Theodore’s Comments (group member since Apr 01, 2017)

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

One space.

Very pleased. Thanks.

Carole wrote: "My son's book The Battle for Darracia is free today- We used something- I don't remember which- Free Booksy or ENT not sure- well it hit number one in it's genre. This is is least successful book i..."

Very nice! Congratulations.

Michael wrote: "One of my books is titled Past Imperfect. There are others out there: Julian Fellowes (Downton Abbey fame) and Joan Collins to name just two. But I had the title in my head for a long time and deci..."

Excellent! And why not?!

R.L. wrote: "Lmao, you'll breeze through it I'm sure"

I was tempted to be blunter...as in, I didn't give a ...

Well, you get the picture. LOL

Yes, I experienced it...and I didn't let it stop me.

One of my mystery/thrillers is titled House of Cards, but the subtitle, Dead Men Tell No Tales, will distinguish it from others of the same title.

As well, the Kindle edition of my Antarctic Trilogy sports the title Cold Blood: The Antarctic Murders Trilogy.

I really am NOT concerned.

Carole wrote: "You know when an author writes a book- they go on a multi-city tour- A blog tour is a virtual one. I have a few that I like. You pick a date and they get your book out with a bunch of popular blogs..."

Thanks, Erica and Carole...I learn something new every day here!

Erica wrote: "I choose a couple cheaper options but due to the massive amount of requests there is a wait time of a few months. I will let you know how it goes but as a follower, I am impressed with her audience..."

Sounds promising. Please keep us up to date. From a read of the site, she does appear to be over-subscribed on reviews. But this is definitely something I want to look into.

Carole wrote: "Depends on the genre.

I like The Children's Book Review. I'm doing a blog tour with her now for Oh Susannah. I've done a lot of tours with her and the books do well.
See if Bianca will do a story ..."

Carole, I went to The Children's Book Review site, but I didn't see details on how to submit books to them. I found their policy on reviews, but beyond that, nothing...you know, things like cost of a review, to where they should be sent, etc., etc. What am I missing? Also, I didn't see an e-mail contact for Bianca.

Whoooooops...just found in...in light type at the very, very top of my screen. Sorry!

Carole wrote: "Depends on the genre.

I like The Children's Book Review. I'm doing a blog tour with her now for Oh Susannah. I've done a lot of tours with her and the books do well.
See if Bianca will do a story ..."

What, exactly, is a "blog tour?" People keep mentioning them, but I haven't really paid attention. I have a blog, of sorts, on Goodreads...nothing special...but other than that and the few I read, I'm not really "up" on these things.

Erica wrote: "I have been contacting mommy bloggers. However, many of them are overwhelmed with constant offers and requests. Some can't get to my books for at least 6 months. Libraries and daycares have been go..."

That's been my experience as well. I good friend in the gym gave his daughter-in-law, a big blogger, some of the children's books two months ago, and nary a peep. Very disappointing.

Carole wrote: "Depends on the genre.

I like The Children's Book Review. I'm doing a blog tour with her now for Oh Susannah. I've done a lot of tours with her and the books do well.
See if Bianca will do a story ..."

Thanks!

Carole wrote: "On our YA books, we hardly sell any paperbacks. The paperbacks I sell are my cultural series for ages 3-8. That's why POD is so important to me. Otherwise, most of the fiction we sell is Kindle onl..."

Almost all of my fiction sales are Kindle.

Does anyone know THE VERY BEST PLACE to advertise children's illustrated storybooks in paperback (K-3).

Erica wrote: "Sounds like you have already found the best option for your book. :) If people aren't paying the 9.99 for paperback, I wouldn't waste my money getting it into hardcover unless you want to go all ou..."

Absolutely. The only reason I looked into it in the first place was because the librarian inquired of me. Clearly, it's not going to happen.

Erica wrote: "Interesting. I was able to price mine at 17.95 with full color. According to their calculator, that gives me about a $2 royalty (which is how much I make with paperback). It is less pages though an..."

My book was 242 pages in length...no color. Perhaps I did something incorrectly. The paperback sells for $9.99...sales of that edition have been nil. YA readers largely read iBooks, and here, I use Kindle exclusively.

Erica wrote: "Did you look into Ingram or Ingram Spark? Just curious. Ingram Spark is part of the same company but they are print on demand and you don't have to buy in bulk (though buying in bulk does save on s..."

Ingram Spark, Erica. It was POD, for sure. And thanks.

I had a request for hardback copies of my YA novel from the local high school that's using it as part of their Core Genre curriculum. However, when I looked into publishing same using Ingram, I would have to charge more than $27 per copy to even make $1 royalty. There's no way the school would pay that amount for one book. They seem content to use the paperback editions, replacing them as necessary. HS kids are hard on all books, paperback and otherwise. BTW, they bought a ton of the Kindle editions...in the ratio of 5:1, Kindle to paperback.

Carole wrote: "I accepted the return on books in the states only. I've had returns on Creatspace too- it's never been much."

Did it help get your books into stores?

Erica wrote: "Good point Carole! That was another reason I went with Ingram Spark."

But what about "return costs" with Ingram Spark? How many indies can afford to use this option? And without it, brick and mortar won't touch you (us).

Carole wrote: "There's been talk of it- When I spoke to them- they said they were consolidating and there will be pod on KDP- BUT- I see a master plan down the line for them."

Frankly, I can't see reading an illustrated children's storybook to a class of 1st graders from an iPad or a whiteboard. That's about as ridiculous as it gets.