The promotional and after-publishing part has, for a while, taken over the writing part.  That’s too bad, but somebody’s got to do it.  Here are my efforts to date:

 

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Consenting Adults Only

 

I am midway in the Amazon Scout campaign for Consenting Adults Only. 

 https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/2PN5FY0XBJRS

 

I have sent many messages via email, Twitter, Facebook and Linked-in regarding the Amazon Scout campaign.  I get short bursts in page views after each effort, then the numbers drop again.  Of course it may be that readers just don’t connect with the book, but there’s no way to know if it’s a problem with the novel’s first 3 chapters (all that is on Scout) or a problem with ineffective campaigning.  In any case, I plan to self-publish CAO when the Scout campaign ends in early September.

 

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The Wall:  Chronicle of a Scuba Trial

 

Amazon link:
http://www.amazon.com/Wall-Chronicle-Scuba-Trial-ebook/dp/B013RHYSNW/lakesidepress

Smashwords link
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/568140

This novel is published, and feedback so far has been positive.  A couple of readers noted some inevitable typos, and I learned how to fix them myself, and upload a corrected manuscript to both Kindle and Smashwords.

 

Smashwords

1.  I downloaded Sigil, which lets you correct an Epub file.   https://github.com/Sigil-Ebook/Sigil.  When you download it the following symbol appears on your desktop:

2.  I uploaded the book’s Epub file (previously created for me by a professional e-book converter) into Sigil.

3.  I made all the necessary corrections, which was easy to do.

4.  I saved the file to my desktop, then returned to Smashwords and uploaded the corrected Epub file. In minutes, the new version was published!

 

Kindle was a bit more difficult, in part because their website offers two different sets of instructions.  One, called “Modifying converted content” is incorrect; its line by line instructions don’t correlate with anything you see on the screen.  The other set, called “Changing converted content” made sense and worked.  

“Changing converted content”

https://kdp.amazon.com/help?ref=kdp_hp_gw_en_pop_conv&topicId=A22PYSU3IVQYUQ&

 Those line by line instructions are reprinted below.

Changing Your Converted Text

You may want to make corrections to your book after publishing your book. Follow these steps to transfer your updates to your converted, published book:

1. Go to your Bookshelf and click on the ellipsis button ("...") under the Book Actions menu next to the book you're updating.
2. Select "Edit Details."
3. Scroll down to the “Upload Your Book File” section and click the “Browse” button.
4. Browse to the file you wish to upload (the latest version of your book) and click “Open”.
5. Your file automatically uploads into your bookshelf and the process converting your book to Kindle begins.
6. If successful, you see this message “Upload and conversion successful!”
7. Click “Save and Continue” taking you to the "Rights & Pricing" page.
8. Re-confirm your Content Rights and then click “Save and Publish.”
That's it -- the new file will overwrite the old file within 24-48 hours.

 

I uploaded the same corrected Epub file that I used for Smashwords.  The new file was accepted and re-published within a few hours. 

Note that, unless you are really knowledgeable about converting Word into Epub (which I used for both Smashwords and Kindle) you still have to pay for professional conversion.  However, after that, it is relatively simple to self-correct typos or mistakes and upload a new file.

 

Regarding The Wall, I also sent out twitter messages and posted information on Facebook and Linkedin.  Word about the book also got out in the retirement community where I attend writers’ workshops, and a reporter for the local newspaper interviewed me today about the book and my writing in general, for an upcoming feature story. 

 

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Out of Time:  An alternative outcome to the Civil War.

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/Out-Time-Alternative-Outcome-Civil-ebook/dp/B00K34RINA/lakesidepress
 
I submitted the list of corrections for the book to CreateSpace (for the print edition); the cost was $79.  As soon as I approve them, any further print-on-demand copies will be the updated version.  My professional ebook converter is going to make these changes (I submitted them to her before I learned how to do it myself). 
 
Otherwise, nothing new on this book.  I have not mounted any campaign for publicity, except for sending free copies to several Civil War magazines.

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Nothing new on Gravity is Always With You...Unless You're an Astronaut.  I have not yet decided on an illustrator.  My preparation for this book has temporarily stalled while I have worked on the other three books.  (See August 12, 2015 blog post for more info.)

 

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Have been busy publishing...and promoting!  If you are a self-published author, you have to do the latter to be successful in the former.  That means using "social media."  I have been posting to Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. 

Here's a rundown of 4 books, starting with the most recently published.

