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Mac and Print Formatting: Help a Fellow Author Out?

GOING for KONA eboook shadowLast spring I destroyed my latest laptop and opted for a Mac. I figured I had an iPhone and an iPod, so why not? The learning curve wasn’t too steep, although I’ll admit I probably stalled out at about 5% of what I needed to know, and Google is my best buddy for figuring stuff out, especially book stuff.

I’ve run into some hurdles, especially book formatting hurdles. To explain the problem, and my solution, I need to take a step backward.

Indie authors have two good solutions for print books. The easiest and cheapest is CreateSpace, an Amazon-owned company. CreateSpace lets you setup your book free and make changes throughout the life of the book to its cover and interior free as well. They also have excellent customer service. It has its drawbacks, however. The first is that they do not offer volume discounts. The second is that, notwithstanding their claim to expanded distribution and availability to brick-and-mortar bookstores, no bookstore owner in her right mind buys from Amazon, because Amazon is their biggest competitor. You can however, work with many bookstores on consignment to get around this problem, but you’re taking the risk of inventory carrying cost, and it’s a lot of leg work. The last drawback is that the print quality is very erratic depending on the fulfillment center, and you really never know what your readers are getting.

The potentially more expensive and harder solution is Ingram through their print on demand arms, Lightning Source for small publishers and Ingram Spark for self publishers. There’s a setup fee of $75 plus $40 change fees any time you re-upload a file–interior or exterior. Their pricing for small orders (100 or less) is not as good as CreateSpace. But for volume orders the savings are so significant that they quickly eclipse the setup and change fees. Not only do they discount the books, but they offer discounted shipping too. For instance, when we ordered 1500 Saving Grace in a total order of 3500 books we paid $2.30 apiece WITH SHIPPING per copy. The price for Saving Grace with shipping from CreateSpace is $5.15 apiece. So, if you can move a lot of print books, Ingram is the way to go. Also, bookstores LOVE to order through Ingram, especially if you make your book fully returnable. If you don’t accept returns (in which you are charged back your royalty and the amount the customer paid for the book plus unless you allow the customer to destroy it) then forget it; bookstores won’t touch the books. And some bookstores shy away from print on demand in any form, such as some locations of Barnes and Noble.

The learning curve on Ingram is steep and the customer service is lackluster. However, we use them. We have to use them. Chain stores carry my books. And we move a lot of paperbacks ourselves.

Enter the Mac.

For both CreateSpace and Ingram, you upload print-ready PDFs of your cover and your interior. I initially used the Save as PDF function through Microsoft Word for Mac on the first interior (Going for Kona) I created on my Mac. (Previously I had used Free PDF Converter with Microsoft Word for PC.) I uploaded it to CreateSpace. It returned a page size error but corrected it for me, and the books looked perfect. Phew.

I submitted the file to Ingram. They rejected it, citing a page size error. I wrung my hands.

For days I tried to correct this problem, using Free PDF Converter and Googling for help on the Save as PDF function on Mac. All I turned up was a known issue with changing page size using Save as PDF on Mac, even when the Word document page size was set correctly. And Free PDF Converter didn’t fix the problem.

Finally I downloaded a 30-day free trial of Adobe Acrobat Pro. I hopped back on my Mac and created a file. I confirmed it was 6×9. I uploaded it to Ingram.

They rejected it, citing an embedded fonts error. I cried.

I searched and searched but couldn’t find a way to verify my fonts would embed on the Mac. Finally, after much gnashing of teeth and spitting out expletives, I logged back into our PC desktop. I opened my doc in Word. I went to advanced properties. I chose Fonts. I looked at the long list I could embed, and then I saw the problem. The fonts I wanted were under “never embed.” I deselected them, printed to Adobe Acrobat Pro PDF, the 30-day free trial version. I verified the page size and font embeds were correct and I uploaded the file to Ingram.

It worked.

In other words, my Mac did NOT work for creating a print ready PDF book interior from Word for Ingram. So, here’s where things stand:

1. If anyone knows how to get around this on Mac, I’m all ears.

2. I’m booked for a Scrivener (shivers) class in December. * The side benefit of this is that I may eliminate the need to manage ebook and print book content separately.

