I have no idea who will be willing to pay $12.99 for my book, but it's the price I had to set to make a decent royalty. I started out with $8.99. The book is 302 pages, so not so bad, but extra costs made me move it up to $9.99.
Now that I've added expanded distribution, the price is even higher. :( All I can hope is people REALLY want to read this book. Sigh.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
It's not pretty, but it's dinner.
I've been trying to eat less starchy foods and cutting down on sugar to control my sugar levels. I've been doing pretty well. but it's not always easy. I have to avoid white breads, potatoes, noodles and most inexpensive food stuffs that stretch meals when you're on a budget. I've been experimenting with whole wheat flours and nut flours, making my own breads and breading. It's not too bad.
But tonight I made a brown Jasmine rice dish, the Jasmine rice being provided by a good Facebook friend. I couldn't find it here, so she sent me some. Brown rice is rather chewy and you have to get used to it. Tonight I made a kind of rice-a-roni, using brown rice instead of white. The seasoning was a combo of the following:
chicken boullion
parsley
onion flakes
pepper
dill weed
coriander (I didn't have lemon pepper)
Tiny bit of salt
I don't have the measurements. It was basically more shakes of what I liked and less shakes of what I'm not wild about.
I browned 1 cup of brown rice in butter for about 3 minutes, then added 3 cups of hot water and the seasoning mix. I brought it to a boil and dropped the heat to a simmer for 50 minutes. It takes twice as long plus to cook brown rice.
It was rather salty because I didn't have the proper balance of bullion to rice, so what I did was add some cooked greens and some grated carrots left over from juicing. It tastes delicious, but looks awful. XD
Since I'm an author, it makes this particular quote even more poignant . . . don't just a book by it's cover, or a rice dish by it's color. :) Too yummy, y'all. ****
But tonight I made a brown Jasmine rice dish, the Jasmine rice being provided by a good Facebook friend. I couldn't find it here, so she sent me some. Brown rice is rather chewy and you have to get used to it. Tonight I made a kind of rice-a-roni, using brown rice instead of white. The seasoning was a combo of the following:
chicken boullion
parsley
onion flakes
pepper
dill weed
coriander (I didn't have lemon pepper)
Tiny bit of salt
I don't have the measurements. It was basically more shakes of what I liked and less shakes of what I'm not wild about.
I browned 1 cup of brown rice in butter for about 3 minutes, then added 3 cups of hot water and the seasoning mix. I brought it to a boil and dropped the heat to a simmer for 50 minutes. It takes twice as long plus to cook brown rice.
It was rather salty because I didn't have the proper balance of bullion to rice, so what I did was add some cooked greens and some grated carrots left over from juicing. It tastes delicious, but looks awful. XD
Since I'm an author, it makes this particular quote even more poignant . . . don't just a book by it's cover, or a rice dish by it's color. :) Too yummy, y'all. ****
The Proof is in the Mail, but It's a Faulty Proof not Fact
The meaning of that rather extraneous title to this post is simply this:
The copy of the book I have to approve isn't the book that will be printed, which I've already approved for printing.
How did I manage to do that? Well, I changed the cover when I realized I could get my pants sued off for non-licensing. I suffer from the vice of impatience. When I want something done, I want it done yesterday and take shortcuts. I'm over 50 and still haven't learned. Who says wisdom comes with age? Well, I do KNOW better, but the better part of wisdom is it's application.
When I went to the royalty-free site, I thought royalty-free, meant "free." I should have thought about it considering how nice a site it was. There were no ads to suggest it was making revenue through advertising. So when I saw the watermarked image, rather than download it, I simple did an image search on it and found a larger, unwatermarked version and downloaded that.
Then I did my cover design, struggled over formatting it, then used it for my Kindle book. When I decided to go to paperback, naturally I'd use the same cover.
That's when things went horribly, horribly wrong. I started getting a nagging feeling, and went back to the royalty-free site and followed the entire downloading process and hit the price page. Yeegads! I didn't have a license. And I didn't have the money in my account to pay for it. I have the cash here at home but a lot of fat good that did. Then, I called my neighbor and asked him if I could use his card to buy the license and I'd give him the cash. He just got the debit card when his taxes came in, which I did for him.
