Monday, June 24, 2013
July 1-3
Save the date as it seems this will be the "go live" week for both Finally Home and State of Successess, after being told originally 10-20 days, which would have been today had that been true. Now I've been told 14-20 business days and that they should go live the first week of July. Hopefully, this means before the 4th of July that both books will be available in audio format. This reminds me of the old Heinz Ketchup jingle way back in the day - Anticipation, It's making me wait. I'm anxiously awaiting the books going live just like the people pouring the ketchup were anticipating it falling on the burger. I don't like waiting like this and I don't know what all they have to do to "validate" or as was stated in the second correspondence "complete ingestion." Funny term but I guess I have to keep waiting. See you all in the postings - E :)
Thursday, June 20, 2013
New Kelly Adventure
Monday evening I was chatting with one of my editors, who is busy working on finishing several drafts of projects she has started before she delivers her third child in August, and she was nudging, okay more like nagging me, to write. I tried the nudging part with her before to get her inspired to complete some projects but she tended to shut down and disappear for a while and not write much. I guess I'm kind of the same way. I went to the store Wednesday evening because I had the munchies and ran into a lady whom I met at the laundromat a few months ago and had given her daughter, age 10, a copy of Finally Home and we got to talking and I was told that her daughter really enjoyed it and kept telling her mom that she couldn't put it down until she had finished reading it. So, that inspired me some and got me thinking more on the new story since I had a base for it from chatting with Lana.
So, since the state books are on hold for now and I tried putting the karma out to the kids for new stories for Kelly and Emma and that didn't work too well, I know I need to write something else, either a short story or another Kelly story. I was looking over some story lines from previous winners of kids stories (the kids actually wrote the stories) on Mysterynet.com and some other information about writing mysteries that I had printed off.
One of the pages I had printed off was a "Mystery Story Starter Ideas: DIY Guide for Children and Adults" by Marilisa Sachteleben. One of the prompts is titled "The Book Seller's Enigma" and the prompt reads as: "I hadn't remembered seeing the musty old book shop on that street before, but the old peddler bechoned me. When I returned the next day with my brother, shop and shopkeeper had gone. We asked an old-timer passing by. "That shop?" he declared, "why it ain't been around for 50 years." (Doesn't that just beckon you to write a story about the store, the shopkeeper or the something else mysterious about the contents of the bookstore?)
When I shared that prompt with Lana, before I actually could get the whole prompt typed into the chat window, she said I could write about a mysterious book from the bookstore. I mulled it over a day or so, and have now come up with a second adventure for Kelly. I don't know what I will call it yet, but I've written 2 pages so far and I feel I need to write a couple of pages before I even get to Kelly and Emma's conversation about the bookstore. I feel I almost have to have an istant message between Kelly and Judy, Kelly's long-time, bestest friend who is blind and from whom Kelly had to move when they moved to the small town where she found the house that actually belonged to her father. I will play around with it a bit and see what is working and hopefully I will have a new story soon. When I get a bit further in to the story, I may start sharing some excerpts from the story and may even run a contest for the title of the story. I will keep you all posted as I progress. See you all in the postings - E :)
AFGHAN DRAWING: Don't forget to leave a comment with a valid email to be contacted so that you can be entered in the drawing for the red, white and blue afghan drawing, which will be held around December 1 or so.
So, since the state books are on hold for now and I tried putting the karma out to the kids for new stories for Kelly and Emma and that didn't work too well, I know I need to write something else, either a short story or another Kelly story. I was looking over some story lines from previous winners of kids stories (the kids actually wrote the stories) on Mysterynet.com and some other information about writing mysteries that I had printed off.
One of the pages I had printed off was a "Mystery Story Starter Ideas: DIY Guide for Children and Adults" by Marilisa Sachteleben. One of the prompts is titled "The Book Seller's Enigma" and the prompt reads as: "I hadn't remembered seeing the musty old book shop on that street before, but the old peddler bechoned me. When I returned the next day with my brother, shop and shopkeeper had gone. We asked an old-timer passing by. "That shop?" he declared, "why it ain't been around for 50 years." (Doesn't that just beckon you to write a story about the store, the shopkeeper or the something else mysterious about the contents of the bookstore?)
When I shared that prompt with Lana, before I actually could get the whole prompt typed into the chat window, she said I could write about a mysterious book from the bookstore. I mulled it over a day or so, and have now come up with a second adventure for Kelly. I don't know what I will call it yet, but I've written 2 pages so far and I feel I need to write a couple of pages before I even get to Kelly and Emma's conversation about the bookstore. I feel I almost have to have an istant message between Kelly and Judy, Kelly's long-time, bestest friend who is blind and from whom Kelly had to move when they moved to the small town where she found the house that actually belonged to her father. I will play around with it a bit and see what is working and hopefully I will have a new story soon. When I get a bit further in to the story, I may start sharing some excerpts from the story and may even run a contest for the title of the story. I will keep you all posted as I progress. See you all in the postings - E :)
AFGHAN DRAWING: Don't forget to leave a comment with a valid email to be contacted so that you can be entered in the drawing for the red, white and blue afghan drawing, which will be held around December 1 or so.
