How to Launch a Box Set of Ebooks

Today I want to share a blog of my friend, Elyse Salpeter. She explains how she released her first box set and how to do it. Enjoy.

How to Launch a Box Set of Ebooks: The Kelsey Porter Series

by Elyse Salpeter

Nov20

Kelsey Porter Box Set

Hi, everyone. I have great news! I’m excited to announce that I have learned how to launch a box set for those of you who’d like to jump into the Kelsey Porter series. Here are the first three ebooks all together, now available on Amazon for just $7.99. Please click here: https://amzn.to/2RV8eIY

How did I do it? Launching a box set is actually pretty easy… though I’ll need to caveat that you DO need to actually have multiple books written. I waited to do a box set until after I had 5 books in the Kelsey Porter series published. Then what I did was contact my formatter and she made me an ebook file of the first three novels. She put it all together in one document that I uploaded to Amazon. The only difference is you don’t need the added copy at the end of each novel, as the next book is already there, ready to go. But, at the very end of the ebook, I did the amazon link and the 1st chapter of Book #4 so the readers could continue the series.

Then, I contacted my cover artist, Laura LaRoche at LLPix Designs, and she created this really cool box set cover, as you can see here. She used the same “feel” as the covers of the series and I think she did a great job.

The Kelsey Porter Series

Now, why did I do only three? Because...[Read more here...]

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Until next I ramble on...

Happy New Year! Some Tips to Share

As most of you know, I fight continuously on the battle of the bulge. My stomach just doesn't want to be reduced. Now, stepping back and evaluating this information, I've come to realize some of it is my fault and some of it is caused by medications.

First, let me explain the really easy part. My fault.  I love to eat, plain and simple. I love food. I love to cook and seriously get excited with flavor combinations. I'm always on the lookout for a new recipe that will test my culinary skills and tickle my palate when I eat it. Hence, gluttony will get me every time. Plus, right now, holidays are a killer. Everyone is bringing something for me to taste and well, taste I must. LOL.  The second aspect of my fault is my lack of exercise. When I was exercising, I was losing weight.  Uh, I fell off the wagon.  No exercise means extra weight. Plain and simple.  The tip here: Exercise and watch what you're eating.

Now, let me explain about my medications. I'm diabetic, stage 2. Last year, this time, my A1C was over 10 and my doctor was totally ticked. He wanted me on insulin. I fought that battle and got my A1C down to like 7.4 and I went on a strict, rigid diet, cutting my carbs and meal intakes. My doctor had me take a "diabetes learning class" and things went awry. My instructor was appalled I had cut out almost all carbs. She was adamant, I had to have carb intake. She put me on a diet that consisted of 60 carbs per meal (3X daily) and 30 carbs per snack (3X daily) and if you do quick math, that is 270 carbs a day.  I tried it.  My weight skyrocketed. And my sugar increased, too.  So, after a couple of months of seeing this drastic change, I went back to my diet with minimal carbs. I love rice and potatoes and I wasn't about to cut that from my diet. I just drastically cut back the amount and how often. No more heaping piles of rice - a polite amount, one half cut. I got my rice hit. Same held true for the potatoes. A small serving or a very small baked potato. No longer do I search the tater pile for the biggest ones I can find.  Even French fries are being limited. My tip about this is simple: You are what you eat - or if you're talking about medications - what you take - try to keep control.

But, I digress. My medications, many of them, have side effects and usually that includes, of all things, weight gain. I spoke with my doctor about that and he had a solution. I figured another pill. Wrong! He pulled a fast one on me. I take a Victoza shot every day. It helps me maintain my sugar and also dampens my appetite - somewhat.

Now, as I said, I gave up my exercise. I'm paying for that action now. I've regained about 10 pounds of what I've lost.  I'm still under 250, down from the original 268 at the beginning of the year, so I consider that a good thing. I think I've maintained a 20 pound loss over the year. Yay!!  My tip at this point? Keep focus and don't lose heart. It is too easy to give in.

As stated, I stopped my exercise and to say I became more fixture-like is an understatement. That has not done my heart any good. For the last few days I've been watching my #4 son's dog - a pitbull puppy and she is solid muscle. Lugging her to her bedtime crate for the night leaves me slightly wasted in my recliner. I'm not gasping for air but I can tell it wears on my heart. Having had a quadruple bypass eleven years ago - I notice my heart more, now.  Tip to this? Be aware.

Other topics. My writing has languished of late. I did complete NaNoWriMo but the story is nothing like I planned so it will basically be a rewrite. I want it to be more literary than fantasy. Yes, I know I'm a fantasy writer but I wanted this story to NOT have a lot of fantastical aspects, and be more fictional. I guess that is what rewrites are all about. So my tip here: Sit your butt in the char and write!

So, with the beginning of a new year, like everyone else, I will once again attempt some new year resolutions... and like I've said in the past: Make the realistic and attainable with a definitive goal.

I'm going to lose weight. That is undefined. I'm going to lose 50 pounds. That is probably unattainable.  I want to lose another 15 pounds this year. Now, THAT is a possibility. Why such a small amount? Simple. I lost 20 and struggled to keep it off. Trying to lose another 15 is going to be tough. Did you read the above? My meds make it difficult. Of course, the more I lose, maybe I can reduce some of those medications. It was a slow spiral down to this point, it will be a slow go to reach back up to the top. But I will -- WILL -- get there.