Now, before you think I was imposing on my neighbor, he usually would come here once a month and have me order Dragon Ball Z dvds for him using my card and he gives me the cash. So, I felt turnabout is fair play. He said he'd do it.
That was two days ago, and I could tell by his voice he couldn't be counted on. Sigh. So, I went to a REAL free photo site.
Of course, the photos were pretty crappy, but I used three different ones to create a new cover. Then I uploaded it, although I'd already paid for the book proof. So, the cover has been changed, but the book I'm going to get will have the old, unlicensed cover.
Still, in retrospect, it's probably better this way, because stock photos pop up all over and can be easily identified. That's how all these political websites get busted. They use the same crowd photos on different sites. Kind of funny really. Now I have a distinctive, original book cover.
Still, I really need to be more patient. Much more patient.
The copy of the book I have to approve isn't the book that will be printed, which I've already approved for printing.
How did I manage to do that? Well, I changed the cover when I realized I could get my pants sued off for non-licensing. I suffer from the vice of impatience. When I want something done, I want it done yesterday and take shortcuts. I'm over 50 and still haven't learned. Who says wisdom comes with age? Well, I do KNOW better, but the better part of wisdom is it's application.
When I went to the royalty-free site, I thought royalty-free, meant "free." I should have thought about it considering how nice a site it was. There were no ads to suggest it was making revenue through advertising. So when I saw the watermarked image, rather than download it, I simple did an image search on it and found a larger, unwatermarked version and downloaded that.
Then I did my cover design, struggled over formatting it, then used it for my Kindle book. When I decided to go to paperback, naturally I'd use the same cover.
That's when things went horribly, horribly wrong. I started getting a nagging feeling, and went back to the royalty-free site and followed the entire downloading process and hit the price page. Yeegads! I didn't have a license. And I didn't have the money in my account to pay for it. I have the cash here at home but a lot of fat good that did. Then, I called my neighbor and asked him if I could use his card to buy the license and I'd give him the cash. He just got the debit card when his taxes came in, which I did for him.
Now, before you think I was imposing on my neighbor, he usually would come here once a month and have me order Dragon Ball Z dvds for him using my card and he gives me the cash. So, I felt turnabout is fair play. He said he'd do it.
That was two days ago, and I could tell by his voice he couldn't be counted on. Sigh. So, I went to a REAL free photo site.
Of course, the photos were pretty crappy, but I used three different ones to create a new cover. Then I uploaded it, although I'd already paid for the book proof. So, the cover has been changed, but the book I'm going to get will have the old, unlicensed cover.
Still, in retrospect, it's probably better this way, because stock photos pop up all over and can be easily identified. That's how all these political websites get busted. They use the same crowd photos on different sites. Kind of funny really. Now I have a distinctive, original book cover.
Still, I really need to be more patient. Much more patient.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Tough Day in Real Life
Had to deal with my roomie Alan's anxiety today. Sweats, palpitations, shakes, nausea and paranoia. The best way to handle anxiety is to adjust the focus. First, we talked about what he was feeling, and I reassured him that things would be all right, then I went on the web and read to him about how anxiety works, then things he could do, like the 5-2-5 breathing exercises that will get more oxygen into the body. Then I put on a song that always makes him laugh, then some comedy. He recovered somewhat. It didn't help that this wasn't anxiety brought on by a condition, but one brought on by alcohol withdrawal. Alan drinks beer like soda, and for the last week he's been indulging heavily. He doesn't really get "drunk" because he's so used to it, but it still has to affect his body. I kept telling him to ease up, but he didn't listen. So, when he finally ran out of beer, his body wanted more. Hence the feelings of anxiety and the physical symptoms. He's still going through the physical aches and pains, but he's calmer now, less anxious.
Proof positive that a person should exercise moderation in everything. He's promised to take a few days off. He'd better.