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Price Reduction
I just decided to lower the price on all the print books available. State books are now $8.50 across the board (Wilderness, Successes, Heights and Nature) as this is the price I sell them when I do in-person events. Finally Home is now $9.99 and "Train of Clues" has been reduced to $5.99. Hopefully sales will pick up with these price reductions across the board.
I've been thinking about this for a while now because I do generally well at in-person events with these prices and should be able to do well through Amazon with the same prices. See you all in the postings - E :)
I've been thinking about this for a while now because I do generally well at in-person events with these prices and should be able to do well through Amazon with the same prices. See you all in the postings - E :)
Show Don't Tell
I recently finished a book about witches but was puzzled why the author defined things like athame and Book of Shadows instead of describing them. The one thing I did take away from reading the book is that I need to do some research and bring out Kelly's powers more in future stories. I need to know how to do certain things, like how to do Tarot readings and help her use her newfound witch powers for good.
I also decided that instead of saying "show don't tell" for stories, the new saying is "Describe don't Define." As a children's author, we are told to not talk down to the readers and I felt like I was being talked down to by this author when she defined things instead of describing them. I felt like she assumed we were stupid and not knowing of the things associated with witches and that is why she had to define them for us. I think as a reader, I'm typically going to read things that interest me and that I do know something about or that I may be writing about.
I don't read sci-fi because it doesn't interest me; I'm not big on a romance but if there is romance in the story, I'm not turned off by it; I enjoy things like Suspense, Thrillers, Mysteries, some paranormal and children's genres. I'm not into werewolves or vampires but enjoy good ghost stories and some witch stories. If the witch story isn't evil and has an element of what true witches are, I'm okay with it.
As far as showing goes, you want the reader to picture in their mind exactly what you are describing and how you see the object. Witches' athames are different as are their familiars and Book of Shadows. Some witches have psychic powers and some have the ability to read Tarot cards with accuracy. Research what it is you want to use in your stories and describe for your readers but don't talk down to them.
Think of a story you've read recently and if the author has described or defined things throughout. Did you feel talked down to or that you were not knowing of the items in the story? Did the author do a good job of making you see the objects in your mind? Do you read a particular author more than others because they use a lot of description in their writings? Leave a comment with your thoughts on the subject of "Describe don't Define." - See you all in the postings - E :)
I also decided that instead of saying "show don't tell" for stories, the new saying is "Describe don't Define." As a children's author, we are told to not talk down to the readers and I felt like I was being talked down to by this author when she defined things instead of describing them. I felt like she assumed we were stupid and not knowing of the things associated with witches and that is why she had to define them for us. I think as a reader, I'm typically going to read things that interest me and that I do know something about or that I may be writing about.
I don't read sci-fi because it doesn't interest me; I'm not big on a romance but if there is romance in the story, I'm not turned off by it; I enjoy things like Suspense, Thrillers, Mysteries, some paranormal and children's genres. I'm not into werewolves or vampires but enjoy good ghost stories and some witch stories. If the witch story isn't evil and has an element of what true witches are, I'm okay with it.
As far as showing goes, you want the reader to picture in their mind exactly what you are describing and how you see the object. Witches' athames are different as are their familiars and Book of Shadows. Some witches have psychic powers and some have the ability to read Tarot cards with accuracy. Research what it is you want to use in your stories and describe for your readers but don't talk down to them.
Think of a story you've read recently and if the author has described or defined things throughout. Did you feel talked down to or that you were not knowing of the items in the story? Did the author do a good job of making you see the objects in your mind? Do you read a particular author more than others because they use a lot of description in their writings? Leave a comment with your thoughts on the subject of "Describe don't Define." - See you all in the postings - E :)
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Writers On The Move: ACX Update and a n audible.com Tutorial
My latest posting on the ACX process. Stop by, leave a comment and be entered for 2 chances for the crocheted afghan drawing. Comments on this blog and the JGDS blog on all postings between now and the end of June will also receive 2 chances in the drawing. Please remember to leave me an email address so that I can contact you to get more information such as mailing info to send your tickets to as well as if you are the winner the afghan to. Drawing will be around the 1st of December after all events for the year are completed. Comments on the WOTM for today's posting only will be entered in the drawing.
Writers On The Move: ACX Update and a n audible.com Tutorial: The last known activity on both books - State of Successes and Finally Home - was that the books were submitted as finalized by me on June ...
Writers On The Move: ACX Update and a n audible.com Tutorial: The last known activity on both books - State of Successes and Finally Home - was that the books were submitted as finalized by me on June ...
Tuesday, June 04, 2013
Finally Home Audio
I've approved everything, gotten the cover for the audio books and now it is in the hands of ACX to finalize everything. Here is what the audio cover looks like:
I'm trying to figure out how to add the sample audio file so that I can start promoting the audio version, but have yet to figure that out. As soon as I do, the audio file will be on the sidebar of my blog. Once you hear the sample file, how about dropping by Sienna Beckman's website and leaving her a note on what a great job she has done.