I anxiously await your feedback/comments/suggestions/war stories in the comments.

Pamela

Pamela Fagan Hutchins writes award-winning and bestselling romantic mysteries10006025_10152294921092604_1598429323_oand hilarious nonfiction, chairs the board of the Houston Writers Guild, and dabbles in employment law and human resources investigations from time to time. She is passionate about great writing, smart authorpreneurship, and her two household hunks, husband Eric and one-eyed Boston terrier Petey. She blogs on writing, publishing and promotion at Skip the Jack and on her beleaguered family She also leaps medium-tall buildings in a single bound (if she gets a good running start), and much-too-personal life at Road to Joy. Check out her latest romantic mystery,Going for Kona, available now, everywhere.

Going for Kona Release Day!

Screen Shot 2014-10-01 at 8.34.46 AM

Going for Kona Available Everywhere, Now!

The latest romantic mystery by Pamela Fagan Hutchins from SkipJack Publishing

Capping off a breakout 2014, Pamela announces the release today of Going for Kona, her fourth and latest full length romantic mystery. Going for Kona  introduces readers to a new protagonist, Michele Lopez Hanson.

When her husband is killed in a hit-and-run bicycling accident, it takes all of Michele’s strength not to burrow into their bed for the rest of her life. But their kids need her, and she promised herself she’d do the Kona Ironman Triathlon in Adrian’s honor, and someone seems to be stalking her family, so she slogs through the pain to keep herself on track. Her dangerously delirious training sessions become a link between her and Adrian, and she discovers that if she keeps moving fast enough to fly, she can hold onto her husband—even as she loses her grip on herself and faces her biggest threat yet.

While Michele is new, her friend Katie is not.

 

To read the rest of the launch press release, click HERE.

Pamela Fagan Hutchins writes award-winning and bestselling romantic mysteries10006025_10152294921092604_1598429323_oand hilarious nonfiction, chairs the board of the Houston Writers Guild, and dabbles in employment law and human resources investigations from time to time. She is passionate about great writing, smart authorpreneurship, and her two household hunks, husband Eric and one-eyed Boston terrier Petey. She blogs on writing, publishing and promotion at Skip the Jack and on her beleaguered family She also leaps medium-tall buildings in a single bound (if she gets a good running start), and much-too-personal life at Road to Joy. Check out her latest romantic mystery,Going for Kona, available now, everywhere.

A Big eBook Day in the UK

bookbub

Readers in the UK had a big day yesterday, but so did authors whose books are available in ebook form to UK readers. There were two big announcements:

The first was that Amazon has launch Kindle Unlimited for the UK. UK readers can pay a monthly subscription to read as many eligible books as they would like. Authors selling in the UK and participating in the program get a pro rata share of the designated fund pool of money for the money, based on number of reads of 10% or more of their titles. Authors report this has been amounting to a little more than $2.00 per read in the U.S.

The second UK announcement was that Bookbub will now extend its discounts to UK subscribers. Bookbub is the king of online promotions and has over three million in subscribers. UK readers will get the discounts plus 5%. Authors with ebooks promoted on Bookbub will get increased exposure, visibility, and potential sales with the addition of the UK market.

With my next Bookbub day scheduled for October 13 and booked before Bookbub made this announcement and adjusted its prices upward to account for the larger number of subscribers eligible for the discounts, I got in on the UK addition for the US price. Sweet!

Pamela

 

Pamela Fagan Hutchins, Board Chair and Past President of Houston Writers Guild, is an10006025_10152294921092604_1598429323_o employment attorney and workplace investigator who writes award-winning and bestselling romantic mysteries (perma-free Saving Grace, Leaving Annalise, Finding Harmony) and hilarious nonfiction (How to Screw Up Your Kids, What Kind of Loser Indie Publishes?, and others). She is passionate about great writing and smart authorpreneurship. She also leaps medium-tall buildings in a single bound, if she gets a good running start. Visit her website http://pamelahutchins.com, or follow her on Facebook http://facebook.com/pamela.fagan.hutchins.author. You can pre-order her next release, Going for Kona, everywhere, now.