I'm going to write more this. A nice ambiguous goal.  I'm going to publish 4 books. Another unobtainable goal, more than likely. I'm not saying it can't be done, but the reality to do so would involve total commitment and determination.  I'd like to publish 2 books this year. I figure it will be a fight with everything else I think I may be involved with this year, but, I've set a goal... and it is one I feel I could reach.

So my final tip: Make your goals for 2017 obtainable. No reason of going into the new year with goals that you know you can't reach.  It is better to save $50 during the year than attempt to put $1000 in the bank when you know you live from paycheck to paycheck.  A dollar stuffed in a jar each week won't be missed, but $20 a week could mean the difference of a nice meal and no meal.

Did you set your New Year's Resolutions?  Will you keep them?  Share your goals.

Until next I ramble on...

Scammed and Resolutions

Let's start with the "up" side first.  My resolutions for the new year.  Last year I mentioned how I had to get my diabetes under control.  I told some drastic measures and in thirty (30) days I took my A1C from 10.4 to 7.2 and my average blood-sugar was down from 246 to 91.

My doctor was pleased with my results and wants me to continue whatever regime I am doing.  BUT he changed my prescription meds from Janumet to Januvia for my diabetes.

So far, I've been on it a total of 5 days.  I do not like the results I am seeing.  My morning reading is normally in the 90s or very low 100s - like 91 or 102.  The best I've had with the new pills is 130.  My readings during the day aren't better, either.  I'm seeing numbers like 276, 218.  Sometimes I get a "low" reading like 165 and that is 3 hours after eating.  I will continue these pills but will be discussing this with the doctor.

The reason for the change in pills was due to my kidney readings.  My renal was like 1.92 and should be closer to 0 - that's a ZERO.  He wants to check things out so I'll be getting an ultrasound later this week and seeing a specialist the first of March.  More on that as it comes up.

So, for my New Year's Resolutions.  I'm sort of hanging onto what I had last year.  I'd love to publish at least two books this year.  I really want to get "The New York Voice" out to complete the 2nd book in my "The Amish Singer" series.  Plus there are a few other books I'd like to see out there.  And, of course, I'd like to lose another 20-25 pounds this year which would get me closer to my 200 lb goal.  My wife and I have already decided we'll do more traveling this year but I'll still have my garden.  I don't want to make the list too long so it basically is simple - Get my diabetes under control, get at least two books published and lose more weight.  Seems simple enough and over eleven months to get it all accomplished.  Yeah, right!

Now for the "down" part of this blog.

I got scammed.  On my credit card. We're not exactly sure how it was done but fortunately, my credit card company caught it early on, plus I just happen to be checking out my electronic bill.  When we attempted to purchase flowers for my MIL's funeral, the credit card was declined and we just used another card even though we knew there was no issue with the card.  After the funeral I finally remembered and decided to check out the bill and see what might have been the cause.

WOW!  I had a $200 charge made in another very large town approximately 4.5 hours away from me to the south.  I knew I hadn't spent that money and called the 24/7 hotline to see what was going on.  As we talked, I noticed the date - 12/14.  That's my wife's birthday.  In fact, we were almost an hour north of our home.  So where the purchase had been made was now over 6 hours away.  We even used that same credit card for the meal and just a few minutes between the purchases.

I was passed to Fraud Department.  As they checked out the transactions and attempted transactions on my card, it appeared that somebody was "swiping" my card at these businesses.  Yes, plural. The one transaction got through but the card was flagged when they attempted to use it at a business that reads the "chip" on the card.  The card was "tried" at no less than four other businesses but because of the chip on my credit card, when it got flagged, my card was disabled and marked.

As we talked I showed the Fraud Dept where I was and used my card that day and they realized that there was no way I could be at the two locations that fast... if even using a jet.  They cancelled my $200 purchase, removing it from my bill.  And we had new cards issued for my wife and I.

What I found interesting, these scammers were actually using a real card to "swipe" through the machines for the purchases.  I had to make sure both my wife and I had our cards.  Because of the chip in my card and the new scanners using them, they caught and disabled my card.  Sure, it was inconvenient when we attempted to purchase flowers for the funeral, but the other possibility, for us, could have been devastating.  Scammers can duplicate the card, they can't duplicate the chip.  WHY? Because, as I was told, the chip is updated each time the card is used, reading a number and changing it. Each time it is a unique number to your card.  If a scammer were to get that chip number and duplicate it, even if I used it just once before they got their new scam card made, the chip numbers wouldn't match and therefore, voila! Void.

So, here's the caveat.  If you have one of the new "chip" credit cards, don't think it can't be duplicated. The catch is - the store reader must be the new one to force the chip to be read.  Our local WalMart uses the chip with their new readers but many restaurants and stores haven't upgraded to the new machines and thereby just do the generic swipe.  In fact, a local grocery we shop at has the new machines but hasn't "bought and installed" the new software. Using the new card is a waste of time - there is no protection, customers have to swipe their cards.

My wife and I are keeping track of which stores read the chip and which stores don't.  If they don't, we are reluctant to go back to the store unless it is absolutely necessary.

Also, we don't let our card be taken away from us to be used, like at restaurants UNLESS we can see the transaction being done from our table.  Yes, we use cash in those instances.

We have our ideas of where the number got scammed and I notified the Fraud Dept people.  We were at a restaurant and the waitress took almost 20 mins to get our bill and card back to us.  If the place had been busy and I hadn't needed to be someplace at a certain time, I probably wouldn't have noticed the length of time.  We only had 2 incidents where our card has been away from our sight.  Fraud is aware of when and where.