Audio books are available through amazon.com, audible.com and itunes. So hopefully within the next day or two this will go live. See you all in the postings - E :)
Friday, May 31, 2013
End-of-School Year Freebie
So here it is the end of the month and summer is upon us, although everyone is saying the beginning of Summer was last weekend. If you haven't picked up your copy of Finally Home for you Kindle yet and would like a copy, this weekend (today, tomorrow and Sunday) you can download a copy for free. If you like Nancy Drew mysteries and would like to try a new story on the lines of a Nancy Drew mystery or know a middle grade/young adult reader who is into mysteries and Nancy Drew, please direct them here for their free copy. Hope you all will get your copy and enjoy the read.
The audio book should be up on amazon, audible,com and through itunes within a week or so. See you all in the postings - E :)
The audio book should be up on amazon, audible,com and through itunes within a week or so. See you all in the postings - E :)
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Carpe Diem (again)
The other night I was watching the Disney Channel (yeah, I know why are you watching the Disney Channel?), and was inspired by a Phineas and Ferb video take. It was about carpe diem. I wish I could remember the words because it was very inspiring but then again that was a late night moment that has passed.
I did take the opportunity to contact National Geographic today and have been referred to several persons but I'm not sure I'm getting to the right person. Time will tell. So Phineas and Ferb, thanks for reminding me to "seize the day" again. I needed it. I can only move upward now that the ball is rolling. See you all in the postings - E :)
UPDATE (05/29/2013): So I was searching the net for the Phineas and Ferb video and found this one although I don't remember seeing the chorus line of dancers at the beginning on the one I saw the other night or Kenny Ortega making an appearance near the end but this is pretty much the video I saw and apparently it is a couple of years old. Hope you all enjoy it and remember to Carpe Diem - seize the day -
Phineas & Ferb Carpe Diem Video
See you all in the postings - E :)
I did take the opportunity to contact National Geographic today and have been referred to several persons but I'm not sure I'm getting to the right person. Time will tell. So Phineas and Ferb, thanks for reminding me to "seize the day" again. I needed it. I can only move upward now that the ball is rolling. See you all in the postings - E :)
UPDATE (05/29/2013): So I was searching the net for the Phineas and Ferb video and found this one although I don't remember seeing the chorus line of dancers at the beginning on the one I saw the other night or Kenny Ortega making an appearance near the end but this is pretty much the video I saw and apparently it is a couple of years old. Hope you all enjoy it and remember to Carpe Diem - seize the day -
Phineas & Ferb Carpe Diem Video
See you all in the postings - E :)
Friday, May 24, 2013
Just Call Me Slack
It has been 3 weeks since my last post and I have no excuse for it other than to say that I have been slack all around. I got a new computer in April and about 2-1/2 weeks later had to return it due to the fact that the scroll on the touchpad didn't work and the system was slow, albeit faster than what is in my dinosaur of a computer now, and apparently had the wrong operating system as nothing really seemed to work like it was supposed to. I did notice there were some Windows 7 files on what was supposed to be a Windows 8 based computer. Even wor tech support guys said the system wasn't operating properly and that I should take it back. Now I'm back on my old laptop again and can't take it with me anywhere due to the monitor being broken at the hinges and the slightest movement causes me to lose my ability to see anything on the screen other than a bunch of lines, meaning I have to hibernate the old thing and then turn it back on to get my screen back.
So slack days should be over and I hope to get back to posting on a more regular basis.
UPDATE ON AUDIO BOOKS: Finally Home has had the once over listen through (and yes, I was very slack when it came to going through the narrations) and I've sent some suggested changes to the narrator. Sienna did a great job for the most part and as stated previously, if I were to pick a person to play Kelly or how I pictured Kelly, she would be the perfect fit.
State of Successes has been completed and I'm waiting on Heather to get the final cover to me to upload that so I can finalize the production of that book. It looks like the state books will be published audio wise before Finally Home but that's okay - all in due time.
I will probably submit the contract to Francene in June to work on State of Wilderness next. August will be State of Heights and September or October will be State of Nature. I'm also looking into a sponsor for the state series to hopefully get them back on track, but more on that when I find a sponsor and the money is flowing in to pay the bills (Heather, printing, et cetera), which will p robably be posted on the JGDS blog when I have updates.
FAMILY NEWS: Youngest son, who is now living with my parents and my oldest son, got his GED and has finally gotten a job, working in the same plant oldest son is but on opposite days (when oldest is working, youngest is off and vice versa). The last I heard was when they get established a bit more they plan on moving out on their own. I don't think it is a good idea due to the fact that my parents' aren't in any condition to really be left taking care of themselves; more or less, my father would have to take care of my mother (she is pretty much in an Alzheimer state) and himself (he has back problems and is having to use a walker to get around and possibly heading to wheelchair or some sort of hoveround craft to get around among many other illnesses). I would prefer that my parents have someone around to help out but who am I to say what the boys will do in the next few months. I guess when I go up there for the High Country Festival of the book next month (June 21 at Watagua High School in Boone, NC) I'll find out everything. Daughter who had moved to West Virginia in November and back home in February finally got a job. She starts next Thursday for training and then goes directly to work at the store she will be working (training is in one town and store she will be working is in our county seat town). So that is the best news for her since she has been without a job since moving back home and has been driving me nuts - constantly on the go and begging her father and me for money all the time; I just hope she will be saving her money and not be on the go as much (working second or third shift, she won't have time to go galavanting all the time).