 

Fulfill Your Dream: Writing, Publishing, and Promotion

Fulfill Your Dream: Writing, Publishing, and Promotion

INSTRUCTOR: PAMELA FAGAN HUTCHINS / DATE: SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1-4 PM
WriteSpace Houston, Silver Street Studios #212, 2000A Edwards Street, Houston, Texas, 77007
You’ve dreamed of writing a book for a long time now. Maybe you’ve even started a draft, or written two or three drafts and come to the point where you can say, “this book is finished.” At this point, perhaps you find yourself stymied by the “what next” question. In this workshop, Pamela Fagan Hutchins will give you the chance to explore the many great options ahead and help you wrap you arms around your to-do list. “Following Your Dream” is guaranteed to inspire even the most blocked writer.
INSTRUCTOR:     Pamela Fagan Hutchins
DATE:                       Saturday, September 6, 1-4 p.m.
LEVEL:                    Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced
CAP:                          20
PRICE:                     $15.00    
REGISTER:           http://www.writespacehouston.org/weekend-workshops.html

Writing Contest Deadline is Now Sept 15

Get your entries submitted TODAY!

HOUSTON WRITER’S GUILD’S 2014 FALL CONTEST!

The deadline, September 15, 2014, is around the corner.
Contest is open to all writers (regardless of publishing status) with original, unpublished work. First place in each category wins $75. Winners will be announced at the 2014 Houston Writers Guild Winter Conference. Everyone will receive score sheets with feedback via email after the winners are announced.

Contest Categories

Children’s/YA/NA

Mainstream/Contemporary

Mystery/Suspense/Thriller

Romance/Women’s Fiction

SciFi/Fantasy/Paranormal

Memoir/Nonfiction

Short Story

Poetry

***

HWG reserves the right to cancel a category if an insufficient

number of entries are received.

***

Fees
 


Manuscript Fee: $25 HWG members/$30 non-members

Multiple entries: $15 for subsequent entry.

Please note that each manuscript can only be entered once.

Additional entries must be from different manuscripts.

More than one manuscript can be entered in the same category or in different categories.

Poetry Fee: $15 HWG members/$20 non-members

Multiple poetry entries: $10 for subsequent entry.

US funds paid through PayPal or

by check to HWG, POB 31160, Houston, TX 77231


Formatting:

  • Entries: the first 3000 words of your original, unpublished work saved as a DOC file. A synopsis or proposal (up to 500 words) should be included at the beginning of the document. The synopsis/proposal will be judged. The entire submission cannot exceed 3500 words.
  • Poetry Submissions: One poem up to three pages in length or a collection of four haiku per submission.
  • One inch margins, double spaced, font: Times New Roman 12.
  • Header: category, title and page number.
  • File name should be in the following format: GENRE_TITLE (ex: YA_THE FAULT IN OUR STARS)
  • Author’s name must NOT appear anywhere on pages submitted.
  • Failure to follow the contest rules and formatting guidelines will result in disqualification and forfeiture of entry fee.

How to enter:

Email your entry to: [email protected]

In the body of your email, include: author name, title, amount paid and method of payment.

Deadline to enter is September 15, 2014 at midnight CST.
Questions about the contest? Email [email protected]

WTF: Amazon, ABNA, & PW Passing the Buck?

Normally, I write posts sharing our experiences to help YOU. Today we are asking for your help. Read from the bottom up this series of contacts to Amazon Author Support, Publishers Weekly, and ABNA (Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award) “Admin”/Support. We are totally getting the runaround.

Someone, anyone: how do you get your author support issues addressed with Amazon?

Waiting anxiously for your I deas . . . AND WE WILL PULL THIS BLOG DOWN IF AND WHEN AMAZON/ABNA FIXES THE PROBLEM.

Eric

***************

8/21/14:

Thank you for taking the time to contact us. We will investigate this request
shortly and get back to you with an update within 3 days.

