Okay, "From the Chrysalis" is finally available on Smashwords in various formats and it's in the premium catalog! I can't say formatting it was easy, but I certainly learned a lot along the way and it's pretty neat having a linked Table of Contents.
I'm having a lot harder with my family histories. The data is generated by a popular genealogy program called Family Tree Maker in report format, but it has to be converted in Word document for Smashwords, so it requires an enormous amount of editing.
Friday, 26 April 2013
Revamped Goodreads
Ah, Goodreads. As everybody knows, it was taken over by Amazon a few weeks ago, but I haven't noticed any big difference yet and I check it regularly.
"From the Chrysalis" is still getting reviews and ratings--mostly ratings. Of course I love the four and five star ratings even if the reviewer didn't comment, but the one and two star ratings intrigue me too. Some people actually seem to like leaving low ratings and if you check the average rating they give a book, it's often pretty low. So why are they just reading trash? Beats me! If anybody else has any explanation for that kind of behavior, please let me know.
"From the Chrysalis" is still getting reviews and ratings--mostly ratings. Of course I love the four and five star ratings even if the reviewer didn't comment, but the one and two star ratings intrigue me too. Some people actually seem to like leaving low ratings and if you check the average rating they give a book, it's often pretty low. So why are they just reading trash? Beats me! If anybody else has any explanation for that kind of behavior, please let me know.
Monday, 4 March 2013
Wednesday, 9 January 2013
Free Jan 9 and 10!
The Kindle version of From the Chrysalis is free Jan 9 and 10! Free Kindle Books and Tips also posted it on their site at 3 pm. It's #20 in Women's Fiction and still climbing.
http://www.fkbooksandtips.com/2013/01/09/5-free-kindle-book-offers-16/
http://www.fkbooksandtips.com/2013/01/09/5-free-kindle-book-offers-16/
Tuesday, 11 December 2012
From somebody who enjoys reading...
Just received a lovely nice email from Judith Johnson of Toronto. She bought a copy of From the Chrysalis at the book launch on Nov 25:
I have just finished you book which I read in the last couple of days and I thought it was an extremely good read. I connected with the characters and a couple of times I had to put the book down because of the suspense in the courtroom. I think you crafted the story very well and the characters were real. I usual go to the library once a week and pick out 6-7 novels of which I read between 4 or 5, as I read very quickly. I only finish the books that catch my attention and give me enjoyment so I believe that I have the expertise to judge a well written book. Your story I will remember for a long while as I often forget the plots of other novels. The first chapter was captivating and I could not, then, put it down for a couple of hours.
Ann Turner tells me that you will be writing a sequel and I am dying to know what happens to Liza and Dace.
Thank you for your hard work and talent in giving me the pleasure of a really good read.
I have just finished you book which I read in the last couple of days and I thought it was an extremely good read. I connected with the characters and a couple of times I had to put the book down because of the suspense in the courtroom. I think you crafted the story very well and the characters were real. I usual go to the library once a week and pick out 6-7 novels of which I read between 4 or 5, as I read very quickly. I only finish the books that catch my attention and give me enjoyment so I believe that I have the expertise to judge a well written book. Your story I will remember for a long while as I often forget the plots of other novels. The first chapter was captivating and I could not, then, put it down for a couple of hours.
Ann Turner tells me that you will be writing a sequel and I am dying to know what happens to Liza and Dace.
Thank you for your hard work and talent in giving me the pleasure of a really good read.
Saturday, 1 December 2012
KDP Select Update
Warning: if you take a hiatus from KDP Select, your ranking will plummet. It's definitely a little disheartening, especially when your ranking falls over 500,000 points in one day. I'd only had one e-book sale in the past two or three days, but how is such a precipitous drop possible?
(Whew--I just re-checked and apparently that was just a one day glitch! It's dropped, but not nearly that much. Maybe something else was going on.)
I'm busy promoting the paperback version of From the Chrysalis right now, so I have mixed feelings about the e-book version anyway. It's not like it cost me anything to upload the e-book or that I'm warehousing a bunch of books I can't sell. (On-line paperback sales are slow to show up in the rankings, even though I know I've had some.)
