C.C.’s Comments (group member since Jan 05, 2017)

C.C.’s comments from the Navigating Indieworld Discussing All Things Indie group.

Got everyone on this list so far. Kay and Erica - I was already following both of you ;-)

Thanks Carole and Brit. The pics are amazing - I'm so excited for everyone. Showed my 4 year old the pic that includes my book and she immediately said, 'I like the puppy one!' ;-)

Marie Silk wrote: "I regret buying a pack of 10 ISBNs instead of 100. I blew through the first 10 in a matter of months and had to spring for the 100-pack anyway."

ISBN decision is a tough one. It's a lot to invest up front unless you are sure you're going to publish several books.

Are there still spots left?

Author: C.C. Bolick
Book 1: Leftover Girl
Ebook: promotion status *Regular price - .99, KU*
Print: promotion status *Regular price - 10.99
Link: https://www.amazon.com/Leftover-Girl-...

Alexis - thanks for posting my article.

I'm blown away by the fabulous job you're doing with this website. Wow! I've been showing everyone I know. The layout, pics, and fonts look so professional. It's a great balance of content with a fresh feel - it's something you should be proud of.

Alexis - I uploaded a blog post I wrote for the website about how I work through writer's block. No new information - just a listing of what works for me. If this isn't the kind of info you're looking for in a post, please give me some direction and I'll write something else.

New at this, but want to help in any way I can!

Awesome job on the website!!!

Alex wrote: "Carole wrote: "Indie Book Jubilee

The Blockbuster Indie Book Giveaway

The Indie Book Blast

March Madness Book Event

Spring Festival Book Giveaway"

All good suggestions. I like Indie Book Blas..."

I agree with Alex, but they're all good suggestions. Indie Book Blast sounds like we're all having a blast - which is true!

All of this is great - you guys are outstanding and I'm learning so much. Thanks Alexis, Carole, Alex, and R.L.!

Please consider the fact that some of us would love to help out but might be newbies at promotion. While I'll be willing to contribute when funds needed are determined, it's the other things I'm not sure about. If anyone has time to spell it out, please let me know exactly what I can do to help with this promotion.

Leftover Girl
Genre: YA Sci-fi Mystery Series


Jes Delaney can't remember anything before she was found at four, barefoot in the headlights of an old Ford. At fifteen, she has adjusted to moving without notice and never fitting in, but everything changes with her adopted mom's hometown. There Jes falls for her mom's nephew, a love she hides when his betrayal leaves her isolated and driven to unravel the past.

After Jes befriends a strange new student, she discovers an unbelievable secret: he's from another planet and searching for a missing girl who just might be her. As Jes will learn, truth comes at a cost, but will she give up love to find out?

C.C. Bolick
https://www.amazon.com/Leftover-Girl-...

Book 2:
Secrets Return

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01...

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Amazon https://www.amazon.com/C.C.-Bolick/e/...
Website http://www.ccbolick.com/

Sorry if it's only supposed to be one book. Just use the first.

Don't let this insult you!

If you don't plan to read this article, I'll sum it up. The author had little or no understanding of how much work is involved with self-publishing. She takes pride in her work and doesn't want to see it diminished by those who bypass the 'gatekeepers' of traditional publishing. Seems like she was under the impression most of us spend November writing a novel and press publish on Dec. 1st.

Everyone here knows it doesn't work that way. From what I've read, many long-time traditionally published authors are also self-publishing now because it makes good business sense. Please, don't let silly articles get you down.

I read both traditionally and self-published books. I'm not afraid. The beauty of Amazon is that people now have more choices. I'm all about discovering self-published books that are great (and I have!).

Maybe the books this author has been exposed to aren't her cup of tea. Bound to happen since books are so subjective. Amazon is smart to offer the 'look inside' feature. I can usually tell if a book is for me before the end of chapter one.

Carole wrote: "I agree. Sometimes though- it's exhausting and you just wanna relax."

Yes, that's my main reason for reading. I don't want to struggle to get through the text. Mystery is great, but I like the words to flow. I just want to melt into a good book and unwind, regardless of the genre.

I like this post - as an engineer, I tend to gravitate toward statistics and algorithms that help life make sense.

I'm drowning in technical terms on a daily basis. Could I write a book at college level? Yes, but I doubt I'd find much pleasure in writing that book since the reason I write is stress relief.

One thing to note about this scale - if you write shorter sentences or get high on writing lots of dialogue like me, the reading level will be lower. I checked these statistics on my first book and got a reading ease of 87. Overall the reading level was around 4, but if you check blocks of the story that don't contain dialogue, this number is 6-8.

Since I write YA, this could be an issue for some. I've seen writing advice stating that YA readers like a 'harder read.' Don't know if this is true for everyone, but I plan to keep writing and hope some might enjoy all the drama enough to forgive me for an 'easy read.'

Recently finished two good books - Station Alpha by Aislinn Kearns and Shiva XIV by Lyra Shanti.

If you're into YA, would definitely recommend Awoken by Sarah Noffke.

Just picked up a copy of Davenport House by Marie Silk and Witches Protection Program by Michael Phillip Cash.

Amy wrote: "Elina: Got to start somewhere I guess. I blog-to myself and probably 2 other people. I share the blog posts to Twitter and FB. There's rarely anything book related in there because there's only one..."

Amy - You can add another to your list. Just followed you so I'll be looking forward to reading your blogs!

Thanks to everyone who has offered FB info on this thread. FB is definitely a weakness for me.

Navigating Indieworld is filled with info about the entire self-pub process. I liked that it also discussed reaching bloggers and creating an audio book, both of which I knew nothing about.

I would definitely recommend Where There's a Will by Alex Carver. Although that's never been a genre I've read much, I thought the characters were fleshed out I couldn't put it down.

C.L. Lynch's book Chemistry is absolutely hilarious.

Just picked up a copy of Shiva XIV by Lyra Shanti and Station Alpha by Aislinn Kearns.

This thread was such a great idea!

Alex wrote: "Hi everyone, as promised, here's the new paperback cover I've just received, it and the ebook version are currently working their way towards live on createspace and kdp.

"
Alex - this is great! I think it goes well with the dark, mysterious atmosphere of the story.

I've been lucky when it comes to covers - EBookEditingPro did my first and I loved it. For the second, a local graphics designer asked for first shot at it and I was thrilled with the results.

When it comes to interior, I wanted to do that myself. I really enjoy that kind of stuff.

Here are my two books. Wow, thanks you guys!

My apologies for getting off topic again, but could someone please fill me in on how to insert a book image into a post? I couldn't seem to get it right on a previous post. Thanks.