The Little Black Box
My mother always referred to foreshadowing as “The little black box.” In the vein of easter eggs, these hints about future events in the book are best if they are…
Ode to Rain
We are having a drought in California. I am not a summer guy, and I am not a dry-weather guy. In my longing for rain, I am reposting this rambling…
Delisting
This blog is an update on delisting books with Draft2Digital. D2D sent my request out instantly because Apple had removed Members of the Cast from their eBook list in minutes.…
Deselect
Amazon KDP allows books to be enrolled in Kindle Select, making the book eligible for Kindle Unlimited. The minimum time for a book to take part in Kindle Select is…
When Can We Expect Your Next Book?
I take it as a high compliment when folks ask, “When can we expect your next book?” I look at self-published YA writers like Cookie O’Gorman and Kelsie Stelting and…
How’d You Do That?
When I was programming the electronic grade book for elementary teachers, people would ask, “How did you do that?” The answer was simple: “I wrote it wrong until I finally…
Diminishing Writing Time
Writers always seem to wish for more time to write. This is especially true for those who have a day job, kids, family, parents that need care, and the million…
Picking Up Rocks
My mother, author Delores Beckman said, “Writing is like using a wheelbarrow to pick up rocks in a field. Each rock makes the load harder to handle.” I have said,…
Keywords
When a book is listed on Amazon’s site, keywords are chosen to let prospective readers find books. For Members of the Cast, I chose the following keywords: As an author,…
Decisions
There is chatter out there (and on this blog) about Kindle Select vs. "Going Wide." Kindle Select gives Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) exclusive eBook rights for 90 days. There…
Time and Energy
Writers, During the recent Memorial Day weekend, many hoped for extra writing time, and perhaps some much needed rest, only to have their hopes dashed. The Expansion Effect Everyone knows…
Nook: Where’d That Book Come From? (A good thing.)
After I “Went Wide,” letting Draft2Digital (D2D) distribute my book, I checked Barnes & Noble (Nook) to see if Members of the Cast was listed. It was in both print…
Videos About Formatting Manuscripts
Joe Garland is providing a series of videos showing how to prepare a manuscript for self-publication. They can be found at Dermody House If you struggle with making your book…
Updating An Amazon Book
Because Ernie Fink (@ernie_fink on Twitter) found "summersault "when it should be somersault, I decided to update the KDP Kindle, paperback, and hardback formats of Members of the Cast. In…
Kindle Unlimited Revisited
Nothing like speaking too soon. All appearing in red turned out to be untrue. Sorry. Kindle Unlimited is Amazon’s book borrowing system. For $10 a month, anyone in the US…