Thank you,

The Amazon Author Central Team

P.S. You received this message because Amazon.com received
the following message:

***************

Date: Thu, 21 Aug 2014 10:45:31 +0000
From: Pamela Fagan Hutchins
To: “[email protected]” <[email protected]>
Subject: Other

Topic: Other

Question/Feedback:

This is getting BEYOND frustrating. At your express instruction, I tried to handle resolution of my issue through ABNA customer service, first on August 13, then on August 15, to [email protected]. I have not even received confirmation they received my two emails, much less acknowledgement of an issue or RESOLUTION. What the heck do I do about this??? PLEASE ESCALATE THIS TO A MANAGER. I started contacting you on August 3rd. I have made six contacts and gotten nowhere. Things you have told me to do that did not work:

1. get the review from PW (they gave me a reference number and sent me back to Amazon)
2. get this resolved through the ABNA support

PLEASE DO NOT TELL ME TO DO EITHER OF THOSE THINGS AGAIN. SOMEBODY JUST OWN THIS AND GET IT DONE, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE.

The entire string is copied in below.

***************

From: Pamela Fagan Hutchins
Subject: Re: Quarter-finalist: Where’s the Publisher’s Weekly Review?
Date: August 15, 2014 at 9:58:43 AM CDT
To: Self
Cc: [email protected], Eric Hutchins <[email protected]>

Hello, maybe you need more information, because its been 48 hours and I have not received a reply or even acknowledgement of my contact to you, so hopefully this additional information will help. I have been corresponding with Kindle customer service because no one could locate the Publishers Weekly review for my ABNA 2014 Quarter-finalist book, Finding Harmony. I have been in touch with PW at the Kindle CS request, which is how I obtained the reference number below for the review of Finding Harmony that PW says they sent to ABNA. Kindle CS directed me then to contact you (ABNA Customer Service) with this information.

I am seeking access to the review, and, given the apparent difficulty in finding it, to find out why no can seem to find it and what that meant for my book in the ABNA contest, if anything.

For your convenience, I will now copy the entire string of correspondence on this issue below my original email to ABNA Customer Service, including email with Kindle CS and with PW. Obviously, you should read from the bottom up.

Please help me. Please.

Thank you very much,
Pamela

***************

On Aug 13, 2014, at 10:26 AM, Pamela Fagan Hutchins wrote:

Hello. My novel Finding Harmony was a 2014 ABNA Quarter-finalist. Where can I view the Publishers Weekly review of it? PW said that it was sent to Amazon with reference number YFQNJ4SF.

Thank you,
Pamela

***************

From: “Amazon.com Author Central Team” <[email protected]>
Subject: Your Amazon.com Inquiry
Date: August 13, 2014 at 4:29:58 AM CDT
To: Pamela Fagan Hutchins
Reply-To: “[email protected]” <[email protected]>

Author Central Amazon
Your Account Amazon.com
Message From Customer Service
Hello Pamela,

I’ve reviewed our previous correspondence with you, and I’m very sorry your concerns weren’t addressed and about the incorrect information you received.

I understand that you’ve multiple questions regarding the issue with the 2014 ABNA Contest. In this case, I request you to contact the ABNA administrative team at the below given email address as they would only be able to address all your concerns and provide accurate information:

[email protected]

I realize at this point of time asking you to contact again would be disappointing, however, please understand that ABNA has its own dedicated customer service team who would be able to provide appropriate resolution.

Thanks you for your continuous patience and understanding in this matter.

General information about the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, including a timeline and rules, is available here:

http://www.amazon.com/abna

If you still have questions or would like to contact us about any other matter, you can reach us by phone or email through this link:

https://authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/help/contact-us

I’m sorry I couldn’t provide more assistance. We hope to see you again soon.

Best regards,
Preethi H
Amazon.com

***************

Original Message
Pamela Fagan Hutchins has sent the following contact-us request.

