You made it here. You must like books!

Createspace is good for independent authors

Paul — Sat, 19 May 2012 10:49:59 +0000

CreateSpace, an Amazon.com company, today announced that authors and publishers around the world can now use its independent publishing platform to distribute their books in Europe for free on Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.es and Amazon.it. By using CreateSpace to distribute directly to Amazon, authors and publishers ensure that their titles are always in stock for customers to purchase. Books will be available for same-day shipping, and are also eligible for free shipping and Amazon Prime. CreateSpace authors and publishers will earn industry-leading royalties on each sale while continuing to own the rights and have creative control over their work. Additionally, CreateSpace authors and publishers can now receive their royalty payments by direct deposit in US dollars, British pounds or Euro.

Along with great distribution, CreateSpace provides manufacturing-on-demand technology, which means books are printed when a customer orders it so the author doesn’t have to make an up-front investment in inventory. If they need help at any point in the independent publishing process, they can also take advantage of CreateSpace’s English-language professional services and 24/7 member support.

Gayle Laakmann McDowell is the author of the best seller “Cracking the Coding Interview,” which is independently published through CreateSpace. “When I launched my book on Amazon via CreateSpace two years ago, I saw my sales increase by 10 times, eventually becoming Amazon’s best-selling interview book,” said McDowell. “Europe has always proven difficult for me to enter though–how do I print, distribute, and ship my book in the multitude of countries there? I’m so excited to see that CreateSpace is launching European distribution. In 30 seconds and just a few clicks, this has enabled me to tap a whole new market and resolve a problem I’d been laboring over for months. This is huge for me–huge.”

“We are very excited to offer our members the option to distribute their books on Amazon sites in Europe. By doing so, they will make their books available and in stock to millions of European readers,” said Libby Johnson McKee, Managing Director, CreateSpace. “We are continually working to deliver exceptional value and world-class customer service to our CreateSpace members worldwide, and European distribution is yet another great example of our commitment to helping our authors succeed.”

CreateSpace authors can visit www.createspace.com/international today to enable distribution in Europe for their books. To start a new title or to learn more about CreateSpace, independent publishing and manufacturing on-demand, visit www.createspace.com.

Authors can also make their books available digitally in Europe and around the globe using Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), while earning up to 70% royalties and continuing to own the rights to their books. To get started authors can visit http://kdp.amazon.com.

Writer’s Block

Paul — Thu, 17 May 2012 14:38:10 +0000

Book review – Dying of the light.

Paul — Thu, 10 May 2012 04:37:05 +0000

Title: Dying of the Light
Author: George R.R. Martin
Genre: Science Fiction
Rating:

In Dying of the Light George Martin takes the reader to the planet of Worlorn, a Festival Planet that is one of the largest accomplishments of civilisation. The planet is in an outer region of known space, built for fun, boasting wealth by mocking any common sense for its existence. Dirk t’Laurien travels to Worlorn when he receives something, a gem belonging to his former love Gwen Delvano. To his surprise he finds her there in entirely different circumstances than he could have imagined, and together they live through one adventure through the next nightmare, as the former rulers of High Kavalaan, a distant planet, are trying to get to them. In more than one way.

A wonderful and worthwhile read, with more than one surprising end.

DRM

Paul — Fri, 04 May 2012 07:02:54 +0000

Dear reader,

As you may know, DRM stands for “Digital Rights Management.” It’s a copy protection scheme designed to prevent piracy. While few would disagree that authors deserve compensation for their hard work, the problem with DRM is that it treats law-abiding customers like criminals. DRM controls how, where and when a reader reads books. Oh, and then there’s the small matter that DRM doesn’t work.

Five Reasons to Say No to DRM:

Readers (who know about DRM) don’t like DRM
DRM adds expense to books
DRM makes books complex
DRM limits accessibility to books, especially for those with vision disabilities who require Text-to-Speach (TTS)
DRM does not prevent piracy

For more information, visit http://readersbillofrights.info/ or http://www.defectivebydesign.org/

Sometimes I just need to brag

Paul — Thu, 03 May 2012 14:42:11 +0000

Dear reader,

Today I found a few amazing reviews on Hilda – Cats that I just have to share with the world.

This one, rated 5.0 out of 5 stars:
One of the best series out there!, By JohnR (OH USA):

I really love this series of books. They are extremely entertaining. When I see a new one, I drop everything, get it, and read it.

Characters are very well presented, you really do get to know them and look forward to the next book. Usually a series of books kind of sputters a bit as it goes on. Not this one! These books just go a completely different direction, and are simply as great reading as you could possibly imagine.

