spine according to the measurements listed on the template. Just copy and paste them in when you finish them and you're ready to go.
You do need to know how to use Photoshop of GIMP. I guess that goes without saying. And before I forget, keep space on top and bottom for the trimming process. My name hugs the top of my Kindle ebook covers, and it got chopped off. So I had to shrink down the Kindle cover and clone in picture edges. Which, as I said before, I LOVE doing.
They have a proof checker built in so if you have made a mistake anywhere, formatting, cover, anything that can be measured by their little automated measuring tools, they will flag it and show you what is wrong. After that it's just a matter of ordering the proof copy (they recommend a paper proof for first-time authors) and checking it with a fine-tooth comb for anything you don't like. That's where I am right now, waiting for my proof.
But I'm on my way! And I can't wait to do this for my other books, too!
So I began the work. And believe me, it IS work. I removed the linked chapters from my Kindle WORD document, and reformatted the margins. Createspace recommends you start writing with document margins in the size you want your book, but that's not going to happen with any of the books already written. I didn't want a 6x9 book, I HATE trade paperback sizes for novels, but when Createspace says they recommend 6x9 they mean that if you try another size you will have difficulties, headaches and glitches.
So I re-margined the book. Thank goodness there is a nifty blog that walks you through the best margins for a paper book. Here it is:
https://www.createspace.com/en/commun...
(This does have the 's' at the end of the 'http,' which means it is a secure site. I can get in without being logged into my Createspace account, so I think anyone else should be able to get in, too.)
After that I had to learn headers and footers, since I decided to do the page numbers on the bottom. You can put them wherever you want, I just wanted them on the bottom. I knew nothing about footers as page numbers. I will do another post about how to make page numbers number, for those who like me couldn't get them to work. I even had one version where every page of my book was numbered "1." One thing I learned - when you add a section break you lose the header and footer connections to the section you just left.
I also wanted to put in the preview of the next book at the back, just like I had done in Kindle, but I didn't want the header to keep the title Temper the Wind. I did want my name continued, which was the left side header, I just wanted the right-side header for the preview to have its own title. That was another steep learning curve.
And then I had to do a full spine and back cover for the book. Since I now know that I can use my professional stock photo covers for the front, all I needed was the rest of the cover. Once again, Createspace has a template you download and open in whatever photo manipulation program you use, Photoshop or as in my case, GIMP.
They have a Cover Creater section that I HIGHLY recommend. Pick the cover you like and use it as is, with just your title and name. Bear in mind, if you use one of their covers you will look like an awful lot of other books because they don't have that many different covers to choose from. If you have a cover from Kindle and just need the back and spine, try the sample cover "The Pine" in their Cover Creator templates. That one is set up to let you put in your own covers and make a spine and back yourself. Making my own covers is one of my favorite things! I will gladly forget laundry and supper, ignore people who are talking to me, and not even answer the phone to make covers. I just saved the template in my Picture file and opened it in GIMP, pasted in my premade Kindle cover, then made the back and spine according to the measurements listed on the template. Just copy and paste them in when you finish them and you're ready to go.
You do need to know how to use Photoshop of GIMP. I guess that goes without saying. And before I forget, keep space on top and bottom for the trimming process. My name hugs the top of my Kindle ebook covers, and it got chopped off. So I had to shrink down the Kindle cover and clone in picture edges. Which, as I said before, I LOVE doing.
They have a proof checker built in so if you have made a mistake anywhere, formatting, cover, anything that can be measured by their little automated measuring tools, they will flag it and show you what is wrong. After that it's just a matter of ordering the proof copy (they recommend a paper proof for first-time authors) and checking it with a fine-tooth comb for anything you don't like. That's where I am right now, waiting for my proof.
But I'm on my way! And I can't wait to do this for my other books, too!
November 13, 2013
Stock Photos - Print Books? Or Kindle?
I have held off from signing up with Amazon's CreateSpace print-on-demand division because I did not know whether I could use my ebook covers in a paper book. It seems I am not the only one who wondered.
I read in one of the legal-speak license agreements on a stock photo site (Yes, I actually did try to wade through them) that the difference was whether the item was "tangible." Tangible means to touch, right? Since you can't touch an ebook, it's okay, but since a paper book can be touched, the license is no good?
No exactly, I found out. What causes the confusion is that the stock photo licenses are for things with no "intrinsic" value. What is "intrinsic value"? That means that the image is what gives value to the item sold.