School is out in Utah and I've not had any classroom visits with them in over a month and I miss them. Taught my POV sessions and then they had state testing and worked on a project for the town and then end of year reviews and studying. I look forward to working with the next group of students in the fall. Just to let teachers and librarians know, I am available for school visits as per my website and I will do virtual classroom visits as well.
Bring on the Summer and hopefully lots of good news to report and more books being published. See you all in the postings - E :)
So slack days should be over and I hope to get back to posting on a more regular basis.
UPDATE ON AUDIO BOOKS: Finally Home has had the once over listen through (and yes, I was very slack when it came to going through the narrations) and I've sent some suggested changes to the narrator. Sienna did a great job for the most part and as stated previously, if I were to pick a person to play Kelly or how I pictured Kelly, she would be the perfect fit.
State of Successes has been completed and I'm waiting on Heather to get the final cover to me to upload that so I can finalize the production of that book. It looks like the state books will be published audio wise before Finally Home but that's okay - all in due time.
I will probably submit the contract to Francene in June to work on State of Wilderness next. August will be State of Heights and September or October will be State of Nature. I'm also looking into a sponsor for the state series to hopefully get them back on track, but more on that when I find a sponsor and the money is flowing in to pay the bills (Heather, printing, et cetera), which will p robably be posted on the JGDS blog when I have updates.
FAMILY NEWS: Youngest son, who is now living with my parents and my oldest son, got his GED and has finally gotten a job, working in the same plant oldest son is but on opposite days (when oldest is working, youngest is off and vice versa). The last I heard was when they get established a bit more they plan on moving out on their own. I don't think it is a good idea due to the fact that my parents' aren't in any condition to really be left taking care of themselves; more or less, my father would have to take care of my mother (she is pretty much in an Alzheimer state) and himself (he has back problems and is having to use a walker to get around and possibly heading to wheelchair or some sort of hoveround craft to get around among many other illnesses). I would prefer that my parents have someone around to help out but who am I to say what the boys will do in the next few months. I guess when I go up there for the High Country Festival of the book next month (June 21 at Watagua High School in Boone, NC) I'll find out everything. Daughter who had moved to West Virginia in November and back home in February finally got a job. She starts next Thursday for training and then goes directly to work at the store she will be working (training is in one town and store she will be working is in our county seat town). So that is the best news for her since she has been without a job since moving back home and has been driving me nuts - constantly on the go and begging her father and me for money all the time; I just hope she will be saving her money and not be on the go as much (working second or third shift, she won't have time to go galavanting all the time).
School is out in Utah and I've not had any classroom visits with them in over a month and I miss them. Taught my POV sessions and then they had state testing and worked on a project for the town and then end of year reviews and studying. I look forward to working with the next group of students in the fall. Just to let teachers and librarians know, I am available for school visits as per my website and I will do virtual classroom visits as well.
Bring on the Summer and hopefully lots of good news to report and more books being published. See you all in the postings - E :)
Wednesday, May 01, 2013
Writing Tips for Young Writers
I subscribe to a homeschooling ezine called clickschooling.com (clickschooling offers links to varioius subjects Monday through Saturday, covering Math, Science, Language Arts, Music and Arts, Foreign Languages, and on Fridays they do a Virtual Field Trip - linking to various plants that show you how things are done or a behind the scenes look at various products and projects - they even had a tour of the Peeps Factory around Easter one time) and just happened to open today's email because the title caught my eye. It says "Tips for Young Writers" and who could resist that, especially when working with kids during writing time in school as well as sharing my writing knowledge (what little I do have - lol) during book events with young persons. So I clicked on the link and it took me to The Blue Zoo Writers website, which is a pretty cool site. There are tips for young writers but other information as well, like how to get published and brainstorming ideas to motivation on writing.
If you are a homeschooler teaching students writing or even a teacher who needs some writing advice, please check out the link and see what wonderful advice you can garner to help in your teaching endeavors. If you are a writer, there is plenty of information there for you as well. I would also suggest signing up for the Blue Zoo Writers' newsletter which can be found on the page as well.
Hope you all can use the information. See you all in the postings - Mrs. E :)
If you are a homeschooler teaching students writing or even a teacher who needs some writing advice, please check out the link and see what wonderful advice you can garner to help in your teaching endeavors. If you are a writer, there is plenty of information there for you as well. I would also suggest signing up for the Blue Zoo Writers' newsletter which can be found on the page as well.
Hope you all can use the information. See you all in the postings - Mrs. E :)
Tuesday, April 09, 2013
Finally Home ACX Update
I was supposed to have my final copy of the audio book of Finally Home last week but Sienna has been having some technical issues. She assured me today it would be to me soon - within the next day or two. Once I get the file, I will go through it to approve or make corrections and send to her. If there are no corrections to be made, then I will approve it and release the audio version as soon as I can. Waiting on the updated cover from Heather as well since there are some changes to be made for ACX so right now things are in limbo.
