Comparing Microloans to Online Venues for Indie Authors

Thought this was a great article and had to share. Read on about how those microloans to help someone start a business is akin to how the free online venues—Amazon's KDP, Barnes & Noble's PubIt!, Kobo's Writing Life and Smashwords, to name four—have done the same for us indie authors. Here's the link: http://johnwalterswriter.com/2014/06/08/microfinance-and-indie-writers/.

Many thanks to KDP, PubIt!, Writing Life and Smashwords for giving me this wonderful opportunity to follow my dream and for the opportunity to be paid a fair royalty for my stories.

"If your vocation isn’t a vacation, then quit, leap, change careers."

Denise Barker, Author, Blogger, Copy Editor
Books that Build Character(s)

amazon.com/author/denisebarker

http://denisebarkerauthor.blogspot.com/

http://bit.ly/DeniseBarkerBlog

http://bit.ly/AMAZONDeniseBarkerEbooks

http://bit.ly/BNDeniseBarkerEBooks

http://bit.ly/SMASHWORDSDeniseBarkerEBooks

http://bit.ly/KOBODeniseBarkerEBooks

What lies behind you and what lies in front of you pales in comparison to what lies inside of you. Ralph Waldo Emerson
When you give someone a book, you don’t give him just paper, ink, and glue.  You give him the possibility of a whole new life. Christopher Morley
The best inheritance you can leave your kids is an example of how to live a full and meaningful life. Dan Zadra

Blurb Tips: Less than 127WC for Amazon and 73WC for B&N for Best Visibility

Last month I took an online class on creating blurbs (more data below). It was so much fun. So today I reworked my original blurb for my debut novel, Good Ole Boys. That's when I found out what length (via word count) works best for each site so that the browsing shopper doesn't have to click on the Expand link to see it all.

AMAZON:

For Amazon, stay under 159WC if you are using long paragraphs. My revised blurb was only 127WC but I had a lot of short paragraphs, with my last three being only one sentence each.

In that format, all of my blurb was not visible from the get-go. The "visible" portion faded away at my tagline, which was the last sentence of my actual blurb before I went into some stats (rating, pages, chapters, WC, etc.).

So even though my new description was already online, my Bookshelf still reflected Good Ole Boys as "publishing" which stopped me from making further edits. In about six hours, I was able to combine my last three paragraphs (those one-sentence-each kind) in an attempt to position all of my blurb for reading in toto without further effort by the potential reader.

This second revision of the day is now reflected online and worked just perfectly. All is visible.

B&N:

For Barnes & Noble, my original blurb had 73WC visible before it was cut off, forcing anybody who wanted to read more to click a link to see the rest. Even using my 127WC blurb as I did within Amazon, the B&N blurb window cut it off at a perfect spot. So I left it. It should entice customers with or without hitting the link to see more.

KOBO:

I had a different blurb altogether for Kobo and it is at 72WC (all word counts per Microsoft Word) and fits nicely in their description area, so I don't know what the top limit is for them.

SMASHWORDS:

I have yet to revise my debut novel's blurb at Smashwords, but they offer a short and long description, allowing 400 characters (not word count here) for the short and a max of 4,000 characters for the long version.

BLURB CLASS BY LAURIE SCHNEBLY CAMPBELL:

During August, I took an online class on writing blurbs from Laurie Schnebly Campbell, author of romance novels and also a nonfiction book entitled Believable Characters: Creating with Enneagrams. Here's the book link at Amazon and from there you can find her contact info on her Author Page:

http://www.amazon.com/Believable-Characters-Enneagrams-Laurie-Schnebly/dp/0930831039/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1346550816&sr=8-1&keywords=laurie+schnebly+campbell

I've taken about five of her classes and have enjoyed them all. This one was the easiest by far. All of us participating created anywhere from three to six blurbs for their selected book. Two times we reviewed them all, shared our favorites among everyone's submissions and explained why. It was great to see what others liked, plus what I liked and didn't like, so I can incorporate all that info in new, improved blurbs for my own offerings.

Laurie's day job is working at an ad agency, plus she's a novelist in her own right, so she's got experience from both sides.

