Tag Archives: indie authors

Publishing Confusion – Part Four – Social Media

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Social Media.

Most of you know how to use the basics…or do you? I thought I was good with Facebook, when one day a course in our local region we found a tutorial on how to use Facebook for business. It blew what we thought we knew right open. OUCH. Luckily there was no re-learning, there was extra learning.

In the last twelve months, many of our Social Media websites have updated. Things have moved, changed or disappeared. Even we’ve had issues finding various items. Sometimes the frustration creeps in and takes over. The better you can use Social Media, the better you can MARKET your business and grow your AUTHOR BRAND. With saying that, we need to give you a few ways to make more out of a post and images.

We’ve always been taught that images get more people looking at your posts. However, what sort of image do you need to use? Have you ever looked on Facebook to see which type of images get the most likes and shares? Why do they get so much attention. Why do people stop scrolling and read? 

Next time you find something you like and read, think about what you notice first. Is it the writing? Which part? A title? A font? Large fonts? The mission into marketing is endless trying to find out what will work for us and our books. RESEARCH…yep that word again. Weird how it keeps cropping up.

Advert for Shattered Badge, Shattered Trust by Sandra Brewster.

We’re going to make a Facebook Post. It was a new release for one of our clients. The novel is called ‘SHATTERED BADGE SHATTERED TRUST’ by Sandra Brewster. It is available on AMAZON. To the left  of the screen is the book cover. For those who are sight impaired the image shows a police badge which has been broke into pieces the the book title across the middle. At the top of the cover is the Authors name. The background is a greenish blur of a crime scene.

First things first is to make a 3D cover so it looks like a book rather than a flat image. This will make it stand out better and hopefully grab a readers interest. It is obviously a story which involves a character who is a cop. Though what is the relevance about the Shattered Trust? Who’s Trust was destroyed and why? Maybe a bit of the synopsis will tell us what’s going on. Can we add it to the Facebook Post? 

This depends on what type of Marketing you are looking at doing. Who are you aiming your ADVERT at? Are you doing a PAID ADVERT or a post in a group? Will you make a TEASER for the story or a POSTER. On that note…if you can’t use photoshop, GIMP, Krita or similar graphic apps then please use CANVA. It’s FREE and easy to use, even for those who think they aren’t good with technology.

CANVA – AUTHOR INTRODUCTION IDEA

In the first PNG image you have all the different areas, all giving you different information. Obviously this is a small image of what the poster would be if it were printed out. Looking at it digitally and asking a few friends, I see what they like and don’t like. The BOOK BLURB is to pale and needs to be BOLD FONT. The eBook app in the image above the authors profile image needs to be put in (can’t do this on CANVA FREE). I don’t like is the BOOK LINK.. it looks to big and untidy. We may make it smaller or use a QR Code.

We have made some adjustments on this second image. The book cover has been placed into the eBook app on the image. In the next image we have put the BOOK BLURB in bold to show what it looks like.

The main issue with the poster is having to use two different apps to make the poster. We started in CANVA and played around, asking for opinions… Now we need to put all of this together. This same poster only needs the book cover adding to the eBook reader along with the QR Code and then it is finished. For now we’ve left the book link in though made it smaller and bold.

My next question is: What do you think? Is it good? Are there any changes? What do you get from reading the poster? Would it make you look up the author and read her books?

Please let me know in comments.

NOTE: The image is to complex to put in ALT TEXT. 

 

 

Introducing Jenzy Montague and learn about her children’s books.

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Interview With An Author – Jenzy Montague

 

 

Tell us about where are you from?

Everywhere, LOL I was born in Missouri. I call Colorado my spiritual home. I loved it there and would move back in an instant. I’ve lived in California, Montclair, New Jersey, and now Virginia. I love mountains and college towns. Virginia gives me both. Even though I live an hour from Charlottesville, Virginia, I consider that home too. I’m a history nut so much history to glean from this area!

What do you do when you’re not writing?