I would suggest starting at the beginning though, the books do progress through the lives of the “sweetwitch” and her wizard.

If I have any complaint it is that I have gotten the whole series here on Amazon for free, and that seems wrong to me. Any author that has worked as hard as this one has certainly deserves to be paid!

Thank you very much Mr. Kater!

You are more than welcome, JohnR! And then there is this review, rated 4.0 out of 5 stars:
The most enjoyable Fantasy I Have read in A While, By Laura S. Heinzel (Corpus Christi, TX)

Paul Kater wrote 6 Hilda – Witch stories. This one was one of my favorites. They are a series & need to be read in order, to make better sense of them. As I am a cat lover this one was endearing. Kater takes you right into his alternate world of magic as you fall in love with with his witchy withches for good or not so good. It is hard to put these books down. You manage to want to go right on to the next. I love his flow of the language as he develops these characters in extreme detail that one manages to fall in love with. Last of all the scenery is so descriptive, you can feel the houses come alive and the kitties purring in your lap.

Thank you. Also to all the people who read and enjoy Hilda without leaving a review. I feel honoured.

Author interview – Valerie Laws

Paul — Wed, 02 May 2012 10:01:20 +0000

Dear reader,

I shall be engaging in a number of interviews with independent authors. May you find these informative, entertaining, and perhaps even inspiring to go out and locate their books!

This interview is with author Valerie Laws.

Dear Valerie, can you offer us a little insight into who you are?

I’m an award-winning writer who infamously spray-painted poetry on live sheep in my Arts Council-funded QUANTUM SHEEP project which combined random haiku with the principles of quantum theory. I write crime fiction (THE ROTTING SPOT, with a skull collecting theme and a homeopath detective, now available on Kindle), poetry, plays (12 commissioned for stage and radio), best-selling language books… I’ve had ten books published and have just e-published my eleventh, my first as an indie author, LYDIA BENNET’S BLOG of which more below. I’ve had many Writer in Residence posts, in a pathology museum working with dead bodies, University brain institutes, Egyptian 5* hotel ( those contributing to ALL THAT LIVES, poetry of sex, death and pathology newly out), a physic garden growing mind-altering plants… I perform my work all over the world and in the media, and specialise in science-based poetry and art, creating new forms of kinetic poetry on unusual media, not just sheep but beach balls or computer controlled illuminated installations, for exhibitions and public art commissions.

What is the reason that you started writing? When did you start writing?

I’ve always written and told stories. Ideas come to me and keep nagging me until I write them, either as plays, poems, novels, sci-art, whatever. I’ve been a full-time professional writer for about 11 years.

Are you writing under a pen-name, do you use your own, or is your work out in both ways?

I use my own name, Valerie Laws, for all the widely different genres I explore.

What, do you think, is your best book? And why is that?

My books are so widely different that it’s hard to say! My newest e-book is very funny, my crime novel is highly praised by readers and eminent writers, my poetry collections ditto. I’ve had a play published, also a book challenging ageism and telling the stories of older people both independent and with dementia. My newest poetry book ALL THAT LIVES means a great deal to me and gets terrific responses from live audiences, it took years of research and also personal experience, witnessing the deaths of my parents, studying the science of dying, watching dissections, and also writing about my sexual adventures post-divorce, which brings a balancing comedy. I’m very proud of my first crime novel THE ROTTING SPOT as I’ve always loved crime fiction.

Naturally, after the best book, what is your worst, if there is one? And why do you feel that way?

I don’t feel that way about any of them. They were all important at the time and still are, to me. Some are less or more successful but that’s a different issue.

How do you think your writing has changed over time? Did it change at all?

I like to think my life experiences have deepened and strengthened my writing and I’ve certainly learned a lot and my writing has become more and more diverse. For years I concentrated on poetry but lately have been writing novels as well.

And can you say that writing has changed you?

It’s part of me and it’s what I do. The fact that I’m doing it as a job has changed me, I’ve had to learn to pitch and publicise especially now I’m venturing more into e-books, selling does not come naturally to me. I love to learn new stuff, new technology, new skills!

What is the most daring thing you ever did or tried in your writing? In which book did that happen?

I suppose spray painting the sheep, in Quantum Sheep. There was a huge media frenzy about it and it still gets published and publicised today. I could have just been mocked and in fact I was pretty much teased about it by the media but I’m happy for people to laugh! I did another quantum haiku on beach balls for BBC TV, just published in an NYC anthology Maintenant 6. But also writing plays is very daring, because you have to hand them over eventually and watch them totally at the mercy of the actors and director, but it’s great when you sit in an audience who are laughing, and crying, around you – when you meant them to!