Topic: Update information about a book – Other

Question/Feedback:

Dear Sir/Madame

I am writing with regards to the 2014 ABNA Contest entry Finding Harmony by me, Pamela Fagan Hutchins, which made it to the quarter-finals. I am highly concerned that the issue that I am trying to have addressed through repeated contacts with your staff members (see string below) is not getting the level of attention warranted due to the serious nature of the problem. I respectfully request that this message be passed to a supervisor for review before another unhelpful and inconclusive response is sent to me.

In order to understand the full scope of the matter please first read through the entire string of messages that I have attached below.

Then consider this: I understand that it is a privilege (a huge one) for authors to be able to enter their books into the Amazon ABNA Contest and I am grateful for that opportunity. However, once all of the entry criteria have been met and the book entry is accepted, it is Amazon’s responsibility to ensure that all of the qualified entries receive the same fair opportunity to be evaluated, and selected to advance if worthy. This contest provides an unparalleled opportunity for authors. Books that receive the Publishers Weekly reviews, and then have those reviews made available to the public through the high profile visibility of the contest, get enormous exposure that is incredibly valuable, and that Amazon has committed to providing in the ABNA contest. In addition, books that advance beyond the quarter-finals of this contest gain additional positive exposure that results in sales and rankings unheard of for most authors. I have no doubt that your statistics bear this out.

I need answers to these questions:

#1 Was a review done on Finding Harmony by a Publishers Weekly Editor, as promised for all books which reached the Quarter-finals of the 2014 ABNA Contest? Below, PW says one was done and sent to Amazon. They provided an identifying number (below) to help you confirm and locate their review.

#2 Were the reviews performed by Publishers Weekly part of the evaluation process used by Amazon to select the books which moved on to the next round in the contest past quarter-finals?

#3 Where can people see the review by Publishers Weekly for Finding Harmony? If it is not up know, where will it be posted once Amazon locates it with the identifying information provided by PW?

#4 Why are Amazon representatives unable to locate this review after repeated requests, and why are they pushing it back on me, the author, when it was something Amazon committed to have done in the ABNA contest?

#5 If the answer to #2 above is YES, is it possible that those responsible for selecting the books which advanced beyond the quarter-final round NEVER SAW the Publishers Weekly review for Finding Harmony and therefore were not able to properly evaluate and consider Finding Harmony, in this contest?

#6 What can Amazon do to rectify this situation?

Because of the apparent breakdown in communication between Publishers Weekly and Amazon with regards to the book Finding Harmony, there is no doubt that opportunities for sales of this book have been lost. It will not be possible to enter this book in the contest in 2015. It will not be possible to announce the release of the Publishers Weekly review DURING the contest as should have been the case or for that announcement to gain the exposure created by that opportunity, because the contest is long since over, and the publicity of it diminished.

As to #6, I respectfully request that not only does Amazon find and send me the review done by Publishers Weekly, but also provide the book with the exposure that has been lost by this error. Two possible suggestions that would be of no cost to Amazon would be:

1. Make Finding Harmony a Kindle Daily Deal Book. (Please note that Finding Harmony currently has 100 reviews with a 4.9 Star average. It is an outstanding book, worthy of consideration on its on merits, at any time.)

2. Include Finding Harmony as one of the books you recommend to all of your customers by email in the periodic genre specific emails that Amazon sends to its book buying customers.

Let me reiterate that I request that this situation be escalated to a supervisor, and that I humbly ask for help in making this situation right.

Thank you very much,

Pamela Fagan Hutchins

***************

From: “Amazon.com Author Central Team” <[email protected]>

Subject: Your Amazon.com Inquiry

Date: August 12, 2014 at 12:29:40 PM CDT

To: Pamela Fagan Hutchins

Author Central Amazon

Your Account Amazon.com

Message From Customer Service

Hello Pamela,

Thank you for contacting Amazon.com Author Central Team.

Firstly, I apologies for the inconvenience caused by this situation.

Thank you very much to writing back with the reference of the reviewer (publisher weekly) and as well from the publisher.

We’ll be glad to add the editorial review on the book page. However, we at Author Central do not have the exact text of the review (from publisher weekly) to update. Please write back to us with the exact text of the review from the publisher weekly.