One of the ebook cover sites where I bought a couple of my covers is filled with helpful information and she actually answered this very question. My favorite answer came from Bigstock. To quote: "When an image is used on a book cover, the cover can be removed and there is still a book under it to sell. With a shirt design, the image is typically the main reason the shirt will be appealing, so the Extended License is required."
So, should I decide to jump into the paper side of Amazon, I'm good to go!
http://ebookindiecovers.com/2013/03/3...
I read in one of the legal-speak license agreements on a stock photo site (Yes, I actually did try to wade through them) that the difference was whether the item was "tangible." Tangible means to touch, right? Since you can't touch an ebook, it's okay, but since a paper book can be touched, the license is no good?
No exactly, I found out. What causes the confusion is that the stock photo licenses are for things with no "intrinsic" value. What is "intrinsic value"? That means that the image is what gives value to the item sold.
One of the ebook cover sites where I bought a couple of my covers is filled with helpful information and she actually answered this very question. My favorite answer came from Bigstock. To quote: "When an image is used on a book cover, the cover can be removed and there is still a book under it to sell. With a shirt design, the image is typically the main reason the shirt will be appealing, so the Extended License is required."
So, should I decide to jump into the paper side of Amazon, I'm good to go!
http://ebookindiecovers.com/2013/03/3...
November 8, 2013
Kindle Getting Started, Part 1
Some of this will be basic, but there might be people out there who are not computer savvy and for them the idea of publishing to Kindle is very intimidating. So for them, like myself, I want to make sure this has all the steps and terms that books or instruction pages assume are self-explanatory. Often they are NOT.
To get into Kindle, I just clicked on the link at the bottom of the Amazon page. "Independently Publish With Us" in the red-highlighted column "Make Money With Us." I think it's on the bottom of every Amazon page, and it should be the second column from the left. They have steps to follow to log in and begin. Use your regular Amazon account email and password. There are a few things I learned along the way.
#1 - you must have 'linked' or hot chapters in a Table of Contents in your book, which means you must have Word 2007 or newer. I had Word 2003 and my linked chapters didn't work, so I had to go to the library and use their computer to link my chapters. A linked chapter simply means that on your Kindle or your Kindle app, when you click in the table of contents on a chapter, say chapter 6, it will jump to chapter 6. (Getting to the table of contents starts in the Menu feature under "Go to.")
#2 - Amazon has a free book I HIGHLY recommend that takes you step by step through the process of formatting, and includes the steps for setting up linked chapters. It's short but concise and their instructions work! Always a nice thing. They even include pictures of the top of the Word page toolbar so you know what to check on your own WORD program as you set up your chapters. The book is named "Building Your Book For Kindle" and they have one specifically for Mac, too!
#3 - you really need a cover. I have seen one book in all my Kindle browsing that did not have one, but Amazon wants you to have a cover. I made my own covers with the generic FREE 'photoshop' for broke people program, GIMP, and I LOVE my GIMP. I actually liked my home-made covers, I worked hard on them, but every article I read said 'Get A Professional Cover' so I finally broke down and found a professional to make my covers. I found a GREAT and Inexpensive (relatively) professional through World Literary Cafeteria but I also found out you can buy premade covers, They usually run around $40 - $60. You can do a search on your favorite search engine for "pre-made ebook covers" and get a bunch of sites that offer pre-mades.
Amazon wants .tif or .jpg covers, but .tif pictures can be almost any size. I recommend you stay around 1M, give or take.
#4 - Loading your book into Kindle is really quite easy. They have little icons every step along the way. For me the most confusing thing was the Bookshelf. Across the top of your Bookshelf are drop-down menus that have all the options you need including 'Add a new book,' but when I first started it was hard for me to remember to look at those boxes on top of my Bookshelf list. (The Bookshelf is simply the list of your published books.) At the far right of your bookshelf listing are the choices for Kindle Select, should you decide to sign on, but those are in my other blog postings.
To get into Kindle, I just clicked on the link at the bottom of the Amazon page. "Independently Publish With Us" in the red-highlighted column "Make Money With Us." I think it's on the bottom of every Amazon page, and it should be the second column from the left. They have steps to follow to log in and begin. Use your regular Amazon account email and password. There are a few things I learned along the way.
#1 - you must have 'linked' or hot chapters in a Table of Contents in your book, which means you must have Word 2007 or newer. I had Word 2003 and my linked chapters didn't work, so I had to go to the library and use their computer to link my chapters. A linked chapter simply means that on your Kindle or your Kindle app, when you click in the table of contents on a chapter, say chapter 6, it will jump to chapter 6. (Getting to the table of contents starts in the Menu feature under "Go to.")