Proof positive that a person should exercise moderation in everything. He's promised to take a few days off. He'd better.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Keeping It Simple, Sister: The KISS Method of Web Design
I'm in the process of designing my author website. This blog is fantastic, but every author should have a site. It doesn't have to be flashy, just provide information and some interesting content.
I've decided that since I have this blog, and my website links to this blog, I didn't want my visitors too jarred at the differences between my website and my blog. The way I'm approaching it is to
A. Make my website colors and set up like my blog site setup
B. Make my website stand out from my blog site.
You can see my blog right now. Black background, lettering in white and shades of blue. It's a nice combination and easy on the eyes.
My website is going to be a simple design of tables, common fonts, hyperlinks and clickable images. The table setup is almost exactly like my blog setup but I did something a little different on my website. You can see it here:
http://www.ruthrsolomon.com
I created a table with a maximum fixed width of 800 pixels. I did that so the site will remain fixed in space no matter the screen resolution, or at least I hope it will. I have a couple of browsers I will use to check it out. Most people have a larger resolution on their monitor.
I think the blue makes a pretty contrast to the black and compliments the blue lettering. But the best thing about it is it is quick loading because the background is a color and not an image.
Provided I don't put too many large graphics on the site (which I don't plan to do) even people using dial-up will be able to access the pages.
If I do put video or other stream-heavy content on the site, it will be in a separate area so as not to slow anyone's browsing.
I'm KISSing my website, which means I'm Keeping It Simple, Sister. :)
I've decided that since I have this blog, and my website links to this blog, I didn't want my visitors too jarred at the differences between my website and my blog. The way I'm approaching it is to
A. Make my website colors and set up like my blog site setup
B. Make my website stand out from my blog site.
You can see my blog right now. Black background, lettering in white and shades of blue. It's a nice combination and easy on the eyes.
My website is going to be a simple design of tables, common fonts, hyperlinks and clickable images. The table setup is almost exactly like my blog setup but I did something a little different on my website. You can see it here:
http://www.ruthrsolomon.com
I created a table with a maximum fixed width of 800 pixels. I did that so the site will remain fixed in space no matter the screen resolution, or at least I hope it will. I have a couple of browsers I will use to check it out. Most people have a larger resolution on their monitor.
I think the blue makes a pretty contrast to the black and compliments the blue lettering. But the best thing about it is it is quick loading because the background is a color and not an image.
Provided I don't put too many large graphics on the site (which I don't plan to do) even people using dial-up will be able to access the pages.
If I do put video or other stream-heavy content on the site, it will be in a separate area so as not to slow anyone's browsing.
I'm KISSing my website, which means I'm Keeping It Simple, Sister. :)
The Ability to See the Magic in the Mundane and Everyday
Our modern world is full of gadgets and hee haws that we take for granted. But these everyday appliances, tools and devices would be wonders to people who have never had access to them.
If you've ever seen the movie "The Gods Must Be Crazy" you'll remember the Coca-Cola bottle that a peaceful tribe of pygmies found. They had never seen anything as smooth and as strong. They believed it came from the gods. It was very useful for grinding yams, but soon the tribe began fighting over it, and eventually the bottle was used by one tribe member to strike another one. That was when the leader of the tribe decided to give it back to the gods because it was an evil thing, and went out to find the edge of the world to throw it back.
A Coca Cola bottle. Extraordinary.
But there are a lot of things we take for granted. In another movie, the ability of writing to convey a message was considered either magic or the work of demons by a society that never learned to write. The white man scrawled a secret a native had told him on a paper, then handed it to his friend, who read it, and told the native what his secret was. Unfortunately this kind of "magic" was frowned upon and the story didn't end well, but writing was a wondrous thing.
Imagine the glory of a sink faucet to someone who has always had to seek out precious water, or the wonder of him seeing his own image on film.
A car would be seen as a nearly indestructible beast made of stone that carried people in its belly and spread noxious fumes from its behind.
Stories about magic are very entertaining, but our real world seen through eyes of wonder can be just as exciting.
