C.B.’s Comments (group member since May 01, 2015)

C.B.’s comments from the Support for Indie Authors group.

April wrote: "Try adding KU to your Twitter ads."

Well that is a great idea I didn't think of. Silly CB!

Thanks, I'll do that now.

Yeah... I totally did it!

I had wanted to set up a Forum for people to talk and ask questions, because that is a great way to interact with readers and help build a community (I read). But I had no idea how to even start going about making a forum on a website. A Goodreads group - much easier to set up, and a lot of my fans are already here!

(Ps. I love fans)

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

I know the feeling. I'be only been in the program 2 days and I want to know what the numbers mean!

Susan wrote: "Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings. Ten cents a page isn't even close. More like LESS THAN a half a cent a page. 20,000 times .006 cents translates to $120.00 "

Oh, I didn't think it was anywhere close to that amount. It is odd they have that as their example, you would think the math would be better on an example... from Amazon.

I was just in the 'Wouldn't that be neat if it were true' frame of mind. :)

We will need to wait until the end of the month to know for certain.

April wrote: "Here is Amazon's explanation of the new payment policy for KU books read: https://kdp.amazon.com/help?topicId=A...

According to Amazon's sample calculations for royalties earned on books..."

Oh! I was right, I was sort of just speculating, but there is the real evidence. Thanks April. This was helpful!

20,000 pages might become 2,000 dollars. Depending on the total number of pages read worldwide in that month. It likely would be much less, as more pages than their example would likely be read. That is 10 cents a page, probably a bit high.

But here is hoping!

I think I am for this change.

Kindles tracked pages to remember your place anyway, so I am not really buying into they are spying on people thing. They already were spying in a manner of speaking, now they just use the info for something to possibly help the service as a whole.

From what I can figure, going over everything extensively the past week or so... (Please correct me if I am wrong.)

Amazon has a total budget for this program. This month there is 11 Million dollars to spread around. Every page read everywhere is 1 unit. (So, badly mathed example): If 1,000 pages of your book are read in a month, and 1,000,000,000 pages are read in total then you have 1,000 units / 1,000,000,000 units total then you have a 1/1,000,000 market share in the 11 million dollars (or in this case $11)

Okay, so my math is out there. More pages are read every month than that, but I think it probably works like that. I suspect that monthly earnings / page will be variable based on the amount to spread around each month and the total pages read. I don't think Amazon will make it a base rate to cover themselves on very heavy months of reading (or a maximum rate for low reading months to help their profits), so even if you have the same pages read / month it likely will be variable slightly. :)

At least, I think it works like that. We will need to wait and see.

I decided to try it out and see what happens. When my books show up in the store that is, still waiting for them ^-^.

If nothing happens then I can elect to leave after 3 months.

So I decided on

Doubled in the D
(Stronghold)

Crammed in the C
(Stronghold)

Effed in the F
(Stronghold)

Because I am classy like that. :)

Harald wrote: "Yep. CB gets the Fifty Shades credit. I was thinking about the Dead, and he was... well, who knows CB Archer is thinking about :)"

I honestly don't even know what I am thinking about.

Harald wrote: "For all you Deadheads out there! :), here's a timely post I just made about what all this grayscale testing for covers is about. Check it out:

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

Joke credit - CB Archer

I shall rename them tonight and let everyone know! :D

I do have varied names of chapters. :)

Some are a bit more pun or jokey. I have a chapter that is about a charter overhearing a conversation and it is called Elvesdropping for an obvious joke, and a chapter called The Fifth T, and the meaning is revealed at the climax of that chapter.

I legitimately have a chapter in book three called 'The Chapter that Broke Spellcheck', so nothing is really off the table.

As the 'D' dungeon features the '2-4-2', I was thinking it is going to end up being called The Double Ds.

Jenycka wrote: "I personally love chapter titles. If it's a book I like, then I know where to go read again when I just want to reread the naughty bits.

What if you just spelled it out? Like, Dwarf Half-Elf Satyr..."

The chapters have the benefit of being in lettered dungeons. I am just going to have to think up good puns based on the letters C, D, and F.

Yes, I think it may be a bit too obscure for a joke, and too confusing. Thanks for confirming!

Classified ads are no longer high in people's radar, so I think I will avoid them. Despite how fun I think they are when translated, no one is going to bother to try and translate them.

I suspect tech savvy half-elves use internet dating nowadays.

Lisa wrote: "Do people still post personal ads that look like that now? I was totally lost."

... I don't know. That is probably a good question to know before thinking about this further.

Hello! Here is the strange topic for the day...

I am trying to get a little perspective on one of my final formatting problems.

All of my chapters have names. Often they are little jokes or foreshadowing.

It just came to my attention that my Beta Readers had no idea what a string of 3 joke chapters names were talking about.

I had tried to use sort of a personal ad concept for them, they were called:
2-4-2, 1-4-1, and 2-4-1 (so implying there would be an... uh... 'encounter' in that chapter that was about Two people for Two people.)
I thought it made sense, but no one got it. Looking back, I don't even really get it.

I still sort of liked the concept of using a personal ads format for the three similar chapter names. If I expanded them to look more like personal ads, do you think it would make more sense as to what you were looking at?

For example:
TwCBIM/Gi(LS) + TwCBIF/Gi(LD)
WLTM
SHetM/Dw(WI) + SHetF/He(NM)
WTR

(Side note: Dw means Dwarf, He means Half-elf, and Gi Means Giant, in case you can read personal ads and got confused).

That is a heck of a chapter name, do you think people would understand that there is a reference to personal ads in there, or would they just think it is some crazy math formula and be totally confused.

Should I just ditch the idea altogether and just come up with a new chapter name idea, or should I put a joke right at the start of first chapter with that name about personal ads being hard to understand and the characters not understanding the chapter names.

Jenycka wrote: "Not board games. It's the redneck Reunion (each year we have a theme) and we don't do board games. Big games. Like we will be having a Spam Sculpture contest. Greased watermelon toss. I have a cost..."

Oh.
Why didn't you say so!

Slip n' Slide Bowling
Red Yarn Laser obstacle course
Ostrich Egg Spoon Race
Four-Legged Race
Foam sword gladiator arena

G.G. wrote: "C.B. wrote: "G.G. wrote: "Ok, now I'm hungry for some poutine. ;)"

How very Canadian of you. +5 'eh' points!"

But...but...I am Canadian. It's not because I now live in the U.S. that it changed an..."

I know you are. :D That is why you got +5 and not +3!

Jenycka wrote: "Well I'm at my family reunion for the weekend and I'm supposed to help organize games. I'm thinking I won't suggest a pinky pull. We are not from Arkansas. Or the Netherlands."

Carcassonne
Settlers of Catan
Citadels
Ticket to Ride
Zombiecide
Dominion

That should get you started!

Micah wrote: "Jenycka wrote: "Or gay marriage..."

Not anymore, baby!"

A Big thumbs up for that!!!