For the release of the audio book of Finally Home, I'll be offering the ebook for free on Kindle next week, April 15-16. If you haven't already read it or purchased a copy, now is the time to get it for free. Be sure to tell all your friends so they can get their copies.
Also, Anita and I brainstormed a bit after our Sisters in Crime meeting last week about some situations or stories for Kelly and Emma Louise and there are some things brewing, so I may have a few more stories to make them a series. I'll add a tagline of "A Kelly Watson Mystery" to the new titles, and I guess I'll have to go back and eventually add that to Finally Home but right now I'll leave it as is. see you all in thep ostings - E :)
For the release of the audio book of Finally Home, I'll be offering the ebook for free on Kindle next week, April 15-16. If you haven't already read it or purchased a copy, now is the time to get it for free. Be sure to tell all your friends so they can get their copies.
Also, Anita and I brainstormed a bit after our Sisters in Crime meeting last week about some situations or stories for Kelly and Emma Louise and there are some things brewing, so I may have a few more stories to make them a series. I'll add a tagline of "A Kelly Watson Mystery" to the new titles, and I guess I'll have to go back and eventually add that to Finally Home but right now I'll leave it as is. see you all in thep ostings - E :)
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Ideas From a Busy Bee: Recruiting Authors/Illustrators and a Challenge!
Calling authors and illustrators - if you are interested in interviewing with students via the web and/or participating in school visits via the web, please pop over to Busy Bee's blog and fill in the information to be contacted to participate in the CARE day 2013 - hope to see you all there - E :)
Ideas From a Busy Bee: Recruiting Authors/Illustrators and a Challenge!: Last year I moved schools. With every school there are changes and new activities. One of my FAVORITE new things is CARE day! CARE Day yo...
Ideas From a Busy Bee: Recruiting Authors/Illustrators and a Challenge!: Last year I moved schools. With every school there are changes and new activities. One of my FAVORITE new things is CARE day! CARE Day yo...
Thursday, March 14, 2013
What Kind of Pi(e) Day?
Today is PI day and I totally forgot until I received the clickschooling email. So today, eat a piece of pie in honor of PI day. Me, it will probably be a berry cherry pie from Banquet (a small pot pie type thing) but I'm also having a "pizza pie". Go enjoy some PI(e) today - E :)
Monday, March 11, 2013
This and That
I haven't really posted a This and That posting in a while - mostly because I haven't had many sales and I've kind of been doing other things, trying to get my writing back on track.
Imagine my surprise when I was looking at my createspace dashboard, just kind of thinking of how many of each book I needed to order and noticed on my royalty bar at the top that I had some royalties from March. The month is still young but to see 4 books sold off amazon on the same day, something big is coming my way - lol. This was one of each of the four state books I've published. Of course, I wouldn't know if the other two sold or not since the second book is actually out of contract and hasn't been republished yet and the third is still under contract for a couple more months with 4RV and I don't know when books are ordered from amazon. I guess I should check with Vivian to see if there had been an order for Reservations from Amazon or if she is aware of any sales.
I also hope to get some more books written in the near future. I'm anxious to get back to writing the state books. I've got a campaign going on IndieGoGo to try to raise money to pay Heather so that I can get the state stories going again. I'd really like to complete the series. If you are interested in helping fund my campaign, you can find it here and please pass the word on to your friends. Ten days into the campaign and no funds yet. Don't let the number scare you since the campaign is long-term -it will be used to fund the complete series plus allow me to do a few more events in addition to print the books as needed. I do hope that some funds will come in so that I can at least get book 2 republished and work on book 3. Paying Heather is the biggest expense for me to get the books published. I wish I would see thousand print runs for each of the title at a time. That would at least verify me as an author and having a useful tool for classrooms.
Check out the Writers on the Move blog tomorrow for an followup on ACX and my experience. For now, signing off and will see you all in the postings. E :)
Imagine my surprise when I was looking at my createspace dashboard, just kind of thinking of how many of each book I needed to order and noticed on my royalty bar at the top that I had some royalties from March. The month is still young but to see 4 books sold off amazon on the same day, something big is coming my way - lol. This was one of each of the four state books I've published. Of course, I wouldn't know if the other two sold or not since the second book is actually out of contract and hasn't been republished yet and the third is still under contract for a couple more months with 4RV and I don't know when books are ordered from amazon. I guess I should check with Vivian to see if there had been an order for Reservations from Amazon or if she is aware of any sales.
I also hope to get some more books written in the near future. I'm anxious to get back to writing the state books. I've got a campaign going on IndieGoGo to try to raise money to pay Heather so that I can get the state stories going again. I'd really like to complete the series. If you are interested in helping fund my campaign, you can find it here and please pass the word on to your friends. Ten days into the campaign and no funds yet. Don't let the number scare you since the campaign is long-term -it will be used to fund the complete series plus allow me to do a few more events in addition to print the books as needed. I do hope that some funds will come in so that I can at least get book 2 republished and work on book 3. Paying Heather is the biggest expense for me to get the books published. I wish I would see thousand print runs for each of the title at a time. That would at least verify me as an author and having a useful tool for classrooms.
