J. Daniel’s Comments (group member since Mar 10, 2015)

J. Daniel’s comments from the Support for Indie Authors group.

Sorry, I'm not familiar with the Wordpress site tools. Basically, it's just a picture, so you would add it to your site like any other picture. Then look for the function that allows you to create a hyperlink, and link the picture to Goodreads.

There are several author widgets to choose from on the page: Buttons, Reviews, Add to my Books, and Books. Which one are you having trouble with? Mine all show the code needed to display them on my website, except for the Buttons. Those are just images you would right-click and save, then upload them to your website and tag them with the HTML code to make them a hyperlink to Goodreads. If you aren't seeing the code for the other widgets, perhaps try a different web browser?

That's her mod title, not a bookwhack in any way, shape, or form. It was bestowed to her by the other mods.

We're straying off topic here. Please stick to the question posed by the OP.

Gary wrote: "I have what can best be characterized as an ethical question and I'm thinking this is probably the best place to get an answer. My first book, "In Pursuit of Joy" won a bronze medal from Reader's F..."

Award winning? Sure. Best-selling? Nah, I wouldn't say it.

Reaching number 2, while impressive and certainly helpful for visibility, won't get that nifty little best seller flag next to your book. Wait until you hit number one before you start making that claim. Also, Amazon doesn't even designate the number one book in a free category as a best-seller anyway. Once you do reach that best-seller status though, I would suggest you call yourself an "Amazon best-selling author". Best of luck!

I use "incorrect" so when I forget, it tells me my password is incorrect.

My wife starts listening to Christmas music very early, so I hear a good bit of it. Few of my favorites below.

Blues Traveller - Christmas
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=T3HNklY...

I second GG's Carol of the Bells

Bob Rivers - Toy Sack
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=i7yGzaB...

And Pentatonix Christmas album

My two cents

Focus on finishing one of your trilogies before you start marketing. Check the forums for lists of good places to use for advertising and make the first in series free when you can to try and hook in some readers.

Stop checking your sales and reviews. I found them to be more of a distraction than anything else, and I did not care for the way they could make my mood swing so wildly.

Lastly, try not to rely on reviews to determine what works and what doesn't. The real and solid truth is that the majority of your readers will not leave a review, and what one person likes may be what another hates. Write what works for you.

Best of luck!

Everything should go on your document as you want it to be printed before you upload to Createspace (including, but not limited to, page numbers, chapter heading, and scene breaks). Once uploaded, Createspace will create a digital preview you can flip through and look for errors. Any changes have to be made to your document in your software of choice and re-uploaded to Createspace. Once you're happy with the digital review, make sure you order a paper proof before publishing.

You are not alone. There are dozens of threads on here basically asking the same question and they all have nuggets of good advice buried in them. Start with this one: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... and then browse through the other threads under the Marketing and Promo section.

Personally, I'd focus on working on the next book. Nothing lifts my spirits more than making progress on a new project. Best of luck to you!

And then Christina comments on the post and you start getting all kinds of people chiming in on something you wrote almost two years ago, and you're like WTF?

I mean, I'm guessing that kind of thing could happen.

Reading and writing in past tense is what I find works best for me, so the only tip I can offer would be to read books written in past tense. Hopefully that will help get you in the groove.

Check these topics for discussions of this same question

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

It really comes down to your own personal preference. 6x9 is more of a trade paperback size and is cheaper because it will result in less pages. I've used the 6x9 and the 5x8 and have found I prefer the 5x8. If it's too long then you might try changing the font size or some of the interior spacing, but again it's all about what YOU want to do.

If I don't eat them then how am I supposed to be filled with Christmas spirit?

I got all my Christmas decorations up - inside and out.

The Food Network and the Cooking Channel. If there's something I don't like on one, I can just change it to the other.

And to add one of my favorite Firefly quotes: "You can't open the book of my life and jump in the middle."

I've published two books through Createspace straight from a Word document (not a PDF) and have noticed no difference between the quality of the print verses any of the traditionally published books on my shelf.

"Spend a few hours on what took the last year and a half of my life"

Also, moved to Author Help as it really didn't fit in the Marketing and Promo Questions.

Try this:

From the desktop site (I have no idea how to do this from a mobile device) hover over your picture on the top right, then click View Profile. For you both this will go to your Author Profile. At the top of that page next to your name you'll see a link to "Edit author profile". Click that and you'll go to the Editing Author page. On the right hand side you'll see a link that says "Edit my user profile", click that and you'll be on the Account Settings page. This has the info displayed on comments and reviews. I *think* what you put in the First Name box is what's displayed. So, if you want your first and last name displayed then put them in the First Name box.