In my novel Sahara, the heroine is completely taken by many modern conveniences, such as the refrigerator, and the wonderful toilet bowl that just swirls the muck away. At first, she thought it was a little pool to drink from. lol. And let's not forget the fun of the toilet paper roll.
The point I'm trying to make is that it is important to see the magic in the things we take for granted and be able to convey that feeling of wonder to others in a story. We really do live in a wonderful world.
If you've ever seen the movie "The Gods Must Be Crazy" you'll remember the Coca-Cola bottle that a peaceful tribe of pygmies found. They had never seen anything as smooth and as strong. They believed it came from the gods. It was very useful for grinding yams, but soon the tribe began fighting over it, and eventually the bottle was used by one tribe member to strike another one. That was when the leader of the tribe decided to give it back to the gods because it was an evil thing, and went out to find the edge of the world to throw it back.
A Coca Cola bottle. Extraordinary.
But there are a lot of things we take for granted. In another movie, the ability of writing to convey a message was considered either magic or the work of demons by a society that never learned to write. The white man scrawled a secret a native had told him on a paper, then handed it to his friend, who read it, and told the native what his secret was. Unfortunately this kind of "magic" was frowned upon and the story didn't end well, but writing was a wondrous thing.
Imagine the glory of a sink faucet to someone who has always had to seek out precious water, or the wonder of him seeing his own image on film.
A car would be seen as a nearly indestructible beast made of stone that carried people in its belly and spread noxious fumes from its behind.
Stories about magic are very entertaining, but our real world seen through eyes of wonder can be just as exciting.
In my novel Sahara, the heroine is completely taken by many modern conveniences, such as the refrigerator, and the wonderful toilet bowl that just swirls the muck away. At first, she thought it was a little pool to drink from. lol. And let's not forget the fun of the toilet paper roll.
The point I'm trying to make is that it is important to see the magic in the things we take for granted and be able to convey that feeling of wonder to others in a story. We really do live in a wonderful world.
Royalty-Free Stock Photos Don't Mean License-Free. You have to Pay!
Wow. I had to change my cover for "Sahara" because I jumped the gun and used a stock photo to design the book cover. The problem was I was in such a hurry, I didn't go through the entire process or I would have seen there was a one-time licensing fee of $15.00 to use it.
There are royalty-free License-free images that you can use so I had to locate several of those and paste together a cover that would not hit my empty pockets.
So when designing your book cover, be absolutely certain you have the rights to use the image, otherwise later on you may find yourself in the middle of a lawsuit with someone demanding royalties from your book sales. Make sure if there is a licensing fee, you pay it. Otherwise, use photos that are completely free of charge.
Here you can get truly free photos
http://www.photogen.com/
There are royalty-free License-free images that you can use so I had to locate several of those and paste together a cover that would not hit my empty pockets.
So when designing your book cover, be absolutely certain you have the rights to use the image, otherwise later on you may find yourself in the middle of a lawsuit with someone demanding royalties from your book sales. Make sure if there is a licensing fee, you pay it. Otherwise, use photos that are completely free of charge.
Here you can get truly free photos
http://www.photogen.com/
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Oops, Not QUITE free. Had to order proof of book
Well, "Sahara" passed the review product. I had to order a proof to review, though, before it goes up for sale. One major expenditure of:
$4.47 + $3.49 shipping for a whopping total of:
$8.06
Not too bad overall for a self-published book. So it's ordered and I can expect it by Monday after next.
Very cool :)
$4.47 + $3.49 shipping for a whopping total of:
$8.06
Not too bad overall for a self-published book. So it's ordered and I can expect it by Monday after next.
Very cool :)
How to Format your own books for Kindle and Print and sell them FREE
A fbf of mine asked how to format a book for publication. I told her then thought I'd share the basics here, because I know there are quite a few people who would like to publish a book and sell it. So far I've managed to do it for free. I am going to invest $25 as soon as I get some funds to expand the print book's distribution so it can be ordered by bookstores and placed in libraries.