If we can be of any further assistance, please feel free to contact us again. You can reach us by phone or email through this link:

https://authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/help/contact-us

I appreciate your patience, understandings and continues support with these regards.

We look forward to seeing you again soon.

Best regards,

Ghouse. G

***************

‘Pamela Fagan Hutchins’ has sent the following contact-us request.

Topic: Update information about a book – Other

Question/Feedback:

In response to my email query last week (below) about my book Finding Harmony which reached the ABNA 2014 Quarter-finals, I am now sending the information I obtained from Publisher’s Weekly at your request. Please read up from the bottom of the string:

***************

——– Original Message ——–

Subject: Re: Review for Finding Harmony by Pamela Fagan Hutchins

From: ***@publishersweekly.com

Date: Mon, August 11, 2014 1:26 pm

To: Eric at SkipJack Publishing <[email protected]>

Eric

PW definitely submitted this review to Amazon

The reference number was YFQJN4SF

I suggest to connect them with this information

Reviews Director

Publishers Weekly

***************

From: Eric at SkipJack Publishing <[email protected]>

Date: Monday, August 4, 2014 5:27 PM

To: ***@publishersweekly.com

Subject: Review for Finding Harmony by Pamela Fagan Hutchins

Hello,

I am writing to you on behalf of the author, with regards to a review of the book Finding Harmony by Pamela Fagan Hutchins. This book was one of the finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards Contest in 2014 and as such was to receive a review by Publishers Weekly. To date we have not been able to locate that review. I wrote to Amazon regarding this matter and they indicated their surprise in being unable to find the review either and suggested that we write to you directly.

Thank You for your assistance.

Eric Hutchins

Home

***************

Author Central Amazon

Your Account Amazon.com

Message From Customer Service

Hello Pamela,

I understand that you are concerned about the Publishers Weekly Review that your book “Finding Harmony” earned.

To help you immediately with this issue, I checked the official website of ‘Publishers Weekly’ website, however, I regret to inform you that I was unable to find the review, which your book has earned.

Given the situation, I request you to contact ‘Publishers Weekly’ and I’m sure they will be able to provide you with the content of the review which you’ve earned. You can find a complete list of Publishers Weekly’s editorial contacts in the below link:

http://reviews.publishersweekly.com/pw/corp/contactus.html

Once you are able to content of the review which your book has earned, I request you to write to us from the below link with the content of the review and we will be glad to update the same for your book on your behalf.

https://authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/help/contact-us

Thank you for your understanding. We look forward to seeing you soon again.

Best regards,

Beaulin

***************

Original Message

Pamela Fagan Hutchins has sent the following contact-us request.

Topic: Other

Question/Feedback:

I am trying to locate the Publishers Weekly Review that my Book Finding Harmony earned as being a part of the ABNA contest. The book made it to the point where it was to receive a review but I have been unable to locate this review. Thank You for your help.

Yes! Kindle Pre-Orders on Amazon (Finally)!

amazon-kindle-logo

Papa Amazon finally came through for the indie authors and let us participate in ebook pre-orders with Big Pub. Nevermind that Nook, Apple, Kobo, Smashwords, and Google Play beat them to it–Amazon got there eventually.

One wonders: might this have something to do with the FACT that indies dominate 50% of the top 7000 genre books on Amazon? Might it have something to do with the pro-Amazon, anti-Hachette petition going around that over 8000 authors have signed, including Hugh Howey, the hybrid god of the indies (and me, the also ran)? Or could it just be that Amazon got tired of all of us bitching about it?

Whatever it is matters naught.  What matters is that ebook pre-orders for indies have come to Amazon. Just log into your KDP account and set up a new book. You’ll find the pre-order option on the book details screen. You do have to upload a draft of your manuscript and an ebook cover, to prove you’ve got game, and the real ebook must be up 10 days before your release date or Amazon will ban you from the pre-order party for a year. But those are small things. Tiny gnats on the giant elephant’s tushy that is Amazon allowing ebook pre-orders for indies.