Check out the Writers on the Move blog tomorrow for an followup on ACX and my experience. For now, signing off and will see you all in the postings. E :)
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Audio Books and KDP Select
I'm in the process of having Finally Home narrated as an audio book. I contracted Sienna Beckman as my narrator; the minute I heard her sample narrations, I felt connected and hoped she would be one of the ones who auditioned and would be able to do the book justice. Looking at her pictures, she almost looks like what I had pictured in my mind of what Kelly looks like, so I think definitely a good fit. I'm supposed to have the final version around the 2nd of April. I've already received the first 15 minutes, which turned out to be about 11 minutes' worth of narration and covered the first two chapters. I've listened and made notes following the manuscript that I sent the narrator and sent her a message with all my notations. I don't mind if she's not exact word for word but there are some places where she changed the wording slightly and it actually changed the context of the sentence. Sienna also has a podcast via her twitter
Once I get the full narrated copy, then it is back to listening, but I'm sure that will be a several day process as the final version is supposed to be roughly 6 hours' worth of narration, and making notes and hoping that there won't be anything major and can be fixed quickly. The process of going from print book or ebook to audio book reminds me a lot of that old Heinz Catsup commercial - "Anticipation - it's keeping me waiting" - I know if I want it done right I have to sit on my hands and wait it out.
In honor of going audio, I've taken Finally Home off Smashwords and Nook and placed it in the KDP Select program and have set up my first free day promotions in honor of tax day - April 15 and 16. I've also set up the second free days, May 31 through June 2. Hopefully this will help get the word out about the audio version of the book and that will lead to more sales.
See you all in the postings - E :)
Once I get the full narrated copy, then it is back to listening, but I'm sure that will be a several day process as the final version is supposed to be roughly 6 hours' worth of narration, and making notes and hoping that there won't be anything major and can be fixed quickly. The process of going from print book or ebook to audio book reminds me a lot of that old Heinz Catsup commercial - "Anticipation - it's keeping me waiting" - I know if I want it done right I have to sit on my hands and wait it out.
In honor of going audio, I've taken Finally Home off Smashwords and Nook and placed it in the KDP Select program and have set up my first free day promotions in honor of tax day - April 15 and 16. I've also set up the second free days, May 31 through June 2. Hopefully this will help get the word out about the audio version of the book and that will lead to more sales.
See you all in the postings - E :)
Friday, March 08, 2013
SinC Meeting Guest Speaker
We had our monthly Sisters in Crime meeting last night and I felt so wanted and popular when I walked in the door. First, I had to make my usual greeting to Barbara Williams who has been spurring me on with Words With Friends games - we've been pretty good about having a new game going about once a week or so. I also chatted with our guest speaker, Chris Roerden, who remembered me from my volunteer time at the SC Book Festival eons ago, and who said that she didn't have my email address or she would have kept in touch. We talked about what I've done since the volunteer time. While I was talking with Chris, Tony came in and asked if I had a minute to answer some questions. I finally got my stuff put at my seat and was going to chat with my good friend, Faye Tollison, trying to get her to listen to the auditions for the audio book as well as some of the first 15 minutes but the sound on the tablet was very low so that didn't work. On my way around the tables to chat with Faye, Chris introduced me to her tour manager, Pat Meller, and was talking about my state series. At the mention of children's books, Pat immediately asked for contact information and said she would come over to my seat and get the information when I was finished chatting with Faye. She asked me what I was doing to get the books in schools and at the moment I'm not really in the schools which is where I want to be; she also mentioned that her niece was a "literacy coach" in Northern Alabama and so she was interested in getting the information so that she could pass it on to her niece. When we were leaving, everyone tried to get me to talk again - Tony, Phoebe, and Pat - unfortunately, I was riding with Anita and we had to pick her DIL up from the airport. So I do apologize to those who needed my wisdom - lol - for not sticking around and chatting.
The topic of discussion was voice and some other things crept in there including some questions about POV. It was interesting that the these two topics came up in conjunction with each other as the past week and a half, I've been teaching POV to Mr. Hughes' 6th graders. I'm glad I didn't get to go to the SCASL conference, although I really would have loved to have been there since that is right into getting my books in the schools, but Chris's presentation was worth it. She gave me some new writing related thoughts to share with the class. I can't wait for Monday's class session to share a bit of what I learned last night.
If you are interested in having Chris speak to your group or hearing one of her presentations, click here to see what she has to offer and where she will be; you never know when she will be in yourr neck of the woods.
Off topic - Last Saturday was the spelling bee at our local county library and Tuesday when I was just looking at my createspace dashboard trying to figure out what I needed to order and when I noticed my royalty bar showing over $15 in royalties for March. I was surprised since I haven't had very many amazon sales or other online sales since going the route of self-publishing. I think I've had maybe 6 books total in 2+ years sold through amazon or createspace's expanded distribution and Monday, someone ordered one of each of the four state books from amazon, which was like the moset in one sitting from a not in-person sale. So who knows - maybe this will be the year I start gaining some attention with my books. We shall see - for now, see you in the postings - E :)
The topic of discussion was voice and some other things crept in there including some questions about POV. It was interesting that the these two topics came up in conjunction with each other as the past week and a half, I've been teaching POV to Mr. Hughes' 6th graders. I'm glad I didn't get to go to the SCASL conference, although I really would have loved to have been there since that is right into getting my books in the schools, but Chris's presentation was worth it. She gave me some new writing related thoughts to share with the class. I can't wait for Monday's class session to share a bit of what I learned last night.