Not too shabby for a process that can cost a grand or two.
Amazon.com and it's affiliate CreateSpace give writers a great, free option to publish their books. CreateSpace even assigns your books a FREE ibsn number so your book can be found and ordered.
Amazon specializes in Kindle/Downloadable books. If you leave off the DRM management, your book can be converted to other formats for other digital book readers. They general pay 35% - 70% royalties. You have to wait 60 days for the first payment to be deposited for the first month, then you should get the payments steadily at the end of each month thereafter, as long as you've made at least $10 in sales.
CreateSpace specializes in print-on-demand books. The books are printed as the customers order them. The royalties are SIGNIFICANTLY less than the kindle books but that's because they are physically printed which has overhead. Still, you have a real, hold-in-your-hand book, and that's a very nice feeling. But on a book priced at $8.99, you'll make about 92 cents per sale. Doesn't seem like much, but if it catches fire . . . the pickings can be pretty good.
Here's the basics, copied directly from my reply to my friend:
Not too shabby for a process that can cost a grand or two.
Amazon.com and it's affiliate CreateSpace give writers a great, free option to publish their books. CreateSpace even assigns your books a FREE ibsn number so your book can be found and ordered.
Amazon specializes in Kindle/Downloadable books. If you leave off the DRM management, your book can be converted to other formats for other digital book readers. They general pay 35% - 70% royalties. You have to wait 60 days for the first payment to be deposited for the first month, then you should get the payments steadily at the end of each month thereafter, as long as you've made at least $10 in sales.
CreateSpace specializes in print-on-demand books. The books are printed as the customers order them. The royalties are SIGNIFICANTLY less than the kindle books but that's because they are physically printed which has overhead. Still, you have a real, hold-in-your-hand book, and that's a very nice feeling. But on a book priced at $8.99, you'll make about 92 cents per sale. Doesn't seem like much, but if it catches fire . . . the pickings can be pretty good.
Here's the basics, copied directly from my reply to my friend:
FOR EBOOKS
Well, for Kindle, you format it the way you want in word, add a table of contents, save it as a "filtered webpage" (.htm or html) then download a free ebook creator like Moblipocket creator, select the saved html file, select an image for the cover, then "build" the ebook. It will be saved in several files, but the one most used is .prc. You can upload that after reviewing it, to amazon.com, then enter the description info, your bank account info to recieve royalties and set your price. Wa-laah. Published and selling within hours, and for FREE
FOR PRINT BOOKS
Formatting for printing is different. You have to size your pages to match the physical size of the book. Enter your title, copyright info, ibsn number (I got one free from CreateSpace) Dedication, Table of Contents, Acknowledgments, then the book content by chapters. You should have odd and even headers at the top of the actual story pages, the author name centered on the left page, and the title of the story on the right page. After the end of the story, you should put an "About the Author" blurb. My book is 6" x 9". I used .75 margins.
CreateSpace provides templates to help you format your book and create your book cover. It also provides services to do it for you, for a price of course. It takes a little work to do it yourself, but with some determination, it can be done.
I hope this information is useful. :)
UPDATE: You do have to pay for the "proof" which is a physical copy of the book that is shipped to you to be reviewed and checked out to make sure the book is ready for sale.
The cost: $4.47 + $3.49 shipping. Total $8.06
That was the total cost to self-publish my book. Still not a bad deal!
UPDATE: You do have to pay for the "proof" which is a physical copy of the book that is shipped to you to be reviewed and checked out to make sure the book is ready for sale.
The cost: $4.47 + $3.49 shipping. Total $8.06
That was the total cost to self-publish my book. Still not a bad deal!
And the Cat or in this case, the Cover Came Back
Bullpucky!!! XC
I had to redo the cover to Sahara. The guides were showing. I guess they are the equivalent to "printable panties."
All right, I've covered them up.
What freaking time is it anyway? 4:53????
I guess you can tell I have very bad sleeping habits.
I had to redo the cover to Sahara. The guides were showing. I guess they are the equivalent to "printable panties."