And for me, as an Indie author with no budget at present for anything, my attention focuses on what I can do myself: writing a good story, editing same (I'm a freelance copy editor), getting a cover I love (I search for free domain pictures with no royalties), working up a catchy tagline to add to the cover and then hitting the mark with a great blurb that entices readers to further check out my books.

That's my current marketing plan in a nutshell.

Hopefully Laurie will be giving the class again for any of you who are interested in taking it.

FREE BLURB CLASS AT MARKETING FOR ROMANCE WRITERS ONLINE GROUP:

Plus, another online group I'm a member of is Marketing for Romance Writers. MFRW will be hosting a free blurb online seminar on September 15. I'm looking forward to that two-hour presentation as well since it will be given by editors of The Wild Rose Press. A third viewpoint to add to Laurie's double-pronged knowledge.

Here's the MFRW post regarding this upcoming event:

~ ~ ~

How to write a blurb for your book that will attract readers, agents, and publishers. Polish your blurb or craft a new one at this two-hour workshop featuring lessons, how-tos, and advice from editors at The Wild Rose Press.
http://www.thewildrosepress.com/

Class will be held on the Marketing for Romance Writers Yahoo Group.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MarketingForRomanceWriters/
http://is.gd/mfrwgroup
Date: Saturday September 15th
Time: to be announced.
No need to sign up -- all members are able to attend. Simply read the messages and reply if you have questions.

Tweet this:
#MFRW Blurb Workshop 9/15/12 http://is.gd/mfrwgroup Free class for #authors @WildRosePress @MFRW_ORG

Please TRIM this post if you reply to it.

Kayelle Allen
Unstoppable heroes, Uncompromising love, Unforgettable passion
http://kayelleallen.com

  ~  https://twitter.com/kayelleallen  ~  https://www.facebook.com/kayelle.allen

~ ~ ~

I'll be there. In the meantime, have a safe and enjoyable Labor Day Weekend, everyone. As for me, I'll be working! But my career is so much fun, it's hard to label what I do as "work."

Denise Barker, author + blogger + copy editor

http://bit.ly/DeniseBarkerBlog

http://amzn.to/DeniseBarkerBooks

http://bit.ly/BNDeniseBarkerBooks

http://bit.ly/KOBODeniseBarkerBooks

http://bit.ly/SMASHWORDSDeniseBarkerBooks

DOWN SOUTH, a short story of romance and suspense

My short story, Down South, its tagline "Home is a feeling, not a place," is alive and well on Amazon, B&N and Smashwords--soon to be at Kobo. At about fifty pages long, my little $0.99 tale will amuse you for sixty minutes or so--whereas most movies nowadays are only ninety minutes long and the early-bird moviegoer's fare is $5.00--five times more than the cost of my e-book and lasts almost as long.  Plus you can read in the comfort of your home at your timing. And reread, if you so desire.

Don't get me wrong. I love watching movies in theaters. And one day, hopefully soon, I'll reward myself for all my hard work paying off by resuming that weekly treat. Just not yet.

This week I'm celebrating a great big thumbs-up to overcoming procrastination.  This short story, under various working titles, was birthed on paper eleven or so years ago.

ELEVEN years it nagged me to spend some time with it, finesse it, groom it.

Which I did, some hours being more fruitful than others.  Still, on the Fourth of July, this year, magic hit.  In the same eight hours some people would spend in a cubicle, I smoothed my short story--at home--into its presentable online version. On a national holiday even.

Yes, timing counts.  But I think my prior efforts were still much-needed stepping stones to lead me to that perfect timing on the Fourth.

Lately various events have motivated me.  Nora Ephron's death. The John Assaraf Procrastination video (see post below). The stark realization that I left my short story in limbo for over a decade.

So, now I have two other "finished" novels--one category, one mainstream.  The first 23 chapters and 285 pages.  The second 35 chapters and 392 pages.

But averaging basically short chapters of around ten pages each.

After today (it is sort of a day off), I plan to spend an hour or two Final Editing one chapter a day.  With no glitches, both books would be finished in fifty-eight days.  But then there are covers to consider and create.  Formatting, uploading. And life. And glitches.  So I'll be happy to have these two projects live online in three months. Or four.