Until next I ramble on...

Year End Round-Up

What did 2015 do for you?  It is the end of another year and, as always, we tend to get a little whispy-eyed with memories of the last 12 months.

This year had it ups and downs.  There were good things and there were bad things.  Of course, we all remember those incidences which just happened... like my mother-in-law passing just prior to Christmas.  That was definitely a down thing but you can spin it as an up thing: She was 103 and had lived a very full life.  Her health had been failing, along with her memory - and that hurt, especially my wife who visited her several times a week.  It's hard when your mother doesn't remember who you are - but, she knows you, just not your name.

Of course, there was my doctor visit in November which wasn't all that great.  My blood sugar was averaging 246 for the last six months and he basically told me, fix it or die.  Again, to spin a good thing to it, I have since lost 18 pounds and my sugar has been hovering around the 100-120 mark.  That is a very good thing.  I'll be going back in January for another blood draw to see what the new results will be.  I'm hoping to lose another few pounds in the meantime.

While on the subject of weight, I'll go clear back to the beginning of the year when I was making resolutions.  What were they?  Lose 25 pounds. Publish 3 books.  So let's see what I did.

Back in June I got so sick I could barely swallow.  I lost weight - a lot of weight.  I lost a total of over 30 pounds.  Then I got well.  I found them.  I didn't have to go that far to search, either.  They were ever so quick to return - and return they did.  Okay, I didn't get them ALL back.  I was able to let some free to roam and find another home.  About 10 pounds were left on the range.  So with the doctor's colorful health report, I've lost almost another 20 pounds, so, in total, I've lost almost 30 pounds this year.  THAT I call a success.  I reached my goal of 25 pounds.  Oh, for you readers, if you find these stray pounds, their yours to keep - call it my gift, if you will.  I don't want them back so they're free for the keeping.  I'm sure they'll be good to keep you warm - not healthy, but good.

Now, to the publishing.  In April I published "The Secret Voice" which has been a great seller.  I have had to order it twice from Amazon to keep it in stock.  I even sold a copy to the young lady who helped me at WalMart when I created my new poster of the cover.  My one classmate also works there and she's been telling everyone about and well, do you have any idea what it is like to have a clerk ask if she can buy a copy?  If you go to Amazon, it doesn't look like it is selling because all the copies I sell don't reflect... and I've sold a LOT of copies.

Anyway, I published that book and was able to finally get my 2nd book published yesterday and should be available now.  "CRACKED! The Writing Mystique" is a short how-to about handling the different aspects (mystiques) of writing including character detail, active/passive voice, writing sex and so much more.  As always, I made sure to include examples so it could be easily understood.

Did I publish three books?  No.  I really feel ashamed.  I could have done so easily but I didn't and there absolutely no excuse.  Of course, I've been working on the sequel to "The Secret Voice" and, as many writers will understand, my mind has been attacked by several other plots and stories that are screaming for attention. I was just busy with other things - like family and life, I guess.

Of course, this year, my wife and I tried to do a little more camping.  Of course, with her mother's health, we didn't want to travel too far away.  Most of the time we went to the local state park just a few miles up the road and would camp there for the week, skipping out Friday morning before it got too crowded.  We did do a trip up into Michigan with our middle granddaughters (ages 13 and 9) where we got in some great fishing.  That was about 5 hours from home... not too far, but away.

My garden.  It was a good garden.  I even was able to grow some sweet corn and it was delicious. My wife canned some tomatoes, making stewed, diced, juice and even several jars of salsa which I have pretty well decimated already.  She agrees - more salsa next year.  Yes, I have already received what I call the best fiction mags of the year - the garden seed catalogs.  And, yes, I already have delusions, uh, I mean, dreams of things I want to attempt to grow this coming year.  Since I was so busy doing mulch to certain areas, I am going to have to be a little more selective in what I want to grow in containers.  I have plans for a couple of tubs.  Of course, my two hanging deck boxes I have to allocate some nice draping plants.  And the step planters, those big 24-inch pots will need some color, too.  In just a few short months I'll be starting my garden seeds likes tomatoes, peppers and just not sure what else as of now.

Also, this coming year, I want to attempt raising some chickens - about 50 for slaughter and another 5 or 6 for eggs during the summer and fall.  Of course, if winter next year is anything like it has been so far this year, those chickens might make it through the winter.  Oh, and I'd like to also raise about 2, maybe 3 turkeys.  Living in the countryside does have its perks but then again, it also has the critters that like chickens and turkeys, especially the young ones... oh, and eggs, too!

So, as you can see, I'm already getting around to my New Years Resolutions for 2016.  I'll keep it simple.  Lose another 25 pounds.  Publish at least 2 books.  Raise some chickens and turkeys.  Grow a garden.  Travel, camp and fish more.  Oh, and spend more time with my wife, kids, grandkids, great grandkids, family and friends.

Until next I ramble on...

I'm Back.

I know I've been remiss in doing my weekly blog but I had to take care of a few things and to be quite honest, I just didn't feel I could be fair to my readership.  Here's a little of what has happened in the interim...