If you are interested in having Chris speak to your group or hearing one of her presentations, click here to see what she has to offer and where she will be; you never know when she will be in yourr neck of the woods.
Off topic - Last Saturday was the spelling bee at our local county library and Tuesday when I was just looking at my createspace dashboard trying to figure out what I needed to order and when I noticed my royalty bar showing over $15 in royalties for March. I was surprised since I haven't had very many amazon sales or other online sales since going the route of self-publishing. I think I've had maybe 6 books total in 2+ years sold through amazon or createspace's expanded distribution and Monday, someone ordered one of each of the four state books from amazon, which was like the moset in one sitting from a not in-person sale. So who knows - maybe this will be the year I start gaining some attention with my books. We shall see - for now, see you in the postings - E :)
Saturday, March 02, 2013
Fairy May Review/Spotlight
SUMMARY: Fairy May dreams of one day becoming a tooth fairy but she struggles at school and always seems to get things wrong. With hard work and determination she prepares for her test. Will she realise her dream and become a tooth fairy?
Release Date: 1st February 2013
Product details:
Paperback: 32 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1481951424
ISBN-13: 978-1481951425
Product Dimensions: 10 x 8 x 0.1 inches
Purchasing links:
Amazon
Createspace
Video Trailer:
Fairy May trailer
Jo's Inspiration for writing this book: This book is dedicated to my niece who, after seeing that my last book Out and About at the Zoo was dedicated to my two sons, asked if I'd write a book for her too.
It needed to have fairies in it and so I brainstormed on ideas and came up with Fairy May. I wanted her to be a little girl fairy and to show that it's OK to not be perfect. I wanted young children to be able to relate to her and to encourage them to go after their dreams.
The tooth fairy part came about because several of my 5 year old's friends have recently lost their first tooth and he has been full of questions on the subject. My 17 month old is also teething at the moment and so the topic of dental hygiene comes up a lot in our house at the moment.
My Review: This book teaches children that if they have the desire and perseverance, they can achieve anything. Don't give up on your hopes and dreams just because you seem to fail at first, keep on trying and work hard and you will see your dreams come true.
In Fairy May, we follow the little fairy who dreams of becoming a tooth fairy through her hard work and practice to becoming the best tooth fairy she can be. Fairy May is a bit discouraged because she feels the teacher of the class doesn't like her but she perseveres and eventually that pays off. The illustrations are colorful and just right for following our fairy around. We see the teacher; we see Fairy May's disappointments and mess ups; and we eventually see Fairy May's achievements.
If you are looking for a book on perseverance and hard work to help your children achieve their dreams, I would recommend Fairy May as a book to get started.
About the Author: Jo Linsdell is a best selling author and illustrator, award winning blogger and freelance writer. Originally from the UK, she now lives in Rome, Italy with her husband and their two young sons.
Jo is busy with several projects at the moment. "The Bedtime Book" which is another rhyming children's picture book. "The Writers and Authors Guide to Social Media" and "Virtual Book Tours" which are two non-fiction books.
Where to find Jo Linsdell on the web:
Website
email: webmaster@jolinsdell.com
Google +
YouTube
Goodreads
Amazon
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Geofest February Style
I forgot to post that I was heading to Columbia for Geofest, having missed the last 3 sessions due to lack of funds and no new books out. Anyway, I had a successful day today - sold 3 books and 19 bookworms so that is the plus side of going down to Columbia today. Apparently, I am the only book vendor attending this event now as there aren't even any book distributors left to be vendors anymore. The downside was the weather. When I left the house this morning, it was raining, not hard but just enough to run the intermittent wiper speed until I got out of town. I hit the highway and the rain was steady but not heavy again. I got right outisde of Columbia and had a little heavier rain and then it stopped right as I pulled on Huger Street going to the college part where the event is held. I got the van unloaded and I think it started raining again but I was inside and didn't pay it much attention. The folks with the maps said they came from Clemson/Seneca area and it was snowing when they left their area. I heard someone who came from the Spartanburg area also say it was snowing. Now, Seneca and Spartanburg are on opposite sides of the arch of the upstate. The lady with the maps said they had heavy rain by time they got to Laurens, which I have to go through to get to the highway. I didn't see any snow this morning. Boy, did I see snow this afternoon.
I managed to get the van loaded and stopped to pick up something to bring back for dinner, although supper didn't make it to the house because it was smelling so yummy that I just had to dig in. I wasn't really that hungry until I smelled the wings, and no worries about eating wings while driving - I ordered boneless wings and was 2-finger eating. They were so good. It did start raining about the time I was pulling out of town, so I didn't really start eating the wings until I was on the highway and was able to have a clear path. Then the rain/snow started and then it stopped, then some rain, then some snow/rain, a little bit of sleet, and then more slushy rain/snow. By time I got about halfway home on the highway, most of the major wet weather had stopped for the most part. There were no incidents on the highway (thank goodness) and the traffic wasn't too bad, so once I got through all the slushy stuff it was pretty much home free.