#2 - Amazon has a free book I HIGHLY recommend that takes you step by step through the process of formatting, and includes the steps for setting up linked chapters. It's short but concise and their instructions work! Always a nice thing. They even include pictures of the top of the Word page toolbar so you know what to check on your own WORD program as you set up your chapters. The book is named "Building Your Book For Kindle" and they have one specifically for Mac, too!
#3 - you really need a cover. I have seen one book in all my Kindle browsing that did not have one, but Amazon wants you to have a cover. I made my own covers with the generic FREE 'photoshop' for broke people program, GIMP, and I LOVE my GIMP. I actually liked my home-made covers, I worked hard on them, but every article I read said 'Get A Professional Cover' so I finally broke down and found a professional to make my covers. I found a GREAT and Inexpensive (relatively) professional through World Literary Cafeteria but I also found out you can buy premade covers, They usually run around $40 - $60. You can do a search on your favorite search engine for "pre-made ebook covers" and get a bunch of sites that offer pre-mades.
Amazon wants .tif or .jpg covers, but .tif pictures can be almost any size. I recommend you stay around 1M, give or take.
#4 - Loading your book into Kindle is really quite easy. They have little icons every step along the way. For me the most confusing thing was the Bookshelf. Across the top of your Bookshelf are drop-down menus that have all the options you need including 'Add a new book,' but when I first started it was hard for me to remember to look at those boxes on top of my Bookshelf list. (The Bookshelf is simply the list of your published books.) At the far right of your bookshelf listing are the choices for Kindle Select, should you decide to sign on, but those are in my other blog postings.
RT Book Reviews appearance
One of the highlights of my Kindle Experience was my surprise appearance on the Internet in the digital RT Book Reviews July 31, 2013 webpage!
My sister had submitted a request to RT Book Reviews to put my book in their Self Pub Hub, a prescreened recommendation for those who have been burned by sloppy Kindle books and want someone to vet them first. Only recommended books get in, which takes the risk out of self published ebooks. (I have read a few clinkers in my day!)
I had an advantage because my ex-agent years ago had tried epublishing Temper The Wind. (That was back in the days of the Rocket Reader.) She was years ahead of her time in some ways. I submitted my book to RT Book Reviews (then known as Romantic Times Magazine) and got a fabulous review, 4-1/2 stars and a Top Pick.
With that ammunition, when my sister sent in her request this year, I not only got my book listed in the September 2013 RT Book Reviews paper edition, but as a surprise I showed up on their digital Daily Blog.
And it's still there!
http://www.rtbookreviews.com/rt-daily...
If the link doesn't work, just go to RTBookReviews.com, type in my name, Mary Ellen Boyd, and look for July 2013 'Which Self Published Book is Right For You? Take the Quiz.' Not only will that appearance show up, but you can also find my very first review from back when my old agent published it. It's dated 2010, but that must either be a typo or when they were putting up their backlist because it was really in 2001!
My sister had submitted a request to RT Book Reviews to put my book in their Self Pub Hub, a prescreened recommendation for those who have been burned by sloppy Kindle books and want someone to vet them first. Only recommended books get in, which takes the risk out of self published ebooks. (I have read a few clinkers in my day!)
I had an advantage because my ex-agent years ago had tried epublishing Temper The Wind. (That was back in the days of the Rocket Reader.) She was years ahead of her time in some ways. I submitted my book to RT Book Reviews (then known as Romantic Times Magazine) and got a fabulous review, 4-1/2 stars and a Top Pick.
With that ammunition, when my sister sent in her request this year, I not only got my book listed in the September 2013 RT Book Reviews paper edition, but as a surprise I showed up on their digital Daily Blog.
And it's still there!
http://www.rtbookreviews.com/rt-daily...
If the link doesn't work, just go to RTBookReviews.com, type in my name, Mary Ellen Boyd, and look for July 2013 'Which Self Published Book is Right For You? Take the Quiz.' Not only will that appearance show up, but you can also find my very first review from back when my old agent published it. It's dated 2010, but that must either be a typo or when they were putting up their backlist because it was really in 2001!
Kindle Countdown Deals
Kindle Select has added another promotion option. You no longer just have the Free Promotion, you now can do a Countdown Deal. My books sell for $2.99. With a Countdown Deal, they give me 2 options for a sale, $0.99, and $1.99. I assume if your book sells for more, they will give you a greater choice. You can break your sale into increments, too, gradually changing the price if you wish. The sale can run from a day on up. I don't know what the limit on the upper end is, I wasn't planning on doing a long one anyway, but the Free Promotions only give you 5 days every 90. The best part of Countdown Deals, for the author anyway, is that you will earn your full royalty.
