Eldon’s Comments (group member since May 30, 2016)

Eldon’s comments from the Support for Indie Authors group.

Sotto wrote: "But I assume ARC is some kind of 'unprotected' intellectual property...."

Hi Sotto. This is untrue. The advance reader copy in no way effects your ownership of the work in question :)

Ian wrote: "As for paperback sizes, in fairness to Amazon I think we should accept the decision could have been made for technical reasons, and there is not much authors can do about those. What happens if you..."

Also, in fairness to Amazon, 5x8 is a fairly popular and standard trim size. It's entirely possible they never removed it, but it vanished for a time due to a programming bug. Something they're known to have.

Terri wrote: "Jay wrote: "Frank said: I'm working on a paperback and literally just started the setup. 5x8 is in the list.

You’re right. It’s back. But 5x8 had been removed, several weeks before I mentioned it,..."

The squeaky wheel I guess :)

Sotto wrote: "Hi,
Sorry if this is at the wrong place, but the other suitable threads that I saw have been inactive, so I don't know if it's frowned upon here to revive them.

I have received a question from so..."

I received the same question, Sotto. I answered politely that my books are available on Amazon :)

Marie Silk wrote: "Interesting stuff. It's unfortunate if 5x8 is no longer an option with their print on demand. All of my books are 5x8 but I had them professionally formatted (did not use KDP's paperback feature) s..."

Just checked now Marie and 5x8 is still offered by KDP according to their website.

Marie Silk wrote: "Interesting stuff. It's unfortunate if 5x8 is no longer an option with their print on demand. All of my books are 5x8 but I had them professionally formatted (did not use KDP's paperback feature) s..."

Hi Marie! I'd think page size is strictly under their control. If you used 5x8 formatted files on a 5.5x8.5 print run it would definitely look off.

Nick wrote: "I feel a bit like Grand Pa who has woken up and come downstairs to see what all the fuss over the new pop music is. :-)..."

You're not alone there Nick :)

Jay wrote: "'m confused Jay. KDP Select is exclusive to ebooks - there are no paperbacks in the program. If I were you, I'd dig deeper into this enrollment.

Agreed, which is why I was surprised when they not..."

Hard to say. But each of us are responsible for following the terms and conditions of KDP, and they are notorious for not pulling any punches when they drop the hammer on violators. Be careful.

Jay wrote: "If you missed it, Amazon apparently has changed supplies for their print books, because their book sizes have changed. And if, like me, you’re adding volumes to an already created series, you may b..."

I'm confused Jay. KDP Select is exclusive to ebooks - there are no paperbacks in the program. If I were you, I'd dig deeper into this enrollment. You wouldn't want to be caught out by their ToS.

Christine wrote: "Are people getting a lot of solicitations via email for reviews? I get about 2 a day and wonder if it comes from this site."

It's really no different than any other phishing scam. All they're really interested in is your information. Delete and move on :)

L.K. wrote: "I'm taking a break from writing - self publishing has got too much for me and I've stopped enjoying writing. Hoping a total change in direction will help and I'll get back to writing eventually. Ho..."

Sorry to hear that L.K. But totally understandable. This self pub business is hard on all of us. Be well.

Tomas wrote: "Maybe it's just the winter. Especially as it gets a bit bleak here in the suburbs as the snow melts quite fast, so it's mostly muddy anyway."

I think it's the winter - too busy shovelling :(

Gail wrote: "Eldon wrote: "Jay wrote: "Eldon said: There is absolutely no way a book you put out - or I put out - has anywhere near the same chance of being seen as one put out by Stephen King or Michael Connel..."

Thanks Gail :)

Jay wrote: "Eldon said: There is absolutely no way a book you put out - or I put out - has anywhere near the same chance of being seen as one put out by Stephen King or Michael Connelly or insert whatever nam..."

I tire of this discussion, Jay. The discussion is not about sales. It's about being "seen". A precursor to sales. If you wish to continue with the misguided belief that Amazon treats every release the same way, then feel free.

For those of us here who wish to succeed, we'll continue to focus on covers, blurbs, marketing, and yes, craft.

Have a good day.

Roger wrote: "I fell for what seems to be a marketing scam, responding to an email:
pluxedo@gmail.com (see above discussions).

Someone at this email ""Barry Townsend"?) claimed to offer a money-back guarantee ..."

Hi Roger,

I'm sorry to hear you got taken in by scammers. It can happen to anyone. A word of advice for the future, even if the paid reviews materialize they can land you in big trouble with Amazon. Buying reviews is a strict violation of their terms and conditions. If anymore promised review emails come your way, best to just ignore them.

Dwayne wrote: "It's a great help, yes, but it's not a guarantee. ..."

Very true Dwayne. There are no guarantees for any of us. I've read exceptional novels that didn't sell well, and horrible novels that made the bestseller list. Luck, plays more of a role than any of us care to admit.

Jay wrote: "On average, every book that appears on the new listings list has the same chance of being looked at..."

I'm shaking my head over here Jay. I admire your conviction to your own point of view, but lets get real here. There is absolutely no way a book you put out - or I put out - has anywhere near the same chance of being seen as one put out by Stephen King or Michael Connelly or insert whatever name you like. Visibility doesn't start with the quality of the writing. It ends there.

Having your book seen is a combination of many factors, of which, a professional cover is most definitely near the top. A great cover never sells a book, but a poor cover costs you a sale every time. If an author isn't professional enough to pay attention to covers, blurbs, and bios, what is there to suggest to a reader that they're professional in their writing?

But honestly, I think this thread has run on long enough. You've had your say, and others have had theirs. Let's leave it there and have a good night.

Dwayne wrote: "Jay wrote: "Only one that I know of: readers weren't hooked by the writing."

The book's cover isn't interesting enough.
The book is buried behind the millions of other books out there.
The author ..."

Excellent points Dwayne!

Charlie wrote: "I used an editor, Esther Chilton. I knew of her through my Wordpress blog. It was the best thing I did. Esther worked hard on my book and really turned it around. I had some Beta readers too but as..."

Sounds like a winner Charlie!!

Jay wrote: "Only one that I know of: readers weren't hooked by the writing....."

This is demonstrably wrong Jay. For it to be true you assume the perspective reader even saw the book. Given the Amazon environment, most books go unseen whether poorly written or exceptionally written.