Tag team with my daughter and hubby in homeschooling my three precious grandbabies! If not a nose in a textbook, I’m sewing and working with my crafts. I love to get outside and dig in the soil with my gardening. My youngest grandchild loves mother earthing with me.

When did you start writing stories?

I wrote stories when I was a child. I got serious as an adult but put it on hold so I could enjoy my biggest achievement, mothering my daughter. I would always jot down notes about stories that were in my head for years. I was a single mom. I had to be the breadwinner. I worked in a corporate world until I met my hubby.

Since the pandemic, I found myself having time to re-visit my thoughts of getting serious in my writing. It was my daughter Nikki that kept me on track making it happen.

It also was the pandemic that made me realize I needed to write a children’s story about Covid-19 from a child’s point of view. Watching the concerned looks on my grandbabies’ faces, I just had to do something. Noah just popped in my head. Even his name conveys our surviving the pandemic. It is the new norm. Perhaps even a new beginning. With all the stories that were already in my head, it took a pandemic to shake me loose.

What or who inspired you to write stories?

Children. Even when I was one myself, I was compassionate about little people’s feelings, their thought patterns. I wanted to be heard and it would come out on paper.

What is your favourite genre to write and why?

Children’s literature at present. However, I have some notes that I plan to dabble in someday.

What is your favourite genre to read?

If I do not have my nose in a children’s book reading to my littles, I am reading the school curriculum for lesson planning. However, during my downtime, I love historical, paranormal, and fantasy stories.

Who is your favorite Author and why?

Nicole Strycharz. She is a multi-genre writer and I just get lost in her books!

There are other amazing authors I love too. There is Daisy St. James and Lisa K Miller. They both write paranormal romance. Reading these talented women’s works is like a vacation away from the real world for me!

What was the first story you ever wrote?

LOL As a child there was Humpless, the Humpless Camel. I dare say I was very little. In reality, it was Cynthia’s Thankful Halloween.

What happened to it? Did you save it or trash it, and why?

My amazing illustrator, Mara Reitsma, has joined forces with me to publish Cynthia’s Thankful Halloween. Mara turns my world of characters into the exact picture I have in my head. It is like we are of one mind.

My little character Cynthia has been a part of me for years. All I did was tell Mara, and she got me. Then there is you, Claire. You have the talent to frame it to perfection. I am happy to say Cynthia will be a reality hopefully in time for 2021 Halloween. As for Humpless, well, he is still in the file. LOL.

Are there any sub-genres that you would consider pairing together?

Not sure just yet. Possibilities way back in my mind at this time.

Do you have more fun writing the scenes, or creating the characters?

Creating the characters because for me they create the scenes.

You’re an Indie Author, so tell us, why go Indie? Why choose to self publish?

Why not? There is a world of amazingly talented authors out there but cannot reach the goal or luxury of being published. Hats off to the authors who have been traditionally published. After all, they are and have been our inspiration. I choose to support my pen and paper with the Indie world because the drive is for our work to get out there and be read. Without both traditional published and self-published, we would not have such a world of choices to choose from. Makes the reading world so rich!

Tell us how you work. From pen and paper, to your fingers dancing across the keys, do you find yourself cozy and warm with a cup of tea and a blazing fire? Or do you hide in your dungeon, slaving away on your latest masterpiece; the words of wisdom flowing from your fingers as the story is born? Tell us how you write?

LOL, I am usually working side by side with my daughter, Nicole. Our desks are next to each other, with a bookshelf in the middle. Both computers are ticking away with yes, a cup of tea or, most likely, coffee in the early morning. If it is further on in the day, most likely there are children running back and forth screaming at each other or calling Mom, Grandma…Not sure to this day how we do it, but we do. Chaos keeps you on your toes or, for us, our minds working our fingers on the keyboard.