All right, I've covered them up.
What freaking time is it anyway? 4:53????
I guess you can tell I have very bad sleeping habits.
Poor Little Webpage
It's like pulling teeth. But I chose a better author pic rather than the "glamour" shot I had from Walmart. I mean it looks good, but I don't really look like that. My eyebrows need a lawn mower.
I much better prefer the pic of me sitting on my porch that looks like I'm a tourist in Jamaica.
That's the real me. Chunky and all :) But my poor little website has nothing but my pic, a couple of links and the standard "Under Construction" explanation, like no one can tell it needs more work. I don't want to put too much on it, but I will be putting up little things I write for visitors to enjoy or rip to shreds. I guess I'll have to put up a guestbook page. I hate doing them because of all the lurking spambots on the web, just waiting to bless me with links that will help my non-existent penis "get longer and stronger," or tell me that "Kim is lonely tonight" like I care. Kim is probably my age, wearing cold cream, pink curlers and run-over fuzzy slippers.
I didn't realize it was so late. Night all. :)
I much better prefer the pic of me sitting on my porch that looks like I'm a tourist in Jamaica.
That's the real me. Chunky and all :) But my poor little website has nothing but my pic, a couple of links and the standard "Under Construction" explanation, like no one can tell it needs more work. I don't want to put too much on it, but I will be putting up little things I write for visitors to enjoy or rip to shreds. I guess I'll have to put up a guestbook page. I hate doing them because of all the lurking spambots on the web, just waiting to bless me with links that will help my non-existent penis "get longer and stronger," or tell me that "Kim is lonely tonight" like I care. Kim is probably my age, wearing cold cream, pink curlers and run-over fuzzy slippers.
I didn't realize it was so late. Night all. :)
Friday, February 24, 2012
Dedications and Acknowledgments
In the print book of Sahara: A Shifter's Tale, there's something different than in the kindle edition.
Dedications and Acknowledgments.
I dedicated my book to my children and grandchildren although I hope to high heaven that none of my grandchildren pick it up until they're in their 20's.
They have a very naughty grandma.
In my acknowledgments, I finally have the chance to publicly thank individuals and a plethora of supportive, encouraging and kind people who are and will continue to be the rock I stand on.
I'm so glad I have the chance to do that.
Dedications and Acknowledgments.
I dedicated my book to my children and grandchildren although I hope to high heaven that none of my grandchildren pick it up until they're in their 20's.
They have a very naughty grandma.
In my acknowledgments, I finally have the chance to publicly thank individuals and a plethora of supportive, encouraging and kind people who are and will continue to be the rock I stand on.
I'm so glad I have the chance to do that.
Book is formatted, designed and submitted. Now the waiting game
Okay, create space has my book and is reviewing it to make sure it meets all the specifications. I'll know in 48 hours. The royalties aren't very big on print on demand books, not as good as Kindle books but every author wants to see her book in print. I'm not going to get rich on it. I'm probably going to spend the $25 to get expanded distribution. That way it can be ordered by a variety of stores, be place in libraries, that kind of thing. It sounds like a good investment and it will be the only cash investment I've made. Did I mention the ISBN number was FREE?
All right, now that I'm done killing myself over this book, I really need to get to work on my freelance assignment. I also really want to skive off for another day. Choices, choices.
Humbled by One of my Fav Author's Website
As I wrestle with my book, I also need to do my website.
I have to be honest, I was going to try and make it all professional looking, impressive, important. To get ideas I went to a couple of famous author sites, but when I went to Piers Anthony's website, I slammed on the brakes.
This man is an amazing writer, has oodles of books, and is the author of the Xanth Series, and Incarnations of Immortality Series. He's a genius and a best-sell author. You would think his page would be off the chain . . .
Well, here's his page:
http://www.hipiers.com/
I am so humbled. I'm going to keep mine very basic. If a great writer like that avoids the bells and whistles, so will I.
I have to be honest, I was going to try and make it all professional looking, impressive, important. To get ideas I went to a couple of famous author sites, but when I went to Piers Anthony's website, I slammed on the brakes.
