A PLACE TO SHARE AND/OR PROMOTE BOOKS - SEE WHAT'S OUT THERE
Kindle
There's a lot of buzz going on about Amazon's new Kindle book-reading device. Although the cost is prohibitive for most of us right now (okay, at least for me), I think it has a tremendous potential for the future. Everyone seems to like everytihing about it except the price which one might hope would come down (one might be wrong)..
I have two publishers...ten books of my Dick Harrdesty mystery series with one, two books with the other--the eleventh in the DH series, and a western/romance/adventure. I'm not sure exactly what is involved in how Amazon selects the books it makes available through Kindle, but I think it behooves every writer to contact his or her publisher and find out. Both titles under my second publisher--The Dream Ender and Calico are there, but not those from the publisher of the first 10. I've written to ask why.
And once a writer sees his/her books offered by Kindle, it is in his or her self interest and possible great advantage to urge people to take a look at KIndle as a viable alternative to paper books. (I note Kindle makes much of the claim of its "like paper" qualities. Not sure what that means, but definitely shows they are aware of a major reason people haven't been buying hand-held e-book readers.
The cost of books through Kindle is also considerably less than paper bound: my two books are listed at $6.99 and I"ve seen others from better known authors at $9.99.
It's a matter of back scratching: we scratch Kindle's back, they indireclty will scratch ours.
Best to all,
Dorien
I have two publishers...ten books of my Dick Harrdesty mystery series with one, two books with the other--the eleventh in the DH series, and a western/romance/adventure. I'm not sure exactly what is involved in how Amazon selects the books it makes available through Kindle, but I think it behooves every writer to contact his or her publisher and find out. Both titles under my second publisher--The Dream Ender and Calico are there, but not those from the publisher of the first 10. I've written to ask why.
And once a writer sees his/her books offered by Kindle, it is in his or her self interest and possible great advantage to urge people to take a look at KIndle as a viable alternative to paper books. (I note Kindle makes much of the claim of its "like paper" qualities. Not sure what that means, but definitely shows they are aware of a major reason people haven't been buying hand-held e-book readers.
The cost of books through Kindle is also considerably less than paper bound: my two books are listed at $6.99 and I"ve seen others from better known authors at $9.99.
It's a matter of back scratching: we scratch Kindle's back, they indireclty will scratch ours.
Best to all,
Dorien
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by J L Wilson on -
I got a Kindle as a Christmas present, and I have to say, it has a WOW factor. And it's great for immediate gratification ... I was sitting on the couch and thought, "I wonder if so-and-so has a new book out?" I picked up the Kindle, connected to Amazon's site, and was reading the book a few minutes later.
And as an author, there's nothing like seeing my book on that Kindle list -- yea! I believe it's a publisher decision as much as an Amazon decision which books are available. I'm with two publishers (both small press) and one has my books on Kindle, one doesn't. Of course, just about any book can be put 'on' a Kindle as long as it's downloadable as PDF or HTML: you can run it through a converter program and have it wirelessly sent to the device.
I seldom buy fiction in paper anymore, but use one of my e-devices (I have an Ebookwise, a REB 1200, and use my Palm for e-reading). The Kindle is great, but it has some drawbacks (poor battery life, not backlit). But the screen resolution is amazing, and the 'page' experience is exceptional. I do believe it's the future of e-reading.
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Permalink Reply by Jon F. Baxley on
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Hello Dorien:
I'm a Gale/Cengage fantasy author. Like you, I recently became a part of the Kindle content arena on Amazon. I thought I might offer the BookPlace readers a bit of real world perspective on uploading and content questions. I've also posted elsewhere on BP about this experience, should any of you want a more detailed discussion.
The first thing we had to do was remove the maps from my books. Fortunately they were there for color and not required for the flow of the story. We tried several methods that Amazon offers for uploading and found that straight HTML was the most effective and least likely to have glitches in the finished product. Imbedded imagery of any kind, though, is a problem for uploading unless you're an HTML whiz.
None of the upload process (from my experience) was an Amazon function. Authors and/or their publishers are responsible for uploading and how the content ultimately ends up being displayed in Kindle format. I suppose if you're John Grisham or Tom Clancy, Amazon might do the digital content work for you but by and large, they leave that up to the publishers.
If you're an author, don't let the upload process intimidate you. Yes, it's time consuming, but becoming part of the Kindle world is a great step in showing your work to a whole new audience. To that, I can attest firsthand. The sales of Blackgloom in Kindle format have surprised me and the publisher both.
Jon Baxley
THE BLACKGLOOM BOUNTY (hardcover and Kindle format)
THE REGENTS OF RHUM (fall '08)
THE SCIONS OF SCOTIA (summer '09)
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Slides, Anyone?
I added a few slides of my books to my blogspot. I'm not sure yet if they should stay on or not.Do you have more trouble loading my blogspot with the slides up? Do you like them or are they too distracting?
A Christmas Tree Already
On the way home from work yesterday, I passed a house that already had a lighted and decorated Christmas tree up and showing by the window.Is it not too soon for that? In my mind, the day after Thanksgiving is when the Christmas Season starts. That's when it's fair game to put up a tree and decorations and start shopping. The way things are going this year, I'll be lucky if I get organized enough to decorate a few days before Christmas.
With our dog, Rascal, who lives up to her name, we'll probably go with a fiber optic small tree on top of an end table. One of these days I may pull put the larger tree from the box in the basement and set it up, but not until our doggy is a little more sedate. I don't feel like chasing her to get ornaments out of her mouth. I will be putting up knick knacks, lights inside and decorations on the walls, so it will still look Christmasy. No lights outside because for some reason we have no outlets outside.
While we're on the subject of Christmas trees and such, be sure to add holidays in your books. You can mention decorations and lights or Easter eggs and baskets, or even mattress sales in your descriptions to ground the reader as to the season.
Now, back to that tree I saw. What about you? When do you decorate for Christmas? What do you put up?
Winners and Losers at the CMAs and Life
I love country music and almost every country performer. While watching the CMAs, I enjoyed seeing the winners accept their awards. On the other hand, it was hard for me to see the losers do their best to appear gracious and for the most part succeeding.For every winner, there's a loser. In life and in books, it's the same way. How people react to their good and bad fortune shows what their characters are made of. You don't have to tell a reader who the good guy or bad guy is. Let their actions speak for themselves. The readers are smart enough to figure it out.
PS Can't finish this blog without saying - You Rock, Taylor Swift! You are one smart, talented teenager! Congrats on all your awards, especially, Entertainer of the Year!!!
CMA Awards Tonight and Twitter
One of my favorite shows is on tonight - the CMA Awards. If you're a country music fan, you're probably like me and will be glued to the TV 8pm EST, or in my case 7pm, in the flatlands of Illinois.Almost all my favorite performers will be there, except I hear that Rascal Flatts can't make it.
I'll be on Twitter during the show also. That's part of the fun of it - discussing and dissecting outfits, performers, songs and even commercials, kind of like I'm at a giant party with people who all go for the same thing and want to share.
What about you? What kind of music do you like? Do you tweet during a favorite show or event?
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