It’s like the Berlin wall has fallen. Next thing you know Amazon won’t be giving a preference in its algorithm to Big Five books during peak shopping hours. Or maybe they will. (I’m not holding my breath on that one, yet) I would take pre-orders for paperbacks if they wanted to include us, though.

I’ve already got my upcoming release, Going for Kona, live and ready for its first clickers now.

I feel so almost-equal.

Scratch that. I feel more than equal. I made $40,000 this summer and kept 100% control of my content, design, and business strategy, in my 28th month of publishing.

And Amazon opened ebook pre-orders to indies.

Woo hoo!

Pamela

Pamela Fagan Hutchins, President of Houston Writers Guild, is an10006025_10152294921092604_1598429323_o employment attorney and workplace investigator by day who by night writes award-winning and bestselling romantic mysteries (perma-free Saving Grace, Leaving Annalise, Finding Harmony) and hilarious nonfiction (How to Screw Up Your Kids, What Kind of Loser Indie Publishes?, and others). She is passionate about great writing and smart authorpreneurship. She also leaps medium-tall buildings in a single bound, if she gets a good running start. Visit her website http://pamelahutchins.com, or follow her on Facebook http://facebook.com/pamela.fagan.hutchins.author.

Tides of Possibility Launch and Reading

Cover_with_names_bigger copyWe are thrilled to announce that Tides of Possibility–our scifi anthology collaboration with the Houston Writers Guild–is now available for purchase exclusively on Amazon, in ebook or paperback. Prime members who own Kindle devices can borrow it free, and Kindle Unlimited members can download it free as well.

About Tides of Possibility: These thirty stories and poems have a tidal pull that will upraise your mind in a celestial rhythm as smooth as the phases of the moon. The gravity of this anthology will draw you fast through dynamic alternate possibilities—from the gibbous tales of D. L. Young’s The Reader and Lilia Fabry’s House of Tin, to the crescent stories of Imaginary Numbers by Corinn Heathers and The Color of Silence by Mandy Broughton—and set you safely among cerebral poems like those of Richard King Perkins II and John Grey. Proudly independent, Tides of Possibility has been produced thanks to generous crowdfunding and hard volunteer work by the Houston Writers Guild, from SkipJack Publishing. It is an anthology from the future, where independent publishing is the powerhouse of the industry, and its writers are the voices of tomorrow.

The favor of an online review is humbly requested.

The launch celebration for Tides of Possibility will be at Write Space Houston on Friday August 15 at 8:00 p.m. Come see what some of Houston’s best sci-fi writers have dreamed up. Here’s the line-up of writers who will be reading: C. Stuart Harwick, Writespace teacher K.J. Russell, Lilia Fabry, Mandy Broughton, and Erin Kennemer. Be prepared for an experience that is wonderfully out-of-this-world. It is open to the public, and parking (and the event) is free.

Eric

The Down Low on Kobo

kwl-logo

I’m a big believer in Kobo, of late. I’m not getting rich with them–in fact, they’re a distant tie for fourth in my sales, but I believe. [My sales are 64% Kindle, 24% Nook, 10% iBooks, and only 1% each Kobo and Google Play. (Smashwords isn’t even in the running, with 1 sale for every 5000 on Kindle, but they’re still on my list of web sales channels mainly because I need a pre-order and free ebook aggregator for Nook and iBooks, see post on that HERE, and below for more.)] The question you may be asking, is why? Why do I believe in Kobo so much?

Let me count the ways . . .

Way One:

Kobo has a fantastic international presence, especially in their headquarters country of Canada. Want to break into Malaysia? Turkey? Singapore? Kobo is your vendor. And it’s not just the smaller international markets. In the last 30 days, I sold five ebooks in Australia on Kindle. By all rights then, I should have sold like -60 on Kobo. But I haven’t, I’ve sold three in Australia, nearly as many as on Kindle. Because internationally, Kobo rocks. And I’ve sold 18 Kindle ebooks in Canada, yet Kobo kicked Kindle’s butt with SIXTY-TWO. Yeah, Kobo rocks the world.