My private sales remain good, but none of these will be reflected in my on-line Amazon ranking.
Anyway--I still believe From the Chrysalis will find its target audience.
The people who have read it (as opposed to the massive number of people who downloaded it when it was free), have loved it.
I'll have to get cracking on the sequel. For some reason, when an author has more than one title, Amazon sales often soar. (Not that care about the money right now. Popularity is something else, though.)
(Whew--I just re-checked and apparently that was just a one day glitch! It's dropped, but not nearly that much. Maybe something else was going on.)
I'm busy promoting the paperback version of From the Chrysalis right now, so I have mixed feelings about the e-book version anyway. It's not like it cost me anything to upload the e-book or that I'm warehousing a bunch of books I can't sell. (On-line paperback sales are slow to show up in the rankings, even though I know I've had some.)
My private sales remain good, but none of these will be reflected in my on-line Amazon ranking.
Anyway--I still believe From the Chrysalis will find its target audience.
The people who have read it (as opposed to the massive number of people who downloaded it when it was free), have loved it.
I'll have to get cracking on the sequel. For some reason, when an author has more than one title, Amazon sales often soar. (Not that care about the money right now. Popularity is something else, though.)
Tuesday, 27 November 2012
My book launch!
The launch went very well on Sunday. I sold quite a few books and should be able to make back the cost of print copies very soon. My daughter Aidan and her fiance (both actors) read Chap.6 about Liza's and Dace's first meeting in "Maitland Penitentiary" and Julian Fauth (2009 Juno winner) played mostly prison songs, plus one of his best known songs "Liza." Somebody from our very small neighbourhood newspaper came and took my picture.
John did a great job of promoting the event, which was held at the Axis Gallery and Grill in the Junction. Our costs were for some flyers, posters and a bit of food. We also gave several free books to the local press etc., but that got us an announcement in the paper too. I think the total cost of the launch was less than $300.00. (Julian refused to accept any payment.) In restrospect, we probably wouldn't have spent $40.00 on flyers. What worked best was emailing everybody (friends, family, neighbours and music and church contacts) and then following up with some phone calls. (John is very good at getting people to buy the book. He chases down our neighbours, tells them his wife has written a great book and then practically hits them over the head with it until they buy one. I don't really have the nerve!)
It was a little nerve wracking having a reading with some of my more conservative relatives present, but people were very kind and some of them bought several books.
My oldest daughter (Caitlin) and her husband gave me an engraved pen for the signing, so that was very sweet. All my grandchildren came too, but it was hard to get near them and towards the end the babies became a little distraught. The place was packed. We managed to wrap things up just before the Grey Cup which of course the Argos have won, so big excitement here.
And more big excitement in Toronto because they kicked Mayor Rob Ford out of office for conflict of interest etc.
What a weekend!
John did a great job of promoting the event, which was held at the Axis Gallery and Grill in the Junction. Our costs were for some flyers, posters and a bit of food. We also gave several free books to the local press etc., but that got us an announcement in the paper too. I think the total cost of the launch was less than $300.00. (Julian refused to accept any payment.) In restrospect, we probably wouldn't have spent $40.00 on flyers. What worked best was emailing everybody (friends, family, neighbours and music and church contacts) and then following up with some phone calls. (John is very good at getting people to buy the book. He chases down our neighbours, tells them his wife has written a great book and then practically hits them over the head with it until they buy one. I don't really have the nerve!)
It was a little nerve wracking having a reading with some of my more conservative relatives present, but people were very kind and some of them bought several books.
My oldest daughter (Caitlin) and her husband gave me an engraved pen for the signing, so that was very sweet. All my grandchildren came too, but it was hard to get near them and towards the end the babies became a little distraught. The place was packed. We managed to wrap things up just before the Grey Cup which of course the Argos have won, so big excitement here.
And more big excitement in Toronto because they kicked Mayor Rob Ford out of office for conflict of interest etc.
What a weekend!
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