Self-Publishing With Amazon's Booksurge Or Else!

Well well well. Amazon's selling policies may be getting quite interesting. It appears that they have "notified publishers who print books on demand that they will have to use its on-demand printing facilities if they want their books directly sold on Amazon's Web site". That's a direct quote from The Wall Street Journal and several other credible news sources.

This reminds me of the video rental industry. Blockbuster's exclusive deal with the Weinstein company shut out, or tried to, independent video store retailers from renting Weinstein DVD's. It didn't work but monopolies do exist in business.



Looks like Amazon's throwing their muscle and threatening POD (print on demand) publishers. Some observers feel Amazon is targeting subsidy publishers. It could be as that's a very lucrative business. (Personally, I feel subsidy press is a big rip-off for most publishers but I guess it has its place in the publishing world.)Anyway, I'm getting off topic.

It is true that BookSurge does not offer distribution through any channel other
than Amazon.com. That's pretty limiting. It looks like Amazon's new business model is simple: Print your POD books with Booksurge if you want them to be sold by Amazon on Amazon.com. If you have another POD source, Amazon will not sell your book.

It'll be interesting to see if this works for Amazon. I bet not but time will tell.

Take care.

Calling All Adirondack Authors!

In celebration of the Town of Indian Lake’s sesquicentennial (hey, you try to spell it!), the Indian Lake Library will be hosting an Adirondack Author’s night on July 30 at 7PM. All local Authors are invited! If you are interested, please contact the Library Director, nberkowitz@sals.edu

You can also sign up here: http://indianlakelibrary.wordpress.com/2008/03/22/calling-all-authors/

Have you been to Indian Lake? It's beautiful. I visited several times last year while peddling my book, Adirondack Nightmare: A Spooky Tale in the North Country. Indian Lake is near Blue Mountain Lake and Sabael, a gorgeous spot in the heart of the Adirondacks.

Book signings are kind of fun. I've been to quite a few and can say that it depends on where you are sitting, the weather and the amount of press the signings get. I won't be doing as many as I did last year but I will probably do a few just to keep in touch with my fellow Adirondack author buddies. I've sold from one book to 30+ at a signing.

I don't know if I'll go to this one or not, I can't seem to decide...



Take care.

Writing For Children

I'm reading another book called Writing For Children by Catherine Woolley (who is also Jane Thayer). It's a thought-provoking, 167- page book with a bibliography and an index. It goes into great detail about characterization, conflict and setting. I took a look at my book and asked myself, "What is my main conflict?". I realized I had several and would have to rework a few places to make one of the conflicts the main one.

The author also does a wonderful job of reminding us to to keep in mind the perspective of the child. I have difficulty with this when I'm on a roll. This book helped to keep me on track. I like that the author suggests humor in children's books as I agree. I'm finding that my humor can be a bit sarcastic, especially between siblings, and I don't care for that style. I'm trying to correct it.

The author is adamant about, "you cannot hope to become a first-rate, recognized juvenile author unless you possess some sense of world history and literary history." She goes on to explain that she doesn't mean all writing should be of historical events (unless you want to). She means a writer should be an educated person if books written for children are to have substance. I'm still out about this one. Of course, I've written one small, regional children's book. What do I know?

Take care.

First Person vs. Third Person With Reggie's Ghost

Well, I've overcome another huge roadblock and am now in the process of rewriting the whole first seven chapters. Sigh.

I'm used to writing in third person. I like that it suits any age and I'm able to sneak in more information about the characters that way. This book has to be written in first person. Reggie has to tell her story in her own words. She's too strong and independent to have someone else tell it for her.

This means I am using some new writing muscles. I have to write better. I have to be able to have Reggie tell her point of view and do this consistently.

The prologue has been rewritten and checked out by Nick, Amanda and Jim. A thumbs up times three. It's time to move on.

Title pages are drafted and the book cover designer will get some materials this week. With a down payment, of course. Grin.



Life marches on. Take care.

I'm Starting From Scratch

Okay, now that I've had a rest (yeah, right) I've decided to start over with Reggie's Ghost. I had a prologue written and asked two kids to read it.