They have an actual clock running so people can see how much time before the price goes up, which I really like. I wish they had something like that for Free Promotions, too, because some authors simply offer an intro book free permanently, and then you pay for all the others. But that one book is always free. When I run my free promotions, I assume someone out there is going to be really bummed when they come back a few days later and discover the free price is gone.
Being almost through my first Countdown Deal, I must say it was not the resounding sales count success the Free Promotions were. (Go figure!) I suspect if you had a higher priced book the result would be different, but my book is not expensive at the regular price so they aren't going to save that much.
It bears repeating that you do earn your regular royalty, so both seller and buyer make out like bandits.
They have an actual clock running so people can see how much time before the price goes up, which I really like. I wish they had something like that for Free Promotions, too, because some authors simply offer an intro book free permanently, and then you pay for all the others. But that one book is always free. When I run my free promotions, I assume someone out there is going to be really bummed when they come back a few days later and discover the free price is gone.
Being almost through my first Countdown Deal, I must say it was not the resounding sales count success the Free Promotions were. (Go figure!) I suspect if you had a higher priced book the result would be different, but my book is not expensive at the regular price so they aren't going to save that much.
It bears repeating that you do earn your regular royalty, so both seller and buyer make out like bandits.
Kindle Select tidbits, or Getting Started Part 2
Oh! One other thing. Don't expect to make money fast. I have read that it takes months before your book begins to pay off.
Kindle recommends using Kindle Select to attract attention, but with Kindle Select you are required to have at least 1 free promotion every 90 days. The nice thing about Kindle Select (and Amazon Prime) is that Amazon Prime members can check out your books rather than buy. But not to worry, Kindle will pay you for each time your book is checked out!
Kindle Select does attract attention. My first free promotion is the one where I 'sold' over 1200 books. Made Zip, but I did start getting ratings.
Because I'm with Kindle Select here in the US, when I signed up my royalty rate immediately dropped to the 35% bracket - even though I had chosen the 70% option. I signed up for Kindle Select and bam! My royalty rate here changed. But with Kindle Select other countries are opened up to you, and there I still get my 70%. For me it has worked out nicely. My books 'sell' fabulously here in the US with my Free Promotions but slow down at the regular price. However, in other countries, they will buy as readily for cash as they snap them up for free.
Remember, with Kindle's 35% royalty option there is no 'delivery fee.' With the 70% option there is a small, VERY small charge for the transmission.
When I put up my second book, I made sure there was a teaser of 2 chapters of the first before I ever published it. Since they are linked I also added the first 2 chapters of the second to Temper even though it was already up, and reloaded it back onto Kindle. I just clicked on that book in my bookshelf, chose "edit book details" from the drop down menu at the top of the list, and went through the publishing process again. What needed changing I changed, what didn't I left alone. That's something else. If you want to change something, the cover, found an editing mistake, whatever, you can reload your book as often as you want. I know, I've done it.
It's a slow upward climb unless you write a bestseller, and even then it takes time.
Kindle recommends using Kindle Select to attract attention, but with Kindle Select you are required to have at least 1 free promotion every 90 days. The nice thing about Kindle Select (and Amazon Prime) is that Amazon Prime members can check out your books rather than buy. But not to worry, Kindle will pay you for each time your book is checked out!
Kindle Select does attract attention. My first free promotion is the one where I 'sold' over 1200 books. Made Zip, but I did start getting ratings.
Because I'm with Kindle Select here in the US, when I signed up my royalty rate immediately dropped to the 35% bracket - even though I had chosen the 70% option. I signed up for Kindle Select and bam! My royalty rate here changed. But with Kindle Select other countries are opened up to you, and there I still get my 70%. For me it has worked out nicely. My books 'sell' fabulously here in the US with my Free Promotions but slow down at the regular price. However, in other countries, they will buy as readily for cash as they snap them up for free.
Remember, with Kindle's 35% royalty option there is no 'delivery fee.' With the 70% option there is a small, VERY small charge for the transmission.
When I put up my second book, I made sure there was a teaser of 2 chapters of the first before I ever published it. Since they are linked I also added the first 2 chapters of the second to Temper even though it was already up, and reloaded it back onto Kindle. I just clicked on that book in my bookshelf, chose "edit book details" from the drop down menu at the top of the list, and went through the publishing process again. What needed changing I changed, what didn't I left alone. That's something else. If you want to change something, the cover, found an editing mistake, whatever, you can reload your book as often as you want. I know, I've done it.
It's a slow upward climb unless you write a bestseller, and even then it takes time.