1) NaNoWriMo.  Yes, I attempted and succeeded once again with this program.  This year I couldn't decide if I wanted to slap-write my 2nd Amish novel or do the writing book that was buzzing around in my head.  A friend suggested both.  That's what I did.  I accomplished over 52k words by the end of the month, completing my writing book and actually accomplishing quite a bit on my Amish novel.  So, hang in there, I've got some books coming out soon.  More later...

2) Health.  Remember my New Year's resolutions to lose some weight - okay, at least 25 pounds?  I actually accomplished that back in June, losing almost 30.  I got so sick, I couldn't eat and basically was on a liquid diet.  Yeah, I lost weight.  But to be honest, it just lingered around the corner and when I wasn't looking, most of it jumped back on board.  Not good.  I went to my doctor back in November and well, he tried to sugar-coat the results of my latest blood test.  "Get your diabetes under control or die."  WOW!  He said he couldn't sugar coat it because I'm a diabetic, which is true for the last 15 years.  Seems my A1C went from a not-so-great 7.3 to a Holy Crap! 10.4.  For those not in the know, an A1C in the range of 4.5 to 5.9 is consider good.  My diabetes was totally out of control with high blood results averaging 243 for the past 6 months.  I have since taken active steps to correct the situation.  He had changed my meds - I had him put me back on the old meds which were working.  Since then, my sugar has dropped drastically into more acceptable numbers.  I'm watching my food intake and exercising more.  My doctor said if I can get my sugar under 130 on a regular basis, he will be happy (and surprised!)  Last night, before supper, my sugar was 126.  I'm eating my healthier right now and from what I could tell - I went to the Medical Center with my wife and stopped at my doctor to get weighed in - my weight is down 6 pounds in one week.  I will allow a little variance since it wasn't the same scale, but still, those scales are checked often throughout the year - so there shouldn't be too much change.  But, we'll keep tabs on it.

3) I mentioned publishing a book back in item #1.  That's right, hopefully, sometime this coming week, I will release "CRACKED! The Writing Mystique" which is a book to help a new writer understand some of the secrets of good writing and aide those seasoned writers with their writing.  I figure the e-book will be released at $.99 - at least for a few days.  There will be the paperback but I'm unsure exactly how much it will be since I need to have CreateSpace calculate all the expenses. My New Year's resolution goal was to publish 3 books - I got two books out with this one.  Hmm?  Last year I wanted to publish 4 books and only got out 3, so this year I decided on 3 and only got out 2 books.  Maybe next year I should consider 11 books and publish 10.  Whoo-hoo!!

4) On the home front, I was able to get a lot of landscaping done before the winter chills came in. We had this home built in 2006 and now, finally, after almost 10 years, I have a sidewalk to be somewhat proud of.  Prior, it was some mud, grass, a couple of rubber mats and a short length of carpet remnant.  Now it is an attractive angled walk of bricks with an edging of mulch.  In fact, there is matching mulch in front of the low brick wall and a large expanse of ground (heavy clay) that wouldn't even grow weeds. Oh, and the angled ground which had irises and day lilies, it is now a lovely stretch of mulch.  I will be guarding it against weeds with a self-made concoction of weed-killer including dish soap and vinegar plus some other stuff.  It's not as harsh as RoundUp and therefore will take quite a few hits to finally exhaust the plant's growth and kill it.  Still, if it gets on my good plants, it won't kill them and I can spray with water to rinse it off.  Not so with RoundUp.

5) Hoarding. We've all seen those shows were people hoard and hoard. My wife and I have started to hoard, too.  Slightly different.  The local grocery had 8 weeks of specials where you could get certain items at a very low price in limited quantities.  We also had a couple of friends who got those mailers and didn't want the items.  Guess who got them?  Then they decided to also have a 10 for $10 sale and other amounts.  Imagine - 10 1 pound packages of Butterball turkey bacon for $10.  Around here, that stuff usually sells for the cheap side at $3.99/pkg.  Need I say we bulked up?  They had 80/20 hamburger for $1.99/lb.  Yup!  We bought in 3+ lb packages and re-packaged into 1 lb bags and put it in the freezer.  They had all sorts of stuff on sale and we bought and bought to stock up.  Our big freezer is packed and the smaller one is also full.  We did a lot of canning and freezing of our garden goodies, too.  I kid you not, we can eat very well for the next 2 or 3 months and not leave the house except for milk which we don't drink that much of, anyway.  Oh, I forgot to mention, my grandson hunts and has gotten 2 deer so far this year.  He can only get one more.  The 2nd deer is still being processed and I have NO idea where we will put it.  What's nice, I can take a little venison and some of that 80/20 hamburger and get a very lean mixture which is even better for me.

6) Weather-wise - I'm not going to complain one bit.  I'm basically still running around outside in shorts and t-shirts in NW Ohio.  Okay, when I go into town, I put on bluejeans and sometimes a light jacket.  There has been only a couple of days that I've actually had to put on my leather jacket because it was so cold.  My wife, on the other hand, thinks it is chilly - but then again, I'm the guy who runs around in shorts all winter in the house, putting on a shirt when company comes. LOL.  I can handle extremes of heat and cold.  I'll be honest, I prefer 70 for a temperature year round but we keep our house a little warmer if we use air-conditioning - meaning it is too hot outside with no breeze and the windows can't be open.  In the winter, we keep it a little cooler, about 68.  Just had a thought!  Maybe that's why we don't get a lot of company. LOL.  Just kidding, this house should have a revolving door for the way people come and go here with 4 sons and 10 grandchildren, 4 of which are on their own, some with families.  It's a mob when the family gathers here.