I got off the highway to come through Laurens, and lo and behold, there was snow on the ground. Nothing falling from the sky but there was enough dusting of the white stuff to knowi t had snowed in the area but not all the town had snow; I'd say perhaps the first 3 or 4 miles into the town off the highway had snow on the ground. I have to travel to the other side of Laurens to get to the road that heads to my house. I also have to go through two other small towns - Hickory Tavern and Princeton (which is really not a town but they do have some houses, two gas stations and a motel there) - to get back to my town. I got right into Hickory Tavern and guess what, more snow on the ground like in Laurens but it wasn't anything major - spots of dust covering and a few places where it had settled in a little hills, probably on something like a pile of leaves or some such.
I did see a beautiful sunset by time I hit the road to my house. So what started out as a yucky weather wise day ended up with a gorgeous sunset. The sky and clouds were all pink and purple and pretty. I should have pulled over to take pictures but I was really at the end of my day and tired so just came straight home.
So how was your day? Hope it was a good one - see you all in the postings - E :)
I managed to get the van loaded and stopped to pick up something to bring back for dinner, although supper didn't make it to the house because it was smelling so yummy that I just had to dig in. I wasn't really that hungry until I smelled the wings, and no worries about eating wings while driving - I ordered boneless wings and was 2-finger eating. They were so good. It did start raining about the time I was pulling out of town, so I didn't really start eating the wings until I was on the highway and was able to have a clear path. Then the rain/snow started and then it stopped, then some rain, then some snow/rain, a little bit of sleet, and then more slushy rain/snow. By time I got about halfway home on the highway, most of the major wet weather had stopped for the most part. There were no incidents on the highway (thank goodness) and the traffic wasn't too bad, so once I got through all the slushy stuff it was pretty much home free.
I got off the highway to come through Laurens, and lo and behold, there was snow on the ground. Nothing falling from the sky but there was enough dusting of the white stuff to knowi t had snowed in the area but not all the town had snow; I'd say perhaps the first 3 or 4 miles into the town off the highway had snow on the ground. I have to travel to the other side of Laurens to get to the road that heads to my house. I also have to go through two other small towns - Hickory Tavern and Princeton (which is really not a town but they do have some houses, two gas stations and a motel there) - to get back to my town. I got right into Hickory Tavern and guess what, more snow on the ground like in Laurens but it wasn't anything major - spots of dust covering and a few places where it had settled in a little hills, probably on something like a pile of leaves or some such.
I did see a beautiful sunset by time I hit the road to my house. So what started out as a yucky weather wise day ended up with a gorgeous sunset. The sky and clouds were all pink and purple and pretty. I should have pulled over to take pictures but I was really at the end of my day and tired so just came straight home.
So how was your day? Hope it was a good one - see you all in the postings - E :)
Monday, February 04, 2013
An Educator's Life: Tool #2- Part D- Vigorous Verbs
The next lesson in Mr. Hughes' teaching poetry unit - full of wonderful mentor texts and great poems. I love how he has the kids do a related activity the day that they are studying whatever it is they are studying. I was actually present for this class session and that Turkey poem he read was hilarious and had the whole class laughing. I highly suggest you at least sign up to get Mr. Hughes' postings via email so you can be kept up to date on his teachings of different units. He either has this week and next week left in the poetry unit and then we are moving on to POV, which will be my time to do some teaching and I'm going to have to figure out how to talk to all three classes about this topic but it will all work out. Stop over and share some comment love and let Mr. Hughes know what a great job he is doing teaching this unit and whether his ideas have been helpful to you in your teaching endeavors. Mrs. E :)
An Educator's Life: Tool #2- Part D- Vigorous Verbs: Welcome back to Post #5 in my Journey into Poetry Land series. To read all the posts in the this series, click HERE to see all the posts f...
An Educator's Life: Tool #2- Part D- Vigorous Verbs: Welcome back to Post #5 in my Journey into Poetry Land series. To read all the posts in the this series, click HERE to see all the posts f...
Friday, February 01, 2013
An Educator's Life: Poetry Tool #2- Part C Alliteration
Here is the next posting in Mr. Hughes' teaching poetry. I really encourage all of you who teach writing to your students to check out his blog postings as well as follow his blogs. He is very good and I've learned a lot from working with him over the past 4 or 5 school years (2008-2009; 2009-2010; 2010-2011; 2011-2012; and the current one 2012-2013). I'm also gathering my resource books so that I have an arsenal to do a writing workshop - geared to parents and teachers, still incorporating my state series. See you all in the postings - Mrs. E :)
An Educator's Life: Poetry Tool #2- Part C Alliteration: Greetings! It has been FAR too long since I have posted on my poetry lessons, and now I am two weeks behind in posts. So I will try my be...
An Educator's Life: Poetry Tool #2- Part C Alliteration: Greetings! It has been FAR too long since I have posted on my poetry lessons, and now I am two weeks behind in posts. So I will try my be...
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