And, if your feel up to it, what is the most daring thing you ever did in your life? Feel free to skip this one, not everybody is up to revealing much about themselves…

I was disabled in a car crash 26 years ago so everything since then has been a challenge but I embrace change, challenge and transformation. Walking again after that, which I still do with difficulty and pain. I travel, have snorkelled with turtles and sharks. I’ve flown a plane. Had my second child after disability. Got divorced after 25 years and started dating fascinating men (some much younger than me). Bought my own house. Became a professional writer and performer. Studied Maths & theoretical physics, my worst school subjects, when disabled with two children, and got a first class honours degree. Wrote and performed poems about my sex life! All those things were daring I suppose!

Is there something you still want to have a go at, in your writing life? Is there a challenge you envision that’s worth pursuing?

There will always be challenges in writing. My main immediate challenge is to get better at the whole e-publishing phenomenon. I’ve learned to format and everything! But still so much to learn.

Has your writing ever been compared to the writing of another (perhaps even famous) writer/author? And do you like that?

Not really, I’ve been lucky enough to win prizes and awards and get fab quotes and reviews, but they don’t compare me to anyone else!

Do you have one or two favourite books (written by someone else)? If so, what are they, and why do they appeal to you so much?

Oh I love so many books! And writers! I love the novels of Barbara Pym, and Jane Austen (though I’m having fun with her in my new e-book!) I love a lot of poets’ work and I know many of them so have to be careful here but I love Sharon Olds, an American poet who is breathtakingly honest and intimate. I love Shakespeare, he’s funny, lively, sexy, sad and his language is so powerful and entrancing to hear. I love William Blake’s poetry, he’s a true prophet, he foresaw some modern scientific and social ideas far ahead of his time.

Which book you ever read would you label as least readable book, so far? Feel free to comment as liberally as you want to the why.

I don’t like extreme ‘torture porn’ crime fiction, like Birdman. I suppose Finnegan’s Wake is the one most people quote as unreadable but I also find (confession time) I can’t bring myself to read the great Russian novels, or most of Charles Dickens though I have read a lot of them and liked some.

Is there a book that you know of that should never have been published, in your opinion?

Mein Kampf? Books which encourage hatred, war, racism, misogyny, homophobia, cruelty… Of course there are books I don’t like or think aren’t good but somebody might like them, and if nobody does they won’t buy them, so I wouldn’t normally be in favour of wiping such books, however badly written or boring, out of existence.

Is there a writer that you would love to co-write a book with? And what genre would you like to write in then? Something you’re familiar with?

I’ve collaborated with visual artists, theatre directors and actors, but I can’t imagine co-writing a novel or poetry although I co-wrote two best-selling language text books which was different.

Let’s see… is there something in the realm of ‘wise words’ you once picked up that you would like to share? This does not have to be limited to writing, there is more to life than writing. At least, I heard there is.

The poet/playwright Peter Mortimer told me a poem, and I think it’s true of novels and plays too, needs an imperative of some kind: meaning, it’s something you feel needs to be said. For myself, I’d say embrace change, celebrate life and its changing nature, keep learning and exploring new ideas, skills and experiences. Physics has taught me the universe moves, changes, transforms, all the time and we should accept and live with that.

And as a last question, what is cooking with you? What’s your work in progress? Is there a tip of a veil that you can lift for us?

I’m working on a near-final draft of my second crime novel which hopefully my agent will find a home for! I’ve several poetry projects on the go. But mainly I’m working on getting the word out about my new e-book LYDIA BENNET’S BLOG and the kindle version of THE ROTTING SPOT, now they are out there.

If there is anything else you would like to share, for example a thought, some promotion for your book(s), then here’s your chance!

My ‘antidote to Austen’ is my new comedy YA crossover, LYDIA BENNET’S BLOG – THE REAL STORY OF PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. Lydia is outrageous and gives a whole new slant on the story, and uses modern teen language in Regency times. It’s available ($1.55 or 98p) from Amazon kindle at http://amzn.to/LydBBUK and in US at http://amzn.to/LBBUS and from Smashwords and I’m also blogging it, or Lydia Bennet is, at http://bit.ly/LydiaBsBlog
My first crime novel THE ROTTING SPOT is available (99p or $1.57) on kindle at http://amzn.to/RotSpot & in US at http://amzn.to/RotSpotUS
Or in paperback from www.redsquirrelpress.com, who also publish my latest poetry collection ALL THAT LIVES. I hope to put my other work out too as ebooks.