They both said it was sad, so sad. I asked them if they would want to finish
reading the book after reading the prologue and one of them said, "Well, does
it have a happy ending? I might want to if it has a happy ending."

I'm rewriting the prologue. I'm creating more intimate and detailed character
sketches and I am slowing down. I need to learn to stop imposing impossible deadlines on myself which I've created. Sometimes I'm a friggin' bonehead. I do this over and over and over again. Pavlov's dog here. Bark.



But no more Pavlov's dog for me! I'm changing my ways! I've listened to The Secret audiobook and watched the DVD! Over and over and over again...LOL!

Take care.

An Author's Threat - Be Warned

As I'm slowly destroying every last brain cell I have with my NaNoWriMo project, I want to warn everyone out there...



...be nice to me or I'll put you in my next novel!

Take care.

Suicide is Painful - Writing Will Go On

I sit here, after a sleepless night, wondering if I should post this on my blog. For some reason, something is telling me to do it, to get it off my chest and to move on. I've had a hard week. About a week ago I received two phone calls on the same day: 1)My first cousin had died and; 2)A great friend since high school (he was my junior prom date and he introduced me to my current husband of 18 years) committed suicide. He lived near Schenectady, New York and his funeral was yesterday. I will miss him forever, he was such a funny, kind person. My cousin has been cremated and we will come together as a family in the spring. Enough said. I think I do feel better.

This past week I was in a fog, trying hard to keep up with my regular job. My housework wasn't so great, well, it never usually is, but it was even worse than usual. I don't remember what I made for dinners. I know one night I used the crock pot, what a great cooking tool that is. Friday we ordered pizza. The kids are still doing well which is what matters most to me anyway.

Another thing that begain on November 1st was/is my involvement with NaNoWriMo. I joined earlier in the year when things weren't quite so hectic. NaNoWriMo is the abbreviation for National Novel Writing Month. Here, I'm going to take this directly from Wikipedia:

"NaNoWriMo is a creative writing project originating in the United States in which each participant attempts to write a 50,000 word novel in a single month. Despite the name, the project is now international in scope. Nearly 80,000 participants registered in 2006, with almost 13,000 winners verifying their novels as meeting the goal. The cumulative word total for all participants in 2006 was 982,564,701."

It boils down to 1667 words per day. I'm okay up to now as I've got 5018 words in. No plot, some characters, and it's my first attempt at writing a teen chick lit book. Piece of cake. Yeah, write. I'll keep typing away and see what comes up. It helps to avoid contractions as that adds to the word count, LOL.

I'd like to finish Chapter 7 and 8 of the Adirondack Nightmare sequel. Then I think I need to devote a day to a bulleted outline to kind of keep myself on track. We'll see how the day goes. I was going to try to put some pics in this blog but I guess I'm not up to it.

It's sunny and beautiful out, a perfect Adirondack autumn day. Take care.

Adirondack Nightmare Goes To Glens Falls New York!

Now that I finally have internet access again, I'm able to share some photos of our trip through the Adirondacks from just south of Plattsburgh, New York, to Glens Falls, New York and the HUGELY popular Chronicle Authors Fair. I think there were 130 attendees or something like that. It was a blast and, yes, we sold books.

Take care!

Aaron Shepard's Writing For Children Book

Ok, here's a shameless plug for a FANTASTIC book. It's Aaron Shepard's The Business of Writing For Children book.



This book is vital to any author contemplating writing a children's book. It speaks the blunt truth...the writing part is only a tiny piece of the pie. It's also a business and a very difficult one, to put it mildly.

When you buy it, read it from beginning to end. It's an easy read, about 100 pages, and a nice, large font.

Aaron Shepard also has a fantastic web site for authors, please take time to visit it here. I've been reading a lot lately, trying to develop my writing style, and I know a great book when I read one. This is a great book.

Take care.

Goosebumps or Grossbumps?