Hopefully things will get better in my life.  I intend to get my blog out in a timely manner each week and, once again, I apologize for my absence.

Until next I ramble on...
















2.

Updates to Updates

As we go into the third tri-mester of the year (the last four months), I thought I'd give a little update to what is happening.

Weight.  Good news, bad news.  Remember the 28 pounds I lost back in June when I was sick?  As a friend said, I found some of them. The good news is: Only half of them - so I'm still 14 pounds down which makes my target of 25 pounds by the end of the year - well, it is something I can possibly attain.  At least, I plan to make it.

Overall Health.  I'm not up to par.  I bought into the "you can't do this and that" and my sons have tried to make sure I don't do this or that.  So... now I can't do this or that without getting totally winded.  As stated last week, I bought a lot of mulch to put down.  Of course, having temperatures up into the high eighties and low nineties isn't helping, but I do a little and then need to rest.  I mean, like work for maybe 15-20 minutes and then break for 40 minutes.  It is all about bending over - pushing the gut into the lungs.  Still, I think it might be why the weight hasn't all come back... all that bending.

Mulch.  By the way, the mulch is looking good.  Of course, I didn't buy enough while it was on sale so the one area that I wanted to do probably won't get done - the swing set area.  Just as well.  I think I should put ALL rubber mulch there rather than a mixture of wood mulch with a light sprinkling of rubber mulch.  Since the rubber mulch wasn't on sale, I'll keep an eye open for it to better priced in the next few weeks.

Camping. Took the grand kids camping and now my wife and I can go alone and enjoy some quiet time at the campgrounds during the week since most families have their kids back in school.  OH! Went shopping for a new RV.  We own a 28 foot 1998 Allegro motor home.  Yes, a land-yacht. I'd like to get a "wider" motor home - not necessarily a bigger one.  Let me explain.  I want slide outs in the living area.  If my current motor home had a slide out, I'd keep it since I'm more than thrilled with the mileage I get with it.  Uh, we're talking 10 mpg and up to 14 mpg on flat interstates on cruise.  The new one I looked at would get "maybe" up to 7 mpg, possibly 9 mpg.  LOL. Sure.  I think we're going to hold off on it until maybe next year... unless the salesman comes back with a deal I just can't pass up.  (Like that's going to happen!)

Writing.  Has been stalled.  I've been doing a lot of editing for clients, so I don't have a lot of time for writing.  I've done some - a little - on my second Amish novel.  Was stumped for a while but with a little brain-storming with another writer (thanks, Elyse!), I've now got some great ideas to weave into the tale and give it depth.  With NaNoWriMo coming up in November, I have to decide if I want to attempt it yet again.  I  mean, I've competed 14 years, accomplishing 50K+ words 13 of those times. I've done NaNoWriMo since it's 2nd year of inception and only failing to complete the word count when I attempted a cookbook and my dad passed the month before.  Hint: Don't attempt a cookbook.

Gardening. The garden is coming to an end - sort of.  The corn is done and I've removed all the stalks from the raised bed.  My wife finally agreed that the green pole beans were finished, as were the wax bean plants.  Unfortunately I didn't tie-up my tomato plants - so they've sprawled all over but are doing fine.  We've canned a lot of salsa, diced, and stewed tomatoes - with more to come.  The shelves are filled with beans for the winter.  Still growing are the beets and carrots which appear might be a good crop this year.

Publishing.  I wanted to publish 3 books this year.  So far, only one book out. My Amish novel which has been selling like hotcakes at signings and shows.  On Amazon?  Not so well.  It would seem that the book hasn't sold well at all.  I've order copies twice now and figure I might have to order again before then end of the year - maybe twice!!  If you haven't checked it out - http://amzn.to/1ynQnzQ - you won't be sorry.  But, back to publishing.  Maybe with a little luck I'll be able to get out book 2 of my writing tips and book 1 in my Jewyl adventures is complete, for the most part, just some minor edits and a book cover design.  It's all about time.

Do you remember your New Year's Resolutions?  How are they coming along?  Given up?  Have you accomplished them?  Share.

Until next I ramble on...

What Am I Missing?

Before you get your hackles up, let me say this - the following article is written to those who have one or two books out AND they are not a series.

I just don't get it.  My mind can't wrap around the concept.

"It was a fantastic promo. We gave away over 25,000 copies of "XYZ Book Title" and garnered almost 50 reviews.  The book is being noticed.

"Thank you, everyone. Almost 11,000 books given away in 24 hours. Made #1 in free XYZcategory. Hoping for reviews."

What am I missing? Even if the person sold the book for $.99 with a $.35 royalty.  Let me do some calculation...

11,000 X $.35 = $3,500.00   OR  25,000 X $.35 =  $8,750.00

Somebody is thrilled and overjoyed at NOT making any money!! Especially when they could have made $8,750 or even just $3,500.

Go ahead, tell me they now have more readers - more fan base - more... well, anything!

WRONG!

They gave away all those books to a lot of people who may or may NOT read their book. IF they read it, maybe - but, more likely, there will be no review. Notice, I said "IF" they read it.

So what did they gain?

I'll be honest and you're all going to hate me for what I'm about to admit...