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On August 11 I published The Wall:  Chronicle of a Scuba Trial, in e-book format.  I posted it to both Smashwords and Amazon Kindle.  It is only 46K words, and I don't plan to put it in paperback.  For publicity I've started a twitter campaign, and am considering small ads in scuba magazines. 

Amazon link:
http://www.amazon.com/Wall-Chronicle-Scuba-Trial-ebook/dp/B013RHYSNW/lakesidepress

Smashwords link
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/568140

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Today is the 7th day of my Amazon Scout campaign for Consenting Adults Only. 

 

 https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/2PN5FY0XBJRS

 

I have used Twitter and Facebook to announce the book, but so far it's not going well.  The book has not reached "hot and trending" status, which presumably is a requirement for Amazon to take notice and consider publishing the book.  I have also sent out a bunch of twitter messages to categories dealing with Las Vegas (the book's setting) and Emergency Department nurses/doctors (the main protagonists). 

 

One problem is that Amazon Scout only shows the first 5000 words.  That may not be enough to hook the reader.  The book was designed for the first 4 chapters to do this job, and that's about 10,000 words.  Anyone reading the first 4 chapters would want to continue, but if they got to 10K words they would be hooked to continue.

 

Unless there is some dramatic turnaround in the next 3 weeks, I expect to be self-publishing CAO this fall.  It will come out in both e-book AND paperback.  I think the novel should have wide appeal and may yet gain an audience.

 

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Out of Time:  An alternative outcome to the Civil War, has been in e-book format since April and paperback format since June. 

 

http://www.amazon.com/Out-Time-Alternative-Outcome-Civil-ebook/dp/B00K34RINA/lakesidepress

 

I have made a list of corrections that will be submitted this week, to both my e-book formatter and CreateSpace (print edition).  They won't affect the ISBN or anything else; just a few minor typos.  This is the bane of self-published authors unless they spend thousands for meticulous line- and copy- editing.

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I continue to work on a children's book, called Gravity is Always With You...Unless You're an Astronaut.  I have contacted an illustrator and also spent time on the Shutterstock web site.

 

http://www.shutterstock.com/

 

Shutterstock has thousands of pictures available for downloading.  For a one-time fee of $229, you can download up to 25 pictures for use in your book.  You have to pay more if your book sells more than 500,000 print copies!  Any self-published author would be happy to pay more for those numbers.  The cover mockup below uses a Shutterstock photo of an astronaut.

 

My plan is to use both Shutterstock and a professional illustrator for the book.  I went to the trouble of registering the book with the Library of Congress (the text only, not the pictures; cost $55), and plan to self-publish the book later this year.  Still to be worked out are how many illustrations to use, the format size (different than for adult books - typically square), and the specific target age for the book.  Right now my target is 6-10, though that may be a bit broad.  I have been testing it on my grandkids (age range 3 to 9).

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Consenting Adults Only was accepted into the Amazon Kindle Scout Program, and the first 5000 words are now available for reading.

The link is

https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/2PN5FY0XBJRS

Here's the way the program works.

During the 30-day campaign people can nominate the book for publication (through Sept 5, 2015).  Nominations, plus Amazon's own internal review, will decide if Kindle will publish the book.  If it is published by Amazon Kindle the author gets an advance, plus royalties on both the Kindle version and the audiobook. The author keeps the paperback rights.

I had to sign an agreement to these terms before submitting the book.  However, it's not a bad deal, considering the fate of most self-published books.  Of course, you have to have a good book to begin with, with broad appeal.  I think Consenting Adults Only fills that requirement. 

For more on this one year-old program, see http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/27/amazon-kindle-scout/

I found one author's comments about the Kindle Scout program closely reflecting my own, including about self-promotion.  Polly Iyer is a self-published author whose book, Indiscretion, was accepted for publication by Amazon Kindle this past June (current link at https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/3GQQOWLUFNS5C). 
Had Iyer's Indiscretion not been accepted, she would have self-published it.

Her comments (before she knew the book would be accepted) are on Marilyn Meredith's blog.
http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com/2015/06/indiscretion-on-amazons-kindle-scout.html

There are so many great books turned down by agents and publishers (or not even looked it, with computerized rejection), that the situation is somewhat comical.  Search in Google for self-published best sellers and you find web sites like these:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ronald-h-balson/bestseller-success-storie_b_4064574.html

and
 
www.parapublishing.com/files/.../155-Self-Published%20Books.pdf
 
If Consenting Adults Only is not published by Amazon Kindle, I will proceed to self-publish it in e-book and paperback formats.  (This will be my 15th book and 4th novel.)  The first 10 people who email me a request will get a free copy of the paperback when it does come out (though may be several months from now).