I'm on Chapter 5 of the sequel to my first book, Adirondack Nightmare: A Spooky Tale in the North Country. This sequel is much longer and won't leave readers hanging as much as the first one did. My apologies for that, I rushed and was psyched to get it to print. A common mistake for first-time authors. So, I learned a valuable lesson. Quality!

I will write a very nice prologue in this second book to get readers up to speed as time has moved very quickly for William Durant. Here's his daughter, Reggie, the protagonist in my second book.



Well, Reggie has a step-brother who likes to read the "Goosebumps" series of books. I'd like to put this in the book but a question has come up. Do I need to get permission to use that word? If so, it might take forever and a day so, instead, should I use "Grossbumps" with the implication of, well, you know.

I kind of like the idea of Grossbumps because it cracks me up. We'll see what happens when I call the R.L. Stine folks. I'll let ya know.

Take care.

Writing With Depression

I have so much I could blog, post, write, contribute and just can't get myself to do it. I'm suffering from depression. Like a dummy, I let my anti-depression medication expire. I felt I could keep it under control with vitamins and the like. I've tried it before, without success. Why would I try it again? That's part of the cycle of depression. I should have known better but I wanted to be strong without the medicine. Duh.



My husband's been wonderfully supportive and I'm now back on the meds. In a few days I'll be my old self, catch up on some work and have fun writing again. I'll probably even smile, be goofy and such.

Take care. I know I will :-)

Author's Access Web Site

Here's a great web site:

Author's Access

They boast "Visit Authors Access podcasts: www.authorsaccess.com where authors get published and published authors get successful."

I've listened to many of the podcasts and they are so helpful and interesting.
I just listened to one about the importance of book covers featuring Patrick Snow who has "spent over ten years of his life developing this unique system that is designed to save you both time in money in your quest to achieve your publishing and book promotion goals". His web site is here and I strongly urge any author or author-wanna be to check it out.

Take care.

The Chronicle (Glens Falls NY) Book Fair

The Chronicle Book Fair In Glens Falls, NY will be held at the Queensbury Hotel on the corner of Ridge and Maple Streets in downtown Glens Falls. It is on Sunday, October 14, from 11a.m. until 4p.m. Almost 120 authors will be there, including yours truly!



Come early for "coffee with the authors". Their restaurant will be open and they'll also have a "grab and go" self-serve soup and sandwich vendor on site.

I hope to meet you there! Take care. PS I'm nervous!

Win a Publishing Contract With Court TV

I'm busy writing my second children's ghost story but thought some of you might be into this.

Court TV is looking for the next big crime writer. If anyone is interested
here's the link:

http://courttv.gather.com/



Good luck! By the way, the second book is coming along great. If anyone would like a peak at the first chapter, let me know. I'd love your comments/suggestions.

Take care.

Adirondack Nightmare $100 Cash Winner!

Our winner is....(how do I put a drumroll on a blog?)...



Sally Sears-Mack! Congratulations, Sally, and thanks to everyone who purchased a book and sent in a ticket.

We've now sold over 500 copies of our book on its first-run. We're so thankful to everyone who has supported us. It's been quite a ride, that's fer sure!

Take care

Adirondack Memories From Tampa, FL

I received this email a few days ago. It made my heart soar! Nick was thrilled, too. Thanks so much, Chuck. I greatly appreciate you taking the time out of your day to contact me. It means the world to us.

Becky,
My name is Chuck Bombard. I was born and brought up in Plattsburgh. I lived on "Fox Hill" (Johnson Ave.) and went to Our Lady of Victory High School (class of 1962). I am currently in Tampa, FL. A friend of mine recently returned from a vacation in the Adirondacks and brought me back an autographed copy of "Adirondack Nightmare." As I scanned through the book, my friend watched as my eyes lit up when I saw that the author was from Plattsburgh and on one of the pages was a picture of a michigan hot dog! I told him that the picture of the michigan brought back so many wonderful memories for me. I was in the Army for 29 years and would always return to Plattsburgh to visit family whenever we could. One of our first stops whenever we were back in town was Clare and Carl's michigan red hot stand. My mouth waters just thinking about it. My wife has a great michigan recipe, but we're going to try yours. Thanks for bringing back some memories of great times. Chuck Bombard

MySpace, Marketing, Bookmooch...