Social Media Links

Noah’s Book Link: http://mybook.to/iamasuperherobyjenzym

Website: https://gaiasgirl101.wixsite.com/jenzy-myworldbooks

FB Page: https://m.facebook.com/MyWorldBooksbyJenzy/

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/JenzyMontague/e/B095J8CZ53/

 

Author Bio 

Jenzy, a graduate of the Institute of Children’s Literature, has lived in many parts of the United States throughout her life but settled in Virginia with her family.

She homeschooled her daughter and aided many moms with their journey in homeschooling. She assisted with and tutored children of special needs in phonics, reading, and math.

Now, grandma to three precocious grandbabies. She joins her daughter in homeschooling them.

Jenzy’s been telling stories from childhood to grandmotherhood.

She prefers being in a cubby with pen and paper, capturing the thoughts of children. She shares that hearth of imagination with her daughter, who is also a writer. The only other place to be, she says, is enjoying her brood of three in their little classroom where she teaches!

EXCERPT FROM NOAH

I Am a Superhero A Kid’s Thoughts on Covid-19:
Available Now

Now, Mommy is my schoolteacher and school is at home. We have to stay home ‘cause there’s a sickness that hurts people. I keep forgetting the name of the sickness, so Mommy has to remind me it’s called Covid-19. I don’t like that name, so I just forget it! We have so many rules now.

We have to social distance from people. We have to stay six feet apart. That’s like as long as my dad lying down on the floor. The sickness can jump that far! Everyone wears masks. I don’t like not seeing faces, only eyes. Are they smiling or are they sad? I sing happy birthday every time I wash my hands, and it takes forever!

NEW RELEASE

Cynthia’s Thankful Halloween:
Releasing Soon

A windy start for October, just perfect for Halloween, thought Cynthia. She was the new member of the haunted house on the hill, at the edge of town. Even in the ghost world, a little ghost needs a family, and this house came with one. It wasn’t easy being a ten-year-old little ghost who just moved in and getting a new family too.

Just a few weeks ‘till Halloween. She must practice being scary. The moon would be full this year on Halloween, and her name meant moon. She had to be the best fright ever!

KDP Hardbacks – Easy or Difficult?

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After hearing that KDP had Hardbacks in BETA, I thought I’d take a look at the setup and see how things worked, what was different. 

The first page where you type in your information is the same as for the ebook and paperback, so if you’ve already done them, then page one will automatically be filled in for you. Still, it is best to check for errors or changes you may need. Save as a draft and go to page two. This is where the changes start.

You will need to have a different ISBN number for your hardback book. You can either use the KDP Free ISBN, which can only be used on Amazon, or you can buy your own. Next, you scroll down, picking your book size, page colour, ink colour etc until you get to where you upload your interior. Is it the same as for paperback?

NOT COMPLETELY 

Though the pages are exactly the same sizes, the margins on the most popular size (6 x 9 or 15.24 x 22.86) are bigger, probably due to the extra width needed in the spine for a hardback. You will also need a manuscript of 75 pages or more to make a HARDBACK BOOK, which, of course, doesn’t bode well for young children’s picture books. 

Once you’ve uploaded the correct manuscript, you get to do your HARDBACK COVER and yes, this is different. Unless you know the ins and outs of hardback books, you will need the TEMPLATE or you can use the KDP COVER CREATOR. Personally, we will use the templates until we’ve learnt how to size the covers correctly. Like many of those who may read this, we are learning to.

Click on the DOWNLOAD A TEMPLATE link just above the box where you upload the cover and it will open this page shown below.

In the Image it asks you for your book details. For those who are sight impaired or blind, the list consists of:-
BINDING, INTERIOR TYPE, PAPER TYPE, PAGE-TURN DIRECTION, MEASUREMENT UNITS, INTERIOR TRIM SIZE and PAGE COUNT. Once this is filled in, as shown below, you can Calculate Dimensions. 

This opens a new page! As shown below. 