Granted, with my short story, I needed the Internet and Amazon/B&N/Smashwords etc. and Indie publishing to all meet. And there is nothing wrong with having a backlist of already written fiction.  But I did need to tweak my ratio of "finished" to "published."

I'm happy to report I am handling that better now.

As always, take what resonates, toss the rest and keep on writing!

Denise Barker, author + blogger +

Freelance Copy Editor, http://bit.ly/freelanceCE

Good Ole Boys, a love story at http://amzn.to/GoodOleBoys

http://bit.ly/BNGoodOleBoys

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/168444 (Good Ole Boys)

http://amzn.to/CopyeditingChecklist

http://amzn.to/WordsRuleTheWorldQuotes

http://amzn.to/BeforeYouIndiePublish

http://amzn.to/QuitYourCurrentDayJob
http://amzn.to/HowToIndiePublish

http://bit.ly/DownSouthaShortStory

Smashwords, More Thoughts

Both of my e-books are still pending review for Premium Catalog status.  Even being live less than fifteen hours, my two offerings (one fiction, one nonfiction) have already made a few sales.  That's great!  I cannot tell which version is being bought each time.  I'll figure it out and let you know.

Also, Smashwords sends an email notification with each purchase.  Gotta love that.

For all the newbie Indie authors out there, get your novels uploaded.  It may not be officially summer as June 20 is still over two weeks away, but it is "vacation time" once Memorial Day weekend comes--that's the unofficial beginning of summer.

Kids are out from school.  People are reading by the beach or at the airport on the way to the beach.  Vacation time reading has commenced.

So take advantage of that and put up your books.  I know the first time (and the fifteenth) can be scary (fear of failure, fear of criticism, fear of ridicule, even fear of success) but keep these thoughts in mind:

1.  Nobody reaches all readers (music lovers, foodies, whatever the category).  Not Stephen King.  Not Nora Roberts.  Not Stephenie Meyer.  Not J.K. Rowling.  Not Suzanne Collins.  We aren't meant to.  We reach the readers we're supposed to.  True confession:  I was never into the Beatles.  I may be the sole member of that club.  It wasn't that I hated their music. I was not a fan.  Sacrilege, right?  Sorry.  Just like this blog.  Sometimes I wonder why I'm nudged into writing a particular post.  Maybe it is just for me.  Even if it was only for one other person out there--someone who "got it" and maybe was no longer depressed or was now encouraged to follow their heart--then I'm happy.

2.  Don't read reviews.  Good or bad.  It is just one person's thoughts per review.  Kind of like one acquisitions editor at a publishing house reading one submission and then one committee determining the minds of millions of readers out there.  Just cannot be done.  First, we're all human and have great days and not-so-wonderful ones which color our mood, our perception of things.  Second, there's that insightful quote from an episode of Northern Exposure where Ed is telling Ruth-Anne that the good reviews can give us writer's block just like the bad.  Remember, you write because it is in you.  A story to be told that needs to be let free.  Some will receive it.  Some won't.  They need other stories by other authors.  And that is fine by me.

3.  I was watching One for the Money again yesterday and I was struck with how the Stephanie Plum character faces all those fears mentioned above.  She gets laughed at.  She "fails."  Her self-confidence or her perseverance or her survival instinct or her emotionally charged emotions or all of the above remain intact while she is making fun of herself on top of all the other jokes and comments and brushes with crimes and criminals.  She keeps at it--with no overblown ego thrown in.  Even with a background in lingerie sales, she does what the (overly?) seasoned Morty Beyers cannot do.  She gets Joe Morelli and the $50,000 bounty fee at the end.

Maybe a life lesson there, huh?

Have a wonderful week, everyone!

Denise Barker, author + freelance copy editor + blogger

Good Ole Boys, a love story at http://amzn.to/GoodOleBoys

http://bit.ly/BNGoodOleBoys

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/168444 (Good Ole Boys)

http://amzn.to/CopyeditingChecklist

http://amzn.to/WordsRuleTheWorldQuotes

http://amzn.to/BeforeYouIndiePublish

http://amzn.to/QuitYourCurrentDayJob
http://amzn.to/HowToIndiePublish

Good Ole Boys Now at Smashwords

Good Ole Boys is my debut novel--a love story with suspense elements--already available through Amazon and B&N.  I just spent a couple hours earlier today uploading it to Smashwords and thought I'd share my insights.