Well, I've been busy. On MySpace. Wow, it takes a lot to get that set up. I'm still not finished, I think I'll never be finished and I also think that's the whole point of MySpace...to stay on it forever!

Here's a fun book marketing tip, I learned it from someone on a Yahoo group. You know all of the annoying mail you get with postage paid envelopes included? From credit card companies and such? Well, here's how to have some fun with it. I used to just throw the envelopes away, that is, until I ordered 3000 bookmarks. Hey, the price was great. The bookmarks didn't turn out all that well but I DID approve the proof online so it was "my bad". What I do now is I send a bookmark back in every prepaid envelope. Hey, they might as well get something for their money, right? I have no idea if I've made any sales or not.

I found a web site I just LOVE. It's called Bookmooch. I've been using it a while and it's great. You put in an inventory of books you want to get rid of, then request books you're looking for. There's no fees, you just need to pay shipping for the books you send out (not for the ones you request). I just love it.

Take care.

Adirondack Nighmare is Ready to Give $100 Cash!

Ok, the book sweepstakes count is at 98. I only need 2 more people to send in a proof of purchase for the book and we draw the winner! I'm psyched to see who wins it. It's been a fun promotion.



Wow, I'm a pretty horrible photographer. The above is a picture of the 98 tickets from book buyers for the promotion. It's in my office now and why did I take the photo in front of a window? Duh.

Good luck to everyone who's participated and thanks so much for the support!
Take care.

Great Book Signing And Online Course With Anastasia Suen

Our book signing at The Bookstore Plus went well. It was so great to see John Briant and his wonderful wife, Marge, again. The weather was wonderful!



Nick and I sold six books, John did MUCH better. He has quite a following and it was interesting and informative to watch how he interacted with people. He's such a "people person". I wish I had more of that skill.

I've also just finished a fantastic online writers workshop titled: "School Visits 101" by Anastasia Suen. I learned so much from this independent study workshop. It was worth every penny of the $75 fee plus more. I simply can't recommend it enough. Anastasia has "sold 100 book manuscripts: board books, picture books, easy readers, and chapter books (including a book for adults about how to write children's books)". She's also written articles for textbooks and magazines. What an inspiraton she is! Thanks, Anastasia!

Adirondack Nighmare Hits The Newspapers

Wow, I'm a bit overwhelmed right now!

First, on August 8th, the Tupper Lake Free Press put our book news release, verbatim, in their popular regional newspaper. Our release was originally written by Shel Horowitz and I strongly recommend his services. I can't speak highly enough about his work. I've tweaked the release a bit but it's basically his skilled writing which got us in print.

Second, on August 9th, Geoff Hayward, Features Editor of the Adirondack Daily Enterprise, gave us a WONDERFUL review of the book. He really understood that it's for "reluctant readers" without my pointing it out. He even put the front cover of the book in his review. I think I'll start marketing it that way more often. Hey, I used to be a "reluctant reader" and now I've turned into a reading machine! Well, almost.

Third, on August 10th, Lisa Bramen of the Glens Falls Post Star put this blurb about our book in her paper! (I'm not sure how long the link will last but what the heck.) Notice how she lists where she thinks people should be able to buy the book. Now I can follow-up with those places to be sure they have it in stock .

How did I do it? I mailed a copy of the book with the inside cover stamped in red, "NOT FOR RESALE". I encluded a print copy of our news release and a CD-ROM which contained separate files of:
The News Release
Book Endorsements
Author Bio
Author Picture
Front Cover of the Book
Where To Buy The Book

I've sent this to five papers, follwed up with two so far, and got in print three times in one week! In three days!

We've got a big book signing in Long Lake tomorrow at Hoss's Country Corner. It's called the Adirondack Author's Fair and I'm hoping this exposure will help. There's going to be 75 authors there and Nick and I will be attending.

Wish us luck?