This man is an amazing writer, has oodles of books, and is the author of the Xanth Series, and Incarnations of Immortality Series. He's a genius and a best-sell author. You would think his page would be off the chain . . .
Well, here's his page:
http://www.hipiers.com/
I am so humbled. I'm going to keep mine very basic. If a great writer like that avoids the bells and whistles, so will I.
*&%^^^*() formatting. From now on I'm sticking to the K.I.S.S. method
K.I.S.S is an acronym for Keep It Simple, Sister.
After hours of trying to format my book using the templates CreateSpace offers, and going through several levels of formatting hell, I decided to try just putting equal margins around the pages and taking out the gutter period.
Of course it worked. I didn't need to do any special formatting at all, so I spent, let's see about 6 hours of my life screwing around for nothing. Yeesh. Now . . . the cover. I know this is not going to be fun AT ALL.
The joys of being broke but trying to publish a print book anyway. Until later, y'all :)
After hours of trying to format my book using the templates CreateSpace offers, and going through several levels of formatting hell, I decided to try just putting equal margins around the pages and taking out the gutter period.
Of course it worked. I didn't need to do any special formatting at all, so I spent, let's see about 6 hours of my life screwing around for nothing. Yeesh. Now . . . the cover. I know this is not going to be fun AT ALL.
The joys of being broke but trying to publish a print book anyway. Until later, y'all :)
Enjoyed Bill Maher but was multi-tasking, formatting a book for print
Best line ever: Bill Maher on Newt Gingrinch:
"If he was any slimier, you could kill him with a box of salt."
XD
He had a lot of zingers, but I was too engaged in trying to format my book "Sahara" for print distribution. Amazon CreateSpace lets you format a book for print, then prints it on demand for any customer that orders it. They offer formatting services, but man, they are pricey. But they do give you a free IBSN number.
It appears to be simplicity itself. They give you a nice Word template, already formated to book size. You just have to paste your text into it. Sounds easy right? It is, until you look at the whole thing and find the formattings gone screwy. After you fix up the oversized headers and huge gaps in the text, you upload it for an initial review. Of course, the formatting is all wrong. Words supposed to be formatted into the middle of the page are at the top, words formatted to be at the bottom are in the middle, part of the text is outside the margins . . . argh.
So I'm on like my 6th upload. I'm determined. And then there's the cover. Again you get the template, but you have to design the cover with the spine and back cover. You need a calculator to figure how big the spine has to be based on the number of pages in the book. I see why people pay a couple of hundred dollars for the professional services. They're frustrated. But I am determined to get it right. I also need to work on my Author Page at http://ruthrsolomon.com It's rather sad with that "Coming Soon" text and pic of my book. But in time. I'm completely skivving off on a freelance assignment I have to do. I already received the deposit. Luckily it's a subject I'm familiar with. Hopefully I'll knock it out tomorrow or Saturday in a couple of hours. Well, that's it for tonight. Take care.
"If he was any slimier, you could kill him with a box of salt."
XD
He had a lot of zingers, but I was too engaged in trying to format my book "Sahara" for print distribution. Amazon CreateSpace lets you format a book for print, then prints it on demand for any customer that orders it. They offer formatting services, but man, they are pricey. But they do give you a free IBSN number.
It appears to be simplicity itself. They give you a nice Word template, already formated to book size. You just have to paste your text into it. Sounds easy right? It is, until you look at the whole thing and find the formattings gone screwy. After you fix up the oversized headers and huge gaps in the text, you upload it for an initial review. Of course, the formatting is all wrong. Words supposed to be formatted into the middle of the page are at the top, words formatted to be at the bottom are in the middle, part of the text is outside the margins . . . argh.