Larry Martin, MD
drlarry437@gmail.com

I am juggling four books at once, all in various stages of publishing.

Consenting Adults Only.  I am done with proofing and editing, and the cover is completed.  I started the book in my head last year, but began the actual writing March 15, 2015.  I had a first draft finished April 15, and a second draft by May 15.  Since then I’ve made several alterations, the most significant being the Prologue.  I had a great Prologue, but one beta-reviewer rightly thought it did not serve the novel well.  I folded it into story, and the book and story now begin on page 1. 

This is all remindful of Stephen King's admonition in his book On Writing:  A Memoir of the Craft:  "Kill your darlings, kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler’s heart, kill your darlings.” By this he meant, of course, to get rid of things you love if they don't advance the story.  Getting rid of my "darling" Prologue was painful, but in the end the novel is better for it.

I paid $200 to have CAO proofread (after multiple beta-reads), and that final step was completed last week.  I made some necessary changes and "finished" the novel yesterday.   So almost 5 months since I began the writing.  As planned, I have submitted the novel to Kindle Scout, one of Amazon’s publishing arms.  https://kindlescout.amazon.com/about

Kindle Scout will let me know within 2-3 days if the book is accepted for their program; this phase is called the Eligibility and content Review.  From the Scout website:

·  Eligibility & content review

You'll hear from us in 1-2 business days (longer if we have a ton of submissions). Once your submission is approved for launch we'll send you an email with a preview link so you can see exactly what your readers will see. We'll also tell you the exact launch date of your Kindle Scout campaign. What are we reviewing for? If you haven't already, check out the Kindle Scout Eligibility & Content Guidelines.

 

 If CAO meets the Eligibility and content review, the book will be publicized in Kindle format for 30 days to see if it merits publication.  This decision is in part based on feedback from readers.  I am expected to notify friends and email acquaintances of the book’s existence on Kindle, so they can read and critique it.  Amazon Kindle promises to let me know within 45 days if they will then publish the book.  If accepted I will receive a $1500 advance, plus royalties for both the e-book and an audiobook.

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Out of Time:  An alternative outcome to the Civil War, has been published in paperback via CreateSpace, and in e-book format via both Kindle and Smashwords. 

Recently, one reader of the Kindle edition noted a few typos, which I feel important to correct; all are minor but still, if you mean the Arizona desert, don’t spell it dessert.  That type of thing.  I will have to pay Create space to update the print-on-demand file, and also pay my e-book formatter a small amount to update both e-books formats (Mobi for Kindle and Epub for Smashwords). 

One could argue that a couple of thousand dollars spent on a top-flight editor would have caught these minor typos (and at 97,000 words, we are talking 2K for line editing).  Perhaps, but is it worth it to the Indie author?  At least half a dozen people read this manuscript before publication, and not one caught the typos now brought to light.  It will cost me <$100 to make the corrections in all formats.  I am not defending this as a self-publication option, just pointing out the economics of the situation.  It’s one every self-published author makes.  There is a difference between sloppy editing and a few typos.  The former is worth any price to correct; the latter, less so.

As an aside, it would be much better if the author could do minor post-publication editing himself/herself, but that’s not possible.  While some authors (very few, no doubt) might have this skill for e-book formats, they still must upload a new file after each change or series of changes.  And even then, they can’t change the print-on-demand file without going through an intermediary.  My ideal would be for any author to have access to the ACTUAL, WHAT-YOU-SEE-IS-WHAT-YOU-GET file, and be able to edit that, then save it.  NO INTERMEDIARY.  We do this now for our web sites, of course.  Why not for self-published books?  The time will come; we’re just not there yet.

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The Wall: Chronicle of a Scuba Trial is complete and has been submitted for conversion to e-book format.  My cost (for both Smashwords and Kindle formats) is $100, and it is done expertly by Maureen Cutajar (www.gopublished.com).  In addition, I spent $100 on the cover design.  The cover is by Judy Bullard (www.customebookcovers.com), who has done all my covers, starting with Sherman’s Mistress in Savannah.

At this time I have no intention to publish The Wall in paperback.  It is a short work (46,000 words) and aimed at a niche market, so e-book seems to be an ideal format. 

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I have finished a draft of a children’s book on gravity.  My schematic of a possible cover design is above.  The next step is to look for illustrators.  This is a brand new area for me, and at this point I am not sure if the work is feasible.  It may be that the cost of illustrations is going to be prohibitive.  A better option would be a collaboration with an illustrator, if that is possible (i.e., co-authorship, share any royalties).  I have some contacts and will begin pursuing those.

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