When I got my first taste of the Kindle reader app, I bought a couple of books and then discovered the free ones.  Yes, I got myself onto so many sites that offered free books.  I was voracious.  I grabbed everything and anything that even remotely interested me.  Why?  It was free.  I must have downloaded upwards of 700 books.  Yes, my Kindle app was loaded and I could have read for the next few years non-stop.

Now for the truth!

Of all those books I've downloaded, I've only read maybe 10-15 of them to completion.  Oh, sure, I checked out a few more, maybe another 30-40 books but gave up on them shortly after starting due one or more issues: bad formatting, bad writing, bad story, bad... bad... bad.

It was then I realized something I didn't want to accept - free equals bad. You get what you pay for.

There is a reason gold is expensive and poop is basically free for the taking.  Of course, like gold, there is always fool's gold and the unsuspecting reader is going to discover a bad book they paid good money for.

I'm not saying all free books for crap but, a few years back, that was indeed the case.  Not so, too much today.  It is always the caveat - Buyer Beware.

So, if you've spent a lot of time writing your book, editing your work, having it beta-read and even got a professional cover.  Whether or not you invested a few dollars or several dollars...

WHY ARE YOU GIVING IT AWAY FREE?

You're a writer.  Are you writing for the love of it?  In other words, you don't want to make money? Be honest, you want to make money.  If you continue to give away books, you're never going to make money.  Sure you may have umpteen thousand "fans" but if they don't BUY your books, they're not really fans.  Think of it this way - they got the first couple of books for free.  If they hang in there, you'll give this one away, too.  This will sound terrible - they are leeches sucking your creative juices out of you. They're just looking for the next free meal ticket.

IF they really, REALLY like your work, they will buy it.  Think this over.  If you're given a car, sure, you will baby it, but not for long. If it gets a ding, it will hurt for a bit but the next scratch you won't even raise an eyebrow. BUT, if you buy that car, I don't care how many times it gets dinged or scratched, you'll be out there hovering over your baby with a tear in the eye. You might even kiss the boo-boo to make it all better.  Now take that concept to your book.  You gave it away.  The reader owes you nothing since it cost them nothing.  If they read it, fine, if not, no loss to them since they have absolutely NO investment in the book.

The trend today is to give away the book and when not free, offer it for $.99.

IS THAT WHAT YOU THINK OF YOUR WORK?

Is it worthless or available for a few coins?  If you work full time, tell your boss that you'll come and work for free every Tuesday and Thursday and for a mere $1.99 the other days.  Notice I didn't even mention minimum wage?  $.99 a book isn't even minimum wage for a writer, new or veteran.

You're ready to price your book or do a promo...

THINK ABOUT THAT PRICE and what you are doing... You're setting a precedent!  Readers now think that they can get most books for free - if they hang in there long enough.  I bought a book $4,99 and about two months after I finished it, the author had it for free.  I was a bit miffed.  I was going to buy the next 3 books in the series, but I decided to wait.  Yes, the author listed the next 3 books for free the day the 5th book came available.  Personally, I think that is poor marketing on behalf of the author.  Give away the 1st book, and then establish an escalating price - $.99, $.1.99, and  $2.99 for the next 3 and finally $4.99 for the new book.  I see no issue with giving away the first book in a series to snare the reader, but to give all the books away for free.  Why?  You've already established the precedent that the latest book will be free with the release of the next book.

Think about it.  You've done the work - why give it away?

Until next I ramble on...

Proud Moment

Strange how that feeling sneaks up on you.  PROUD.  It just slides in and embraces you and that warm, fuzzy feeling overwhelms. It's like when your child is born.  Each book is like a child.

Why do I call it strange?  It isn't my first time.  No, I'm not a virgin to this fabulous, emotional moment.  I'll be honest.  I've had this feeling many times.  Okay, not THAT many times, but still, several and you'd think I'd be over it.

I'm not. Four books. Four sons. Eight grandchildren. Fifteen anthologies or co-authored.

I just released another book.  My fifth book and YES, book one of my hopefully three to get published this year has finally hit the presses and is now available at Amazon...

THE SECRET VOICE

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VW3BCA6/
Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/dp/161877154X

Above is the cover and I'm really excited about it.  I feel the photographer was able to catch the essence of my fictional character, Daniel, an Amish lad, perfectly. I'm hoping it will catch the reader's eye to make them pick the book up. A little tidbit about the photo - it was taken in Shipshewana, IN at the horse auction several years ago. The lad was deep in thought and the photographer snapped a perfect moment.

This is the back of the paper version.  Hopefully it will intrigue enough to get the reader to purchase the book.

I've released books of my own and been in several anthologies. I've had children and grandchildren. And yet, with each, the emotional embrace is unbelievable.  I love that moment.

Now, for a secret.  Later this week, I get to experience that feeling all over again.  How?  My youngest son's wife will be delivering twins on Thursday, if not before. Books and children!

So, go buy my latest book - you won't be sorry and await next week's blog when I brag about the new twins.

Until next I ramble on...

Interview With A Publisher

Today I am going to be asking questions of the head editor at 23 House Publishing.  So please welcome Mitchel Whitington to the hotseat as I ramble on...

Q: Do you have a niche market for publishing or are you open to anything goes?
A: 23 House is open to consider most anything. We’ve done several mainstream fiction titles this passed year in 2011, but we’re talking to an author for a potential 2012 title that is more niche than we’ve ever niched before. In general, we’re looking for a book which has a specific marketing plan behind it. Simply writing the best novel in the world won’t do it in the marketplace today.