This image gives you all the information you need and what everything means. Don’t worry about what this image shows too much because now that the dimensions have been calculated, you can DOWNLOAD THE TEMPLATE to your computer and open the ZIP file. Inside, you will find three files. A PDF and PNG version of the TEMPLATE with instructions on what is what in the image. The THIRD file shows you HOW TO USE YOUR TEMPLATE. The instructions are shown below.

*HOW TO USE YOUR TEMPLATE* 

1. Open the PDF or PNG file for the Paperback Book Cover Template in your image editing software.
2. Create a new layer in your image editing software. This layer will serve as the design layer.
3. Design your cover in the design layer, using the template PDF or PNG file as the guide layer. The artwork should extend to the outside edge of the template’s pink zone to ensure a white border will not exist within the printed work. Do not move the guide layer, as it is properly aligned for our printing specifications.
4. Ensure text and/or images that are intended to be read do not appear in the pink zones of the template.
5. The barcode area is indicated in yellow on the template. Do not place important images or text intended to be read in the barcode location. We suggest filling in this area with your background color or design. KDP will automatically generate a barcode representing your title’s ISBN when printing copies of your book.
6. Once your design is complete, you will need to turn off the guide layer so that it is not printed on your final product or rejected during the review process. If you are unable to turn off the guide layer, then you will need to format the artwork so that it completely covers the guide layer.
7. Flatten all layers, save the file as a press quality PDF with CMYK color profile, and upload the file via KDP.

Message from my Illustrator

My advice is that when you are creating ANY image for any template, always use the template as a guide, I will make an image for you to use, that includes your cover, and the faded template. You need to keep everything inside the red walls 🙂 and remember to set your DPI @ 300+ when working with printed covers as opposed to digital (e-book) covers. The below image shows you the cover and template and how everything sits.

On the last page for KDP the pricing is done the same way as will paperbacks and ebooks. Choose a price and approve to publish. If you’re lucky, you’ll be able to buy some Author Copies to check over. Sadly, with living in New Zealand during Covid, it isn’t possible for me to do so.

 

PLEASE ALSO REMEMBER KDP HARDBACK IS IN BETA AT THIS TIME AND CHANGES AND UPDATES MAY OCCUR AS WE ALL START TO LEARN TO USE HARDBACK INFORMATION

Update from Draft to Digital Print!

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Supply Chain Delays May Impact D2D Print

As a user of our D2D Print service, we wanted to inform you of the potential for delays for print on demand services that may arise in the coming months.

Our print partner has informed us that they are preparing for disruptions to various aspects of the print industry, including labor and supply shortages, as well as transportation issues.

Manufacturing supply shortages and labor shortages for the transport of goods are all factors that impact print on demand as an industry and these are unfortunately outside of the control of our print partner. 

Our print partner is implementing steps to reduce the impact of these shortages, such as warehousing materials and working closely with their shipping partners.

We wanted to offer a couple of recommendations to help you prepare and perhaps avoid delays with your D2D Print books: 

Order early—If you will need printed books for an event or any other reason, place your orders as early as possible to allow for enough time to fulfill the order even if supplies are delayed.

List early—If you have any current or future books you will want to be available during the holiday season, we encourage you to get them loaded into our print program so they are available for sale or as a preorder. With the rush we are anticipating in the later months of the year it is likely processing the books and getting them into  the system will take longer than usual.

While printing and shipping delays are a nuisance, we and our print partners are exploring every way possible to reduce the impact. We appreciate your patience as we work through this.

We will keep you updated on any developments.

The Draft2Digital Team

Extra Payment on LULU

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Well, it seems everyone is changing and charging. I’m wondering when it will stop. At this rate, it is going to be too expensive to be an Independent Author.

I signed into LULU this afternoon and saw the statement below on a closable flag across my computer screen.

Beginning October 1st 2021, a small Fulfilment Fee will be added to offset the rising costs of packaging your books in a durable and safe and responsible manner.

I thought all the money we already paid included postage and packaging… 

Also, in case you didn’t know or had forgotten, LULU introduce a price for making an ebook. Each new ebook will incur this cost. 

