Okay, so Goodreads had some sort of e-mail glitch (according to them) and since they couldn't e-mail me a confirmation, my Giveaway for The Inconvenient Widow (an inspirational historical romance) didn't go live until a few days ago. I kept changing the "end date" to reflect the not getting posted, but they posted it when there were only a few days left.
So, I am drawing your attention to it - just click the link above to enter. Goodreads picks the winners and I send them the book, but I have to agree to a very strict contract that prohibits me from doing anything with that information except that.
I want this giveaway to end before I tell you my opinion on these. Then I will have two under my belt and I can better give you a rounded opinion.
Friday, May 30, 2014
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Balancing Self-publishing and Freelancing
Whether you are interested in self-publishing or whether you are interested in freelancing, both require a lot of work and a lot of promotion/marketing. For me, freelancing is my income. When I cut off my freelancing work, as I have done for the past month and a half, I make no money. Yes, I have begun to sell some of the books I have been self-publishing, but they are no where near the level of sales I need to give up freelancing. For me, freelancing is much easier than trying to promote my self-published books by myself.
Self-publishing also costs money - lots of money in the beginning that you might not have unless you are independently wealthy. So, I work as a freelancer and then watch all my money drizzle into my self-publishing efforts.
I spend money on editors, translators, and book cover artists. I spend money buying books to give away on Goodreads and to friends and family members. I am constantly seeking people who will review my books on Amazon, but I haven't discovered the legal way of finding them yet. All this takes time - a lot of time that I could be making money freelancing.
So, I have spent most of the last month self-publishing. I wish I could jump back into freelancing, but I still have some obstacles to sort through first. Primarily, I have to finish Johnny 5's rewrite (which is technically a freelance job, but one that has been on my plate too long). Actually, two of the early books I wrote for him have been published and they have many favorable Amazon reviews... maybe I should ask him how he does it.
Self-publishing also costs money - lots of money in the beginning that you might not have unless you are independently wealthy. So, I work as a freelancer and then watch all my money drizzle into my self-publishing efforts.
I spend money on editors, translators, and book cover artists. I spend money buying books to give away on Goodreads and to friends and family members. I am constantly seeking people who will review my books on Amazon, but I haven't discovered the legal way of finding them yet. All this takes time - a lot of time that I could be making money freelancing.
So, I have spent most of the last month self-publishing. I wish I could jump back into freelancing, but I still have some obstacles to sort through first. Primarily, I have to finish Johnny 5's rewrite (which is technically a freelance job, but one that has been on my plate too long). Actually, two of the early books I wrote for him have been published and they have many favorable Amazon reviews... maybe I should ask him how he does it.
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Getting a hardcover on Createspace.
*PLEASE NOTE: CreateSpace no longer offers this feature.
Several weeks ago, I posted about how to start the process of turning one of your paperbacks into a hardcover on Createspace. The person I spoke with told me this process would take about 10 business days once I had paid and set everything up. He was wrong.
The process of turning your paperback into a hardcover takes more than a month from the time you paid. To review:
1. You contact CS (Createspace) customer service through the message screen on your account and tell them you would like to turn your book into a hardcover.
2. The will e-mail you within 2 business days and ask you some preliminary questions. Right now, you can get laminate or hardcover with dust jacket options. I chose the dust jacket, but this costs $2 more per book when you order them. If you ask any questions, expect a response time of 2 business days. Also, you can speed the process by knowing which book (have the title and CS id number that you see next to it on your dashboard) and which binding and telling the person this information up front.
3. In 1 - 3 days, you will get a notification saying the item is in your cart. You must click on the cart tab to access your cart and pay for it. (At the time, this service cost me $99.)
4. In another 1 - 3 days, you will see the item appear on your dashboard. Instead of the usual CS book icon, this one will have an icon that is a little different in front of it. Click on this and answer the questions (some of the information will be asking you again what binding you want).
5. Wait. When you finish with the questions, it will say that CS is processing the information and will let you know when the next step is needed. There is no next step, so this seems kind of strange.
6. In about 4 - 6 weeks, the hardcover will be available for you to order. WARNING: There is no proof step. There is also NO WAY to change the files when you finish. Unlike the paperback titles on your dashboard, when you click on a hardcover title you will be taken to a "dummy" screen that will have none of the adjustment options you see with paperbacks. Make sure your paperback is immaculate BEFORE you take this plunge. We just put out The Corruption (hence my silence for a few weeks), and we will be offering that in hardcover soon, but not until we are sure most of the bugs (read typos) are well out of it.
I am attaching some pictures to show you that my hardcover came out just as nice as my paperback. I was very impressed. The pages of the hardcover are a little thicker and are glossy white. CS does a much better job with its POD hardcovers than Staples (although Staples will get them to you faster).
The downside is that you can only order the hardcovers yourself. They will not be on CS or Amazon, so you need to either have an outlet (someone you can sell them to out of your home) or you need to have a website like ours where people can buy items directly from you. In some ways, this is good because you don't have to set unreasonably high and non-competitive prices, which CS would invariably make you do if you marketed through them. However, at the same time, it is bad because you do not get the exposure for your hardcover.
Several weeks ago, I posted about how to start the process of turning one of your paperbacks into a hardcover on Createspace. The person I spoke with told me this process would take about 10 business days once I had paid and set everything up. He was wrong.
The process of turning your paperback into a hardcover takes more than a month from the time you paid. To review:
1. You contact CS (Createspace) customer service through the message screen on your account and tell them you would like to turn your book into a hardcover.
2. The will e-mail you within 2 business days and ask you some preliminary questions. Right now, you can get laminate or hardcover with dust jacket options. I chose the dust jacket, but this costs $2 more per book when you order them. If you ask any questions, expect a response time of 2 business days. Also, you can speed the process by knowing which book (have the title and CS id number that you see next to it on your dashboard) and which binding and telling the person this information up front.
3. In 1 - 3 days, you will get a notification saying the item is in your cart. You must click on the cart tab to access your cart and pay for it. (At the time, this service cost me $99.)
4. In another 1 - 3 days, you will see the item appear on your dashboard. Instead of the usual CS book icon, this one will have an icon that is a little different in front of it. Click on this and answer the questions (some of the information will be asking you again what binding you want).
6. In about 4 - 6 weeks, the hardcover will be available for you to order. WARNING: There is no proof step. There is also NO WAY to change the files when you finish. Unlike the paperback titles on your dashboard, when you click on a hardcover title you will be taken to a "dummy" screen that will have none of the adjustment options you see with paperbacks. Make sure your paperback is immaculate BEFORE you take this plunge. We just put out The Corruption (hence my silence for a few weeks), and we will be offering that in hardcover soon, but not until we are sure most of the bugs (read typos) are well out of it.
I am attaching some pictures to show you that my hardcover came out just as nice as my paperback. I was very impressed. The pages of the hardcover are a little thicker and are glossy white. CS does a much better job with its POD hardcovers than Staples (although Staples will get them to you faster).
(I had to choose white pages when I set up my paperback because it is a color children's book. Since The Corruption is going to be done on cream paper, I will give you an update how that comes out - probably next year.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)