Q: What makes your books different from others on the market?
A: That’s easy – our authors! Our average author is a seasoned writer who has only published a book or two at most, so they’re eager to please their readers and help create the best book experience possible for their readers.

Q: Why did you decide to become a publisher?
A: It just kind of happened. As a writer, I was attending a conference in Oklahoma City over a decade ago, and saw a book stored on a small floppy disk and they called it an “ebook.” I bought it, read it on my computer, and realized that this was the wave of the future. No publishing houses were doing ebooks at the time – they were mostly self-published – so 23 House was born. Ebooks waned without a standardized reader, and so the house evolved into standard book publishing. Which now, interestingly enough, includes ebooks.

Q: Are you open to submissions and how would a person contact you?
A: We are open to submissions for 2012, but the proposal has to be unique, exciting, and it must have a marketing plan. If you tell us that you’ve written the best western of the year, that’s not enough if you don’t have a plan for selling it. Our writer’s guidelines are on the website – www.23house.com – along with contact information.

Q: What is your favorite and least favorite book genre to publish?  Why?
A: I don’t know that there’s a favorite vs. non-favorite. Fiction is infinitely harder to sell than non-fiction, but by the same token, good fiction can be rewarding.

Q: Do you write?  If so, how long have you been writing?
A: I do – in fact, I had a “road to Damascus” conversion into being a writer back in 1979. I was reading Stephen King’s The Shining one evening, and our basset hound Fred had to go outside. We lived on a wooded lot, so as I walked Fred I became frightened in the dark among all those trees. Suddenly, I realized it was King’s words affecting my emotions, nothing else. It was at that point I realized the power of words – to entertain, to educate, and to bring forth emotions in the reader. I knew at that point I had to become a writer, and I’ve been writing ever since.

Q: What do you have planned – book related – for the future?

A: Our publishing calendar for 2012 is already filling up, and we have some solid titles already in place… quite diverse, in fact. We have a supernatural WWII novel that will be a movie in 2013, regional ghost books from different parts of the country, a Christian end-times sci-fi trilogy, and another book that hasn’t been signed yet which is a complete and total departure for 23 House. It’s going to be an exciting year!

Q: Tell us an interesting tidbit about you on a personal note.

A: I love the Friday the 13^th series of movies. In fact, I took a girl on a date to see the original one when it came out in the theaters years ago, and later married her. I guess if she hung in through that, I figured she was a keeper. Anyway, as a fan of the series (I own all the DVDs) I noticed there was a continuity issue between  the end of Friday the 13^th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan and Friday the 13^th Part IX: Jason Goes to Hell – there is no clear explanation as to how Jason gets from New York back to Camp Crystal Lake between the two movies. A few years ago I started writing a fan-fiction novel to resolve the issue. Since I was writing using other people’s trademarked characters and such, there’s no way that I could ever publish it or sell it. I make my living as a writer and publisher, so it made no sense to continue. Still, I allow myself to drag it out every now and then to spend a few hours on it. Maybe I’ll finish it one of these days, but what I’ll do with it, I don’t know. As I write this, I’m starting to realize how bizarre it all sounds… okay, forget everything I wrote; what I meant to say is, “Interesting tidbit? I make my own soap.”

Q: Where can we find out more about you and your publishing company?

A: We have a lot of information on the company website: www.23house.com . There are also entries in Writer’s Market and other trade listings, but the most current info is on the website.

Q: Any tips to share with writers?

A: In the world today – and I hate to say this – marketing is as important, if not more so, than writing. You could write the best romance ever written, have it published, and placed on the bookstore shelves. If no one knows your name, and there is no buzz about your book, then it will sit there and eventually be returned to the distributor. I know that I’m sounding like a broken record about marketing, but you have no idea how important it’s become.

For years I would ground myself by walking into a bookstore and simply looking around. There are thousands of books on the shelves, all written by authors across the country who have been vetted by agents and publishers before their work was in print and in the distribution channel. Some years ago the average published author in America made about $3,000 a year from their writing. For every John Grisham, there are thousands of starving artists (in this case, writers). It helped me to keep in mind how much competition there was, and how hard I had to work.

In 2012, the publishing industry is not only different than it was ten years ago, it is different than it was one short year ago. Any writer – literally anyone – can get a book printed and sold on Amazon. Competition for readers’ dollars has increased EXPONENTIALLY. The challenge is not only to write a compelling book, but to be able to effectively present it to the audience of buyers.

Q: Anything else you'd like to share?

A: We live in a MAGICAL time – things are changing every day. There are people who cling to the old ways of the publishing world by their fingernails, denying the change taking place, and hoping their words can speak things back into an existence of years past. But that is not the case. New writers, who will be the Kings and Grishams and Ludlums of the next incarnation of publishing, are the ones who seek out and embrace the evolution of the written word. They will immerse themselves in social media, take advantage of every aspect of modern technology, and keep their finger on the pulse of the public.

Instead of ruling the publishing empire, publishers will soon become facilitators and coordinators, providing editing, layout, design, and distribution – the path to power is shifting to the authors themselves. It is important – no, crucial – to stay on top of the cutting edge of the publishing world. In doing so, you can ride the crest of the wave to success!

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I'd like to thank Mitchel for taking the time to allow me the interview and I hope you will check out his company site: www.23house.com, if not to get published, at least for some really great reads to purchase.

Until next I blog...