If anyone else knows of any changes, please put it in comments. 

Vanity Radio Interview Scam…

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I had an email yesterday from an author asking about a radio interview with Kate Delaney and Emmy Award Winner form America Tonight. I can honestly say I’ve never heard of these type of interviews before so being me, I went on a research trip to look into it. I was drawing blanks from google until I typed in Kate’s name and radio interview scam, then I found something. Of course it is from the wonder ‘WRITERS BEWARE’ site and written by ‘VICTORIA STRAUSS.’

If you are offered an Interview for Kate Delaney, Ric Bratton or Al Cole, (there are probably others too) then you NEED TO READ VICTORIA’s research which you can find HERE.

Be Careful out there.

Ghostly Writes – Interviews

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Introduce Yourself and where you’re from.
Mary R. Woldering From Euclid, Ohio USA

Tell us about your writing journey?
I’ve always been a storyteller. Now I am a chronicler of dreams and visions. I began to publish my writings at 65, so technology is still a great unknown.

What is your story about?
Three ghosts in a haunted mansion. One is a demonic spirit trapped in a staircase, another is an angelic young girl trapped in an upper room. The third is the spirit of the witch who trapped them, returning to finish her work.

Why did you choose this topic/genre?
The story is based on some paranormal research my friends and I did in 1970 combined with stories we had heard about these spirits. I always wanted to write the story as it was, in part, an origin story for one of the characters in my Children of Stone series

Why publish in the Ghostly Writes Anthologies?
It was suggested that I do that by another contributor.

Share your experiences of helping each other in the Ghostly Writes Group.
I doubt I’ve been much help, but Mara Reitsma has helped me.

What other Anthologies have you participated in and for what reason?
Dreamtime Dragons 2017 – again, it was suggested that I write a story for that group

What scares you the most? A Snake or a Spider? Why?  If something else, tell us about it.
Spider more than snake, but large jumping and flying insects like moths or cicadas  or flying cockroaches upset me from my childhood. They would crawl across my ceiling in the house we rented and one night one fell on me.

What is your favourite part of Halloween?
Giving out candy and frightening passers by

How do you celebrate Halloween?
Same as above

Share your favourite Halloween celebration from your childhood.
Getting candy as a child. Later on it was communicating with spirits

LINKS

Amazon:
https://amzn.to/2DMvkKJ

Page/Group:
https://bit.ly/2ubYwv1

Author Page:
https://bit.ly/2x1PZJe

Website:
https://www.maryrwoldering.com/

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/maryrwoldering/

Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7398194.Mary_R_Woldering

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/ChildrenofStone

Industry Standard Group for Indie Publishers

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As a Independent Publisher which is a Limited Company, I always tell my author friends and clients to make sure they don’t pay first and to look at prices…some are horrendous. A deposit is one thing, full payment…Hell no… they tend to be Vanity Publishers. Needless to say if you have a set of standards for one then you need them for authors as well. Not all authors are great to work with. I’ve had some damn right nasty ones who nearly made me give up helping others.

It does cost to get published. It doesn’t matter if you go trad or Indie. Traditional take part of your royality for the life of the book, which could be millions and they will only publish you if they can make a profit from you work. Also remember they have control of your manuscript – you don’t! Indie Publishers get paid a one off amount so if you make millions you don’t need to pay them anymore.

What I would like to see is a list of or group of Indie Publishers who assist each other like Indie Authors do. They must have at least five 5 star reviews/testimonials …remember we all have to start somewhere.

In fact, I’ll start a group on Facebook of LLC companies with 5 or more positive testimonials.  Let people know and we will build this together for everyone to look at and use. 

What information I will need.

Professionalism
Proof of LLC
Proof of your reviews and testimonials.
Genre you work with
Royalty Share – if you work that way
Deposit Amount – if needed
Contact details

Companies without Reviews/Testimonals will be added as pending
when they start up.