Thank you, Valerie, for your time, and for sharing your words with us!

Indie promotion

Paul — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 10:01:17 +0000

Dear reader,

Welcome to Monday. Here is today’s Indie Promotion, that you were probably waiting for already.

The Fool’s Journey

by Kristina Jackson

Ebook Short Description: Can tarot cards help a young woman whose life is not all it’s cracked up to be?

Moira is frustrated by her life and even more so because she doesn’t know what to do about it. A spur-of-the-moment decision to visit a psychic fair for a tarot reading changes everything. The reading helps her to see what she should do. When they learn she is consulting cards for guidance, Moira’s friends and family begin to believe she is losing her sanity. When she decides to quit her job, sell her house, and move away, they’re sure of it.

Can Tarot cards help Moira learn more about herself and guide her to a happier future? And what do a haunted chest and an encounter with a poltergeist have to do with Moira’s journey to find fulfilment?

Where to find.
You can find the e-book on Amazon.com as well as Amazon.co.uk.

Currently reading

Paul — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 19:15:39 +0000

Gods behaving badly, by Marie Philips
The Gods of Atlantis, by David Gibbins

To be read next:

Goliath, by Scott Westerfeld
Retribution Falls, by Chris Wooding

Writers write

Paul — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 10:10:31 +0000

E-books do not ‘cost nothing to produce’

Paul — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 10:02:46 +0000

Via Teleread, By Chris Meadows

We’ve all heard the argument that e-books should be cheaper because they don’t have printing, shipping, and warehousing costs. Blogger Deanna McFadden, who works in digital publishing, takes exception to writer Michael Chabon’s recent statement that it’s unfair publishers should get the same royalty as paper books for “an e-book that costs them nothing to produce.”

McFadden attributes this sort of statement to ignorance of all the costs and hard work that go into readying a book for digital publication, and grumbles that “Chabon essentially thinks my role, that of e-book person, is essentially worthless”.

Let’s take again the idea that for those two earlier books that essentially cost a publisher “nothing” to produce and actually look at what’s involved. Because the books are older, and let’s assume they are a fair bit older, no digital files exist. That means a gross, labour-intensive few days of scanning the text into a file. Then there’s the time it takes to clean up that file, to strip out all the gunk that scanning creates and make sure the e-text is as accurate as it can be to the p-text, again, more time. And sure, there are companies all over the developing world that will do this terrible work for a low cost (and my thoughts on that are, well, far too long to include in this already too long post). In the end, you’ve got the work into a digital format and it’s ready to be converted to epub, more buttons are pushed, coders come in and clean everything up, and you’ve got an ebook that’s ready to go. It’s proofed and checked and proofed again. Metadata is built, ONIX is created, files are FTP’d to the vendors, Amazon’s mobis are created, various different formatting things are checked, and then the book is for sale — but, hey, apparently, this costs all of us nothing to produce, right? There’s no time or energy or effort or anything put into pushing a button and magically having an ebook show up around the world, naw, it’s nothing compared to boxes and gasoline and shipping and warehouses, right? And I’m even simplifying things here for the sake of making a point — not a week goes by where all of our books end up in the right place, where none of them have some sort of technical issue, where there’s not a problem with data that needs to be solved — it’s complex, time consuming, and, at times, really frustrating.

McFadden does admit she may not be putting Chabon’s words into the right context. And I think that’s right. She’s kind of comparing apples and oranges. Yes, e-books have fixed costs of production, of the sort she describes. So do paper books. And they share many of the same costs, and (as McFadden notes) since e-book publishing and print publishing are often treated as two separate things instead of one thing with two separate products, they often duplicate those costs.

But what Chabon is talking about when he says they “cost nothing to produce” is the marginalcost. It costs a certain amount of money to run off each paper book, to ship it, to store it, and possibly to ship it back and destroy it. But e-books have such a miniscule production cost per unit—a few watts of electricity, a few kilobytes of bandwidth—that they effectively cost nothing to run off each digital copy. So if we assume that fixed costs are equal, e-books will earn those costs out much faster while not adding any marginal ones.

That doesn’t mean that the work of someone preparing those e-books doesn’t have value. It just means that when you start selling a lot of them, there’s a lot more room to cut price and/or raise royalty payments on the electronic version. Or so the perception goes, at least. There’s still considerable argument over whether that is actually true.