Pre-Year End Evaluation

Today is the last day of November. Tomorrow is December 1st.  In a mere 31 days, not only will December be gone, but also the year 2011.  Where did it go?

Rather than focus on the "where" of the year, let's focus on the "what" of the year. 

WHAT did you accomplish?

There are 365 days in a year and in my working days (retired now) I would say that each new day was a whole new chance to screw up.  Sort of a lame excuse to face a new day, wouldn't you say?

I'm retired and each day I now realize that I'm moving closer to my final reward but until that day, I want to make the days actually mean something.  So again, there are 365 days and how did I use them?

In November I used 30 days to write a whole new novel.  Yes, I participated in National Novel Writing Month and wrote 50 thousand words in 30 days.  Well, actually I wrote over 53k words and have at my fingertips a great story with absolutely crappy writing.  I will let it rest until after the New Year and then decide to address the poor grammar, spelling, plot, etc. and edit the project.

Only 335 days more to cover.  I can't be accurate since I didn't timecard myself during the year but I know I spent time editing a book to publish and got "Three Steps: The Journeys of Ayrold" done in both paperback and ebook format.  Between edits and learning curve on Amazon's Kindle and CreateSpace, I figure I spent at least 4 to 5 months on that.  I also did some editing on another novel which I hope to release after the first of the year -- "The Legend of Pangea" which took another 2 months.

There!  That is definitely a half year squandered.  Only another 155 days left to go.

All work and no play makes for a boring life.  I mowed the yard, worked a garden, weeded flower beds, traveled to Texas for Mardi Gras, went camping a couple of weeks, did some days of gambling at the casinos and visited with family.

And during that time, three anthologies that I'd submitted to got published -- "Shadow Street," "Guide to Writing Paranormal Novels," and "Mother Goose Is Dead."  

Oh, wow, I forgot I also e-published a short story in book format entitled "Coleen" which is a little ditty about how Ayrold and Queen Arienne met and introduces some of the main characters from my novel "Three Steps: The Journeys of Ayrold."  That endeavor took about a month.

I also wrote stories for other anthologies which weren't released this year (yet) and might be coming out right after the first of the year -- a zombie anthology, a forsaken anthology, and a how-to-write horror book.

There, the year wasn't wasted and I think it had a pretty good return. So, overall, I'd say it was a pretty good year and seems to have the beginnings of a new year already being processed.

In case you didn't realize it yet - I love writing.

Until next I blog...

I Am A Writer But Also...

Years ago when I was delirious and thought I'd become a full-time writer ... I was soon awakened to reality that only the cream de la cream get to be full-timers while the rest of us struggle with a real job and hopes of claiming the elusive ring on the merry-go-round of life.

I wanted one of the Big Five publishing companies to notice my work and sky-rocket me to fame where I could hob-nob on talk shows like Oprah, Jay Leno, Ellen Degeneres, Rachel, David Letterman and the rest.  Realtiy: You have to have an agent.  Grim reality: No takers.

Then along came Vanity Press rearing its ugly head to take your money and allow you to think you were a published author.  The person writing the local club newsletter was doing a better job of getting in print than those who bought into Vanity.  At least the newsletters usually have subscribers and people who wanted to read it.  Vanity Press?  Beyond Mom and your three best friends, you now have only a mere 996 more books to sell.  I have a friend who still has several boxes of his first book sitting in his garage.  Yes, he languishes in the shadows of the unknown authors.

Soon, Small Publishers came into existence.  They were a God-send; they allowed us to dream the possible dream... but alas, unless you had a super fantastic marketing strategy or know-how, going beyond the ever-present book-signing at the local bookstores, you languished in the shadows with your fellow Vanity authors.

The sun arose on a new day. Amazon came to be and ebooks were given life as well as CreateSpace to publish in book form.  [insert chorus of "Oh Happy Day"]  The author had a new chance and even marketing potential through a huge company.  Now the fledgling author could safely play the five-fingered nose flute at the Big Five publishing companies who rejected unknown submissions or screamed you needed an agent to make you viable. 

But wait.  Not all is happy in Amazon-land.  The author has written a book, even had it edited by a teacher and read by three or four good friends... and of course, Mom, too.  What could possibly go wrong?

You didn't write your book in Microsoft Word.  You don't have Adobe Creator.  You haven't ever used a graphic program and have no idea what RGB vs CMYK.  You didn't even know there were that many different shades of black!

You, the author, are about to embark on a journey of huge proportions and mind-expanding learning experiences.  The truly easy part was writing the composition.  Now you need to format it for publishing which means deciding on a variety of page sizes, page layouts, fonts, paper types ... and the list goes on and on. Plus you have to decide on what graphic you will use on the front cover... your own, a purchased image or one from their stockpile.

Amazon has streamlined the process somewhat ... IF you think of it sort of like reading a which-way book.  You read the page and at the bottom you make a decision.  That decision takes you to another reading and selection.  Finally, through this process, you will create your book.

I guess now would be a good time to mention that there is a difference in publishing an ebook vs a paper book.  Also, with Amazon, the ebook version will be solely in 'mobi' ala Kindle format.  If you go to Smashwords.com to create your ebook, you have the option of several formats that pretty much cover the gamut of mobile device possibilities.

You are no longer just a Writer... but you are also a Graphics Artist, Editor, Publisher, Marketing Guru and Sales Agent setting the price(s) for the book.

So now you want to write your next book... good luck finding time.

Until next I decide to ramble...