So I'm on like my 6th upload. I'm determined. And then there's the cover. Again you get the template, but you have to design the cover with the spine and back cover. You need a calculator to figure how big the spine has to be based on the number of pages in the book. I see why people pay a couple of hundred dollars for the professional services. They're frustrated. But I am determined to get it right. I also need to work on my Author Page at http://ruthrsolomon.com It's rather sad with that "Coming Soon" text and pic of my book. But in time. I'm completely skivving off on a freelance assignment I have to do. I already received the deposit. Luckily it's a subject I'm familiar with. Hopefully I'll knock it out tomorrow or Saturday in a couple of hours. Well, that's it for tonight. Take care.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Getting ready for my night of Bill Maher
You know how poeple like football, baseball, soccer and hockey? My sport is American Politics. I know the teams, the main players, the good guys the bad guys, when there are saves, fumbles and touchdowns. I can generally predict the plays and defense, and most definitely the fouls. There are lots of fouls in our political system, as well as Junk Talking. I have my favorite sports commentators, better known as "Political Pundits." My all time fav is Rachel Maddow, the there's Chris Matthews and Chris O'Donnel, but I have to admit my fav commentors on politics are two politically savvy comedians, Bill Maher and Jon Stewart. I like Bill because he's a sarastic bastard, and is serious even when he's being funny. I like Jon because he's just plain funny, yet his commentary is usually on point. What I like the most is how real pundits, especially those who aren't liberal always try to hold their feet to the fire, especially Jon Stewart who is always amazed that they don't understand he has a comedy show.
Anyway, Bill Maher's new standup comedy show "Crazy Stupid Politics" is being broadcast live online for the first time tonight on yahoo. Here's the link to the free livestream:
http://screen.yahoo.com/bill-maher-live-28319073.html
It starts at 10:30 EST
I have the vodka in the freezer chilling, Canada Dry Ginger Ale in the fridge, chilling, and plenty of smokes, not to mention wheat snack crackers and cheese. Perfect setup for an hour of laughter. I can't wait to watch it.
Anyway, Bill Maher's new standup comedy show "Crazy Stupid Politics" is being broadcast live online for the first time tonight on yahoo. Here's the link to the free livestream:
http://screen.yahoo.com/bill-maher-live-28319073.html
It starts at 10:30 EST
I have the vodka in the freezer chilling, Canada Dry Ginger Ale in the fridge, chilling, and plenty of smokes, not to mention wheat snack crackers and cheese. Perfect setup for an hour of laughter. I can't wait to watch it.
Ok, now I have an Author's Blog
Well, making this was fun. Not. lol. This is my first blog entry and even though I'm a writer I have no idea what to say except thank you for visiting here. More than likely this blog won't be filled with authorly (yes, I make up words) content. Probably just the mundane workings of my life. And my life is very mundane. Firstly, I'm a homebody, practically a hermit, although I will go up to the local bar (conveniently located half a block away) and have a Jeigerbomb or three on occasion. I live with Alan, my friend and nemesis. We met about two years ago, and he was down on his luck . . . homeless and living in a toolshed on someone's property. But, he would make his money washing windows. He was skinny as a skeleton, so I brought him home to give him something to eat. And . . . well he stuck around. It's an odd relationship though, we aren't romantically involved, sleep in separate rooms. He takes care of the household, and does his window cleaning and I take care of the bills. They're just the same as they were before he stayed here, so that's not a problem. Plus having a man around who cooks and cleans doesn't hurt. I suffer from severe depression and it once affected me so negatively that I had to be hospitalized for it. (What is it with writers and depression anyway?) I'm much better now, however, and earn extra money through researching and graphic design. I'm earning a little money with my novel and serial novel and hope to earn a bit more. I am reluctantly sharing my apartment with two annoying orange tabby cats, Good Yang and Bad Yang. They love trying to trip me, hopping out my bedroom window (through the screen) and rubbing cat fur all over my ankles. I say reluctantly because I'm not wild about cats, but the manager of the apartment complex asked Alan to look after them, and he loves them and so, I'm stuck with the little stinkers. I also spoil them a little but I suspect they are using their catterly (another made up word) wiles on me, hypnotizing me with their cat eyes and methodical meowing. I appreciate you stopping by and hope you'll come back.
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