Way Two:

Kobo allows indies to directly upload their ebooks for sale as PRE-ORDER. Guess who else out of Kindle, Nook, and iBooks allow that? That would be “none of them.” Who else does? Google Play and Smashwords. Of the big three, Kindle doesn’t allow indies to offer pre-order at all, and iBooks and Nook only allow it through aggregation, where authors lose a piece of their royalty.

Pre-order is huge, and will become even a bigger deal to an author the more complementary books they have on their sales shelf, as their numbers of readers grow, and as their sales grow. An author needs to maximize sales each time a happy readers discovers them, and pre-orders are a great way to do that. So why make it harder than it has to be, or give away a portion of your royalty when you don’t have to? Thank you, Kobo.

Way Three:

Kobo lets indies offer their ebooks free to readers, AND they run a special page promoting first-in-series-free, for which they don’t charge the authors a cent. Did you hear that? Kobo gets it that when NEW readers read a free book that they wouldn’t have otherwise picked up, that they often BUY the other books in the series, books they never would have purchased without that prod to discoverability that first-in-series-free gives them. And Kobo benefits from that.

Guess who else of Kindle, Nook, and iBooks allow indies to offer their books free, directly, all the time, to readers? That would be none. Who else does? Google Play and Smashwords. But neither of them have the first-in-series-free promotion. And, of the big three, Kindle only allows their KDP Select authors (those that sell exclusively on Kindle) up to five free days a month. iBooks and Nook allow unlimited free, but only through aggregation, where the author loses a piece of the royalty.

So, those are the three main reasons that I believe in Kobo. Plus, in the last few months I’m selling an average of more than four books per day on Kobo. That means I’m on pace to make over $3000 this year with them. In part, this is because more and more promoters include links to to Kobo book sales pages (BookBub, ebookSoda, eReaderNewsToday, Story Finds, etc.). What’s not to believe in about that?

Pamela

Pamela Fagan Hutchins, President of Houston Writers Guild, is an10006025_10152294921092604_1598429323_oemployment attorney and workplace investigator by day who by night writes award-winning and bestselling romantic mysteries (perma-freeSaving Grace, Leaving Annalise, Finding Harmony) and hilarious nonfiction (How to Screw Up Your Kids, What Kind of Loser Indie Publishes?, and others). She is passionate about great writing and smart authorpreneurship. She also leaps medium-tall buildings in a single bound, if she gets a good running start. Visit her website http://pamelahutchins.com, or follow her on Facebook http://facebook.com/pamela.fagan.hutchins.author.

Kindle Unlimited: The Key Questions | ReBlog of David Gaughran

A must read: http://davidgaughran.wordpress.com/2014/07/20/kindle-unlimited-the-key-questions/.

My thoughts: I’m going to have to stand down and wait to see what shakes out after the first month. I am concerned on the impact this will have on the perma-free strategy that has of late been so successful for me and Bookbub as the one truly effective means of promotion, and I abhor the strong-arm of the exclusivity requirement on e-vendors, readers, and writers/publishers/middlemen. I think this may be a cool tool for viability of shorts, and I might pull my The Jumbie House down elsewhere and test it in KU, just for grins. It’s 99 cents or free everywhere, so @$2 per borrow would be a raise for it, and since it’s a short, readers might have positive feelings about it as part of their subscription, instead of feeling ripped off that it’s not novel-length. In the end, I need to sell books, and I will revise strategy in whatever way it seems best does that.

Pamela

Pamela Fagan Hutchins, President of Houston Writers Guild, is an 10006025_10152294921092604_1598429323_oemployment attorney and workplace investigator by day who by night writes award-winning and bestselling romantic mysteries (perma-freeSaving Grace, Leaving Annalise, Finding Harmony) and hilarious nonfiction (How to Screw Up Your Kids, What Kind of Loser Indie Publishes?, and others). She is passionate about great writing and smart authorpreneurship. She also leaps medium-tall buildings in a single bound, if she gets a good running start. Visit her website http://pamelahutchins.com, or follow her on Facebook http://facebook.com/pamela.fagan.hutchins.author.