Here's the not-yet-Bitly link:  https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/168444.

1. First and foremost, read the Smashwords Style Guide:  How to Format Your Ebook.  It's free and can be found at smashwords.com.
2. You'll need to set up your Smashwords profile info.
3. Choose an ISBN option--I went with the Smashwords freebie offer.  NOTE:  I had to do this again as I uploaded my next e-book.
4. Don't forget to fill in your payee instructions.  I prefer a PayPal deposit to Smashwords dropping a check in the mail.  Just FYI.
5. If you are using MSWord 2010 (with the .docx extensions), as of this writing, I would suggest you change your document to Compatibility mode (to get the .doc version).
6. Smashwords is serious about Step 7a--NO spacing before or after paragraphs.  Format your Paragraphs as block style (for nonfiction) or first-line indent (up to 0.5") for fiction.  See location 825 of 1815 of the Smashwords Style Guide:  How to Format Your Ebook.
7. IMO, you should select all distribution modes while in the upload stage.  After your ebook has been accepted without formatting errors, it is now being considered for inclusion in its premium catalog--which gives you free promo.  I like that.
8. Then, go to your Dashboard and on the left-hand sidebar, choose Channel Manager.  Here is where you can deselect (opt-out of) B&N and Amazon if you have already uploaded manually at each online store and don't want to incur the extra Smashwords fees coming out of the standard royalty payment schedule for each.  P.S.  I uploaded a second e-book of mine and had to go through the opt-out process FOR EACH BOOK.  Just so you know.

That is what I did.  And will continue to do.

Good luck with your Smashwords uploads, y'all!

Denise Barker, author + freelance copy editor + blogger

Good Ole Boys, a love story at http://amzn.to/GoodOleBoys

http://bit.ly/BNGoodOleBoys

http://amzn.to/CopyeditingChecklist

http://amzn.to/WordsRuleTheWorldQuotes

http://amzn.to/BeforeYouIndiePublish

http://amzn.to/QuitYourCurrentDayJob
http://amzn.to/HowToIndiePublish

Having Formatting Problems When Previewing Your E-Book Upload?

Want a wonderful formatting tip?   (Many thanks, Vickie!)  Check out the Smashwords Style Guide by Mark Coker, founder, available for free on the Smashwords site.  To get the book, go here:  http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/52.

This one thing solved my recent yet long-standing "unfixable" design problems when previewing my PubIt! upload.

TIP:

If the hidden MSWord codes are making your chapter styles erratic during upload, try this trick.  Copy your whole novel and paste it into Notepad (found in your Accessories folder within Programs).  BEWARE:  It is now stripped of all manual coding, like bold, italics, the other crazy hidden stuff we cannot see and swear we did not put there, etc.  Yet, in my case, the styles still survived.

Copy the Notepad version, paste it into a new MSWord document and give it a new name, like Novel.v2.  And here's the fun part (not):  Now put the bold and italics and other formatting back in.  Instead of reading the book in toto, I just searched the previous version for italicized wording to save me time.

I don't use bold in my novels, except for when a chapter style is applied, so that was one step I didn't have to fool with.

Then look for all your chapter headings.  Even though I used styles with automatic numbering, I was a little surprised they survived the "stripping" process.  So when I hit my preset chapter style, instead of the existing one being centered with a larger font, I ended up with two chapter headings.  Delete one, so long as the remaining header maintains all your elements:  center, consecutive numbering, bold, bigger font, whatever.

Then I applied my page-break styles for my back matter.

If you have charts, bullet points, indented quoted material, or other such whatnots, go fix it.

Yes, a little tedious.  But in my particular example, I had already spent forty-plus irritating hours fighting with my chapter headings to make them consistent after each "fix" and another upload--and I was using styles within MSWord.

So what's another two hours when my document is FINALLY acting like it should during Preview, after a successful upload?

And you just cannot appreciate the feeling of getting one recalcitrant collection of two-hundred-fifty pages under control again.

NOTE:  Oh, yeah.  Remember that PubIt! has both the regular Nook and the Color Nook now, so your previews can be seen in one or the other.  I opted for the regular Nook preview since I figured it would translate "up" better for any Color Nook user, IMO.

Good luck, formatters!

Denise Barker, author + freelance copy editor
Good Ole Boys, a love story
A Copyediting Checklist for Novelists

KDP's New Lending Library

In an earlier blog, I mentioned checking into Smashwords to access other markets, especially the iPhone and iPad markets.  However, Kindle has free reading apps for those as well as downloads to your PC or Mac and your BlackBerry and Android phones.  See www.amazon.com/gp/kindle/kcp.  So I’ve decided to shelve the Smashwords uploads for now.  Probably forever.

Plus, in the latest Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) Newsletter (see http://us.mg6.mail.yahoo.com/dc/launch?.gx=1&.rand=28jpjvdtdta07), the new Kindle Owners’ Lending Library has been born.  If you, as an author/publisher, decide to enroll, you could share in the possible earnings based on the number of downloads of your e-books, but definitely in the free publicity and promo.  The following is my understanding of the new Kindle offering but please check out the links herein to consult with the source--Kindle and Amazon.

With that caveat, I understand this lending library is an option available only to the U.S. Amazon Prime member (for about $79/year as of this writing) who can borrow a book free once a month with no due dates.

As the author/publisher, your works have to be exclusive to Kindle for at least ninety days.  So if you the author/publisher have a new upload, just don’t upload anywhere else.  If you as the author/publisher have an existing e-book for sale, take it down from Barnes & Noble and elsewhere.  Once enrolled, you can opt to offer your titles for free for up to five days from every exclusive ninety-day period.

You earn royalties based on how many books are offered within the Kindle Lending Library that month and how much monies Amazon has set aside for that month.  For December 2011, there is $500,000 available.  If only 100,000 e-books are participating for those December 2011 dollars, then there is a $5 royalty per each lend.  However, if 500,000 e-books are enrolled, the royalty drops to $1 per lend.  These are my guesstimates here, folks.

Amazon states it has $6 million set aside for 2012.  Divide that figure by twelve months and it averages $500,000 per month.  HOWEVER, if more monies are set aside for the expected December 2012 Christmas shopping madness, then there would have to be less monies allotted among the remaining 2012 months.  Just be aware of this as the newsletter did not spell out what monies are available for what month, just a yearly sum available for whatever distribution among the twelve months.

But with an estimated $500,000 set aside to cover each month and the expanding knowledge re this program, the enrollment factor will have to increase, thus reducing the royalty rate per lend.  Still, at $5/lend (with $500,000 available and only 100,000 e-books enrolled), that is more than I make with my current royalties (a mix of 35% and 70%) on my $0.99 e-books and my one e-book at $2.99.

So from my perspective, this program is royalty-generating as well as another stream for promotion and publicity--getting your e-book before the select group of Amazon Prime members, who may ostensibly buy more books a year than those nonmembers.  Just my opinion.

If your e-books are more expensive, selling at $7 or above, then yes, you are looking at reduced royalties from your standard offering.  Still do not negate the free promotional factor involved in this latest Amazon perk.

Therefore, based on my interpretation, depending on your price setting, you could net increased revenues as well as broadening your reader numbers.  Regardless, you gotta start somewhere, right?  And Amazon is definitely covering the bases—free, royalty-generating, enhanced by lending—and with the differing levels of promo, this one site could be the end-all medium for advertising your work.  And the social media (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) would remain . . . well, social.

As an aside, just from my limited reading, there may be more interest in YouTube videos, so keep that in mind as you develop your enhanced e-books.  A book trailer seems to be well received.  Again, this is just one woman’s musings.  Take what makes sense to you and run with it.  Discard the rest.

Consider me a clearinghouse of a jumble of info, distilling it down for me and then sharing it with you.  I am not an expert.  I am a layperson going the Indie-pubbed route and letting you see the workings of my mind for my career in my way.  Best wishes to all!

To learn more about KDP Select, visit: http://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/KDPSelect.

To learn more about the Kindle Owners' Lending Library, visit:  http://www.amazon.com/kindleownerslendinglibrary